Hair of the Wolf: Open for Business

Posted: April 18, 2007, 7:16 am

@ Falkon: I love it when you use big fancy words...... Very Happy

"We are where we are" (Kusari Zen Kohan) I would suggest that we are probably running out of one of the Zoner Worlds - probably NY as it gets most traffic - or maybe New Berlin (easier to get hold of the Continental style beers) or maybe one of the Bretonian systems....who knows - you can all decide for yourselves.

@SLicer: "Its a raid!" yelled Zeb. He lept behind the bar grabbing at the plasma gun hanging under the bar. Wolf rolled to the floor with Stinger swiftly in line pointing at the first figure through the door. Victoria hit the light switch and it went dark in the bar, the figures by the doorway were outlined by the haze from outside. SLicer had slid forward on one knee and engaged the first entrant with two shots. One to the head and one to the chest. It fell backwards, a massive hole where its face had been. The shots rang out, pinging off the protective bar cover that had automatically decended when Vicky hit the lights. From the left a large tray came spinning through the air catching a second raider offguard followed by a screaming ball of fire in the shape of Li'l Liz two dart pistols blazing as she took out the distracted figure who fell to the floor like a punctured pin cushion. There was an odd choking sound and Zeb could see the looming figure of the Eclipse Nomad that had moved in a blur across the face of the bar and had grabbed one of the assailants by the throat - whatever else was happening Zeb did not want nor need to know. Another three had come rolling into the bar. Whoever this was they meant business. Two "flashbangs" rolled in towards the bar. "Cover!!" Zeb yelled. There was a blinding flash and a thunderous bang that made Zebs ears ring. Luckily they had all covered thier eyes. Wolf's pistol blasted at the door and the plasma gun cut one of the raiders in half. It all happened so fast yet so slow. Zeb shouted at Wolf. "Take Vicki and check the back."

Vengance was covering the doorway with Liz and Katchiko. Zeb checked the plasma's load. Good to go. SLicer was by the bar.

"What the heck is going on?" thought Zeb, "Who are these guys?......................"

Posted: April 18, 2007, 3:18 pm

It all happened so fast. The shouting, the shots the, the lights going out. "It's a RAID!" Zeb had yelled. I grabbed Stinger and hit the deck. By the time I had crept to the edge of the bar on my hands and knees with plans to get the advantage of surprise Zeb yelled "Cover!" Then there was a brilliant flash and my ears felt stopped up. I fired blindly in the general direction of the shadow in the doorway, on account of I couldn't see anything. I hit something... I could tell by the sickening thud and sizzle only Stinger made. Then as fast as it had started it was over.

"Take Vicky...!" Zeb was saying but I wasn't listening. I was looking for the bodies. I wanted to know who had invaded our little place and taken all the fun out of the night. But as hard as I peered through the smoke I couldn't see any. "What the heck is going on!" Zeb and I yelled as one. We looked at each other and back to the door. Vengeance looked as unsettled as I'd ever seen. There was no one there. Anywhere. No blood, no bodies nothing. But the stink of the carnage hung in the air. I walked to the door beside the Big Guy and we looked out into the night. Nothing.

"I know this happened," I mumbled. "It did happen, didn't it?"

"It happened, my friend," came the quite reply.

"It was like shadows, there and not there," I mumbled again. For some reason my voice wouldn't come out.

Vengeance made this sound I never thought I'd hear from the hunter. "For the love of all the Void..." he said quietly.

""Huh?" I said as intelligently as I could. I looked at him sideways.

His eyes looked like there were going to pop. All the color had drained from his face. He shook. He looked at me... no, he looked through me. "Shadows..." he breathed. "They're back. And we're f****d."

The way he said it sent a cold chill down my spine.

From the back of the room a voice moaned, "Where am I?" Falkon rose shakily to his feet from behind a fallen table.

I looked at Zeb, he looked back at me.

"I thought we were in New London," I said. "But now I'm not so sure. This place looks like Hell..."

Posted: April 18, 2007, 3:56 pm

Falkon and Zaphod started looking for signs. Anything that would give a clue as to where these Shadows had come from. Pi started sniffing about, but balked at the stink left behid. Zeb turned to SLicer. "Just who exactly have you upset recently?" Without waiting for a reply, Zeb got the port bottle out and dripped some on the floor. True to Shippers recipe the place was as clean as it could be. The smell had almost gone. "Best not waste that." suggested the Wolf. Zeb nodded. The tall dark fellow beckoned to Zeb, and Zeb walked over to where gav was standing by the bar. A gloved hand removed a card from the inside of the voluminous cape that dragged round gav's shoulders. It was a Fallen Tarot Card. The Ace of Fools. gav placed it on the bar in front of Zeb. The menacing voice whispered like a hiss of steam. "These are the dreaded Shadows. They take. Worse than we as they do not give anything in return. This visitation is a return of an ancient curse." He glanced over at SLicer. "Someone may have been foolish...."

