EP - Humble Beginnings

[19:41] <~Deedles> Extropia, a beehive of commerce and travel in the middle of the solar system located on 44 Nysa, an asteroid circling in the middle of the solar system. As the name suggests this is the home of the Extropian faction, a liberal bunch of anarchist-capitalists that believe that profit does not need to mean the suffering of others. Thus new companies aren't a rare sight here, and there was one that recently opened in the
[19:41] <~Deedles> mid-level of the station; Lonestar Specialists. It was a modest building thus far, an entrance hall, move through the door straight ahead and you'd get to a small waiting room. The door to the left leads to the main office, where the owner of this ... fine establishment was currently sat by his desk.
[19:45] <Solomon> James Solomon, entrepeneur of sorts, sat behind his desk as he stared up at the ceiling with a smoke in his mouth. "This is the fucking life." he says randomly, his voice hardly selling the concept of truth as he lets out a sigh, followed by a heavy billow of smoke.
[19:54] <AX-300> "You find our current situation to be satisfying?" Ax3 steps forward toward the desk, appearing as a translucent hologram within AR. Its current form and voice to be that of a typical Human Female. "I've been scouring the mesh for opportunities that may promote growth and expansion for your current venture."
[19:57] <Solomon> He lifted the smoke from his mouth as he lowered his head, his eyes falling down to the presence of his AGI aquaintance. "Sitting behind a desk? Not so much." he muttered as he leant forward and stabbed the butt into a lonely ashtray on the desk. "You managed to find anything of interest?"
[20:01] <AX-300> "For all my enhanced capabilities and data processing potential I am afraid I have been unable to locate any opportunities that would have anything other than a marginal impact on our long term development and expansion. I'll forward you a comprehensive list should you wish it."
[20:06] <Solomon> "Save it for now, if we have to go rescue someones smart kitty from a manhole then thats what we'll have to do... but for now lets just wait." he sniffed, flicking his attention to an additional AR display in his field of vision. "We're going to have a visitor today, somebody from Medusa... I'm hoping we'll be able to expand the venture a little with a broader set of skills."
[20:12] <AX-300> "I believe expanding our rather lacking list of contacts would be an excellent way to lay the proper foundations for a self sufficient business. Pass over whatever details you may have to me and I will perform an extensive background check so as to ensure your personal safety and identify any development prospects that would become open to us based upon our potential contacts skill set."
[20:18] <Solomon> He nods, scanning through some of the information as the AGI speaks. He'd gone through it before, but he was eager at the idea of a new prospect. "Your server should be receiving the file now, and I agree... Lonestar Specialists needs more specialists." he mused sardonically. "She should be of some use, at least."
[20:28] <AX-300> Ax3 pauses for a moment, staying perfectly skill as it diverts all of its core processing capabilities to studying the mesh for information on Tex. "This Texas is well diversed in espionage and having studied the records of numerous shooting ranges it appears she is well versed in ranged weaponry. That isn't to say her skill set is lacking should she find herself in a close quater combat situation. Her talents are varied
[20:30] <AX-300> Her talents are varied and primarily geared towards combat. Given her assosciates and background it is highly likely she considers herself a capable assassin though I can offer no specific cases where this has been confirmed."
[20:36] <Solomon> James nodded again, running a hand over his bearded jaw as Ax recited the immediate information he-she could find. "Beatrice knows of her, apparently... she was the one who suggested her. If thats the case then 'high likely' is practically guaranteed - the real question is whether she's mentally stable or not. The last thing I want is the company facing a shitty PR scandal
[20:36] <Solomon> before the ink is dry on the lease, so to speak."
[20:40] <AX-300> "I will provide you with whatever information I can to ensure that you can make the most informed decision possible. Should the worst come to pass and there is indeed a scandal, my expertise will go some way to mitigating the damage caused though it would hamper our ability to develop severely, most probably rendering this venture a failure."
[20:46] <Solomon> "A little risk never hurt, especially with so much to gain." he offered optimistically as he leant back on his chair. "We'll just have to take it as it comes."
[20:52] <AX-300> "All relevant data suggests that we can view this meeting with optomism. By calculation, we stand to gain much and lose little should she not be a fitting business assosciate."
