Starpath: Scoundrels of the Interstellar Highway - Games

The Grand Prix stadium was in sight. Frosty thought it would be a good idea to inspect the building from all angles in the event shit hits the fan and they're dragged into combat during the race. It would be nice to know where all the exits and entrances were incase the mafia tried to pull off something. He spoke over the comms. "Frosty to Muramasa crew, I am scouting out the stadium where the race is going to be held! I'll let you know if I see anything interesting!" He turned the music off and began his descent. He found a vantage point between two skyscrapers. The location was perfect as a skybridge prevented the spot from being illuminated by all the lights and lamps. He set his Voidwalker on hover, climbed out of its cockpit, walked onto its front end and started examining the stadium through some binoculars.

"Let's get out of here Chef." Ahaz leaves the ship and heads to a black market that he thinks exists.

[I]One and a half years ago...[/I] [QUOTE][video=youtube;6EKYcAS_2ys]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EKYcAS_2ys[/video][/QUOTE] Music sounded from a speaker bar nearby, providing ambiance for the work that Valkyrie was about to do. She always listened to music when she worked. Helped her relax and focus more on the task at hand. She plugged a small vial of black liquid into the gun she gripped in her hand, a small silver needle poking out the front of the device. In the chair in front of her, a man whom already had plenty of tattoos. A fellow pirate, whom had signed on for the same gig she had. "Hold still, otherwise this tattoo's gonna get fucked up." said Valkyrie, as she prepared to press the needle to the man's shoulder. "Alright, alright...so what's up with you and Taylor over there? You two bicker and fight worse than a married couple." asked the man, as he got comfortable and remained totally still. Valkyrie glanced up at who the man was talking about. Taylor sat across the room from them, talking to some other mercs and loading ammunition into the magazines she had sitting next to her. Laughing, carrying on... "We go back a few years...ever heard of Pyri II?" she asked, glancing back down at the man's shoulder. She pressed the needle to skin. Buzzing. "Yeah...shitty little mining colony, right?" "Yeah...me and some other guys decided to try and raid it a few times. Guess who was part of the SDF Auxiliary force on the ground?" "Taylor." "Right. She punched two holes in one of our dropships solo. She then proceeds to kill half of our attack force with the platoon she was commanding. Captured me and a few others. They were going to have me shipped off to some SDF prison somewhere, but we managed to escape and steal some suits to get off planet." "Ah, damn." "Mhm. I wanted revenge, so after we recruited a few more members, we tried again. Got our asses kicked once again, and she destroyed nearly all of my mechs. I was furious by that point, so I grabbed a missile launcher and fired off a shot at her. Somehow, she fucking dodges it, and it blows a hole in one of their shuttles." "Wow. You escaped, though?" "Yeah. Most of the other guys that came with me were killed, so I said fuck it and left in the dropship. Left the group I was with, and started roaming. Decided to get into the mercenary business to score some extra credits, and here I am." "So, why did you stay on if she's here?" he asked, looking over at Valkyrie. She looked up at him, pausing briefly. "Money is money...plus, who knows? I might be able to kill her one of these days." Valkyrie returns her attention to the tattoo for the next few minutes, then finally sits back. "Alright. That's it for the line work. I'll color it in later." she said, handing the tattoo gun to a mech who was standing behind her. The mech eyed the tool, before putting it on a counter nearby with various other items that Valkyrie used for her tattoo work. [B]...[/B] Valkyrie glanced back at Taylor, whom was shedding the new suit she had bought. "Hey, you coming with us? Might need a gun just in case." she asked, eyeing her. Taylor looked back at her. "Eh, fine."

Alex looked at the rest of the crew. "Well, good luck with your stuff." He exited the ship after Ahaz, hoping that the bartender wouldn't drag them into trouble.

