Public District Nine: Cold Snap

[Mercy]

Mercy was about to ladle up some more soup when it vanished out of her hand.

She blinked.

Looked at her hand. Then looked to Skaijn as he walked up to her. There was the ladle. Any question about swiftness was gone when he used the T-word... teleportation. "Uh." A blink as Mercy accepted the ladle and started to pour in another bowl. "Dun' think any kid didn't dream o' a chance to jus' vanish an' appear somewhere else they wanna be."

"That be a bit more than a lil' trick though, Skaijn." Which didn't mean Mercy wouldn't take it. "Guess it be a good thing the trip to Pomojema isn't just a one-day thing, plenty o' time to learn."

Oh, yes, it appealed.

"How ya do it?"

Skajin var Imret

 

[Skajin var Imret]

Skajin buzzed a Kubaz laugh and deposited the disposable bowl in a trash bag tied to the corner is a table.

Nurturing a good mood could get a darksider killed with ease — even the deepest hate took a few moments to roar up — but he allowed himself some optimism. A chance encounter with another darksider was rare enough. This one had proven to be positively serendipitous: a real upturn from a chilly fruitless day as a potential fugitive.

All that, a belly full of hot soup, and a tasty backalley cockroach for dessert.

"By thinking about it, carrring about it, and knowing it'sz posszible — the szame way you crrush a szkull."

 

[Mercy]

She raised her hand, spreading her fingers and making a fist, thoughtful expression present.

Just believe you could do it and that would make it so.

Wasn't that exactly how Mercy survived fight after fight? No matter the odds, from meat-eating trees to gargantuan mountain-shaped beasts sicc'ed on her by nerf herder Sith Masters. It was always belief that got her through. Not the muscles, not the killer instinct, no. It was knowing that at the end of the road she'd remain standing.

"Makes sense... I uh... dun' got a lot a doubt in mahself." Mercy admitted sheepishly. "Something tells me dis will be more difficult than crushing a skull... at least for me."

Because even someone as inherently narcissistic as Mercy understood the work beneath it. Her own muscles didn't just teleport into existence. It took years of training and then continued maintenance.

The act of hunkering down and grinding it out.

"What's yar limit? Ladle, s'okay. Can ya move yarself? Move something bigger than da?"

The hunger sliding into her eyes as she ladled up another bowl and pushed it to the refugee. Now her attention wasn't on the compliment anymore however. Skajin var Imret managed to claim all of it for himself in this moment.

 

[Skajin var Imret]

"What's yar limit? Ladle, s'okay. Can ya move yarself? Move something bigger than da?"

The soup tent was warm, but in due course they'd leave it for Denon's merciless and unseasonable cold, so Skajin revisited his clothes. The coat, the gloves, the boots and socks: it all needed rearranging, needed to be dried out a little and made comfortable.

"What'sz the human phrrasze? A one-trrick kaadu? I'm a szpecialiszt, and I've been teleporrrting forr yearrsz and yearrsz, szo moderrate yourre exzpectationsz. But yesz, I can move myszelf paszt a wall, orr farrther if I have line of szight. I've even made a shuttle move paszt enemy shieldszz — a szmall shuttle, juszt a jump of ten orr twenty meterrsz."

 

[Daiya]

Daiya had trouble getting her giggles under control, blowing a raspberry in Brie's teasing direction between fits. Her hands idly scraped together more snow, piling it up against her already-soaked pants and packing it down to form a snug, snowy blanket over her legs. She leaned against them as the dying dregs of her giggles spent themselves out, leaving her stomach aching and her hands busy patching up the snow.

She blushed against her legs, peeking between frosted waves of her blonde curls at the young man still wiping off the residue of her snowy headshot. The teen grinned, her pride eager to make itself known, "That was me. My arm."

Her arms were still gathering up snow, scraping the duracrete walkway clear, and packing it onto the pile over her legs.

She turned to look at him directly at last, without her hands or his hood in the way. His face looked like the sort who rarely showed it, pale from a lack of sunlight and darkened by makeup that offered shadows for hiding even in the brightest light. Her eyes followed the lines of his pronounced scars, a momentary thought wondered where they might lead, and Daiya felt herself pulling up the sleeve over her own scarred wrist.

