Downtime 1 - Welcome to PERSYN

[TheWhitefire]

As the question of resources is brought up, a hulking mammoth of a man half-walks and half-hobbles in, like his hips hurt from the movement. He walks over to the baristas and mutters. "Jean, Khalisa. They all here?"

The young woman nods and points to the booth. "Right over there, Clyde. Need us to close up?"

He shakes his head. "No, just make sure no centimanes or agents come over to bother us. We'll head down to Ashe's dungeon if we need to discuss anything sensitive."

The man approached the booth and sits down heavily. He let's out a heavy breath, pulling off an IPS-N branded toque, pulling a cloth from his pocket and wiping sweat off his brow before running a hand through his long, slightly greasy hair.

"Sorry to keep you all waiting. My name is Clyde, and I was chosen by the syndis to meet you today and to make sure you're a good fit for the org. So, I guess y'all don't know anything about me. But I was born on a moon called Haven, raised in an agricommune, attended regional council as a representative a few times. Worked as a freelance merc on Wheldrake for a while, before I met Ashe McFadden, better known as Imp. I worked with them to form PERSYN, and now we are looking at finally putting our plans into action, hence contacting all of you."

[Visorian]

At the mention of 'centimane', Amani's expression sours into something that seems to be a look of disgust. "Imp...The leader of the syndicate wants us here. I would assume you know enough about us to decide whether we're fit for the job, no?"

 

He searches his memory, wondering if he's ever heard of Ashe McFadden or an associated 'Clyde' before.

Edited November 10, 2023 by Visorian (see edit history)

[TheWhitefire]

Clyde shifts uncomfortably and sips his coffee. "We don't really have a leader. We make decisions via consensus when we need to, otherwise we act independently." 

Amani thinks back to anything he might know about McFadden, but he can't come up with much. He came across their name when looking into PERSYN, and rumors hold that she may have been involved in the Hercynian Crisis before defecting and joining the third comm revolution.

[Binks]

"Well, uh, nice to meet you. I'm Jason, which I guess you would know already. Looking forward to working with you all." Jason says with a shy nod.

[Saber Tora]

Salarra returns Jason's nod with a smile, then replies to Clyde, "I'm excited for the opportunity! I'm hopeful that PERSYN will be able to do a lot of good out here."

[TheWhitefire]

Clyde nods to Jason and Salarra, then looks over to Grey. "And you're Grey, if I'm not mistaken. Appropriate clothin', I guess."

 

He clears his throat, and wipes his brow again. "Sorry, medication I'm on makes me sweat like a sunday hog. Anyways, like I said, I'm Clyde. And I was chosen to represent PERSYN in meeting y'all and tellin' you what we're about. So it's like this: Union stands for some really good stuff. We all agree the Pillars should be brought to all of humanity, and probably even beyond. They represent the most basic rights of any person who exists in Union Space. There's only one, big, gaping issue: Union hasn't exactly done a great job of bringing the Pillars to the Rim, or to the people livin' in the Corpro states. Not only that, but companies like Harrison Armory, and groups like the KTB, seem to be able to flaunt their flagrant abuses against the Pillars and not only does Union seem to tolerate it, they straight up spend the wealth of the Core Worlds purchasing goods and equipment from these groups. The KTB famously has people living in downright slave like conditions, and Harrison Armory treats its people like drones, barely giving them enough to survive off of.

"Well, Imp and I and a few others met durin' some routine maneuvers out in the rim, and got to talking. We all have our skills and pull in different areas, if we worked together we could get the resources together that might let us start making a small difference out in the rim. We can't take down Harrison Armory, but maybe we could liberate a few smaller colonies and settlements. We can't stop the steady flow of piracy out on the rim, but we might be able to stem the tide and give some people a chance to live as well as they do on the core worlds. Problem is, I can't Lance anymore. I'm out of shape and my back is all busted up. Neither can Imp, though she won't admit it. She's just too old, seen too much to put herself out on the front lines like that. So, we did something... sneaky. We pulled some strings, and got a request put through Galsim to find out what five folks we should hire, what five folks would give us the best chance of success. And, well, yer names was spit out by the Bicameral Mind."

He sighs and leans back. "So that's why y'all are here. Because the Oracle of Delphi said you were the ones who was gonna make PERSYN a success instead of a joke. We can't get you much by way of licenses - not yet, at least. We can get you the basic GMS stuff for yer mechs. But if y'all prove successful out there, we might be able to do more. More'n'that, you might find a way to get the resources you need." He looks over the five recruits. "So that's that. If you have any questions, now's the time. If not, well. I already have a job lined up. Call it an initiation. You don't have to accept it, but it's some intel that might be worth lookin' into. And maybe you can start making a difference."

[Binks]

Jason follows along, nodding at a few points in the speech. He seems particularly enthusiastic once it gets to the part about liberating colonies and stemming piracy. After Clyde finishes Jason is quick to speak up with an amused tone. "Basic GMS is better than what I'm used to. I'm ready to get to work."

[Visorian]

As Clyde describes the universe in its current state, Amani is silent. His expression is somewhat solemn, he lowers his eyes and seems to stare at the table before them with some sort of sadness. As Clyde finishes and Jason expresses enthusiasm, Amani answers with a grim sense of resolve. His tone is entirely different from before.

"By my will the diaspora will be free. The machine spirits have chosen us, we cannot fail."

 

Out of either nervousness or to punctuate his statement, he finishes his iced tea and crunches on an ice cube as he turns to hear the rest of the groups responses.

