13/08/2501: Murder At 700 Km/h.

Mika strolled towards the back of the carriage and took her seat, a little disappointed that she didn't have a window or aisle seat for easy movement. At least the seats might provide a little cover if things went south. Once the seat next to her was filled - well, that answered the question of whether she'd be sitting with an Amanita agent. The woman down the row was a mystery, though. "Hello!" she said, greeting her new colleague just as she would any other stranger. "Lovely weather for a shuttle trip, isn't it?"

Devlin nodded to Tendo and looked her up and down. There was a significant amount of ogling in his look, but that could have been because she looked like an anime character made real, or because he was a chauvinistic E.I pig... Or maybe both.

He had placed the two briefcases containing his tools of the trade underneath his seat and was fidgeting like he just could not get comfortable. "I don't know, it's practically raining pigs on this trip." he replied to Tendo, gesturing to the UIG officer sat behind him with a tip of his head. "You one of those Ninja Samurai Magic Girls from the Shi Yukiro broadcasts then?" he asked with a hint of gentle laughter.

Sergei glanced around curiously at the interior of the shuttle; he had travelled by shuttle relatively few times, and never on the route to the AFS, so he was mildly interested in seeing if there were any obvious differences.  He also took the chance to assess the potential combat environment, reflecting right away that the close-quarters nature of the shuttle could make things very messy, very quickly, and that any attempt at stealth would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, especially with the presence of the UIG officers.  There was also the unknown of the lady who had seemingly teleported in just to hand the bomb-nut a stabilised case, which Sergei was exceptionally thankful for, considering the seating arrangements.

He calmly glanced across towards where the 'drunk' was sitting, then pulled out his PDA and set to reading again.  Perhaps he should suggest a sound-off of seating positions over smeaker?  Potential there to be mistaken for an enemy trying to guage his targets' locations, but it would be a problem if they accidentally hit each other in a fire-fight on their first job together.

Sergei made up his mind.  "Orolev here."  His mild russian accent showed through even on smeaker.  "Let's make sure we know where we each are.  We don't want friendly fire if, or rather when, things get messy.  I'm in seat 10."

Tendo shrugged off Devlin's gaze; she was used to being stared at by strangers, new colleagues, passing children... "More or less. Never got the whole samurai honour thing, but I make up for it with extra magic~" she replied with a mischievous grin.

So Orolev was the man in the seat in front of her, good to know. She was a little concerned by that scar she'd noticed - hopefully it wasn't a sign of a history of cheaping out on R-Drug. The thought that discussing their positions and identities might give info away to an enemy listening in briefly crossed her mind, but most of them had spoken up before Jon's last contact and he would have warned them if there was an unauthorised person on the frequency. Besides, enough of them would be identifiable to someone putting in that much work anyway - they had more to gain from knowing each other than they might lose from giving out that info to a mole. "Good thought. Tendo reporting in, seat 6."

As they boarded the shuttle, Krikta hung back to see where people were sitting, especially looking out for anyone who might pose a significant threat, or would be a potential target. His apparent teammates started their little role call as he was making his way to his seat. Well you all know where I am, maybe we should focus less on where we are, and more on who the target is and where they are. As he arrived at his seat and found his friend from the lounge, he grinned, showing of his pointed teeth, and staring at him in a manner that the mans hind brain told him only predators would do. (pass prattitude by 34) The woman Tendo claimed was a telepath is in seat 27, and there was a Comoros woman talking to the little girl, she is in seat 9. He sat down in his seat and made sure to keep an eye on how his target was reacting Perhaps you can go and see if everyone else is disgusted by you.

{Time rewind - the following happens before the shuttle arrives}

"It's...well, I'm afraid that's something of a trade secret," Timotheus replied with a smile. "I'm a biologist, you see. But I can promise you that as far as we can tell, it's totally harmless."

At that moment, the announcement for tram came through and he raised his head. "Ah, I'm afraid that's our cue to move. I'll try and catch up with you on the tram." Without waiting for a response he began to move away from Harvey. "Oh, and keep the glass," he threw back over his shoulder. "I have plenty more."

