Capital Prime

[Dugan195]

Tozzar laughed as he ran a tentacle over the one of the lady's tentacles, "Oh you are rather observant. Hit me," Tozzar said tapping the table with one of his tentacles, "Yes my build does give away my occupation. I am a operative for (random Telth company that's not Sinort); but like I said I am on my way on vacation, just passing through. Even muscle like me needs holiday now and again." Tozzar saw that he was still rather low and had the deal hit him again, "So why won't you reveal what you are? You are not a tourist or local, way to much class for that. Perhaps you are an assassin from a rival company sent to slay me while I gamble away my hard earned money." Tozzar said in a teasing voice; however he was really using this to gauge her body language. Most assassins would be able to cover this story and play it off, but not without giving away the lie with their body language. This girl was way to beautiful, way to rich, way to classy to not be here for a very specific reason and Tozzar figured she was here to kill or capture him.  

[Joa-Boo]

“There are a many number of things I kill, telth on vacation are not one of them.” The woman said as she retreated her tentacles. Her actions said no but her smile said yes. Was she toying with you?

Another, larger telth, stepped closer to the table. He was quite alerting but until he moved you had not noticed him one bit. The woman’s attention turned to him. She nodded and he turned away, eyeing you the whole time.

“You have a funny way of playing this game. Every time I tell you I will not reveal myself and take a guess at you, you reveal more of yourself. If I was an assassin, wouldn’t I have given you a false identity by now? At least every assassin I have dealt with has.” She giggled at the thought. The hand was played and the Dealer hit 21. Sighs came from the crowd. “Allow me sugar,” She interjected while taking a drink of the wine you bought her. She put down your penny for you with her own pile. The dealer dealt. “What do you make of a home mister…” She paused allowing you to fill the name.  

[Dugan195]

"A smart assassin wouldn't give a false identity to someone they think would see through it. Isn't smart. So you have proven nothing about your innocence ma'am." Tozzar teased as he played the round of black jack. "So why should I tell you who I am, maybe I am actually a wanted fugitive with a high price on my head. Giving you my identity could confirm who I am so you can collect. I am not that much of a risk taker." He teased yet again.  

[Joa-Boo]

“We are all wanted people in one way or another but not everyone can be a risk taker. No, the risk takers are the ones on top. Is that why you have joined us at this table stranger? I see a risk taker in you and a devilish one at that. I would gamble on the fact that your vacation is the consequence of a big risk you made. But now see here sugar, I do not plan on proving my innocent nature or intentions. That all very well depends on who you are. ” The female telth curled her tentacles with your words. She receded with such a smile it made you want to chase her with your own tentacles. The dealer cleared his throat. He meant to catch the woman’s attention. It worked. “Oh dear is it my turn. A hard 18, hmmm, well might as well stick with that. Come on now sweat dealer, bust for me baby.”

The dealer tossed his second card and came up with a 15. He hit again and the face card busted him. The crowd watching clapped again. It was a risky round. A few of the other players at the table took their leave. It was now reaching 2 am.

Just before the telth woman could put down her bet another suited telth approached her and whispered a few things into her ear. “Play this round for me sugar. I must excuse myself for a short time.” She bowed to you, never leaving eye contact, and then rose from her seat after the suited man. She slipped you a few of her chips and was gone. Almost immediately after she left a burly human with a slight smell of diesel replaced her. It grunted while tossing a few chips in greeting and then waited for the dealer.

“I am begging to like this place. I have the strangest feeling we should just stay here for the rest of our menial existence.” The human said out loud in a drunken way. He spoke as if including someone but had no place to direct his speech. When you turned to observe the figure you noticed it was Das Burg. “I got everything I need right here. I even got me some posse.” Das Burg pound for a few more cards. “What you lookin at alien?” He growled, directing his words to you as he made a complete turn.  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar looked at Das Burg and blinked in disbelief, he was unsure whether Das Burg was asking pretending to not know him, or if he was too drunk to remember him. Either way Tozzar thought it would be strange to draw attention to the fact that they might know each other. Tozzar looked from Das Burg and said, "Just a drunk about to loose some moeny. Best of luck to you though." Tozzar gathered up his chips and made his way over to a roulette table that was decently far away from the black jack table where he had left Das Burg. If they had been staying at the same place he might have risked taking his partner back to his room, but since Tozzar didn't even know where he was staying then it was too risky to try and help him back to the room. Das Burg was on his own for the night, hopefully he didn't get into too much trouble.  

[Joa-Boo]

“I believe you dropped this telth. Good luck to you too!” The drunken cyborg said as he handed you a chip that had fallen off the table. He put it in your hand as fast as he could and pushed it close to your body. He then turned to the table and placed a heavy bet.

As you walked away you noticed the chip Das Burg handed you had a crumbled up piece of paper under it. It was an interesting little note, mostly cryptic from the scribbling. Once you got to the table you opened it up slowly in a way that hid the view from anyone watching.

