by Lisa Merlins » Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:54 pm
Dustin Bowman, sat in his usual corner on the border between Pepper Park and Plaza. His luck to find a job in the city had failed again, and he was depressed about it. So much for Reza promising work for him. Even getting a simple job of delivering a packet was impossible. The last delivery he did went wrong, and that wasn't his fault either. He wasn't expecting to meet a Twilight Guardian GenTank in the City Admin HQ while delivering a package.
The end result was the GenTank took the package off him, and threw it in the air and just to add insult to injury the tank shot down the package into flames with his Cursed Soul. When he told NeXT what had happened, he was fined 10,00nc's and told that it was his responsibility for the safe delivery of the package, and don’t bother calling for a job again.
Dustin cracked open a can of Cron 55 beer, that a passing Twilight Guardian GenTank threw at him earlier. He took a long swig on the can, and felt much better. He looked around and spotted a monk running past very fast. He recognised it being one of the regular pepper park monks, who would often go there to have a fight, but today he look different. His face had a look that was full of rage, but his eye's seem to be deadpanned and looking straight ahead. Dustin hoped there wasn't another disease outbreak again, as he had seen a few runners in Neocron of late just running past full of rage.
The monk that ran past disappeared around the corner to Pepper Park. Dustin signed, he thought he would walk down to Pepper Park later, once the effects of the Cron 55 beer had worn off, and he knew that would be a while today. The can of Cron 55 was a lot better than the Cans obtainable from the barkeepers of Neocron. He had often noticed the cans of Cron 55 dropped by Twilight Guardian members had a much fresher and stronger taste to them. Perhaps City Admin was trying to keep drunken disorder down in Neocron by reducing the alcohol content.
Dustin’s eye turned to the entrance of Pepper Park, when his ears exploded with the sound the monk who ran past earlier, screaming in agony. He was on fire, and just flapping his hands wildly trying to brush down the flames, but it was not having any effect, and then the monk just fell over and died all in a space of a few seconds. A bit unusual Dustin thought, as he knew that monk sent other runners fleeing from pepper park in flames, and those runners usually just survived or died very slowly if they was unlucky not to get any help, but someone just dying in seconds was odd. Perhaps a load of people in Pepper Park ganged up on the monk to dish their own revenge out to him.
Dustin felt a breeze of someone with a long thick purple cloak walking past. He looked up to see a tall young looking girl who was definatly a monk. Wow! Though Dustin, this girl got a nice sexy body, with her hair tied up nicely. Dustin could tell she was out to impress the boys with her choice of colours in her clothes which for the dullness of the city was very bright looking, perhaps she was off down to the clubs in Pepper Park.
Dustin face lit up and he smiled, "Be careful young lady”, he said drunkenly, that place is dangerous today."
The young girl smiled back and paused, "Thank you, I know this place is nasty at times." She then waved her hand and whispered to herself. Her hand glowed white, and then a bright white glow encircled her for a brief second.
Dustin looked more closely at the young girl to get her name on his RPOS, and read her surname. In an instant of familiarity he bolted up, dropping his can of Cron 55 all over the Plaza pavement.
"Hey wait...I know your father...that's right... he was famous for being the best constructor in Neocron.", slurred Dustin.
The young girl signed. Not another old bloke tying to chat her up she thought to herself, and she started walking away.
"Paul", blurted out Dustin, "That’s what his name was...Paul...that was his name.". The young girl stopped and turned to face him.
"Paul....yes that was the name of my father. I don't know much about him, except from my Grandmother. All I know he was killed, along with my mother in Tech Haven.", the girl said.
"Your mother...Susan?", ask Dustin.
The girl nodded in reply. Dustin Smiled, "The legacy of your family name lives on! There was many tales around the city here that the children of Paul and Sue did not survived, and now I see with my own two eyes that one of their two children lives."
"Two children...erm I was told I was the only child, I don’t have a brother or sister.", Lisa was starting to feel uncomfortable. “Look I better go.”
