>>1978805
>[]First thing I'm going to do is find out where this chip comes from. It's a long shot but if there's enough money this could be my ticket off-planet.

>>1978805
>Wonder why the only currency is future credits

>>1978805
[]First thing I'm going to do is find out where this chip comes from. It's a long shot but if there's enough money this could be my ticket off-planet.

>>1978805
]First thing I'm going to do is find out where this chip comes from. It's a long shot but if there's enough money this could be my ticket off-planet.

First thing I'm going to do is find out where this chip comes from. It's a long shot but if there's enough money this could be my ticket off-planet.

After rounding a corner she ducked behind a bin and took the chip out of her pocket. Evelynn held the disc up to a bright blue eye. There was a picture of a foreign animal, she thought it might be a lion, its paws were raised and ready to pounce. She turned the chip over to examine the back. It read, "In Here Our Rest," in Parsik, the universal language, and beneath it something else written in a loopy sprawling script that she'd never seen before.

"Well, guess I'll just have to bust it and find out," she said.

"Bust what?" came a voice from behind her.

Evelynn jerked her hand back and turned. It was Sam Senneth, another dirt poor scrub who had his nest in an alley just two streets back. She pretended to scratch her chin, concealing the disc. "Bust your sleazeball nose for butting into other people's business."

"Don't jerk me around Eev, what've you got in your hand?"

Her heart sped up.

[]Just tell him. Maybe he won't even be interested, and if he is well, I'll stand my ground.
[]Maybe he can help me, if I explain it to him right. Of course I'll have to give him a pay off, but it'll only be small.
[]Call his bluff, he might have glimpsed it but that doesn't mean he knows what it is. Brush it off, play it cool.
[]Use violence. I don't see anyone around, just him. And if there really is a trove on this chip, I can get away smooth like.

Note: Your first choice, to find out where the chip is from is now automatic as one of Evelynn's goals. So should things work out, don't fear, your vote is not forgotten.


>>1979023
It's not, though what you do know is that a credit chip is the interplanetary equivalent of finding someone's wallet.

Forgot []Write in.

You can take for granted in my quest that a write in is always an option.

>>1980486
>[X]Use violence. I don't see anyone around, just him. And if there really is a trove on this chip, I can get away smooth like.

>>1980486
>[x]Just tell him. Maybe he won't even be interested, and if he is well, I'll stand my ground.

>>1980486
>Brush it off, play it cool
No way is he getting a cut, but I'd rather not get my face busted up either.

>>1980486
>[]Call his bluff, he might have glimpsed it but that doesn't mean he knows what it is. Brush it off, play it cool.

>>1981675
>>1981800
Supporting

>>1980486
We could also say something that will embarass him, so he won't ask futher questions.
Like what we just found is a box of pads, pills, a sex toy he won't want his hands on, and so on

Call his bluff, he might have glimpsed it but that doesn't mean he knows what it is. Brush

it off, play it cool.

>We could also say something that will embarass him, so he won't ask futher questions.



"Not anything you can snort, smoke, or inject, if that's what you're thinking. It's just an

old button that I got from my folks." She casually put her hand, and the disc, back in her

pocket.

The dusty haired boy shuffled his feet and his face turned red. He feigned looking at something

on the other side of the street. "Thought you said you never knew your folks?"

"Ya, but they left some things with Mz. Habben, you know, nothing important like, just a

reminder they exist, I guess."

This seemed to work, for Sam nodded his head. Evelynn knew he didn't like the subject of

family, none of the scrubs did and she was no exception.

Sam changed tack. "Found something cool today." He smiled and lifted up his shirt to reveal a

smoke grey curve of metal sticking out of his jeans. It had a circular emblem of a lion with

its paws raised, ready to pounce.

Evelynn forced her face into a calm mask. "A kompa, huh? Where'd you find it?"

He pulled the rest of the gun out of his pants, it looked battered and old. "It was just lying

on the ground. Looks off world, don't it?"

She nodded. "And what's that?" She pointed her finger at the emblem.

"Shug! That's the symbol for Karoon!" Sam's face was lit with excitement. "I can't believe I

didn't notice it." He traced his finger along the words on the symbol, "In Here Our Rest. And

there's something extra written here, at the bottom."

Evelynn leaned in closer. She tried to keep the excitement out of her voice and asked, "D'you

know what it says?"

