June 4, 3200 - The Trail of the Brothers (Killdozer/Ranjiit)

[Mister-Kent]

Continued from AMIR thread

July 3rd - Late Evening
Diamond in the Rough
The Night District, Oasis
Planet Amir

The Twins look at each other, taken aback by your bluntness, but clearly impressed. "Where they are? Well, if we knew exactly that we'd be claiming the bounty ourselves. But we can tell you where the bastards last contacted us…"

"The Leap. Far south--it's sort of, well, a little outpost for people who are trying to keep a low profile, stay out of the Caliphate's way. Though we've always thought the best hiding place was in plain sight, I think the Xiaos headed there. It's also the last stop before you're in the Gray Zone, and the boys think they can shake their pursuers out there. It's stinks as a plan, but…I'm sure that's what they're thinking."

The other twin clears his throat. "As for the other hunters…I dunno. There were a few. They weren't working together…at the time anyway. A woman with a big gun. A local Amiri man, covered in scars. And a mutated freak," the twin adds with an approving smile. "I'd suggest you get some back-up before you head out with other hunters on the same bounty..."

[kmbll]

Guy "the Savage," Bounty Hunter

Guy smiles, "Gentlemen - it truly has been a pleasure doing business with you. It is not often that I find business partners who appreciate conducting business publicly yet taciturn. I think we could have a profitable friendship..."His smile fades a bit but there's an obvious glint in his eye. "should we survive. I greatly appreciate all the help you've given us thus far but if I might ask one more boon to encourage the possibility of future dealings..Know anybody who would be interested in provided said backup?"

Thought this might be a way to bring in Mortimer if it suits the character and story..

[Mister-Kent]

The twins hesitate. "Well...of course, new friends, we'd love to help you. We know of a few such people--right upstairs in this very establishment--you might be willing to join up. Sadly, we aren't the best matchmakers. For finding a more suitable recruit, you may want to ask Lama. He knows pretty much everyone who comes and goes up there, while we've been down here sorting the merchandise."

The men seem to have evened-out in their demeanor now, and the sullen twin is now more engaged in the conversation. He looks at the both of you more comfortably, as if dealing with a regular work associate. "And of course, our offer of business still stands, should you survive. Which we hope you do..."

[kmbll]

Guy, "the Savage," Bounty Hunter

Guy thanks both of the gentlemen and leaves them with the missive, "And please comm me if you think of anything else that might be of use. We'll be in touch."

Guy heads upstairs to look for Lama to inquire about a new friend.

[Mister-Kent]

"That we will," they say. The Twins bid you good luck, then sink back to their bench, inspecting their strange gems under the red light.

When you arrive upstairs, "Lam" the bartender is dishing out zen advice to a group of patrons, some listening eagerly, some drunk beyond reason.

"--The truth of the matter is, I wasn't pleased with me," he says. "With who I was. The violence, the killing. Now, I am an actualized, authentic being. See? It's all in here," he notes, pulling out his dataslab and showing a book he's been reading.

He looks up as you approach, and passes his dataslab to the patrons to browse as he greets you. "Ah, returned in one piece. I assume the boys downstairs enlightened you as only they can?"

OOC: I accidentally called him "Lama" last time
Mort/LtTibbles, feel free to show up when you like!

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer 'Mort' Almet

Moritmer rolled his hand keeping the liquor of his drink moving in a rhythmic pattern as he rubbed his eye with the heel of his hand yawning. "I get where you're coming from Lam and I respect it, but I feel some people need more than a self help book and becoming pleased with ones self to be happy."

He takes the time to finish his drink. "Take me for example, making enough creds to keep out of the gutters that will make me happy. You mentioned those guys down stairs are going after the Xiao's those guys are worth some serious scratch, how about you introduce yeah? I'll owe you one."

OOC: I hope this is ok, I figure this would be the smoothest way to slide into meeting Guy and Killdozer.

[Mister-Kent]

Mortimer
Lam nods. "Be my guest, friend," he says with a gesture towards the approaching men. "However...do please remember: the path of violence is not always the path of righteousness..."

You see before you a dark-haired young man, subtly attractive with a few facial scars. His companion is tall, scarred mutant, slightly greasy. He has two mouths on his face, but seems non-aggressive.

Killdozer and Michael
"Gentlemen, this fine fellow wishes to converse business," Lam explains, then raises his hands as if to remove himself from the situation, then walks over to serve other patrons.

The "fine fellow" in question is a shorter man than either of you, a tired-looking traveler with deep bags under his eyes.

