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<blockquote data-quote="Ao the Overkitty" data-source="post: 3083346" data-attributes="member: 9758"><p><span style="font-size: 18px"><strong>“Episode 11 –Financial Woes” - First Session</strong></span></p><p></p><p><em>Synopsis of 9/18/06 session - subtitled <strong>I am further convinced I need to kill Mort</strong></em></p><p></p><p>Campan’s hair managed to grow back during the month’s travel that followed. At least Jenny’s work was mildly appreciated when Mort noticed <em>Kick Me</em> shaved into Campan’s back. Daniel also got to view this, but his only response was to shake his head.</p><p></p><p>During that month Asta decided to focus Jenny’s reading assignments on medical ethics. When Jenny finished the material unusually fast Asta got the impression Jenny had just skimmed it, or not read it at all. When Asta assigned Jenny to write a small report on it, it was very vague and looked to have been partially pulled from the Cortex.</p><p></p><p>Mort and Asta spent most of his time getting the still up and running. Since it was set up in the engine room, Campan pretty much avoided the creation and brewing process.</p><p></p><p>Take had scheduled a stop on Beylix to at least partially fuel up before heading on to Regina. The reasoning was that they’d want to be seen as little as necessary on Regina and they should probably have something to get away yet.</p><p></p><p><strong>Alex:</strong> <em> Junkyard of the Core Worlds! Treasure trove of the Rim! Beylix is commonly known as the dumping ground and scavenging center of the ‘Verse and prized possession of Unified Reclamation.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Gabe:</strong> <em>So what are we going to do to replace Mort?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Yeah. We’ll just leave Mort here and pick him up later.</em></p><p></p><p>The clouds parted as they made their approach to the city of NewHouse. It looked like a target carved in the middle of a vast field of rusted metal and packing crates. The Port tower directed them to pad three without asking for identification. As they touched down they could see that pads one, two, and four were occupied by other ships. The other ships didn’t look like any they had pissed off or stolen from, so they mostly ignored them. Mort looked them over from the cockpit to see if they were worth stealing.</p><p></p><p>As they were congregated on the bridge, Daniel spouted out a little bit of information he had learned over the years about this planet and scavenging. This led Asta and Daniel to wonder how easy it was to get a scavenging contract and if they actually needed one. Campan pointed out that it was a big deal that Jessalyn had such a contract. He was ignored. Asta decided she’d check on getting a contract within the next couple of hours.</p><p></p><p>Take went down to the cargo bay doors to let in some fresh air and look around the port. The port itself looked like a decent sized landing pad and repair facility. There was a large crane on both ends of the dock and a good sized team of mechanics were scurrying around the tarmac. A fat, greasy middle-aged man in a dirty overalls and wearing a tool belt walked over towards the ship.</p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>Hey Mort. Looks like someone is heading on over to talk to us. Who’s going to go out to talk to him?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>I think Take already went out. I’d better follow cause I know someone is going to start a fight.</em></p><p></p><p>Daniel and Mort headed down with Asta following behind. Meanwhile, Take called out to the man walking up to them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Take:</strong> <em>Hey, fat and greasy. You a chef?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> (drops his hand towards a wrench on his side and glares) <em>I’m a mechanic. You got a PROBLEM with THAT?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Take:</strong> <em>No, no. You just remind me of someone.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> (waving wrench) <em>Does it LOOK like I COOK around here?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Take:</strong> <em>Well, you’re greasy. Cooking is greasy.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> (yelling) <em>IT’S ENGINE GREASE!</em></p><p></p><p>The group hastened their approach upon hearing the yelling. Asta tried to distract Take and get him away from the enraged mechanic. Said mechanic turned towards the equally greasy Mort.</p><p></p><p><strong> Mechanic:</strong> (yelling and gesturing at Take) <em>What kind of MORON is this guy?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>He’s like this to everyone.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>What’s going on?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> (to Take) <em> Umm, sir? Sir? Look, there’s, ummm, shinnies back in the ship…</em></p><p></p><p>Campan sat down to watch.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>What just happened? He just asked me if I was a chef?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Take:</strong> <em>I’m a pilot, not a ferret.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> (confused look)<em> Not… a… ferret?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Uh, Campan?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>I’m not touching this, I’m watching.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>Campan, get our friend her a cold beer.</em></p><p></p><p>Campan was annoyed that he had to miss the fun, but agreed and headed back into the ship.</p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>I take it you’re in charge around here?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>I’m the head mechanic. Anything you need done?</em></p><p></p><p>Daniel explained that they didn’t currently have the cash for the parts they needed. He then asked how you go about getting a permit to scavenge. The mechanic said it involved talking to the Alliance, lots of forms, and an extensive background check. During this, Campan came back with the engine still beer, which he handed to the mechanic.</p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>How many credits?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>Huh?