"I'm Daiya," the young shadowrunner noted, and then tossed her head toward her best friend. "That's Brie, but don't underestimate her aim, either. She's had too much time to practice, I bet she could pick off a bug crawling on a piece of scrap from lightyears away." Daiya offered a toothy grin at the shadowed man, who hardly seemed old enough to be called one now that she could see his face. Older than her, maybe, but not by much. "And you?"

Daiya stretched out to wait for him to respond, laying on top of her snow-covered legs. They were wet, and somewhat warm underneath, yet offered a comfortable position for now, so she snuggled in.

Brie Jaxx Zephyrr​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie was shocked when Daiya proudly announced that it was her throw. Despite the young mans frantic coughing and wiping of his face, his voice and looks told the blonde shadowrunner that he could turn an evil eye to them. Her hand flew up to Daiya's always loud mouth, but it was useless and way too late. Brie held her breath for a moment before she realised that she might have misjudged the situation. The by one of two years older boy seemed to have taken i rather well, being hit by the hard and cold missile of Daiya. Brie let out and audiable sigh of relief as she let go of her best friend, feeling safe to let the little gamine free.

Once the situation felt under control, Daiya wasn't late to introduce them to the young man and at that dumping a load of brag upon him about Brie. The scrapper girl glanced down at her friend casually making herself comfortable in the snow, and mimicked a ''thank you'' towards the other shadowrunner, before turning back to the boy, now being at the two girls front line as Daiya anjoyed herself.

''Nice to meet you. That was a stray shot, for sure. Excuse my friend for not having any aim!'' Brie added with a slightly nervous chuckle.

Daiya , Zephyrr​

 

[Zephyrr]

Zephyyr looked from one to the other, smirking at the blonde who openly admitted to nailing him in the face with a wayward missile. Her friend, Brie?, seemed a little skittish at first - almost as skittish as he felt, but he noticed her relax when he didn't grow angry. He wasn't angry. In fact, he was impressed.

"I'm Daiya," the young shadowrunner noted, and then tossed her head toward her best friend. "That's Brie, but don't underestimate her aim, either. She's had too much time to practice, I bet she could pick off a bug crawling on a piece of scrap from lightyears away." Daiya offered a toothy grin at the shadowed man, who hardly seemed old enough to be called one now that she could see his face. Older than her, maybe, but not by much. "And you?"

Zephyyr eyed Brie warily before reaching up to wipe his nose - he could feel a thin stream of mucous running down his upper lip from the cold, and cleared it quickly with a wipe of his sleeve. "Um..." He started to say his real name, then thought better of it; "You can call me Zephyyr." He waved toward Brie, then directed those melt-ice blue eyes toward the woman staring at him from the snow. He grinned, flashing teeth which were remarkably white & perfect for being a street kid. Even at that distance, both could tell his canines seemed a bit... larger... than normal. The tips were pronounced like an animal's, giving his smile a slightly intimidating look - but he seemed friendly enough.

"Remind me to take cover, next time you two start blasting." He joked, then shrugged. "Um... You guys are from District 9? I've never seen you before."

He looked at Daiya, remaining as she was laying in the snow, and seemed like he wanted to offer to help her up. He looked down at himself, reaching up to brush some bits of snow & dirt from the front of his white sweatshirt; he was already dirty from practice, and would need to wash it when he got home. His mother would probably scold him.

"Uh.. you look pretty comfortable, but it's gotta be cold." He stepped toward Daiya & Brie, offering a hand to the beautiful young woman sitting in the snow. "Need a hand?"

Daiya Brie Jaxx

 

[Ivory Stroud]

A cold breeze whipped up frosty white powder, scattering it in a wall of freezing debris. The long street seemed to act like a wind tunnel - channeling the atmosphere into a forceful gail that alternated in speed & intensity. Ivory had attempted to take cover behind the large wheeled transport The Family had been using for their efforts in District 9, but (as cold wind typically did), there was not much shelter to be found... Even bundled in her warm coat, the freezing air found chinks in her winter armor, causing a bone deep ache on protected skin and a razor-sharp cold sting on her face and hands.
Her soldier, one of the human men she'd brought with her, sat safely inside the vehicle. The engine idled dully, providing a subtle radiant heat near the rear and front of the vehicle but doing nothing for its flanks.

