Faction BREAKING NEWS: Groundquakes on Etti IV [Code Zero]

[Das]

(Post Soundtrack: "Desolate Views" by Pawel Blaszczak)

​

On the city-world of Etti IV, life is always moving up. Every few years, another level is added to the top while those at the bottom are left to decay and fall into disrepair. It's been centuries since Etti's surface has seen the sun, and decades still since it was traversed by sapients. The Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) has a penchant for ignoring the past and burying its secrets, but nature cares little for the machinations of Corpos. Etti IV has struck back, and the ecumenopolis is reeling.

A massive groundquake has struck the planet, crumbling entire districts in its wake. None, though, have suffered as much as District Seven, better known as Daybreak Heights. In the aftermath of the initial shockwave, the CSA's Crisis and Trauma Response Team scrambles to keep the peace. Naturally, criminal elements are on the move as well, taking advantage of the chaos.

Hard to turn down a perfect opportunity.

OBJECTIVE I
Suggested characters: Shadowrunners, criminals, independents

With Mondder up in flames, chaos and civil dissent are at an all-time high. Rioters and anarchists gather in District 7, hell-bent on exposing the CSA's negligence, while looters and underworlders turn the fractured city into their personal playground. Amidst all this are the Zeros, the shadowy lifeblood of Etti's criminal underworld. Link up with fellow shadowrunners, hacktivists, and streetrats to find silver linings in the aftermath of Etti's largest groundquake ever recorded.

OBJECTIVE II
Suggested characters: Corporatists, law enforcement, good samaritans

Not all who wander are lost, not all who suffer deserve it, and not all Corpos are evil – right? The groundquake has left thousands lost, injured, or even dead. Rescue efforts are underway as Corporatists, humanitarians, and Samaritans alike put their lives on the line. Deploy into District 7 with the Crisis and Trauma Response Team to help mitigate further tragedy in the Pentaplex.

OBJECTIVE III
Suggested characters: Anyone looking to get a foot in the door of the Corporate Sector

Mondder is a sprawling ecumenopolis divided into fifteen distinct districts, each of which has suffered to some degree from the groundquake. Get to safety or cause trouble, explore the rubble or lay low with allies. Either way, curfew's at 20:00, and we know you'll do your best to honor CorpSec regulations during these trying times.

Spoiler: OOC Tag List

Tags for interested parties: Brie Jaxx | Castor Crane | Cinder | Das | Harvey Denson | Hex | Jrurki Liz | Kimora Min | Kivah | Lilith Nytehand | Malcoma Hesse | Saga | Tizdalle Jyll | Zenric

 

[Kimora Min]

​

Assignment: Infiltrate the Dream Emporium

As nature did as it pleased, so did it's children. As the earth crumbled and quaked, the people of Etti IV were suffering from tragedy. But, one's tragedy was another's opportunity. Or so they say. While on another classified mission onworld, Imperial Agent Kimora Min was retasked as the groundquakes shook and tore at the infrastructure of the planet. She was travelling by speederbike, now turning to ride to the Dream Emporium. It was a playground for the wealthy and hedonistic tourists, while also catering to the native Ettis. And it was the perfect time for a heist.

Cries of terror and pain were drowned out by the roar of Kimora's speederbike as she drove through the streets ravaged by the groundquake. The Dream Emporium was nearly in sight. A large stadium-like building, the Dream Emporium was likely empty as it's wealthy patrons were likely evacuated safely. Their money is too important to not see that they are rescued before anyone else. But, she was not convinced it would be barren. No chance she'd be the only one headed there.

She was prepared for the worst.

 

[Alicia Drey]

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"Information is a commodity. It can be traded, sold, and purchased. And in the end, credits are only as useful as the secrets they can buy."
-- Darth Bane.

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Location: Etti IV, District 56, Sub-Level 54, Junction 23, Level 2.
Equipment: Portable Dampening Field, The Cone of Silence, The Domestic Surveillance of Direct Threats, #3567-956-827, Cortosis
Transportation Crates, Curved Lightsaber Hilt, Slicing Unit.

---

The Plight of the Initium is a story for another time. But the Groundquakes of Etti IV served an opportunity that could not be ignored by the Sith.

District 56 (as it was colloquially known by the locals) was deep within the undercity of the sprawling ecumenopolis that stretched across the planet. Deeper within it's sub-levels- at 54- Alicia Drey hung in the cover of shadow within Junction 23 on course to it's second level as a turbolift brought her down to her destination. She wore no disguise, of course. Hiding in plain sight was fairly superior even in those moments of clandestine work, and an utmost covert approach. Indeed, as CorpSEC rallied to save the survivors of the groundquakes, Alicia was set to immerse herself into the underbelly of the planet in order to gain leverage within the heart of the Corporate Sector.

Credits were a useful tool. But information both served as her commodity, and more importantly, her currency.

The Domestic Surveillance of Direct Threats is an intelligence gathering program under the umbrella of the New Imperial Security Bureau: an organisation founded on the principles of Imperialism. It's objectives are and always to enforce the security and order that the Imperium requires especially now in the wake of the Fall of Tion and a new rising threat in the form of the Tingle Arm Coalition. Outposts have been established throughout the Empire of the Lost with a set team of operatives ordered to record, investigate- and if necessary- detain individuals, groups or organisations which may pose a threat to the NISB and it's standing orders to maintain the status quo.

This is, in essence, the excuse and therefore the reasoning behind the establishment of the DSDT program.

