Private Sixteen Candles

[Doc Painless]

"Tell us something good, Mr. Painless."

"That's Doctor Painless to you," the Doc joked, clearly kidding. He'd never been to actual medical school, and had no real right to the title. In fact, it wasn't one he'd actually chosen; it was more like it'd been bestowed, not by any medical board, but by his patients. He'd showed up on Denon years ago now, running from his own past, trying to put as much space between him and the place his old life had fallen apart as he could. When he'd arrived, he'd had no name he was willing to give out; he'd buried the one he'd been born with in a shallow grave halfway across the galaxy. He'd just quietly started treating people, using the medical skills he'd learned on faraway battlefields.

His patients, impressed that a street medic who charged so little actually used anesthetic, had taken to calling him Doc Painless.

The Doc was grateful to Yula for looking out for Daiya; her gift had managed to coax a real smile and some genuine enthusiasm out of his young friend, even in the midst of her terrible distress. He didn't understand the appeal of makeup personally, but if it made Daiya feel happy and good about herself, he was all in favor. "That's a great gift," he said, smiling warmly as she held up the tube of ORCUS to show him. He turned that smile on Yula as well, momentarily angling his face so that Daiya couldn't read his lips, and mouthed thank you. Not just for the present, of course, but for being a good friend - and a good older role model - while the birthday girl was distraught.

"It'll suit your style," he said as he took a seat beside them, pretending that he knew anything at all about style.

Beyond this moment of warmth and levity, though, all of them were on edge; another friend, one who couldn't be here, was in trouble, and they all felt the pressure to do something for him. "Meeno was pretty quiet," the street medic began, "per usual, but I did get something. I got him to slip me Namnenil's holofrequency. The new guy laid her off for talking back, so she's got nothing to lose by talking to us." He glanced around, making sure that no one who might cause them trouble was watching, then passed a little box over to Yula and Daiya. Inside were tiny earpieces, designed to be worn unobtrusively inside the ear. "I'll give her a call, but let's not be overheard."

Since earning his spot on the "CorpSec's Most Wanted" list, the Doc had learned to operate with a lower profile than ever before. Part of that had been installing a few new augmentations into his heavily-cyberneticized body, including a subcutaneous comlink. The device consisted of an integrated earpiece and a tiny microphone implanted beneath the skin of his throat; when active, he could speak in little more than a whisper, and his words would come through loud and clear on an encrypted frequency. Paranoid? Yes. Gross? Maybe a little, if you were squeamish about that sort of thing. But it worked, and being able to contact allies quietly and hands-free was a life-saver.

The earpieces he'd given Daiya and Yula would allow them to listen in on his encrypted call.

With his preparations made, the Doc dialed up the holofrequency Meeno had given him. The call rang... and rang... and rang. By the sixth ring, he was starting to think that he'd either gotten the wrong number or gotten unlucky with the timing... or maybe Namnenil just didn't answer calls from holofrequencies she didn't recognize. But then, with shocking suddenness, the pulsing ring was interrupted by the waitress's bright, brassy voice. "You'll get your blasted rent by the end of the week," the former waitress shouted into her comlink. "Harassing me at all hours does not help me earn the money I'm trying to pay you with, so please, please, STOP CALLING ME."

"Namnenil!" the Doc cut in, hoping to keep her from hanging up... and just managing it. "Hey, Namnenil, it's Doc Painless. And some friends. Sorry, we didn't mean to bother you. We, ah... we just heard about what went down at the Blue Flame. We wanted to check on you, see if you were doing okay." She obviously wasn't. Losing her job, one she'd worked in for a good twenty years, had clearly been a blow that even the jovial and upbeat woman was struggling to recover from. The Doc remembered that her daughter was at university now, somewhere coreward and expensive, and winced. He wasn't sure how Namnenil was making it work, if indeed she was.

For a long moment there was no reply, and the Doc started to worry that she'd hung up after all. But then she broke the silence again, her voice choked with emotion. "Oh. Doc. I'm sorry," she said, then sniffled. "I thought you were... Well, it doesn't matter. It's nice to hear from you." It physically hurt to hear the motherly waitress so obviously stressed, still trying to hold it all together and be her usual polite and bubbly self. "Not just me," he replied with forced cheer, the words perfectly clear over the comm but totally inaudible amid the music and general clamor of the bar. "Daiya and Yula are here with me." Yula had been here before, and Daiya was a semi-regular.

Namnenil would remember them. It was just the kind of person she was. She remembered everybody.

Say hi, the Doc mouthed. The ladies' earpieces would pick up the vibrations of their speech, working as microphones too.

Daiya | Yula Perl | Brie Jaxx | Cassus Akovin | Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Dust Clears" by Clean Bandit)

“Hey Namnenil!” Daiya greeted the preoccupied woman at Doc’s prompting, preoccupied herself with Yula’s attention on her eyes. The woman’s hand worked with a deft professionalism that the teen wished she could match in front of the mirror, and it seemed like in no time at all Daiya was inspecting her reflection after her Zeltron idol pronounced it complete. The teen examined her face, relieved by the sight of the touch-ups even if she hadn’t seen the disaster of her face before then. “Can you do wings, Yula?” she asked the Zeltron woman, and then quickly followed it up, “C’mon, it’s my birthday!”

Her grin reached an infectious width, dangerously close to cracking her lipstick as she savored the achievement tonight. The teen hadn’t perfected them yet, she intended to give Yula’s version a long look after feeling the deep blue eyeliner applied on her. “Namne, Yula’s doing my eyeliner.”

“That’s great, love!” Daiya felt herself warm at the sound of the woman’s endearing words. “I don’t think I’ve had a chance to meet you, Yula. I just wish it was under better circumstances —and in person.”

“You’d like Yula, Namne, she’s my idol!” The jubilant teen found her energy already soaring from the conversation, and the veteran waitress of the Blue Flame made it so easy. It was strange to be jabbering away at the place they’d both spent years of their lives, and not be face to face, yet Daiya was making do just to have the familiar comfort of Namnenil’s voice in her ear. “Thank the stars she was here tonight, I don’t know what the feth I would have done otherwise!”

“Language, Daiya!”

“Oops,” Daiya offered, resisting the urge to duck and mess up all of Yula’s hard work. She was finding it hard to pay attention to the strokes and pressure of the pink woman’s ministrations while chatting with the friendly matron of the Blue Flame, when it was hard enough to stay attentive to Namnenil’s old lessons. “I forgot you didn’t like it when I swear.”

She could see the woman’s stern look even without Namnenil’s face over a holo, the sound of the woman’s tongue clicking was enough to send Daiya back to her early days in the bar, when Shenn was the only one who really tolerated her. “You’ve been avoiding us for too long, then.”

“I’ve just been busy!” The young shadowrunner groused, warmth flaring on her cheeks from the tavern matron’s chiding tone in front of Doc and Yula. “And away...and the Blue Flame’s being watched too much. I probably shouldn’t even be here now, but it’s my birthday and—”

Yula was done now, turning the teen loose on her upgraded reflection, just as the voice cut in over the comms, “Oh, that's right! Happy birthday, love!”

The giddy teen grinned, at her reflection and the well-wishes. She admired the dark blue strokes under, and flaring off of, her eyes, impressed at how well it worked with the rest of her makeup. Daiya mouthed an unvoiced, 'thank you,' to Yula before continuing on with Namnenil.

“—thanks, and we were going to meet here until, well...” Daiya didn’t need to say it, she could already hear Namnenil nodding and ‘mhmm’ing through her earpiece. The teen bit her lip, she wanted so desperately for the woman to say the right thing, to make it all better. She glanced as far as she dared to Doc, sharing that same plaintive look from before, damming her eyes from any more torrents of emotion until Namnenil spoke.

All she had to say was that Shenn was alive and on his way with an army to evict the new poser in charge.

Namnenil’s voice took a somber tone, more serious now than when she had chastised Daiya. “I know, love. You walked into a nightmare, we’ve all been living that these past few weeks. When Tycho Ohnaka walked out the door all those years ago, I thought ‘well that’s it, it’s over.’ I used to think Shenn thought so too, but the look on his face when that two-timing Weequay walked back in told me he’d been dreading that day all along.”

Daiya couldn’t take it any longer, the uncertainty drove her to those same fears and emotions she had only just put away. Her eyes latched onto Doc again as she pleaded with the woman over comms, “Please tell me Shenn is okay, Namne, please!”

“Oh, love, he’s fine. He’s not hurt or dying, if that’s what you’ve been telling yourself.” The teen let out an audible exhalation of relief. “He had to lay low, very low, he’s not at his usual safehouses this time. Those are the ones CorpSec knows about now, you know, so he had to go even deeper. They’re after him, love, something that Tycho did set a division of those Seccers straight for his throat, and they haven’t stopped turning over every stone they can find. I’m so glad to hear from you, Daiya, I worried that maybe you’d gotten caught up in all this.”

“No, I was on Belazura...and elsewhere,” the young shadowrunner explained, as much as she could over comms. She wasn’t planning to burden the tavern matron with tales of visiting the Outer Rim, or the DireX who'd sent her there, and definitely not the part about getting arrested that put her at the mercy of that blackmail.

"Thank the Force, Daiya. You should think about going back, though, just until all this blows over. I know Shenn would be worried sick about you, what with everything since Taw—"

"I'm more worried about him, Namne!" Daiya cut in, imploring the woman for more information. The tavern matron was far too good at stringing a question along until someone got tired of asking, something the teen had fallen victim to a fair amount of times herself. A bitter warmth rose in her throat, ire to accompany her nerves, she wasn't some unruly customer for Namnenil to talk off a roof tonight. "This place has gone to chit —I didn't forget, I mean that one Namne— without Shenn, it's just a disaster. Meeno's even quieter than usual, and Odri was actually nice to me!"