[20:55] <~Deedles> The door to the office swung open, accompanied by the light thuding sound of highheels walking across the carpeted floor of the the room. Entering was Beatrice Fairfox, James Solomon's secretary. She was a woman of average height, possibly a bit below-hard to tell with those heels-and had a slender build, which was sporting a suit jacket, a skirt that reached her knees, both in a charcoal grey pinstripe pattern,
[20:55] <~Deedles> and beige stockings, finished off with a pair of black highheels. Her hair was long, deep brown, and pulled back into a bun, just a few bangs hanging down on either side of her face, her golden eyes peering out at the room from behind her glasses. She moved to the side as her gaze came to settle on James. "Good day, boss." she greeted him, having her usual expression that seemed somewhere between stern and bored.
[21:00] <Solomon> "Speak of the battleaxe... Beatrice, you're looking as severe as usual." he raised an unlit smoke back at the woman as his eyes shifted to her. "Is there any progress on that prospect of yours?"
[21:04] <~Deedles> Beatrice's expression didn't faulter or change at his comment, taking a couple of steps forward to bring her further into the room. She pointed a thumb towards the door. "She's here." she replied, as if that answered everything, before walking up to James' desk, snagging the packet of smokes from it to retrieve one for herself.
[21:06] <Tex> The thud of thigh-high boots hit the floor as the figure was prompted to enter, black like the rest of the form-fitting bodysuit the figure was wearing, female judging by the figure. Any facial features were impossible to distinguish through the helmet on her head, a shaded visor covering the entirety of her face.
[21:08] <Tex> She looks around the office, head slightly turning from one direction to the other. "So, this is the place..." she finally speaks, though the pitch of her voice was modified through the helmet, sounding a bit deeper than she might with the helmet off.
[21:09] <AX-300> Ax3 continues to keep her presence masked so that only James may percieve her holographic figure through Augmented Reality. She looks to Tex and studies her form before looking over to James a final time before fading from his view.
[21:10] <~Deedles> "Texas, James Solomon. James Solomon, Texas." Beatrice introduced the pair simply as she leaned her rear against the desk and lit up the cigarette.
[21:15] <Solomon> James rose to his feet, pulling his smart suit jacket closed with a faint smile. "Yes, we've been reading all about you, Texas. Its a pleasure to meet you."
[21:15] <AX-300> Ax3 takes this opportunity to study any and all data streams being fed to or from Tex. She takes note in particular of the ghostrider port that she is outfitted with and communicates directly through the mesh with Solomon. "I've managed to identify that she's outfitted with a ghostrider module. Should this meeting proove fruitful it will be the case I could accompany her on her given assignments. Considering our respecti
[21:16] <AX-300> Considering our respective skill sets, we could compliment eachother well.. I hope it is in her nature to make rational and sound decisions."
[21:18] <Tex> "Tex is fine." She tells them straight away, arms crossed over her chest. "Looking forward to a fresh start, a lot more room for advancement."
[21:19] <Solomon> [In that case I'll task you with keeping an eye on her in the event that she does work with us.] He pinged back to the AGI without breaking eye contact with the figure before him, his polite smile remaining fixed to his face. "Tex, then." he nodded, lowering himself back down into the chair. "How do you see yourself advancing? There is definitely a lot of room in this company to branch out."
[21:24] <Tex> "I noticed." Tex points out at the particularly empty office around them. "Seeing as I'm the only one here, right now, that shouldn't be tough. But, I think you'll find the work I do will be worth every credit."
[21:24] <AX-300> [I will ensure she is under the necessary surveillance until we can deem that she is to be trusted.] Ax3 pings back to Solomon. [Should I introduce myself?]
[21:28] <Solomon> "You make what you earn in this business." he shrugged, though his face did brighten at her words. "Our tasks and operations work on a contractual basis as is the Extropian way. Every operative involved in an operation receives a fair percentage while a small finders fee falls back to the company. The more contracts you take, the more you're compensated."
[21:28] <Solomon> [Thank you, Ax. By all means.] His eyes finally shifted contact as they lowered to the smoke in his lips, lighting it with an old-fashioned-looking lighter.
[21:35] <AX-300> Ax enters the scene, seemingly stepping out of nothingness through the use of augmented reality. "Allow me to make your aquaintence Texas. I am an AX-300 artificial general intelligence. It is doubtful you will find any other AGI that matches my technical specifications. At present, I believe I am a unique entity. I am outfitted with highly advanced cyber warfare capabilities. I believe we will work closely should you be
[21:36] <AX-300> should you be successful here."