But this is not the reason why it was created. It is merely the first stage to a wider conspiracy set to engulf the stars.

As both the Imperials, Tsis'Kaar and even the Strategic Intelligence Agency of the Galactic Alliance wrap their heads around the sophisticated design of the DSDT the reach of the Sith knows no bounds. In line with the pathology of the dark side it's truest follower traverses the underbelly of a planet rightfully stigmatised with the debauchery of corruption and criminality set to begin the next step of her larger scheme. Distracted by this unprecedented tragedy the Sith Master known to some as Darth Ayra waits for no man to ensnare this cruel planet into the web of lies and deceit set to wrought the galactic elite into conflicts of her own design.

A turbolift doors opened to reveal a hallway into a courtyard of antiquated urban design. Constructed centuries ago (and now a fortunate surviving relic of the past given the destruction to the other districts) an old and severely outdated logo of the Corporate Sector Authority was emblazoned across the ruin scabbards of the detached complex that was Junction 23's second level. Stepping over the threshold and into the abandoned lot Alicia activated her Lightsaber blade to serve as her light source. Engulfed in crimson light Alicia breathed through a respirator as she begun to explore the area with an aura of determination.

---

 

[Castor Crane]

​

Tags: OPEN
Objective 2: Trauma Response
Location: ETTI IV

The reports flooded in faster than the Board could receive. Entire districts lay in ruin across Etti in the wake of the massive groundquake. Aftershocks still rippled the fractured infrastructure, further complicating an already delicate situation. So many lives lost... so many credits burned. "Feth," Castor grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose as the feed on his holopad scrolled endlessly. His eyes shifted from their 'natural' shade to the iconic crimson glow as the cybernetic implants processed line after line of data. "Have the Trauma Teams been dispatched?" the ExO asked flatly. A suited woman nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Good. Are the reporters ready?" She nodded again. CorpNet was on the premises mere minutes after the initial wave, swarming the building like vultures looking for a morsel of flesh to pick off and run with. Castor loathed them, but he knew more than anyone just how powerful the media was. If CorpNet was in his pocket - and by God, was it ever - the Sector remained brushed up on exactly what he wanted them to know, and when he wanted them to know it. "Send them in. One of them," he said, a firm finger pointing upward as he peered at the woman with scarlet eyes.

Ten minutes later, holofeeds all across the ecumenopolis were lit up with synchronized streams of ExO Castor Crane, live from his office in District 1. An emergency address, right from the top, to tell the plebians of Etti that they're in good hands and that relief efforts are already underway. Reminders of where to go and how to protect yourself from aftershocks. How to request aid from the Trauma Teams. How to report suspicious behavior to the Espos. As soon as the feed was over and CorpNet was clear of the campus, Castor began issues the real orders.

 

[Das]

(Post Soundtrack: "Hit and Run" by LOLO)

//: Tags: Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Suerse Leli
//: District VII, ETTI IV

CorpSec speeders rushed through the airlanes outside her window, followed by an ominous Trauma Team shuttle. Das' eyes widened and she snapped the thin metal blinds closed over the viewport, hiding herself away in the darkened apartment, illuminated only by the dozens of gadgets scattered around the living room. She reached for her cyberdeck first, flicking away an experimental program and pulling up ZeroSpace. As fast as she could, Das sent PMs to her inner circle. She grabbed her Night Sniper, the ignition fob to her Phantom, and the last fifth of Rakririan vodka she had before stepping down the hall and catching the elevator down.

A few minutes and several aftershock rumbles later, Das was stepping off into the underground garage below the apartment complex. She slid into her speeder, jammed the cyberdeck into the console, and queued her favorite playlist while the engines warmed up. She sent a final round of messages to her closest friends, a copy/paste of the original PM:

[DASSS]said: "quake has every1 scrambled. meet me @ Sakedo Tower in 30. Zone 0."

 

[Suerse Leli]

Anthem: Pain

Tags: | Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Das |

Location: District VII, Etti IV

Equipment: D-200 Military Enforcer | PCW-876 | Bag o’ tools

Why the Kriff was everything shaking?

She had been two steps away from the little shanty she had called home for the past few weeks. It wasn’t much, but helping the chrome vender had given her a roof to sleep under. At least for a short while. No telling how long until he would want his supply shack back. And if Suerse was being honest, sleeping on crates with little more than her jacket for a blanket and tool bag for a pillow was getting old. Maybe she could find a motel that needed some electrical work done in exchange for a bed to sleep in.

Even with how uncomfortable her current living situation, seeing the door shut after a long day of peddling for every credit she could earn was somewhat comforting. What wasn’t was seeing that shack shake and shamble before almost collapsing right on top of her. “Kriff!!” The crash of metal falling into the place she had dove away from left her ears ringing. Opening her eyes, she realized she must’ve hit her head, because the whole world seemed to be spinning and shaking.

Except, it wasn’t just her vision. Crates were toppling over, pieces of roof were falling to the durosteel street…

Something was happening. Whatever it was, after a few minutes it seemed to slowly subside. Suerse slowly stood to her feet, lugging her tool bag up with her. The streets were in chaos. Fires had broken out everywhere, electrical lines down and sending sparks everywhere, and..bodies.

Deep blue eyes looked to the horizon, and for a moment, she had to believe that her vision was still clearing up. Her hands gripped tightly around her bag, understanding now that her vision was plenty free and clear.