"There could be worse things, love. Shenn is alive and well, and he intends to stay that way. Meeno is just concerned, he'll be just fine. And if Odri has found her heart at last, what more could we ask from all this hardship?"

Daiya let out an audible groan of frustration, her hands curling against her palms, feeling the anguish vibrate through her whole body. "Namne, if you won't tell me what the deal is with this hardship, I'm just gonna walk over to that Weequay," she tried to lower her voice, but didn't make too much of an effort at it, "and shoot him myself!"

She could hear the sigh come over the comms line. Daiya didn't indulge this time in visions of Namnenil's face, or her motherly gestures over the years, the birthday girl was only interested in gifting herself a piece of satisfaction. However momentary it might be if the waitress didn't spill her story. "It's an old story, love, far older than Shenn and Tycho. They just happen to be the players this time. You see, Tycho was young and capable, far more than capable in fact. When Shenn bought the Blue Flame, Tycho came on as a part-time busser. He might have been your age at the time, hardworking, reliable, and insatiably ambitious. Shenn took a shine to him, just like he did with you Daiya. It wasn't long before Tycho moved up to kitchen duties, then to the bar, and then higher than any of Shenn's employees. On more than one occasion, Shenn spoke of his desire to see Tycho take over the place when he was gone. You know he never had children of his own, that's what you and Cichei and Tycho were to him. He would have given Tycho the whole planet if he'd asked."

The teen could hear the lede being buried from a lightyear away, even though she knew it was better to let Namnenil tell the story her way. Daiya finally had her talking, so she just prodded a bit with, "And then what?"

"I know you're no stranger to these things, love, but it's different for a parent. And Shenn truly considered himself as a second father to Tycho, in the fullest sense of the word, it was obvious to just about anyone how much trust he placed in Tycho...until Tycho repaid that trust with betrayal. The particulars don't matter that much, there was a girl Tycho fell in love with, one he wanted to start a new life with, and there was a great deal of disagreement about how he should do that. Tycho was quite the headstrong young man back then, he had more than a few heated words for Shenn's views on the subject. It would have all blown over if someone hadn't gotten hurt, badly, in the middle of one of their arguments. Well, Tycho blamed Shenn, Shenn blamed Tycho, and before anyone knew it the surrogate son had disappeared forever."

"Oh my stars!" Daiya had few other words for the story. Her hand was on her heart, beating so loudly beneath her chest that she thought it might draw a crowd. The teen glanced out over the rest of the Blue Flame, where patrons and staff mingled casually, blissfully unaware of the magnitude of discussion occuring in the out-of-the-way booth. "So he left? Then what made him come back?"

"I wish I knew, Daiya. He showed up in the middle of the night long after the bar had closed. Tel was puttering away in the kitchen, as he does, and he said he didn't even notice there were visitors until Tycho's goons started rearranging the seating. Shenn arrived shortly thereafter, and they must have talked, but by the time myself and the rest of the staff came that morning, he had already gone to ground. Tycho has been very loud and vocal about this being his inheritance, he believes Shenn still owes him from the time he walked out. I...wasn't very quiet about my disagreement...that's why I'm no longer there. Oh, I'm sorry, Daiya, this isn't what you need on your birthday!"

"No, but it's whatever." Daiya felt worn out after Namnenil's long-winded explanation. Just knowing Shenn was safe flooded her tired system with a renewed confidence, something she hadn't felt since her call with Brie earlier that day. Everything had been so simple then, at least for one evening. One day when she could pretend to just be a regular, teenage girl turning sixteen.

Daiya didn't even get that.

She twisted her lips, as if the woman could see the mischief growing in the teen's mind. "I know what you could give me, though."

"What's that?"

"You could call Meeno and tell him to lay off me when I order drinks." Daiya grinned behind the suggestion, holding back the giggles that would defy her mature request. If she couldn't even have one night as a regular teenager, then she at least deserved all the perks of adulthood.

"You're just incorrigible, you know that love? I told Shenn, from the moment you walked in and refused to be frightened into leaving, I said 'this girl is going to be nothing but trouble.' He just laughed, I think he knew it as much as I did, and he still spoiled you. Now, don't think I wouldn't if it didn't risk Meeno's job. But next time you come by, and you are coming by again, Daiya, we can share a glass of wine."

Daiya didn't hear enough of a 'no' to stop her from pushing. "Bottle."

"What'd I say? Incorrigible! And worse, now that you know it!" She could hear the tinkling sounds of the woman laughing over the comms, "Let's start with a glass and see where it goes, alright love?"

She nodded, even if the tavern matron couldn't see her. "Alright. Thanks, Namne," Daiya looked between Doc and Yula, to see if they had anything else to ask. She still didn't have a solution, but at least now the young shadowrunner had some answers. Fatigue joined her worry for Shenn as the least of which she was holding onto now, and it was time to let go of their worthwhile contact now. "This was more than helpful."

"You're handling this very maturely, Daiya. Please don't go looking for trouble now."

"You know I don't go looking, Namne, it just finds me!" Now she finally let herself giggle, and the woman joined her on the other end of the comms.

"Don't I know it...alright, anything else, love? You still listening Doc?"

Daiya shook her head and sat back, letting Doc and Namnenil talk until he finished the call. Her mind was reeling from the conversation, and from all the new information it imparted to her. Tycho's past history put his earlier demeanor into context for her, he wasn't just some slimy-yet-successful businessbeing. He was a bully come to gloat. All the warmth and ire from before built up inside her, reforming into something new. Fuel. Whatever the Weequay's secret hold was over Shenn, the young shadowrunner knew she was going to find it.

And break it.

"Tycho can't get away with chit like this. Not against Shenn, or good beings like Namnenil." Her declaration wasn't up for debate, even though Daiya looked between Yula and Doc for their reaction. She was hoping for support and help, a steely look in her eyes and her expectant expression said as much to the adults on either side of her. The teen was going ahead whether or not they were going to help, she'd just much rather have them with her. "We have to fix this."

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Cassus Akovin]

"Go poke your eye out Linca." Odri set down a dish and started to walk out towards the back exit of the kitchen, "You kids got 5 minutes while I smoke, come on."

''No... No, it's not like the last time! It was bland, like...'' Brie cried and gave Cassus a push to the shoulder to put emphasis on her claims, and her false discontent with him not agreeing with her. ''You- you get better stuff at a cantina in Mos Eisley...!'' she added, getting terrified inside for a second when the abyssin brandished a mallet at them. Hopefully, he was not the one that had done tonights main course.

As Odri let go of what she were doing and invited them to follow her outside, Brie exchanged glances with Cassus and shrugged lightly at him when their target of conversation turned her back to them and left for the back door. That was easier than expected.

Her name is Brie. Cassus noted that mentally as they followed out the back door, and so far, she had been an adequate partner in crime. Now they were stuck suffering from success.

Odri leaned against an alley wall next to a dumpster and began to light a cigarra. The smell wafted in the air, and smoke trailed out of her mouth before she blew a smoke ring towards the pair. Cassus didn't appreciate the acrid scent or the offense on his eyes, but he waved it away casually without having to hack or cough. He waded through worse.

"Alright, speak up. What do you want to know?" Odri gestured towards them.

"So, how's the new gig? Seems like you're not a fan of Linca?" Cassus kind of stumbled through the question. Odri rolled her eyes.

"You bounty types are all the same, never saying what you want. What, you think Ohnaka's got cameras out here to make sure I don't spill? It's just us, kid, get to it. You've got 4 minutes. Maybe your girlfriend's got a better handle here."

"Kid?" Cassus raised a brow in a rare gesture of emotion. Odri wasn't much older than they were. Where'd she get her entitlement from to think she could talk down to them like nobodies?

"Chrono's beeping, kid, you going to ask or just argue?" Not trying to test her impatience he buried his indignation and got the business like she asked.

"How did this happen? What does Ohnaka have on Shenn?" Odri shrugged as she spoke.

"Whatever it is, CorpSec seems pretty eager to buddy-up with him. There's a Captain that comes in on Taungsdays and sits at the bar until he goes up to chat with Ohnaka in his office."

"He got a name?" He pressed for details.

"Sure, he's 'Taungsday' Teo. Not because he comes in here that day every week, but because that's the only day he's rumored to actually work. Heh, and he still decides to waste time here. Must be cushy being a Captain, eh? Doesn't tip UCk all, though..." The look of boredom on Odri's face was growing, and she started looking around. A sickening feeling started to bubble up inside of Cassus. She was talking about tips and patrons like nothing had changed. It prompted an outburst to resolve his confusion.

"And you stayed through all this? Ohnaka doesn't distrust you?"

"I know when to keep my mouth shut. And so should you, if you don't want Miss Teary Princess back inside there to be Ohnaka's next project." Odri snuffed out her Cigarra and started to walk past Brie Jaxx to the kitchen...

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie despised the smell of cigarras. She could just imagine what the scrapyards she used to go to smelled like, her helmet and breathing aparatus disguising any smells as well as keeping her safe from the toxins. Despite how much the other girls puffs bothered Brie, she managed to keep a straight face observing her as Cassus followed up with a couple of well thought-out questions.

"You bounty types are all the same, never saying what you want. What, you think Ohnaka's got cameras out here to make sure I don't spill? It's just us, kid, get to it. You've got 4 minutes. Maybe your girlfriend's got a better handle here." Odri said, assertive as always.

Unexlpained and suddenly, blinking and looking up at Odri, Brie felt her cheeks start to heat up after the other girls last statement. Being called girlfriend was definitely a first one for the scrapper girl. Of course, she knew that it was not the case, but she could not help but to think of the matter. She guessed it must have been the whole general experience of being called like someones, as much as being with a boy that she... actually thought was quite nice and likeable. She used to imagine the characters in her holobooks, it added to the involvement and experience of reading it, and occasionally there was of course some males in the story. Cassus had not tried to shoot her, and she had not tried to knock him out with the fishbowl helmet, so that must have been positive?!