{And time returns to its normal flow}

In the past, Harvey had looked from his drink to Timotheus, and raised an eyebrow before raising his glass. "Exquisite. Thank you very much, Thimotheus." He even smiled at the departing man. While others boarded the shuttle, he inspected the brown liquid; there was a distinctive green to it, and it was smooth in a way that was... impressive. With any luck, Canberra wouldn't be bereft of any interest... Though the AFS was a large place. Maybe today would be Harvey's lucky day.

He moved to board the shuttle, patiently waiting to be the last one in.

The rest of the individuals piled on at highly high speed. One of the UIG officers held back, making sure that Devlin's shit was safely kept in the stable case, while Asima strode through the doors like she owned the place.

---

Saalax scurried into place as soon as the doors opened. He pulled into his seat, glancing around like a rat caught in a Gemini BIO enclosure, one hand still clutching his plasma pistol. Then he looked up, and saw who he was sitting next to...

---

The trenchcoated woman took her seat at the end of Devlin's row. Her companion took the seat on the other side of the central aisle, still watching his show. She lent over and smacked his arm, hissing something in Spanish. He responded with a shrug, before pointing briefly at Krikta and the Chinese woman, taking her seat at the front of the carriage, before gesturing back to what he was watching. She made a hissing noise and sank back in her seat, idly flicking up the in transit brochure and flipping through the on board snacks.

---

Liz seemed to have rebounded completely when she and her family got on the shuttle, and was still leaning around to talk to the woman behind her in hesitant Urdu. The young woman was obviously encouraging her, correcting some words and miming the meaning of others. Across the other side, the mysterious lady with the knife opened one eye, the first time she had appeared to since she entered the shuttle, and kept it fixed across the shuttle at the young woman.

---

The two punks sat down behind Devlin, nudging each other and occasionally kissing. Eventually, one of them leaned over, tapping him on the shoulder. "Loved what you did back there man."

---

The drunk stumbled to her seat, and began to lean over to yap at Asima, but the other woman simply ignored her, staring at the ceiling with a bored look on her face. The three business people walked in without incident, one of them trying to hide his datapads from the rest of the shuttle.

---

Saalax looked up and saw Kirtka, before falling back, eyes closed, making a slight gurgling noise. He had lost conciousness.

Tendo had just said "More or less. Never got the whole samurai honour thing, but I make up for it with extra magic~" with a mischievous grin directed towards Devlin. He smirked as well, genuinely pleased to have found someone on this shuttle had at least trace amounts of humour. "Oh I bet you do, love." he said, chuckling lightly, "Just don't go getting us attacked by any of them tentacle monsters. I've seen what those bastards get up to and I'd rather not be on the receiving end of it."

Now that he had gotten comfortable in the shuttle's rather spartan seats Devlin tried to get down to some semblance of business. He had a mysterious box to find and who knew what kinds of weirdos to stop from killing all of the other weirdos. His (allegedly) criminal mind began working on the scenario and tried to puzzle out where the best place to put such a mysterious package could be. If it was him smuggling something, and if he could have gotten past the UIG goons, he would have hidden the package somewhere instead of carrying it around, waiting to get searched by every moronic agent with a domestic search license or permission to detain someone. He glanced around the shuttle and attempted to spot hidden smuggling compartments, or even just simple nooks and crannies that would make good hiding spots. (Observation + Perception AT: 15, roll 11. Pass by 4).

Then he had to turn his attention to the punks that had just sat down behind him...

Harvey climbed in last, consulting his smartwatch to check his seat. It was right... next to where a terrified man had collapsed, next to the gladiator. Hm. Drink in one hand, briefcase in the other, he nodded to Timotheus before making his way to the massive lizard man. "If you'll excuse me, I believe I am sitting next to you." He gestured with his drink hand to the seat. "Thirty-four." Harvey had missed Krikta's big scary moment, which is why he didn't seem intimidated. Just polite and patient.

Krikta grinned, clearly pleased with the reaction of the unconscious man in the seat. As the rich Indian man spoke up he glanced back in his direction, before stepping out of the way. As he took his seat he smeakered to the man next to him. So, who do you think it is we're going to need to kill? He looked back at Saalax, that couldn't have gone any better really.

Harvey gave Krikta a look from the side of his eye before taking a seat. "Without investigation, it could be anyone. Even one of us." He took a moment to place his briefcase under the seat in front of him. He straightened his tie and lapels. He took the last sip of his drink and collapsed the glass, putting it in his pocket. He sighed, almost too softly to notice. Then he turned to the unconscious man, feeling for a pulse. "The poor man was jumpy enough as it is. You don't need to be so... feral. At least he is still breathing."