Sadeko tower was on fire. Or at least, that’s what it looked like from this distance. She had never been anywhere near that thing. Not even as an official CSA representative. But if there was one thing that every person knew, it was how absolutely loaded that place was. And if the corpos were busy trying to protect their precious assets…well…

Tool bag thrown over her shoulder, and a quick hop over the guard rail later, Suerse found herself booking it toward the tower. If she could find even one good piece of equipment in there, it would be more than enough to put a roof over her head for just a few more nights.

And maybe buy a bit of good food.

 

[Kivah]

Search And Destroy
Muzak: x
Tags: Das I Jrurki Liz I Suerse Leli

Kivah'd been off-planet for awhile, bouncing between contracts and slugging it out with her downtime, generally laying low until the news of the quake came in. Then she volunteered to take some relief team from an aid org over to E-IV. The nifty little first responder pass had gotten her in with minimal scrutiny and allowed her to cut the line for a landing pad. Her thoughts had been on catching up with Das and a few other acquaintances but she'd barely kicked the wage-slaves off her ramp when her comm finished connecting to the local net and buzzed with a message from Das.

A hungry grin spread on her face as she read the message, trust that girl to be thinking on her feet. This promised fun, excitement, and a chance to try out some new toys. Dropping her jumpsuit to the floor, Kivah flexed in appreciation in front of her mirror at the way her muscles moved under the short fur coating her body before pulling on the new Udyr armor that conformed to her skin before the living biosuit seemed to shiver against her and nestled in as the armor plating hardened into existence. It slid up her neck of its own volition to rest under her jawline as the dark grey organism began forming itself into a second skin for her.

Over this Kivah tossed on her gear harness with a pair of Z-14's just in case things got interesting and a spiked leather jacket to hide the hardware before heading out. She wanted to take the racing swoop strapped down to the side of the Reaper Kai's entrance ramp but settled on the second-hand bobber to avoid drawing more attention, same reason she didn't bring a rifle. Besides in all this mess it might get scraped up. She pulled up a map to this tower Das wanted to meet at and, screwing some earbuds into her ears for traveling tunes, she was off with a swirl of duracrete and landing pad dust kicked up in swirling eddies.

 

[Alicia Drey]

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Location: Direct 56, Sub-Level 54, Junction 23, Level 2.

The machinations of the Sith have no bounds.

Code Zero- as they were colloquially known by CorpSEC- was a hacktivist organisation operating within the Corporate Sector Authority. Within the cyberspace of the Operational Multisystem Network Alicia had made contact with one of these hackers over a period of many months. The conversations had ranged widely from politics to philosophy to the sharing of secrets. Ayra had played her part well. It had taken time but eventually she had gained the trust of the hacker known to some as, " F1B3R 0PT1X ".

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OPERATIONAL MULTISYSTEM NETWORK PROXY SERVER ESTABLISHED: 556.454.332 IRC: TH3G3NTL3M4N ​ <LAETOR HAS JOINED TH3G3NTL3M4N> <F1B3R 0PT1X>: hey <LAETOR>: hey <F1B3R 0PT1X>: u planet side? <LAETOR>: ye <F1B3R 0PT1X>: omg im so excited 2 meet u <LAETOR>: lol <F1B3R 0PT1X>: u brought it? <LAETOR>: ye <F1B3R 0PT1X>: omg rly? <F1B3R 0PT1X>: wtf did u feel tht? <LAETOR>: i jst saw a building collapse LOL wtf <F1B3R 0PT1X>: rly? wtf <LAETOR>: the world is ending <F1B3R 0PT1X>: the shaking has stopped r u ok? <LAETOR>: yes r u? <F1B3R 0PT1X>: im ok lol <F1B3R 0PT1X>: they r saying theres been a quake <F1B3R 0PT1X>: so many have died wtf tht could hve been me <LAETOR>: where r we meeting? <F1B3R 0PT1X>>: u still want to meet???? corpsec r gna be evrywhere <LAETOR>: jst tell me where to go <F1B3R 0PT1X>: ite <F1B3R 0PT1X>: do u kno district 56? <LAETOR>: ye <F1B3R 0PT1X>: ok im in sub-lvl 54 <F1B3R 0PT1X>: uhm be careful tho it looks crazy out there <F1B3R 0PT1X>: dnt get caught by security <LAETOR>: i cba <F1B3R 0PT1X>: what? <F1B3R 0PT1X>: r u ok? <LAETOR>: u 4got the junction u nerf herder <F1B3R 0PT1X>: relax <F1B3R 0PT1X>: im in junction 23, lvl 2 <LAETOR>: see u soon <3 <F1B3R 0PT1X>: <3 <LAETOR HAS LEFT THE TH3G3NTL3M4N> <F1B3R 0PT1X HAS LEFT THE THE3G3NTL3M4N>​

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The crimson light of her Lightsaber was Ayra's only source of illumination. Whoever her contact was inside Code Zero could not have found a more unappealing location for them to set up shop on Etti IV and after today they were fortunate to still be alive. District 56 could have been one of the several districts that collapsed during the quakes. But she supposed that was the point of being here. CorpSEC weren't likely to patrol or look for anyone here. After all the place had been abandoned for a reason.

Ayra had learned from an old survey report conducted over thirty years ago that a gas explosion had rendered District 56 as unhabitual. Residents had been evacuated from the area and it had been sealed off. In the decades since it seemed like the CSA had forgotten about it completely. Ayra suspected that Code Zero had something to do with that. She recognised when the truth had been obfuscated because she was a master at doing that herself. Much of her work was mired by half-truth, deception or misdirection. If these hacktivists had the right access it wouldn't take much to keep the CSA out and distracted from their activities here.

