Contract #3: I, Robot?

[John]

Max slides up to the bar, taps its top twice with his index and middle finger, and says,

"Whatever you're serving, barkeep-- my mother taught me not to be picky. Let's get a round of 'em. Much obliged."

[Drew Buddy]

Doc sets himself down on a stool, and leans on the bar, casually glancing around.

[GM Nick]

The bartender, a young Japanese ork, grins. He flips a towel over his shoulder and begins concocting drinks.

"This is the Lotus' specialty--I call it a frag grenade. The main component is distilled from a wildflower in Russia. It has measurable amounts of radiation from the bombing of Leningrad! That'll be ¥100."

[John]

A broad smile spreads across Max's face as the elf consciously sets his eyes alight with excitement. Hooting, Max slaps the bar and says,

"That sounds fraggin' excellent! Here's 150-- the rest is yours. Say, you mind if I ask you what it's like runnin' this place? I'm a legman for an investment firm, and I'm spending a couple of days around the arcology trying to get a ground-up feel for the place."

[GM Nick]

The orc bartender pushes the drinks towards the five companions. Appropriately enough, they're served in expended artillery shells.

"To be honest, it's pretty boring. I mostly took the job because my Mitsuhama gig is part-time. That and the subsidy on rent. The company likes to keep its employees in-house, and living under their roof. Who can blame 'em?"

[John]

Max takes a sip of the drink and winces appropriately. With a comical grimace on his face, the elf gurgles out,

"Whoa! If you're gonna give me something that stiff I expect to at least get a dinner out of the deal first! Wow!" Shaking it off, the elf smiles and nods as he says, "It is good, though. So what's your other Mitsuhama gig?"

[Elliott]

Tyros looks around and failing to find a chair that will fit him, simply leans against the bar. His eyes rove warily around the room, but always fall back periodically to the watcher spirit hovering in the corner. (Why force level is the spirit? Roll ascensing again as necessary).

Subvocally, <"Oh yes, we are being watched astrally. A watcher spirit has been following us since we arrived. I can banish it, but the Mage controlling it will know and will certainly sound the alarm. If we see the opportunity, i can do it and probably probe a security guards mind before they send backup, but it will be suspicious and will certainly result in our being expelled from the building."

[John]

While carrying on the hammy conversation with the bartender, Max responds to Tyros by saying,

<Best to play it safe and not tip anybody off to what kinds of people we are. Let's just play this straight and easy unless that thing frags off.>

[GM Nick]

Con Test (Max)

[Con (4) + CHA (7) + First Impression (2) = 4]
5 2 4 1 2 1 5 2 6 3 3 5 3
[Con (2) + CHA (2) = 1]
4 1 6 4

The bartender remains oblivious to Max's nefarious underpinnings.

"Nothing glamorous, that's for sure. I sift through research analysis and look for trends, make reports, stuff like that. Mitsuhama paid for my 'ware, so it's worth the boredom that it entails."

[John]

Max pretends not to be so interested so as to elicit suspicion and asks,

"What kind of research do you help with?"

[GM Nick]

"Commlink manufacturing. I've been trying to get a transfer to the robotics division though."

[John]

Max nods,

"Yeah, I've heard about some of the robotics research here. Exciting stuff! I wanted to go into robotics when I was first going to college, but family problems kept me from being able to go to school for that long, ya' rez?"

[GM Nick]

"I wanted to work under Doctor Takahara, but his division has had a hiring freeze for some reason. I never see him in the mess hall, either. He must just be really busy."

[John]

Max's face lights up in recognition,

"I've heard of Dr. Takahara! Supposed to be a genius... Have you ever met him?"

[GM Nick]

"Not personally, no. I've been a fan of his work for as long as I can remember. Trying to construct an android that can't be externally distinguished from humans? Amazing stuff."

Max gets the feeling he won't be able to squeeze much more relevant information out of the bartender.

[Drew Buddy]

Doc listens in on the conversation, genuinely interested in the description of Takahara's work.