Ivory narrowed her eyes, staring intently ahead. Their destination, only a few hundred yards down the road, was not as unoccupied as she'd hoped. A single CorpSec patrol shuttle sat, seemingly empty, near a hatch which entered one of the great walls which separated the district from its neighbors. The high barrier stretched overhead like a monolith; opposite to it was a line of old buildings, most of them either abandoned or damaged beyond repair.

She waited a few minutes longer, satisfied that there'd been no movement, and rejoined her associate inside the vehicle.

"Grab a rifle and your tools. We're going." She directed, and the man pulled himself from the driver's seat and got to work. For Ivory's part, she reviewed what she hoped were the proper schematics for the Maintenance Tunnels. Another of the members of her Family, a highly skilled Tech & Information wizard, had provided the information from afar. Hopefully, they wouldn't get lost or run into any armed CorpSec officers.

​

The maintenance tunnels were dark, cramped, and cold.

In a way, Ivory almost preferred the weather outside. At least there was a breeze, even if it hurt. Inside the cramped, dark hallways, the air smelled stale and oppressive. Rather than white light, Ivory had opted for the tactical red-light approach - protecting their night vision and allowing them to approach any would-be ambushers carefully. Ivory kept an eye on the holopad attached to her wrist, tracking their position on the schematics through on app on Cryptnet. She and her soldier moved cautiously... their footsteps controlled... senses alert.

Long before they reached the stairwell which would take them a level below, into Engineering, they heard an echo bouncing down the walls.

It was the distinctive sound of a CorpSec Radio. They were not alone.

 

[Doc Painless]

Ivory hadn't been gone for long when someone else barged into the tent, heading right to the front of the line.

Doc Painless looked calmly up at the newcomer - Sour, apparently - as she introduced herself and her companion. He didn't know her, but he hadn't know any of the other folks who'd come to drop off supplies, either; he had no reason to be any more suspicious of her than he had been of them. Which is to say, he maintained a healthy level of suspicion. Sour hadn't mentioned who her bosses were, or why they were making this generous donation, and that put him a little on edge. The supplies that'd come from the Hutts and Stroud had both had a clear goal: to build goodwill among the locals, cover for future criminal operations. But you could only build goodwill if your name was out there.

So what was Sour's game? The Doc had been on Denon long enough to know that nothing was truly free.

Everyone here had an agenda. The sooner you accepted that, the better your odds of survival.

He wasn't about to turn down the supplies, though, not unless he found out something really troubling about them. The line for his makeshift relief station hadn't stopped all day, and he intended to keep it going as long as he could - which meant he needed donations to keep flowing. So he might as well see what this was all about, and try to make an informed decision. "Sour and Badger," he said, offering them each a nod and a strained smile. "Well, that's very generous of you. These folks can certainly use the help." He screwed the cap back onto his little tube of frostbite balm and stood from his chair. "I'll be right back," he told the long line of people waiting for medical services.

"Lead the way," he said, falling in behind Sour. He kept one hand close to the butt of his gun, ready to draw...

... just in case this turned out to be the galaxy's weirdest attempted mugging.

Niki Priddy​

 

[Daiya]

Daiya winked at Brie's silent message, she was always eager to talk up her best friend. Especially to someone new who was looking rather intimidated by the pair of them playing in the snow. A gentle mirth bubbled up through the teen's throat, finding it all so surreal. There were things far worse than snow on Denon, and far worse than two teenage girls, so finding the young man rattled at all brought more giggles from the jubilant shadowrunner.

They became an open-mouth gape at the sound of Brie's words, and Daiya brought a hand up to her chest in a posture of offense. Her words were jovial and light, dancing along with the energy of her inner youngling's delight. "Brie, come on! After all I do for you, don't do me dirty like that."

She could have blown a raspberry to Brie, even wadded up a snowball to throw in the older teen's direction, but the dulcet tones from the dark-haired newcomer stole her attention. Zephyrr, as it seemed, introduced himself with a haughty grin that only added to the day's surrealism. Daiya couldn't drag her eyes from him, Zephyrr's haunting looks and battle scars belied his bashful manners, she couldn't help the urge to find out why.

Daiya found herself grinning a lopsided smile at Zephyrr's joke, though part of her wondered if she'd put the young man uneasy by her cavalier attitude. Violence was something most Denonites tried to avoid, and the young shadowrunner wasn't used to meeting someone who wasn't already steeped in it. Her teeth pressed against her bottom lip, a bit more self-conscious now, until Zephyrr offered a softball question instead. "Nah, we just came to visit." She gestured all around her, "'Cause snow!"