"Laetor?" spoke a voice.

Ayra turned in the direction of where it came from and saw just outside of the illumination of her saber the silhouette of a man. "Holy kriff! You are a Jedi?"

"No Fiber," Ayra replied as she lowered the tip of her weapon. "But I did kill the one who made this."

"Ah there's no way that is true." A smug laugh echoed from the darkness. "That is probably some fake you picked up. Made of plastic or something, right?"

"Yeah. You got me."

"Ite... well it's cool and all but you gotta put it away before you attract a Rakghoul. They are everywhere down here."

"Rakghouls?" Ayra asked as she deactivated her Lightsaber and clipped it to her belt. "That isn't true is it?"

"Nah it's true. Come." Ayra felt her hand being taken by Fiber. Letting it happen the hacktivist turned and begun leading her through the courtyard. As they walked together Ayra noted that he must have some enhancement to be able to see in the dark. She assumed it was cybernetic. "Yea. There was a sickness down here some years back and people started turning into these things. We found out that someone had let out some pathogen to route out the homeless down here so that they could start looking into re-opening the entire District. It was something called the Rakghoul Plague. Anyway, if we stay quiet they won't found us."

"I'd advise shutting up then," Ayra replied in a hushed whisper.

"Touche. This way now."

---

 

[Jrurki Liz]

Damn!

Damndamndamn!

Just Jrurki Liz' luck that the first time in probably months (maybe, she had lost count) that she actually had left the apartment she shared with Das the actual ground started quaking.

The teenage Zero stumbled on the sidewalk she had been walking down as a fissure opened the duracrete yards to her left. She had only enough time to get her hands under her, bracing to save her face from the same fate that her palms suffered. At least she wasn't made immediately aware of how scuffed they had gotten.

It wasn't presence of mind that kept her on the ground until the main shock rode out; it was muscle weakness. Adrenaline triggered by living through a natural disaster was lagging behind like an especially choppy connection to a CorpoNet database that definitely didn't want her snooping around in it. She couldn't have stood up as the ground was still quaking even if she wanted to.

Maybe that'd teach her to spend less time codewalking and more time attending to the basic needs of her physical body—like eating literally anything consistently.

Fat chance.

The hormonal energy kicked in just about as the planet came to rest.

"Gravityyyy!" she exclaimed as if seeing an old friend before pushing herself up and standing. She took strange comfort in being reminded so violently that physics was one of the only things the Corpos couldn't take away. They could strip credits and will to live away from the people, while making them keep on anyway, but the CSA's greed and iron fist could never iron out a planet's wild, mechanical nature.

After sweeping some of her blonde hair out of her face, and leaving blood from her torn-up palms on the strands as she did, she looked at her datapad watch. The screen was cracked from her fall but functional enough to allow navigation to her messages, and then for her to type out two replies.

If she ever single-texted, it probably wasn't her.

[LIZZ@RD] said: "Etti's still kickin! wicked~"
[LIZZ@RD] said: "+ omw"

Das Suerse Leli Kivah​

 

[Castor Crane]

​

Tags:

[CSA] OPEN​

[CZ] Das | Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Suerse Leli ​

Objective 2: Trauma Response
Location: ETTI IV

Castor monitored the reports closely, relying on his cybernetics to do the brunt of the sifting so that his organic mind could contemplate the real issues at hand. He paused when he saw Artemis Tau's name scroll across the screen. "What've you gotten yourself into now?" he asked no one in particular, a wolfish grin on his lips. He hated when the other Board members got themselves into trouble, but he couldn't help but relish the rare occasion when it was Artemis who needed a bailout. "... lack of structural integrity in Sakedo's lower levels ... ruptures in Zone 0 ... security concerns ... hmm ..."

The ExO scratched his chin, looking from the holopad to the panoramic window that spanned the entirety of his penthouse office. Even from where he was sitting, Castor could see the endless lights of the ecumenopolis. Billows of smoke rose from one of the outlying districts, likely 15 by the looks of it, but whether it was from the groundquake or one of the Warren's many factories, he couldn't tell. He also didn't care. "Send poor Artemis a Trauma Team detachment," Castor said with faux pity to a nearby supervisor droid. "They can take a look around the sublevels, keep out any unwanted... pests."

 

[Tizdalle Jyll]

Location: District VII, Etti IV
Wearing: Black tank and pants
Accompanied by: Dynamo and Bright
Tags: Das | Kivah | Suerse Leli | Kimora Min | Jrurki Liz

What the frack was I doing out and about after the disaster hit? When the ground shakes happened I was nice and secure in my safe workshop. Everything stayed perfectly in place just as I designed it. I was no scientist, but I knew that groundquakes could sometimes happen in clusters. I was investigating the history of groundquakes on Etti when the distress call came in. I looked ahead of me to see the reason why I had come out of my fortress. They were masterpieces for each of them. But they had no idea how to use the gifts they had paid me to install on them.

They wanted to be Vipers. Somehow they came into credits and sought me out to make them good enough to join the gang. On their first visit I had the distinct feeling that they were interested in asking me to be a third wheel in their relationship too. The second time they came to see me I was willing to let Dynamo think he had a chance to get closer to Bright. But on the third visit I realized that they were both dumbs as tacks and kept things strictly business. They were rich kids rebelling against their Corpo parents. The credits they brought made it so I didn’t have to scrimp on design so they became great canvases for my particular art. Then the ground shakes and I get a call. I was sure one of them went and karked up my perfect designs so I came to find them.

