Episode Twelve: The Hardball Job, Part 3 - kaseido/NeoTokyo GitHub Wiki

18 Minsky

A day and a half after Vir’s date with the cultists, they spend the morning making drugs: rapidetox and speedheal, to refresh the team supplies. Carbide’s opening up the neighborhood fix-it shop: cyberwear repair, etc., though he notes that if the Flan needs an oven repair thing, they probably wouldn’t come to him. Paragon is working on her “crafting project,” trying to crack the encryption on the ginger fish lo mein recipe.

Star’s planning for her pitch meeting this afternoon, picking out a really killer outfit and planning her team: she’s not taking the medical people: they don’t have anything to contribute beyond “yes it works, “ which is all Nguyen cares about. She does want an assistant of some variety, to hand out the materials and to look like Star knows what she’s doing.

Carbide suggests not-Paragon: her profile was a lot lower the last time she played assistant. “We know Vir cleans up good.” And has enough medical to speak to the issues without being an expert. “Get your sexy LED pinstripe suit on, Vir.” They can tie a tie…

On arrival, Nguyen’s aide Mina Nerova, pissed at Star having done an end-run around her, makes her wait. Star has zero concern that she beat the system. She has a quiet chat with Vir about interesting things the tech can do, non-specific but intriguing. Star pats Vir’s hand as they’re waved in. Vir carefully gathers handouts and follows two steps behind.

Star gives the appropriate bow for meeting an appropriate equal. Nguyen, intense but not hostile, gets right to it: “Five minutes, what you got?” Star gives her pitch. Nguyen asks, Clearly there are other investors in the world, why me?

Star admits she was asked to relieve the pressure on some people.” I’m a fan of the game – no, that’s a lie, I’m a fan of the hot people, not the game itself. But I am also interested in diversification in other markets. But this is important for your overall portfolio growth. It’ll give you a way to bolster that dip while the league establishes a new team, which long term will make you more money.

Nguyen’s impressed with the pitch. But the thing is, she didn’t get where she is by letting people take her stuff. And the team members are her stuff. They want to jump ship, and that’s never going to happen.

“What they want is an investment opportunity. They like their jobs, but they like the dough, and have a hometown spirit thing. I know about jumping ship: I did not get this body because the Mouse was super excited about me aging out of the demographic. This is an emotional decision for them, biz for you. If you make a biz decision, you just get more things. And you help a lot of fucking people who’ll have a miserable life without it, because this” – she indicates her synthetic body – “is an abomination for them.”

What’s the helping the dumb jocks, Nguyen wants to know? “I was hired to do a job and found a way that helping them would make a hell of a lot more money than they’re paying me, and you get to fund my project. And if you say no, I still get paid and I still have my project. And I have the genius brains who’re making my guts. I’m giving you the chance because my client wants to feel good about where they work.”

Nguyen’s in: but she’s going to take a significant equity stake in the new team: that way she won’t be losing anything, and Cherry and his teammates will still be working for her. And, she’s intrigued by the prospect of being a co-investor with Star. She ends with, “Tell Kamal Sutherland that my agreement voids our previous arrangement – and I’m really curious to hear his response.” Star says she’ll let Nguyen know how it goes.

They’re ushered out. Vir says that was more scary than the time they blew up the armored car.

She calls Sutherland, who wants to see her immediately on hearing Star’s met with Nguyen. His response is a completely shocked WHAT THE FUCK! Star snaps a photo and sends to Nguyen. But his reaction isn’t about a change of mind by one of the most hardassed business people on the planet – it’s personal, and he’s wrecked.

She sits him down next to her on the couch, and asks Vir to replicate a beverage and a blanket. He explains that Nguyen was blackmailing him: she has information he needs, and the deal being off cuts off his only hope.

He explains to Star, thinking she’d be too young to know, that 15 years ago a firm called MilCom tried to relaunch the Corporate Wars. They got wiped out by the dominant coalition, but not before they took a lot of hostages from midlevel corp families. All information on the hostages was lost. He’s been looking for his three sisters ever since, and never got so much as a lead. Nguyen told him she had real information: that there was a roster from after an attempted prison break. He knows they’re almost certainly dead, but he needs to know.

This hits Star where she lives: she tells him that Starscream isn’t her original name, that Wu Media owns the name her parents gave her, and that she hasn’t seen them since she was a kid either:. attachments are annoying and it’s so much easier if your stars don’t have them.

“I can help you with that,” she tells him, “just don’t mess with my deal.” She hands him a business card (an autographed photo). “Call me in a couple days, we need to do some background research. You know these are stories that don’t end happily; I stopped looking .But if you want to know, I can do that. Send me deets of your fam, anything.”

He’s still stunned. “Drink your tea, they put all sorts of deliciousness in it.”

She leaves and calls Cherry to tell him they got him his team. And you probably won’t blow up except I guess in a good way? Play sport good!” She begins to head home, but Vir interrupts: “I thought we were going to the game! I have no idea what it’s about.” Star notes that “I guess we technically have tickets.” She calls the rest of the team, “wanna meet us for the game?”

Yeah, Carbide wants to. Paragon puts Dino in little fan gear, including washable face paint. Carbide was going to try to livestream the bomber failing, b/c that would be more entertaining than the game. The Spire Samurai win, 2-1, over the Drift Dolphins. Cherry invites the team to the afterparty. Star’s up for it: “I love very sweaty slightly exploded people who are hot!”

Vir’s in. Carbide’s in! And Paragon: “I will show up, haunt the snack table and go sit in a corner watching the neighbors.” Carbide is one of the world-champion wall-proppers at parties. “They also party who only stand and watch” “NO! that’s not true! No!” Star says, but to no impact.

Star hooks up with a player of more than average team hotness, leaving Vir to horrifically fail at socializing, repeatedly driving their conversation partners to back away in horror, legitimately concerned there’s brain damage.

Paragon has been to corporate parties, and recognizes a trainwreck in progess. Carbide’s like, Vir is socializing, good for them. Paragon rescues Vir and asks what they were doing: “I think the goal is for them not to run away, what were you taking about?! If you don’t know sports,, don’t’ talk sports, or don’t be at all specific, they don’t care they just want you to stroke their egos.”

Vir asks, “Can we go home and pet kittens now?” Paragon vetoes that: “No, we will attempt to be charming and vague. Talk from a medic perspective about injuries and stuff.” She feels she should help Vir get what they want, friendly conversation or whatever with a jock. Vir does want that: “It’s a palate cleanser after the cultists.”

Paragon creates an introduction, and Vir has a pleasant 5 minute conversation. “Still wanna go home and pet kittens?” Yes they do! “This is exhausting, people are exhausting! But the shrimp puffs were good here – they’re fine, some normal happy party drugs but nothing terrible.”

Paragon texts Star and Carbide, the dorks are going home to pet kittens. Carbide pushes off the wall and joins them: he is not going to be left at this party alone. Does Carbide want to hit on somebody who ran from Vir? NO!

No response from Star till the next morning, when she comes down to breakfast in a man’s shirt, with his tie as a belt.

She’s gotten a message on her Agent from a Vice-Magistros of Arkham Consolidated Holdings, LLC, Cormac Kiselyov: “We need to talk.” She wonders if it’s a violation of her otherworldly-being duties to hit on Cormac. Vir agrees he’s hot – and Sutherland was too, but not under those circumstances. On hearing the story, Paragon agrees: “He was the broken puppy you need to treat like a 5 year old, not the kind you want to pull his face into your bosom so he can gently weep there.”