June 3-4, 3200 - AMIR

[Mister-Kent]

The cradle alights in a clearing, outside Oasis's eastern edge. The brilliant early afternoon sun shines down, casting mirages in the humid distance. Oasis consists of domes and arches, classically-styled Middle-Eastern architecture, and generally anything lavish and appealing to tourists.

Oasis is yours to explore. You won't be able to attend to all of the things on Malachi's tactical list in one evening--too much ground to cover. Plan of action?

[kmbll]

Distance-wise, how far we from where the Xiao Brothers are and from the city itself?

[Pulpatoon]

Killdozer looks pained at Guy's request that he leave the kitchen and the ship, but he's just as bothered by the idea of the crew heading out without him watching their backs. Finally, he grumbles, "When you say 'my udder speciality,' is yuh asking me t' pack my medkit or my machetes? Or both?"

[kmbll]

Guy shrugs before replying: My preference would always be the former but I'd feel so much knowing you had your machetes at the ready should business sour.

[Enoch]

Guys, as much as I'm excited by this game and I think it's going to be awesome, I'm finding that I have overcommitted, so I am going to have to drop out. Sorry for this, and I hope that at this early stage that it isn't too disruptive.

[Mister-Kent]

Thanks for giving it a shot Enoch!

You are a good fifteen minute walk from the city's edge, and the last sighting of the Xiaos was at the Terra Prime warehouse at the south end of the valley. That's thirty or so miles south--you'd cross the water you passed over, and continue on to the southenmost end of the canyon. You could reach the edge of the Green Zone if you fly a few hours south or east of the warehouse.

[explosiveghast]

Madoshi Posthuman Computerizer

Listening to the plans formulate, the old man deposits his latest empty rice bowl into the cleaner receptacle. Though Killdozer and Guy are engaged in important conversation, he bows out and makes his way toward his makeshift engineering workshop while he links up his computers to the local nets. When he returns to his room, the monk gently falls into meditative sitting position.

Though his outward appearance is that of a man at complete peace and in stillness of thought, his mind and machines whir away, awash in a storm of digital information visible only to the mind's eye of the old engineer. Directly interfaced with his hull's onboard dataslab, he prepares documentation that could cover the tracks of the ship and crew and obfuscate the true reasons for their visit to Amir. Madoshi checks the ship's supplies and calculates the costs of refueling. He scans the local net for docks that provide the best prices, security and privacy and runs algorithms to locate the most logistically ideal options. He unleashes discreet AI frames to crawl for information that might show the location of the Xiao Brothers and searches for information regarding the crop seeders or the parties who may have an interest in them. He checks meteorological readings to determine if the device is currently in use. He clouds his tracks. He is quite good at that, he muses... making clouds.

Red Tape Editing - Computer Skill Check: [2d6+3] = 5+3 = 8

[kmbll]

Guy, "the Savage", Bounty Hunter

Guy looks at the map and mutters,"This is not where I intended to land..C'est la Vie." He readies his gear and looks toward the crew, "We might as well hit the city first then. Information gathering and what not. Shall we?" Guy heads toward the city in search of some seedy individuals willing to part with information in regards to the Xiao Brothers or the crop seeders.

[Marullus]

So my thoughts are that we should split up - with Raquel and maybe Bryan going to do reconnaissance on the seeder while Killdozer, Malachai and Guy go to get the Xiao Brothers. I was waiting for the others to chime in before bringing it up IC though.

So...
Seeders: Raquel, Bryan, Madoshi
Leads on the Xiao Bros: Guy, Malachi, Killdozer
Missing anyone?

Events:
* Contact the company by vid-phone
* Guy checks underworld contacts

* Raquel does something sneaky and manipulative
* Modashi researches the tech

[kmbll]

I'm worried Raquel is gone. He hasn't posted in a week but other than that sounds about right.

[Pulpatoon]

Killdozer, Ship's Cook & Medic

Killdozer heads into his quarters. When he returns, a distinctive creaking reveals that he has concealed woven battle armor under his loose fitting clothes. On his shoulders is a battered surplus backpack, from protrude the handles of his twin monoblade machetes, "Sweetie-Pie," and "Sour-Puss." He mouths are set in grim lines, and his eyes have the glassy, dilated look of someone in a state of deep apprehension. "I guess I'm ready t'go, Boss."