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>How many credits?</em> (pause) <em>That’s right to the point.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>Uh, for what? He said that there wasn’t anything you needed.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>He’s asking the wrong questions. How much do you want for, uh, letting us look around?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>Not exactly my domain. </em></p><p></p><p>The mechanic said another short sentence, but Campan talked right over it.</p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>Then what are we asking him for?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>I wasn’t asking him. He walked over and said hi.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>I wouldn’t suggest it.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>You wouldn’t suggest it?</em></p><p></p><p>But the mechanic was distracted as he took a drink of his beer. He coughed a little.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> (raspy voice) <em>Strong.</em></p><p></p><p>The mechanic then put his hand out in front of him and moved it back and forth, as if he was testing vision.</p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel</strong> <em>Won’t make you go blind and it’s good.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>If it burns blue, it’s good. Green bad.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mechanic:</strong> <em>I don’t keep fire on me. Engine grease.</em></p><p></p><p>Daniel then explained that he didn’t like dealing with eh Alliance any more than necessary. The mechanic directed them to the Public Works building, but said that just starts the process.</p><p></p><p>Daniel asked if he was who they would talk to about salvaging and he said yes. Mort asked if it was okay for them to go along with him to point out stuff they’d like. He said he’d have to check his contract, but he wasn’t sure that was legal. He had no intention of losing his license. He said that usually people just gave him a list.</p><p></p><p>They eventually dropped the subject and told him they wanted to a third of a tank of fuel. Mort decided that just wouldn’t do and started trying to figure out how they could make money rock. He asked the mechanic a series of questions about what they were lacking and what types of jobs were around. When he didn’t like the answers he got her started pondering how they could illegally make some money.</p><p></p><p>The mechanic told them they had a five hour wait, since they had ships ahead of them and left them to their own devices.</p><p></p><p>Back on the ship, Ezmerelda was being bugged by the passengers. Since they had been stuck for two months in cramped quarters they bombarded her with questions.</p><p></p><p><em>Are we there? Can we go out? I’d like some breathable air. Everything smells like beer here.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda pretty much ignored them.</p><p></p><p>As Asta headed back into the ship, Jenny wandered over to Asta and asked her how long they would be there and if she could go out. Asta told her they’d be there for at least five hours. Jenny said she’d take a comm. and be back in a few hours.</p><p></p><p>Once the mechanic was gone, Daniel turned to Mort and told him he didn’t want to wait around on planet long enough to find work. They were just here for some fuel. Mort was unhappy about the amount of fuel they had procured and wanted a full tank. Daniel explained that the plan was to land on Regina, sell the rest of the food and cruise over land to find a place to hide the ship. Mort said that wouldn’t get them any money. Daniel said that that was what the job was for. Mort was very adamant that this was a bad plan and they needed money and a full tank of fuel now. He then went into outlining a big plan revolving around stealing gas from the other ships docked there.</p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda eventually got annoyed with the incessant questioning and headed out to go get a drink at a bar. The passengers decided that, since she could go, they’d follow her.</p><p></p><p>Mort looked around the landing area and went into further depth and crime. He started talking about making sure ships were empty in a vague sense and asking Asta if she could find out how the port and city were powered.</p><p></p><p>As Asta headed inside the ship to check on that information, Daniel pulled Mort aside and told him they were not pulling anything on this planet because they had a job they didn’t need to attract attention to. Mort nodded and then went back to figuring out how to pull off this crime.</p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Gabe, you might want to use your knowledge: Mort to know what he’s planning.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Dan:</strong> <em>Can I buy Wildcard: Duh to know when we’re about to do something really stupid?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>What kind of backup power do they have? Is it nuclear?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Gabe:</strong> <em>Drama Point (plot twist) Mort is on the ship and we’re leaving.</em></p><p></p><p>*<em>group breaks out laughing</em>*</p><p></p><p><strong>Ryan:</strong> <em>Wow. That <strong>IS</strong> a plot twist.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>But what kind of power plant? </em></p><p></p><p>At this point, the GM broke.</p><p></p><p>For the sake of the almighty plot (and the remainder of the GM’s sanity), Mort receded to his room and spent the next five hours planning his big fuel crime. He made several schematics and diagrams. Daniel checked in on him to make sure he was sufficiently occupied. When he thought Mort might finish early, he asked Mort to explain his plan in detail and asked several questions. Mort finished his plans just in time for Daniel to tell him they were fueled up and leaving.</p><p></p><p>During this time, Ezmerelda decided she could do some crime while she was out. She went to a bar and looked for a mark while sipping a beer. The passengers all planted themselves at a table.</p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>They complained about the ship smelling like beer, so while they’re out they went to a bar. Brilliant.