Lisa started to walk on into Pepper Park. She reached the first entrance to Neofrag, and she looked at the two guards. Lost in thought she pondered the question. Did she have a lost brother or sister? Why didn't her grandmother tell her? Lisa quickly answered the reason, why her grandmother may had not told her. One of the reasons was the radiation had made her forgetful. She was only briefly told that her mother and father had been killed in Tech Haven, but her grandmother was not able to tell her who had killed her parents or why.
Lisa realised she had been lost in thought for a few minutes, and the two guards were now looking at her with intense interest. She started to walk on towards sector 3 of Pepper Park.
While she was walking, Lisa made a decision. She was going to find out who her parents killers were. She had the money to buy information and hire people to help her. Then she realise, there was a minor problem. She didn't know many people who could help her. She ruled out her bank manager, as he seemed to know more questionable girls than useful contacts. Then the question of her lost brother or sister came to her mind again. Perhaps if she could find her lost brother or sister, then perhaps she would know the fate of her mother and father. However something was bothering Lisa right now, she had the feeling that someone was following her.
Lisa spun around, and heard a hissing sound in the distance. There was no-one behind her. The she heard the hissing sound again coming from her left. She looked to her left to see the subway entrance leading off to Pepper Park station. Lisa realised the hissing sound was nothing more than a subway tram door opening and closing. She refocused on her surroundings and realised she had walked all the way from sector 1 to sector 2 without realising it.
She sighed, and then heard some music start to kick in. She looked up, to see a sign for a place she hadn't spotted before. "Pepper Park Pub". Curiosity got the better of Lisa, so she decided to head into the entrance of the Pub. A bouncer at the door greeted her, and opened the door.
The pub was fairly quiet with groups of people all talking and drinking amongst themselves, and the music was playing at a volume just below the crowd noise. Lisa walked up to the bar. Lisa wondered what to order. Then her mind started to slip into the thoughts off her parents and the story the drunk had told her.
Her train of thought was broken by a voice. “Chill out Dude, you look like you got the world on your shoulder.”
“Hmm?”, replied Lisa, still feeling it bit lost.
“Here, let me get you a drink. You like to try something that will blow you mind away?”
Lisa smiled a little and held her hands out as if she was trying to say “Whatever!”. The monk turned to the barman and ordered two Blue Heaven Cocktails. A few moments later, the barman came back with two blue glowing drinks.
”Thanks.”, Lisa took a sip of the blue drink. “Wow!” The strength and taste of the drink blew her senses away for a second, but it made Lisa smile a little. She took another sip. After a moment she was feeling a lot more relaxed after the encounter with the drunk she had met a little earlier. “That’s better. Sorry about earlier. I’m Lisa.”
“SanityIsLost, or SiL as my friends call me. What’s bothering you?”
“Only some family history and what a drunk told me.”
Lisa began to explain, that she knew her parents was killed in Tech Haven, but she didn’t know who did it, or why. Then she talked about the drunk telling her that she was not an only child, but she had a Brother or Sister. Lisa wasn’t too sure if the Blue Heaven drink was making her talk easily, or it was the years of wondering who killed her parents.
“Woah! That some heavy shit! You want my opinion, I don’t think the Angels did it.”
Lisa looked at SanityIsLost. “You don’t sound like you are saying that, because you should say that?”
“Well yeah I am a Fallen Angel. It’s chilled because you can think what you like, and say what you like. Like if I said Sylvia Bennet had a new bloke, she would laugh at it, deny it or confirm it. Not like Reza who would have your brains blown out for starting rumours, if you was a member of City Admin.”
Lisa cringed, “That’s harsh.”
“Yeah I know. Here I got an idea about your parent records. Biotech has a great big database with family history. Maybe it’s worth a look in there?”
Lisa thought for a second. Maybe that was worth a try. She had to start somewhere, and it made sense to use official records. She picked up her drink and knock it back in one go.
“Ok I’ll do that! Now you want to try a Fire Wallbanger Cocktail?”
“Sure dude!”
As Lisa drunk the flaming cocktail, Lisa realised she had met a friend, who she could trust and talk to.
Lisa and SanityIsLost spent the rest of the evening drinking Pepper Park’s most daring cocktails, talking about every subject that they could.