The well dressed man tutted once more, and then began to open the coat of the man next to him, locating gun and searching for any box or hollow noise suggesting a chest space. He hands were deft and fast, and he moved as if he was looking for other medical ailments. (Pass by 11 on lying and acting.) "There's no need to be so crass."

Tendou couldn't help pouting at Krikta's comment. "If she's a Comoros telepath, her top priority on contact with me will be killing me no matter what. Without proof that's the right play I'm staying back here thank you very much." What was his problem, anyway? Did he just find it fun to mess with people, or was this his way of dealing with a world that cheered when he played his part and shunned and rejected him when be stepped outside the box?

Tendou pulled out her eyescreen and slipped it on as she opened up her computer and began to type away, searching the WDN to find information on shuttle emergency stop and escape mechanisms without the obviousness of going up and reading emergency posters (plus more detail to boot). This was maybe because they could use them buy more to prepare for any getaway attempts the target might make if they caught on.

The gladiator just looked at Harvey. "Feral iss what I do. It let's me tasste their fear." He flicked out his forked tongue to emphasize his point. As his new accomplice started searching the unconscious man, Krikta made sure to pay attention, he was curious as to exactly why he was so nervous to begin with. She'll start trying to kill you once we make our move anyway, so it makes sense to know who is or isn't a suspect. And if she goes for you before then... Well, I'm sure the UIG would step in to protect a Corporate citizen.

Harvey continued his "medical" examination, shaking his head at Krikta as he did so. He bgean to undo the man's shirt with the same confidence he started with. He ran his fingertips long the skin... There was a click, and the polite gentleman sighed a little. "There are better tasting emotions than fear. It is so.. acidic. And chewy." He slid his hand into the opened space, and then asked, "Are what we looking for a chip and a diskette? This gentleman appears to be smuggling them. I apologise for my ignorance in these technical matters, but I can't tell if these possess any unique qualities."

"Can you feel a indent on the bottom of the chip?" asked Jon. "The one we are looking for has a long, thin one with a small diamond shape at the end" The chip in Harvey's hand lacked this.
As Jon spoke over the smeaker, one of the two officers walked over to the group. "What's wrong with him?"

---

Looking around, Devlin noticed a large hatch in the middle of the floor, too large and too visible to be a good hiding spot. The most likely place was the overhead luggage compartments, where the thief could have pretended they were just stowing their bag for safe keeping during the journey. Apart from that, the shuttle was set up to avoid smuggling, with the possible exception of the toilet cubical and the small automated trolley that provided the food service.

Tendo found that stopping the shuttle was actually rather difficult, due to the speed it was travelling at and the locked in nature of the express lane. A passenger could request an emergency stop, however the driver had to change into a decelerating lane at high speed, which then diverted the shuttle to an area below the main sky bridge where emergency vehicles could reach it.

Harvey removed his hand and closed the chest plate, not yet turning around to the UIG officer. "It seems that this passenger has swooned. I have ascertained he doesn't seem to be in immediate state of coronary collapse, but I am afraid my first aid skills have rusted in the last five years or so." He closed the chest space as softly a possible, hiding any illicit activity on his part and the downed man's to the best of his ability. (Pass Lying and Acting roll by 10.) He turned around and looked at the Officer, patient concern on his features. "I think sitting next to such a.. popular.. gladiator might have been.. overwhelming." Though Harvey's voice and mannerisms were understanding, his eyes flicked from the UIG Officer's face to the direction of Krikta to the UIG officer again in an obvious manner. Anyone with a basic grasp of human communication would realize the poor gentleman was too respectable to suggest that the mere presence of Krikta was nightmarish enough to frighten the gunholder into a faint, but he was thinking it.

Krikta looked almost smug about the effect he had had on his fellow passenger. A lot of humans find that to be the casse. The Lizard took this opportunity to get a good look at the Officer's equipment, since the would undoubtedly have to fight soon. (per assess tech AT 9 16 rolled fail by 7)

Devlin noted the possible hiding spots and then heard some posh voice on the smeaker say they had all ready found the thing they were looking for (maybe). Oh well, it wasn't time wasted, since he could always have a look for smuggled goods anyway, just for the fun and profit of it.