"Ya, it says, get your ugly carrot face away from my find." He laughed. "Don't look at me like

that. I dunno what it says, Eev. But I know it's not standard. Hey, maybe this komp's part of a

series... I should go see old Ergy--you know, the collector."

"Hm, that's a good idea," said Evelynn. Her voice sounded flat and unconvincing but Sam didn't

seem to notice. "Well, see you 'round." She turned to leave but just then, Sam grabbed her

shoulder.

"Wait. There's something I wanted to ask you."

"What's the jack?"

"Could you bust a name for me?"

"Oh." Evelynn put on her business face. "I guess so. Who is it?"

"Ben Tammer."

"Meet here tomorrow?"

"Yeah, real soon like. You want a hold?"

"No, I know you're good for it Sam."

"Tomorrow, then."

"Ya, see you." Evelynn walked away from the bin and headed down the road, her hand

unconsciously clutching at her pocket. Karoon, he'd said. Never heard of it.

(Cont.)

(GM NOTE: Sorry for the formatting, I didn't expect it to do that. I copy pasted from notepad. It'll probably do the same thing again, sorry about that. I won't use notepad again.)

When she got back to her nest, a one bedroom in an abandoned concrete skeleton of a building, she plugged in her ancient flat-viz and the screen lit up. She slipped the disc into a small box that was attached by ribbon. A few moments later and she was in.

Her eyes blinked at the screen. Evelynn pushed herself back in her chair, nearly toppling over. "SHUG!"

Ten thousand credits stared back at her.

Evelynn felt like she was going to have an orgasm and a heart attack at the same time. Her hand drew over her mouth. I have to hide this, she thought. She immediately popped the disc out of the slot, her heart thumping against her sternum.

Off world, I'm going to go off world! She dived back into the flat-viz to hastily look up 'Karoon'.

The screen showed a green and red planet that looked like a marble. It read, 'Capital of commerce, Zan's Galaxy, Melody system.'

"No kidding..." she said.

Just then, the wall beside Evelynn exploded in a shower of dust and concrete.

Her arms contracted instinctively convering her head as her body smashed hard against the opposite wall. She landed flat on the floor.

She could hear nothing except a loud buzzing in her ears. Opening her eyes she saw a hulking black silhouette standing against the light of the noonday sun that now flooded her room through the hole made in the wall. She also saw her flat-viz, cracked and broken on the floor.

"Girlie, where's the chip?" The voice was rough. It sounded part human, and part grinding gears.

Evelynn for the first time realized that her hand was slippery with blood as she felt inside her coat pocket for the hard round disc. Somehow, it was still there. She thought fast.

[]I think some of my bones are broken. I'll just give up the chip, he might let me live.
[]Find something to throw at him and scrabble out of the room. I'll take a chance.
[]Think fast, say... what? I know, I'll act dumb. It worked with Sam. (Pretend to be concussed)
[]Surprise him by laughing, then attack the best I can.

Here is the last post in pastebin, if you want to read it without your eyes bleeding. https://pastebin.com/3sVKekgb

>>1982749
Use wordpad.

>>1982749
Just hand over the chip

[]Think fast, say... what? I know, I'll act dumb. It worked with Sam. (Pretend to be concussed)

>>1982749
>[]Think fast, say... what? I know, I'll act dumb. It worked with Sam. (Pretend to be concussed)

Tell him that Sam only showed you the Kompa! You didn't do anything else with it!

Sorry Sam. Sucks to be you. But you're our scapegoat while we run like fuck and buggery.

>>1982749
>[]Think fast, say... what? I know, I'll act dumb. It worked with Sam. (Pretend to be concussed)

>>1982749
Time to play dumb

Also, notepad++ is very good if you are used to regular notepad and doesn't fuck up formatting.

>>1982749
>Think fast
>I stashed it! Down at [the local ganger bar]! Please don't kill me!¡

>>1983943
It must have seen us with it. Don't want to drop him in the shit for nothing.

>>1982749
>[]Think fast, say... what? I know, I'll act dumb. It worked with Sam.(Pretend to be concussed)

Our attacker was able to smash through a wall with enough force to hurt us indirectly, so a fight at this point is unwise. We are also hurt, so escaping would most likely not be the best thing to do as we are unsure if our injuries may have impaired our movement. It also know we have the chip., but I bet we could play dumb enough to get enough information on who owns it and then claim we were returning it.

