RP: ISC Phoenix [Interlude 3] - Re-Loading

"Yeah, just as long as they aren't charging fees for pre-buy usage." Vincent said, leaving the counter long enough to find the "Armor" section and return with a larger, bulkier (as in more protective), urban camouflage version of the armored suit Robert had found.

"I think that you scare him to much if there was," Came the reply. Robert sat down and opened the radio headsets. "Hey they come with chargers. Anyone want theirs? I bought enough for everyone, I think. Hope so cause Vincent accidently shot up the rest."

Vincent looked at the display of headsets on the wall directly behind him.

"Err, I hate to burst your bubble there, Raggedy Andy, but... The headsets are on the wall behind me. The thugs came through the front door. Unless these are some sort of physics-defying bullets, I don't think I destroyed the headsets. Basically I broke some glass windows, tore up a check-out lane and killed two thieves in a violent display of gratuitous gore and bullet-shredding mayhem."

Robert said nothing for a second. Then "RAGGEDY ANDY!? It's RAGS, like MAGS only with an R instead of an M!" Robert exploded, and after saying that he calmed down and said "Anyway, do you want to try your's on? If ya can get it over that huge block you call a head."

The clerk at the counter frowned. Maybe this gattling-gun wielding crazy wasn't sane enough to use something a bit more suitable in a situation like this.
Sure, Vincent had dealt with the wouldn't-be criminals pretty swiftly, but there was still the issue of the broken glass doors to be managed.

"You're paying for that, sir." He said as he put the bill down for the chaingun, "6200 DA for the chaingun, an extra 200 for the ammo you just spent, and 9000 DA for a new set of windows."

Luca plonked the collapsible hunting crossbow down on the counter, then surveyed the damage.
"What the hell happened here?" He asked Vincent as he got the card swiped and paid for the archaic tool.

"Thieves plus chaingun equals massive collateral." Vincent grinned as he swiped his KS card through the register and picked up the chaingun.

"In this case, the collateral was a few window panes, which will be paid for from my account instead of the group one as a way of me accepting that I just blew the hell out of this place."

"Not to mention my head." Robert muttered as he walked up. He had his headset on, It had an adjustable headband to fit around almost any size head. He offered one to Luca and to Vincent.

The prostitute was unaware of the other woman sharing the alley with her until Hitori spoke up, "So... nice to see Mr. Big is still in good proportion to the Misses, Crystal." Slightly started, the hooker sighed and finished urinating before zipping up his -- or is her? -- skintight jeans. As she -- it -- turned around, the Geshrin spy instantly noticed something. "Actually, I've made the 'Misses' bigger since our last meeting," Crystal replied, motioning to her large bust, almost twice the size of Hitori's, that was barely held from busting out by what appeared to be some sort of sports bra. "If you want a closer look, that'll be fif-"

Hitori eyerolled before interrupting, "Yes, yes, whatever... As usual, I'm not interested in your 'business'. I came here to see if you had any info for me. Specifically... about the Dove." The seriousness in the woman's eyes made Crystal's spine shiver. However, she replied promptly, "Ah, yes, you always were a businesswoman... even back then..." Her wink would only receive a harsh glare before she continued, "Well, I have nothing on him... yet. If he really is alive as your message said, then he'll turn up somewhere. I'm sure one of my usual clients can be 'persuaded' to disclose any and all information in no time. However, I did hear that a Dr. Nicole Treiven was a good friend of the Eagle.. Perhaps she was friends with your target as well?"

Hitori pondered this before asking another question, "Where might I find this 'Dr. Treiven'?" A smile grew on Crystal's dolled up face around this time, "Oooh, I knew you were going to ask that! I wrote it all down for you. Here... Oh, sorry, hun, but I have to jet. Customers waiting and all! You understand, right??" The Geshrin woman just glared at her again while the hooker tucked a folded note into the top of Hitori's shirt. Crystal then made her exit, curvy hips dancing about as she hit the streets. The cloaked member of Luca's group let out a visible shiver as Crystal's ragged voice called out, "Hey, boys! I sure have a surprise for y'all!"

MEANWHILE...

"I think we've gotten what we want here." Sebastian said as his boots crunched over the broken glass and checked out the splattered thieves - who had a few hundred DA to spare, "Judging by all of the grins on your face - I think it's high time to head somewhere else, now." He unscrupulously fished out their wallets and passed them to the clerk to help use the money as further compensation, "And that's to clean all the spilt blood."

The headsets were working fine. Robert, Luca and Vincent exchanged a few brief messages, quickly. All they had to do was put their finger to the earpiece to get the microphone working.

Luca wondered what else he could buy in the big city. He found an electronics dealer during a brief walk and bought himself a portable music player device with a pair of earphones for about 100 KS.

