[D-Class Mission] The Expected Accused

For Jairec, this unsuspecting slice of the barely-civilized wilderness was welcoming in a way that the sterile metal and swarming bustle of modern living didn't provide. Out here, no roads were there to guide him and the distinction between the primal and the populated was thin. Something anxious and eager in the back of his mind. Memories when he stood not as a biped but crept near wormlike within a slender, flattened body under logs and into murk awakened as the mud sucked at this knee-high boots and the reed smeared their muddy water against his cloak. He should be happy but what reason was there to be? He wasn't here to spread atavistic joys but to bring misery to another.

Not that he really felt much sympathy for his target.

It was still mid-day; not necessarily the ideal time for ambushing a target but the window of opportunity was narrow. In a more conventional scenario, he would've had had more reinforcements with him even for a small operation like this. Numbers had a strength of their own. For now however, the seemingly human figure with the shrouded face and looming eight foot frame turned his head to see a red-haired woman with pointed ears. She matched the description he was given before he was sent here by the IMG.

As she neared, his hand reached into his cloak and pulled out a small black packet, unfurling to reveal an IMG badge. It hung limply in his hands like some carrion in a raptor's mouth, dangling as if tempting her to come and take it from him.

"You've arrived early," Came a voice that somehow sounded both strained and withered yet hungry and vivid. It was almost a sneer but it wasn't directed at her. His brown eyes should've been nondescript but something about them was... off. Like they weren't really placed naturally behind the turban. "I would've wanted to do this later but our target is not a nightbird."

Jak didn't realize she'd have a partner on this little excursion when she was assigned to it... Although it seemed that Meat Mountain was taking full advantage of that. It didnt' take much more than a glance to recognize the insignia clutched in his hand: IMG. Great. So far, it had seemed like their organization could do nothing but attract trouble... which didn't bode well for Jak's prospects. Still, it didn't do any good to be unprofessional about this. IMG may be trouble, but they got results.

"If you're early, you're on time." Jak jabbed, "That's what I was always told. Glad to see I'm not the only one."

As she spoke, Jak grabbed her own identification from her belt, flashing it to Meat Mountain in an attempt to return his "greeting".

"Second Lieutenant Jak Rousseau: Interplanetary Security Commission. Peacekeeping Division."

Meat's comment sort of left Jak scratching her head. Not a nightbird? That didn't exactly match up with the information she had been given. It seemed that his crew almost exclusively worked at night. The only reason she had even gotten here as early as she had was to gather intel and assess the location for strategic vantage points. So, whether Meat was misinformed, or knew more than he let on... That much was an unknown. Still, in the interest of cooperation, Jak shared her plans and what she knew. And likewise, Jak hoped that the mercenary would do the same. After all, he'd clearly been here for a least a little while longer than she had, so he might have some insider information.

"From what the Bounty told us, Soser's crew moves in and out of town by boat, under cover of night."

"Although no one really knows when to expect their little excursions, I figure we should still split up and see what the locals know."

For now, that was the only thing they could really do. Was it glamorous? Not even a little. But proper police work rarely was. So much of Jak's job was talking and paperwork that, sometimes, she felt like she didn't get anything meaningful done at all. At least it was better than the waiting... Which, given Soser's less-than-predictable schedule, was going to be a common theme headed forward.

"And try to get some rest. We're going to be staking out the docks all night."

---

((OoC: So... This is a thing. The way I figure it, we can take a buffer post, "gather some intel" and prepare for what's coming up. Then we'll see where it goes from there.))

"If this was a month ago, I would agree. Soser is no fool; he knows he is hated and hunted. He did not survive so long without being unpredictable. It is wise to move under the cover of night but it is a madman's move to do so in the day... at least, in somewhere harder to get lost than this hell of murk."

He gestured off to the sprawling wilderness or rather, the stinking, reeking, murky one. Even for Jairec, this was impressively daunting. Huge willow-like branches stretched and twisted over the murky waters out of which jutted great clumps of soggy vegetation. Even in midday, a creeping fog hung over the shallower regions of the vast swamp. A few river-like passages could be seen but they intersected with various interlocking diversions into narrower and shaded passages. And not too far from the settlement, a grand labyrinth of trees up past their roots in water - an alien mangrove where all trails seemingly lead to nowhere but further into that hungry, awaiting obscurity of the wild.

