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

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.