The punk sat behind Devlin leaned forwards and said "Loved what you did back there man.", which brought the agent out of his day dreams of finding a stash of highly illegal and expensive drugs.

"Yeah, thanks man. Fucking pigs, right? Bunch of pricks the lot of them." he replied with a derisive chuckle. "Wait a minute. I'm a crazy bad-assed agent, what the fuck are you doing going to the freestate? Place is a shithole from what I've heard."

The UIG officer reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, handheld device, which they scanned over the man quickly. "Looks like he'll be out for a while." she said, as the device beeped at her. "Doesn't look in any particular danger."

She turned her helmeted gaze towards Krikta. "I think it is best we move you somewhere else, away from him. Could you please move over to seat 4 at the back?" she gestured over there with her rifle, which Krikta could tell was a hybrid rifle of some sort. He didn't know what.

---

The punk who spoke raised an eyebrow at Devlin. "You're an agent? Fuck man, you don't look it. Who the hell you with?" The other one nodded "Yeah man, wtf? You seem like a cool guy."

---

The "prepare for launch sign" came up, and the UIG officer waved her hand. "Don't bother now, just move when you can." she said, heading back to her own seat at the front of the shuttle. Outside, there was the sound of the shuttle moving into position on the launch track.

The Scourge of the Arena looked round, seeing the punk couple talking to Devlin, and turns back to the UIG Officer as if to say "really?" "And what makes you think they will fair any better?" He fixed her with a stare, and grinned a feral grin. (prattitude AT 19, 6 rolled, pass by 13) As the announcement sounded and he strapped himself in he smeaked to the man next to him I can keep their focus if you want to get the disk.

Harvey nodded to the UIG officer, giving them a brief and thankful smile. He settled into his seat and once again missed Krikta's death glare. "Not the right one. He's smuggling something of no consequence. I will talk to him when he wakes up." He gently futzed with the sleeping man's clothes, straightening them and setting them straight. Everything in his body language said he didn't want to be involved with the UIG. (Lying and Acting, Pass by 13.)

"Well, I'm glad that's sorted out." It was almost certain Saalax wasn't meaningfully involved in the job, and it was nice to get a little idea of how some of the team worked. The Indian man definitely seemed calm and on top of things, a niche that Tendou had felt needed a little filling. With her uncovered eye, she glanced over at the two punks. They were clearly not a likely threat, but she was certainly curious about why they were going to Australia herself. Probably just looking to live the low-gov livestyle. The woman in the trenchcoat sitting almost next to her, on the other hand, might have something to hide. If you wore a trenchcoat odds were either you had some sort of gear you didn't want to flash around or you just wanted to look cool like the people in the first category. Tendou tried to gauge her, see if she was sitting at all oddly, but it was hard to do so subtly with an eye covered. (Failed Perception+Observation by 1)

The officer folded her arms. "Just do it please sir, you've made enough trouble as it is." While she was obviously effected by his stare, she responded by pulling herself up taller and making it clear that she regarded herself as perfectly capable of taking the lizardman in a fight. She was almost undoubtedly glaring back at him under her helmet, but the tinted visor made it difficult to tell.

---

The trench coated woman is quite obviously augmented, as was her companion on the other side. She was also obviously well equipped, judging by the shape of various pouches and equipment pieces underneath her trenchcoat, but with a slight glance Tendo couldn't tell much more. Her companion had a injector pistol strapped to his side.

---

Outside, the shuttle moved forward, slotting into place on the track as around it, coils began to spin and hum.

Devlin smiled at his own importance. "Who am I with? Oh... well..." he said, suddenly realising that he didn't really know that himself. "Not with anyone at the moment. Freelancing it's called. Letting the wind carry me to where I'm needed like, you know?" Devlin's arms were held out in front of him to illustrate the deep and meaningful nature of his statement, pointing out to a horizon that no one could easily see from inside the shuttle. "Don't worry though. I'm always ready for action, me. I've got the reactions of some kind of Gemini jungle cat monster bio... thing."
With a quick grin and a look down towards his fancy new briefcase, the bad-assed super agent smeakered the rest of the team. "Did anyone get a good look at these punks earlier? I feel like they're either very easily impressed or looking for information. Either way, watch out for surprise anarchy."