"Night or day, this marsh will consume you. Where better for scoundrels to hide, replenish, and stalk their prey? Ambush a convoy, capture its crew and make away with its goods, and disappear into how many hiding places lay waiting in those trees."

Her plan made sense; get an idea of where he was, the forces at his command, and where the stakeout location would be. There was one problem however.

"A small settlement like this? They would be aware of him and fearful; lawmen won't touch him and he likely has his connections - why else would he choose a town to lay low in? Soser does not strike me as the type who fears a lone bounty hunter. All the better - I will investigate the area near the docks. Do you have a communication device on you? Out here, we are one another's only help."

Listening to Meat Mountain's concerns, Jak started having some of her own. It seemed like this guy hadn't really paid much attention to the job's details... The bounty had been posted by residents of the town, themselves. Maybe he'd just been thrown the assignment by his superiors. Maybe he was just in it for a paycheck. But whatever the reason, it seemed like he wasn't tailoring his methods to the situation at hand... which could potentially be problematic.

Still, his plans weren't going to interfere with her own, at all. And divide and conquer was definitely a good way to go about things. After all, there wasn't exactly a huge population for this little backwater town... and while the dock wasn't something to scoff at, it wasn't like it would require two people to mull over it to find a good vantage point. Yeah. Meat Mountain's plan was pretty solid, in her mind: split up, do what they need, maybe meet up later.

"Do you have a communication device on you? Out here, we are one another's only help."

"Hm-what?" Jak startled out of her thoughts, "Oh, yeah. Sure. I'll keep in touch."

Jak pulled her communicator from the pocket, a small white rectangle with a holographic screen. With a few quick button presses, Jak's communicator sent out a short-wave signal: a link request to any communicator within five feet of herself. Julie always told her that it was more secure this way... Rather than sharing codes vocally, or, gods-forbid, using paper, the signal would allow usage of a proxy, as well as being something that either of them could cancel, since it requires both of them to be opted into the connection. Though, communication was key on a job like this. And Jak figured that she'd be wanting to stay in touch with Meat for at least a little while... So knowing how to get his attention was probably ideal.

And for most people, messaging their communicator was about as effective as calling their name.

"Actually, hold up." Jak realized, "I told you my name... But I never caught yours."

"Whaddya want me to call you?"

"Jairec. Stay safe. Keep communications short. If either of us sees him, we let the other know." He reached into his robes and something click-clacked, buzzing like a phone on mute before silencing itself. "If I don't respond immediately, I may be submerged."

He nodded before walking off of the path, the ground sucking near his boots. He still towered over many of the reeds and brush but he appeared to shrink as he walked onto sloped ground. Perhaps it was just the decreasing elevation that caused him to slowly sink into the wet, ugly earth.

As he slowly faded from her sight and into the reeking waters, the illusion of a civilized man began to fade and something more invertebrate in nature began to replace it. Not a tall shape wading through the waters but a rapid blur of movement, coiling and twisting past gnarled roots and clumps of tendril-like plants. On a parade of legs emerging from his ribs, he could be likened to some grotesque house centipede that swam like an overgrown ragworm and dressed in the disguise of a human body.

In these murky waters, any fisherman or sentry catching sight would find little to distinguish from the black blur in the water from any large reptile or fish. Nobody neared these waters without adequate protection.

A few minutes later and the disguised alien was clinging to the underside of a the docks, carefully creeping on the underside of the planks and peering through holes and crevices. The docks weren't too busy but it wasn't the fishermen and workers he was watching; they were keeping their distance from a few larger, roughed up ships some of which bore wounds that he doubted were made by beasts.

Jak's device would buzz lightly.

"Docks - investigating - guards, concealed weaponry."

It was easy to miss at first but under their work robes and jackets, deadly shapes were silhouetted by worn fabric. Some were blunt and cudgel like but he detected a few that might be firearms. Soser though? It was unlikely he was out in the open yet.