Sector seven had become anarchy. It would have been a nice thing to watch from a bit of a distance, but being in the middle of it was not why I left Denon. To make matters worse the idiots hadn’t actually broken any of my modifications. They had scoped out a droid shop so that they could loot the components for their next augmentations. Of course my labor and design was the most expensive part of the deal, but getting quality components for nothing would help. Their parents must have been cutting back on their allowances due to the rebellion. Too bad for them, but if I were to be honest, they were becoming a waste of my time. In the end they would probably end up covering my masterpieces the best they can and growing up to become Corpos themselves.

Standing on the street in the glow of the Sakedo Tower I took stock of the target the idiots had chosen and heard the call of sirens. This chaos wasn’t going to last long. I sure as hell wasn’t going to end up getting caught. ”Ok. The Corpos are already sending out response, which means they’ll do their best to put an end to this looting. You don’t need six hands grabbing merchandise. You need a list and a lookout.” I smirked and pulled the datapad from my pocket, typed up a quick list of components that would be needed for the next piece of work they had requested and sent it to Dynamo’s neural implant that would display in the display of the artificial eye that I had implanted for him.

”I will stay here and let you know if the Corpos show up,” Dynamo and Bright gave me a smile and a nod before heading off towards the droid component shop. Dynamo smashed open the security door with his mechanical hand. I cringed a little in his treatment of my design, but I knew it would hold up. When they rushed inside I shook my head and turned around to look at the marvel that was the Sakedo Tower. Since arriving on Etti IV I had pretty much stuck to my workshop in District Eleven. The Vipers kept me busy so what I couldn’t have delivered Sparkle ended up getting it for me.

”Seems like a perfect time to look around,” I said to myself, leaving the morons to fend for themselves. If they managed to pilfer the list I had given them and escape I would give some excuse of getting lost in a crowd. If not…didn’t really matter. Now to see what the commercial center of District Seven had to offer.

 

[Suerse Leli]

Anthem: Pain

Tags: | Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Das | Tizdalle Jyll |

Location: District VII, Etti IV

Equipment: D-200 Military Enforcer | PCW-876 | Bag o’ tools

It hadn’t taken long to make her way to District VII, using the side streets and jumping across buildings to make her way the majority of the way there. It was the preferred method of travel for those that didn’t have enough credits to get a ride or, even less likely, owned a ride of their own. What Suerse would do to procure a broken down speeder and have a safe space to work on it. Maybe one day, in the future, something like that would be possible.

Rooftop hopping, while her legs worked, was plenty fine for now.

As easy as getting to Sadeko tower had been, getting in looked like it was going to be all kinds of a different challenge. From a side alley across from the main entrance, it was hard to see how she was going to find a way in at all. She hadn’t seen a trauma team response like this in years. They were absolutely swarming the place, either all filing into the tower itself or setting up makeshift trauma centers for corpos that needed immediate attention. And that activity didn’t even count in the security teams that were locking down the area.

A spotlight sweeping near her position prompted a quick duck behind the bins to her right for cover. When it felt safe enough, and the shuttle above was shining it’s light elsewhere, Suerse stood a bit taller to look over her cover. The sweep above had prompted some movement in front of her, and she could see the majority of the activity up front had left the sides a bit more sparse with activity. Not to say there was no activity, but if she was going to find her way to the lower levels to find some electric goodies to sell, then a side entrance would probably be her best bet.

It didn’t take long to find an emergency exit near one of the cargo entrances, it’s door bent at an awkward angle from the piece of durosteel that had crushed half of it. From her position across the street, now hiding behind a large planter, she had only seen a few medics and security personal either pass by or exit from the door. And in the past few minutes, activity had slowed to a crawl. If there was a place to get inside and find her way to the lower levels, this was it.

Digging into the tool bag slung over her shoulder produced two items. A flashlight, and a beat up, copper colored flask. A few swigs of liquid courage, syrspirit, later, and Suerse found herself dashing across the street and up to the bent forward door. A quick peak inside showed the destruction wasn’t limited to the door, with a flickering light barely illuminating a set of metal stairs that seemed to descend forever. Spooky enough, and something that she could easily turn back from going down.

Too far gone now, however, and far too committed, Suerse found herself clicking on the flashlight, attaching it to her shoulder, and descending into the depths.

 

[Das]

(Post Soundtrack: "Hit and Run" by LOLO)

//: Tags:

[CZ] Jrurki Liz | Kivah​

[CSA] Castor Crane​

[Nearby] Suerse Leli | Tizdalle Jyll​

//: District VII, ETTI IV

[DASSS]said: "here. chit's ruff. hope u brought duffelbags X3"

The message went out and Das slipped the holopad into the bag she'd slung over her shoulder. She gazed up at the near-endless facade of Sakedo Tower, craning her neck to look up its 6-kilometer height, or as much of it she could see below the dense fog that encircled it. Beyond the cloud of condensed atmosphere, the only thing she could discern was the neon signage that lit the tower up like a Life Day tree. It made her sick to think of the thousands of Corpo sleamos inside, but luckily, their honey-do list was taking them to K-1, the under-loved bottom kilometer of Sakedo that sat below her feet.