"Great," thought Zeb. "Another bunch of trouble heading this way." Argh came across to Zeb. "Me old mate. Some of the AoF traders have just messaged me - one of the banks got hit. They took nothing. Vapourised along with the escort. Just left hanging there. Voyager and Chakotey saw off the vultures and rescued most of the gear. Reports have been coming in from all over Sirius. Shadows. They're back...."

Posted: April 18, 2007, 6:00 pm

Shadows? Voyager? Chakotey? Either I'm not keeping up with all the pilots at the Void or we're seriously in danger of mixing our sci-fi settings!
Incidentally, thanks for the impromptu invite to this thread. As it happens, NL is the first place any escpaing criminal from Dublin goes to. Smile

Falkon looked around nervously, his face twitching, as he reached into his long coat pocket and pulled out a red and yellow pill and swallowed it. Then his face calmed down and he looked instantly more relaxed.

"Hey, relax," he said in a mock injured tone to Zaphod. "I just broke out of the Hood, killed a Xeno and stole his ship, which handily happened to have a small smuggling compartment fitted, complete with a small supply of the golden leaf."

He turned to Zebulon and Watchwolf. "So tell me," he said, seemingly casually. "Zeb, you sprung me out of Dublin, and Wolf, you got me here. What do we do next?" He grinned deprecatingly and then added, almost as an afterthought, "and yeah, the fuzz are looking for me. Let's keep a low profile, eh?"

"Irrevocably and mendaciously recalcitrant, old chap!" ~ Falkon, in conversation with Zebulon.

Posted: April 18, 2007, 9:20 pm

"Shadows ehh? I've never seen one before.... Until now. They look like a dreary bunch to me"I said coolly. The bar was restored to its original condition after the drop of port fell onto the concrete.... or lynolium... or wood... or whatever. I decided to check outside. "I'll be back in a bit Zeb. Im gonna check outside" i said to Zeb. He nodded in acknologment as i went outside. The construction crew was gone. The tools, the machines everything. Well, almost everything. The digging was still uncompleted. I went into the hole in the ground to look.

There were bodies everywhere. The stink of human flesh plugged up my nostrils and i had to cough. There was a light coming from the end of the cave. My curiosity pulled me to the light like a magnet. At the end, there was some kind of device. It seemed to be some teleporter. It was pulsing an evil-kinda purple. I stepped inside to take a look.

I stepped out onto a platform. In front of me in the distance was an some ancient city of some sort. There were shadows flying over the city it seemed. Then, the ground started to rupture. Out of the center of the city, a Nomad battleship was launching into space. I looked up into the sky. The heavens i saw reminded me of Unknown 2. Even farther into the distance, i saw more ships launching. It was like the Shadows and Nomads were gonna invade Sirius again. But with more force.

I heard a hiss behind me. My hand grabbed my blaster as i turned and shot a Shadow in the head. More of them were coming through the underbrush surrounding the platform. I ran back into the gate, out of the digging site and back into the bar. "They're f****ing coming by the millions!!!! Shadows AND Nomands!!!!!" I screamed. The bar was dead silent.....

Posted: April 19, 2007, 9:10 am

@Falkon: I'll put on some Corsican Home Ground and knock up some chasers, just to ease the "redandyellows". Might help that twitch a bit. AoF is always glad to have you about. You have a knack of getting us things. What I could do from you now is some more information. Given that you are capable in the areas of espionage and general underhandedness, could you do a bit of intel gathering with some of your more "interesting" business contacts? I would try, but I doubt they would talk to me, my rep sucks with those guys. I want to know just how big the Shadows threat is to this business, danged if I'm going to hang up my hat because a gang of weirdo's are aiming for Void dominance - I just want to know if they will stand their own round when it comes down to it.

@SLicer: Be careful - dont go stickin' your neck out too far........

Zeb turned and noticed that SLIcer had left the bar. Zeb went back to the bar and started making the coffee, making sure the Plasma gun's safety was applied and it was hung back under the bar as always....."Now where has Watchwolf gotten too...?"