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer 'Mort' Almet

Mortimer eyes the two men, assessing them before stepping forward "I hear tell you two are going after the Xiao Brothers, now I'm sure you know this but you don't want to be taking these guys lightly. You're gonna want some back up when going after these boys and I'm willing to offer up my services for a cut, I've been psychically trained, I'm handy with a gun, and if you get yourselves shot, stabbed, or thrown out a window I can patch you two right back up."

He breaks his speech with a small yawn before resuming, "Also I'm familiar with all types of PsiTech and weaponry if you're in need of those particular experties."

[kmbll]

Guy "the Savage," Bounty Hunter

Guy gives an easy smile, offers his hand and eyes the newcomer. "Always a pleasure to meet someone up for a little trouble. Psychically train by whom and to do what? And what's your background? Don't get me wrong, I'm a friendly guy but some people still seem to have taken a dislike for some perplexing reason."

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer 'Mort' Almet

Mort takes the man's hand and shakes it, "I was trained by this old timer named Roy Kilganon in this crew I used to run with, he taught me a few things about Precognition and Biopscionics for the most part. We were mostly scavengers sometimes mercenaries if the price was right, before that I worked as a researcher for the Wayfarer Group but that was way back and things didn't end too cordially between us. But those were the past, now I'm just looking to get back to working and make some credits. Anyway what about you two, what's your story besides hunting down the Xiao's...if you don't mind me asking."

[kmbll]

Guy "the Savage," Bounty Hunter

Guy shrugs and mindless rubs his hand along the scar on his face, "Hunting is kind of the name of the game these days...or it ideally would be. I've had a bad string of luck these days and some inclination of what's coming could go a long way." Guy wonders mournfully what happened to Raquel before refocusing. "I docked in Versailles with the Twelve before their recent turmoil. Since then I've been focusing on hunting and doing odd jobs to get by."

[Mister-Kent]

Lam leaves the corner of the bar and walks up to you, chiming in gently. "Sorry to interrupt--the boys downstairs just sent this up." He hands you a stunningly low-tech map of the Green Zone, drawn on an unfolded cocktail napkin with a marker. There are a few squiggly lines and a big fat arrow pointing to a circled spot that reads "The Leap".

"Best of luck," the barman bids you before returning to his customers.

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer 'Mort' Almet

Mortimer takes a look at the napkin in Guy's hands before looking back up, "I'm guessing this leads to someone who knows where the brother's are or is this where they were last seen?"



OOC: I'm assuming the map was meant for Guy and Killdozer

[kmbll]

Guy "the Savage", Bounty Hunter

"That's the notion. Let's found out, shall we?"

Supposing we want to head to this leap - is it walkable or would we need to go back to the ship?

[Mister-Kent]

It's quite a jaunt, a pleasant overnight ride by ship. I'll have a map soon!

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer 'Mort' Almet

"Lead the way guys."

Well Mort could catch up on his sleep if we take a ship.

[Mister-Kent]

You leave the Night District, new crew member in tow, and find the Cat's Cradle still parked untouched outside the city. However, it is now plastered with papers--they appear to be notes of Harmonist propaganda, informing you about the evils of terraforming.

You take off and head southeast to the Leap--spotting what looks like a wide, sturdy fortress built into the side of a bluff.

How do you approach?

[Pulpatoon]

Killdozer, quiet, withdrawn, and anxious while out among the crowds, visibly relaxes upon return to the ship. While he barely grunted when first introduced to Mort, he now becomes expansive and welcoming. "Make yerself t'home, Mort. Bet y'never bin onna ship as fine as th' Cat's Cradle, huh? I mean, there's fancier, yeh, but ain't nuthin' got spirit like 'er. You, uh, hungry? I gotta coq au vin that I set up inna pressure bubble before we left. It oughta be perfect by now. Jus' like, fallin' offa th'bone."

[LtTibbles]

Mortimer stretches himself out while looking around the inside of the ship. For a while he thought the big guy might have been a mute he was glad that he wasn't, his sign language abilities were practically nonexistent. Finding out he was the cook wasn't a surprise, finding out he that he seemed to be a fancy cook was, he couldn't remember the last time he had a proper home cooked meal and he could feel his stomach rumbling from just the thought. "That she does and I'd love to try some of that grub you've been cooking. So how long have you two had this ship?"

[Mister-Kent]

The potent aroma of the coq au vin wafts through the Cat's Cradle, filling every corner with rich garlicky flavor.

In the distance, the Leap is almost camoflauged set into the rocks. However, it's less like it is meant to be hidden, and more like it's meant to serve as shelter. Shelter from what is anyone's guess...

The overnight trip to the Leap places Team Brother-Hunters just a few hours behind Team Seeders, so the timelines aren't that far off now!