trans_9 | Geartopia : The Case of the Assassination Plot

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Geartopia : The Case of the Assassination Plot

||Attention, Attention. Would the following personnel please report to the Observation Deck. Please bring with you any weapons and tools you might need. Attention, Attention. would the following personnel please report to the Observation Deck:

Allenby Beardsley
Maridian Gladespring
Ellyn Vitner
Red Robin
Sam Winchester
Dean Winchester
Kanoe Zouichi

Attention, Attention, would the following personnel...||

Stacy's voiced called the entire crew, until all of them were gathered at the Obs Deck. Then, a dossier appeared on the screens, along with the image of a rotating planet.

Planet Designation: Geartopia
Status: Terrestrial, H-class.
Non-sentient life: Extensive flora and fauna.
Semi-Sentient Life: Yes.
Sentient Life: Homo Sapiens, Homo Animalia, Machina Erectus.
Water: 20.6% of the planet's surface.
Climate: Earth-like, Arid desert
Landscape: 70% Desert..
Air: Normoxic concentration.
Air Pressure: 101.3 kPa (kilopascals) = 14.7 psi (pounds per square inch)
Sky: Blue
Sun: A class G2V, yellow star.
Warnings: Wildlife, humanoids and plant-life can be hazardous.
Mission: Find out of town mayoress Nomalanga's suspicions of foul play are correct. Full shore leave will initiate once this is problem is resolved.

Once the entire team was ready, they were whisked of to the planet with little fanfare, their ship landing close to a town, where a woman...well not quite a woman, but a cross between a woman and a hyena dressed in a strange outfit, greeted them along with three other figures behind her. They had arrived near the end of the day, and the sun was beginning to set behind them, staining the sky a deep orange color.

She greeted them with a bow and a wave.

"I think you for coming 'ere just barely an 'our after I send out my distress signal." She mentioned for them to follow her, while the three other figures remained behind.

"I will make this quick, as we are short on time. My name is Nomalanga, and I'm mayoress of Utorian, 'ave been for the past five years. We have asked for a small team to aid us cause some of Snidley's damn dogs have been trying to upsurge the town from my grasp. "e's was the mayor before me, but was removed for having no 'onor. He still has control of some sections of the town due to loyalty and fear, and some townsmen still suspects I threw 'im out to get more power. Now 'e's trying to regain it all, but I have no proof except for a tip I was given by one of my own that says the attack's in two days and there's enough clues stuffed in the 'aunted cave to get the entire town behind me."

She pointed to a cavern on the far left, covered by the dunes of soil and desert sand.

" 'Alf the townsfolk believe the place to be filled with ghosts at night so no one enters unless they have to. But during the day we go in and get our supplies of underground water. The entire place is a maze. I wish I could 'ave send the distress beckon sooner, but we had problems with space pirates recently."

"There is also another problem...the tip also told me one of my own three is a spy. If you could also find out which one, we could end the terrible man's grasp on the town and myself. I am pretty sure they already suspect that I have doubts, but you may find clues inside the cavern. You can also speak to them and ask a few questions, but you should get into the cavern as soon as possible, as not to get too many ghosts attacking you. And there are also men-eating bears spotted inside. My people are strong, but our technology is nothing compared to yours. Once we have more time I can explain to you how I was able to contact you at all. But for now, I can supply you with guns and torches, if you don't have any."

She seemed like a truthful woman, even if her speech was strange and spoke of someone who had lived a harsh life, despite the clothing she wore.

"My three don't trust you at all, due to our stance with outsiders and our last distress signal falling into pirate ears. I understand if you refuse, but if you accept I will make it worth your while, and the rest of your comrades on your ship will be welcomed with open arms one justice and truth is brought to light. My people do not have much but we can offer clothing and animals from our lands in exchange for your services."

[And done! There is no posting order, feel free to all start you own threads to ask questions, or butt in each other's threads while they talk back and forth]

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Tim frowned, watching the ghost for a moment. This wasn't going so well so far.

"If we gave you some names, would you possibly be able to recognise them?" he asked. "And, please, tell us anything we can do for you to help."

Names...yes! He stood up again. I think this might help...

