Saito was rerouted to Mr. Hann who then routed him to Valentine. [Valentine: Yeah we gave Loren a few aliases. I'll save you the time of looking into them because I already did when you got me out on bail. They've all gone dark. Loren is a fucking noob when it comes to hacking. We did all the hard work of scrubbing and masking her trail getting to Bakunin and when she was with us. She's a rich bitch so I suspect she hired someone else to cover her ass after she burned us.] That Sanjay Brown guy is starting to look more and more interesting...
Passing on the call log through the tacnet to the others, Saito completes his preparations and sits down to go through the final points with the team. "Alright crew, now's the the crux. Who is doing what? I'll tail the BPG goons unless someone else has something to say? I've got thermal optic camouflage." "Someone will have to look into Sanjay Brown. And yes, we'll have to split the party."
The tasks were settled. Samira would join Saito in tracking down those mystery goons. Kenn and Padre would track down Sanjay Brown. Taisa will sit back and deep dive into Arachne looking into Loren trying to get off Bakunin. ++++ Time on Bakunin: 1730 Napster Park - Dome One (Kenn and Padre) Going into Dome Two earlier in the day was like going down a neon drenched river and being deposited into a delta. That river being VaudeVille and that delta being the third sector of Dome Two. Arriving in Dome One was much more structured and mechanical as the only ways in were by strap loop or RedX Jump Points. While the dome was physically smaller than Dome Two it was hard to perceive that from the ground in Napster Park. Named after some short lived piracy site operating on the 21st century internet the park was a larger and more formal version of the many tiny community gardens found around the mothership. Lots of desert plants, intricate designs laid into the dirt, and abstract stone statues. The park itself wasn't important. Padre from his years in law enforcement and the Dominican Order knew that people were lazy. If they didn't have to go very far they didn't. Sometimes even professionals and criminals do that because they're human. So where ever Sanjay Brown put his head down for the night wasn't too far away from this place. Mesmer Inn - Sunset Boulevard (Taisa) Taisa settled in the front foyer of the inn. A large holographic fireplace flickered across the retro furniture of the hotel. A good a place as any to surf around Arachne drinking a drink of one's choice. The rest of the space was surprisingly empty as since she had seen all kinds of guests hanging out here the day before. Maybe she got lucky at this specific hour. Son & Sons Diner - Sunset Boulevard (Saito and Samira) Not far from Taisa the last two members of the team were taking an early dinner. The night was probably going to be a long one trying to track down people that are good at not being tracked down. They didn't know the names or the area of operations for the off the book heavies. With them being off the book they would never interact with the BPG directly. They most likely only ever communicated with Randy Nikitin or an intermediary. Typical syndicate standard operating procedure. These were people that Randy trusted though so they were without a doubt Nikitin family heavy hitters and not some off the street thugs.
Before "Zeroing" on some possible phyisical locations of their Mark to locate, the Blackfriar Inquisitor tried to understand the "Ebb & Flow" of the Park Environment; as the Group intruded yet in "Turf Border Patrols" of Bakunite Crime, both Street-Level Thugs and Organized High Families, without even actively trying there was wisdom in "Scoping The Zone". . . Who knows if "Junked Cannibal Morlocks" or "Undercover Observancer Flagellants" had claimed a "Protectorate" in that place and, like Alpha Predator Packs hiding in the Savannah High Bush, were eager to stalk and ambush whatsoever Non-Nomad Natives intruding on their weird "Ecosystem Of Madness". . . The "Strange Perspective Of A Stranger In A Strange Land" of Kenn-Tal would be invaluable in this; free of the preconceived notions of Humans of the Sphere the "Camouflaged Traps" of Assumed Human Behaviour would not be present; as the Nomads of Bakunin Mothership tried their Utmost to distance themselves from "Baseline Humanity" the Point-Of-View of an Alien trying to integrate between Terrans in a Human Fringer Culture was what would be needed. . . Some quick "Theological Cyphered Infodumps" were rapidly exchanged with the Tohaa, whose strange perspective the Panoceanian Priest was starting to value more and more; in fact His Religious Personal Ideas about "God As The Mathemathician Architect Of The Universe" were deeply reinforced by the fact that a Xenoculture OLDER and FAR more sophisticate than Humanity had a so deeply ingrained faith in Numerology and Arithmetic Cause-&-Effect was refreheshing. . . . . . . . If only the Human Sphere did not used Mathemathical Algorythms ALMOST ONLY to count Capitalistic Money as their most pressing concern. . . . .!!!
