Velesi 2010/07/21(Wed)09:27 No. 210682 ID: c33cc8
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>>210128
>>210669

*crack*

"AAAaAaaaH!"

Eesh. That sounded nearly as painful as it looked.

>>210682
Yeah he got bones sticking out of his hand, that should have hurt like fucking hell. He might even end up losing that hand if he's unlucky.

Go for the elbow next. He's probably not out of it yet. Once he's down one arm you can probably grab the knife and make him settle down long enough for you to get your brother out. Then you're going to have to ask that guy some questions. Like who the fuck is he working for.

Velesi 2010/07/21(Wed)10:08 No. 210687 ID: c33cc8
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>>210683

*crack* again

I think he won't be using that arm for a while.

>>210687
I get the feeling this guy is just some random thug in a cheap suit trying to act like he's a 'Professional'. You, on the other hand, seem pretty damn good, and rather cool-headed about this.

Kick in one of his knees next so he can't run. Or punch him in the face with metal-fist to stun him, -then- kick in one of his knees. Your choice.

>>210687
Ok, now give him a solid kick in the torso area to push him away while you pick you the knife in your flesh and blood hand and tell him to surrender. See if you can't handcuff his good hand to a pipe or something and then unlock your brothers cell door and see how bad he's been stabbed. Then this guy has some questions to answer.

>>210689
Let's make sure he can't try running before we back off, huh? We're beating the shit out of him, he's down one arm, and likely in extreme pain. Don't let up just yet.

>>210690
Yeah sure, take out the knee first as well. Then he's going to be rather helpless. But it would probably still be a good idea to restrain his still working arm. The guy might still have some weapon hidden away somewhere, maybe a gun.

Just cut the tendons in his leg, that'll keep him from moving around too quick.

Velesi 2010/07/21(Wed)12:41 No. 210719 ID: c33cc8
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Down you go.

Velesi 2010/07/21(Wed)12:43 No. 210720 ID: c33cc8
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>>210669
>>210689

"Ah. Ahuh. That was quite painful. I think it would be, ahh, prudent to surrender right about now."

"Keys to the cells."

"On the table."

Cool. Let's grab them and leave. Killing's uncool, so let's not do that.

>>210720
Ask for handcuffs so you can handcuff him to some bars or something. Then release your brother, make sure he doesn't bleed to death and then it's time to ask this guy some questions.

Velesi 2010/07/21(Wed)13:03 No. 210728 ID: c33cc8
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>>210725

"You have any handcuffs?"

"Ah, no. I expected the cells to be enough."

Whatever. I don't think he'll get away in the ten seconds it will take me to release Eren.

"Hey, brother. Are you okay?"

"Don't worry," the contractor says. "I took care not to stab Mr. ma'Evrim anywhere terribly vital."

"Yeah, I'm good."

Jailbreak complete. Eren is looking a bit predatory, though.

"I'll be even better once I get my hands on Mr. Private Contractor here."

"Call me Caril."

I have to hand it to him, he keeps his cool pretty well.

>>210689
>>210725

"So, why'd you come after us?"

"I was hired, of course."

"By whom?"

"I haven't the foggiest. Whoever it was, he neglected to mention some rather important details about you. Namely, the strength of your prosthetic arm. I can say I have no particular sense of duty towards him anymore, and I'd be delighted to help you discover his identity."

Hmm. I don't know... He seems a bit eager to help us. What other questions should I ask him?

>>210728
What was he supposed to do with you once he had captured the both of you? How much was he paid for it?

First search him for hidden weapons.
He's a contractor, not your actual enemy.
You should try to figure out who pays him. Telling him that your brother is going to question him if he doesn't cooperate might be enough to intimate him.
Also ask if he's working alone or if he got any backup.

"how hard i try to hold back my brother depends how hod good your answers are."

>>210728
What, specifically, was he hired to do?

Velesi 2010/07/22(Thu)14:51 No. 211085 ID: c33cc8
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>>210730
>>210731

A quick check confirms he has no hidden weapons.

"How hard I try to hold back my brother depends how good your answers are."

"I don't think threats are, ah, necessary at this point. I have agreed to tell you everything I know."

"Do you have any backup?"

"No."

>>210733

"What, specifically, were you hired to do?"

"The contract was to kidnap you and, if possible, your brother. I was supposed to receive further instructions later. My employer supplied me with a rather thorough report of your personalities and capabilities, but it seems he omitted several details."

>>210729

"How much were you paid for it?"

"Five hundred thousand credits. Seven hundred and fifty if your brother was included."