''Odri? No!'' Brie uttered and tried to block the young but older female chefs path. ''That Miss Teary Princess inside...'' she searched for words while hoping not to get slapped by the more forthright girl. ''She loves this place, and and... believe it or not, you too. Everyone that work here. The Blue Flame is a big part of her, and the place she and I met. It is kind of a big deal...'' Brie stressed, hopefully appealing to the young chef to give away some more details.

''We- we can deal with this CorpSec officer... and get Shenn back, but we need people on the inside. Don't you want things going back to normal too?'' she insisted and anxiously waited for an answer.

Daiya , Cassus Akovin , Doc Painless , Yula Perl , Cartri Keswoll ​

 

[Doc Painless]

It was both heartwarming and a little strange to see the girl who'd been crying her eyes out ten minutes ago, soaking his shoulder in tears, now beaming over something as simple as makeup. Ah, teenagers; the Doc remembered being like that, a tight little ball of half-regulated emotions and free-flowing hormones, flitting from one deep, intense feeling to another without a moment's downtime in between. These days he felt things slower, emotions lingering in his mind like bar patrons refusing to leave at closing time. He was always a little bit sad now, even when he was happy. And he'd been through enough emotional rollercoasters that his highs weren't as high anymore, or his lows as low.

He'd learned to regulate himself, to moderate his expectations, to not let himself feel anything too intensely.

To be fair to Daiya, she was learning, but she'd also had a bit to drink.

Watching motherly Namnenil interact with the teenage shadowrunner was... well, it was nice. The Doc, as the oldest one of the Darkwire bunch, tended to end up in the "team dad" role, but that didn't mean he was any good at it. He'd never had children of his own, and didn't have any plans to change that. Maybe mystic Dad Powers would've kicked in if he had, helping him find the right things to say to the little band of murder gremlins he ran with. But probably not. He'd seen plenty of biological fathers who weren't up to the job, after all. It was nice to see a good parent at work. Namnenil had raised a daughter, and she still had the motherly instinct that Daiya seemed to react so well to.

Like any good parent, she put aside her own sorrows to guide and encourage the kid in front of her, even when it was hard.

It was also good, very good, to hear that Shenn was more or less okay; the Doc hadn't voiced it, but he'd feared the worst. A lot of people he cared about were gone, either imprisoned or dead, and there would be more casualties in this Darkwire-CAD feud. Perhaps it ought to be enough that he was safe, well-hidden in whatever bolthole he'd found for himself. The Doc had been forced to lay really, really low for a while too, lurking in the filthy depths of Smogtown until the manhunt grew a little less intense. But it wasn't enough for Daiya. She wanted things to be back to the way they were, back to the way she remembered them in her happy recollections of the place.

One day she'd have to learn that wasn't always possible. Sometimes you just had to deal with the changes and treasure the memories.

But maybe not today. Maybe she didn't have to absorb that lesson on her birthday, if they could help it.

"I'm still here," the street medic confirmed, cutting back in as Namnenil finished her story - and the lighthearted banter she'd shared with Daiya, which was just as important. "Thank you, Namnenil. It helps to know what happened. And I know that hearing from you means a lot to Daiya." There was a subtle request there, a plea for the motherly waitress to keep in touch, if she could. With the way things were going, Daiya needed all the good influences she could get, and this was one that she respected and remembered fondly. The Doc sighed internally. He was never going to figure out how to fill that role, so the best he could do was outsource to those who maybe could.

"Keep in touch," he finished, and they cut the call with a final exchange of pleasantries. He hadn't forgotten that Namnenil had troubles of her own, and he made a mental note to look in on her, make sure she was making it through. Credits went quick when they came to Doc Painless, spent on medical supplies and charity cases - and, admittedly, the steady supply of alcohol that kept his worst memories at bay. But he would make sure that some of them found their way to the former waitress if she needed them. For right now, though, he had more immediate problems to deal with. "We'll do our best, Daiya," he told his young friend. But what they could do would all depend...

... on what Tycho had on Shenn, and how bad CorpSec wanted him to go down for it.

Hopefully Cassus and Brie could shed some light on that.

Cassus Akovin | Brie Jaxx | Daiya | Yula Perl | Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Dark Horses" by Switchfoot)

Her painted face could wear a happy grin no longer at the news of Shenn's well-being, Daiya wore a stern look of determination now. Her fingers fidgeted on the imitation wood of the booth table, tracing patterns that did little to soothe the fixation on the part of the young shadowrunner. The energy of the job pulsed through her veins, itching fingers that yearned to be clutching a blaster and eyes that were hoping to catch sight of a target. "So it's just a job now," Daiya thought aloud, boiling down the elements for simplicity. "Shenn is the client, Tycho's the target bringing heat down on him, the Blue Flame is our item in conflict, and CorpSec is the muscle. The target has something that makes him break out the muscle, we just have to find out whatever it is, and destroy it. Then Shenn can come back and Tycho will lose."

When she put it that way, the crisis almost sounded too simple.

"Usually, we'd get paid at that point, too." Her face drew a line of consternation. There was no payday waiting at the end of this job. There wasn't even a boost in reputation, if Daiya did everything right she was probably going to piss off someone at CorpSec even more than they already were. There was no telling if her sunny corporate angel would even be able to intervene at that point, but the teen didn't care. Her reward was seeing Shenn happy and her favorite tavern back to normal, even if she couldn't stick around to enjoy it after that. The teen almost smiled, a thought coming to mind, "Maybe we'll make Tycho empty his pockets before he leaves, that'll work."

Her eyes spied Cassus and Brie coming out of the kitchen, making their way across the floor to them. Daiya's heart lifted at the sight, wondering what they had talked to Odri about. The acerbic woman was one of Daiya's least favorite people, yet Daiya could hear the truth in everything Odri said and see it in every action she took. They both cared about this bar as more than just a building, and that gave the young shadowrunner a reason to trust Odri. If she had trusted Daiya's friends just the same, it would be worth whatever snide comment the chef could dish out.

"We'll do better than our best, Doc," Daiya told him, turning back with a renewed confidence on her face. She could feel it gleaming, from every painted line and powdered pore, her eyes dancing with that comfortable thrill again. Her heart pulsed in time to that familiar rhythm, too, and her palms smacked lightly on the surface of the table. She looked at him, then to Yula, then glanced to her approaching friends. "Who's got a better chance than us, anyway?"

She drew in a breath, anticipation filling her nostrils. It sent a steady pulse to the top of her head, until Daiya was brimming with the burning energy of being a shadowrunner. She had her crew, her job, and now they just needed the right information to make a plan.

Then they'd get the job done.

"Now," Daiya turned to the older teens, wearing a smile at last. It didn't reach her eyes, those blazed with another fire, her tone collected but emphatic. The young shadowrunner was ready to stand up, eager to leave her moody teenage self behind and get something real done. "I will give up every present from now to Life Day if you tell me you have some good news!"

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Cassus Akovin]

"Don't you want things going back to normal too?'' she insisted and anxiously waited for an answer.

Cassus had wanted things to go back to normal for so long now he wasn't even sure what normal looked like. The plea felt real and resonated with him, of course, but on his own introspection, walking back to Daiya , something tugged at him, a gut feeling. No, as much as they wanted to 'go back to normal,' that hover-train had already derailed and fell into the most bottomless chasm of Moonfall. The only thing they would be able to do is to eliminate the corporate influence and put up new barriers. It couldn't be the same again, or it would be inevitable that it would happen again.

This was not a new thought he had. He felt something similar after Xopsaloff's assassination. Yet, he never voiced it because Darkwire was riding high on what amounted to their first victory targeting the highest echelons of the diseased system that cancerfied the rest of Denon. It wasn't as if his voice carried more weight than the other Shadowrunners anyway.

"Now," Daiya turned to the older teens, wearing a smile at last. It didn't reach her eyes, those blazed with another fire, her tone collected but emphatic. The young shadowrunner was ready to stand up, eager to leave her moody teenage self behind and get something real done. "I will give up every present from now to Life Day if you tell me you have some good news!"

At this point, Cassus realized he hadn't been paying attention to Brie Jaxx and Ohdri's final exchange, not too closely anyway. For whatever reason, the young man didn't think it was as relevant to have Ohdri's support or not, at least from a logical perspective. However, he did acknowledge it would have an emotional impact on Daiya to know that some remnant of 'normal' had her back. They were friends, so he'd let her deliver the good news, and he'd stick to the details.

"Captain 'Taungsday' Teo. There's some kind of arrangement going on with him and Ohnaka. Reading between the lines, I guess there is a protection racket going on. CorpSec doesn't come in except to collect on profits and Ohnaka gets them to look for Shenn so he can stay uncontested. Something like that." Cassus distributed the information and then looked at the faces of Yula Perl and Doc Painless before settling on Brie Jaxx .

 

[Brie Jaxx]

''What do you think, huh?!'' Odri uttered in a way almost declaring Brie to be stupid, and made an upwards nod towards the door behind the shadowrunner in her way. ''Of course, I do! But less as anyone else, I want to end up behind bars in some deep and dark 'Seccer jail!'' Odri stated firmly, an inch from Brie's face while they locked gazes.

Brie struggled to avoid taking a step back, and instead stood her ground by remembering the sad face of her devestated best friend inside.

''Nobody needs to know...! Do you want to continue serving Ohnaka and the filthy circle of people around him? This place is worth better than that! You are worth better than that!'' Brie pleaded, trying to appeal to the female chefs selfish side, which she knew was there after everything Daiya had told her about the girl now standing in front of Brie.

Odri went quiet and Brie had obviously given her something to think about. Her plead seemed to have struck the right place, before Odri looked up again.