"Alright," Tim said, pleased by the positive reaction.

He began to list the names, voice even for each, waiting for the ghost to react. He wasn't going to put any emphasis on any of them, he didn't want to alter the ghost's perceptions of them: "Nomalanga, Mekaisto, Allard, Taworri, Snidley. Do any of these sound familiar to you?"

He nodded no for all of them until...

Snid-- The man's eyes turned into glowing white, as his entire face morphed with disgust. In race, he tore at the cave and unlike previously, it was pushed away from his great anger.

"THAT BOY! THAT TERRIBLE, EVIL BOY!" He took the rock, and threw it across to the other pile, roaring at it in pure rage. I SWEAR HE WAS BORN EVIL! I KNEW IT IN MY HEART WHEN I LOOKED INTO HIS EYES!

Rocks were torn away from his movements, as he tried to throw everything down (only being stuck inside a cave there was nothing to throw down but more rocks)

HE IS A CURSE UPON THIS WORLD! I DISOWNED HIM! HE...KILLED ME!

...oh well...uh. Okay. Guess that answered that question.

Well, that certainly was telling, wasn't it?

"Ya wanna get revenge? We're tryin' ta find him an' prove what a jerkass he really is! An' save a bunch'a people while we're at it!" Ellyn bellowed.

"So ya seen him down here? An' I take it he left th' li'l present down here for us, eh?"

She just glanced at Tim like, "well, there's something", and shrugged a little.

He turned around at then, the white glow leaving his eyes.

Nonchalantly, he adjusted his cravat, and stood normally again, coughing.

"Revenge, my dear, is not something that will win us wars and bring peace to this land...although always tempting. However..." he paused, placing a hand through his own hole. "I am undead. I suppose the reason I still am here was for one such purpose. Information giving, that is."

With a tiny bow, he presented himself.

"Leonus Pridley, Mayor of Utorian for twenty years...at least until my son decided to take the mantle for himself and killed me. I suppose whatever was done here, caused me to loose my memories of the years. I suppose a good jolt was all I need, ha ha ha!"

Wow it was pretty disturbing to see him laugh like that, considering all his organs moved along with it.

Well, there was their answer.

Tim backed up, giving the ghost some room in his fit of rage.

And, while hearsay was only so much to go on, an accusation of murder from someone who was actually dead-- and apparently the father? Was certainly a hefty thing to throw out there, for their advantage. He rifled through his belt for a recorder, unsure if it'd even work here. Worth a try, right?

He cast a glance to Ellyn, wary, before he said to Leonus, "Well met. And you're right. We want justice here, not revenge." Then, he explained, "We're here to uncover an apparent plot, of Snidley's. An assassination plot against the current mayoress. We've been lead to believe that the answers are in here."

The recorder did pick up pieces of his speech, but at intervals and sounding like static for the most part.

However, a look of triumph came upon the ghost' features.

"Ahh! So someone uncovered his plans then! I was afraid that my poor town would simply disappear due to his misuse of power...but it has been so long. I am afraid of what he might have planned, and unfortunately I am stuck in this area...perhaps if you explain me what you know I will try to aid you."

"Nomalanga's the mayor now an' she sent the distress call that got us here. She said yer boy's tryin' ta retake the town an' terrorizin' citizens ta do it, an' that one'a her own might be a spy fer him."

Ellyn looked at Red Robin, brow arching again. He had to have stuff to add, she wasn't the brains of this outfit!

"I don't know of this woman, but she sounds like my type of gal." The fact he didn't probably told them how long he had been dead in the first place. "My son was...oh fifteen I believe?"

"Now about those three, were they the names you gave me off along with the lady's? Although Taworri....would she be a crow-like, by any chance?"

Alright, the man had been gone for a long time now. Tim frowned.

"Mekaisto is crow-like," Tim explained, "The secretary. Her bodyguard, Taworri, is a tiger, and her agent, Allard, is a type of cat. I believe the child in here may be his."

"Ahh so a terrible guess upon my part then!" he gestures stroking his chin. "I knew of a chap named Taworo. A crow. Married the fairest raven on the land. Their family has been making candies out of the cactus fruits for generations."