[Chimi]

Grey mostly just nods along as the conversation continues, though a few things like Amani's statement get little eye-rolls. Extracting the straw from her drink for a moment, she waves away an AR field to address the assembled Big Damn Heroes. "Can't say I'm liking that the BiCam, uh, knows about me, but whatever. Woo woo magic space tech. And yeah, Grey. I got given an ID with 'Sunshine Grey' as the name so I guess that works. As to the grand mission, eh." she shrugs and takes a quick sip, "Someone has leverage on me and handed you the stick, so I guess as long as you wanna have me speak violence to power, could be worse."

[TheWhitefire]

"You always have a choice, Grey. I'm willing to sign off on your release if you aren't comfortable with the work. Though, I'd recommend staying close regardless--Ashe can't protect you if you go wandering off and doing another crime." He says somewhat dryly. He then looks to Salarra. "How about you? In or out?"

[Saber Tora]

Salarra refocuses her eyes after processing this new knowledge about the prediction. She takes a deep breath, then nods. "I'm in. All the way."

 

[TheWhitefire]

Clyde looks to Verne. "You too?"

 

Once Verne gives his assent, Clyde nods and stands, supporting his large frame against the back of the chair as he does so. "Right. Khalissa," he looks to the young woman at the counter. "We're headed to the dungeon." He pulls put a pack of nicotine gum and pops one in his mouth. "Follow me." He says, his breath smelling of artificial mint and coffee.

He makes his way to the back of the coffee and book shop, into a back room. The room is chilly, smells of coffee and concrete. The walls are lined with shelves of various dry supplies, and the back of the room has a small elevator door. Clyde swiped his Palm against a small panel, triggering something that causes the door to the elevator.

He winces and stretches his neck, gesturing for everyone to move in ahead of him.

"Back during seccom, this moon was a mining station. Lots of abandoned tunnels crisscross this place. They harvested, copper, lead, and tungsten here. Anything that could be turned into munitions to fund their war machine. Ashe knew about it, and that's why we built our front here. Gave us a quiet spot to build our base. We call it Ashe's dungeon. You'll see why."

The elevator comes to a shuddering stop and opens to a long concrete hallway. Clyde heads out and leads on. "The info we have for you is about my home moon, Haven. IPS-N used to pay mercs to hassle them, trying to get colonists to leave. Didn't work, and since then IPS-N keeps 'forgetting' to tell Albatross to patrol the area for pirates. Well, recently we've been picking up increased activity in the rings of Aesir, the planet Haven orbits. Worse, we've gotten reports of slaver activity."

 

He stops in front of a steel door, and pulls an old fashioned door key from his pocket. He unlocks the door and holds it for you.

 

The sights and smells that assail you are familiar and yet feel out of place. The room is in a large cave with a concrete floor, giant air purifying fans roaring in the ceiling. A person with a feminine shape stands on the top of a ladder wearing a welding hood and gloves. The mech they're working on is instantly recognizable from history books. Tales of the unimaginable atrocities performed with these chassis run through your mind. It is a Genghis Mark 1, a Worldkiller.

 

Clyde waves at the person on the ladder. They stop their work and flick up their mask.

Ashe's face is half covered with an old, wicked burn scar. Their right ear is nearly non existent, and their right eye is equally clearly artificial. They come down the ladder. Ashe is short, just shy of five feet, with strong shoulders and arms visible even though their coveralls. Ashe removes their gloves, revealing that the backs of their hands are as.equally scarred as their face.

You realize the scars are an odd affectation, given that cosmetic and rehabilitative surgery is broadly available in Union space. Ashe looks all of you over appraisingly but remains silent. Clyde clears his throat.

"Folks, this is Ashe--"

 

"My name is Imp." Ashe says, interrupting Clyde. "I know who each of you are, no need for introductions. If you ever need me, I'm usually down here patching up Shaitan. I'm working on something right now. No time to talk." With that, Imp pulls their gloves on and heads back up the ladder and resumes work.

Clyde sighs. "I'd say I'm sorry, but frankly if you're going to work with us you'll have to get used to it. Ash--er, Imp is brilliant, and truly does deeply care. But they've... been through a lot."

 

Clyde takes a breath and settles himself on a stool nearby. "Just give me a minute to sit. Anyways, the mission. We need someone to head out to Aesir's rings, then find out where on Haven they plan to hit. I'm hoping for that to be you. If not, I can try and find some other work we need you to do. But, well, Haven was my home. I feel like I owe it to them to help somehow, and if you can't tell I'm not exactly fit for lancing anymore." Clyde gestures to their heavy form, before pulling out a rag to wipe his sweat soaked forehead.

[Inash]

before heading to the dungeon

Verne nods his assent to the plan, then realizes that maybe something more is excpected. Civilian life is so complicated... "Making a difference for people who don't have a lot of options and can be treated like they don't have a lot of rights sounds pretty good to me."

In the dungeon

Verne narrows his eyes at the mention of slavers, but remains quiet. He quirks one eyebrow at the sight of the TBK chassis. "So... um... is that. Are we...." He pauses for a moment to gather his thoughts before spitting out "I thought those things were banned these days. I mean, I may have misunderstood something but... If we are the 'good guys' why do we have it?" He pauses again to pull himself together. "Sorry sir. A scout mission to Aesir's rings. When do you want us to leave."

 

[Chimi]

"Don't be naive, am, we're the good guys." Grey puts down her hood as she wanders around a bit, looking over the facilities in the Dungeon. "That means anything we do is morally justified. Rules for thee and not for me."

[Inash]

Verne stares at Grey, trying to decide whether she is serious.