The Case of the Misdirected Dectective [Open]

[jackalpi]

Who: Spinelli and you!!
Where: The City
Summary: Having an overactive imagination may not be the best thing when you get lost in a strange city.

It had all seemed so easy. The map on the Omnicomm that Splicer had shown him was clear and detailed, the place where the clothiers were clearly marked. It should be the simplest of matters for one with his intellect to follow said map from from the tube to where the stores in question were located. But he hadn't realized just how big the city was, and that things were much further away than they seemed. The areas of rubble didn't help matters much, and there were a few times he had to detour to get around blocked off areas. After some time had passed and he still hadn't found the shops in question, he could only come to one conclusion.

Damian Spinelli, computer hacker, assistant author, some-time video game designer and private investigator...was lost.

The simplest option, of course, was to turn around and go back the way he came. Or...he could pull out the Omnicom again, check the map and see if he could figure out where he had wound up. Pausing by a pile of rubble that might have at one time been someone's house, he started to hunt around his messenger bag to find the small communications device to try that second option when he heard a noise. Could it be someone, or some thing, had tracked him here? There had been that battle not too long ago. What if he had stumbled upon a place where not everything had been defeated?

Grabbing the nearest thing to hand, he rounded the corner, brandishing the item like a weapon, although not terribly effectively. It was a ratty old cloth purse, made from a fabric covered in pink roses. The thing looked utterly ridiculous in his hands, and quite possibly not at all intimidating. Well, unless there was some reason to feel threatened by a handbag that might fall apart at any second. His voice - not terribly deep to begin with - went up about a half octave as he cried out a warning.

"Cease and desist, vile evil doer!"

Comments

[jackalpi]

At the sight of that unnatural smile, Spinelli let out a noise that sounded suspiciously like "Gah!" and scrambled backwards before realizing who it was before him. Almost immediately, he winced, an apologetic look appearing on his face.

"Fair Yet Unearthly One, it is you! Please, forgive my untoward reaction. The Jackal is still quite unaccustomed to the comings and goings on this vessel. It is much bigger than the documents on the Omnicom had led me to believe."

A flash of pink caught his attention, and he glanced down at the purse that was still clutched in his head. With a slightly nervous chuckle, he lowered it. "I am afraid I must be making quite an unusual impression upon you. It is truly not my intent to do so, but all this is very new for me. Pray tell, what brings you down to this particular locale?"

[anwei]

"Jackal. I am pleased to see you are well," she answered gravely, carefully keeping her smile from slanting into cynicism. "I'm sorry if I startled you."

Compared to some of the surprises that new arrivals have brought with them, a purse-pummeling was no more than a amusement.

"I was looking to see if any of these buildings had power, actually. I was thinking of choosing a home for myself down here. And if I do, I'll probably want to do computer work on site as well - I'm used to waking up at odd hours and feeling the need for screen." And it had occurred to her that right now, Stacy could keep them all out of Engineering simply by closing one door. Better to have some equipment outside of her reach, as it were.

[jackalpi]

"Oh, it is no matter. The Jackal is a man of action, and able to adapt to any sudden changes in his surroundings with ease," he said, blithely ignoring the fact that was not at all the impression he might have given with his attempt to defend his person. "But I am most gratified to see you are likewise well."

However, he looked somewhat surprised as to why she was here, and promptly turned in place to look around him, as if that would actually answer the question as to whether any of the buildings here had power. It didn't, of course, and he quickly turned back.

"I did not realize that the buildings down here might have power. That would come in useful for the Jackal's own need to exercise his cyberskills," he commented, placing one hand on the messenger bag that held his laptop. "Might I inquire if you have you had any success so far in your search?"

[anwei]

"All in a day's work for a man of action," she murmured, with a hint of a smile. A nice normal human-ish smile, the kind she practices in mirrors.

"All the ones that have power so far seem to be larger buildings - I'm looking for something a little more snug. Also, a number of buildings are currently scheduled for demolition because they are unsound. I can send you a map from Celena Ventari, who runs Infrastructure, if you like." She tapped the pocket that holds her omnicomm.

She looked at the messenger bag. "Did you have a laptop that came with you? A friend of mine who was repodded, Alex Furest, arrived with a laptop. He was brilliant with computers."

I apologize for the late tag. My brain has not wanted to cooperate with tagging. :(

[jackalpi]

"Ah...while it is kind of you to offer, spatial relationships are not my forte," he half-murmured, a slightly rueful expression on his face. "In fact, though the Jackal hesitates to admit such...I currently find myself quite lost."

And, unfortunately, the map he already was using hadn't done much good. But a thoughtful expression crept over his face all the same. Even if the first map wasn't of much use, it might not be such a bad idea to have it. Eventually he'd figure his away around, and even if he didn't find a building with power, it would be good to know which ones to avoid.

"Although, upon further consideration, perhaps I will accept after all. In future it might prove to be useful, indeed. Thank you, Fair Yet Unearthly One."

He bowed slightly, then straightened up, a smile appearing as he nodded. "And you have correctly surmised that I am in fact of possession of such a device. The Jackal has had a long history with computers over the years. It is a shame your friend has been repodded, as you put it. I always enjoy talking shop with fellow aficionados. But...you were re-awoken, as it were. Is it not possible he might someday do so as well?"