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda picked a decent looking ship captain that was drunk and alone. She coddled up to him for a while and got him to pass out. She then stole his cash when no one was looking.</p><p></p><p>During this time, Asta spent her time researching salvage permits on the Cortex. The process looked like what the mechanic described.</p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>Mort, we need better computer stuff.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Yeah, I know.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>I’d be much easier to make a permit than to go through all this paperwork.</em></p><p></p><p>Everyone got back to the ship with time to spare. Ezmerelda left the bar without the passengers, but they quickly noticed she was gone and ran after her.</p><p></p><p>The players then got into a discussion about plot twists.</p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Well, I think some of our plot twists are a bit too large, so they get nixed.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Dan:</strong> <em>There have been lots of attempts to use plot twists, but you didn’t seem to like ‘plot twist: his heart explodes.’</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Alex:</strong> <em>Correction. There have been three <strong>reasonable</strong> plot twists.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>See, ‘plot twist: power plant explodes’ would have been perfectly reasonable. It would have provided sufficient distraction for us to steal gas.</em></p><p></p><p>*<em>Alex almost cries</em>*</p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em> Plot twist: The fuel gauge was broken and they filled up the tank?</em></p><p></p><p>They then peer-pressured Dan into spending a drama point on that plot twist.</p><p></p><p>Daniel pointed out the full tank was full. Take said they must have screwed up and hastened take off. Daniel went off to make sure Mort’s plan got saved for later use.</p><p></p><p>The last leg of the trip to Regina took two and a half days. Daniel waited for Mort and Campan to come up with a plan for the bank heist so that he could revise it or throw it out.</p><p></p><p><strong>Campan:</strong> <em>Alright, sir. We get these things called GUNS. We point them at people and yell a lot.</em></p><p></p><p>Daniel talked about the cleaning crew or cooking crew being people they’d need to deal with and he felt they needed to disable the rails. He then pointed out that there was likely a patrol boat orbiting the planet. Mort talked about how blowing up the power station on Beylix would have been a great diversion to get the patrol boat out of there.</p><p></p><p><strong>Gabe:</strong> <em>Plot Twist: We’re on the bridge.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Alex:</strong> <em>Umm, you don’t need a drama point for that.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Dan:</strong> <em>Yeah, you just kind of walk up there.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Gabe:</strong> <em>Of the patrol boat!</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ryan:</strong> <em>We transport in, Mort is wearing a red shirt.</em></p><p></p><p>Asta proposed they do this job very discretely and fly far away quickly. Mort proposed doing the job on ‘Taco Tuesday’ and dole out food poisoning. There was lots of discussion about this and what to do about poisoning of the people who didn’t eat at the cafeteria. Mort brought up the concept of poisoning the water supply, but strangely seemed hesitant about ‘poisoning an entire town.’ Asta reassured him that it was okay if they just made people sleepy for a while.</p><p></p><p>Eventually they made it to the planet. Asta talked about hacking into the Corone Mining Consortium’s systems, but found them encrypted. She felt they’d need to borrow someone’s computer for that. Mort went on the local Cortex to look at wanted posters. He found that Daniel, Take, and himself were fairly recent additions to the list. He also found a less recent one for himself and a very minor one for Ezmerelda.</p><p></p><p>Mort and Daniel discussed infiltration. They felt taking out the cafeteria staff or the janitorial staff and impersonating them was the best way to go. Mort felt guns would be a bad idea, since he gets shot when he carries them.</p><p></p><p><strong>Gabe:</strong> (writing into his notes) <em>Become lowly gunless workers.</em></p><p></p><p>They discussed for a very long time what to do. Paul kept trying to get the ship to Regina and landed, but Gabe kept thwarting this. Paul’s attempts to get Dan to say they land also failed.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>We also have a plan where Asta needs a computer.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>Why?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>So she can steal information.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Daniel:</strong> <em>Oh. That’s a good plan.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>Then we should LAND so she can actually do that!</em></p><p></p><p>Take, with his excellent piloting skills, avoided detection by the Alliance patrol boat in the area and landed the <strong>Orasca</strong> in a nice canyon near the mining town of Cerbeza. It was a moderate sized town of about two hundred people. The town had twenty nine buildings with majority of the structures were tents and non-permanent ones.</p><p></p><p>Once landed, the passengers bugged Ezmerelda.</p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Oh, god. Get them out of here.</em></p><p></p><p>They asked her if they were there. Ezmerelda told them yes. When they asked her if they were in town, she shooed them away. They figured this was a yes and headed for the door. Daniel headed them off and herded them to the shuttle. Once they were there, he rounded up Mort, Asta, Take and Ezmerelda so they could take the passengers into town and do some crime. The five man shuttle was very crowded with nine people crammed into it. Take and Mort got the only two seats, leaving Asta and Ezmerelda crammed in between the passengers. Neither were very amused and pretty sure they got groped a few times. The shuttle flew very low to the ground and, despite Take’s long hours of flight time, the journey was anything but smooth.