Stitchblades said
"I am Lieutenant Colonel Taylor Special forces and Security Detail For The Yamato Corporation" Still advancing forward with his gun raised "Stand Down Or we will be forced to Execute Order 2399, Detaining of Hostile Civilian Personnel" Looking straight at the officer who was at point. "Son Do not test me, I'm sure you have a family to go to, and i would hate to stop you from doing that" Pvt Taylor was still holding his gun scanning the area for more hostiles. before aiming back to the Officers.
“Err, umm, y-yes sir!” the officer straightened his posture as if addressing a superior officer. “Eh..” the officer was about to say something when he saw Shadowcat running for the hills, but was too intimidated to inquire. The other officers and civilian spectators whispered to each other out of curiosity. “No wonder they dress so strangely, is that what earth fashion is like now? Ewww”
“Sir! Um, I think you better come with me. Besides, I think the townsfolk have been frightened enough for one day” the officer said meekly, offering Zeta Squad a ride. Upon closer inspection, the police cruisers were nothing more than painted smart cars with sirens on them. LC Taylor’s machine gun could easily make swiss cheese out of them. Since they clearly didn’t pose much threat, the team played along and were taxied to the District Security office.
The building was rather quaint, with a few rows of desks and a single holding cell in the back. It was reminiscent of a small town sheriff’s office. As you step in you are all greeting by an aged man with grey taking over his hair. You estimate he must be in his 50s or 60s. “Sorry about the rude welcome, its not often we get visitors who don’t shoot at us. I’m Sheriff Peterson.” His eyes look tired, his spirit worn away by time. “I’m surprised you fellas haven’t been shot yet. If you haven’t guessed, folks around here don’t like Yamato. Its the one thing everyone can agree on.” He lets out a long sigh, reminiscing on the past. “You’re looking for the command center right? That’s the typical protocol. Well, its gone along with Captain Johannes. Floating somewhere out in the void… why don’t we have a seat? This may take a while.”
The man sits, careful not to overexert his aging bones. Soon a secretary comes and gives everyone a mug of coffee. Peterson takes a sip before going on. “Well, you want to take the ship back, yeah? I’ll help you, anyway I can. Not because I’m on Yamato’s side, no I don’t think anyone’s on their side. Because I wanna go home.” The other officers in the office watch, and nod in agreement when Peterson mentions going home.
“If you want to understand how to take the ship, you have to understand what happened. It started about when we passed Saturn. People were getting rowdy, as people do when they’re cooped up for too long. Yamato thought it best to remind us who’s in charge, forcefully. Of course, this only pissed people off even more. Eventually the chief engineer overlooking the powerplant rose up and started a rebellion in that district. I think his name was Yoshiro Maeda. In order to protect himself he led the rebellion under the alias Raijin. People seemed to like it. Others started rising up as well, starting rebellions in their own districts. The leaders for one reason or another also used gods as their aliases. Eventually with uprisings all over the ship, Yamato loss. The ship was ours. Everything was supposed to be fine and dandy after that…” Peterson took a second to exhale a deep breath.
“In retrospect we all should’ve seen it coming. The rebellion leaders couldn’t agree on who should be in charge. So they talked, and when that didn’t work they fought. Over time Raijin and the others went insane, fancied themselves god-kings. Funny thing is, people actually worshiped them. Got on hands and knees and bowed before them. Now the ship is all split up at war with one another. Each “god” controls a different area of the ship. This district and the redlight district are the only ones I know that are neutral. If you want to take the ship, you have to stop the gods.” As he said this he opened his desk and retrieved some holo-cards.
“See these guys?” he said, looking at the district security officers. “They aren’t soldiers. Jimmy over there is an accountant” he said, motioning towards the one that confronted Zeta Squad earlier. “Lieutenant Daniels, now he was a soldier. He gathered our best men and formed a commando unit, the 51st. Went out there hoping to do some good. His team gathered all kinds of intel on the 5 big players, maybe this will help you.” He said, dropping the intel on the table before him. In it detailed information about the 5 gods:
“If you want this ship back, you have to stop these 5 idiots. Otherwise they’ll continue to play god on this blasted chunk of steel. I haven’t heard from Daniels and the 51st in a while. If you find them, maybe they could help you. My officers can taxi you to the next district. Oh and take these” he said, handing Zeta some funny looking headbands with wires sticking out of them. “They’ll let non-augmented people interface with cyberspace. Its not as effective as being cybered-up, but you may find it useful. That's all I can do to help, good luck out there."
As you are about to leave, you see the woman from before, with her daughter by her side waving towards Zeta Squad. She walks up to Zeta somewhat awkwardly, somewhat embarrassed. “I’m sorry about before, I didn’t know who you were” she said, looking at her feet. “Don’t take this the wrong way but… I have a favor to ask of you. You’re all soldiers right? I think you’ll understand” she said as she took out a letter and handed it to the team. “If you find the 51st, could you please give this to Pvt. Stills? That’s all I’m asking.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the district…
It took 3 different magRails for Shadowcat to find nearest border door. Having some sort of personal transportation would be extremely useful for traversing the huge ship. Then without even breaking a sweat, she hacked thru the border doors leading into another district. According to the schematics it was Entertainment District 2066, fondly called the redlight district or “442THz” by those who frequent it. The district was intentionally poorly lit, the holo-sky displayed several unnaturally colored moons and simulated rain pouring down on the pseudo-wet concrete. Buildings were rougher than in Residential District 1022. They had a darker color pallet and boxy designs with sharp edges. Neon signs and obnoxious advertisements shone brightly in the dark streets. People crowded everywhere completely disregarding the district’s population limit. The entire place reminds you of a dark dystopian future. As you would expect, the place was filled with casinos, strip-clubs, and bars. At least half of the people you see are either high, drunk, or jacked-in.
As Shadowcat wandered the wonderland of sleazy entertainment, a woman with augmented legs bumps into her. “Careful where you’re walking kitty cat” the woman said in a sultry voice before heading into a club called “Dirtless”. She was dressed head to toe in a strange cat-like outfit. She would stand out anywhere else but here.
A little ways down the street an impressively stylish motorcycle pulls out of a mechanic’s garage. The sign on the building says “Joe’s Garage, if it has an engine we fix it!” in bright flashing neon colors. A young girl covered in grease stains revs the incredibly loud bike a couple times before it coughs and sputters to silence. The girl audibly curses before returning the bike to the garage.