"Hmm. I feel nothing like those guys on the ads..." Luca said as he transferred his music from his communicator via wireless to his new media player, "No funky colours, no insane dancing ability and no bloody silhouettes!"
"That, my friend is the gentle art of advertising." Melissa said, "It persuades you to buy something by misusing graphic design to create the image that something that isn't worth your time is acutally worth something."
Sebastian then butted in as he walked alongside: "In laymans terms, it turns a Want into a Need."

Luca shrugged, "Whatever - it turned my want into a need, definitely." He put the headphones in his ears and cranked up with a volume or two of power metal music, jazz and rock-orchestra.

Meanwhile, Vincent- encumbered (not really) with his own new, massive gun- climbed slowly into the Phoenix's cramped crew compartment.

"So, where do we go now?"

Robert had also picked up something at the electronics store along with Luca. It was a new, just off the market comm. unit. He climbed into the crew compartment much more comfortably than the huge ID-Sol sitting next to him. He flipped through the different features and inevitably opened the games file where he found an amazing selection of games.

After Hitori's.. somewhat disturbing ordeal with meeting Crystal again, she made her way to the location on the note that was.. 'hidden' in the top of her blouse. Oddly enough, such directions led her to a local clinic. The Geshrin woman met a slightly plump woman acting as a clerk. The room itself smelled of sanitation chemicals and had very few attractions, such as pictures on the wall, magazines near the chairs, etc.

"Dr. Treiven please?" Hitori asked politely, trying to ignore the greasy cheddar stains on the fat woman's nurse's uniform. The nurse looked up at her with a dull expression before waving her toward another door without a word. Apparently, there was lack of structural system in this slumhole. Hitori sighed to herself as she passed the desk to the door and opened it. A middle-aged woman was reading some patient reports at a desk, the only piece of furniture in the room besides the chair she was sitting in.

Nicole looked up at the stranger that barged into her 'office', she used that word rather leniently, without introduction. "Marge! I thought you said that I didn't have an appoi-" she called to the clerk before getting interrupted by Hitori, "I'm sorry, Dr. Treiven, but I have no appointment. I have come seeking information on a certain person.." The look in Hitori's eyes made the good doctor shiver invisibly. The two conversed on icy terms for another ten minutes before an agreement was met.

Dr Treiven stated in conclusion, "Fine.. I'll tell you exactly where the Dove is.. but you have to find my colleague, Dr. Fredrick Winston, first. Last I heard from him, he was investigating some unusual activities on Nepleslian Mining Colony PL-8. I recently lost contact with him and fear the worst. If you are able to find out his fate and, if possible, recover his research if my fears are true, then I will reveal his location to you." Hitori sighed before nodding in agreement, "Alright, but if you are lying to me.. I swear that I will kill you..!" The stern look in her eyes proved to the doctor that there was no lie there.

Hitori left the clinic, still a little pissed at how easily the doctor was able to have her agree to such terms. However, her time here was coming to an end. Luca and the others would probably be wondering where she had went off to. As an excuse for her tardiness, she ducked into one of the many gunshops and purchased a small 4.5 mm revolver with laser sight as well as a couple boxes of 6-round speedloaders. She then hurried back to where the shuttle was docked, tucking the revolver within relative reach in her left boot. Her ambidexterity would allow her to quickly wield it in her left hand if needed. Her right boot already stored a throwing knife for additional range.

So, everyone, satisfied with their purchases got back to the shuttle. Vincent was able to fit his massive chaingun into the shuttle by putting it on one of the seats, next to Mel. Sebastian, Vincent, Robert, Mel and Hitori were sitting in the passenger area.
"Compensating?" She asked Vincent with a chuckle, "It's not how big the gun is-"
Then Sebastian cut her off, "It's how you use it."

Meanwhile, in the Pilot's Compartment, John had managed to get his pants washed. He was playing with a paddle ball while he was waiting.
"Enjoy yourself?" John asked as Luca inspected his chair before he sat down, prodding the cushion for any traps. Nothing happened. So he sat down and put one leg over the other.
"Yep." Luca nodded, "We've now got standard inventory. Plus Vincent looks happy with what he bought. We also got these..." Luca tapped one the headsets Robert bought, "...radio headsets."
"Fancy, fancy. Now, buckle up." John said before making the clearances to fly back to base.

As the shuttle took flight, Luca's chair begun to rattle. Luca didn't notice this and thought it was just the general rattling of any aircraft as it takes flight. Then when John got to cruising altitude, he accelerated suddenly.
This made Luca's chair fall off its base and caused an almighty crash as Luca was left on the ground with his legs in the air.

"Got ya back!" John taunted as the marbles in Luca's head rolled around, trying to settle from the impact.
"Mnrghrhmgh." Luca grumbled as the shuttle was beginning to descend over the Base.