</p><p></p><p>The contact Logan had given them for this planet was a local rum-runner type smuggler for the camps named Mascovich. Daniel had plans to drop a signal buoy out in the middle of the desert and wait for a response for a meeting, but wasn’t going to enact this plan until the others returned from town. So this led to Campan and Daniel sitting around bored on the ship.</p><p></p><p>The shuttle landed near town and everyone but Take scrambled for the free, open space of the desert in the evening.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>There you go. Town! On the planet you requested.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Take:</strong> <em>Have a good life.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> (closes door) <em>Yeah. Clearly when we have more money, better shuttle.</em></p><p></p><p>They waited a little bit before Mort, Asta followed Ezmerelda into town. Mort was wearing a black shirt and a tool belt and was without his brown coat. Asta was wearing run of the mill clothing (nothing special). Ezmerelda was dressed up nicely.</p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>Maybe they’ll have coffee.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Oh dear. We don’t need to scare another bartender.</em></p><p></p><p>The first bar they came to was called ‘<em>The Dead Dog Saloon</em>,’ which seemed to be doing a good amount of business that night. Ezmerelda wandered in to check things out, leaving Asta and Mort outside.</p><p></p><p>The saloon had nine round tables with room for five or six patrons at each. There were stools at the bar for another eight patrons. The bar had a grimy mirror placed along the wall behind it to let patrons see behind them. The bartender stood behind the bar serving drinks. He was about six foot tall, bulky man missing his right arm. He was in his late thirties with his hair not showing any signs of going grey yet. He wore a dingy, brown vest that had a bullet hole in it and the right sleeve sewn up at the shoulder into a little pocket. There was a large congregation of people near the back of the bar, about thirty five people or so, though Ezmerelda couldn’t see what it was for. They were wearing nicer clothes than a miner would and they were bathed. There were a few miners scattered around the tables and seated at the bar. Two pleasant, if plain serving girls were moving about the bar serving food and drinks to the people at tables and at the back of the bar.</p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender looked her up and down.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Are you sure you want a beer at this establishment?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ezmerelda:</strong> <em>Why wouldn’t I?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>The bar down the street is much more suited for your… type.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ezmerelda:</strong> (looks down at herself to check what she looks like) <em>Um, can I get business over there?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Yup.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ezmerelda:</strong> <em>Will I make good money?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Can’t say.</em></p><p></p><p>The bartender then moved down the bar to take care of a customer.</p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>Clearly this is the wrong bar.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda walked out of the bar to meet up with a confused Mort and Asta.</p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>That was fast.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Ezmerelda:</strong> <em>There should be a bar down the street that should be… better.</em></p><p></p><p>Down the street, they got to the a place called ‘<em>The Hole</em>.’ Mort walked up and down the street to make sure that there were, indeed, only two bars. This bar only had five tables which weren’t very well kept up. Everything about the place was a little creaky. The bar itself was more of a large crate than a place to sit.</p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>No, you wanted the other one.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda took one look at the bar and headed back to <em>The Dead Dog Saloon</em>. She walked in and headed over to the group in the back. She saddled up to one of the guys and stumbled into him. She apologized and leaned into him, wiping some of his spilled beer off of him. Since she couldn’t find out why these people were celebrating, she asked him why. The man told her they were celebrating the retirement of Anderson from Accounts Receivable.</p><p></p><p>Mort and Asta wandered in and sat down at the bar. Ezmerelda grabbed a beer from one of the serving girls and paid her. Mort noticed the bartender glaring at Ezmerelda a little later. Ezmerelda decided to stay with the man at the party for quite a while. She found out he was from Anderson’s unit. She offered to buy him a drink and ordered him a beer. When the order came up to the bar, the bartender spit in the beer before sending it back.</p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>That’s really quite unhygienic!</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Please, dear. </em> (Asta starts to talk again, but he cuts her off) <em>It’s not your beer.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>As a doctor I must protest this terribly. I mean, not to impugn the health here but isn’t that a little.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Nah, it’s fine.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Asta:</strong> <em>There are reasons why you are doing this? Some local tradition I am unaware of?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Yup! Don’t like it, head down the road.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Don’t worry, dear. It’ll be fine.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda handed the foamy beer to the guy and smiled. She continued buying him ‘foamy’ beers.</p><p></p><p><strong>Dan:</strong> <em>Did they wander into an Alliance bar on U-Day?</em></p><p></p><p>After a while, the bartender came back over to Mort.</p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>I know you from somewhere.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>I’ve been a lot of places. </em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Were you in the war?