"Well, I'm sure they'll be hiring again once they finish whatever they're working on," he says reassuringly to the bartender, as he knocks back the rest of the drink.

[John]

Max finishes off his drink and says,

"Hey, it's been good talking with you. Any idea where I might be able to find this Takahara? Or who could lead me to him? So much of Mitsuhama's future seems to be tied to him, that as part of an investment team I would like to talk with him for a few minutes."

[GM Nick]

The bartender shrugs.

"You're asking the wrong guy. I'm on the bottom of the food chain. You'd probably want to talk to administration, but good luck getting anything out of them."

[John]

Max smiles,

"Little tight-assed, huh?"

[GM Nick]

"You could say that."

[Elliott]

<"An android that can't be distinguished from a human, no wonder they are keeping the good doctor locked up. Not sure what else we can accomplish here without giving ourselves away. Shall we head back to the rover and see what we can dig up spelunking in the sewer feed to the geothermal plant? I don't see another way in to the robotics facility.">

[John]

Max taps the bar and stands, capping the conversation with,

"Thanks for the drinks. Maybe I'll see you around."

As he turns, the elf nods to Tyros and makes for the door.

[GM Nick]

(( Any further recon here, or will you be leaving the arcology? ))

[Drew Buddy]

Doc follows along, still feeling uneasy about the surveillance in the arcology.

If they've got this kind of security in the entertainment zone, I wonder what we'll find in the secure research facility.

[John]

(( As far as I can see, we're probably done here. ))

[GM Nick]

(( Where to, lads? )

[John]

(( Back to HQ? Unless somebody else has another suggestion. ))

[Drew Buddy]

"Okay," Doc says, once they're out of the bar, "Let's do what we set out to do."

"We should take a peek at the entrance to the research zone. Seeing the security they have on the outside might give us an inkling of what we face inside. It also might give us an opportunity to catch an employee as they leave work. We follow them into the residential district, then Tyros can do his thing."

[John]

Max nods and says,

"Sounds like a plan. I think it's this way..."

Max heads off toward the research quarter and then adds,

"We should probably act like a group of tourists that had a little too much to drink and got confused."

[GM Nick]

The lane to the research quarter is one of two parallel lanes that break off from the center of the atrium platform and extend through the middle of the arcology. A pair of twin glass doors lies on the employee end of the walkway, bearing large holo-graphic letters that say "Employee Access Only" in several different languages. Both of the central quarters reside in a tower of curved carbon-steel panels.

[John]

Max maintains his silly tourist persona as the team approaches the blocked entryway to the research quarter, but communicates to the team subvocally,

<I don't think we're gonna be able to get any closer without putting security on edge. I say we regroup someplace where we can talk and hammer out our plan.>

[Elliott]

<"Let's head to a local bar rather than back to base just in case we are followed initially. We have all our equipment with us so we should be able to launch whatever plan we have immediately and from close proximity if we stay in the neighborhood.">

[John]

Max nods and heads back toward the rover.

[John]

As the team makes their way back to the rover, the eerily deserted arcology looms massively about them. Were they on nearly any other street, a faint breeze would be winding its way toward and around them, but within the climate controlled structure the air seems perfectly still. With the static air comes the necessarily muted sound of the place. Max can't help but think back to the deserted Cloud Nine community through which the team had just stomped, but the elf feels no similar expectation for this mission. This place didn't feel quiet like a sleeping beast caught with its guard down-- no, this place is still and quiet like a powder keg-- immobile but ready to burn the world to cinders.

Max reaches the rover and climbs in, suddenly eager to be outside these walls and someplace more lively.

[Stephen]

Val climbs into the rover, throws up his hands in frustration, and lets out an exasperated sigh.

"No wonder the good doctor was offering such good money. I'd say it's about fifty-fifty that none of us end up alive to collect at the end of this little jaunt. I've never seen such security. Watcher spirits, drones, guards in full body armor... Not to speak of matrix security! I couldn't even hack a coffeemaker in this place without being subject to a full digital cavity search."