That... that is a lot of money for kidnapping a mechanic and a guardian.

>>211085
What kind of people have those funds to throw around?

Anyway, ask him how he was to recieve his next set of instructions. Depending on how you might be able to get them and that way you could possibly figure out who hired him and what they wanted you and your brother for.

yes, knowing where and/or how the next set would be received would be great. and that it would be great if this guy could act.

>>211085
Alright how about we act like you're still captured, to find out what the further instructions are?

>>211087

In an economy supported by a MEC, the only people who have that kind of money would be criminals dealing in contraband, superstar IP producers/owners, service providers (from factory owners to slave traders), and governments (Commonwealth, Avandri , or other players).

I doubt that IP stars want you and your brother. Service providers might want you, but they could probably just hire you for whatever they needed, unless they are one of the illegal services like slavers. And if they're slavers, they're overpaying for you both, no offense.

Contraband dealers might want you, and your brother for leverage against you. You're intimately familiar with how to construct complex organic molecules in the MEC. You could make drugs quite cheaply and on the sly for them. And if you don't cooperate they could torture your brother.

I doubt the Avandri government would pay to kidnap you. You already work for them. Commonwealth agents may want you for your knowledge of the MEC, but your government allows them access to the MEC already. A resistance group that plans on overthrowing the current Avandri government could want you.

Criminals seem likely, rebel groups a little less so, outside governments even less so, and slavers or other illegal service providers the least likely. IP stars don't even rate.

How did you manage to utterly destroy him like that anyways, I thought you're not that good at fighting.
Maybe you should also ask your brother if he got an idea what's going on.
Ask the dude where the money is, you might as well make some profit from this situation.

>>211099

That's how fights usually go, actually. It isn't like a bad Hollywood film where fights drag on for minutes at a time. Usually, whoever gets in the first solid hit will win.

Vel was ready for a fight, and her arm let her get in a good crippling attack against Caril's hand early on. After that it was all about making sure he wasn't able to put up a fight later.

Caril doesn't have the money yet, it was P.O.D. unless he was working for a complete idiot.

Vel has a window of time, from now to when Caril was supposed to make contact, to disappear and get help. The government may be a good bet. Vel hasn't done anything illegal, though she may get a reprimand for using the MEC in the way she has been.

>>211102
The government might have wanted her and her brother for some experiment though. We can't really trust anyone at this time.

>>211102
>>211098
Uh, so do you work with Qrubb on the Quest? I mean I like speculations as much as anyone else, but you seem awfully sure about it

>>211105

No, I'm not working on this quest, but the story so far has followed logical rules and the characters have been portrayed as being capable of reasonable behavior (with individual exceptions like Vel's brother, and even he has his own consistent logic, though his mores are quite out of alignment with the fleet's). Anyway, since the story and setting follow logic, I feel confident in using logic to try to figure out the next best action.

Velesi 2010/07/22(Thu)16:53 No. 211118 ID: c33cc8
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>>211099
>>211102

Well, I'm not a good fighter, but I'm a better fighter than he expected. Also, he didn't even try to keep away from my replacement arm, so it sounds plausible he was given faulty information.

>>211087
>>211091
>>211094

"How were you supposed to receive those orders?"

"I was supposed to meet a representative of the employer in a certain warehouse two days from now."

>>211099

"Do you have the money yet?"

"Of course not. I was supposed to get half in the meeting at the warehouse and the other half when the job was finished."

"Eren, you have anything you want to ask him?"

"Yeah. Where's my gun?"

"It's, ah, in the closet over there."

>>211118
Tell your brother not to shot this guy yet. We still need him, and he could be a useful witness in a possibly upcoming trial.

And you should probably find some bandages for your brother, that wound on his chest looks rather nasty. If it's a stabwound he might need some immediate medical attention.

Ask the guy how the job was set up. Who gave him the information and stuff like that.

>>211118
We should probably get this guy some bandages or something to stop the bleeding. Same for your brother, really.

Sounds like you've got two days to organize an ambush. This guy could make good bait, assuming he doesn't get the jump on you after all, but I assume his employers have enough dirt on him that he couldn't come clean and rat them out in public, so he still might try to get the jump on you and do the job anyway. I say you put him in the cell and start making some phone calls. A doctor if you know of one who makes house calls... to unlabeled warehouse districts... eh. Maybe my idea could use some refinement.

>>211143

That's a great plan if Velesi is a criminal. But she's not. She's done nothing wrong at all.

Unless it would endanger her brother (since the body in the subway wasn't cleaned up), she should get the authorities involved. They have more resources to deal with this kind of thing.