“…so tell me, do you guys remember a Jeb Jackson on your crew?” Owen asked. Yanim nodded with a terse "hmph." After a moment, she turned around. "There's a relation, correct?" She called up Owen Jackson's file using her implant, but before she could locate any information, Owen answered her. "He's my uncle," he said. Yanim nodded again. "He was basically useless," she said. "He couldn't fight, he wasn't practical... he shouldn't have been on that crew." "Sounds about right," Owen replied. --- Frosty: CH Estimate: 1/4 [B]Actual: 1[/B] Roll Failed. Frosty watched the arena closely. There were lots of people walking around the outer edge, doing prep work for the big event. Some even appeared to be Mafia, with their anachronistic style and felt hats. However, there wasn't anything to indicate sabotage in the works. In fact, a few racers were present taking in some early practice. [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Circuit_Fiorano_(test).png/266px-Circuit_Fiorano_(test).png[/img] The course was anything but simple. Halfway contained inside a stadium, the other half of the track extended onto a raised roadway which snaked through the city center, providing a spectacle to the hotel and casino-goers to view from their windows. --- The elevator doors opened and Yanim, Rask, Abraxas, Owen, and Sledge all stepped out into the lobby. With a quick turn to the right, they moved through a smoking lounge and out the back doors of the tower into an ally. "Lucky for us, the Mafia isn't too big on surveillance," Rask explained. "They won't know who we are or where to find us until we cause enough trouble for it to be considered a pattern."

"Thing is, he's actually racing in the grand prix. Managed to see his nickname on the roster, and based on the long odds he has, I'd say his racing career is equally useless." Owen stated.

[T]http://i.imgur.com/uaRsr3dh.jpg[/t] ((Might be a bit busy tonight, infab has control over yuga and her mind reading powers))

(( Here lies Frosty. He beefed his first roll. ???? - 2385. Also, whoever is doing the tvtropes character page might wanna check Harim's entry. It calls him Porter. ))

After grabbing her jacket and slipping it on, Valkyrie joined the others as they departed from the ship and headed back into the city. Alright, time to find some good mob hangouts. "Usually, the richer bosses are in the casinos or the upscale, high end bars. But in the local bars and dives, there's always gonna be the lower end goons and such in the back counting all the credits. We can hit a few bars, scope them out. Maybe hit the jackpot. If we can't get anything in one of those places, tomorrow we'll move up to one of the casinos and try our luck there." said Valkyrie, walking backwards in front of the three as she explained. She spun around, slipping a piece of gum from her pocket into her mouth. Cherry flavored. "Hopefully we can figure out who the hell this guy is tonight." said Taylor, slipping her hands into her pocket.

[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;49912511]Rask also stopped, remembering Sledge's request, and grabbed a bottle of spiced rum from behind the bar. "Here," he said, giving it to the giant. "To drown out the taste."[/quote] Sweet! Grog! Sledge upended the bottle into his mouth, took a swig, gargled, and spat it across the room. His mouth was feeling fresh and clean as a pirate's. [QUOTE=Sega Saturn;49912511] "Keh, that means HarkArk paid him, too, right?" Rask asked. "I remember this fella, he and dwarf tied me to a chair, once." Owen and Abraxas looked confused as the group piled into an elevator car. "Back when I worked for the SS, I was part of a mission that investigated the Archius. We had the whole crew taken prisoner before the whole thing went haywire. Sledge and another one were supposed to be under my watch, but they killed my team and took me prisoner instead. [/quote] "That was you?" Sledge asked, surprised. Rask nodded. "You guys broke chairs on me," he mumbled to himself before taking a heavy gulp from the rum bottle. [QUOTE=Sega Saturn;49912511] "When the ship took off, I was one of only two still onboard. That's when the Boss introduced herself to me. But anyway, you've got to be loaded, right, big guy?" [/quote] Sledge was busy chugging the rest of the bottle. He emptied it, belched loudly, crushed the [i]entire[/i] plastic rum bottle against his forehead, and turned to Rask. "Loaded? Nah, I'm just drunk. Where're we going?" [editline]11th March 2016[/editline] [QUOTE=Sega Saturn;49914235] Yanim nodded again. "He was basically useless," she said. "He couldn't fight, he wasn't practical... he shouldn't have been on that crew." "Sounds about right," Owen replied. [/QUOTE] "What? Noooo, Jebby?" Sledge asked, hurt. "He was great! And he [i]was so[/i] useful! He was our crew's uhhh... errr..." "My point," Yanim relied curtly. "Yeah! He was your point!" Sledge replied, nodding. "He was [i]all[/i] our points," he added, looking off in fond remembrance.