Flight Captain Joined: Dec 03, 2006 Posts: 227

as zeb looked on, the quiet looking guy at the bar nosedived
straight off his bar stool & into the cleavage of what can only
be described as a barely female monkinian glass collector.

within seconds the heavies had picked him up and ejected
him out the door amid the shouts of "dyo yoooou knoouw
wwwhooo iii amn, im d d d da hemvens gaete weada"

Posted: April 19, 2007, 4:10 pm

Falkon came over to the bar and accepted the drink Zebulon offered him, drinking noisily and belching afterwards. He grinned. "You've always gotta be a little dramatic, eh? Anyhow, I only have contacts with the Hackers, Rogues, Outcasts and Junkers - the Zoners are ignoring me for now. Maybe it's that problem with the Xeno, but they'll come around. The fuzz might not, so I'll have to be a little cautious."

He finished off his drink, this time politely, and considered briefly. "I know of a safehouse where I have a stash of goodies - some money, clothes, fresh passcards etc., as well as maybe a few commodities to sell. After all, in my business, you never know when you're going to get apprehended." He shrugged. "My very first bust was right here in Bretonnia - Cardiff, Cambridge, in fact - and so I've always made sure I have extra resources hidden all over Bretonnia."

Lt. Commander Joined: Sep 24, 2005 Posts: 459

Ooough! Where am I? Who am I? My brains feel like being smashed out by a slice of lemon wrapped round a large gold brick.
Very Happy

That's how it must be. Barkeeper, your Gargleblaster WW Special was worldclass. I guess it was the Plutonium.
You'll get a "must go there" in the Gargleblaster Section of The Guide.

Errm, can someone show me the way to my ship?

Posted: April 20, 2007, 12:37 am

@Zaphod: No worries mate Kachiko will guide you to your vessel. You are most welcome to call again.

@ Falkon: Glad to know that you are well prepared. Just keep your ears to the ground and give us a shout if you hear anything worthwhile on the grapvine. Keep your head down mate and come back here soon... Very Happy

@VoiDeus: If female monkinians are your thing then all you have to do is ask. No need to be shy round here. *(Zeb beckoned to the lead bouncer. "Rachel, my dear, will you ensure that Mr VoiDeus is accomodated as best we can. I am certain that his initial indiscretion was a result of a long time in the vastness of the Void & get the guy a decent drink)*

"Boss?" It was Katy, our second door person. "SLicers gone. He went outside to take a look at the digging crew. Before I could get to him he had climbed down into the workings. There was a flash of light and we searched to see where it had come from. It looks like it may have been one of those teleportal modules. I got a bad feeling about all of this......" Zeb just nodded that thoughtful nod of his. What was concerning him was the absence of the Wolf. In all the confusion he had lost sight of his partner. Chances are he would already be on the case and contacting some of his widespread companions. So I thought it was time for me to get on the blower to a few of our other "associates" and try and get a better picture of where we were placed at the "Hair of the Wolf".......

Posted: April 20, 2007, 2:36 am

They were all coming into the room, The shadows from the dig site and then.... I awoke to the sound of, "What the heck is this fool doing here?" I found to my surprise that i was starring at the celling of the cave, a worker starring at me like what the heck. I tried to get up, but there was a sharp pain on the back of my head. I put my hand to my head and when i brought it back it was covered in blood. " hey man, are you alright? " the worker said. " I have no idea." i replied. I turned to look at where the flashing was supposed to be, but all it was was sparks from a damaged electrical wire. " Dude, what happened?" Asked the worker. I was trying to regain my thoughts, but i couldn't. "concussion, apparently" I managed to think up. " here, lets get you outta here." It was morning outside. There was a barrier covering up some of the street. On the parts of the barrier where it turned, there was this red-and-white whatever it was. It was really familiar, but i couldn't get why. Then i heard a scream of some sort. It was backing down fast in pitch and progress up slowly in pitch. Then i saw a familiar blur come along as the sound went down like puuuuwwwwwweeeeeeeooooooooouuuuurrrrrroooooooooouuuuuuuu-d-uuuuuuuuuuuuu-d-uuuuuuuuu-d-uuuuuuu.....
It was a Formula 1 Hover Car. I looked to the worker, apparently with an expression of "huh?". "Gran Prix" he said. I was still confused over everything. The worker then said " you should get checked out by a doctor. That cut looks pretty bad!" the worker said. I nodded to him, then he went next to the barrier.
I went back into the bar. It was empty except for Zeb and one of the waitresses. "SLice! where have you been?" Zeb shouted. I couldn't find an accurate answer. "I dunno...." I managed to say. Then the waitress added, " maybe it's been a long night....." No duh! "....... you should go home and rest" Then my brain sorta melted a bit. "uh........ where's home?" Then they noticed the big cut at the back of my head.......

