Session 5 - Gifts

   Ian woke in the morning to the sound of Dog's barking and he rolled over and tried to go back to sleep. Soon his face was being beaten by a long-haired tail. He stirred and retreated from the tail to see a big brown dog with his face burred in the pastry tray the left out the night before. Kira felt something lick her face and she scrambled to sit up, fumbling in the warm padded quilt for her gun. She wasn't at home and for a moment she panicked until she realized she was sitting in the alcove off the palace hall where she had dozed off and there was a big friendly black dog halfway onto her couch, wagging his tail excitedly. In the distance they could both hear the resonant voice of someone calling for "Laertes" and "Horace". The pair exchanged significant looks and searched around the alcove in hopes that Sakura hadn't abandoned them but they were alone with the Baron's dogs and the baron closing in.
   The Baron looked around the corner, surprised to find strange guests in his home "Pardon me, I wasn't expecting company." his tone a rich baritone of suspicion, his pretense so much more impressive than viewing him from afar. Ian cleared his throat and waved "Our apologies your lordship, we arrived late in the night with your daughter. She insisted we rest here. We'll be out of your way." Baron Ikeda Naganata smiled gracefully, over his veiled annoyance in a moment, "Nonsense, it's Lux Splendor, you are guests in my home, come to my table, tend to your business after a hot meal.". Ian and Kira saw no easy way out.
   They both dressed as best as they could and walked out into a set-table in the hall. Both Baron Ikeda and his son Hansu were seated and making plates. Laid out was a decadently sweet breakfast with spiced wine. Before Long Sakura arrived at the table in an informal Kimono, surprised to see everyone seated at the breakfast table. Ikeda gave his daughter a fair ration of shit for going out with her guilder friends rather than attending services at the temple with her family the night before. Sakura explained that she had some unpleasant business Ian and Kira were assisting with. Hansu seemed visible uncomfortable, seeming to understand Sakura's business was about his attempted kidnapping. The Baron quickly changed topics to keep the mood light asking if Ian and Kira had family in town they were visiting for the holiday, or if they were going to join the festivities that night in the square. Ian thoughtlessly said that they had work to take care of as their contracts were ending but the Baron gracefully glazed over the offense.
   As breakfast was awkwardly coming to an end Kira asked if they could check in on Aiko. Desperate for some relief from her Father talking to her murder squad, Sakura jumped at the chance to take them away from the table. She made a plate for her chambermaid and whisked Kira and Ian away. They were struck that once they left the main hall the palace decoration seemed rather plain, and inside of Aiko's tiny little chamber was a rich inner life they hadn't guessed at. The maid had hundreds of books on shelves and a fairly serious looking desk. Aiko herself was buried in lace-fringed blankets and more pillows than either guilder had seen in a single bed before. She smiled cheerfully as her visitors arrived and she assured them that her injuries were little more than a servant's laziness. She thanked everyone profusely for looking after her and wished them a "Lux filled with Light". Kira and Ian walked away a bit stunned, knowing that Aiko and been frozen bleeding and concussed when they went to bed and now was once more a cheerleader. Sakura offered Ian and Kira a ride home in her coach and they gladly accepted.
   Back at the Shuttle, Ian checked his flight clipboard and discovered that his flight to Avalonia had been cancelled twice while he was in the Mountains and now was scheduled for two days out. Hand-written on his flight order was "Come see me" signed Reeve's manager Haagen. Finding out anyone had an opinion about your flight plan was never good news to a Charioteer. Ian pulled on his flight jacket and hiked across town to meet with Haagen.
   Ian stopped at the Palace gates for another awkward encounter with the house guards that were planning to torture a confession out of him only to find out that Manager Haagen was out for the holiday. He got instructions to Haagen's Home. The anxious and easily flustered Reeve Manager was unusually calm and maybe a spiced-rum or two into the holiday. He let Ian into his home, dodging around his children and his fussy wife to take Ian to his study. He wasn't upset that Ian missed his launch windows but more concerned that he wouldn't see Ian before his final flight. He paid Ian out for the holiday and paid him the penalty on his contract and gave Ian a chocolate bar imported from Severus as a gift.