The teen patted the snowy blanket she'd wrapped her legs in, giggling at her impulsive creation. When the tall, dark newcomer stepped toward her, offering a hand and relief, she found herself in agreement. Despite her momentary enjoyment, the wet snow was soaking through her pants, chilling her legs so much she was starting to feel it in her upper body. "Oh yeah!" an astonished Daiya remarked, unused to any boy offering a kind hand over a cruel one at first. "Thanks!"

She took his hand, grimacing at their cold and wet contact, and it made her nerves tingle. Zephyrr was stronger than his lithe form would imply, and Daiya only strained against seeing the broad cracks in her snowy quilt. Once free, the teen stood beside the tall young man, craning up to his eyes to look into his icy-blue orbs. Her body shook, a shiver running down her spine, and she couldn't figure out if that was from his eyes or the cold.

Still, Daiya couldn't help herself from wanting him to stick around. "Wanna help us build a snow-hutt?" She leaned past Zephyrr's long shadow to catch Brie's eyes, nodding emphatically at her. The teen hoped her best friend would get the message and help her along. "It'll be fun, plus it's easier with three!"

Brie Jaxx Zephyrr​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Amused, Brie chuckled at her best friends whine about her doing her dirty. No, no. Brie would never do that without a twinkle in her eye. She guessed Daiya only put on a scene for her and the newcomer. Brie shaked her head and reached for a fist of loose snow, casually tossing it at her friend that was about to be helped up by prince Polite over there, offering a hand out of her snowy blanket. The thought of mentioning Cartri Keswoll passed the scrapper girls mind, but that would have been cruel for real. They were definitely going to have a talk about it, though. Brie had not asked about them since their journey down to The Abyss. Now that she thought about it, Brie became actually very curious what their civil status were as of now.

Brie had nodded in agreement when Daiya denied their residence to be district 9 for the guy.

''Where are you from?'' she asked curiously, in a serious tone that told the guy she were not going to accept him fooling them. A justified question if they were going to tell him who they were. Trust went both ways.

Again, she nodded in response to her friends invite for him to join them. Sure, he could join them in their day of just having fun in the snow.

Daiya , Zephyrr​

 

[Zephyrr]

Zephyrr smirked at the banter between the two pretty girls, shuffling his feet in the snow before approaching to offer aid. The tall, wild-haired young man took Daiya's hand and helped her rise from the bed of snow she'd made for herself; she weighed nothing to him, and his grip seemed immensely strong. Suddenly, they were looking at one-another face to face, and she could clearly see the high cheekbones, old scars, and a vibrant, clever soul peering down at her. He grinned, holding onto her hand for a heart-beat longer than was necessary. His heart skipped a beat as he instantly memorized her face.

"You're welcome..." He replied, brushing his hands off to cleanse them from snow.

The corner of his lip, already pulled along by the jagged cicatrix along his cheek, tugged upward in a small smirk. The wordless exchange between the two young women did not go unnoticed but he casually shrugged it off. The two seemed to be close friends, which he found a welcome sight - neither of them seemed innocent of the dangers of Denon, which intrigued him, and he expected they were evaluating him as much as he was now evaluating them.

Teenagers their age typically formed cliques on Denon in the interest of survival. The few "friends" he counted in his own social circle had formed similar bonds, but Zephyrr was a loner by nature. Still, the offer to join them for a little fun in the snow was a welcome surprise.

"Um.. I mean... yeah. I'd love to build a snow hutt. You sure it's okay?" He asked, glancing between Daiya & Brie Jaxx . He had some time before his delivery; the item in his pack wouldn't expire or get damaged from the cold, so he had little reason to run. So far. His demeanor implied that he didn't want to impose.

''Where are you from?'' she asked curiously, in a serious tone that told the guy she were not going to accept him fooling them. A justified question if they were going to tell him who they were. Trust went both ways.

Zephyrr looked at Brie, flashing her a smile before pointing deeper into District 9; toward the Corrigan Nature Reserve, which was only a few cliques from their current position. "I stay here in District 9 a lot, but I've got friends in District 7, too. I, uh.. move around a lot." He said with a shrug. "Lived on Denon all my life."