''I can't promise you anything, but I guess you are right, kid...'' she said, not completely without a struggle admitting that Brie was right. ''Now, would you let me go back in and continue with my work? I won't be able to give you much help if I'm fired...'' Odri finished and pushed past Brie. Brie glanced after her before joining Cassus in going back in to the others.

''I think I got Odri on our side. Hopefully. She can give us intel from the inside.'' Brie added after Cassus.

Yula Perl , Daiya , Doc Painless , Cartri Keswoll ​

 

[Doc Painless]

So it's just a job now, Daiya said, and the Doc was both relived and concerned in new ways.

He was glad to see his young friend taking the emotion out of the process, breaking it down as just another run, the same kind of thing she'd handled many times before. That would make it easier for her to manage, to grapple with. She didn't have a good framework for processing catastrophic change, but she did have one for a mission. On the other hand, there was no way to view something like this - with friends and near-family so intimately involved - completely dispassionately. When a job went sour, as some jobs were always destined to, a runner could write it off with a "you win some, you lose some, at least I survived." But this whole mess with Tycho and Shenn...

If this "job" went sour, none of them were going to be able to just write it off.

It took Daiya a moment to figure out how to work the "get paid" step into this particular setup, which both amused the Doc and made him a little sad. To him, jobs and credits alike had always just been means to an end, with the safety and happiness of the people he cared about being the real reward. But he was coming from a position of privilege there. He hadn't grown up on the streets like Daiya had, scrabbling for everything he'd needed. Credits had a lot more value to someone who'd never had many of them, and to whom a handful of money was the difference between sleeping rough with an empty belly and having warm food and an actual bed. He needed to remember that.

However she'd gotten there, it was good to see confidence on Daiya's face again. Seeing her so low had just about broken the street medic's heart, but she'd bounced back quickly now that they seemed to have a chance at doing something about the situation. The two of them were alike in that way, weighed down by sorrow at the state of things unless and until they were doing something about it. The Doc just hoped she would find healthier ways to cope with the sadness in-between plans than he had; he'd been through a couple of cybernetic livers already, and his drinking problem wasn't exactly slowing down. He didn't want her to adopt the same self-destructive habit.

We'll do better than our best, Doc. Who's got a better chance than us, anyway?

"I'm with you all the way," he told her, offering a strained smile.

He really hoped they could actually fix this.

That would all depend, of course, on the information that Cassus and Brie brought them... and that info was both promising and troubling. It all made sense when that missing piece of the puzzle slid into place: Ohnaka had a patron in CorpSec. That wasn't at all uncommon. CorpSec officers in low-income Twilight and Midnight districts were often not only permitted but expected by their captains to collect "protection fees" from local businesses. All that "side hustle" money went into a shared "pad" for the precinct, which the captain took a cut of and then distributed among the various officers. Plenty of patrolmen just pocketed at least some of the proceeds, of course...

... but many CorpSec captains weren't above making officers who tried to "cheat" them out of "pad" earnings disappear.

They controlled the duty schedules. They could create very dangerous patrol routes for problem officers.

The Doc didn't know this "Taungsday Teo" personally; he'd been out of Seven Corners for too long, lost the finger he'd had on the pulse of the local streets. He could surmise one thing, though: the guy must a particularly involved captain if he was collecting payments from business owners personally. Some captains pretty much stayed in their fortress-like precincts and collected their earnings, legit and otherwise, but apparently not this Teo. That would make him more accessible if the runners wanted to have a little chat with him, but it also meant that he was probably confident enough that he'd be hard to lean on. He was either very arrogant or legitimately dangerous.

They wouldn't really know which for sure until it was too late to change strategy.

"Well," the Doc said, "that's good and bad news. Good news is that we know who's backing Ohnaka; without this captain behind him, he wouldn't have the support he needs to stay in control here, given that nobody likes him. Bad news is that a CorpSec captain is pretty serious business." Captains ran entire precincts, and while that was a mid-level of power at best on Denon as a whole, it was a lot of power locally. If he was threatened or went missing, people would notice, and he (or his disgruntled superiors) would have a lot of resources to put into hunting down whoever had interfered in his operations. "I'd rather not tangle with him directly."

"Maybe we can find a way to get him to stop backing Ohnaka. I doubt that guy's background is squeaky clean."

Shenn might have to keep paying protection if he came back that way, but it was better than nothing.

The Doc nodded at Brie. "Might be info we can get from your new inside source."

Daiya | Cassus Akovin | Brie Jaxx​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Best Excuse" by Saint Chaos)

"Well...chit," the teen offered dejectedly. The news of the direct involvement of a CorpSec Captain did not brighten her ears, and lines formed in her forehead as she grew concerned for their fortune ahead. Her promise from just seconds ago seemed to waver in her eyes, which darted from Cassus to where he was looking, on the face of her best friend. Even Doc's pledge of support barely tempered her anxiety, leaving Daiya to seek solace in Brie. The teen resting her hopes for success on the next thing to come out of the scrapper girl's mouth.

After which, Daiya immediately felt her face relax.

"Oh my stars, Brie!" She was alight with confidence again, her thoughts brimming with possibilities. The young shadowrunner scooted to the edge of the booth, dangling her feet over the edge to get closer to her friend. "How the feth did you manage to warm that schutta's hard heart?"

The question felt important to Daiya for a moment, anticipation budding at the tip of her tongue. Her earnest gaze shifted over to Doc, wavering as he laid out the exact complications of having such a high-ranking Seccer involved. As if she couldn't have figured that out, too. The effort to resist rolling her eyes turned the young shadowrunner to new thoughts, sending her legs kicking against the edge of her seat. "If someone like Ohnaka can get dirt on this Teo seccer, I'm pretty sure we can find something. 'Cause Ohnaka's new to Denon since forever ago, he either found something everyone knows or his leverage is just fething old!"

Daiya swung her legs in toward the table again, scooting over so that Brie or Cassus could join her on the seat. Her eyes found the ceiling as she chewed her lip, tapping on the bottom of her chin. "This would be easier with Shenn here," the young shadowrunner said at last. She glanced between the members of her party group, "Yula? Cassus? You have better connections on the Nets, wanna see what you can dig up? Could say something drastically wrong about him, see if someone pops up to correct it."

"Doc? Brie? We need to find a way to exploit this change of heart in Odri, maybe order something totally ridiculous from the kitchen. Or ask for something Chef Tel used to make, that's bound to get her charging out to see who's fething with her." The thought brought a malevolent grin to Daiya's face, she was still unconvinced that Odri was truly on anyone's side but her own. Even if the woman finally agreed there was something worse than the idyllic conditions under Shenn, the teen's cheeks grew warm just thinking about allying with a bitter pill like Odri. She wouldn't trust Odri's arrogance not to counteract whatever good will they might have achieved simply by not being Ohnaka.

"Meanwhile," Daiya announced, pulling out her datapad to set on the table in front of her. "I am going to make my fething curse work for me tonight, see what I can See, y'know?"

Daiya glanced at the boys before she settled into her seat, trying to convince herself that they were familiar with her curse of Visions by now. She focused on the datapad, throwing her elbows up on the table to brace her head. It didn't much matter at this point, the teen figured as she let loose a breath. Nothing else would matter tonight if they couldn't come up with a miracle solution, and Daiya's Visions were as close to a miracle as she could get.

She tried to let go of those worries as she exhaled again, listening to her breathing to drown out the sounds around her. The teen pressed fingers to her forehead, applying slight pressure in anticipation of needing them there later. Headaches always precipitated her Vision, or any use of her acursed powers as she'd learned from working with Yula. Tonight was one of the rare times Daiya was actually hoping for one.

"This is going nowhere," the young shadowrunner muttered to herself after a while. Plenty of time for the others to have made at least some headway, while she sat there with not a single glimmer of pain or premonition. With a sputtering huff, Daiya pushed herself against the back of the seat, tucking clenched fists under her armpits as frustration ruled on her face. "I've got fething zilch, what about—"

Daiya doubled over as a sharp pain bloomed behind her eyes, a whimpering gasp alerting the others to her sharp change in demeanor. The teen threw up her hands to press firmly against her brow, staving off too little, too late as the white-hot pain blinded her senses and sent her tumbling into another Vision.

The red and black uniform dominated her view, consuming everything else in her world save for a drumming sound. A voice was speaking, the sound barely perceptible above the constant pounding. Eyes discarded her while the red and black remained, a harmony of voices joining the chorus of cacophony. The last thing she recognized before the stun-cuffs clicked over her wrist was a distinct voice saying, "After all, I would not envy your District Commander if he discovered who had been running fake ident chips right under his very tattooed nose."​

"My, my, my," Daiya heard a familiar voice chiming as her vision faded, the pain behind her eyes fading to a dull throb now. Her fingers already itched with the desire to draw it all out, as her eyes shifted to take in the looming Weequay standing at the edge of their booth. His lips shifted while he appraised the group, their focus on diverse tasks, and the lack of food or drink in front of half their party. "You all look very hard at work on something. How 'bout breaking it up with a round of drinks?"

Tycho Ohnaka stood before them, his cloying tone and exaggerated gestures underwriting the suspicion in his eyes. He pressed a hand to his chest, another falsehood on his lips as he promised, "On me, on me, of course, don't you worry about a thing tonight. Why, I've just learned that my new friend, Daiya, has a birthday tomorrow, and somehow I was the last to know. Never fear, I should think you will have plenty of time to get to know me in return. I plan on being here for a long...long time, ha ha!"

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Cassus Akovin]

As Daiya made room, Cassus faced a brief social panic internally. Did he brave the seat offered beside the familiar or courageously offer the gesture to Daiya's friend, Brie, leaving him looking on from the opposite seat? Naturally, it was his instinct to be close to Daiya. It was her night, and she was in distress, and he was a friend, wasn't he? To him, she was family, but she didn't like family, so he was Just Cassus. Yet, he wasn't her only friend and far from the oldest she kept. It would be better to defer to Brie then. They were probably closer, and some would likely view taking the seat suspiciously as a selfish action.