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Uh, kind of. </em> (pause) <em>Merc.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Bartender:</strong> <em>Fer what side?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Mort:</strong> <em>Alliance.</em></p><p></p><p>The bartender walked away. The next time Mort ordered beers the bartender charged him more. Mort neglected to comment and just nursed his beer. The party in the back went on for several hours and Mort and Asta had mild conversation.</p><p></p><p><strong>Paul:</strong> <em>We talk shop and try to not look like psychotic, deranged individuals.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Alex:</strong> <em>That’s difficult for both of you.</em></p><p></p><p>Back on the ship, Daniel and Campan were getting very bored. Since it had been several hours, Daniel decided to go leave the message buoy so he and Campan took the mule and closed up the ship. He left a note in case the others got back before them.</p><p></p><p>When cake was served at the bar, Mort snuck into the line to get a piece. Ezmerelda ‘accidentally’ dropped her cake down her dress. She asked him if he had someplace where she could wash it off. He told her there was a water spigot out front. She steered him to offering to use the water at his place.</p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Does he look down her dress?</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Alex:</strong> <em>No, he doesn’t actually.</em></p><p></p><p><strong>Liz:</strong> <em>Oh, that’s so sad! That means he might actually be a nice guy.</em></p><p></p><p>Ezmerelda started to lead him out the door.</p><p></p><p>*<em><strong>Fade to Black</strong></em>*</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ao the Overkitty, post: 3083346, member: 9758"] [size=5][b]“Episode 11 –Financial Woes” - First Session[/b][/size] [i]Synopsis of 9/18/06 session - subtitled [b]I am further convinced I need to kill Mort[/b][/i] Campan’s hair managed to grow back during the month’s travel that followed. At least Jenny’s work was mildly appreciated when Mort noticed [i]Kick Me[/i] shaved into Campan’s back. Daniel also got to view this, but his only response was to shake his head. During that month Asta decided to focus Jenny’s reading assignments on medical ethics. When Jenny finished the material unusually fast Asta got the impression Jenny had just skimmed it, or not read it at all. When Asta assigned Jenny to write a small report on it, it was very vague and looked to have been partially pulled from the Cortex. Mort and Asta spent most of his time getting the still up and running. Since it was set up in the engine room, Campan pretty much avoided the creation and brewing process. Take had scheduled a stop on Beylix to at least partially fuel up before heading on to Regina. The reasoning was that they’d want to be seen as little as necessary on Regina and they should probably have something to get away yet. [b]Alex:[/b] [i] Junkyard of the Core Worlds! Treasure trove of the Rim! Beylix is commonly known as the dumping ground and scavenging center of the ‘Verse and prized possession of Unified Reclamation.[/i] [b]Gabe:[/b] [i]So what are we going to do to replace Mort?[/i] [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Yeah. We’ll just leave Mort here and pick him up later.[/i] The clouds parted as they made their approach to the city of NewHouse. It looked like a target carved in the middle of a vast field of rusted metal and packing crates. The Port tower directed them to pad three without asking for identification. As they touched down they could see that pads one, two, and four were occupied by other ships. The other ships didn’t look like any they had pissed off or stolen from, so they mostly ignored them. Mort looked them over from the cockpit to see if they were worth stealing. As they were congregated on the bridge, Daniel spouted out a little bit of information he had learned over the years about this planet and scavenging. This led Asta and Daniel to wonder how easy it was to get a scavenging contract and if they actually needed one. Campan pointed out that it was a big deal that Jessalyn had such a contract. He was ignored. Asta decided she’d check on getting a contract within the next couple of hours. Take went down to the cargo bay doors to let in some fresh air and look around the port. The port itself looked like a decent sized landing pad and repair facility. There was a large crane on both ends of the dock and a good sized team of mechanics were scurrying around the tarmac. A fat, greasy middle-aged man in a dirty overalls and wearing a tool belt walked over towards the ship. [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]Hey Mort. Looks like someone is heading on over to talk to us. Who’s going to go out to talk to him?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]I think Take already went out. I’d better follow cause I know someone is going to start a fight.[/i] Daniel and Mort headed down with Asta following behind. Meanwhile, Take called out to the man walking up to them. [b]Take:[/b] [i]Hey, fat and greasy. You a chef?[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] (drops his hand towards a wrench on his side and glares) [i]I’m a mechanic. You got a PROBLEM with THAT?[/i] [b]Take:[/b] [i]No, no. You just remind me of someone.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] (waving wrench) [i]Does it LOOK like I COOK around here?[/i] [b]Take:[/b] [i]Well, you’re greasy. Cooking is greasy.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] (yelling) [i]IT’S ENGINE GREASE![/i] The group hastened their approach upon hearing the yelling. Asta tried to distract Take and get him away from the enraged mechanic. Said mechanic turned towards the equally greasy Mort. [b] Mechanic:[/b] (yelling and gesturing at Take) [i]What kind of MORON is this guy?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]He’s like this to everyone.[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]What’s going on?[/i] [b]Asta:[/b] (to Take) [i] Umm, sir? Sir? Look, there’s, ummm, shinnies back in the ship…[/i] Campan sat down to watch. [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]What just happened? He just asked me if I was a chef?[/i] [b]Take:[/b] [i]I’m a pilot, not a ferret.