How the other half lives | A Tale from the Borderlands

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Jason St-Cyr

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Always read the paperwork

New-U Investigation log, Day Two, evening entry. These days are getting loooooong.

Just returned back from the Jakobs headquarters to meet up with the crew at the Siren and share notes. Zoe was again at the top of her game getting into those JMA computers and we found everything we needed on those gangs… at least everything they had in those digital boxes. Even found some good ol’ fashioned file folders, paper and everything! Felt good to flip through some old files and photos, like old times. Takes forever though, Zoe’s way is MUCH faster.

Based on what we found, while there are some small tiny groups messing around in the slums, it seems the intel we already had was pretty close. The Crimson Serpents and the Iron Fists are the two major players in the shadows here. Not much overlap, since the Iron Fists are running the shanty towns, down from the walls. Lots of protection rackets going on. Dubois and his crew don’t seem to be doing much about them down there, all the reports are second-hand, and missing details. Dubois and his crew likely prefer to stay up in the walls protecting the folks with the money. That probably means the folks down by those docks are in need of some help and maybe Penny and I can lend a hand! 

NOTE TO SELF: Make a pitch to the rest of the crew when we get this next mission out of the way to take a look into these protection rackets. Good folks shouldn’t have to pay off bullies.

Now the Crimson Serpents that we ran into seem to have been out of place a little. Based on these reports, they usually run inside the walls with little heists, stealing here and there. They seem to have made a few attempts at getting the oil, but failed. Mostly, just pickpocketing and being annoying. Nothing goonish like the protection rackets that the Iron Fists are running. I’m attaching the reports I downloaded on those heists, they might help us soon:

FILE NUMBER 0247 – KRAKEN PROCESSING FACILITY HEIST

The rival gang planned to infiltrate the facility during a shift change, using forged identification and uniforms to blend in with the workers. Their goal was to gradually siphon off a significant amount of oil over time, making it less likely to be noticed. However, the gang failed to account for the routine, randomized biometric scans conducted for worker safety and quality control purposes. When their biometrics didn’t match with the records, they were discovered and apprehended.

FILE NUMBER 2314 – CAUSEWAY CONVOY ROBBERY

The rival gang attempted a daring, high-speed robbery on the causeway, aiming to seize a valuable shipment of refined kraken oil. They planned to use explosives to create a distraction and force the convoy to stop. However, they miscalculated the strength of the explosives, causing a far larger blast than intended. The resulting damage to the causeway brought local security forces swarming to the site before they could grab the goods on top of being stymied by JMA aircraft in hot pursuit. As a result of this now kraken oil is delivered to the space port through a pipeline rigged with a sensor array and patrolled regularly.

FILE NUMBER 7622 – SPACE FREIGHTER HIJACK

In this audacious plan, the rival gang aimed to hijack a freighter in orbit. They purchased an old, decommissioned shuttle and retrofitted it with stealth tech, planning to approach the freighter unnoticed and board it. The plan was to disable the freighter’s crew using knockout gas and then take over the controls. However there are also biometric scans combined with a passphrase that the crew must register on the ship unless a self destruct sequence be activated and an entire shipment and crew was lost due to the blundered hijacking.

In terms of the space port, it seems like the reports don’t show the Iron Fists making their way up there. The security is tight enough to keep folks out, though the Crimson Serpents have made a few attempts. We’ll have to take this into account. Probably unlikely the Iron Fists would try to steal a ship.

The physical files had some good detail on the gang tags and graffiti styles. This should be enough for us to use, if needed. What was really interesting was that the paper files seemed to have a lot more detail on the Iron Fists and the shanty town. Suspected dens, maps of the tagged zones. Somebody has been putting a lot of effort into tracking these outside the digital records!

Come into my parlour, said the spider to the fly

After getting back to the Siren, we met up with Cicero and Min and found out we were going to be having a visitor soon. And not just Doc Rivers. Min and Cicero had infiltrated the Salon de la Mer to find our “friend” Gavin. When they came back, they were all dressed up fancy-like, probably something from Gibson’s wardrobe on the ship. Definitely not Min’s usual attire. It seems the Salon has a bit of a dress code if you want to fit in with the crowd.

The first time we went by with Dubois we got the walkthrough, but didn’t have to get in on our own. The two of ‘em tried to take note of everything they could about the security there. It’s a high end place at the top of the hill, and has a built-in security system for detecting weapons, likely metal. The well-dressed doorman didn’t have to heavy-hand it, with the system doing all the hard work. The pair decided to give up their guns, so they didn’t learn what happens if you go in with one. For now, if we need to get in there again, we’re going to need to do so without the usual firearms. I’m thinking bone shiv, maybe? 

Based on their surveillance of the room, it seems the usual guests of the Salon like to get all prettied up and act refined with polite conversation and the like. Sounds a lot like old HG Jakobs and his fancy dinner. An act, to pretend and be part of something better than them. Even including string quartets, the fancy tapestries, and way too many silk stockings. The elvish-looking woman behind the bar that they described is an interesting touch, and I wonder what that’s all about. Who owns this place? Maybe Zoe can find that out.

Not surprisingly, the prices for drinks in the Salon are about what you’d expect if you wanted to keep the riff-raff like us out. A lot of credits for some crushed grapes, in my opinion. But the grape juice isn’t what it’s about, is it? It’s about having the credits to throw away. Or more appropriately, it’s about SHOWING the  throwing of credits away. I wonder how many would-bes or has-beens have taken their savings to the Salon in an attempt to win their way into the right circles? I’ve seen these kinds of places before and there are usually three types of folks: the ones who belong, the ones who want to belong, and the ones that benefit from the other two being there. I wonder which one is Orland?

I’m losing my track… the important part is that Gavin Orland was there. And he was pretty loud about not believing anything about the crazies being caused by the New U. Now, of course, he has a vested interest in the system’s continuous use, not to mention continuous maintenance. Not everybody seems to be buying his story. There was at least one other person in that room that Min noticed who had a few friends die out there, and isn’t a fan of Orland. That could be useful.

A few drinks later, Cicero and Min tried to convince Gavin to take on a job. Seems Gavin highly values his time, which I guess when you spend a lot of time in a place like that you need to make sure extra credits are coming in. Cicero and Min even tried scaring him with a threat to expose his lackluster performance to his superiors, but apparently that was the wrong play. Hyperion  already knows about Gavin, and Gavin already knows about Cicero. Apparently these Hyperion folks can smell each other coming. Very irritating, that.

In the end, Gavin is asking for three times his salary for the job. Cicero has had enough and apparently we’re going to be having Gavin join us tomorrow night at the Siren. Personally, I’d rather he wasn’t going to be coming to the place we’re using as a home base, but I suppose it would seem out of place otherwise.

In a few hours, Doc Rivers is going to be by. Not rightly sure what we’re going to be able to learn from her, but there are a lot of players in this game and a lot to dig into. 

I think I need a drink to start sorting this out.

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