He paused thinking.

"Yes that would make sense as to the noises I heard two days ago. I believe it was a small child crying."

"Nomalanga does have a crow-lady on her team. I got a map from 'er, an' I ain't certain, but I think she was givin' Zouichi some candies when I 'pproached 'er fer th' map o' these caves," Ellyn said.

"Maybe Mekaisto's a descendant o' this Taworo fella?"

She wasn't sure it had anything to do with any of it, but best to make sure of that now, since they had the old mayor's ghost talking.

"Oh yes, that would be most fitting," he said with a nod. "I do remember a very young child, now that I think about it. She had an older brother as well, but the parents were always telling me how their girl was wise beyond her years. Didn't seem to mind too much that she had her heads in her books than in the fields."

Tim nodded. It seemed like they had been right, then. He let out a thoughtful noise, then asked, "So that is likely the case, considering what we know of her. Is there any information about her, or the father, that might be pertinent?" Asking broad questions was a good start.

He paused, then asked, "Also, there were fresh tracks leading up here. Has anyone been by here recently?"

"There is. A man came here yesterday, I think. He was attacked by a bear. A rather large one at that. There aren't that many in these caverns so its own nest may have been disturbed. Those buggers can jump large distances."

He looked down at where he was again.

"Apart from that hmm let's see. The girl's parents are both farms. Simple folk, but always orderly. Everything had to be at the right place in the right time. Probably why their candy production is so good; they've got everything written down in quantities and time."

"An' she seems ta be quite a record keeper too, the map I got from 'er's real nice. What was Taworo like, when ya knew 'im?"

Brows furrowed, she gave Red Robin a look. Somewhat confused, at that.

"D'ya think more'n one could be tied inta this?"

Tim frowned thoughtfully. "Are there any details about the man who was attacked that you can give us? What he looked or sounded like, or else anything he might have said?"

To Ellyn, he nodded. "It's distinctly possible, considering what we've seen."

"Probably a big fella if he's able to take on a bear and survive. They aren't very friendly creatures around here. That's why most wells are on this side. The other side of the chasm are crawling with them. At least, in my time they were. He didn't say much apart from a surprised cry when he was ambushed by one."

Tim nodded. So then it was clear who the most likely suspect there was, but it didn't seem they could get much more about that. The reason he was creeping about the cave was still unclear, so that on its own couldn't mean anything.

"Is there anything else that jumps out to you, that could be useful? Perhaps even anything the child may have said?"

"The child, from what I heard, could not be more than a few weeks old, at best. Dangerous situation, having him here with a bear wandering this side. Like I said, few dare to jump over, what with the Great Abyss in the lake.

...although they might have killed that off too. It has been a while."

Tim really didn't like the sound of that.

"You mentioned a son, from Taworo's family as well. Can you tell us anything about him?" He could not recall, after all, if Mekaisto had mentioned him. "Also, did they, or else a family that may be connected to Taworri, the tiger, have any connections to your son?"

"He was but a child last I knew him," he explained, "But already working the family business. He had a harder time with his sister being much brighter than him but that is just the usual sibling banter."

He rubbed his mane again, thinking.

"There are not that many tigers in our city. They tend to be drifters for the most part and I never really associated myself with any. Many were bounty hunters first and men second, if you catch my drift."

"Yeah, but if he's a bounty hunter, he might'a been promised some money ta help defend the town. 'Course, that means he could be bought, dependin' on if yer boy had 'nough money ta sway his loyalty," Ellyn said with a grumble. She lifted a hand to her forehead and rubbed at it.

Thinking was hard, dammit.

"Wha' was Taworo like when ya knew 'im? Fambly ever had any money troubles, or did th' candy business keep 'em in good pelt?"

"My fine lady, Snidley has my entire family fortune to work with, as my sole living heir. Considering he probably killed his other siblings once I died..." he trailed off. "...Well, almost all my fortune." He looked back at the rocks covering the cave.

"Taworo was an excellent working man. Really I have nothing but high praise for them and his family."

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Tim can go by himself for a while since Tigerpheonix is gone for the night

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