>>211145

Her brother is a cop. And sorry, by "make a few phone calls" I meant to contact the authorities, and organize an ambush with them. But really, a broken wrist needs attending right away.

Velesi 2010/07/23(Fri)09:17 No. 211235 ID: c33cc8
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>>211124

"You're not going to shoot him, are you?"

"I must confess I share your sister's concern, Mr. ma'Evrim. I was hoping we could forget our past grievances. It was only business, after all."

"Nah. I just wanted to get my gun back."

>>211125


"Do you have any bandages here?"

"I do, in fact. There's a first aid kit in the closet with the rifle."

>>211145
>>211166

"Hey, Eren. We should probably call the guard, eh?"

"Yeah, I'll get a couple of colleagues and we can set up an ambush at that warehouse-"

"Ah, I'm sorry to interrupt, but you should probably take a look at today's newspaper. It's in a drawer under the table."

...Why do I have a bad feeling about this?

Velesi 2010/07/23(Fri)09:30 No. 211239 ID: c33cc8
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...Crap.

>>211239

FUCK we've been out all day? If the press jumped on this, there's no way we can explain it was a bad shot and Elysium related. OK now it's really important to call the Guard. They'll be pissed at your brother, but he's the only way they can save face at this point. Make sure they know it is absolutely imperative that you remain "missing" for the next two days, how much money is involved. This guy with half a face is very good evidence that there are bigger criminals at large than some low class drug peddler.

>>211239

Ha ha I fucking knew it. See Vel, see!

You can still use the cops if your brother can disappear, or if he's willing to face the music for his bad behavior. Otherwise, you're going to have to act like a criminal to resolve this and protect your brother from the results of his reckless use of a gun.

Turn in your brother for being fucking nuts.

I guess you'll have to decide if you wanna go the whole way and stick with your brother no matter what.
No more law connections also raises the question what to do with the kidnapper. Just letting him go seems foolish, but I dunno if you got the guts to cut his throat. Would also be homicide, maybe.

Remember, Vel, killing someone is an action you can never undo. Let's avoid it.

Velesi 2010/07/23(Fri)11:18 No. 211258 ID: c33cc8
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>>211240

"How... how long, exactly, were we out?"

"That's the thing. You see, ah, I kidnapped you this morning. This story was in the evening papers today."

"Eren, take a look."

He looks calmer than I would have expected.

"Hmh. Renegade guardian... evidence points to sergeant Eren ma'Evrim... no further comments from the guard at this point... There's no way in hell the guard investigated the scene and leaked it to the press that quickly."

"I would be inclined to agree with Mr. ma'Evrim. I could venture a guess that my, ah, former employer and this story are somehow related."

so it was a set up.

>>211258
Things are starting to point more and more towards a government setup. Which leads to the theory that you Vel have something special they want. Only thing that really comes to mind would be some aftereffect from that accident. Or us, hope it's not us.

Anyway, it's not too late for the warehouse ambush plan. Atleast not as long as Eren has some people he trusts that can handle it, and you will have to clean up Caril so he can show up to the warehouse without bleeding all over the place.

Oh, and you should probably make plans for getting your hands on enough funds to buy a ship from the humans as well get out of the fleet. If shit goes bad you might need to get out of there.

If you're basing your guess that it's a government set up on the front page story, keep in mind that in a society that is not a total police state (which the fleet does not seem to be, judging by the nature of the limits on the Guardians' powers) the press will be commercial in nature.

That the story was broken so soon means that someone was observing Caril, likely to make a quick second attempt at an abduction if he failed to get Vel's brother. When Caril did get him, the third party used a private contact to break the story since it would provide a great reason for Eren to have disappeared anyway and would take a lot of the heat off of the abductor.

Actually, the simplest situation is that Caril called a media contact himself and made sure the story broke.

Velesi 2010/07/24(Sat)02:37 No. 211657 ID: c33cc8
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>>211296
>>211333

"Whoever did this has contacts in either the press or the guard."

"Yeah." Eren looks thoughtful for once in his life. "Yeah, that's right. Until I know more, I'm going to expect the worst. Still, there are two guardians that owe me their lives. I think I can trust them on this. We're going to crash that meeting. What about you? You in or out?"

in for an inch, in for a mile. let's do it.

>>211657
Of course.

Velesi 2010/07/24(Sat)02:45 No. 211662 ID: c33cc8
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"01001001001001110110110100100000011010010110111000101110"

010100100110010101100010011011110110111101110100011010010110111001100111001011100010111000101110

>>211662
"I'm in"
>>211663
Rebooting...