Frosty, after deducing nothing was out of the ordinary except for some mafiosos doing their thing, decided to examine the stadium further as he had nothing better to do. He lifted off from the skybridge and went as high as he could. Once he was directly above the stadium, he opened the access hatch, stood right by the hatch door, and looked down with his binoculars. He probably wouldn't find anything, he thought, but he may as well observe the layout of this stadium some more.

Owen looked at Sledge with a perplexed look on his face. "What the crap did you call my uncle? Actually don't answer that...and never call him that again. Anyway...any word on the mafia's pick for the race?"

As the small group walked, Valkyrie looks over and noticed a nightclub with a small line outside. In the line were your typical club junkies, itching to get in so they can dance and drink the night away. The club itself, 'Club Prospero' as it was called on the sign above the double-door entrance, was probably run by the mob just like one of the higher end clubs up in Uptown. A perfect place to check for anything to do with the race. "Lets head in there. We can poke around and see if we can get anything." she said, as she walked over. "A nightclub? Valk, this is no time to dance your ass off." said Taylor, rolling her eyes before following after. "Just shut the fuck up and follow me." she replied, cutting a look back at Taylor, before stepping up to the doorman. "A thousand credits sound good for us four?" asked Valkyrie, holding up a pair of credit chips. The doorman's eyes widened, before looking at Taylor's revolver on her hip. "...sure, head on in. Keep the weapon holstered, though." he said, taking the credits and slipping them into his pocket. Valkyrie grinned, then motioned for Taylor and the others to follow. [QUOTE][video=youtube;nkaOZP5o__A]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkaOZP5o__A[/video][/QUOTE] Inside, dozens of people were dancing, drinking, wandering about, or just relaxing in the multitude of seats and booths. Music thumped loudly from speakers all over the place, as some women danced up on the small stage in the center of the room. Bathed in purple and blue lights. You could see men in suits in the back booths, which were off limits to all but the easiest women. Clearly mobsters. Others wandered about, and they even saw some head upstairs into where the business all took place. Valkyrie smirked. "Alright, ladies and gentleman. [I]Mingle.[/I]" she said, grinning as she took a glass of vodka off a waiter's tray as he strolled by. She gulped it down, and disappeared into the crowd of dancers in front of them. Taylor sighed, before looking over at Yuga and János. "See what I've had to deal with?" she asked, motioning towards where Valkyrie had disappeared.

Yuga motioned for Taylor and János to follow her upstairs to a balcony that overlooked the dancefloor and most of the establishment. She walked up to the glass fence and observed the interior of the club and watched its patrons in case anyone looked suspicious. She turned to János and handed him a small earpiece and motioned for him to put it in. After that she communed privately to Taylor and also to János' earpiece. "Loose lips sinks ships, as the Terrans say. As we entered this fine establishment I couldn't help to notice a private area in the back. Do you have any suggestions as to how we might gain access?"

[QUOTE]"Loose lips sinks ships, as the Terrans say. As we entered this fine establishment I couldn't help to notice a private area in the back. Do you have any suggestions as to how we might gain access?"[/QUOTE] "Well, from the looks of things, its either show cleavage or flash enough money to the bouncer over there or one of those wandering goons." said Taylor, pointing out some mobsters that were wandering about the club. "Convince them to let you into the VIP lounge, and you can chat up their bosses." Taylor looked down at her outfit. A black muscle shirt, and paramilitary cargo pants. "About the only person I'd look sexy to at the moment would be a grunt." [Heading to bed. You've got control of Taylor and Valkyrie, Radley.]

Yuga viewed Taylor and János. "Seeing as we are on a planet where the game of chance seems to be a well established pass time I suggest we do a little bit of gambling on our own." Taylor raised an eyebrow whilst János remained stonefaced. "We simply walk up to the door man and with some telepathic browsing we can say that we're there to see whoever might be from the mafia in the VIP lounge. Well inside we will simply say we're there on behalf of our 'benefactor' and ask how the plan to rig the race is going." Taylor and János were both catching onto the ruse. "If our bluff pays off, we might walk away with both the name of the driver as well as how they plan on making him win." Taylor smirked, this plan might actually work. Yuga was small and looked like the brains while her and János looked like beefy protection. Unbeknownst to the mafia they could look like pretty criminal ensemble. Yuga turned from Taylor to János, "Do you have any objections, Mr Celofán?"