After a very brief momentary pause, Cassus gestured an offer for Brie to take the seat next to Daiya while he leaned towards Doc's side of the small table.

"Yula? Cassus? You have better connections on the Nets, wanna see what you can dig up? Could say something drastically wrong about him, see if someone pops up to correct it."

It was arguable that Cassus had connections on the Net comparable to Yula, but he was a Bounty Hunter. He knew how to find someone and knew people who knew people but to say he was some kind of Netrunner was a bit of a stretch, even with his association with Darkwire. He considered himself more of a bruiser, but after thinking about it, he was more so filling out that weird niche between bruiser and brains.

While Daiya doodled on her datapad, Cassus pulled out his own. He did have something he was nearly certain Yula didn't have access to: The CorpSec Dossier Database (CDoD). CDoD is a highly encrypted network of all pertinent information regarding every 'standardized' CorpSec employee (that is, officially institutionalized and not including deputized individuals common to the lower levels), giving detailed summaries of biographic data, career track, earnings, criminal record if one exists, disciplinary flags, and any reports they might have made. It was also multi-layered, meaning some information was locked behind certain qualifiers like sector location and rank. It was a veritable gold mine of information, and the security encryption was well above his skill level to crack.

Lucky for him, the only thing he needed to know was that it existed. While on his corporate crusade, he encountered medical officers with a scanner device without obvious function. Through a bit of experimentation, observation, and a few corpses, he could use the scanner for its intended function, discovering the CorpSec Micro-Tattoos that acted as the hyperlink to CDoD. After knocking an officer unconscious, he took his data and a small shaving of skin (with the hyperlink) and left him alive to continue his career. Armed with permanent access to CDoD, he spent a great deal of time elevating his security privileges, doing his best to line up his guinea pig for promotions without the Seccer even knowing how or why.

Cassus accessed the network through the digitized hyperlink imported to his datapad and started a search for Captain "Taungsday" Teo. Without a full name or physical description, it was possible he'd have a difficult time finding his Dossier. How many Captain-ranked individuals (he assumed human based on typical CorpSec demographic practices) named Teo could there be, anyway? He filtered results based on location. After narrowing it down, it became surprisingly easy to find Captain Rik Surr "Taungsday" Teo based on the most recently updated reports file. One report related to the Blue Flame, as it happened, and he began to read it. Right from the outset, something wasn't adding up.

That's when Ohnaka showed up at their table, and Cassus gave him an unbothered look.

"We appreciate it but her Birthday's not until Taungsday, we're just planning it out now. You wouldn't mind a bit of pink in your establishment, would you?" Cassus kept a careful eye on Tycho's face, who seemed to pause for a moment. Probably trying to probe the probability of that common word meaning something more than the way Cassus said it, or perhaps taken aback by being told his information was wrong.

"Oh, my mistake! A thousand apologies, my new friend, you are absolutely right. I am still very newly returned to this world, which I have only the most fondness for, and it seems that my ear for knowledge is not what it used to be, ha ha! It is important to have people around you whose word you can trust, don't you agree?" Tycho learned a little closer to the table and then stood up straight to gesture at some bar staff.

Doc Painless Yula Perl Daiya Brie Jaxx Cartri Keswoll

 

[Doc Painless]

It was good to see Daiya back in action mode, fully escaped from that pit of despair that had swallowed her up half an hour ago. The wheels in her brain were turning, spewing out ideas at a frantic rate, and that was exactly what they needed her to be doing if they were going to find some kind of solution to this mess. For his part, Doc Painless was still less than certain they could full on solve this problem in a single night... but at least they knew what the problem actually was now. Tycho had some kind of leverage on this Seccer, and that leverage had allowed him to pressure the captain into getting rid of Shenn. But how did they undo that, or change it enough to allow for Shenn's safe return?

There was no guarantee that the captain would suddenly be pro-Shenn even if they removed whatever the leverage was...

... but if they tried to simply take over the leverage, wield it themselves, they'd be taking a nexu by the tail.

Openly fething with a powerful CorpSec officer was a prospect that seldom ended well.

Apparently Tycho hadn't quite learned that lesson yet. He would.

"Curse?" the Doc asked, jerked from contemplating his worries by Daiya's sudden mention of the unusual word. Did she mean bad luck, or something? That would make sense in the broader context of how she felt about the course of tonight, but not so much in the moment, as something she could wield. He couldn't recall her talking about it before - if she had, it hadn't been in his presence. But before he could get an explanatory reply, the teen had squeezed her eyes shut and steadied her breathing, fingers pressed to her forehead as if to hold her brains in. Was she... meditating? The street medic kept a quizzical eye on her as she slowly breathed in and out, clearly waiting for something.

In the meantime, Cassus was hard at work, scanning through.... was that the CDoD database?! The Doc thought about asking how the feth the teenager had gotten into one of the most closely-guarded systems in CAD space, then thought better of it. He forgot sometimes, perhaps willfully, that the kid was a bounty hunter at seventeen. At the age when the Doc had been fumbling his way through school dances, driving tests, and his first job, Cassus had already stolen and kidnapped and killed on the regular. The street medic was never going to get used to thinking about that. Tonight, though, Cassus's underworld skills might just be enough to turn this whole thing around.

CorpSec took officer anonymity seriously, hence the heavily-encrypted CDoD. But if Cassus could get inside...

... well, they might just be able to track down Taungsday Teo after all.

Suddenly Daiya gasped, a sound sharp with pain, and doubled over. "Whoa," the Doc said, spinning back toward her and putting a steadying hand on her shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? Maybe we'd better slow down on the drinks." He threw Yula, who had been supposed to limit the drinking, a disappointed glance. For her part, Daiya didn't seem to hear him, or even notice his touch. Beneath her closed eyelids, he could see her eyeballs rolling around, as if she was caught in some kind of intense dream. What the feth was this all about? Before he could investigate any further, though, an (unfortunately and recently) familiar voice caught them all off-guard. Tycho was back.

He must have gathered by now that something was up... or maybe he just kept an eye on everyone.

Well, this was one problem that the Doc could find a solution to.

Cassus covered for them with some excuse about birthday planning, and the street medic jumped right in. "So glad you came over," he said, smiling warmly - a smile that didn't reach his eyes, though it was hard to tell, given that they were cybernetic. "I was about to go look for you. We can't do too much planning in front of the birthday girl, after all! We want some of it to be a surprise. Can I chat with you in private?" He stood, poised to lead Ohnaka away - and thus give the others their chance to make their plans. He knew he needed to do it quickly, before Tycho had a chance to notice what Cassus was looking at. He'd be onto them in a flash if he spotted that.

"I'll buy you some time," the Doc mouthed as he rose. "Please don't kill anybody."

Daiya | Brie Jaxx | Cassus Akovin | Yula Perl​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "War is My Fate" by Kyung Joon Kim, YNR)

The inside of her mind was filled with noise, an endless rattle of screaming. Rage played out inside a silent cocoon, her face offering the only window into the teen's unwilling restraint. Frustration hemmed her recovery from the vision, caught between her pounding head and the increasing tempo of her heart to the beat of Tycho Ohnaka's words. Daiya suffered the misery of limbo, unable to lash back out at the new proprieter of her favorite place. She was simply forced to watch Cassus and Doc Painless from her frozen place between Brie and Yula.

Somehow her boiling blood wasn't enough to melt the ice in her bones. By the time Daiya could react again, her breathing slowed to normal and the world restored to a more familiar tempo, Tycho was gone with the Doc following hot on his heels. She stared, unrestrained at last, with narrowed eyes across the booth at Cassus. He could have stopped the Doc, or done more than just run his mouth at the Weequay. A hundred scathing words jammed up at the back of her throat, swelling again with a paralyzing desperation, allowing the teen only a single, "Feth!"

The words disappeared with the expletive, allowing the grateful teen a clearer mind. She glanced between her friends, all doing their best to help her. A strained breath helped ease the knot in her throat, and then another, opening enough for her to speak again. "That was some chit," Daiya managed. Her eyes glanced at the path Tycho had taken the Doc, through the kitchen where she'd lost them, probably to Shenn's old office beyond. "He talks just like a Corpo, y'know, a lie for every other word."

Her rage simmered under the fire of lies and manipulation she'd encountered that night. Daiya nursed it, enduring its scalding touch with the sense that she would need it later on. The Vision had her ready to fight, and her body was primed for something she couldn't use yet. Her limbs itched, her mind ran, and she wanted to jump right out of her skin to end the lies swarming around her. The young shadowrunner glanced between Yula and Cassus, the two she had put in charge of searching out the truth. "What'd you find?"

Daiya couldn't wait. She reached across, her fingers grasping at the datapad in the hands of Cassus. It felt solid in her grasp as she pulled it back to her, something the teen could hold onto right now. Something to keep her seated and focused, rather than jumping into action like she wanted to be. Daiya scanned the datapad, barely pausing to consider the level of access, too busy chewing her bottom lip again as her eyes inhaled the information. "This Teo buckethead sure does like our bar...maybe a little too much."

Reports on the Blue Flame caught her eye, though the young shadowrunner scrolled through only to find mere disturbances. Nothing special, and yet she grinned at seeing his name gracing the reports, too many not to be a pattern. This Seccer was protecting the Blue Flame and it was far too obvious to be friendly. Daiya tapped a few times, changing pages to find other reports, searching for those same patterns. "He's not a very clever, is he? It's a wonder he hasn't gotten caught yet, Taungsday Teo's just an audit away from losing all his bribe money." She glanced up just barely enough to spy a reaction, and then back down to the datapad, where a file caught her attention. "Oh...oh my stars!"