Jairec... That was... a name. Definitely foreign, though... And considering that Jak had lived all throughout the galaxy, it was pretty hard for her to find something that she felt fit that definition. Hell, for all she knew, though, it could have just been an ancient name, passed down through his family from the days of antiquity. In the end it didn't really matter much to her. Jairec. She could remember that well enough.

And from the look of things, he was... what? Take-over mage? Figures as much. Who better to send into a naturalistic environment than someone who can adapt to their surroundings on the fly? Still, his form seemed more akin to demons of the Rousseau clan than anything of the bestial variety, which most take-over mages employed. It was definitely something to keep an eye on. Take-over magic, potentially with demonic entities, it had the potential to backfire. And while that chance was miniscule, it was definitely something not worth ignoring.

It didn't take long for Jak to get a lay of the land, finding a small pub where a few men and women rested after a long day of... collecting dirt? Picking apples? Honestly, Jak had no idea what people did for jobs in such a technologically-regressed place. Regardless, everyone liked to have a drink after a long day, tree-hugging elf or no. And while Jak was questioning the barkeep about the town's recent bounty request, a small chime went off at Jak's hip. Knowing that even now, danger could be lurking, Jak was quick to check her communicator.


Guards... These docks didn't seem like they saw enough action to really warrant that, for the local's purposes, at least... For someone looking to protect their illicit operations, though? In a town without a formal police force? No reason to not have thugs keeping an eye on things. Still, since it seemed that Jairec didn't indicate any urgency, things were likely not quite ready to kick off. Still... seeing as how the fishing ships were turning in before last light, it wouldn't be long before the bandit ships would set sail.



"So... Valkin, was it? What can you tell me about Soser, eh?"

---

((OoC: So, I figure we can decide what we wanna do next post. I know you said you wanted to sneak onto a ship, before, so that's why I set up the bounty in the way I did, but if you wanted to go a different way, I'm down for that, too.))

"Affirmative. We can meet when you are ready near the fishery - east side of the docks, away from where the ships are coming in. It appears closed down; as good a place to regroup and plan our next actions."

He inspected a few older parts of the wooden docks; some of them were almost rotten and a few looked like he could push through them with a bit of leverage. With the water up to his chest, mobility was tricky especially amongst the piers and their support pillars. It was a mish-mash of bio-manipulated vegetation - wood and leaves, guided perhaps by magic or whatever strange powers into wider platforms but some old methods still held out hence the rickety wooden platforms. Yet he saw problems spreading and eating their way even into these magical platforms; moss, fungi, colonies of teeming insectoids. It was clear that maintenance on them wasn't very regular, even as silhouetted feet and heavy hand-trucks rolled across them.

That gave him a few ideas when it was go time.

A few minutes later and he was peering up to the side of one of the vessels that had come in. Something akin to a tugboat almost but it wasn't steam run; a warm hum emanated when his head neared its hull and he felt a dim almost electric buzz. He suspected some sort of mana engine. No matter; as the last of its crew pulled out, he pulled himself onto the starboard, dripping wetly. It was a beat up vessel and he doubted the swamp water would make much of a difference against its partially worm-chewed hull. It stood moored in a row of vessels and he could see that they weren't fully evacuated either.

In particular, he looked at a sleeker patrol vessel. One that looked military or police issue and whose weapon mounts had been discretely covered by tree branches and bramble. There were a few more elves there but these ones were different. The snake-like tatoos that crept down their backs and arms and the faded wounds across their faces. Some smoked and chatted but their eyes scanned the harbour carefully, one of them holding a walkie-talkie.

Creeping low and insectoid once more, he crawled over the planks connecting the vessels, drawing close to the elves, hidden against the sides of another ship. Quietly scanning his surroundings, he listened in.

"-And the rest of them didn't last long. Not when the snappers got them."

"What I like to hear. Poured myself and the boys a victory round."

"And your crew? Doesn't the boss have you slated for another border run?"

"Would have. You know how the coppers are up there since the last stunt we pulled."

"No repeats today. Not tonight with what's at stake."