Hey everyone, great replies! I really appreciate them. Forgive me if it takes me an extra day or so to make the next post.

I, like many of us here on 4chan, live in unreasonable circumstances and some days I'm too stressed to be able to concentrate. And I don't want to ruin the quest by trying to write while in that state, so I'll try to wait it out. I'm liking this story a lot though and want to continue, maybe I'll feel safer later today.

Writing is one of those things unfortunately that you have to feel a relative amount of safety or emotional stability to do it well and properly, or else you just can't concentrate otherwise. At least, it is for me. Sorry for the delay!

>>1985489
No probs op!

>>1985489
Thanks for the heads up. I'm enjoying the quest.

Evelynn tried raising herself on the one arm she was sure wasn't broken, it trembled, but didn't fail her as she managed to get into a sitting position. Red tangles obscuring her face, she stirred and groaned, screwed up her eyes, and said the first thing that came to her head. "Ch-Charrlie?" she slurred, in her best impression of someone with a concussion.

There was a grunt. The hulking figure stepped over the threshold of the broken wall so that it was no longer obscured by the sun. It was a nightmare; half man, half machine, and at least seven feet tall.

The thing had no shirt on so that beads of brown sweat cut tracks through the dust on his chest as he bent over her broken flat-viz lifting it up. Eyes like balls of scrap metal with baby blue light at their centers regarded the cracked screen. The rest of the mangled console dangled by a wire. He let go and it dropped with a crash. He turned his impeding gaze on Evelynn. "Where is it?"

She hesitated. "Ch-Charlie, I don't know--"

The man crossed the floor in a single step and before she knew it Evelynn found herself in the air, hanging by the collar, blue eyes staring up at her. "There is no Charlie, now for the last time, where is the chip?"

"You broke it," she said, before she realized what she was saying.

The fierce countenance of the cyborg contorted with fury. "That's impossible!" He swung his arm as he spoke, and Evelynn swayed with it. "I know it was accessed, just now. So where is it?"

Her heart beating in her throat, Evelynn pointed to the flat-viz. "You broke it."

If it were possible, the color would have drained from the Cyborg's face. His gaze fell, his mouth went slack. "Well," he began, rubbing his chin with his free hand, "I suppose you'll have to die."

"WAIT!" Evelynn shouted, her mind working frantically now. "I transfered it! All of it! I transfered everything to my account. It was just before... just before you blew everything up." She breathed hard, eyes focused, willing him to believe her.

"Mmh. Even if that were true, who said I was after the money?"

"-I- was after the money," Evelynn said, still suspended by his grasp. "Listen, I'm a hacker, I copied the disc code for code. It's the only way I know how, see? So if there's something else on there you wanted--"

"No one transfers code for code."

"But I did, K? It's the fastest way, the infostream can't tell that there isn't a physical chip anymore. Don't have to crack no password, you just fish it out." She held her breath.

The cyborg lowered her to the floor, but didn't let go of Evelynn's collar. "What you're telling me can't be done. There is no way to cheat the infostream without the physical disc, it has a bio validation system."

"I have a box." Her eyes fell on the crumpled bio-sim lying half under the cyborg's gigantic boot. "Had a box," she corrected.

(Cont.)

He lifted his boot and sneered. He looked back at the broken console, then again at Evelynn. "Then I guess you're coming with me," he said.

***

Evelynn found herself in the back of a lift van, it glided several feet above ground heading towards, where, she could only guess. Her hands were now tied by translucent cords that resembled a sort of flexible glass. Wherever she was, it must be far from Addon Street, and the block, for she had been sitting there alone on the white side bench for what felt like several hours.

When the cyborg made to grab for her coat she'd used the oldest trick in the book, turning out her pockets she had palmed the disc. "Look, nothing!" She couldn't believe he fell for it. He then grabbed her arm, dragged her outside, and shoved her in the van, but not before tying her hands. That's when she learned that her left arm was indeed broken, as well as an ankle, and she thought she might have a few cracked ribs, too. Her cry of pain, however, was quickly muted by the slam of the van's back door.

She should have left the chip where it was. There were other ways to get off world. Easier ways to make money, easier things to steal. She knew it was too good to be true. Who finds ten thousand credits just lying on the ground? Who would be stupid enough to pick up an off world credit chip?