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] (confused look)[i] Not… a… ferret?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Uh, Campan?[/i] [b]Campan:[/b] [i]I’m not touching this, I’m watching.[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]Campan, get our friend her a cold beer.[/i] Campan was annoyed that he had to miss the fun, but agreed and headed back into the ship. [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]I take it you’re in charge around here?[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]I’m the head mechanic. Anything you need done?[/i] Daniel explained that they didn’t currently have the cash for the parts they needed. He then asked how you go about getting a permit to scavenge. The mechanic said it involved talking to the Alliance, lots of forms, and an extensive background check. During this, Campan came back with the engine still beer, which he handed to the mechanic. [b]Campan:[/b] [i]How many credits?[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]Huh?[/i] [b]Campan:[/b] [i]How many credits?[/i] (pause) [i]That’s right to the point.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]Uh, for what? He said that there wasn’t anything you needed.[/i] [b]Campan:[/b] [i]He’s asking the wrong questions. How much do you want for, uh, letting us look around?[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]Not exactly my domain. [/i] The mechanic said another short sentence, but Campan talked right over it. [b]Campan:[/b] [i]Then what are we asking him for?[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]I wasn’t asking him. He walked over and said hi.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]I wouldn’t suggest it.[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]You wouldn’t suggest it?[/i] But the mechanic was distracted as he took a drink of his beer. He coughed a little. [b]Mechanic:[/b] (raspy voice) [i]Strong.[/i] The mechanic then put his hand out in front of him and moved it back and forth, as if he was testing vision. [b]Daniel[/b] [i]Won’t make you go blind and it’s good.[/i] [b]Campan:[/b] [i]If it burns blue, it’s good. Green bad.[/i] [b]Mechanic:[/b] [i]I don’t keep fire on me. Engine grease.[/i] Daniel then explained that he didn’t like dealing with eh Alliance any more than necessary. The mechanic directed them to the Public Works building, but said that just starts the process. Daniel asked if he was who they would talk to about salvaging and he said yes. Mort asked if it was okay for them to go along with him to point out stuff they’d like. He said he’d have to check his contract, but he wasn’t sure that was legal. He had no intention of losing his license. He said that usually people just gave him a list. They eventually dropped the subject and told him they wanted to a third of a tank of fuel. Mort decided that just wouldn’t do and started trying to figure out how they could make money rock. He asked the mechanic a series of questions about what they were lacking and what types of jobs were around. When he didn’t like the answers he got her started pondering how they could illegally make some money. The mechanic told them they had a five hour wait, since they had ships ahead of them and left them to their own devices. Back on the ship, Ezmerelda was being bugged by the passengers. Since they had been stuck for two months in cramped quarters they bombarded her with questions. [i]Are we there? Can we go out? I’d like some breathable air. Everything smells like beer here.[/i] Ezmerelda pretty much ignored them. As Asta headed back into the ship, Jenny wandered over to Asta and asked her how long they would be there and if she could go out. Asta told her they’d be there for at least five hours. Jenny said she’d take a comm. and be back in a few hours. Once the mechanic was gone, Daniel turned to Mort and told him he didn’t want to wait around on planet long enough to find work. They were just here for some fuel. Mort was unhappy about the amount of fuel they had procured and wanted a full tank. Daniel explained that the plan was to land on Regina, sell the rest of the food and cruise over land to find a place to hide the ship. Mort said that wouldn’t get them any money. Daniel said that that was what the job was for. Mort was very adamant that this was a bad plan and they needed money and a full tank of fuel now. He then went into outlining a big plan revolving around stealing gas from the other ships docked there. Ezmerelda eventually got annoyed with the incessant questioning and headed out to go get a drink at a bar. The passengers decided that, since she could go, they’d follow her. Mort looked around the landing area and went into further depth and crime. He started talking about making sure ships were empty in a vague sense and asking Asta if she could find out how the port and city were powered. As Asta headed inside the ship to check on that information, Daniel pulled Mort aside and told him they were not pulling anything on this planet because they had a job they didn’t need to attract attention to. Mort nodded and then went back to figuring out how to pull off this crime. [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Gabe, you might want to use your knowledge: Mort to know what he’s planning.[/i] [b]Dan:[/b] [i]Can I buy Wildcard: Duh to know when we’re about to do something really stupid?[/i] [b]Paul:[/b] [i]What kind of backup power do they have? Is it nuclear?[/i] [b]Gabe:[/b] [i]Drama Point (plot twist) Mort is on the ship and we’re leaving.[/i] *[i]group breaks out laughing[/i]* [b]Ryan:[/b] [i]Wow. That [b]IS[/b] a plot twist.[/i] [b]Paul:[/b] [i]But what kind of power plant? [/i] At this point, the GM broke. For the sake of the almighty plot (and the remainder of the GM’s sanity), Mort receded to his room and spent the next five hours planning his big fuel crime. He made several schematics and diagrams. Daniel checked in on him to make sure he was sufficiently occupied. When he thought Mort might finish early, he asked Mort to explain his plan in detail and asked several questions. Mort finished his plans just in time for Daniel to tell him they were fueled up and leaving. During this time, Ezmerelda decided she could do some crime while she was out. She went to a bar and looked for a mark while sipping a beer. The passengers all planted themselves at a table. [b]Paul:[/b] [i]They complained about the ship smelling like beer, so while they’re out they went to a bar. Brilliant.