   Kira meanwhile had walked into a Lux party in the Engineer's hall. The usually serious engineers were mostly drunk and playing party games and singing songs. More than half of her compatriots were gone for the holiday but the few that remained were blowing through gift bottles of sake and whiskey that they'd not have a chance to enjoy while constantly on duty should something break-down. She noticed Apprentice Hume quietly sitting in around the table. She had just been talking with Ian about how they'll need a redemption engineer if they're going to try to recover that Rollick ship he saw up in Tikal. She grabbed one of the whiskey bottles and sat on Hume's bunk, squeezing as much charm as she can out of her dark and terrifying heart to try to convince him to come and work with her and Ian. Kira could sort of tell that she wasn't connecting with the impressionable engineer and she suspected she had somehow implied a more unprofessional interest in the young man. Kira made her polite excuse to slip out of the Engineer's hall and go find Ian.
   Kira wanted to put some distance between her and her awkward exchange with Hume so she dragged Ian out of the shuttle into the cold and made him walk with her into the square. There was a band singing on a stage and people gathered around doing folk dances. Food vendors surrounded the square serving warm fresh baked treats and hot drinks. Kira recognized some of the Knights of Yara she had seen at the Amalthean Temple walking among the celebrants and keeping order in the cold, brightly lit night. As the Temple mass let out a line of people filed in and Ian convinced Kira to come to Mass. They sat in the service, feeling a bit out of place as neither of them were especially religious but everyone was happy and it was the sort of sermon that didn't make you dislike the Church.
   They came home through empty streets in the late evening, realizing that nobody was watching the packing house and they were flying out to Avalonia the following day so they snuck into the packing house and worked together late into the night to produce another few liters of ichor an a kilo of powdered extract. Somewhere around midnight there was a knock at the door that made Kira and Ian jump. They opened the door to find Sakura standing there alone in the dark. She walking in and asked some questions about what was being done, her stoney features and inquisitive manner making them terrified that they had been caught. She instead just asked a series of questions about the machinery that made it clear she was sizing up the prospect of taking the processing machinery for some other purpose, somewhere they'd need to be powered by a very large bank of power cells. Eventually Sakura wished them a good night and headed out. Feeling rattled, both of them knocked off for the night and headed back to their bunks.
   The following day Kira woke with very little sleep along with all the other hungover Engineers and went to work packing up the packing house for the season. The last of the batches were run or sent off to be burnt. For Kira it was a short day. At the end of it she was paid out her last month of her contract and signed out of the job. Ian went into town to pick up the bandoleer he had made for Aiko, then he checked the Shuttle for it's flight the next day.
   Early in the morning Kira and Ian warmed up the shuttle and waited on delivery of their shipment to Avalonia. When the Muster Autowagon rolled up it was already raining and cold. They let the peasants in the truck haul freight to the overhang of the shuttle's bay and they arranged it in the little cargo space. As the Muster rolled away they hurried down under the platform and grabbed their ill-gotten manifest of stolen late-harvest botanicals and a bag of gear they brought back from their fight with the Church Knights in Tikal. Kira was packed into the little crew chair so tightly she could barely get the door closed. Ian had radioed ahead for weather reports so the flight was simple and by early afternoon they had landed. Within a few hours the buyer showed up, signed for the cargo and packed it onto a ox wagon.
  Kira walked down to the Spaceport Gates and looked for a taxi to haul their loot to the market. She was rushed by a pack of drivers who tried to convince her their ride was the best. She had agreed to one when a smart-dressed Scraver named Edo told her she wanted to use his truck because none of the other losers had a port pass and they were going to make you shlep your cargo down to the curb like a peasant. Kira agreed to pay a little more and Edo drove up to the shuttle pad and helped them load up his truck, then drove them to the Botanicals market in his heated cab. Edo even introduced them to the more legitimate Scravers in the market and they got a fair price for their smuggled bounty. It was going to take a few hours for the merchant to get funds for the buy so Kira and Ian wandered into the Agora. They both had a pile of firebirds and a bill of credit for a pawn shop down the street so they went crazy spending money all afternoon. Kira bought a big brown hunting dog for Ian for a late Lux gift. Her name was "Porkchop" but Kira didn't think it was very feminine so she named her "Pork Rind". The swooped back into the market to collect the last of their pay without an issue and grabbed a petty cab back to the starport.