Daiya found herself staring at corroborating evidence for one of her Visions.

It felt surreal, and for a moment the teen simply stared at the datapad. "Pinch me?" Daiya looked at Brie with a face of barely-contained hope. It splashed against her raging turmoil, drowning without the confirmation she sought from her best friend. "Hold that thought, if this is a dream then it's already better than my usual nightmares."

Daiya actually let out a giggle, surprising even herself with its melodic cadence. Her musing thoughts emerged as a grin, and the teen wrapped eager fingers around the scrapper girl's wrist, mouthing her request, 'Come with me?' She offered one last glance to Cassus and Yula, before sticking with her chosen backup. The young shadowrunner could trust Brie to be a cool head, and right now she needed the calm beside her.

The young shadowrunner barreled back through the doors into the kitchen, where she'd seen Tycho lead the Doc earlier. Back into the familiarity of smells and sounds that Daiya had once enjoyed, and her eyes sought the familiar, blue tone of Tel Tarro at one of the cooking stations. She found an ugly, one-eyed Abyssin turning her way instead, drawing her steps backward until she heard a familiar sound. Daiya's heart sank, she had been dreading the sound since her first encounter that night, and her eyes quickly searched for the fastest way to Shenn's old office again.

"Where are you going?"

The teen rounded to see Odri stepping square in the middle of her easiest path. Her eyes darted around the woman, who looked down at Daiya with a withering expression. The feeling was mutual, if the tightness in the teen's chest was any indication, and for a moment she felt the simmering rage inside her roil away again. She could just push past the chef lady, Odri was far more bark than bite anyway, but the teen kept her hands down as she moved closer to the woman. Her voice was clear and unguarded as she told Odri, "I'm going to talk to Tycho."

"Ohhhhh, no you aren't." Odri matched Daiya step for step, coming within a hand's distance of her. The teen could feel the woman's hot breath on her face, and her nose wrinkled at the acrid smell of smoke. "Bad idea. For you and for me."

"Ohhhhh, yes I am," Daiya insisted, rising up on her tiptoes until her eyes matched Odri's. Rage and hope intertwined to stare across at the woman, directed right through her back at the office behind. "I know about his little conspiracy with 'Taungsday' Teo, and I'mma blow it wide open. It ends. Tonight."

For a moment, Daiya thought she had won. Odri looked sharply over at Brie, then back into the pink-haired young shadowrunner. She glowered, in control once more, as she spoke right through Daiya to her blonde friend instead, her voice low and unnaturally even. "Does Miss Teary Princess here ever make any sense? Or did you just forget to tell her that my cooperation requires a certain level of finesse?"

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

""Oh my stars, Brie! How the feth did you manage to warm that schutta's hard heart?"

''Uhh, I just asked her, I guess? Pushed the right buttons?'' Brie said, not really knowing how she had ended up rolling Odri around her finger. Everyone had a weak spot, Brie believed, and Odri would have probably remembered the good times under Tel instead of Ohnaka. Maybe she had got more credits in her pay check from Tel even, so it was a question of economy. If Odri was as bad as Daiya made her look like, greed still worked on her. Greed worked on everyone.

As Daiya scooted over, offering them a place beside her, Brie looked at Cassus and found herself in a limbo of glances with the boy. She wanted to be close to her best friend, but at the same time would like to offer the seat to the pretty bounty huunter. It was a difficult decision to make, until Cassus finally offered her the place. Somewhat awkward, but alright.

When Ohnaka himself showed up, speaking about the devil, Brie put on a fake smile only Daiya would pick up.

''Yeah, we do! We just can't decide what to get from your wonderful menu! Everything sounds so delicious! I guess you're the mastermind behind it?'' she added after Cassus asking for pink, Daiya's favourite color if Brie remembered correctly. All in an attempt to keep Ohnaka in a good mood and continue to consider the group of teenagers good customers.

The next thing Brie knew, Daiya asked her to pinch her which the scrapper girl eventually did, right on her lower arm. All before Daiya asked Brie to come with her, which Brie felt she had no choice but to follow her best friend into the next one of their many adventures.

As the two girls begun pushing through the kitchen, they were suddenly stopped by the figure of Odri blocking their way. This was not what Brie had agreed with the woman about, and she made sure to step forward to highlight that.

''Yes, Odri! I'm sorry, but she has finesse! She's just too emotional right now to even care about it right now! Please excuse her? We're on something good here - for all of us. Please, please, let us through to talk to Tycho? We had a deal, right?'' Brie uttered, trying to appeal to the chef of the place that seemingly had a beef with her best friend.

''There's credits involved...'' Brie added with a whisper while leaning closer to the stubborn chef. Greed had a funny ability to appeal to anyone, even Odri. If Daiya, more or less the leader of the pack, would be willing to give her a share, was a another question. Brie guessed that the stubborn attitude were shared by the rival women.

Yula Perl , Doc Painless ​

 

[Doc Painless]

None of this was how tonight was supposed to go... but this part really wasn't how tonight was supposed to go.

Doc Painless followed Tycho through the kitchen, past hissing stoves and humming dishwashers, and back into Shenn's old office. The Doc had never actually been in here before, but even despite that he could tell that the space was much changed. Jovial old Shenn had never been the kind to put on airs; during his ownership, all of the Blue Flame's flair had gone into either the quality of the food and drink or the vibe of the dining area. He never would've wasted money and effort on fancy decor for a place customers would never see. The Doc could picture his style - some tasteful furniture, a desk plant or two, maybe an understated painting or a few holopictures.

Tycho Ohnaka did not seem to have understated in his vocabulary, and probably considered gaudy a compliment. His "improvements" to the office made it all too clear that he was a man with more money than taste. A plush wrodian carpet, probably worth as much as a good quality landspeeder, had been rolled out to cover the floor... but a gaudy ornamental planter full of blood orchids, whose deep red color clashed horribly with the teal shimmersilk wall hangings, had been placed partly on top of the rug, and water dripping from the internal irrigation system had badly stained one corner of the precious textile. The lack of care made the Doc wince.

The true crown jewel of tastelessness, however, was the statuette on Tycho's hand-carved wroshyr-wood desk. Fully forty centimeters tall and probably heavy enough to crack a skull with one swing, it was a solid aurodium sculpture of Tycho himself... or at least Tycho as he wished to be. The sculptor had tactfully added the Weequay's head onto a body that did not remotely resemble reality; Tycho was not obese, but he was a little plump from the enjoyment of fine foods and wines, while this statue had the hyper-muscular frame of a champion shockboxer. The figurine was also fully naked, heroically posed with one hand on a hip and one fist upraised. Nothing was covered.

The Doc did his best to avert his eyes as he sat down in one of the Weequay's overstuffed chairs.

"So," Tycho said, rubbing his hands together with that smarmy enthusiasm that made the street medic's skin crawl, "a party! So glad you would choose my humble establishment - though after a little change in management, not so humble anymore, no? Ha ha!" He laughed as if he thought each bark of mirth was the necessary punctuation to end a sentence, and it was beginning to really grate on the Doc's nerves. "... right," Doc Painless replied, trying to think on his feet. The last time he'd thought about planning a birthday party was.... well, probably twenty-five years ago, give or take. And his role had been picking a theme and letting his parents do the rest.

What did he need to do in order to sell this? What went into planning a party, anyway?

Fortunately, Tycho liked to hear the sound of his own voice. "I heard mention of pink, did I not? Well, it's not my color, ha, ha, but to bring joy to the birthday girl I am sure we can come to some kind of arrangement. Let it never be said that Tycho Ohnaka is not flexible in all things, my friend! All things. Ha, ha." The weequay waggled his eyebrows, and the Doc found his own eyes drawn inexorably to the improbable proportions of that damned figurine again. Dear Force, I need the teenagers to hurry the feth up with whatever they're planning. "That's... very generous of you," the street medic finally managed. "Yeah, some pink would be great. Maybe some tablecloths..."

Tycho puffed up indignantly. "Tablecloths?! Is this the extent of your imagination? Why, we can go much bigger than that, my metal-eyed friend! Pink specialty drinks, pink banners, all-pink appetizer plates, ha ha! If pink is the theme that the birthday girl desires, why, let it not be said that Tycho Ohnaka did not fully commit to pleasing his customers!" He leaned closer, and his next words were delivered in a conspiratorial whisper rather than his usual blustering half-shout. "And maybe then we can all accept that times change, no? And your little friend can stop poking around in places her nose does not belong, yes?" It was delivered jovially, like gossip among old friends.

And yet it made the Doc's blood run cold all the same. How much had Tycho figured out about their intentions?

Before the street medic could formulate a reply, there was some kind of commotion out in the kitchen. He couldn't quite make out the words, but he knew the voices - Ondri and Daiya, then Brie. It didn't sound like a particularly friendly conversation, either. Please don't just be about to barge in here with no clear plan but gotcha, the Doc silently pleaded. "Ah! It sounds like the birthday girl has decided to join us after all, I think, ha ha. Shall we go see what she wants? Or perhaps we wait here. I paid a great deal for these very comfortable chairs, and I would hate to get up from them if the conversation will come to us anyway! Ha, ha!" The Doc squeezed his eyes shut.

He was not looking forward to the showdown that was likely to come next.

But for Daiya, for his friend, he'd do his best to see it through.

Daiya | Brie Jaxx | Cassus Akovin | Yula Perl | Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "Until the Wolves Come Out" by NateWantsToBattle)

"Emotional?!"

Daiya turned to stare at her friend, her best friend, whose choice of words to diffuse Odri's protest made heat rise on the teen's cheeks, already battle-scarred from the night's string of news. Brie's words stung more than they should have, piling on top of the birthday girl's fragile heart. At the moment, Daiya didn't care what Brie called her, her ire was reserved for the haughty tone of the smug chef standing in front of her. "Oh, I'm gonna be emotional if you don't let me through that door!"