Napster Park Contrary to some of Padre's preconceived ideas the park was a friendly place. There were children running around, families enjoying themselves, and a few couples lounging around taking in the plants and the overall serenity that hung over Napster Park. It's a place where you could sit down and scroll through Arachne or read an ebook without anyone bothering you. Mesmer Inn Taisa dived into the deep corners of Arachne. Previous experience and know how got her into the places that should set her on the right path. There was a very active community of pirates, smugglers, and worse that used secret and hard to reach channels to share information. She kept her search local to Bakunin seeing who was who and who was doing what. As she was following a lead she hit a malware bomb embedded in a link. A rookie mistake. Now she was dealing with all kinds of lewd popups and being redirected to sketchy boards and channels. It was going to be nuisance unless she took the time to deal with it. [Complication - Malware Bomb: All further tests involving Arachne are going to be +1 in Difficulty during this scene. Can pay 2 Momentum to instantly get rid of this or attempt a Progressive Hacking D2 Test (2 Passed Tests) to clear it.] Son & Sons Diner Saito and Samira floated the idea of maybe it was a lawyer who might be an intermediary between Mr. Nikitin and his heavies. This has some precedence to it. O-12's GloPol has a few academic articles about the use of lawyers by submondo groups to skirt or abuse local laws. Not to mention there were many cases involving a lawyer passing along information (knowingly or not) to go under the nose of law enforcement. They sent a request to the Department of Tribunals and Common Law using their SDA credentials asking who was the representative of Randy Nikitin and/or the BPG. They got their answer back within the hour. Sayle Wright/Private Practice/SER: 3 Sayle Wright was quite the character and lawyer. Many that practiced law on Bakunin were advocates and practitioners of helping the little man (a common jab many Bakunin lawyers use against their Tunguskan counterparts). Then there was Sayle Wright. He was in the business of representing the brightest stars of Bakunin. For him the fame of being next to these stars was worth it. That fact was reflected in the higher your SER score was the less you paid for his services. He wasn't against working for anyone with low SER scores as long as you paid. This had made him a popular option for rich tourists and gangsters that got into legal trouble on the mothership. By all accounts Wright was a very skilled lawyer with a mixed reputation. Cross referencing Wright's list of clients on retainer Saito discovered one that was odd. Craig Midnight. Mr. Midnight was for sure a person but in Saito's gut and mind there was something off. This looked like a legend you'd create for a spy. He'd know as he had many created for him. Maybe this was a fake person was created to pose as an upstanding client. Any meetings between them would be above board and a perfect cover for passing along orders or information from people that weren't supposed to have ties to them...
Seeing that the Park was the contrary of what He thought, then Father Beretta started to point some quick "Calm & Relaxed Human Behaviour" hints to Kenn-Taal; evidently it was the Inquisitor and the Alien Duo to be at risk of being "Bothersome Nuisances" in that place; if the Citizen of Bakunin made so much effort to have the Park as an "Oasis Of Peace" then their apprehension of the Mark MUST be obtained with Dignity, Smoothness and Silence, without disturbing the Serene outlook of that place. . . Percentiles were high that some amongst the MOST dangerous denizens of the Carnival Mothership were there to Meditate in a very relaxed, friendly environment, deceptively hiding Custom Milspec Genemoddings, Radically Outrageous Cybernetics or plain "Lifetimes Of Combat Experiences" under the deceptively friendly facade of a Grandfather checking on little relatives, or a Middle Aged Portly Woman giving breadcrumbs to the Red Fishes in the Pond (that surely were Gene-Crossed with Terran Piranhas and Varunan Razorfish screamed a little dark part of the Blackfriar Eversuspicious Mind). . . Anonimity and Aloof Coolness, trying to show they were there "Just For A Stroll" were the keywords there. . . . . !!!