   When they returned to the shuttle the cargo ramp was down and the shuttle had been ransacked. Nothing had been taken except the shuttle's think machine, in it's hollow case was a note the read "You should have told us you were coming to town. Boss Harmon would love to see you.  You should drop by the furniture shop and say hello." signed Maez. Kira was pissed she went outside and just started swearing at the sky. Ian conversely became very quiet, he took stock of what he had with him, tucking his Hazat rifle and newly purchased ammunition away, without license it would only get him thrown in a dungeon. They agreed that there was no way out of this but to deal with Boss Harmon. They put their excess gear and Pork Rind in the back of the shuttle and flagged down a peticab to drive them into the carpenter's district.
Harmon Furniture was the same as the last time they were there. Same sketchy open warehouse, same three Scraver punks standing outside. As Ian and Kira climbed out of the cramped carriage the punks came forward. When they asked for Boss Harmon the punks feigned ignorance of who that could be but when they told them who they were and that they were expected the punks jumped to get out of their way and escorted them inside. Up in the office Harmon was behind his desk and Maev was laughing himself hoarse over something they were talking about. the mood changed as Ian and Kira came in.
"Where the fuck is my Aeronautics Box" Ian demanded. "Taken in payment for services not rendered" said Boss Harmon cooly. Kira handled the hilt of her rapier "That's Bullshit! We did what you wanted!". Harmon glared at her "I wanted.. you to murder the jeweler's wife. I asked you if it was done, you said yes..". Kira scoffed unconvincingly "Well we killed her". "If you think you killed her you're piss poor assassins, thankfully I need someone who can't kill someone..". Ian felt his hand flexing near his gun, he wanted to kill the fat greasy Scraver boss but he didn't know if his shuttle's think machine was in the office or even in the city, "Look, we didn't do the job, take the gun but taking my boss's shuttle is too much.". Kira was already thinking about how she would hide the bodies. Harmon leaned his girth back in his chair and gestured at Ian "This isn't about hurt feelings, this is about consequences, you ripped me off. I can't let that slide or it starts to become business as usual.. You're going to suck it up and do something for me." He pulled a folder from his desk and flipped it open showing a publicity portrait of a clean-cut young man "His name is Lord Ken Okemo, he's attending a Magic Lantern premier at the Grande Royal tomorrow at 2 o'clock. I want him shot and if possible not killed. Once the deed is done there will be an autowagon waiting two blocks up the boulevard, if you get there without drawing down the constables they will drive you to your shuttle where the Think Machine will be installed and you can get out of my city.. Maev is going to get you a place to sleep tonight. That's it..". Kira was furious, after everything she sacrificed to get away from this kind of work. "No." she barked, "We're not doing shit for you!". Boss Harmon shrugged and sighed as he gestured across to the factory doors "You know the way out, do be careful, it's a rough neighborhood at night..". Ian fumed, the Scraver Boss knew this wasn't a negotiation but he wasn't going to let that stop him "What's in it for us?". The fat Scraver trained his composure to keep from laughing at the angry Charioteer. Harmon gestured with merchant's flare "How about a working Shuttle..?". Ian looked to Kira as if checking for her approval before he counter-offered "How about you get us title and letters of marquee for a reclaimed starship.". Boss Harmon was stunned for several seconds, rolling back in his big creaking chair, he gestured to Maev "Haha! fucking Chariteers, that's why they own half the League, balls and brains.. Ok flyboy, you settle your account with this job and I can make that happen for a price.". Ian nodded resolutely "Fine, we'll do it, but then we're square..". Harmon rolled himself onto his feet by grabbing at his desk and extended a chubby hand at Ian, who shook it with a disgusted expression. Kira crossed her arms and stared at the offered hand, but for the Scraver Boss the handshake was more of a gesture than a formality.
   Maev pulled on his jacket and lead the pair out of Harmon's office and down the industrial streets of the workman's district. Along the walk he commented that he likes working with Harmon because he's a reasonable man, he gives people chances, it makes things easier for a Genin to keep his hands clean, but there are things even a Boss can't let go of. The Scraver tough lead them up into a testament block to an apartment that turned out to be a flop house for lotus-heads. Maev introduced Ian and Kira to a ditzy middle-aged woman with the Eye of Ben Hadir tattooed on her belly, named Apollonia. He explained they duo was staying the night and should be left alone.