"Can you guys believe this weather?" He asked as they they'd begin scouting for a place to build their snow-hutt. "I've never seen anything like it... I've heard about snow, but Denon's never had anything like this before."

He, too, had heard the rumors that CAD was not entirely blameless - but he didn't know, yet, his audience, so he'd keep his opinions to himself. His parents had warned him to keep any conversation about CorpSec or CAD to a minimum. You never knew who was listening.

 

[Daiya]

Daiya beamed at the decision of her two companions to join her in building a snowy version of a hutt. The bulbuous beings had a nasty reputation on Denon, when she was just a youngling they were far more powerful and much more feared. Now they were like a story to tell friends and younger siblings, spooky tales of the boogeybag hutts and how their wrath would come back to haunt Denon someday. She rubbed her hands in glee, eager to make a likeness of one in the snow.

"Stars! It's more than okay, Zephyrr," the teen told him, rolling her eyes when he shifted his attention to Brie. Daiya used the moment to wipe off her sodden pants, shivering and rubbing some warmth into them again.

Brie took on Daiya's customary caution here, asking about where Zephyrr came from, and making all the furtive looks at the tall newcomer. A weight lifted from the young shadowrunner's shoulders as her friend stepped in where her light and feathery heart refused to stop. While Brie was worrying, and no doubt scrutinizing, the young man's replies, all Daiya could think about was whether she'd seen him before at the Blue Flame.

"I'm from Denon, too! Native shadow, didn't see sky 'til I was nine!" The teen might be giving too much information for her scrapper friend, but she didn't care. The giddiness offered a warmth that her body wasn't providing right now, even when she wrapped her arms around herself.

Finding a new patch of snow, that she hadn't already started melting, Daiya crouched down and pulled her arms away for a moment. She shivered in the creeping cold, her fingers already starting to grow numb. It made her work as quickly as she could, packing more of the gathered snow into a ball, then rolling it on the ground to pick up more. "I looked this up on the HoloNet before we came," the teen explained her sudden burst of knowledge. She shook her head and tucked her arms back under her armpits, standing up so she could use her feet to roll the ball larger and larger. "Denon barely has enough clean rain for it, too. Betcha we'll all get cancer from this —that's probably what the Corpos want, too."

Brie Jaxx Zephyrr​

 

[Mercy]

Skajin var Imret

A blink there and then nodding.

That... made a certain amount of sense. Disappointing? Yes, because Mercy doubted she'd ever focus on teleporting to that extent, so the way Skajin seemed to make it look effortlessly... would always be restricted from her. But still, maybe she could learn a little bit. A few tricks here an' there that could be useful in a tight spot.

"Yah, well, mah specialty be breaking things." She casually flexed her arm there. The eldritch one. The one tattooed by a little street urchin girl in an alley way.

Come to think of it.

Mercy glanced over to the entrance where Skeevi passed through. Hadn't she looked familiar? Hm.

"But eh, if I can teleport mah keys into mah hands, when I lose 'em... I consider that a win already." She grinned.

 

[Niki Priddy]

DENON
DISTRICT 9​

Objective: Assist and Prepare
Weapon: 'Revy', "The Klaive" - PDW
Equipment: PCA/EA, x2 Hutt Cartel Kidnap Jabber Rings-One on either hand, Force Warning Necklace Pendant, Paralyzing Lipstick, ENVC-370 Bodyglove, Tinfoil Hat Band, Earsculpt Comlink, Magno-grip Formal shoes
Augmentation: PGEM-SAP "Amber Eyes"
Ships: The Tourist, GR-75 Transport
Aboard the Ship and in the back of the Containers: x6 Nuisance Engine Mark I Droids capable of producing Nuisance Droid Mark I and SD-3 Firebee Security Droid

Her eyes moved when the Doctor eased a hand towards his gun. Natural instinct to direct her attention towards movement that her compatriot was attempting to train her out of. Even with the subtlety of his move, her eyes didn't fail to pick up on the tension about him.

Badger did not follow them, instead staying with the speeder while she managed her affairs.

"I would guess you've had a lot of visitors today. Some more benign than others. I do hope I am the last of those that seem questionable." She spoke bluntly, turning her back to the Doctor with complete trust. The walk wasn't a long one, but it was enough to make it obvious when a snooper was lurking.