Posted: April 20, 2007, 8:50 am

It was all getting a little weird for Zebs liking. The door to the bar swung open and a rather groggy looking SLicer moved into the bar, rubbing the back of his neck. Katy slid her pistol back into the hip holster when she realised who it was. Zeb approached him. "Man, you look like you fell down a hole." He lifted SLicers hand away from the cut. Nasty. Not too deep but enough to be painful. "What happened?" SLicer told Zeb. "Lets get that seen to" stated Zeb, reaching for the first aid kit, "Hmmm....Does this kinda thing happen a lot to you?, Cos if it does you need to go talk to someone tha t knows stuff. I dont hold with it, but there is some old Liberty crank case of what passes for an Empath down on the corner of Ford and Drail. Ive seen some of the Fallen come and go from her place. She might get a handle on whats going on." Zeb drew the Fallen tarot card from his pocket. "Take this with you. Make sure she sees it and for pity's sake be careful..."

Zeb went out and noticed that the work crew were back. Not the same as before. Regular types. Roustabouts. He walked over to the guy with the reflector jacket and the compad linkup. The bloke seemed to be doing some measuring. Zeb tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey buddy, who's the boss round here?" "Who wants to know?" came the reply. "I do" said Zeb indicating with his thumb at the Bar behind him. "I'm the owner". The workman nodded. "That would be me then. Harry Smith". He offered Zeb his hand. Zeb shook it. "Zebulon Antarxis, co owner and proprietor of the 'Hair of the Wolf'. Sorry to interupt but have you noticed anything weird recently?" Harry shook his head. "Nope, but lets go talk somewhere quiet. The Bar maybe?" "Sure" replied Zeb.

They came in through the door and Zeb indicated to Lil Beth for a couple of Bretonian Beers. Harry and Zeb sat down in the corner. Harry started. "Well to be honest we have been diggin' out the foundations for a new monorail to come through this part of town. You happen to be sitting on a prime bit of real estate cos you wont be more than a block away from the new scheduled station. This area could be on the up. We had a gang working near one of the pylon foundations that went missing for about 4 days. Six of them turned up for work this morning and couldn't tell us were they had been. The seventh one didn't come back. We guess he must have had a better offer. Zeb related SLicer's story to Harry. "Yeah, we had a few lads complain of headaches and one had said he was having nightmares, a bit like your pal. I gotta get back to the crew, but I'll keep an ear open and see if anything comes up. " Harry left with a waive. Zeb's brain started into a higher gear. Something was definately going on and it appeared that it could very well be a type of teleporter, hence the headaches and the dreams particularly if the device was small and powerful. Zeb's turn to scratch his head. "I wish the Wolf would get back, I need to ping this one off him..........."

Posted: April 20, 2007, 1:40 pm

Teleporters? I wasn't aware that FL was that advanced in superscience. Contra-gravity - yes - but teleporters?

"Thanks for the drink, Zeb, and for the springing of course, if I haven't already thanked you enough. Would you care to spring off me?" He rubbed his messy beard and muttered, "I'll need to take a shave."

Posted: April 20, 2007, 3:27 pm

Zeb laughed. "Well Teleporters are not something that most of Sirius would have or use. Though I could tell you a tale about a time when I got badly stuck in Omicron Gamma, the Nomads had all but beaten the hell out of me and the Outcasts were being none to friendly either. I got talking to some bloke that went by the call sign of "Strail" and whilst I was consulting my grim future as another gang of Nomads decided I was fair game, I suddenly found my nav charts and stuff off the dial, a flash not unlike going through a gate, a massive head ache and dizziness, and lo and behold - I was orbiting Manhattan - not a scratch on the old Rhino. I messaged Strail and asked about the technology - he laughed and said that we were not ready for the widespread use of this and I would have to earn the right to use it - all very criptic. Only ever saw the guy once after. He was a bit like the two in here earlier, polite, clean, rich and menacing. Hey the got rid of the Bounty Hunter's bodies for us so I am not about to complain. If the Nomads have gotten hold of this technology, this will mean trouble and chaos. No doubt a good turn of profit also."

"Anyway, lets get ya bathed and shaved. I'll get one of the girls to run you a hot bath, what with you straight out of Prison and all...."
Zeb winked at Falkon. "Relax and have some fun. It wont last forever ya know." Wink

Posted: April 21, 2007, 12:05 am

Heh. Are you intending to answer all my italicised OOC questions/comments with IC answers? Smile

"I certainly intend to. Tthanks Zeb - a bath and a woman could be just what I'm looking for." He grinned and disappeared upstairs.