Taisa grumbled and growled under her breath both at the jerk troll who coded that malware bomb and herself for making such a rookie mistake. With the help of geist, and a lot of effort (and cursing…a lot of cursing) she was able to delete the malware bomb. Her geist made sure to block any further malware or annoying messages that were left over.
Passing along and looking over the info Saito and Samira float ideas back and forth. But none sound too foolproof. Flagging down a waitress, Saito orders some cake for Samira and a torte for himself as a last little treat before the big business starts. "Whatever the case may be. It does seem like that we'll need Taisa to provide remote support for us."
Taisa was able to get into the pirate/smuggler Arachne cluster on the Mothership. She grinned with a smile that even a hyena would be envious of.
After some more back and forth, the blank faced, dark haired man comes across an idea. A slight curve of a smile passes across his face at the sheer lunacy of it. Over the tacnet he informs his partner in crime about his play, confident that she can pull it off. Making sure to pitch Taisa her part of the plan to see if she would be able to take part as well.
Taisa received her part of the plan made a fang filled smile that would have caused a soldier of the CA to quake in fear as she replied to the message, “I’m in. Let me know when to start!”
Napster Park Padre swiped the aviators from Igor and donned them. He undid his trench coat showing off some of his weaponry and rolled up the sleeve hiding his cybernetic arm. Looks by themselves wouldn't convince everyone. There was a way you had to carry yourself to sell the part. For Padre he would take on the persona of a Tunguskan. They were close in attitude to a PanOceanian with some distinct differences. Those difference were easy enough for Padre to take on. Kenn was an entirely different story. The Tohaa and his Chaksa companion looked like lost tourists. Instead of fighting against it they leaned into it. Kenn would be a vacationing Tohaa with his biological mule. Padre was to be his guide/bodyguard through his little foray through Bakunin. And it worked. No curious or suspect looks came their way as they strolled around Naspter Park. They weren't locals and didn't magically disappear into the background but they weren't attracting any unwanted attention. Deck 23 (VaudeVille) - Star Emporium - Wright's Office The plan for Saito and Samira was to split up. Saito would take Wright's vacant office to scout it out and observe it. The office was housed in the multilevel mall that was open 24 hour called the Star Emporium. The place wasn't a planned out space and naturally grew out. Shops stacked haphazardly on one another like building blocks with overbearing amounts of neon signage that tried to sear itself into your eyeballs. Bridges spanned deep crevasses leading to half thought out sections and islands of shops that looked like stalagmites. It was a hub of tourist activity. Saito saw almost every nationality of the Human Sphere walking along and checking out the shops in some part of the emporium. As for Wright's office itself it was a small space squished between two gigantic storefronts. Two, what looked to be real, marble columns flanked the highly secured front entrance. That entrance lead to a stairway that took you to a second level that ballooned out over the two storefronts below it. This second floor had rear access to a maintenance walkway. Deck 34 (VaudeVille) - Conga Club Samira on the other hand was to track down a follow Wright himself. The flamboyant lawyer was easy to track through his open to almost anyone social cloud. He was at the Conga Club. The Haqqislamite beauty breezed past the line and the bouncers with a few looks and words. Why need a table booking or be on the guest list when you were an odalisque? The club was two stories. Each had a dance floor, bar, and VIP tables/spaces. The two floors were also sonically separated with dampeners and sound proofing. The first floor had a more crazed vibe while the second was more mellow. Patrons would frequently switch between the two depending on their moods and wants. Samira spotted Wright in a VIP section on the first floor. The implanted layers of gold and silver flakes in his skin made him sparkle anytime a show light grazed by him. With him was the aristo 8-Ball and his massive entourage. Mesmer Inn While Taisa waited for a call of assistance she turned her attention back to the Arachne cluster she just infiltrated. There was a lot of avenues to go down but she narrowed them: smugglers and pirates. On the smuggler side she had almost too much info to go through. The Freetraders Brotherhood was notorious for having captains that engaged in smuggling. Then there was all kinds of small independent freighters and even select crewmen of legit outfits that would take your skender to move prohibited items on their ships. Pirates were a little easier. Bakunin wasn't a pirate haven by any means but the mothership had a laissez faire policy concerning them. Currently docked to Bakunin was the Haqqislam corsair Alghina' Balid (Singing Blade), Yonkers, Shippy McShip, and Buzzkill. The last three were notorious Sol based pirate vessels.
