OOC: This is the part of our adventure where I faff. /gets up and dances like in a German Discotek.

(OOC: Oontz oontz oontz

Jolene:

As you faff your way to Dolly Q's diner you take in the familiar sights and sounds of fellow Qeteshi natives. Men young and old alike sporting buzzed haircuts and farmers tans rev the engines on their pickups in Dolly's parking lot. They're fresh from the hydroponic farms outside Q-Town, which are dirty and slapdash things compared to Jessup's grand plantations.

Blinov leaves in as much of a hurry as Nia, wondering whether she sensed danger or if she's been paid to spread misinformation that downplays NME (Heh, "en-em-y").

In a nicer part of town he stops to pick up a compad and quickly relay his findings to Jolene. He also takes the opportunity to download the audiobook version of The Girl Who Was a Butterfly Knife for the trip back to HQ.

Quote from: Mr. Kent;747806The spaceyard and warehouse are luckily nearby, swarming with Protectorate cops of course. By the entrance looks like a familiar face--Spanner, the Agency's personal mechanic. In his hand he's got a bottle of his own, though you can't tell its contents from this distance.

Alexsandr walks over to Spanner and says, "tovarisch!  What are you doing here?"

{As sexy as all get out, and just as I remember.} Jolene draws a wry smile. {A cheap thrill sometimes lingers too long, and that means I better watch how much pie I eat, too.} Looking for any familiar faces, she saunters up and takes in the scene like a sepia tinged memory. But she's barely over 20...

Blinov:
The Girl Who Was a Butterfly Knife got decent reviews! Part of Stils Narffsen's "The Girl" series, it was the third book of six, the sequel to The Girl Who Played by Ear and followed up by The Girl Who Broke the Sound Barrier. It's rumored that the series' twisting tales of sex, murder, and interplanetary intrigue were based on the author's life as a merc before the rise of the Protectorate, but the reclusive Narffsen's never confirmed such things.

Jolene:
As you scan for familiar faces, your compad blips, receiving Blinov's intel from the Prairie Dog's bartender. Caverns and rumblings beneath the ground. Local boys signing up with NME and vanishing.

As you look up, a wide white smile greets you--it looks even brighter considering the young man's dirt-smeared cheeks and stubbly chin. "Jo-jo," he greets, and his blue eyes light up. You haven't seen Gordy Shane since he was 16, when his family moved to Raleigh, a dome on the far side of Qetesh. He must be 20 now, you reckon. He must've had a hell of a growth spurt since 16, because he's towering over you.

"How've you been?" Gordy asks excitedly. "Every time I get back to Q-Town you're not around. Are you living in a hole or something?" he chuckles.

Aleksandr:
Spanner looks up at you, startled. "U-uh, Commander! Hi!" he stammers. He always treats you with respect, but it's clear that speaking to Protectorate forces, especially marines, even retired ones, makes the prison tattoo on the back of his neck burn. "I was fueling up the ship after I got back from Adonis. It's over in the spaceyard--I think it's ready now, but I got a bit distracted."

He raises the long, thin green bottle up to you. "It's some alien wine--I got it at the Xeno-Market. You know how Adonis is crazy for anything non-human!" The open bottle emits a sweet flowery fragrance, unlike any alcohol you've encountered. It smells like perfume.

"Oh! And I found a few other things at the Xeno-Market. Like, little alien doodads, I figure you all could check it out in the lab when we get back to HQ. Speaking of, why are you in town again? Are the others back home?"

Quote from: Mr. Kent;748089Spanner looks up at you, startled. "U-uh, Commander! Hi!" he stammers. He always treats you with respect, but it's clear that speaking to Protectorate forces, especially marines, even retired ones, makes the prison tattoo on the back of his neck burn. "I was fueling up the ship after I got back from Adonis. It's over in the spaceyard--I think it's ready now, but I got a bit distracted."