Sam, that's who. If she didn't find it he would have, then it would be Sam sitting here instead of her. For the moment, this thought didn't bother her as much as it should have, at least not while she was there and he was safe back at the block. No, it was a lie anyway, Sam didn't know how to bust it. He would have given it to her to do that. She barked a laugh. So I would have ended up here anyway.

Sam... That's right. Sam was suppose to meet with her tomorrow, he wanted her to bust a name. Tammer? Ya, that's it. Ben Tammer. Well, he wasn't going to get it now. He'll be right mad like, too.

Evelynn pictured Sam's dusty hair and sandy expression as he stood there behind the bin hours after she didn't show up. She smiled. Shugslime wouldn't look for me, except to punch my face in. And when he finds I'm not in the block... he'll give up.

She sighed. How am I going to get out of this.

She scanned the small confined space for the hundreth time. It was the same as always, a single cold light in one of the upper corners, the large door with no handle on the inside, the plain slate colored floor, the smooth white walls, curved, just like the ceiling.

Just then, her eye caught something it hadn't before. There was a seam, barely perceptible, in the wall facing the cab. Could it be a hatch?

Evelynn limped over to the wall and pressed her shoulder against the wall. It didn't move. She traced the path of the seam. It ran all the way around in the shape of a door about the size for an average sized person.

[]Let's see if I can figure out the hatch. (2d6)
[]I'll wait until the van stops, there's no way I could take him on, not in this state. He thinks he needs me to access the chip, then I'll have another opportunity to escape.
[]Try to speak through the seam.
[]Write in

>>1990086
[]I'll wait until the van stops, there's no way I could take him on, not in this state. He thinks he needs me to access the chip, then I'll have another opportunity to escape.

Some corrections: Evelynn limped over to the wall and pressed her shoulder against *it*. (Saying wall twice sounds bad.)

Also should have included a scene where the cyborg realized the chip could in fact be crushed. Cause he would and did look for it, in the wreckage of the console etc.

Didn't mean to leave that out, but hindsight...

These notes are more for myself, in case I archive this. Just in case I ever want to put it all together as a story at some later time.

*About large enough for an average sized person.

(I did it again, size and sized.) I will try to resist reverse editing in the future. I'm sure I'll make many more mistakes so if I kept doing it this would get pretty annoying.

>>1990092
Let's try the hatch

Lurkers, I need a tie breaker or more votes:

[]Let's see if I can figure out the hatch. (Roll 2d6)
[]I'll wait until the van stops, there's no way I could take him on, not in this state. He thinks he needs me to access the chip, then I'll have another opportunity to escape.
[]Try to speak through the seam.
[]Write in

(Votes so far: 1 for Hatch - voter forgot to roll, 1 for Wait for better opportunity)

>>1998322
>[]I'll wait until the van stops, there's no way I could take him on, not in this state. He thinks he needs me to access the chip, then I'll have another opportunity to escape.

>>1998353
Locked.

I'm gonna lock this before someone else comes and makes it a tie again. Thanks for your vote anon.

Voting closed until the next scene.

It was no good, there was nothing she could do with her hands tied. What good if she did break through anyway, strangle the driver and get them both killed?

Just then the van stopped moving. Everything was silent except the motor's soft purr.

Taking in a deep breath to suppress the pain Evelynn limped back to the bench and sat, waiting.

The wide back door glided up into the ceiling.

Evelynn squinted her eyes against the orange light of dusk now spilling into the van's interior.

There stood the cyborg beckoning her outside. Behind him the sun could be seen sitting just above the horizon through the open walls of a highrise parking lot. There were a sea of land gliders of all shapes and sizes, bikes, cars, vans, tubes, and even a few wings.

Evelynn got up shifting all her weight on to the uninjured leg when a familiar voice rose over the hum of the motor.

"What was it you wanted in the back?" said Sam.

Evelynn's face went numb.

"I busted the place up and had to take the girl along," said the bionic man. "Won't make any difference, she can still get what we need."

"Eevy's back there?! Shug Tammer..."

A door swung open from the cab and within a moment Sam stood next to the cyborg, hands resting on his hips. He stared at Evelynn. "You're in deep water, huh carrots?"

Cold fury rose up inside of Evelynn. She strode across the floor, ignoring the pain, and stepped out of the van. For a moment she just stood, facing Sam nose to nose. Then her knee came up and connected with his groin.