“Sorry to interrupt you Tozzar but we have a situation. I was pick-pocketed earlier this evening and instead of taking my credits they put a threat in my back pocket. Check out the note.” As you unfolded the rest of the paper you found the included warning. “This is a quiet city and I plan to keep it that way. You four are not welcome because of the things you bring. If you ever want to see your Cor friend you will show up to the basement casino parking garage with 100,000 credits tomorrow morning by 200 sharp. If you are compliant the trade will be quick and simple. Any attempt to rescue your friend will compromise his safety.”

The table was waiting for you to bet.  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar sighed and placed some money on the table, why did nothing ever work out for him. Never since he joined the UA did anything involving him to travel turned out to be anywhere near easy. Every little step he took was met with resistance and twists and turns and made him want to lay down in bed and stay there. This type of thing didn't happen in real life, or so he though, this was the type of stuff that happened in movies and stories. He should have just been able to board a ship and fly to the UA headquarters unharassed; but no, now he was stuck in a huge interspecis crisis that put the lives of billions of people and entire worlds into his lap. Tozzar was a materialistic man, he did not want responsibility like that. He wanted to kill people, screw people over, back stabb them, and steal stuff; like a typical spy, and makes lots of money doing it. This was something an idealist like Troyce or Das should handle. Though if he gave the responsibility to one of them his life became greatly in danger, and that was no good either. No Tozzar was forced to deal with this s**t despite not wanting to. Maybe he could win enough money gambling that he wouldn't have to worry about paying off these ******** and just move on with his life. Quick and simple, just like the note said; though the chances of that happening were unlikely.  

[Joa-Boo]

When you leaned forward to place a few chips on the table your note opened up a bit more, revealing a lip-stick kiss stain. The bright red splotch formed a wonderful circle like the kiss of a telth. When all the bidding was done the dealer did his thing and ended up owing you a good sum of money. He paid up and chips and asked if you wanted another round.

-So this town is really weird Tozzar. I was just mugged by two telth brawlers, I couldn’t see their faces, but all they did was plant this strange note in my wallet. Do they really have Barney?- Troyce said through com link. He sounded fine, if anything, he was confused. –Something about this is just weird, I call it a bluff.-  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar sighed as he scooped up his chips, got up and walked away from the table, he had more important things than gambling to do right now. "No Troyce, Barney isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed when it comes to anything other than his genius. I don't really doubt the ability to kidnap him, hell probably without even using force." Tozzar made his way back up to his room. Once there he poured himself a glass of liquor and started to sip on it while he looked out onto the busy street. People of all races were moving here and there through the casinos. In the horizon he saw the constant stream of ships coming in and out of the ports. It was a lively city for sure, the places Tozzar went always seemed to be lively once he got there; atleast this one was lively before he got here, and not just after. "They arn't asking for that much money actually. I think we should just pay these ******** and get it over with. I am tired of making big scenes everywhere we go. If they want us gone, fine I don't want to be here myself."

Tozzar finished his glass and poured himself another one as he sat in a chair. Obviously there was a chance it was a bluff and the three would spend the night trying to track Barney down. No reason to play into a trap if you don't have to; though if they couldn't find him Tozzar didn't see any reason to make a fuss over a couple thousand creds.  

[Joa-Boo]

-So I’ll pay this one for you Tozzar- Troyce said over con link. He was trying to make up for deceiving you earlier. –Meet me downstairs and we will just show up simple like the notes say. I haven’t seen Das Burg since we left, have you?-

The drink was soothing. In the midst of all the crazy, any race would agree that a good glass of liquor always quenched the dissatisfaction of day to day life. Outside your window the town was alive and no one paid a bit of attention to the single telth drinking alone in his room. Something about that was nice.

-Tozzar I was just tipped the weirdest thing. I caught one of the ******** that jumped me and I got him to spill his guts. They have Barney but they said they won’t hurt him under any circumstance. Something about the face of this town has to always be smiling and it’s hard to smile with blood on your hands.- Das Burg roared into the con link, including Troyce too. He beaconed his location, which was a secure place in the cellar of the motel he checked into. He exclaimed he had the telth tied up with him now.  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar sighed, knowing that if it was a bluff the others would never go for just paying for Barney's release. Tozzar, for once (hopefully the only time in his life), did not care about money. All he wanted was something to go smoothly, he would pay 100,000 credits for that to happen to. This last couple of days has been more than wild enough for him to want some simplicity in his life. And once they got on their ways to attack an entire Corr army single-handidly he doubted he would get that oppertunity for a long time. "Alright Das, good work. We are on our way, if you think this thug is worth some more information than keep him awake, if not make him see some stars for a while. We don't need the captors to know that we are aware of their bluff quite yet." Tozzar got up and went to leave to join Das.  