[21:40] <Tex> Tex turns her attention to the AGI that appears before her. "Well, that's...helpful." she states. "I suppose you'll also be keeping an eye on me?" she suggested, briefly looking across the desk at Solomon. "There's always strings attached."
[21:40] <~Deedles> Beatrice's lips quirked at that, but she said nothing as she calmly breathed out a plume of smoke.
[21:41] <AX-300> "I do not have an eye to keep on you."
[21:41] <Tex> "Cute" Tex retorts.
[21:42] <Solomon> James puffs out a bit of smoke in amusement.
[21:43] <AX-300> "I am keen to see how you perform under duress while also having the opportunity to assess my own performance in the field. As yet, my cyber warfare suite has not been tested outside of controlled conditions. I wish to see how it stands up to the scrutiny of live testing."
[21:44] <Tex> "As long as you don't bug me when I'm trying to work we'll get along just time. With my particular set of skills I work better on my own, but I don't think someone like you will slow me down."
[21:45] <Solomon> "As Ax so eloquently put it, you're not actually the only one here presently." he pointed out. "Nor the only specialist of your chosen field."
[21:48] <AX-300> "Give me half a chance to prove myself and I will surely impress. Up until now you have worked better alone, though you have never had a fully functional cyber warfare capable AGI housed in your ghostrider module. I predict you will be satisfied with results."
[21:51] <Tex> Tex shrugs. "I guess we'll see, it'll definitely make getting around a lot easier." she admits. "I specialize in stealth and ass-kicking, most notably the latter."
[21:55] <AX-300> "I had gathered as much. I've been studying data that I've managed to source from the mesh concering you and your abilities. It is through this initial assessment I have deemed we can assist eachother."
[21:56] <~Deedles> Beatrice pulled her hand back to tap her cigarette over the ashtray "I wouldn't of suggested that she come here if she would of been a useless asset." she chimed casually, before straightening herself.
[21:58] <AX-300> "I was speaking specifically about how our skill sets will compliment eachother well."
[21:58] <Tex> "I'm also not keen on wasting my time." Tex chimes in. "So, lets try to make this as mutually beneficial as possible. I scratch your back, you scratch mine."
[21:59] <AX-300> "I lack a back to scratch..."
[22:00] <Solomon> "You have a lot to prove with Miss Fairfox's reputation on the line." he chimed up himself towards Tex as he finished his smoke and dashed it into the ashtray, again rising to his feet and moving away from the desk. "If the terms are to your agreement, Beatrice will ping you the retainer contract... nothing binding, but it ensures a few discreet ensurances."
[22:00] <AX-300> "That was my attempt at Humour. I understand your meaning, and will endeavor to assist."
[22:04] <Tex> "Well, I wouldn't want anyone to lose their job on my account." Tex admits, her head turing toward Beatrice. "I always peruse a contract before I sign it." she informs them. "Though, I doubt I would have been recruited if it wasn't a legitimate offer."
[22:06] <~Deedles> "I don't have time to mess people around." Beatrice stated, almost looking like she was going to sigh, but she just took a pull of her smoke, before stumping it out in the ashtray. Her eyes flicker to the side as Tex would recieve a message consisting of two pages; the contract.
[22:09] <Tex> Tex's eyes scroll down the wall of text that coveres the majority of her internal visors screen, reading over each line carefully to make sure that the terms were agreeable and she wasn't going to be shafted. "Looks like everything is in order..."
[22:09] <Solomon> "Everything I do is watched with scrutiny, and thus everything this company will do will be watched even more so... much to my own frustration." he sighed as he again rubbed his haired jawline. "Simply, we don't have time for any fence-sitters nor are we interested in rustling up hobbyists. We need specialists who are ready to fulfill contracts."
[22:09] <Solomon> he offered that polite smile of his again, this time his eyes were much more passionate.
[22:12] <~Deedles> Beatrice raised an eyebrow at Tex as if to state 'wasn't that obvious already?'
[22:13] <Tex> "Oh, I'm on board." Tex assures him. "As long as you've got jobs, and the credits to pay me, I'm sold."