He raises the long, thin green bottle up to you. "It's some alien wine--I got it at the Xeno-Market. You know how Adonis is crazy for anything non-human!" The open bottle emits a sweet flowery fragrance, unlike any alcohol you've encountered. It smells like perfume.

"Oh! And I found a few other things at the Xeno-Market. Like, little alien doodads, I figure you all could check it out in the lab when we get back to HQ. Speaking of, why are you in town again? Are the others back home?"

Alexsandr greets him warmly and says casually, "Jolene, Blinov, and I are on some business for Dr. Nadir.  The others are back home.  What got you distracted?"

Aleksandr:
"A job offer, actually," Spanner explains. "Ever transport wild animals before? Cuz this old guy in the lobby says he has specimens to ship to the Bioethics Institute on Cradle, but can't find anyone to take the job." He sighs and takes a swig of the liquor, but coughs it up and caps the bottle.

"Ooh, so what's this assignment you're on? Supply run? Because the Scrap Shop will close early tonight, the sign said..."

Quote from: Mr. Kent;748147"A job offer, actually," Spanner explains. "Ever transport wild animals before? Cuz this old guy in the lobby says he has specimens to ship to the Bioethics Institute on Cradle, but can't find anyone to take the job." He sighs and takes a swig of the liquor, but coughs it up and caps the bottle.

"Ooh, so what's this assignment you're on? Supply run? Because the Scrap Shop will close early tonight, the sign said..."

Alexsandr takes a swig off his bottle of vodka and shakes his head negatively as he says, "Nyet, we've got a meeting with a NME suit about a contract that Dr. Nadir has with NME.  Nothing exciting, really.  What did the sign say at the Scrap Shop?"

Aleksandr:
"Ah, it said 'Shop will close at 1800'. Isn't it almost 1800 now?" Spanner drops to one knee and slides the alien wine into his backpack cautiously while speaking to you. "Oh, looky there," he says to you as he rises, pointing over your shoulder. Behind you a truck with a short flatbed has emerged from the spaceyard's main gate. The truck, and the two identical trucks behind it, turn and move down the block to the large NME warehouse. The cargo on each flatbed is shrouded and strapped down.

"Some shipment there," Spanner notes. "They had like, what? Four or five truckloads earlier today? Can that warehouse even hold it all?"

The trucks enter one at a time, and after each enters there is a long pause, and the next goes in. It is a long while before the trucks emerge without cargo. A pair of figures stand ominously by the loading doors and watch the trucks move in and out. They're too far off and turned around to really tell what they look like. Their silhouettes are almost comically opposite--one rather rotund, the other spindly. In addition to these figures, NME's private security seems to be present as well.

Jolene:
Gordy Shane offers to keep you company whilst waiting in Dolly Q's (it'll be a while until the meeting). "How 'bout it, Jo-Jo?" he asks sweetly.

Blinov:
The nice part of Q-Town is getting busier as the evening wears on. Shall you wander or head to the diner?

"Why Gordy Shane, I almost didn't recognize you with your face all up in the sky! Has it been that long?" Jolene shades her eyes from the light as she looks up into Gordy's face, an affectation likely, due to the time of day, but one conveying affection amid disbelief.

"Well don't you just stand there, come give me a hug!" Opens her arms wide to receive a long lost friend and hops with one leg kicked up into his arms for a spin. As he puts her back down, "Just like old times, except you still stay tall now once you rest me back to earth. Wherever did time go?"

"Me and mine been doin' best we can, as usual. Billy Dee decided on visiting some old friends with a little reckless endangerment and backtalk. Harmless kid stuff really, but lord help us he learn nothin' much more on Wally World." Looks downcast as she saunters side by side with Gordon, "I been mindin' kin best I can like before, workin' here and there to send ree-mittances. But those boys have too much of each other and their cousins than can be good for 'em."

Closing in on the diner, passing a few couples in cars being as discreet as can be with fogging windows, "Idle hands is all, which'll likely need a woman's touch to set to rights. A little courtin' to simmer down now, and an earful with some chores to tucker 'em out."