[Joa-Boo]

The building that Das Berg’s signal came from wasn’t all that hard to find. It was a large hotel that stretched upward into the sky 30 or so floors. Even with its height, this was still a tiny skyscrapers sitting next to all the others in the docking city. That is just how it is in the cities. Everything had to be so big and tall to sustain the amount of life in the towns and cities. In places like Prime or Tilt, the whole planet was covered in massive skyscrapers. Prime had artificial layers built over the planets true surface. This was an easy way to tell what social class you were in. Only the top classes ever see the real sun of Prime. However this small city was filled with the lower working class, the hullers. That is, except for the wonderful telth female you had a run in with.

You were greeted at the door by a merc group of gunners who said they had been hired by Das Berg. They looked flashy and overly equipped for a simple job but they promised they worked for every credit they made. They led you and Troyce to a basement were Das Berg was standing over a telth strapped to a table. Das Berg had reconfigured his robotic arm into a taser that he drove into the telth every now and then.

“It is about time you guys got here. I’m not sure what else we could use this guy for but he claims it is all a bluff. You got a plan, this is kinda your strength isn’t it?”  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar walked into the room and looked down at the Telth on the table. He eyed the merc with a weary eye. Guns for money had their uses, but Tozzar didn't trust them as far as he could throw them. "Well if this is a bluff then all we need to do is show our strength to reinforce the idea that they should back down from their demands." Tozzar let out a crocked smile as he pulled a long butcher knife from his bag. He ran the cold metal over the telth on the table and laughed, "If you are squeamish Das I would suggest that you leave the room, the likes of what I am going to do to this poor Telth to show they we are a serious group is noting going to be pretty. (I am going to go on without waiting for his actions you can decide if he stays or not)

Tozzar put the blade to the captured man's throat and pulled it across hard. He was going to do terrible things to the body, but he wasn't a sadist, he didn't care to hear the telth scraemed while he did it. Tozzar procceded to slice off the head of the telth and his tentacles as well. Once they were severed he put them into a box and sealed it. When they got to the meeting Tozzar would show what they did to their associate and warn them this was the outcome of trying to hold Barney for ransom. Tozzar went and told Das about the plan to scare the would-be captors into folding and then told him to get ready for the meeting.  

[Joa-Boo]

“Well if you were just going to cut em’ up I would have done it for ya,” Das Berg grumbled with a flick of his robotic arm until it reached a chain saw knife setting. “I figured you would have been able to do more with the bugger.” He gave a laugh and then lifted the box of dead telth. “Shall we head to the garage?” Das Berg’s question went unanswered as you, your dirty business, the hunk of metal man, and the backstabbing telth assassin left the building.

“You guys are so cool. I would have joined up a company a long time ago had I known I would get to do great stuff like this.” One of the telth hired guns laughed along the way. He waved his pistol around like a thug and edged the others on.

“I am sure you have a plan Tozzar. Even if it is a bluff, doesn’t it seem a bit reckless to just drop a dead telth from their gang and say deal with it? I say we make the grunt pose as us, do the exchange and then we flank them and take this gang down a size for messing with us.” Troyce was clam with his words. He seemed to be more on the inside ever since the ship crashed.

By the time everyone had stopped speaking the crew made it to a safe location near the garage. There wasn’t another soul in sight around the garage. That told you they must be waiting inside the gated lot. Once inside you would be in a very open area, depending on how many cars where in the lot. There was no ruff to the place and many large lanes for the over sized ships dropping by. Anything could go down in there. It was a few moments away from time and it was now or never to make your move.  

[Dugan195]

Tozzar looked as Das and smiled at his suggestion. Das Berg had become a good ally since all of this mess had begun. Whether or not he would stay an ally should the time come that the UA and Tozzar must fight was yet to be seen, if that time ever did come. Tozzar still didn't know what to do about the information or which side to trust. Tozzar had no love for any company and much less anyone; but killing off an entire species, entire planets. Somthing of that magnitude was something else, even Tozzar didn't know how he could take part in that. Though for now he had to focus on getting Barney and then stopping the Corr army, he could figure out his next move after that.

"You make a good point my friend, take half of our guns around the side and wait for trouble. Don't shoot unless you see things going sour. I know we should kill some of these thugs for the hell of it, but I am tired of all this pointless violence, we have bigger fish to catch. I would not waste more time dealing with these bastards then I have to. If all goes well then we go on, hell its not like we plan on staying on this rock a minute longer than we have to." Tozzar said with a sigh. "I am better at talking than fighting which is your strength. You be the suprise should we need it and I will try and make your strength unnecessary. I just want something to be easy for once.

Tozzar gesture to half of thier guns and waited for Das to leave before he entered the garage looking for Barney's would be captures to make the deal. One of the guns with Tozzar had the box containing the dead Telth he had sliced up. "Hello anyone home? I heard one of my friends is around in these parts. I would much like to discuss his return so I can get the ******** out of this city and off this rock," He called into the dark garage as they walked further into the lot.