[Marullus]

In my culture check, what do i find about weapons and firearms restrictions in this culture and on this planet? Are there restrictive forms of dress which we should abide by to fit in?

[Mister-Kent]

Amir has no restriction on weapons ownership, but you can be fined for public display, so concealment is best. There are so many offworld tourists that it would be hard to try and "fit in", but the locals tend to wear simple clothes with short sleeves or cutoff pants.

[Marullus]

Malachi arrives at the loading dock dressed in neutral khakis with long sleeves suitable for protection of a hot sun. His revolver is in a shoulder rig under a light jacket. A leather satchel holds his computer and supplies. He draws little attention, a foil to Killdozer's imposing look.

[Mister-Kent]

The city is bustling with some sort of festival, and the vendors are out in full force. There is a female merchant selling large stuffed dolls of animals you've never seen--a few types of strange bird-lizard hybrids, a vaguely bug-like horse, and a finned aquatic creature of some kind.

She approaches a throng of tourists and sells two bug-horses, then works her way towards the Cradle crew, hoping to sell some more.

[Pulpatoon]

Before leaving the ship, Killdozer breaks a ciabatta in half and shoves the end onto the protruding handles of his machetes, so it looks like he's got two loaves of bread sticking out.

___

As the merchant approaches, Killdozer tenses, whispering to Guy, "Dolls is a good way to hide 'splosives, right? Or bioagents. Or jus' 'bout ennything. I... uh... I don' recommend buying one."

[kmbll]

Guy, "the Savage," Bounty Hunter


Guy glances at the ciabatta, "You make a salient point, 'Dozer," He goes over to look at the woman's wares. He looks intently at the festival, "What's the occasion?"

[Mister-Kent]

Madoshi:
The in-system trip depleted a negligent amount of fuel--you won’t have to worry about refueling until after your next inter-system jaunt.

For the modestly successful data sweep, you are able to reconfigure the Cat's Cradle's "digital license plate" to temporarily read as the Silver Spoon, a food supply ship from the Solar Republic. Anyone looking at your ship will see the Silver Spoon, only breaking through the ruse with an extremely difficult test of skill.

Local police reports say the Xiaos absconded with the Green Dream south into the Grey Zone. Their route from there is unknown.

As for the seeders, the parties interested in their acquisition insist on remaining anonymous. However, you can dredge up a public inquiry on Amir's public Net, a nameless party asking about terraforming technology, giving the contact address as "Elduara System". Guy's contact Big Booty likely knows the players by name, as he claimed he could make the deals happen.

Your atmo-scans reveal there's no doubt--the seeders are in use, and likely changing the global ecosystem this very moment in unnoticeable increments.

In the future, to accomplish more with skill checks, i.e. get better successes, I'll allow any second crew member with the same skill to roll a check. On a success, they will grant the primary actor +1 on their check.

[Mister-Kent]

Guy:
The vendor looks at you with playful bewilderment. "Oh sir--every day is an occasion on Amir," she laughs. "But I know what you mean," she continues, pointing to the crowd with a stuffed bug-horse. "You are correct that today is extra special. The Caliph's Menagerie is finally opening for public viewing. Isn't that exciting? Be sure to get tickets for a tour…"

She pauses, distracted by a stylish young man standing just behind her, browsing the dolls on her cart.

The man has large black sunglasses on, and a pale blue synthetic cigarette between his lips. He seems to be studying the bizarre designs curiously, lifting one up in a black-gloved hand.

The vendor clears her throat. "Ah, yes--lots of good choices! Are you finally ready to purchase one…or do you still need time?" she asks the man.

Coleridge/Michael, you're up

[Coleridge]

Michael A. Hilkowitz, Jr.
Expert, Xenobiologist, Punk

Michael peered at the vendor, his dark glasses hiding the bullets in his glare as he observed someone once again applying the ecological whims of human terraforming to make a quick buck. He raised a lip in a slight smile, and pulled the cigarette from his mouth, taking a moment to exhale the pale blue smoke in the vendor’s direction before responding.
“To be honest lady, I don’t want any of this crap. I just wanted to see a few preview examples of what now passes for “native” biology on this dirt heap."