[/i] Ezmerelda picked a decent looking ship captain that was drunk and alone. She coddled up to him for a while and got him to pass out. She then stole his cash when no one was looking. During this time, Asta spent her time researching salvage permits on the Cortex. The process looked like what the mechanic described. [b]Asta:[/b] [i]Mort, we need better computer stuff.[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Yeah, I know.[/i] [b]Asta:[/b] [i]I’d be much easier to make a permit than to go through all this paperwork.[/i] Everyone got back to the ship with time to spare. Ezmerelda left the bar without the passengers, but they quickly noticed she was gone and ran after her. The players then got into a discussion about plot twists. [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Well, I think some of our plot twists are a bit too large, so they get nixed.[/i] [b]Dan:[/b] [i]There have been lots of attempts to use plot twists, but you didn’t seem to like ‘plot twist: his heart explodes.’[/i] [b]Alex:[/b] [i]Correction. There have been three [b]reasonable[/b] plot twists.[/i] [b]Paul:[/b] [i]See, ‘plot twist: power plant explodes’ would have been perfectly reasonable. It would have provided sufficient distraction for us to steal gas.[/i] *[i]Alex almost cries[/i]* [b]Paul:[/b] [i] Plot twist: The fuel gauge was broken and they filled up the tank?[/i] They then peer-pressured Dan into spending a drama point on that plot twist. Daniel pointed out the full tank was full. Take said they must have screwed up and hastened take off. Daniel went off to make sure Mort’s plan got saved for later use. The last leg of the trip to Regina took two and a half days. Daniel waited for Mort and Campan to come up with a plan for the bank heist so that he could revise it or throw it out. [b]Campan:[/b] [i]Alright, sir. We get these things called GUNS. We point them at people and yell a lot.[/i] Daniel talked about the cleaning crew or cooking crew being people they’d need to deal with and he felt they needed to disable the rails. He then pointed out that there was likely a patrol boat orbiting the planet. Mort talked about how blowing up the power station on Beylix would have been a great diversion to get the patrol boat out of there. [b]Gabe:[/b] [i]Plot Twist: We’re on the bridge.[/i] [b]Alex:[/b] [i]Umm, you don’t need a drama point for that.[/i] [b]Dan:[/b] [i]Yeah, you just kind of walk up there.[/i] [b]Gabe:[/b] [i]Of the patrol boat![/i] [b]Ryan:[/b] [i]We transport in, Mort is wearing a red shirt.[/i] Asta proposed they do this job very discretely and fly far away quickly. Mort proposed doing the job on ‘Taco Tuesday’ and dole out food poisoning. There was lots of discussion about this and what to do about poisoning of the people who didn’t eat at the cafeteria. Mort brought up the concept of poisoning the water supply, but strangely seemed hesitant about ‘poisoning an entire town.’ Asta reassured him that it was okay if they just made people sleepy for a while. Eventually they made it to the planet. Asta talked about hacking into the Corone Mining Consortium’s systems, but found them encrypted. She felt they’d need to borrow someone’s computer for that. Mort went on the local Cortex to look at wanted posters. He found that Daniel, Take, and himself were fairly recent additions to the list. He also found a less recent one for himself and a very minor one for Ezmerelda. Mort and Daniel discussed infiltration. They felt taking out the cafeteria staff or the janitorial staff and impersonating them was the best way to go. Mort felt guns would be a bad idea, since he gets shot when he carries them. [b]Gabe:[/b] (writing into his notes) [i]Become lowly gunless workers.[/i] They discussed for a very long time what to do. Paul kept trying to get the ship to Regina and landed, but Gabe kept thwarting this. Paul’s attempts to get Dan to say they land also failed. [b]Mort:[/b] [i]We also have a plan where Asta needs a computer.[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]Why?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]So she can steal information.[/i] [b]Daniel:[/b] [i]Oh. That’s a good plan.[/i] [b]Paul:[/b] [i]Then we should LAND so she can actually do that![/i] Take, with his excellent piloting skills, avoided detection by the Alliance patrol boat in the area and landed the [b]Orasca[/b] in a nice canyon near the mining town of Cerbeza. It was a moderate sized town of about two hundred people. The town had twenty nine buildings with majority of the structures were tents and non-permanent ones. Once landed, the passengers bugged Ezmerelda. [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Oh, god. Get them out of here.[/i] They asked her if they were there. Ezmerelda told them yes. When they asked her if they were in town, she shooed them away. They figured this was a yes and headed for the door. Daniel headed them off and herded them to the shuttle. Once they were there, he rounded up Mort, Asta, Take and Ezmerelda so they could take the passengers into town and do some crime. The five man shuttle was very crowded with nine people crammed into it. Take and Mort got the only two seats, leaving Asta and Ezmerelda crammed in between the passengers. Neither were very amused and pretty sure they got groped a few times. The shuttle flew very low to the ground and, despite Take’s long hours of flight time, the journey was anything but smooth. The contact Logan had given them for this planet was a local rum-runner type smuggler for the camps named Mascovich. Daniel had plans to drop a signal buoy out in the middle of the desert and wait for a response for a meeting, but wasn’t going to enact this plan until the others returned from town. So this led to Campan and Daniel sitting around bored on the ship. The shuttle landed near town and everyone but Take scrambled for the free, open space of the desert in the evening. [b]Mort:[/b] [i]There you go. Town! On the planet you requested.[/i] [b]Take:[/b] [i]Have a good life.[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] (closes door) [i]Yeah. Clearly when we have more money, better shuttle.