The conversation dragged on and on, sometimes deviating from any hints of strategy and planning, but a picture was becoming clearer. They'd be heading out, but when exactly was hard to tell.

Something clunked and clunked behind him and Jairec's head snapped that way. A shadow moving from around the corner of the command cabin. Three set of feet. He moved quickly, almost sliding across the surface of the ship as he climbed down a ladder into the crew quarters.

"Oi, we really waiting until that late for the show to get going? That safe's going nowhere." Someone barked out. He heard something clanging against the top floor. A shadow hung over the stairs he'd quickly walked down.

"Ain't nobody gonna find us out here; last time they tried, swamp took care of em. C'mon, tell the boss we can get it done before total duskfall." This one was different; salty and with a bit of phlegm, younger than the others.

"Keep that up, and the swamp will do the same to you. It's always 'lightly guarded' until it's mainland mercs gunning for us. Now we wait for those weapons but in the meantine, I'm not babysitting you. I got a call to make." It was one of the leaders from earlier and there was an edge to his voice, one at odds with his calm from earlier. The three that had walked up grumbled, one of them stomping down the stairs, a crowbar bouncing down the steps with him and Jairec watching him through the gaps in each step.

He grunted and sighed; his blonde hair a bit messy with grime and his body clearly one worked for manual labour as much as it was marauding and pillaging. But he seemed too busy with his impatience and frustration to really be paying much attention to the shadow under the stairs. Yet it was still unsafe for him to exit right now. He'd wait until he was out of sight, maybe in the washroom, before he made his exit.

Valkin seemed like a normal sort of man, though perhaps a bit at-odds with his occupation. People who ran a bar were normally gregarious, boisterous sorts, but Valkin seemed almost demure and timid in his mannerisms. He was clearly part human, his brown hair holding a noticeable, if not subtle curl, his pointed chin betraying a hint of stubble. Still, other than that, he seemed completely at home on the elven homeworld, wearing clothes which were clearly not the normal, mass-produced synthetics found on other planets, but rather, something much rougher, if not still impeccably tailored.

Leave it to the elves... They always towed the line between rustic charm and refined fashion. And Valkin was no exception. He dressed smartly: a pair of slacks with a matching vest

"So... Valkin, was it? What can you tell me about Soser, eh?"

He pushed his glasses up on his face, "Well... I mean, it seems like he's not going to be a problem much longer, at any rate... you know?"

Jak cocked an eyebrow, prompting Valkin to continue dishing out what he knew, leaning on the bar as he spoke. He spoke quietly, as if trying to keep their conversation away from prying ears. They were the only people in the bar, save for a fairly sauced fisherman tucked into one corner, yet Valkin was leaned in so close that she could smell the peppermint on his breath.

"He's been getting cocky, and now the police from back city-ways are starting to take notice."

"I tried to get the town council to withdraw the bounty, but... I guess they just want to pay freelancers to do the police's job... Whatever... It's not my place to argue."

As he spoke, Valkin produced a small tin which seemed to be full of leaves: no doubt the peppermint which Jak has smelled earlier on his breath. While Jak was becoming mildly, incredibly enraged, he crumpled a few leaves and popped them into his mouth, the smell of mint permeating the air for a moment before wafting away, leaving only the smell of stale beer and acrid smoke.

"So, what? You don't think what my services are worth it?"

"What!? No!" he balked, "I'm just- I think that the investigations can wait until the proper authorities come in, ok? I don't mean nothing against you or anything."

The awkward silence was finally ended by Valkin.

"Listen. Whatever. Do what you want. But I just think it's selfish of you to take our hard-earned money for a problem that's gonna be resolved soon anyways."

Jak sighed. She supposed he had a point... But regardless of what she chose, Meat Mountain would probably still be interested in getting paid, so really, there was no point in leaving the job behind. Instead, she thanked Valkin for his time, tipped him generously for his service and headed out, searching out the docks for the location which Jairec was scouting out. Even if she wasn't dropping the case, she could at the very least just... donate her share back to the town? Half lost in her thoughts, Jak absentmindedly raised her hand as she walked to the door.

"Safe warp, Lieutenant," Valkin waved, smiling, "And... thank you for your service."