Odri had as much calm as ever, a maelstrom of bitterness and scorn written on her face. That echoed the feelings swirling in Daiya's own heart, and for a moment she hesitated to breach the tenuous calm her friend had managed with the argumentative woman. "If you walk in there, Daiya, I can't do anything for you."

A threat was almost pleasant conversation coming from the Blue Flame's kitchen taskmaster.

"You promise?" Daiya snapped a moment later, assured of her course once more. She wiped aside the smug comments, smearing them against the dyed material of her shorts until her hands felt dry and clean of the woman's offensive residue. "Chit, that'd be the best present I've had all night. Now move!"

The teen barely registered the pale flesh of the chef's palms, held up in surrender as she stepped away from the door. Daiya didn't register the withering look shared between Odri and Brie behind her, her focus wholly on the door in front of her, and who lay behind. Her hand reached for the handle, nerves stalling for time now that the way was clear. Her heart skipped a beat, then calmed in relief when she heard a wary voice behind her again.

"Just..."

Daiya whipped around to look, her breath caught on a word to see Odri again, her demeanor as strange as it had been when the teen first arrived. Unguarded and vulnerable, and once more the pit at the bottom of her stomach churned, drawing pangs more powerful than hunger. For a moment, Daiya almost second-guessed herself, before her impatience laid down the word she'd withheld before. "What?!"

"Just don't mention Shenn," the woman spat out, the words stinging against Daiya's inertia toward confrontation with the Weequay. Odri turned her foot to go, a rising disgust fueling the woman's quick escape from the situation. "He's a good man, he doesn't deserve any of this. Don't make it worse."

Odri left, leaving Daiya unable to shake the feeling of the woman's piercing gaze on her. Her eyes looked first to Brie, seeking a source of relief in the scrapper girl. The connection they shared went beyond simple friendship, the young shadowrunner held a real admiration for the Brie's achievement with Odri tonight, a thought that choked in Daiya's throat. Even the scrapper girl could find value in the chef's callous sway over the Blue Flame's future, while Daiya, on tonight of all nights, could only fall back onto old habits of animosity between them.

"Who the feth does she think she is?!" The bile bubbled up through her throat, growling a sound of frustration that snapped the teen's attention back to the door. Her fingers found the handle quickly enough, flinging it open to reveal the grinning face of the Weequay, all his attention focused on the man seated ahead of him. The room felt many degrees cooler than the kitchen did, but Daiya drew warmth from the rage coursing through her veins as she stepped into the office. Shenn's office, with an intruder sitting at the desk.

One who wore a self-satisfied grin that even put Odri's to shame.

"Aha, I knew it. I told my new friend here that you were coming to join us, did I not? Ha ha." A vision of wrongness, Tycho Ohnaka sat where Shenn should have been. In memory, the teen rarely recalled the man actually sitting there, stacking another contradiction atop the pile that built the Weequay's putrid form. "I was just telling your uncle, no—" Tycho raised a finger, directing the hairs on the back of her neck like a concert maestro, "—your mentor...ahhh, I'm right am I not? Tycho has a nose for these things, ha ha!"

All the rage she felt retreated back inside, more clever than she was in facing down a man like Tycho. The teen tried to suppress the shiver down her spine, forcing her face as flat as she could. Her every breath came with a pause, a moment of utter despair, before Daiya swallowed and breathed out. She stopped, her heart caught in her throat instead, as Tycho gestured to the empty seat in front of the desk. Shenn's desk. She lost her composure, her mouth opened to snap at him, "Wha—!"

She croaked, her voice hoarse as dampness flooded all the wrong parts of her face. Daiya swallowed again, squinting through bleary vision at the intruder of her favorite place. "Get the feth out of his chair!"

"You like it? Come have a seat, Daiya. Come, come, I think you'll agree it's a very comfortable chair." The new proprietor wore his finest grin as he stood, shifting his motion to lure her deeper into his lair. Her feet moved despite herself, venturing where Daiya had never dared. Every motion was wrong, even the air smelled of a violation. Here in Shenn's private sanctum, Daiya's very presence was a betrayal, weighing ever more heavily down on her shoulders until she sank into the deep cushion of Tycho's luxurious chair.

"Shenn barely had time to sit. He was too busy making sure his customers were comfortable!" Daiya spat at him from the chair, feeling very small compared to the man looming above her. The teen sank deeper into its embrace, sinking back years to the youngling that had once sat in a chair behind this very desk, thinking herself a clever prankster, until a sharp-tongued cook spied her from the doorway. She could feel eyes on her from the door again, Brie's now added onto the Doc's, and it was hard to avoid feeling very much the foolish youngling once again.

"Old Shenn never appreciated what he had, I can tell you that. Ha ha." The grin never vanished from the Weequay's face as he settled into the chair across from her, running a finger across the well-dusted desktop. "I made special arrangements to have everything set up here just to my liking." He rubbed his fingers together before snapping them with a sharp crack, startling Daiya from within the cushions. "I intend to fully appreciate it all."

"Not for long" Daiya found herself muttering, barely a whisper above the loud din of Tycho's monologue. He barely reacted to her words, drawing interest in the growing cloud of consternation around the teen once more. She shrank even more as he leaned forward, wishing to be anywhere else at the moment.

"Sit up, my dear, speak up!" Tycho urged, beckoning as if his hands could raise her by the power of gestures alone. "Tell Tycho everything on your mind, I want to make your special day as memorable as possible. Now we have your mentor and—" Daiya sat up as he glanced at Brie, her hackles rising if she should need to defend her friend. "—your sister? No? Well, I can be forgiven for that mistake, you are like two halves of the same being, ha ha!"

"All together now, yes? Who will tell me what Tycho Ohnaka can do to see a smile on the birthday girl's face?"

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Brie looked back at Daiya as if she had said anything wrong. Daiya was emotional! Was it wrong for Brie to point it out, to have an excuse for her behavior? Would not Daiya allow herself to be emotional, considering the events? Brie noticed that her friend held back something to say and instead lashed out at Odri. Brie stood at the side looking between the two arguing women and didn't really know what to do. She would have probably got a rebuff from any of them if she tried to chime in. Odri gave Daiya an ultimatum, which made Brie hold her breath for what was about to come from her best friend. False alarm. Daiya shrugged it off with a testy comment.

''But you are-''

Brie didn't have time to finish her sentense, before the younger girl pushed past them and towards the office door.

''Emotional.'' Brie said in a lower tone, looking excusingly at Odri.

After some final words of advice, although Daiya would certainly not see it that way, Odri left them and Brie walked up to Daiya meeting her gaze and laying a comforting hand on her shoulder. Brie took a deep breath, hoping that her best friend would join her and settle down just a bit, before they entered through the unlocked door.

Doc was there, along with the brute looking weequay carrying a self-satisfied smile that caused a disgruntled look upon Brie's face. As Tycho begun and invited Daiya to sit in Shenn's old chair, Brie walked up behind Doc and joined him. It was clear that the weequay would never give up The Blue Flame, judging by the words he used. If it was because he was too stupid to see that they would never give up either was unclear, but an eopie seemed to be smarter than this guy. Wether it was on purpose or not, he tried to smooth things over and simply ignore the fact that they were close friends of Shenn.

Brie kept her disgruntled look as Tycho looked over at her, guessing her and Daiya were sisters and throwing a despicable joke about their statures. In a way, they were all brothers and sisters who would never back down for a guy like Tycho Ohnaka. The fact that he was so negligent could be of their advantage.

Doc Painless​

 

[Doc Painless]

As Daiya's wrathful entrance played itself out, Doc Painless squeezed his eyes shut.

He did understand where she was coming from. She was hurt and disappointed and angry, and she was also a teenager, without much practice controlling those feelings - or many good examples around her to demonstrate doing so. Sometimes the Doc felt like Darkwire itself was another teenager, fickle and emotional, reactive rather than proactive, heedless of consequence. And here he was, trying to be parent to that figurative child - and all the children who were part of it. Maybe that was a lost cause. He was hardly an expert in child-rearing, and hardly the best example of a positive life path; sure, he had his lofty principles, but he was also a workaholic and a drunk.

Was it worth trying? He didn't know. He made the effort anyway.

What he did know was that, right now, Daiya was playing right into Tycho's hands.

Brie and Odri watched from the door as Daiya sat and launched her barbed words, trying to hit the Weequay with a rebuke that would actually stick. None of them did. The guy was as invulnerable to harsh words as a ray shield was to blasterfire, jovially turning aside every criticism, drowning personal attacks in cheerful prattle. This was a duel of words in which they were well and truly outmatched. In this room, once Shenn's office and now Tycho's sanctum, they were on the back foot in every conceivable way. The Doc needed to make Daiya understand that, before it was too late. If she blurted out what she'd learned as some kind of gotcha, this wasn't going to go like she thought.

How could he make her see that without tipping off Tycho? His eyes widened, and he shook his head subtly.

Yes, Daiya was young, and yes, Daiya was upset, but surely she wasn't this naive. If she stormed in here and blurted out we know you have CorpSec in your pocket!, how did she expect that to end? With Tycho stammering apologies and promises to reform his wicked ways, maybe personally inviting Shenn back? That wasn't going to happen. Telling Tycho that they knew about Taungsday Teo would only give him the upper hand; he could send his pet CorpSec Captain to deal with this problem next, which would be very bad news for Daiya and company. Their only hope was to come at this from the other end, to either neutralize Tycho's blackmail somehow... or neutralize Teo himself.

Which would bring down a tremendous amount of heat and thus was also not ideal, to put it mildly.

It was always nice when the Doc's moral qualms also lined up with general street smarts.