   As soon as Maev was out of sight Ian dragged Kira out into the night. He was convinced Harmon was going to betrey them and leave them hanging for the attempted murder of a Noble. They caught a cab down to the Grande Royal in the middle of the night and sat in a little bar across the street. Dressed in finery the didn't stand out at all in the quiet drinking establishment. They mapped the street and checked their route. The wandered through the dark streets of the Agora until they found a shop that would sell them cheap clothes they could throw over their Sythsilks and they got a big bag of fireworks. While they were in the market they found a trustworthy non-Scraver cabbie and paid him to pick them up at 2p exactly in the alley behind the theater. The plan was Kira would throw some fireworks to distract the crowd and Ian would shoot the target from the other direction with Kira's suppressed pistol, Ian would get in the cab while people were still confused and go pick up Kira down the block. Kira didn't like the idea of someone else shooting "baby" but it did take her finger off the trigger for this shitshow. The returned to Apollonia's flophouse and got some rest until the following afternoon.
  The following day they woke with plenty of time to make the premier showing. They went and waited in the bar across the way from the theater for a bit, watching the constables. They're were so many more around during the day and the streets were more crowded than expected. Kira was sure she saw a pattern but she wasn't sure if there would be constables around when the movie let out. They got into position with whisper pins on and hoped for the best.
   At 2p the doors to the Grand Royal hadn't opened and Ian didn't see the cab they had hired to help them escape. He figured they could still trust the scravers if they had to. Kira was waiting near a trash can with her bag of firecrackers but she felt exposed and conspicuous. Three minutes later ushers opened the doors and slowly the crowd emerged towards waiting autocoaches across the parkway. Kira spotted a pair of constables coming her way. Ian through he saw the target in the crowd talking with a young boy but he wasn't sure. Kira felt if she waited any longer the constables would catch her so she lit the fireworks and began to hurry across the street. As just as the fireworks began to go off Ian spotted Ken Okemo in the crowd looking around. He lifted Kira's "baby" and fired three shots at him. The noble didn't have a shield and he collapsed in little sprays of blood. Ian slipped the gun under his coat and walked towards the alleyway. Kira was being hailed by the constables who were ignoring the fireworks and clearly through she was doing something. Ian reached the alley just as the cabbie turned in, apologizing about the traffic on the bridge. He quickly got inside and told the driver to head to the next block. As the constables began to shout for Kira to stop she broke into a run, chased down the street. Ian threw the door open as the cab slowed down and pulled Kira into the passing autowagon and they raced to the spaceport.
   Arriving at the shuttle they found the cargo door down once more and two Scravers working on connecting the think machine. They tipped their cap driver a pile of firebirds to keep his mouth shut. The shuttle booted up without a problem and they got the Hell out of Avalonia. The flight back wasn't planned so they ran into some bad weather. The late start combined with changing routes got them home late at night, both of them exhausted. They fell asleep quickly, Pork Rind curled up under Ian's hammock.
   The following day they woke early and originally planned to get breakfast in town to talk about plans going forward but with firebirds sloshing in their pockets they decided to go to Carllion instead. They got bus tickets and napped on the ride in. Ian dropped off the duraplast armor they got from the church knight to have it sized to his frame. They looked at the other shops but didn't find anything they really liked. They decided over drinks that they would need Sakura's wealth and influences if they were going to get control of the ship they spotted up in Tikal. As the sun set they prepared for their ride home with a bit of amusement speculating what would go wrong next.
   As the bus arrived excited students piled in but as Ian and Kira boarded they saw the scowling face of Lula Blue in the back of the bus with her arms draped over the seats. She motioned them to the  back by rapping on the seats with her fingers. As they moved towards the rear the driver explained that there was a mix-up and passengers going to Lawton would be picked up by another bus. Boss Blue waited for Ian and Kira to sit before she motioned for the driver to take them out of town. Kira contemplated how easy it would be to put her rapier through the old woman, which in her mind meant it was much more hazardous than she believed.