"These aren't a bargaining chip. I don't want to move into this area. I don't want to squeeze you for information or anything of that sort. I also don't want to hurt you and yours." Her voice was dry. The lack of humor almost cutting in her trudge towards the trucks as she let a hand glide across the container.

"But I will be honest with you when I say these supplies are an apology instead of a bribe. There are people here that...earned my undivided attentions." The smile she gave upon turning to face him was bittersweet.

"I don't apologize for what I am going to do. But I wanted to warn you at least. And perhaps give you an understanding of why, if you care." She offered the time for questions to her motives, folding her hands in front of her, leaning against the truck with her hip.

Doc Painless
​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

''Mmm, I'm not...''

Not from Denon, that was.

Brie contemplated how much she would dare to open herself for the unknown boy. He kind of wore the resemblence of Rajo Sobek , a guy she had definitely thought would kill or abduct her when they met a year or so ago. Kind of the same style and brute looking appearance, only considerably younger and more inexperienced. She had been wrong about Rajo, so she knew looks could be deceiving. If Daiya laid her trust in him, Brie supposed that she could too.

''If I haven't got cancer from rummageing around on scrapyards, I think we could handle a little snow.'' Brie stated before getting down on the ground beside her best friend, to roll another ball for their snow hutt. Her statement more or less told the boy her story, if he could read between the lines. Well, so be it.

''What do you do for a living, Zephyrr?'' she curiously followed up with a question towards the newcomer. ''You did not spy on us, did you?'' Brie added frankly, throwing a look at the boy.

Daiya , Zephyrr​

 

[Doc Painless]

She was watching him, noticing the tension in his arm as his fingers brushed the butt of his gun. The Doc didn't doubt that this woman was good, a veteran gunfighter. She could almost certainly outdraw him, given that he was still a relative novice; all the cyberware in the world wouldn't make up for well-honed instinct, and he had started developing his far too late to ever become a master. The best he'd ever be was a great doctor and a passable duelist, and that had been enough to keep him alive so far. Part of him wondered if today was the day his luck ran out, and a trickle of sweat ran down his neck despite the cold. Was she walking him out here to kill him quietly?

Had he stepped on some crime lord's toes without knowing it? Was she with CorpSec, now opting for execution over capture?

But she turned her back to him and walked on alone, either an indication that she wasn't there to fight or an expression of confidence in her abilities that bordered on arrogance. Perhaps both. I do hope I am the last of those that seem questionable, she told him, referencing the stream of odd visitors he'd had that day. "So do I," the Doc replied, keeping his voice level despite his rising stress level. She claimed she didn't want to hurt him or bargain with him, that she wasn't moving into this area... which told him that she was with some criminal group or another, but probably one distant enough that it wouldn't directly benefit from a local presence. So what outfit was she with?

He had no idea, so he kept listening... and her words sent a chill down his spine that had nothing to do with the snow.

"Right," the Doc said, as calmly as he could manage while his heart was beating a mile a minute, "couple of questions. You said the supplies are an apology, but you don't apologize for what you're about to do... so what are you apologizing for?" He had a sinking feeling he knew the answer: her gang was about to turn his giveaway into a live-fire zone to get rid of their rivals, and she was apologizing for the mess it would make of his charity event, not for shooting the folks she wanted dead. But he had to be sure. "And what exactly are you planning to do? Because there are kids out there, and if you're going to start something, I need to get them out of the way."

He shook his head. "I don't care why. It's always the same reasons. Money, drugs, turf, revenge. You can shoot each other all you want, and I won't stop you, but I'm asking you - please just give me five minutes to get people out of the line of fire."

Niki Priddy​

 

[Zephyrr]

"I'm from Denon, too! Native shadow, didn't see sky 'til I was nine!"

That made the young man smile. "I was 7. Climbed up there, by myself." The sky above them stretched into metallic infinity; the upper crust of Denon's city boxing them in and protecting them from the sky. The tall, handsome young man approached and knelt, finding his own patch of snow and starting to make a large ball - packing handfuls of the stuff until he could begin to manipulate it into a circle. As Daiya explained what the white, powdery stuff was, he rolled the word around on his tongue: Snow... S-n-o-w.... Snoh...