He had to say something, head this off before they all got fresh targets painted on their backs, courtesy of a gotcha outburst. "I think we've said what we need to say for right now, Daiya," the Doc said, firmly but not unkindly. "I'm getting tired. Let's finish up our party planning later this week." He subtly emphasized the end of that sentence, looking right at the teen as he said it. At least, he hoped it was subtly; he was no secret agent, accustomed to communicating in code. He also hoped that his message could penetrate the fog of outrage that walled Daiya's thoughts. Today was Centaxday, the second day of the week... and that meant tomorrow was Taungsday.

By finish up later this week, he meant deal with Taungsday Teo. He hoped Daiya got it... and that Tycho didn't.

Honestly, with how sharp Tycho was and how distracted Daiya was, it was a toss-up.

The Doc silently prayed that Cassus would have info for them on Teo...

Daiya | Brie Jaxx | Cassus Akovin​

 

[Daiya]

(Post Soundtrack: "If I Die Young" by The Band Perry)

Daiya felt her face turn upside down. The corners of her mouth, longing to curve down to her chin, seemed to form a smile instead. Her eyes leaked again, but the tears seemed to pool above their lids, restraining the traitorous emotion from bright eyes. Sitting in Shenn's office, behind his desk, even if in a chair he would have loathed, the teen felt a reassuring sense of achievement. Her first taste of alcohol, bitter as it was; her first time shooting a blaster, making her scream from the shock of it; her first mission on her own, adrenaline and anxiety fighting for dominance the whole way; those moments gladly added this one to their ranks.

It was the first time, all night, Daiya felt something was going right.

Fear and apprehension gripped her innards, a concert of squeezing and release all masterminded by the Weequay man sitting comfortably in front of her. Far too comfortably, but Daiya wouldn't narrow her eyes at him any more. She kept them wide, eyebrows in the same position as the corners of her mouth, every part of her alight with the fire coursing through her veins. It fueled the blithe expression as the teen sat up, filling the expanse of the plush chair beneath her. "You're right, this is a very comfortable chair."

Tycho flashed a hungry grin at her, his head bobbing in an eager rhythm to the teen's apparent reception. "And I am so glad you're enjoying it. Why don't I bring it out for your par—"

"Oh, I'm not done, Doc." Daiya was ignoring the man in the chair across from her, the one who thought he was in charge of the Blue Flame now. She turned away, looking into the colorful eyes of the Doc, watching the new proprietor twitch out of the corner of her eye. Daiya's hands bent around her knees, digging in fingertips to keep her self-control, resisting the urge to watch how the Weequay responded to the shift in tactics.

Daiya was tired of being on the back foot all the time.

Then she grinned at Brie, flicking her eyes to the chronometer at the back of the office. Again and again until her best friend followed suit, until even the Doc saw what she was pointing to. Daiya ignored what Tycho did, not caring if he followed her eyes. Not caring if he understood or not. The teenager felt right in grinning, her eyes settling confidently open, her face flushing with the warm glow of new knowledge settling over her.

Midnight had come and gone, and she was sixteen now.

"It's already Centaxday, Doc, and I already feel like a new me! The night's still young, we got plenty of time to talk." Daiya felt an inspiring new growth in her, like a fire lit under her heart. She was sixteen, no one could call her a little girl anymore.

Now Daiya was a young woman!

Her shoulders rose a little more, her spine straightened up, confident blooming inside her. Daiya loosened her fingers, suddenly conscious of them again, and looked to Brie. "And I know you've already got one, but we could totally be sisters!"

She could see Tycho watching out of the corner of her eye, following the exchange. The new proprietor was all bluff and bluster until she stopped listening to him, and once or twice she saw him open his mouth, only to hesitate. Then an easy smile returned to his face, the crack in his mask smoothed over, and Daiya felt her stomach fall back down her throat as a musical chuckle rang in her ears. "This is most excellent! I have been waiting for you to open up all night, ha ha. Tell me, Daiya, what is the thing you have been most wanting in your birthday celebration?"

Shenn unharmed and free to roam.

Her favorite tavern restored to normal.

No more cause to cry.

The answers came easily to her lips, but Daiya turned aside to the Doc again, "When we make our plans" she said, using the same inflection of the man before, "I wanna keep a seat open for—"

"Ah, ah, ah!" It was Tycho again, holding up a finger in the air. He waved it, waiting until it caught Daiya's fingers, pulling the attention back onto himself. "It is I, Tycho Ohnaka. I have asked a question, to the young lady who I have given free drinks, and my time, and my chair! And now, ha ha, I would like an answer."

"You wanna know?" The teen's smile turned plastoid, a hollow shimmer in her eyes. Her fingers pressed back into her knees, until she shook her hair, loosening her body and face from the tension the Weequay's grating voice set upon her. Daiya shook off his firm tone, shifting to innocence where ignorance had lost out. Her eyes fluttered at him, her words adopting that high pitch that dripped saccarine sweetness. "There's something I'd really really like for Taungsday, y'know, my birthday? My sweet sixteen, that only happens once, ever, and then it's gone?"

Daiya might no longer be a little girl, but even young women had wiles.

"I want the biggest display ever, all the colors and balloons and music and..." She had him on the edge of his seat now, drifting on the cadence of her words. "I wanna see my name written in the lights on Sakedo Tower! Just straight up the cloudcutter," Daiya lifted her hands to illustrate the vision, "DAIYA, in big, bright letters."

It was impossible, and ridiculous, and so over the top Daiya knew the conniving Weequay would be hooked. She flushed at him as if realizing the enormity of her ask, watching him lean closer in anticipation, the hungry grin back on his face. "I know it's a big ask, and it's not like it's tomorrow Taungsday but next week Taungsday..." Daiya set her hands in her lap, looking down at them, her words tumbling on in the roll of the awkward teenager she was supposed to be. "But if anyone could do it, you could. You're that kind of being, y'know, the kind everyone wants to like? And I know you've got connections, maybe you can ask your friend who comes in tomorrow, and—"

"My friend? Who do you mean? Everyone who comes in is my friend, ha ha!"

That should have been her warning sign, but Daiya kept on going heedlessly.

"Y'know, your bigshot friend in the district, all in red and black, comes in on Taungs..." The teen trailed off, breath catching as she realized what she'd given away. Daiya reeled at the comment, her cheeks turning cold as the blood fled from them, leaving her turning pale faced to the Doc and Brie with a plaintive expression. She tried to keep her fear from creeping up again, tried to keep the tears from her eyes again, but the newly-sixteen-year-old could feel them clawing at her once more. Daiya's eyes only darted back to Tycho when he slapped his knees and stood up.

"We-ee-ell!" The Weequay was shaking his finger at her, a tattling finger she knew was already writing her demise in the air. "You are far more clever than I gave you credit for, ha ha! If you will excuse me, Daiya," Tycho inclined his head to the Doc and Brie in turn, "sir, and miss, I believe I have a call to make! You know how it goes, business never rests, and it certainly never waits until Taungsday, ha ha!"

He started for the door, gesturing to them with open palms. "Stay, stay, make yourselves comfortable, I shouldn't be long at all!"

Daiya sank in her chair as the door closed, the weight of the world flooding up again in her eyes. Her hand pressed to her chest, holding back the sobs that would break her heart all over again, wild eyes darting from Brie to the Doc. "Oh feth! What have I done?!"

Doc Painless Brie Jaxx Yula Perl Cassus Akovin Cartri Keswoll​

 

[Brie Jaxx]

Stars! Kriff, even! It was past midnight and it was Centaxday, and Daiya looked at them with renewed energy and a look that said that she was far from over with Tycho. Brie looked at Doc, realising that her best, and most stubborn friend didn't respond the way Doc hoped for. It made Brie anxious for what was now to come through the now young womans mouth. Another barrage of sharp comments trying to lure the weequay out of the light. A barrage of comments neither of them could stop, not without it looking suspicious anyway. Brie cracked half a smile at Daiya mentioning that they in fact could be sisters, which they definitely could and Brie also thought of the little gamine as her little sister. A sister that never could know when to be quiet, that was.

The conversation between Daiya and Tycho went on, as Daiya tried to negotiate her name being on display ad Sakedo Tower. Not the smallest of demands, which even Brie knew. It carried on, until Daiya slipped on her words, revealing that they knew of the guy called Taungsday Teo.

"Y'know, your bigshot friend in the district, all in red and black, comes in on Taungs..." The teen trailed off, breath catching as she realized what she'd given away. Daiya reeled at the comment, her cheeks turning cold as the blood fled from them, leaving her turning pale faced to the Doc and Brie with a plaintive expression.

Brie's eyes went wide as the twin suns of Tatooine as she met Daiya's plaintive gaze. Their plan were exposed. They were screwed. That was the least they were. She looked upon Doc for a moment in hopes that he got a quick idea how to save the situation, before the weequay rose from his chair and started for the door.

Daiya were stuck realising her mistake, and Doc might have run out of aces up his sleeves. Brie's eyes darted around in panic until she saw the slimmest of chances to at least try to save the day. She lunged for a letter opener on Shenn's desk and ran after Tycho, placing herself in his way with the pointy object desperately aimed at him.

''No! NO! Y-you ain't going anywhere, mister! We are not joking around! Y-you stay in this room, until we have figured out what to do with you!'' Brie threatened, trying to sound and look imposing to the hulking alien. She quickly realised that she failed quite miserably at that, considering their differences in height and width, and that only the letter opener was acting as the real threat to the weequay. He wouldn't want to have it in the stomach or neck, though. They needed backup, and that was fast. She had mere seconds to think, and risked reaching for the door and open it.

''CASSUS?!'' she yelled out of the door with all her might, praying that the boy would hear her. That anyone would hear her. Tycho had to be captured, or something...

Daiya , Doc Painless , Cassus Akovin , Cartri Keswoll , Yula Perl ​