Frosty: CH Estimate: 1/4 [B]Actual: 4[/B] Roll Passed. Climbing to a higher altitude, Frosty looked straight down on the circuit. From this angle, he watched as the few racers who were on the track did their practice laps. Something felt strange about the way they moved... their lines through the corners seemed inefficient. At higher speed, they might even be dangerous. Frosty observed this erratic driving for some time before discovering a pattern: the vehicles labeled 27, 60, 83, and 105 were the only four which deviated from a safe driving line, and they only did so when they weren't within close distance of any of the other dozen or so racers who weren't part of the quartet. --- "Anyway...any word on the mafia's pick for the race?" Owen asked. "No," Yanim answered. "Not that I've run into anyone important enough to know... We ought to keep your uncle in mind, Owen. He seems like a possible candidate for the mafia's racket. A patsy, if you will." "The big guy asked where we're goin' to, Boss," said Rask. "I'm a bit curious myself." "Nowhere in particular," she answered as they came to a stop at the edge of the street. "Freeing Sledge was all I called you for, you're under no obligation to stay with me. However," she said, feigning a smile as she turned to the hammer-wielding brute, "You might [I]want[/I] to stay with me, Sledge. You don't seem to conduct yourself well on your own." "Keh, she's right y'know," Rask added with a slimy grin. "We'll make sure you stay out of trouble."

[QUOTE=Sega Saturn;49919095]"You might [I]want[/I] to stay with me, Sledge. You don't seem to conduct yourself well on your own." "Keh, she's right y'know," Rask added with a slimy grin. "We'll make sure you stay out of trouble."[/QUOTE] Sledge shrugged. "My muscles have nothing better to do."

Frosty went on his radio and reported his findings to the rest of the crew. Now this was truly suspicious, those drivers were driving way too aggressively to be considered safe. They may accidentally cause a big pileup if they were driving full speed. Or perhaps, [I]that was the point[/I]. "Can anyone find out who these racers are? They are driving around rather... strangely."

[QUOTE][video=youtube;FDJtWZ2aZqU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDJtWZ2aZqU[/video][/QUOTE] As Valkyrie danced and grooved amongst the crowd of dancers, she noticed a rather husky man head towards the bathrooms on the far side of the room. His face was a bit red, his collar of his shirt unbuttoned and tie askew. He was dressed much better than these other goons, and seemed to have come from the VIP Lounge. Definitely a upper class mobster. He was also very drunk. Perfect. She could probably coerce him into revealing their plans for the race. Or at least tell her who would know about such an endeavor. She watched him, as he strolled across the club then slipped into the bathroom. Now was her chance. She maneuvered through the crowd of patrons, then made her way into the bathroom. The bathroom was actually rather nice. Marble everywhere. High class for a club such as this. She heard the man she was after in one of the stalls. She waited patiently outside the stall, till she heard him stop, and the toilet flush. The door opened, and the man noticed her. "Hello, sweetheart." she said, with a smile. Her voice was almost like silk, but the kick she delivered to his balls was more like a semi-truck. The man's eyes bulged for a second, his hands grasping between his legs as he fell backwards onto the toilet. Valkyrie stepped inside, shutting the stall door behind her and locking it. "I've got some questions for you, my well dressed friend." she said, a smile on her face as she reached into her jacket. A moment later, she pulled out a knife. A switchblade. "And you're going to tell me what I want to know, understand? Or you'll leave here missing a few parts. Now..." She pressed a button on the side of the switchblade, and the razor sharp blade popped out. "I've been hearing rumors about the upcoming race being rigged for a certain racer to win. Would you happen to know who this racer is?" [Roll for possible information]

[QUOTE]"Do you have any objections, Mr Celofán?"[/QUOTE] János squinted a little. Despite his looks, he still preferred a friendly form of interrogation. But he couldn't really object. "I have none."

((Gonna see a movie, Yuga and Markus are npc till I come back))

Frosty, having reported his findings, decided to do one last check. He began to circle the stadium, examining everything. He even flew a bit closer to the stadium than he did previously.