Sensing that the "Xeno-Tourist & Nomad Bodyguard Ruse" worked, then Father Beretta "Toured" the Alien Tohaa and "Organic Baggage Drone" around the Park, stopping at obvious places that could attract a specimen of that Culture, based on snippets of Infos and suggestions by Kenn-Taal himself. . . The idea was to NOT let easily understand even if employing Advanced Predictive Algorythms that they were "Circling Down" their Target assessed location, ready to snare the trap and capture, alive and unscathed (a double-check all their Guns were loaded with Nonlethal Ordnance was yet done) in the smoothest, subtlest ways possible. . . Meanwhile, while maintaining the "Tough, Hard Facade Of The Securitate Turned Private Police" the Panoceanian Inquisitor intersped whispered "Tactical Assessment Strategies" with the Bioengineer with Genuine Chit-Chat about their common interests, as the Deep Spirituality of the Xeno Expatriate never ceased to amaze and wonder the Undercover Dominican Blackfriar. . .
Taking in the sites as well as the general atmosphere, Saito pauses just to the side of Wright's office. He was equipped and ready for action, though concealed upon his person, he looks around. Playing the part of the tourist was easy, for he was one in all earnest so he leaned into it for his cover. Walking around the area, Saito passes the office but continues onwards, not even pausing as he walks, both Shadow and himself noting as much as he can of not just of the office but possible egress routes in case the worst should happen. Also ingress options, security and other things of note. After playing at wondering, Saito enters one of the stores adjacent to Wright's office and begins to window shop. He opens up his comlog as a pseudo repeater and converses with Taisa. Taisa, i've opened a gate for you. See what you can find before i head in. Those doors will be alarmed and cameras up. See if you can disable or fool security for me?
Getting into the club was easy if you dressed well enough and had enough confidence. As always those clube prefered attractive female guests. Still early in the night the club wasnt overflowing with the party crowd and amde it a bit easier to float around trying to talk to some regulars and the staff. The presence of a famous aristo made that even more easy. Samira didnt know much about the details about Aristeia games, but as always there are people willing to share details about their hobby. Samira waited with an eye on the both with Wright and the others for an opening when someone left the both her chance may coem to get closer to her target.
Taisa checked with her contacts in Bakunin’s Chimera community to see where Wright frequented the most in order to better assist the team.