[/i] They waited a little bit before Mort, Asta followed Ezmerelda into town. Mort was wearing a black shirt and a tool belt and was without his brown coat. Asta was wearing run of the mill clothing (nothing special). Ezmerelda was dressed up nicely. [b]Asta:[/b] [i]Maybe they’ll have coffee.[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Oh dear. We don’t need to scare another bartender.[/i] The first bar they came to was called ‘[i]The Dead Dog Saloon[/i],’ which seemed to be doing a good amount of business that night. Ezmerelda wandered in to check things out, leaving Asta and Mort outside. The saloon had nine round tables with room for five or six patrons at each. There were stools at the bar for another eight patrons. The bar had a grimy mirror placed along the wall behind it to let patrons see behind them. The bartender stood behind the bar serving drinks. He was about six foot tall, bulky man missing his right arm. He was in his late thirties with his hair not showing any signs of going grey yet. He wore a dingy, brown vest that had a bullet hole in it and the right sleeve sewn up at the shoulder into a little pocket. There was a large congregation of people near the back of the bar, about thirty five people or so, though Ezmerelda couldn’t see what it was for. They were wearing nicer clothes than a miner would and they were bathed. There were a few miners scattered around the tables and seated at the bar. Two pleasant, if plain serving girls were moving about the bar serving food and drinks to the people at tables and at the back of the bar. Ezmerelda walked up to the bar and ordered a beer. The bartender looked her up and down. [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Are you sure you want a beer at this establishment?[/i] [b]Ezmerelda:[/b] [i]Why wouldn’t I?[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]The bar down the street is much more suited for your… type.[/i] [b]Ezmerelda:[/b] (looks down at herself to check what she looks like) [i]Um, can I get business over there?[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Yup.[/i] [b]Ezmerelda:[/b] [i]Will I make good money?[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Can’t say.[/i] The bartender then moved down the bar to take care of a customer. [b]Paul:[/b] [i]Clearly this is the wrong bar.[/i] Ezmerelda walked out of the bar to meet up with a confused Mort and Asta. [b]Asta:[/b] [i]That was fast.[/i] [b]Ezmerelda:[/b] [i]There should be a bar down the street that should be… better.[/i] Down the street, they got to the a place called ‘[i]The Hole[/i].’ Mort walked up and down the street to make sure that there were, indeed, only two bars. This bar only had five tables which weren’t very well kept up. Everything about the place was a little creaky. The bar itself was more of a large crate than a place to sit. [b]Mort:[/b] [i]No, you wanted the other one.[/i] Ezmerelda took one look at the bar and headed back to [i]The Dead Dog Saloon[/i]. She walked in and headed over to the group in the back. She saddled up to one of the guys and stumbled into him. She apologized and leaned into him, wiping some of his spilled beer off of him. Since she couldn’t find out why these people were celebrating, she asked him why. The man told her they were celebrating the retirement of Anderson from Accounts Receivable. Mort and Asta wandered in and sat down at the bar. Ezmerelda grabbed a beer from one of the serving girls and paid her. Mort noticed the bartender glaring at Ezmerelda a little later. Ezmerelda decided to stay with the man at the party for quite a while. She found out he was from Anderson’s unit. She offered to buy him a drink and ordered him a beer. When the order came up to the bar, the bartender spit in the beer before sending it back. [b]Asta:[/b] [i]That’s really quite unhygienic![/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Please, dear. [/i] (Asta starts to talk again, but he cuts her off) [i]It’s not your beer.[/i] [b]Asta:[/b] [i]As a doctor I must protest this terribly. I mean, not to impugn the health here but isn’t that a little.[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Nah, it’s fine.[/i] [b]Asta:[/b] [i]There are reasons why you are doing this? Some local tradition I am unaware of?[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Yup! Don’t like it, head down the road.[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Don’t worry, dear. It’ll be fine.[/i] Ezmerelda handed the foamy beer to the guy and smiled. She continued buying him ‘foamy’ beers. [b]Dan:[/b] [i]Did they wander into an Alliance bar on U-Day?[/i] After a while, the bartender came back over to Mort. [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]I know you from somewhere.[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]I’ve been a lot of places. [/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Were you in the war?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Uh, kind of. [/i] (pause) [i]Merc.[/i] [b]Bartender:[/b] [i]Fer what side?[/i] [b]Mort:[/b] [i]Alliance.[/i] The bartender walked away. The next time Mort ordered beers the bartender charged him more. Mort neglected to comment and just nursed his beer. The party in the back went on for several hours and Mort and Asta had mild conversation. [b]Paul:[/b] [i]We talk shop and try to not look like psychotic, deranged individuals.[/i] [b]Alex:[/b] [i]That’s difficult for both of you.[/i] Back on the ship, Daniel and Campan were getting very bored. Since it had been several hours, Daniel decided to go leave the message buoy so he and Campan took the mule and closed up the ship. He left a note in case the others got back before them. When cake was served at the bar, Mort snuck into the line to get a piece. Ezmerelda ‘accidentally’ dropped her cake down her dress. She asked him if he had someplace where she could wash it off. He told her there was a water spigot out front. She steered him to offering to use the water at his place. [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Does he look down her dress?[/i] [b]Alex:[/b] [i]No, he doesn’t actually.[/i] [b]Liz:[/b] [i]Oh, that’s so sad! That means he might actually be a nice guy.[/i] Ezmerelda started to lead him out the door. *[i][b]Fade to Black[/b][/i]* [/QUOTE]
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[Firefly] Ruthless Bastards of the 'Verse (Completed 3/6/09)
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