As expected, the elevators that connected the street-level sidewalks to the lower levels were either damaged or maglocked and marked "OUT OF ORDER" to pedestrians. ExO Tau was even kind enough to leave a pair of Espos near them, which only served to confirm Das' suspicious about K-1; chit was bad down there. But, in the wise words of Reggie , "one Corpo's chitshow is another's goldmine." She walked past the officers, strutting with as much normalcy as a post-earthquake pedestrian could. The moment she was beyond their periphery, though, she broke into a bouncy little jog toward a nearby maintenance shaft. It was a duracrete tube running at a sharp 45-degree angle, just tall enough for a teenager to step down its rusted plank-stairs without having to duck. It had a keypad on the outside, but nothing fancy enough to give Das trouble.

She made quick work of the lock with her slicer, then leaned against it to keep the door from swinging open if another aftershock hit before the girls were began their descent into K-1. Das reached for her holopad and sent another quick message to let Jrurki Liz and Kivah know which side of Sakedo's footprint to meet her at. Then, it was a short flight of stairs down to what would be a free-for-all in the shopping mall.

 

[Kivah]

Search And Destroy
Tags: Das I Jrurki Liz I Suerse Leli

Pulling altitude had taken Kivah above the worst of the street stuff. Smoke from the spreading fires still clawed its way up at her but at least she didn't have to weave around partial collapses and people either trying to get home, to loved ones, needing help, or just out to see the damage. The tower Das wanted to meet at rose above it all seemingly untouched, as if no matter what happened to the city around it the gleaming edifice was somehow apart from it. Above it all in its corporate inscrutability. She'd hated it from the first time she'd laid eyes on the thing.

An automated airspace warning flashed over the swoop's screen warning her that she needed to descend or leave or risk being shot down. Kivah took it seriously and pushed her bobber into a dive until the flashing went away. She then parked up a few blocks away and made the rest of the trip on foot. Another message from Das buzzed her comm and she checked it while moving, just like any other feed addict trying to stay up on the latest.

[DASSS]said: "here. chit's ruff. hope u brought duffelbags X3"
[K1v4h]said: "Always"
[K1v4h]said: "Espo out here like they're trying to earn their credcheck"

Kivah kept up appearances, playing on her comm with one hand while her other held onto the bag slung over he shoulder. After that first heist with Dass boosting medical vials, she kept a few stuffed in another for just such an occasion. Rounding the corner she spotted the short girl and felt her face breaking into a grin as her lips pursed together. "Heya habber!" She called out cheerfully, her mood perceptibly raised on seeing her friend despite her use of the casual dig on the slicer. "Nice to see ya in meatspace again." She gave the tiny teen a fist-bump and turned a long leg to show off the skin tight Udyr biosuit clinging to her. "Whaddya think of the new 'suit? Ran me a few vertexes but way more protective than those second hand plates I had. A lot more discrete too and," she lowered her voice and leaned in, "I can barely tell its there."

 

[Tizdalle Jyll]

Location: District VII, Etti IV
Wearing: Black tank and pants
Direct Interaction: Suerse Leli
Vicinity Tags: Das | Kivah | @ Kimora Min | Jrurki Liz

Activity at the Sakedo Tower was tremendous and not of the ordinary commercial variety. With all the coming and going of the Tower it was not going to allow for me to make a good shopping trip, but I order everything for delivery. But there was nothing to stop me from going in and taking a look. Seeing the place and marveling at the wonder was the goal anyway. If someone in one of the trauma teams stopped me I could volunteer my services. Surely my anatomical knowledge could be put to some use. And if no one took notice of me I would see the greatest building of the district without the temptation to spend any credits.

As I eyed the main entrance to the tower I started to think over which sights I would visit first I noticed a form lurking in the shadows on my side of the street. With narrowed eyes I watched them. What are they up to? The looters weren’t exactly being sneaky about things. That was the nature of looting in most cases. Grab as much as you can as quickly as you can then rush off before someone tries to stop you. Sneaking made things take longer. My attention went back and forth from the creeper to the tower. Which one would wind up being more interesting?

Then the shadow made a break for the tower. Well now the answer to my question was easy. Even if the shadow didn’t take me on a guided tour of the tower, the tower would still be there tomorrow. Or whenever the disaster relief was concluded. Unless the shadow was here to do some sort of damage to the tower. I’m not sure why I found that I should follow the shadow, I’m not one to search out danger after all. But something told me that the morons pilfering the store behind me were a vehicle to something bigger. I wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity.

The shadow had found a quick side entrance, damaged to the degree that entry didn’t take long. I paused however when I saw something slung over the shadow’s shoulder. A rifle? No, I don't do guns. Well. I try not to. I continued to creep silently towards the door and my knowledge of tools allowed me to let out a sigh of relief. It was a fusioncutter not a rifle. I was a little less cautious, but sneaking plus fusioncutter meant criminal activity. And I wanted to know what sort.

The door proved to be a small obstacle to the shadow and it was the same for me. Once inside I was relieved to not be too far behind. I followed the shadow’s flashlight, downward, at a pace that brought me within speaking distance. With a gulp I steadied myself as best as I could to figure out what was going on. ”Hey,” I whispered in a timid tone. Hoping the figure would realize that I’m not with the Corpos. ”You’re going to get into big trouble down here. What’re you looking for? I can probably help…”

 

[Suerse Leli]

Anthem: Pain

Tags: | Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Das | Tizdalle Jyll |

Location: District VII, Etti IV

Equipment: D-200 Military Enforcer | PCW-876 | Bag o’ tools

Descending the stairs wasn’t exactly easy. Multiple of the metal stairs had been cracked or bent at unnatural angles, making descending through the darkness a chore. It seemed the worst near the middle of the descent, where a large piece of metal, probably a support beam, had punctured through the wall and was sitting at a diagonal over the stairs. There was just enough room to squeeze past the bottom, letting her continue to make her way downward. After beam, it seemed like things were clearing up, and it looked like the descent was quickly coming to an end.