Her comment about cancer made him laugh as he rolled his ball of Snow bigger. "Can you imagine? I bet they put this stuff into the air on purpose. Even the clean rain tastes nasty..." A dramatic grimace graced his lips as he shook his head - mainly to himself.

The patch of snow he'd been working with was beginning to look a little light of powder, so he pushed it further - a few feet closer to the spot they'd wordlessly chosen to assemble the wintery sculpture. He continued to assist the young woman, packing snow by the handfuls into a sphere which would become the large torso & midsection of the ugly old slug.

''What do you do for a living, Zephyrr?'' she curiously followed up with a question towards the newcomer. ''You did not spy on us, did you?'' Brie added frankly, throwing a look at the boy.

The first part of Brie's question was about to elicit an answer, but his voice died in his chest as she asked whether he'd been spying on them. A weight settled on his chest - a feeling of uncertainty in how to answer her question. He'd been watching them... but was that the same as spying?
He kept working for a heartbeat longer; answering the first part of her question first: "I, um.. I'm a runner." He said before glancing up at Brie. His bright, beautiful blue eyes made eye contact then immediately shifted toward Daiya. "I deliver things for people. A courier, I guess?" He shrugged.

Then, he sat back on his haunches and looked up at Brie again. "I was watching you... yeah. But not spying. I do that a lot. Watch people, I mean. You both seemed cool, but I wasn't going to bother you..." He paused, then flashed a quirky grin toward the young woman who'd hit him in the face with a snowball. "Until Dead-eye over here hit me."

He tucked his hands into his armpits, trying to warm them up - feeling numb. He wasn't all that familiar with snow, but he knew that if he needed to climb, the stuff made it almost impossible to grip.

Daiya Brie Jaxx

 

[Zo La Kund]

District 9 – The Sty

Nero Zero was a complex character.

Some days, he was a topsider – content in his clout and privilege, ignorant in his waste and responsibility. Other days, he was a gang member – flashing opulence to disguise his lack of true wealth and power; a fool played against his family and friends, communicating his daily humiliations in hurt and betrayal and desperate delusions of personal agency. And days still, he was some other familiar face – some archetype – offering a "new way" for the neighborhood, while still ironically dressed in the designer clothes and luxurious finery so often touted about by the first two.

Yes, Nero Zero was many things, but the most important was that he was entirely fictional; a performance art creation of Zo La Kund. Not "the emperor wears no clothes," but "the clothes wear no emperor."

"It's my birfday," Zo-turned-Nero said to the people of the Sty, his lip pushed out in faux dignification.

"Happy Birthday!," could be heard by some in the area – some in synch, others out-of. Some working, some just chilling by the bonfire, some just passing through on what remained of their day-to-day.

Spoiler

Zo stood – a silhouette in his deep royal blue, cast against the ever-whitening backdrop of snowy waste and opportunity. He wore matching eyeliner, and big ,clunky, homemade jewelry. His crown, his rings, were made of salvaged droid parts – spraypainted gold and fitted to his person, sometimes beset with matching blue trimmings. It was gaudy, and ugly, and beautiful, and stupid – the ingredients of its making simultaneously a comment on just how much better Nero must have thought he was than everyone, as well as the complete accessibility of his ornamentation – just literal garbage with branding.

"Yeah," Zo nodded, averting his eyes from the crowd – presumably too good for eye-contact. "Aren't you going to ask me how I'm going to celebrate it?!"

'Happy Birthday ,Nero – What are you going to do to celebrate?," came the crowd, their voice labored in obligation.

"WELL, NOT THAT IT'S ANY OF YOUR BUSINESS, BUT…." Zo's voice oscillated wildly, a child throwing a tantrum. "I'm going skiing."

"Yeah – I suppose you've noticed all this…uh…ski fluff."

"Nero, do you mean snow, honey?," said a condescending voice from an open window/viewport.

"NERO KNOWS SNOW. FOOL."

Zo La breaks character for a second, playfully scolding the woman in the window. "And what are you doing?! You got kids in there! Close that window before you let the heat out!"

She raspberried and waved him off, but still, ultimately, obliged.

"DISCREET," he playfully hissed back.

Over at the cauldron, there were those who spit their drinks out laughing at the elitist epithet.

"Not that any of you would know, but, skiing is a sophisticated sport, for the high-bred. I understand that it has inconvenienced you all, but – I assure you – your suffering is well-noted, and well-worth it."

One Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi…

"To me, anyway."

This was the location and time where Art might become Magic, or that nexus where it was apparent they were always the same thing. The ability of a people to map the trajectory of their own existence, their own context in the universe. It was an inoculation, this work, against the "Nero Zeros" of real life, wafting in from outside, trying to rope the people of the Sty through influence or money or promise of work and prosperity into their hustle of linear time – of a shared history and greater evolution with a broader world, galaxy, universe, populated with abstract notions of people and leadership and conflict and progress that those of the Sty would never meet in real life, only through their holovision screens. An elaborate fiction where only Nero Zero benefits and the humble supporters and their subjective, unique experiences were flattened into numbers, races, planetary bodies, made strangers to themselves and each other. Zo La Kund's performance reminded them that their time was cyclical, and these self-appointed celebrities, their bullshit, were of that same cycle. He reminded his neighborhood of their own power, regardless of any inability to articulate their own daily actions and reactions.

I am no playwright or poet. I barely manufacture prose. There is nothing I could write here or any scene I could imagine that could necessarily, at least with any sort of brevity, harness all these concepts and bring them home to you, reader, and make you believe these people exist and they care and that, suddenly, this song and dance put on by a character you have seen only maybe three other times could mean anything to anyone anywhere.

But if we cannot at least agree so much as to believe in art's ability to transform, then what it is it we're doing here at all?

Anyway, Nero Zero was typically well-received within the Sty.

"I couldn't agree more, President Zero – Thanks for all the clean water," Mitch scoffed, a proper confederate and artistic contributor.

"ALL THE WHAT?!"

And so it went.

In the hours that followed, more and more of the people of the Sty began to see the free money that had befallen them. More and more, they would take steps to preserve the water – some for their community, others purely for themselves.

They would endure, if only for now.

 

[Niki Priddy]

DENON
DISTRICT 9​

Objective: Assist and Prepare
Weapon: 'Revy', "The Klaive" - PDW
Equipment: PCA/EA, x2 Hutt Cartel Kidnap Jabber Rings-One on either hand, Force Warning Necklace Pendant, Paralyzing Lipstick, ENVC-370 Bodyglove, Tinfoil Hat Band, Earsculpt Comlink, Magno-grip Formal shoes
Augmentation: PGEM-SAP "Amber Eyes"
Ships: The Tourist, GR-75 Transport
Aboard the Ship and in the back of the Containers: x6 Nuisance Engine Mark I Droids capable of producing Nuisance Droid Mark I and SD-3 Firebee Security Droid

His first question had her smiling in earnest. It seemed a contradiction how she presented it, but she had failed to mention the vital points of both. A failing in her phrasing.

"I'm going to kill people in this District. Bad people. People that hurt me and mine. I'm not going to apologize for those that perish. I am apologizing for bringing a ruckus here though. If that paints the picture a bit better." The explanation was a bit winded, but she felt the point had been made.

His follow up was answered largely by the first, though a more direct why. A hand drifted up to her hair. A sort of strange longing in the amber colored eyes.

"I used to have black hair, Doctor. And my eyes weren't this way. But chemical burns do wretched things to the scalp and eyes regardless of how good medical services are. And some things we don't want to be reminded of." Her tongue danced over her bottom lip, the cold making it dry and feeling as though it would crack. Anger simmered beneath the mask of confidence she was wearing.

The faith that he wouldn't shoot her in the back outweighed her non-existent skill with firearms. Badger would rescue her had that happened, but her eyes had been the only reason she even noticed he'd nervously went for a firearm.

"You have more than five minutes. I am angry, and I do want revenge on those that wronged me. But I'm not going to endanger those needing help. I was going to wait until whatever nightfall is around here before...well. The crates opened themselves." She shrugged as she glanced sideways at the containers.

"I've been on the bad end of a tragedy. When my home was bombed...I watched people get spaced. Helped bring them back. I'm not making someone else carry their loved ones home because they got between me and Zerø's gang." She offered the final bit of her explanation to him.

"I'll be back later. So long as no one messes with the back of those crates anyway. When I come back, that's the five minute warning." Her hands were still folded in front of her as she stretched and pushed off from the truck.

"After that. Don't look to see what goes bump in the night." She frowned through the smile. A waning thing that shared a little of how she felt about the situation.

Doc Painless
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