Sam bent double and the cyborg, Tammer, moved to step in front of him but he flung out a hand and the hulking figure halted. "It's okay. Afterall, I can't feel it, right?"

Tammer nodded his bald head. Sam pushed Evelynn hard in the chest and she landed on her bottom on the hard pave.

Evelynn felt betrayed. Tears welled up in her eyes. "What's the jig!?? Sam, what's going on??"

"This is bigger than you Eev, no hard feelings, right? I'm an andriod. Not like this lugnut," he jerked his thumb toward Tammer, "whose only a halfling." He smirked.

"An a-android? I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU ARE YOU SON-OF-A-SLIME!" Evelynn struggled to stand.

"Work it off, Eev. We're not going to kill you...if you help us. See, we need what's on that chip."

Evelynn tembled, trying very hard to master her emotions. "-He- tried to kill me," she said, raising her bound hands toward the cyborg.

"He was never going to kill you, he's just a bad aim."

The half man, half machine, placed a thick hand under Evelynn's arm and lifted her back to her feet. She winced.

"I'm a cyborg girlie," said the giant next to Sam. "I could see the chip in your pocket the entire time. You think two thugs like us could bust it without your brain box? Was gonna make you hack it, but when I saw that I smashed that old flat-viz of yours... and the bio-sim..."

(Cont.)

"Why trick me then?"

"Didn't you hear Sam? We don't kill unless we have to. Made it a heck of a lot easier. You thought the only reason I was keepin' you alive was because the chip was destroyed.

"Don't think you'd run, if you didn't believe I'd blow you up like that wall? If there's one thing I know about little pips like yourself, it's they can run."

Sam must have known she had the chip all along. No, it was worse. He made sure she found it.

Her stomach lurched.

She turned to Sam. "You showed me the gun. Made sure I knew it was 'off world'. You knew I'd run home to crack it right quick like, huh Sam?"

"That's right," said Sam.

"And asked me to bust your pal Tammer's ID by tomorrow, just in case I -didn't- go so quick like."

Sam nodded.

"So you think you know me pretty well, huh Sam?"

"Well enough."

"Not as well as him though, huh?" She tipped her head towards Tammer.

"What'dya mean?"

Evelynn listened to the motor hum. "He knew I'd run."

She slammed her shoulder against Sam, sending him stumbling back, then bolted for the driver's side door that was left hanging open.

Pain shot up her leg with every step but she forced herself to ignore it.

"STOP HER!" Sam shouted.

She slipped under the door and hammered the accelorater with her good foot.

Everything lurched as the van tilted upward but not forward. Evelynn's blood pumped in her ears. Why isn't it moving??

Footsteps were now at the drivers door, and a hand was fumbling at her sleeve.

She twisted away causing her eyes to land on the stick; it was set to 'park'. Evelynn elbowed the gear and the van shot forward.

The hand let go. A deep voice cursed from somewhere behind.

Glide cars and trucks swerved in and out of her vision as Evelynn navigated the parking lot steering with only her wrists and a left knee.

She suddenly felt sick and vomitted into her lap.

A beam of light flashed from the side mirror. Small versions of Tammer and Sam were weaving in and out on speed bikes, they were fast approaching the van.


Through the windshield there were only two ways ahead, left into a dark narrow tunnel, or straight off the edge of the building, risking the gravity resisters not being strong enough to prevent an impact.

[]Steer into the blind tunnel
[]Fly off the building, and pray the resisters hold up.

(This is one of those few times where you cannot write in.)

>>2001765
>[]Steer into the blind tunnel
>And brake suddenly so the bikes smash into the van. In a narrow tunnel they won't be able to dodge.

(Sorry, I'll lwrite-in anyway)

>>2001773
That's cool, I kinda like it anyways, it's hard for me to resist my love of write ins.

I eagerly await seeing more votes in the morning. ^.^

>>2001773
Support

>>2001765
>[]Fly off the building, and pray the resisters hold up.

Evelynn made a split second decision and turned a hard left. She gritted her teeth and pressed the accellorator down even further.

There was instant darkness, sparks, and a raucous grinding as the open door beside her peeled back and scraped along the side of the tunnel.

Adrenaline surged like white water rapids through Evelynn's body, almost enough to match the roaring chaos of hurdling through the dark tunnel.

Everything suddenly became bright again as the last rays of golden sunlight spread across Grand Port Station, now visible just ahead. So that's where we are!