Deck 23 (VaudeVille) - Star Emporium - Wright's Office Saito spotted a camera above the front and rear entrances. Both doors could be bypassed either physically or quantronically. The biggest issue for Saito would be the two ship's cats roaming around the exterior of the office. These two remotes, styled to look like one of the many Bakunin strays, patrolled everything. They had a random pattern that took them across the breadth of the exterior. Both entrances, roof, side access, you name it. Also a quick quantronic recon from Saito revealed that the office's network was interesting... its public facing network was a standard design with standard security. However, where was the important stuff? That network wasn't visible and must mean it's either air-gapped or is keyed to only allow in specific users. Deck 34 (VaudeVille) - Conga Club Samaria worked her way from patron to employee like a dancer going through the motions. She quickly learned that the employees really liked Wright. He was respectful and never bothered them. As for the patrons... it was a little different. Their opinions stemmed from his line of work and how he went about it. Some thought he was a star chasing attention whore while others admired his ability to land high end clients and enjoy the very beneficial fruits of his labor. [Spending 2 Heat to introduce a Standard Complication.] As she was closing in on Wright all heads in her vicinity turned to look at the front. Senor Massacre, in his unmistakable mercenary gear, had just walked in. "My man, the panda man!" Senor yelled over the club music. "Senor! Took you long enough." 8-Ball yelled back. "VaudeVille has too many distractions and you know me... easily distracted." Senor moved forward signing autographs and taking selfies with practiced ease. He had almost made it to the VIP area when he spotted Samira. It was a quick turn on his heel and he was already on her. "I'm a man and you're a woman. I think you can see where this is going." Was his pickup line. Mesmer Inn Taisa sent out a mass message to her chimera contacts seeing if she could drum up a list of Wright's common hangouts. She got back a lot of messages and her geist went about sorting them. Commons Spots: - Conga Club - Tanuki (Saito had been here yesterday) - 6 Toes - Ultraviolet Quarter Napster Park Padre tried his hand at seeing if he could narrow down Sanjay's location using his social networks. The wardriver was a little more secretive and had a lot of obscuring and spoofing programs for those outside his immediate friend circle. This was a little unusual when compared to his PanOceanian counterparts but it shouldn't be an issue. He tapped into his analysis suite back at the Mesmer Inn and began to go over the data. He had what he needed and then some in less than 20 minutes. Sanjay Brown was currently at a book store (one that actually had dead tree books), called Infinite Jester, about 3 minutes away. He was there with his friends Ernesto Roy and Bella Loom. Both were Bakunin locals. Roy was a manager at a LoroLocco outlet and Loom was a media consultant. He had become friends with these two through the Infinite Jester's book club.
Immediatly Father Beretta shared a Visual Link of the Location to Kenn-Taal, through a Direct Comlog-To-Comlog Feed, that the nearbyness made hypersecure, then (still with that "Casual Strolling Of Xenotourist & Bodyguard" Pattern) approached very carefully that place. . . Meanwhile took some time to Compile a Secure Encrypted Feed to the other Investigators of the Team, adding all the Infodumps of the newest revelations obtained; when the other Detectives would have time to check on that Data-Packet they could assess and advise on the best manner to apprehend the "Prey Of The Chase" without endangering the yet tenuous situation. . . Ideally without causing too much fuss, but should be the need, they were packing some SERIOUS Nonlethal Firepower, and Time was a resource that they could not afford to squander or waste. . .
Just what i needed formed in Samiras mind with the flashy mercanery / sports person in front of her. Tapping her index finger at his chest, Samira answers: "3 out of 10 points. A bit to cocky for my taste, even for a celeberty. That line my work with your groupies but i expect more effort. So lets a play a game. We go over to your friends while you order me a nice fruity drink and then you can try a few more times while your friends rate your efforts. Are you in?"
While browsing, Saito gets a ping from Taisa letting him know that she was starting to crack her way through. Leaving the store, he waits for one of the remotes to pass by, Shadow having tagged them to keep an eye on them. Once the coast is clear, he nimbly activates the spektr armour to unfold and cover himself like a glove. Checking again that he remains unnoticed, Saito activates the TO camouflage and begins to advance to one of the entrances. A quick pause to double check that his weapons and equipment are still one him, a paranoid tick stemming from that one time.... Shaking his head to dispel the unpleasant memory, the spy moves towards the back door and waits. A moment later Taisa pings Saito again to let him know that security is down and the doors are open. Another wait for the patrolling remotes to pass and Saito slips in.