Re: I apologize for the late tag. My brain has not wanted to cooperate with tagging. :(

[anwei]

"So far as I know, there's nothing in the way of a compass that works down here." Although there could be, if Stacy didn't jam them. Maybe install a grid of transmitters on the ceiling/sky, and have the omnicomms use them as positional guides? "I usually use the Juraian Royal Palace as a guide - that's the giant tree over that way - because it's the largest landmark that's near the transport tubes."

"My pleasure." She took out her omnicomm and transmitted the map to him; the omnicomm should be able to superimpose them for maximum reference use.

"Alex might come back, and I would dearly like to see him again. But he was very young, and not much inclined to fighting. Some of his friends were repodded before he was ... I think he might be lonely again, if he came back. The pods are safer than the ship ... most of the time." She winced and thought of SHODAN.

[jackalpi]

"Not even the most basic ones? Although, come to think about it, while a small bit of metal would likely be able to be found, the Jackal has not seen much in the way of cork so far..."

He trailed off, looking thoughtful, but then shook his head and refocused. While he was sympathetic to Alex's plight - it must be hard to keep friendships if your friends were repodded - something else in her words caught his attention.

"Most of the time? I take it that something untoward must have happened, by those words." And her expression, but he wasn't going to point that out. "Was that tied into the recent attack on the City that I had heard about?"

[anwei]

She cocked her head. "A cork? What would that do?" Coming from a high-tech culture, Anwei had no idea of how to float a magnetized needle in water. "What I meant is that even though Stacy is the size of a small moon, I doubt she has any magnetic poles - probably because she is partially organic. I suppose if you built a very sensitive compass...I myself have not tried."

Yes," she said, the corners of her mouth stretching down. "When I was here last, there were missions, people sent off the ship into various perils; and also Ohm attacks on Stacy. But on a ship the size of a moon, there can be all sorts of things stored that we know nothing about. A hostile AI seized control of multiple robots stockpiled in the ship, and attacked the crew - including killing people in the pods."

Not Alex. Not anyone she knew. But every one of them dead was someone that she would never know.

[jackalpi]

"The size...of...a moon." Spinelli's eyes widened - a little bit in surprise and a little bit in sheer wonder at the concept. For a moment his mind wandered off, thinking about the exploration of a place so large in scale, but the talk of robots quickly brought him back. His brow furrowed as the implication sunk in, then a visibly upset look appeared on his face.

"You mean...I-I could have been killed? Or Stone Cold, or Maximista..." The thought of it was almost more than he could bear. What if something had happened to them. He had assumed when he found out their worlds were gone, they were safe in the pods. All his friends, and even those like Mr. Sir, not friends but still important to people he knew. Were they dead, killed by the robots.

"Is...is there a way to find out who died? A list, somewhere, perhaps?"

[anwei]

Anwei's eyelids drooped. "I know that some of the dead were known - it may even be that SHODAN deliberately targeted people who were known by those who are currently awake. I would either check back through the omnicomm channel posts - which can serve as sort of an informal news service - or else ask Stacy directly."

Yes, and when was a formal news service going to start up? The crew definitely needed one, especially when the only person or person who knew vital things could be whisked away at any moment.

[jackalpi]

"Of...of course," Spinelli replied, but it was a distracted sort of answer, his mind now clearly elsewhere. His face had grown long with worry over the fate of his friends, and he brought a hand up, rubbing at his forehead over his left eye. He was tempted - sorely tempted - to go and try to find out what he could what this moment, but running out on Anwei could be misconstrued. Instead, he tried for an apologetic smile, but he couldn't quite muster it.

"My apologies for seeming distracted, but this is troubling news indeed. I-I have friends, you see, who surely must still be in the pods."

[anwei]

"I understand. It's frustrating for many people, to know that their friends are here but - inaccessible. Unfortunately Stacy is unable to provide a complete list of the people in the pods; I'm not sure if that is because of past dataloss, or if it's meant to be a security feature."

She would almost guess the second.

"Your friends could awaken here, or the war could be won and they could all be released." Hopefully.

[jackalpi]

"Perhaps you would be correct." Closing his eyes, he took a curious sort of deep breath - if Anwei was familiar at all, she might recognize the type of breathing peculiar to yoga practitioners. If not, well, it would simply look a little odd.

His eyes flicked open again after that, the worry he was feeling set aside for the moment. He would go and look at the lists, and find out what he could. "You have been most kind, Fair But Unearthly One. The Jackal gives you his thanks. If...if I am able to find any locations within the city on his own explorations that hold electricity, I will most certainly pass along that information in return. But would you forgive me if I took my leave of you for the moment so I might see what information I am able to procure in regards to my friends that still sleep within the pods anyway?"

[anwei]

She didn't recognize the breathing technique at all - her Earth studies had never touched on yoga. But she was used to people doing peculiar things.

"Of course. I wish you good luck in your search. You might want to put a message on the omnicomm channel saying that you are here, and who you are looking for; even if your friends are not awake yet, when they do awaken, they will know that you are here."

Or were here.