Matt B Blogging

022

Momentum Health Spirit Supply Wayfinder Astrid Ship
10 5 5 3 4 4 5

Mongoose and Wayfinder follow Overload through the wide streets of Freya, occasionally giving way to driverless carts, and their escalating in pitch honks when people aren't getting out of their way fast enough. All the buildings are grey blocks - uniform and bland, with regular inset windows in the thick concrete walls. To fight this boring sight, most walls are festooned with colourful murals, strings of LED lights criss-cross the streets above, and brightly patterned awnings shade most doorways and windows.

Overload heads to a building with a faded orange and blue striped awning, and gives Halia and Jools a slight scowl, before saying "In here".

The room has a high ceiling, and tables covered with old terminals and cables. Along the back wall is a counter, and sitting being it on a stool, facing the door, is a striking woman. Tangled cyan hair, dark olive skin, and pale blue eyes. She wears a black singlet, and her bare arms show no tattoos at all. Very unusual in The Forge. She looks up from a terminal and keyboard.

She smiles warmly at Overload, but it falters a bit when she sees that Overload is in a mood. She continues to smile at the strangers coming in behind Overload - at Halia, and then Jools, carrying a large crate on her shoulder.

"Hi Bruna, who are your friends?"

Bruna/Overload looks at Jools, points at the floor in front of the counter before replying. "That's Wayfinder, that's Mongoose. Claimed to be friends of yours, but just more people going to ask you for a favour" she says, accusingly. Wayfinder puts the crate down gently where indicated.

Eveline "Zephyr" Barlowe frowns a bit at Bruna. She opens her mouth to respond - it seems like a familiar argument is about to start, but she stops herself. Not in-front of guests. As she turns to Wayfinder, Jools extends her hand. "Hi! Eveline Barlowe right? It was more a friend of a friend situation. We were on Brink, and you were recommended to us".

Eveline's face brightens, as her hand with its long delicate fingers in engulfed by Wayfinder's huge rough hand. "Oh! Did you meet with Creed? Creed Mihara? Stars, Brink sounds like a miserable, but beautiful place".

Wayfinder laughs jovially "Beautiful, if you can manage to land on that tiny station in the middle of that hell-storm." She turns to Halia and clasps her shoulder "But Mongoose here, and her ship, got us there safely."

Bruna stands there with arms crossed, radiating her dislike of the situation, and the impending request on Eveline's time. It causes Wayfinder to lose her nerve a bit, and Halia steps in.

"We've come across... we need your help recovering information from a computer core." and looking at Bruna, Halia quickly adds " We have salvage, and creds to trade!"

[Make a Connection: Jools helping - 2 vs 8|10 miss]
[Spending Momentum - 10 vs 8|10 weak hit]
Was going to be a Dangerous connection, complication ups it to Formidable?
Still have a Pay the Price from Bruna to handle too - what could be some trouble they need help with?
Oracle (action/theme): Avenge Reputation
Momentum Health Spirit Supply Wayfinder Astrid Ship
2 5 5 3 4 4 5

Bruna storms over to Eveline, puts her hands on Eveline's shoulders, and stares intensely at her, but speaks softly "Agree to help if they can clear your name with the Shining Raiders - we can't be stuck her forever!"

Compel: Wayfinder helping - heart - 4 vs 10|5 miss
pay the price: most likely negative outcome
- demand they get them free from Raiders first

[Oracle - what do Raiders want? "innaccessible resource"]
Raiders want something they can't easily get - something Savarin Clan has?
The A.I.?

Wayfinder looks at her satchel, and then at Halia, with a meaningful look.

Mongoose frowns back. The A.I. is too much. If the Raiders knew they had it, they'd kill them both and still keep hold of Eveline. But, might as well lay everything on the table.

"This computer core. It's more than what we said. It's an A.I."

Bruna laughs "hah good one"

Mongoose gestures to Wayfinder, who extracts the core from her satchel and places it on the counter.

"It's from the Savarin Clan vessel, The Drift Runner. I... we, think it's gone rogue, and a bit evil. We could try trading it for your freedom, but I get the feeling they'd just kill me and Wayfinder, and keep you in servitude Eveline, to get it working for them."

Eveline is barely listening, she's reached out to touch the cannister.

Bruna's eyes have gone really wide and she splutters and draws a blaster, pointing it between Mongoose and Wayfinder. "When I said don't put us in your shit, a fucking Founder Clan A.I. is A FUCKING HUGE PILE OF SHIT FOR FUCKS SAKE"

Halia raises her hands, but is talking directly to Eveline. Wayfinder's hands also raise, and she faces Bruna directly, someone shielding Mongoose. Halia continues "What we need is info from that A.I. It was trying to figure out the location of some Precursor Vault, from the visions of people it was experimenting on. That's all I need from it. You can have it afterwards, but as Overload rightly fears, Savarin will be hunting it down with everything they have. And those experiments it was doing? Mutilations, torture, it's broken through whatever chains kept it in line. It's dangerous."

Eveline looks up at Mongoose. "Holy shit. Holy shit. An A.I. An actual artificial intelligence. Put down the gun Bruna, it's already too late. We're in the shit, and we have to figure this out."

Halia pulls out her Dark Iron pendant. "I'm ready to swear on Iron to get you square with the Shining Raiders. We'll do whatever it takes." she says, looking at Jools.

" What do you think of this - you open that A.I. Core, transfer it into a new chassis. Fill the old Savarin chassis with some broken circuit boards that look the part. We shoot it full of holes so we have something to fool Savarin with if they find us. Say we destroyed it rather than Savarin getting it back. That should at least take the heat off of you two, and then you still have an A.I. to maybe make a play with the Shining Raiders if we maybe... die... trying to get your debt cleared."

Overload who has lowered her gun, but is still fuming. She paces back and forth, and looks at Eveline. "Can you fake an A.I?" Eveline shrugs "maybe - it should just be computer parts. If they melt it enough with blaster fire Savarin might not be able to tell the difference." Wayfinder adds "they know I'd turn it to slag just to spite them". Bruna continues. "And Evie get's an A.I. So, if you get us clear of the Raiders, Evie helps get all Precursor data off of the thing. Or you fail with the Raiders, and they kill you. But either way, Evie has an A.I?"

Halia looks questioningly at Jools. Jools just shrugs back. "Yes... but I just got to stress, it's evil and doesn't care about human life."

Bruna sighs, and holsters her gun. "that could be said about a whole lot of people in the Outlands. Wait outside, Evie and I have to talk. Privately."