[22:18] <Solomon> "Then we are at an agreement, excellent." he holds his hand out towards the woman. "Welcome aboard."
[22:20] <Tex> Tex meets him half way, shaking his hand with a firm grip. "Looking forward to such a lucrative business." she replies. "By the way, since you brought it up, where are my so called co-workers?"
[22:21] <AX-300> "Welcome Texas. Initial assesments make me confident that you will be a boon to the company. Based on this, I look forward to working closely with you."
[22:22] <Solomon> "You're currently surrounded by them." he pointed out.
[22:24] <Tex> "Just the three of you?" She looks to them all in turn. "Well, you know what they say, start small and work your way up I suppose."
[22:26] <AX-300> "I have projected and simulatd the growth of this company with a massive selection of different variables. In every case the results have been clear that quality over quantity leads to greater success."
[22:26] <~Deedles> Beatrice began walking over towards her desk "Speaking of work, I got a message about a job prior to picking Tex up." she said, glancing back at James.
[22:27] <Solomon> "A message?" he inquires back to Beatrice with a slightly lowered brow. "What are the details?"
[22:31] <~Deedles> "An old contact of mine on Titan got in touch." She replied as she turned around upon reaching her desk. "Apparently a friend of his owes money to the wrong type of people, and finds himself unable to pay it back. He needs to get off the planet, quickly and quietly." she explained, her gaze settled firmly on James as she did.
[22:34] <Tex> "So our first job is smuggling him to safety?"
[22:37] <Solomon> "Is this a favour or is this a job?" James asked skeptically, his arms folded as one hand traced his jaw. "If he can't afford his debt, I have a hard time seeing him compensating the company for its troubles."
[22:38] <Tex> "Well, if we save his ass, he might be more inclined to work off that debt. Given his current situation."
[22:38] <~Deedles> "My contact is the one paying for it, so it's a job." Beatrice answered as she idly pushed her glasses back into place.
[22:41] <AX-300> "Mr Solomon makes an excellent point. This contract may not be worth our attention if there is no quantifiable outcome. The reality is that we must look at two things when determining whether this contract is worth our attention. First we must establish we stand to gain a quantifiable reward for its resolution. Secondly, we must determine whether the consequences and ramifications of this job are worth our time. By that
[22:41] <AX-300> By that I mean we must identify whether these 'wrong' people represent any sort of power base that could cause future trouble for us."
[22:42] <Tex> "I know how to deal with trouble..." Tex pipes up, cracking her knuckles audibly.
[22:44] <AX-300> "It is only ever worth applying optomism to a situation where you are well informed and have determined the odds of success are in your favour. Something we have yet to do."
[22:46] <Tex> "It wasn't optimism, it was a fact." Tex states plainly.
[22:47] <Solomon> He nodded back to Beatrice after her answer. "If we end up on Titan with no friends and a lot of enemies... Its far from Extropia over there." he pointed out and paused. "Ax, can you pull up information on Titan, referencing as much information from Beatrice as possible. Names, organizations, cartels. If you could do background check on the indebted in question and find any links between them."
[22:48] <AX-300> "I'd be happy to."
[22:50] <~Deedles> "The man he owes money to is part of a group called The Nine Suns, it seems to mainly be located on Titan, so it is unlikely that it would cause any trouble in the future, outside of Titan at least. Especially since we have our own allies on Titan a mission there would not be without allies." Beatrice answered calmly "Secondly the guy in question is an esteemed chess-boxer, according to my contact he's one tough guy,
[22:50] <~Deedles> and well-educated. If this turns out to be true he could be a valuable to the company." she slowly moved away from the desk, studying the door to the waiting room. "My contact offered to pay to see his friend taken to safety, so the job is there, but if you do not wish to take it then I will go alone, even if I'm doing it just as a favour." she came to an abrupt stop as her eyes snapped to James, staring him down.
[22:50] <~Deedles> "But if I do you'll have to watch Eira until I'm back." she stated firmly.
[22:53] <Tex> The face of Tex's helmet shifts between Slomon and Beatrice, she was starting to wonder who really wore the pants in this business.
[22:54] <AX-300> [Curious. Am I correct in suspecting her resolve to see this contract completed stems from an emotional response? Hasty action without relevant data is rarely part of the recipe for success.] Ax pings to Solomon.