It was after moving under the beam that she heard the footsteps behind her for the first time. She paused for a slight moment, letting her foot hit the step below a second slower than before. Whoever was behind her hadn’t noticed, stepping the same as her previous cadence. That’s when she was convinced that there was truly someone behind her, and it wasn’t just her overactive imagination playing tricks on her.

The next chance she had, Suerse let her hand slide down the side of her body slowly, clicking open the button that held her blaster to her thigh. Her eyes were dead set forward, even if her ears were still listening to the movement behind her. If she could just get down to the door, maybe there was a chance that she could make a break for it and lose whoever was making their way down..

Whatever plan she did have in mind for when she got down the stairs went straight out the window when the timid tone behind her spoke up. Suerse whipped around, leveling her pistol at the figure in the same motion, while her other hand gripped onto the railing to hold her steady. The sharp pain, probably from cutting her hand on the railing she gripped onto having some piece of metal jutting out, shot through her palm and up her arm. Gritting her teeth, forcing her gaze upon the one that stood just a few steps above her, she ignored the pain for just a moment.

“And what, exactly, is it to you what my business is? Are you corpo? Trauma team?” Suerse finally got a good look at the woman, finding her to look like neither of the things she had just confronted her with. That didn’t mean that the engineer could just relax. Though, maybe pointing the blaster away would help get a few more answers. The tip of the pistol slowly lowered to the floor, though very much still ready to be brought up again. “Why did you feel the need to follow me all the way down here? I’m on my own business.” Her normally steady, deep voice was wrought with a painful grunt, feeling her palm once again shoot pain up her arm as blood dripped onto the stair below.

 

[Tizdalle Jyll]

Location: District VII, Etti IV
Wearing: Black tank and pants
Direct Interaction: Suerse Leli
Vicinity Tags: Das | Kivah | @ Kimora Min | Jrurki Liz

As flashy as the Corpos made things look, you would think they would make sure that the facilities were top notch…well maybe they only cared about what was above ground. Under the surface their whole world was chit. And they brushed away what they didn’t want others to see down here. That was a bad realization for me to make, but not terribly surprising. The softness of my steps suffered as I had to pay closer attention to where my feet would land. I would have to make Sparkle remind me to stay above ground on Etti going forward.

Not being a gun user myself, the movement of my “mark’s” hand down her side didn’t suggest any particular danger to me. And I was still pretty focused on not tripping and falling into her. That would have been trouble. If I had known she was reaching for a weapon I probably would not have talked, but no going backwards. So my words froze the woman. I guess that was what I was looking for. If I were in her position I would not have reacted with hostility, but I don’t sneak into basements with fusioncutters.

The woman moved with a quickness that suggested they knew I was there before I spoke and she was ready to react. My words just made the action come quicker. I blinked frozen for just a moment when the pistol was leveled at my face. I instantly raised my hands and whimpered unconsciously. It was not the first time I had a blaster pointed at me. Just wasn’t something that I ever was likely to be used to. I was a scientist (if a bit against the nerdy norm) and a business woman. You’d think I would adjust to the locale that I chose to do business, but didn’t seem that I was quick to adapt. Shying away was easier.

”W-w-wait…d-don’t…shoot,” I stammered in response to her questioning who I was. Luckily she expanded asking if I was with the Corpos. Well at least I knew whose side she was on. And since technically I didn’t belong to either side it was good for me to know who I was defending myself against. ”I…I-I’m no Corpo. I c-c-could pr-probably help out a t-t-trama team. But. I’m an independent d-d-droid designer…” my eyes sunk and I admitted the rest. ”A-a-and a b-b-backroom m-m-mod d-d-doc.”

As the point of the pistol lowered so did my hands. I still wasn’t exactly comfortable, but I guessed by my appearance she didn’t think I fit with the corporate bastards. My eyes followed the blaster downward and stayed there as she asked why I followed. ”T-too curious for my own g-good” I answered with a gulp. ”I was j-just going to t-t-ttake a look around the t-t-tower, then I s-saw you and my interest was d-diverted.”

Again my interest was diverted as I waited for the pistol to be pointed at me again I noticed blood dripping from the hand onto the stairs. ”You’ve hurt yourself? I-I am not exactly trama team certified, but as I said I do medical work….sorta…not all of it is necessary but…oh Force! I can look at your wound if you’d like. Don’t have any supplies, but something tells me you can help get whatever might be needed…”

 

[Suerse Leli]

Anthem: Pain

Tags: | Jrurki Liz | Kivah | Das | Tizdalle Jyll |

Location: District VII, Etti IV

Equipment: D-200 Military Enforcer | PCW-876 | Bag o’ tools

Well, the woman in front of her wasn’t exactly wrong about her assessment of the wound that Suerse had suffered. It was stinging like a corellian ant bite, shooting fire up her arm. She didn’t even want to take her eyes off the woman long enough to assess it herself. It wasn’t like she trusted her to go and start digging around her hand, but her curious follower had admitted to being a medic of some kind or another before she saw her wound. It’d be a pretty convenient lie to make up before seeing it.