Turns her head to Gordy Shane and leans a quick elbow into her friend's side like old times, "Speakin of tuckered, see yourself picked up a tan like a proper farmer. Got the homestead and little lady like you always wanted? I could use a story with a happy ending 'bout now, to keep my mind offa things — like too much of Dolly's sweet cherry pie, Lord help me!" With a smile and laugh she heads on through the diner's doors with a pleasant haunt from her past.

Blinov heads for the diner. Time to reunite this party and make sure Jojo doesn't receive a pinball machine to the head like last time.

Quote from: Mr. Kent;748247Aleksandr:
"Ah, it said 'Shop will close at 1800'. Isn't it almost 1800 now?" Spanner drops to one knee and slides the alien wine into his backpack cautiously while speaking to you. "Oh, looky there," he says to you as he rises, pointing over your shoulder. Behind you a truck with a short flatbed has emerged from the spaceyard's main gate. The truck, and the two identical trucks behind it, turn and move down the block to the large NME warehouse. The cargo on each flatbed is shrouded and strapped down.

"Some shipment there," Spanner notes. "They had like, what? Four or five truckloads earlier today? Can that warehouse even hold it all?"

The trucks enter one at a time, and after each enters there is a long pause, and the next goes in. It is a long while before the trucks emerge without cargo. A pair of figures stand ominously by the loading doors and watch the trucks move in and out. They're too far off and turned around to really tell what they look like. Their silhouettes are almost comically opposite--one rather rotund, the other spindly. In addition to these figures, NME's private security seems to be present as well.

Alexsandr takes a swig off the bottle of vodka and casually passes it to Spanner as he says, "nyet, I don't think that warehouse is that big... above ground, that is.  That sure is a lot of security for a normal shipment of goods, don't you think?"

Aleksandr:
Spanner squints. "Hmm. Yeah, that many guards in once place can't be a small thing." He leads you over to the public benches in front of the spaceyard gates. He faces you, with his back to the scene, so you can watch the workers over his shoulder.

Over a long while, you see all the trucks eventually leave, emptied of their mystery cargo, and the two overseers vanish into the warehouse.

After a few hours, employees emerge, and the skinny and round figures begin to walk closer. They approach the spaceyard gates, heading right towards you, but then veer off and end up entering the Golden Orb down the street.

You get a better look at them. The round one is an Asian woman with a bowl-cut hairdo, fanning herself vigorously. She wears the signature navy blue uniform with neon yellow trim that all NME employees wear, but hers is cut more like a business suit to signify her higher status.

The second skinner figure is a tall and delicate-looking man with chalk white skin and short brown hair. He looks utterly human, except for the toy-like yellow lights blinking in his eye-sockets. A grisly-looking scar runs horizontally across his face, around his eye-sockets and over the bridge of his nose.

As more employees leave, two familiar faces appear as well: Montour and Baldwin. They are heading back to the Orb, and if they take the same trajectory as the others they will likely see you.

Jolene:
Gordy whiles away the hours with you reminiscing until the meeting time approaches. He has no significant other, since you asked--farmwork keeps him busy. He's staying in Q-Town tonight, and in the morning he'll head to Clio to seek a subsidy.

"It takes a lot to keep the hydroponics up and running," he sighs. "The generator power is getting' so expensive, it's come down to us asking for financial aid." He shakes his head. He can't stay long, but bids you adieu and prepares to leave.

Blinov:
You arrive at Dolly Q's close to the meeting time, and see by a young farmer about to leave Jolene's table. He nods courteously.

Dolly Q herself beams widely as you enter. "Hello," she coos, recognizing you from before. She waves genially, ruffling her gray feathers, and her round gray eyes twinkle in her otherwise humanlike face. She is unlike any Qotah you've ever heard of, gentle and approachable, seemingly pacifistic to a fault. She speaks little of her former flock, apparently considering her employees and customers as her new family.

Alexsandr says to Spanner, "I'm going to head over to the Golden Orb.  Would you join me?"