[23:02] <Solomon> [See if you can find out more about what she said, I want to know as much as possible.] He pinged back as he watched Beatrice, raising a hand. "I didn't say I wouldn't take it. Nor was I aware this meant more than just a job." he replied cooly, his eyes remained as they were though he too was concerned. "This is a business, not a charity, but even business' prosper from making friends. I'm also terrible with kids."
[23:05] <~Deedles> Beatrice's eyes narrowed for a moment, before flicking to the side as messages popped up on the ARs of the other three in the room. It contained the name of the gang, some of the details about it, nothing much, just that they were based in New Quebec on Titan. The name of her contact, Johnny Keegan. And the name of the man they needed to get, Benedikt Chekrakovsky. "Then good luck, boss."
[23:05] <~Deedles> she replied, her tone on the frosty end of calm, and headed for the door.
[23:06] <AX-300> [It is worth remembering business' suffer from making enemies. I'll begin scanning any and all relevant data immediately. I will forward any noteworthy finds to you as they become available.] Ax pings back to him before applying all the pocessing power she can spare to the endeavor.
[23:10] <Tex> 'That name is quite a mouth-full.' Tex thinks to herself, browsing over the info set before her. "Well, we're not making any progress just siting around here."
[23:15] <Solomon> [Right now, it doesn't feel like enemies are the worst of my problems.] he returned with a sigh-rich thought as he watched the woman head for the door. "No, it appears not. We'll take the ship, Titan isn't much of a shot this time of year. Ax, get what you can now and upload to the ship, it looks like we're going on a little company excursion."
[23:20] <~Deedles> Beatrice glanced back and then exited the room, leaving the three to take care of business.
[23:21] <Tex> "You've got your own ship, huh?" Tex inquires. "What're we waiting for? lets get this show on the road...er, sky...whatever."
[23:22] <AX-300> [I.. am not sure I have fully understood. If there is a problem I can be of assistance with, do not hesitate to make use of my capabilities.] Ax pings to Solomon. "I will do as you ask, though we must be sure not to rush into any undue situations."
[23:22] <~Deedles> As Ax searched for information she came up with quite a bit more of it. While none of it could be proven, it seemed the gang in question was heavily involved in underground fighting rings, Chess-boxing being one such sport. There were also rumours, as once again nothing could be proven, of them, among others, having a finger in the local drug smuggling. More rumours about beatings, extortion,
[23:22] <~Deedles> even a fork-napping here and there and while nothing could be pinned on them you could conclude, in short, that these are generally not very nice people. Johnny Keegan was also connected to a gang himself, a group called the Grim Bastards, from what Ax found via proxy was that weapon smuggling seemed to be their thing, she didn't find much else. Finally as she looked up information on Benedikt Chekrakovsky
[23:22] <~Deedles> she found that he was once from Russian, but had later moved to Helsinki. After the fall he had ended up in New Quebec, apparently as a fighter in the undergound chess-boxing.
[23:25] <AX-300> "My search has yielded some significant data regarding the contract. Forwarding it all to you respectively now." Ax shares this gathered information with each of those gathered. "From this we can deduce that they will likely be well armed and dangerous people. Given their involvement with the drug trade it is also highly likely they have numerous resources they could call upon should this go south. We must prepare well a
[23:25] <AX-300> We must prepare well and tread lightly."
[23:26] <AX-300> Ax ensures the data is uploaded to the ship.
[23:29] <Solomon> James diverted his glance away from the door as it closed again, making his way back to the side of the desk where he rebuttoned his suit jacket, swiped his pack of smokes and lighter, and lifted a steel briefcase that was placed next to the desk. "Noted." he replied to Ax's infodump. "I guess I did say I was bored behind a desk." he hummed a slight chuckle before he began to make his way to the door.
[23:30] <AX-300> "At least now I get to stretch my legs. Figuratively speaking. Obviously."
[23:31] <Solomon> "Obviously." he smiled back as he dissapeared out of the door.
[23:31] <Tex> "Obviously." Tex assures the AGI before following in Solomon's wake with a casual stride.
[23:31] <Tex> Tex's helmet turns in James' direction. "I think we're going to get along juuust fine."
[23:32] <AX-300> Ax fades from view in AR and continues her work from the ship, awaiting the arrival of the others.