The two persuing figures in the side mirror were trailing just behind her.

With a surge of hope and daring, Evelynn switched pedals and pumped the brakes. People scattered out of the way as the van quickly decelerated, gliding across the broad pavement. The van tilted sideways just as a speed bike rammed straight into it.

CRASH!

Gravity sucked Evelynn out of the open door and she tumbled across the cement.

BANG!

A second speedbike hit. The van drifted a foot above the ground lying on it's side.

There were shouts coming from all over Grand Port station's outdoor lobby. Evelynn ignored all of them as she crawled out from under the floating wreckage. There were two black figures sprawled on the ground behind her, and the smaller one was stirring.

Sam really is a ruddy android!

Evelynn used her bound hands as a lever to push herself to her feet. She ran full tilt into the closest transfer pod, and the door slid shut.

A voice chimed, "Where would you like to go?"

Through the window she could see Sam's dusty hair and determined face as he ran to catch up to her pod. Except for his jacket missing a few buttons he was practically unscathed. The gigantic cyborg was close behind, but his balance must have been off because he stumbled every few steps.

"Anywhere!" Evelynn shouted.

"That's not a valid destination," the voice replied, in the same calm tones as before.

Evelynn stopped panted as she leaned against the door to keep from falling over. "Then take me to the nearest--no wait, the farthest _____________ in the city, from here."

There was a bright 'ding' and the pod sped away at supersonic speeds. Sam's face that had just reached the window, became a blur and was gone.

[]Junkshop - I need something to get this strange rope off my wrists and maybe I can find another biosim while I'm there. The sooner I'm offworld now, the better.

[]Dive - I need to meet sleazeballs, someone who'll untie my hands without questions, then find a well covered nest to sleep in. In the morning I can ask around for bio-sims.

[]Library - I need access to a holoviz. I might not have a bio-sim, but I can still slow Sam and Tammer down by having everyone in the city looking for them, and I don't need my hands to use a holo.

[]Waypoint - I'll change over at another port, and wing it from there. It's not like it'd be safe to go back home, and maybe an extra stop will help throw Tammer and Sam off the trail.

[]Med Station - but not a manned one, I don't want any heat on me, asking questions. It won't help untie my hands but it could heal up these wounds right soon like. Maybe I'll even make it before I pass out.

(*Note: None of these options are exclusive; you can choose more than one. What the risks are if you travel much, or little, you can think about, of course.)

>>2004197
>[]Junkshop - I need something to get this strange rope off my wrists and maybe I can find another biosim while I'm there. The sooner I'm offworld now, the better
[]Library - I need access to a holoviz. I might not have a bio-sim, but I can still slow Sam and Tammer down by having everyone in the city looking for them, and I don't need my hands to use a holo.
[]Med Station - but not a manned one, I don't want any heat on me, asking questions. It won't help untie my hands but it could heal up these wounds right soon like. Maybe I'll even make it before I pass out.

>>2004280
Support

>>2004280
Seconding

My sleep has been thrown off, and my mind is a bit foggy today from having to take a sleep aid, sorry about no update yet.

>>2004197
>[]Med Station - but not a manned one, I don't want any heat on me, asking questions. It won't help untie my hands but it could heal up these wounds right soon like. Maybe I'll even make it before I pass out.

>>2004280
>>2004545
>>2004796
>>2010485

Votes locked. See you in the next update!

When Evelynn stumbled out of the port pod several people gasped. A lady in a high velvet hat pinched her nose and fanned her face as she passed by to enter the pod. A bloke in an overcoat stopped staring and politely pretended to examine his feet, but Evelynn caught him stealing glances at her bound hands.

"Out of my way," she said blushing. She shouldered her way through the small crowd entering the pod and made a beeline for the white glow of the all-night med station.

She palmed the unit beside the singles entrance. "Citizen of Scrap, Confirmed." The last thing she heard before the healing locker sealed her in was the voice of a passerby say, "I wonder what's happened, and all alone, poor thing."

And poor indeed was the sight of Evelynn. If she could see herself limping, covered in blood, swollen with bruises, marred with scrapes, and not to mention smelling of vomit, she might be inclinded to, if not pity herself, at the very least be repulsed like the lady in the velvet hat.

When she left the station, however, an hour had passed and it was as though a stranger were stepping out into the blue glow of the city at night. Her clothes were clean, her bruises healed, and other than a bit of residual pain there was no hint that any of her bones had ever been broken.