Yuga nodded, walking down the stairs with János and Taylor in tow and headed straight for the VIP door. The doorman stepped into the doorway as the trio approached. Yuga peeked into his mind to find a relevant name. "I'm here to conduct business with Mr Pyer on behalf of our benefactor. I was hoping this errand would go smoothly, in such a case where your performance need not come under review." Hopefully this vague reference would hint to the doorman ending up in trouble with higher ups if he did not comply. ((Roll for persuasion, saving the 100%:er for later.)) ((Gone to sleep))

((Infab- careful of subduing NPC characters without a roll, even ones you've created yourself. The reason is that, given the fact that you have a character who's basically helpless, I'm forced to give you an abnormally high-chance CH roll.)) "Would you happen to know who this racer is?" Valkyrie asked. Valkyrie: CH Estimate: 7/10 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Failed. ((Although... sometimes you just can't change blind luck.)) "Yeah... yeah..." the rich mobster replied, holding onto his groin. "Fucking... augh..." Valkyrie had kicked him so hard that the man could barely think straight. He doubled over, and Val, growing impatient, reached out to push his head back. The Mafioso responded by suddenly seizing onto her arm and standing, pulling her down while thrusting himself upward in a head butt maneuver. Mafioso: [B]4[/B] x Territory(x3) = 12 Valkyrie: DEF Roll = 2 [B]10 DMG[/B] Valkyrie HP: 115/125 Pressing his momentary advantage, the mobster fell to the side of Val, unlatching the door and collapsing to the ground just outside. Still in agonizing pain, he crawled on his knees and elbows toward the door. He yelled for help, but the booming music outside drowned him out. --- Yuga was meanwhile taking a different approach. Appealing to the doorman's sense of vulnerability without necessarily threatening him, she hoped that he would stand aside on his own volition. CH Estimate: 1/4 x 3 (Suggestion) = 3/4 [B]Actual: 3[/B] Roll Passed. "Go ahead," the guard replied. "Make yourself comfortable- Mr Pyer ain't here at the moment, uh, he actually just went to the restroom. When he gets back I'll let him know you've arrived." "Thank you, that will be all," Yuga replied as the trio entered the VIP lounge. Inside, the music was far quieter. Booths arranged with dividing screens provided privacy of conversation to the rich patrons as high-class drinks were served and expensive cigars distributed. The Muramasa crew stuck out like sore thumbs here, but in the hazy delirium of a never ending party, the "lifetime members" who found themselves seated at these tables had little curiosity about the mercenary-looking characters who just breezed in. A nervous attendant approached them. "Have a seat anywhere you like," he said, uncertainly. "We'll be by shortly..."

[Oh, sorry. I'll keep that in mind next time.] Valkyrie's hands went to her forehead, pressed against it where the man's headbutt had impacted. Fuck that hurt! She blinked a few times, before noticing the man had crawled out of the stall and was on his way across the floor to the door. Shit! "Oh you motherfucker..." she growled through gritted teeth, walking around beside the man. A moment later, she tried to kick him again, aiming for the side of the man's jaw. [B]...[/B] Taylor nodded, before looking over towards Yuga. Well, they were in. Time for Yuga and János to work their magic.

[Sorry I've not made a post in a few pages, been busy with papers. I'll keep an eye on things and jump in when the opportunity arises, and doesn't clash with current continuity. Maybe Hariim could provide some support over the networks?]

Frosty decided he did enough examining, made a record of his findings, and hurried back to the Muramasa to tell the crew before the race starts. Car numbers 27, 60, 83, and 105... He thought of the possibilities of why they were driving so aggressively, trying to figure out what the Mafia's game here was. "Perhaps, they will let the winning racer ahead of them, and run anyone who tries to pass them off the road. Or maybe, they are going to create a blockade and prevent anyone from passing them once the winner is ahead?" He thought to himself.

Yuga went to stand at the large window at the back of the VIP lounge and viewed the citys lit skyline. She walked over to a sofa and sat down to absorb some vapors. Whilst doing this she tried looking for neural activity with the patrons to see if any of them were connected to the rigging of the race. ((Roll for detection))

Hariim settles into his quarters and gets his stuff all set up and in order once he's on the ship. When the op at the race starts, he starts jacking into the local networks at the track. After just a few minutes he's accessed all surveillance systems there, and is perusing the local computers. He calls Yanim and Yuga over comms. "Hey, bosses. I've jacked into the track's network and I've got views from all the cameras. Where do you need me?" Bucky sits with Yuga, her mechanical eyes scanning the room quickly and efficiently. She's wearing a nice plain dress one might wear to a formal gathering. [Roll for detection as well]