    Boss blue opened the conversation "You're going to cut me in on your starship recovery..". Both Kira and Ian were stunned that the blue-haired scraver boss had found out their little secret. Ian glanced at his partner and spoke out first "We have no idea what you're talking about.". Lula just laughed at him and shook her head "You are rubbish at lying, you made a trip up to Tikal and suddenly you're asking around about licensing a starship. You don't have to admit you've found one but the conversation is going to just go forward regardless..". Kira spoke up "We don't know what's up there, it may not be a starship. We just want to know what would be involved it it is..". Boss Blue smiled wide "Scravers would be involved my dear... Scravers.." she glanced between the two "If you're going to dig an ancient starship out of a mountain you're going to need The Guild, and unless your dance card has changed recently you know a Scraver that made you pull some sort of seedy job in Avalonia and a Scraver who's nephew you killed..". Ian began to object but Lula blue cut him off with a wave of her hand and a "Tetch!" then she continued "I don't socialize with nephew-killers but business is business. This is me putting aside petty misunderstandings. My men know the area and have the tools. They're an asset you need working for you and not people you can afford to have working against you. It profits me either way. There's a smart road and a foolish road ahead of you now. I'm not going to insult you by telling you I'm not here to tell you which one to choose.". Boss Blue looked between Ian and Kira's tense faces before she muttered "I'll leave you to chit-chat it around.." and she pulled herself up and walked to the front of the tiny bus to sit next to the driver. Neither Kira no Ian wanted to talk on the bus but both of them were beginning to hate the Scravers more and more. An hour later they were deposited in front of Blue Tours and talked on the walk back to their homes, most about the fact that Ian was going to lose his home in two days.
   The next morning they caught up on sleep and took advantage of a day off from work to visit the palace to check in with Mistress Aiko and try to speak with Sakura about funding their starship scheme. Aiko was grateful for the visit and she was doing much better, sitting in bed, hemming her lady's clothes. When Ian and Kira gave her a bandoleer full of shotgun shells for her Lux Spendor gift her reaction was a mix of effortless enthusiastic politeness and hunting personal horror and yet she thanked them graciously for the thoughtful gesture. On the way out of the Palace Kira quietly asked Sakura if she'd meet with them to talk about business. Sakura seemed wary but suggested that they drive to Leng Po for lunch. Later in a private tea room Ian admitted to spotting the lost ship and suggested that with financing they could make Sakura a part owner in a Starship, but they would have to act quickly or others would move on the ship. Sakura's expression was difficult to read as she contemplated the offer for a pregnant moment, finally she agreed on the condition that her maid Aiko would also be 1% owner. Ian was a bit nervous letting House Li-Halan have the largest share in the ship but he figured Aiko had taken her knocks on the mission that found the vessel and certainly earned a share. They each shook hands on their enterprise. Afterwards Ian returned to the shuttle pad to check over preparations for his early morning launch and Kira returned to the guild hall with a napkin full of leftover tea treats to try to sweeten things with Apprentice Hume.
   Early the next morning Ian woke to his alarm, suited up and packed his bunk. A truck full of botanical arrived from the warehouse and Ian quickly loaded it. He radio'd the ship he was intercepting in orbit to conform their position and he took off. Ian hadn't been in space in a while and it reaffirmed that wanderlust that made him a pilot. He docked up with a freighter named "Reversal" and quickly unloaded his cargo, received the signed paperwork and returned back to Rampart. When he stepped out of the shuttle Manager Haagen was there to collect his Key. He pulled all of his belongings from the shuttle, plucking his St. Paulus medal from the control panel and saying goodbye to her. He spent the rest of the day meeting with renters and looking at houses to rent. With the botanical's business leaving Bloom Barony there were a ton of good places to rent that were just coming on to the market.
   Kira woke early as well. She couldn't sleep and found herself wandering the streets of Lawton. Soon she found herself walking back to The Temple of Soft Lessons. She smiled as she saw a familiar huge man in priests robes standing outside "Um, hey.. I've seen you training people to fight inside.". The Church knight nodded sagely "It is our sacred vow to give people the tools to defend themselves, are you ready to learn?". Kira smiled "Yeah.. I'm ready.."