Her visit to the junkshop was little better as far as embarressment goes. She lied to the shopkeeper saying it was her brother who had cruelly tied her hands, and then convinced the beak nosed man that she could pay him for a biosim once her hands were free; that was a lie too, but only a temporary one.

The shopkeep was unable to untie the knot by hand, the material was too strong for him to bend, so he had to use a lasesaw to free her. Once freed she asked to use an old flat-viz in the shop, you know, to test the biosim before purchase. The shopkeeper was exasperated, but after some convincing he reluctantly let her.

Hands now free, Evelynn dived in and unlocked the chip. This time instead of staring at the ten thousand credits, she wasted no time, and transfered ownership of the chip to her account. This seemed like the best option.

She didn't have a chip of her own. She could have transfered the money, only to have it sit in her account with no way to spend it, or she could recallibrate the chip to belong to her, transferring both the money and ownership of the chip's bio recognition over to her account so she could use it for transactions.

She dared not spend any more time than she had to. Delving into the chip to try and find out what Sam and Tammer were after would have to wait; she wasn't even sure she wanted to find out. The owner's frequent looking over his shoulder told her that his patience was running out.

After paying the scowling shopkeeper for the biosim and complimenting his kindness - in response to which he merely grunted - Evelynn made her way to her next destination, the Library.

**

(Cont)

The Library was at least half the size of Grand Port Station. Evelynn crossed a well lit hall, its marbled floor of maroon and white checkered tiles echoed with every step.

Walking down a long aisle of holoviz kiosks she stopped at one with nobody on either side of it. Plugging in her biosim, no longer needed for transactions but still necessary for diving, she accessed the chip again, only this time looking for some secret, something off, or something hidden in the code. , so she could use it for transactions.

After several cylinders of code whirled around in the air like a cyclone, a man's voice passing by outside of the kiosk said, "... like Tammer, he's so uncouth. I don't agree with their methods but--"

Evelynn froze at the name, Tammer. She stopped paying attention to the code swirling around her, and strained to listen.

"But their cause," said a woman's voice, understandingly.


"Yes, their cause. It has the potential to be noble."

"Only the potential, Jaal?"

"You know as well as I do, M. Some care nothing for a cause. They only want power. It's the same with any new movement. And methods count. If they keep using people like Tammer..."

"I know Jaal, I know," the woman said patiently, as though she'd heard this many times before. "They're having a meeting on Guati, you know, in three days. Do you plan to attend?"

But whatever the man mumbled for an answer was lost, as the two were now too far down the aisle to catch any more of their conversation.

Evelynn bit her lip. She poked her head through the curved wall of turning code to see the back of a tall man in a black suit with short dark hair walking next to an elderly woman in a long gray dress with hair tied in a bun.

There was no time to think about what it meant, now. The mention of Tammer reminded her that she was still in danger.

She ducked back into the turning wall of code. There was definitely something hidden on the chip, but it was heavily encrypted so that nothing she tried would crack it For the time being, she gave up and began work on something else: causing trouble for Sam and Tammer.

This was easy, for all she had to do was send an anonymous tip to the authorities about their last whereabouts, the damage they'd done, and the fact that they were armed and dangerous.

The chip must be real important like, because neither Sam nor Tammer had tried shooting down the van while she fled the parking lot. Sam had a kompa that he'd used as a prop but he probably didn't have any bullets. The cyborg though, he blew up her wall, even though she didn't see with what, for sure he was armed. Maybe it was just too hard of a shot, perhaps his aim really was as bad as Sam said.

(cont.)

Evelynn walked back across the hall heading for the arched entrance to the library. At the front, a girl with long brown hair, who was not much younger than herself, was having an argument with the square jawed receptionist.

"I'm sorry, but off worlders need a membership to retreive something from the archrives," he said .

"But, I called ahead. It's ours!"

"I'm sorry Miss, that may be the case but it's our policy. Of course, you can pay ten credits for a membership and then I'd be happy to give it to you."

"But I don't -have- ten credits."

"Then I'm sorry, but--"

"'Scuse me," said Evelynn, approaching the counter. "I'll buy this slimey little brat a membership, that jig?"

"Of course, young lady," said the receptionist, his stern expression was mixed with amusement.

Evelynn paid with the chip. "I know what it's like to be a dirt poor scrub," she said, turning to the girl and seeing her for the first time.