Naturally, Anna, Jim, Crane, Laeliel and Mitch were there.
Laeliel and Anna had managed to make brief discussions over just how Anna met Sebastian, which was strange, yet oddly heartwarming.
Mitch had woken up and promptly laid down on the brown couch, still somewhat addled by last night's binge.
Jim and Crane were busy trying to make sure the place was in general order. They hadn't had too much to do and were somewhat restless.

A delivery crate had come down from the sky via parachute and was sitting just near the front porch. It had Sebastian's order of SMG's.

The shuttle touched down and the airlock opened. Sebastian and Mel (with her new rifle) were the first out. John then ducked out and attempted to sit next to Mitch on the couch - seeing as it might be a bad idea to convince him to move over.
Luca was the next man out, nursing a lump on his head, carrying the headsets and Mitch's new crossbow.

"Hey, Mitch!" Luca said as he plonked the box down in front of his field of view.
"Hng?" He mumbled, "What?"
"I figured you deserved a little gift."
"Gnrgh." He replied, "I'll look at it later. Get it out of my way, now."
"Okies!" Luca slid it away from Mitch's view and next to the couch.

"Alright ladies, gentlemen." Sebastian announced, "I'm just going to offer a quick lesson on gun maintenance. Judging by all of your new boots..." He took a look at Luca, who shrugged, "...I figured you all you kids need to learn how to care for your instruments of combat..."

Mitch already knew how to do that, being the seasoned veteran he was, and flicked on the TV, watching some daytime documentaries. Mel already knew how to take care of her weapons as well and watched TV with Mitch.

"...after all, nobody wants their weapon to jam in the field of battle! It could determine life and death!"

Mitch concentrated very hard on blotting out the needless noise of being instructed how to maintain a weapon, and instead focussed his concentration entirely on the television. He understood, of course, that with his head in the state it was he shouldn't really be in a room with many people let alone watching fast moving pictures with loud sounds - and yet thick headed stubbornness going.

He flicked through a disturbingly proportionate about of gay porn before finding something if not worth watching at least entertaining - a channel called Kablamo + 1 which was showing a rerun of "When gunfights go right 3". Yeah, that would be enough to distract him for a little while. He sat back clicked his neck and enjoyed watching a cyborgs head exploding from three different angles.

Robert walked in exploring the seemingly endless options of his new comm. unit.

"...after all, nobody wants their weapon to jam in the field of battle! It could determine life and death!"

Click to expand...

He looked up. "Whaa....? Why are weapons jamming up and killing people? Don't seem very nice."

Luca took a quick look at his handgun upon hearing his father's advice on how to maintain firearms. Still had bloodstains on it from the Goban, was in dire need of a clean, most of the mechanisms were dirty and the whole thing needed to be autoclaved.

"Yeah. I'll take your advice." Luca replied to his father.
Jim looked at his weapons, "Actually... yeah."
Mel took a look at her .45 sidearm, and determined that it needed a clean. Sure, she keeps her rifles in top condition, but her pistol was neglected.
"You too," Sebastian said to Robert, "Even the knifer needs to learn."

So they took the impromptu class in the armoury, learnt how to dismantle their sidearms and major weapons, clean the insides, clean the spring, the mechanisms and everything else to prevent jamming and fouling up and leaving you without a working weapon. Also illustrated was the fact that clean weapons often look more stylish than dirtier counterparts.

The lesson only took half an hour of the participants time.
"So Hitori, where were you anyway?" Luca said as he sat down at the mess room table, admiring his now very clean sidearm before holstering it, "You moved out of the shuttle real quickly."

After the somewhat redundant lesson, Hitori perked up at Luca's question. It took a moment for her to reply, "Oh.. just gathering some intel... I might've found us a new job, if you are interested." If Luca and the others didn't want to go on this with her, then she might as well go by herself. That is, of course, saying that he was interested.

After half an hour of watching people getting shot from a variety of angles Mitch switched off the television, not really wanting to watch "When the Gays go bad 4". not that he had any problem with those of a homosexual disposition, he just didn't want to watch them going 'bad'. Sometimes Nepleslia disturbed him just a little, just a little too much. He turned slowly around to face the rest of the group, somewhat nonplussed his vision lagged a least two seconds behind his head. He made a mental note, although the effort pained him deeply, to invest in some hangover cure which he had heard about somewhere, somehow from somebody, "Job?"

Vincent disassembled, cleaned, repaired and re-assembled his armory in rapid time, first his pistols, then the larger BAR and Gauss Rifle, then finally the chaingun, when he heard Hitori talking.

"I'm in."

Robert raised an eyebrow, "Job" sounded too much like the jargon he used back in the White Scorpions.