A sigh escaped her lips, realizing that she had to at least play along long enough for this doc to patch her up. “Fine. I’m sure we can find an emergency medical pack somewhere downstairs. Follow me, but no sudden movements.” Turning, Suerse slipped the blaster back into it’s thigh holster, although she didn’t clip the clasp back on yet, wanting to be able to pull it back out quickly if needed. Pistol safely holstered, Suerse started back down the stairs, standing at an angle as she moved downward. It helped her keep an eye forward, but easily look back to check on her new tag-a-long.

The scene once they stepped out of the stairwell was little better than the state of their descent. Lights flickered on and off sporadically. Walls were broken in, pipes that would’ve been hidden behind them spraying water high into the air. This level of the tower was far, far out of service even before these quakes had started happening. All they did was open up an already festering wound.

Deep blue eyes scanned the scene, eventually settling on something that might hold some promise. A food stuffs stand, clearly abandoned for a long time, sitting in the middle of a pair of stores. Striding up, jump sliding her way across and over the counter, she started to dig into the shelves behind. “It used to be Etti regulation that every one of these places had some sort of medkit if they had fryer. Now, I have no idea how many of those places actually followed those regulations, especially since they bought out so many of the inspectors…” A triumphant sound came from behind the counter, Suerse popping up with a dust covered medkit. “Alright doc, lets see just how good you are.”

She placed the medikit, popped open to reveal a small bacta sprayer, sewing needle kit, and a bandage pack, alongside her outstretched injured hand. It was a nasty cut, deep across her palm. It stung, still bleeding, turning the glass underneath it into a smudgy red. Suerse reached back into her back, pulling out the flask to take another quick swig. “Get to it. Let’s get a move on.”

 

[Das]

(Post Soundtrack: "Hit and Run" by LOLO)

//: Tags:

[CZ] Jrurki Liz | Kivah​

[CSA] Castor Crane​

[Nearby] Suerse Leli | Tizdalle Jyll​

//: District VII, ETTI IV

A faint tint of pink warmed Das' cheeks, but she'd easily blame it on the neon lights flashing overhead if Kivah asked about it. "Remind me to pick one up for myself," she said with a playful wink. The smile on her lips dissolved quickly though as a patrol of Espos moved past them on the far side of the walkway, making their rounds. Das rolled her eyes at them and patted the door behind her playfully. "I'm ready to take a look at the stock downstairs," she said grinning. "Got your eyes on anything, Kiv? I think I want a new piece of chrome, something to sync better with my speeder." It'd be especially useful for jobs like this, when she fully expected to be rushing from the scene in her Phantom. She could certainly make use of more control of its mechanical capabilities.

"Let's hope we won't need it today, though," she said, consoling her inner monologue more than Kivah. Her expectant eyes scanned the walkway, hoping Jrurki Liz hadn't gotten lost or help up by Corpos on the way over. The half-droid girl was certainly capable of defending herself, but Das still worried about her from time to time.

 

[Tizdalle Jyll]

Location: District VII, Etti IV
Wearing: Black tank and pants
Direct Interaction: Suerse Leli
Vicinity Tags: Das | Kivah | Kimora Min | Jrurki Liz

I held my breath for a moment. Though she had lowered the weapon that didn’t mean that she would accept me as an ally or even let me look at her wound. Sure it was bleeding pretty good, but it was probably survivable. Not like she absolutely needed me to take a look. But it was a way to build trust. But that was a two-way street. Not only did she need to trust me, but she had to let me trust her. I somehow didn’t think that was a high priority for her.

When she relented I finally let out my breath and gave a timid nod. I gave a bit of a smirk as the woman suggested an official medkit. I was thinking much more short term myself. Some fabric or something to control the bleeding. Perhaps enough of it to apply some pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding over a small amount of time. If she had knowledge of where a medkit might be that would make things pretty easy. ”Whatever keeps the blaster in the holster,” I said meekly as she told me not to make sudden moves. I followed along and was relieved to find that she did seem to have a pretty good idea where she would find what we were looking for.

I was a little put off by what the Corpos had allowed the basement of the tower to become. Sure some of the damage probably was exacerbated by the groundquakes, but this place had been neglected for quite some time. The only thing that prevented people like my new “friend” from coming down here before now and looting the place was likely the attention to the above ground levels. With a panic happening up there it made sneaking down here much easier.

The selection of a food store made sense. There was a bit of danger in preparing food. It made even more sense when the young woman explained that it was law. Ignoring the law might be a regular occurrence on Etti, but if there was a law the presence of the medkit would be more likely. I smiled at the exclamation she made when she found what she was looking for. The smile disappeared when she turned the pressure on me.

I stepped closer and looked over the contents of the medkit and the wound on the young woman. There was more blood than I would have liked, but it didn’t seem too bad. My hand went towards the laser cauterizer, but that was just instinct. I was used to much bigger jobs than this. After a moment’s pause I grabbed the spray-bandage. ”I wasn’t expecting a full on medkit to work with…” I said as my other hand reached out and took the young woman’s wounded arm. I gave a smile. Though I used my hands a lot for work, I was a bit vain. She would find my fingers quite soft and gentle.

”Just a quick spray will do the job if this isn’t too far past its prime,” if it was, there were still batca patches in the kit that I could use. But spray was the least cumbersome remedy. ”I’m Tizdalle by the way. You can call me Tiz if you want.” I watched the spray do its thing and it seemed to be working. I gently blew on the spray to quicken the drying process as she seemed to be in a hurry. I looked up and actually saw her for the first time and gave a weak smile. On the stairs it had been hard to tell just how much taller than me she was. Now it was quite obvious. I liked her skin color and the tattoos on her face. ”I think you should be good now.”