She had pale green eyes and pink lips, smiling in the shape of a bow. Her skin appeared to be without spot or blemish. Her outfit was plain; an earth green top with straight black pants, and matching shoes.

"Thank you, -so- much!" she said, embracing Evelynn in an unexpected hug.

"Y-your welcome," Evelynn said, uncomfortably.

"Your package, miss." The receptionist appeared from the back room carrying a dusty old square, thing.

"The shug is that?" said Evelynn. The girl's cheeks turned red and the man behind the desk coughed into his hand.

"It's a book," the brown haired girl said, taking it from the receptionist. "An old one, made of trees. See? It's got paper, that's sort of like leaves."

But before Evelynn could ask anything more, a tall man wearing a black suit arrived with an elderly woman at his side. She wore a long gray dress . The man had thick eyebrows while the woman had features resembling a hawk.

"There you are, Penny darling," the man called as he strode up to the counter.

"Been wandering off have you, Penelope?" the woman said.

Penny didn't look at her but instead addressed the man, "I haven't been wandering, I got it! While you were back there, I decided to get the book." She smiled.

"Oh, well, that's good. Thank you, darling. See, M? She was only getting the book while we had our chat."

The hawkish woman raised an eyebrow.

"But how did you -get- the book, Penelope? Don't you need a membership if you're offworld?"

"Right you are, there miss," said the square jawed man behind the counter, then he gestured toward Evelynn. "This young lady here was kind enough to pay the membership fee."

"You were," said the tall man in the suit, raising his thick brows. "Well, we can't have that, can we, please let me pay you back."

(Cont.)

He then reached into his pocket and pulled out a chip. He extended it out for a transfer. It was identical in every way to her own. Silver, and round, complete with a picture of a lion raising it's paws, the emblem of Karoon, but with the addition of the loopy sprawling script that she still didn't understand.

Something inside her pulled back.

"No, no, it's okay," Evelynn said and hastily added, "I'm sorry, but I've got to go."

She turned her back on the group and walked at what she hoped was a normal pace. Her footsteps echoed off the marbled floor. Once she passed out of the library she jogged the rest of the way, down the street and around a corner, to the transfer pod.

A short trip later and Evelynn found herself staring down at a screen, in the lobby of an interplanetary wayport station, browsing through the planets she could afford to go to.


Choose:

[]Take a chance and turn back. I'll apologize, say I was rude, and use the chip to start up a conversation. Pretend I'm in the know.

OR

[]Forget it. It's time to get my tickets. I'm going off planet and that's that, I'm done with all this nonsense.

-------

If you chose to go off planet, please select one:

[]Choose a holiday planet at random.

[]Choose a planet from your own solar system at random.

[]Go to Guati, not out of curiosity, not because they mentioned it, of course, but because it's our closet neighbor and I heard that it's a right nice place. It has ten moons, and they're all habitable.

[]Choose to stay on world, at least for a while longer, until I can make a proper decision. For some reason, now that I'm here, I don't know about this. I've always wanted to go off planet but... now that I'm doing it, it's tougher than I thought.

[]Write in

Sorry, "[]Choose to stay on world" should have been in it's own category at the top, not with the planet selection. I'm sure you guys still understand.

And if you choose to stay on world, you can also add your own options like, "[]Pay a visit to old Ergy" or whatever sparks your interest.

>>2012658
>[]Forget it. It's time to get my tickets. I'm going off planet and that's that, I'm done with all this nonsense.

>[]Go to Guati, not out of curiosity, not because they mentioned it, of course, but because it's our closet neighbor and I heard that it's a right nice place. It has ten moons, and they're all habitable.

>>2012742
Supporting.

This is a mistake

>>2012742
I'll support this

Edit Note: The ", so she could use it for transactions." hanging after 'hidden in the code." is not suppose to be there, it is just a hanging bit of a sentence I changed.

So for clarity, during that scene she's looking for what's hidden on the chip that Tammer etc. wanted, not trying to unlock it for transactions - she's already accomplished that.

I'm sure you guys caught on, but it's a particularly long mistake, so I thought I'd clarify it just in case.

Also thanks for your votes so far!

>>2012658
>[]Forget it. It's time to get my tickets. I'm going off planet and that's that, I'm done with all this nonsense.
[]Choose a planet from your own solar system at random.