Rbz18: The Spaceport
General Summary
As the crew gather back within the dining booths of the Rubezahl, Reinhard and Benesh catch the others up on their spaceport success. Reinhard had become fast drinking buddies with many of the dockhands. The workers there were well familiar with the operations of the Legion, and none were fans of it. Their lips loosened by several pitchers of local brew, they eagerly shared the details of the Legion's loading schedule. They will have their own shuttle in one of the private bays for loading and fueling, and they were scheduled to transfer a "secure VIP" into the shuttle. That meant some kind of prisoner, more likely than not. As Reinhard and Benesh pondered how to use that information, the dockhands gladly invited them for a "temp shift" on the docks. They were, after all, no friends of the Legion.
Armed with this information, and Quinn's mysterious gemini sprouts, they concocted a plan. They would hit the VIP group on the tarmac as they moved from their armored transport to the shuttle. Dressed as dockhands, they would stage some kind of minor mishap, and Quinn would sneak in and plant the tracker. Satisfied with the details the crew parted ways for their quarters. They would have an early start tomorrow.
Quinn and Reinhard, it turned out, would have an earlier start than the others. Quinn wakes Reinhard at in the early pre-dawn hours, dragging him out of his quarters and thrusting some of the Gardener Saplings into his hands. "It is time for you to attone for your sins." "Really? At this hour?" Reinhard protests as Quinn led them out to the dunkeys. In the deserted streets of the wee hours, it only takes them a short time to arrive at one of Elysium's VR casinos. Its fascade was alight with holo displays in a myriad of colors, and drunk and noisy patrons filtered through the broad, welcoming doors. The pair made their way innocuously inside and, after a brief pause to get his bearings, Quinn led them toward a row of planters lined up underneath one of the skylights. He hands Reinhard his shovel, "Start digging." To which Reinhard begrudgingly complies, having to be corrected several times by the healer. It takes him several tries to 'get it right', whatever that was. And the other patrons and staff seems to leave them well enough alone. At last, Quinn was satisfied and the pair leave the casino without a fuss. Behind them, the first rays of dawn begin to glimmer through the skylight. The moment that the filtered sunlight touches the leaves of the sapling, however, it trembles visibly. The reedy leaves broaden and the stems crackle and lengthen. Within the span of a minute, the sapling sprouts fully into a full sized tree. By then, patrons around the casino point and yell as roots burst out from the confines of the planter. It only takes a few more minutes for the sapling to mature fully, its canopy shattering the skylight and several branches bursting out through windows as screaming patrons fled the casino ruins.
Utterly unaware of the commotion they caused at the casino, Reinhard and Quinn ride their dunkeys to the spaceport where Benesh and Saskia are waiting for them. The two were already dressed in the loader's uniforms, and another 2 pairs were neatly folded on top of the flat back of one of the spaceport's rhinotortoise beasts of burden. As the two got changed, Benesh hunched over the beast's head, seemingly giving it a pep talk -- though if rhinotortoise cared, it was not showing it. Once in costume, they took their positions. Sure enough, the Legion armored transport arrived right on schedule. Rumbling past the Elysian bioengineered beasts, the mechanical vehicle was easy to pick out. And, just as the dockworkers said, the transport paused briefly to argue with the foreman before being directed to their usual unloading area, some 100 meters from the shuttle. There, a full dozen of armed and armored legionnaires disembarked, surrounding Cassidy Khosla, who was dressed in professional attire, but with a pair of manacles around her wrists. Without a word the column began moving toward the shuttle, soldiers on guard. Now was the time to make their move. With a nudge, Benesh started the rhinotortoise moving along the tarmac, a luggage sled in tow, taking a lumbering path that would cut in just ahead of the column. As they drew close, he tugged slightly on the reins, and the beast obediently swayed to the left, pushing slowly, but with the insistence of an avalanche, through the front of the group. The soldiers yelled and Benesh yelled back, "Move out of the way! Don't get trampled!" But the soldiers were reluctant to obey. One of the moved forward to intercept Benesh with a raised hand, but had to dive out of the way of the rhinotortoises blunt head. Benesh took this chance to pull the rein more sharply, causing the creature to turn sharply away from the group. This causes the sled to unbalance in the back, toppling its contents -- and the other members of the group -- onto the column. If that was not enough chaos, one of the crates broke open to reveal gestating locust larvae -- a delicacy the group was now all too familiar with -- which promptly took flight in a whirling plague! In the amply adequate confusion, Quinn stumbled past blinded legionnaires to Cassidy and planted the gemini sprout on the back of her head with a firm hand. She looked up at him in confusion as he pretended to help her to her feet. But there a glimmer of recognition in her eye as one of the guards grabbed her and pulled her away. The real dockworkers swarmed around them in short order, pulling the crew away and "reprimanding" them. The guards were on full alert now for some kind of attack, and when nothing exploded or fired, quickly hussled their prisoner away onto the shuttle.
Quinn and Reinhard, it turned out, would have an earlier start than the others. Quinn wakes Reinhard at in the early pre-dawn hours, dragging him out of his quarters and thrusting some of the Gardener Saplings into his hands. "It is time for you to attone for your sins." "Really? At this hour?" Reinhard protests as Quinn led them out to the dunkeys. In the deserted streets of the wee hours, it only takes them a short time to arrive at one of Elysium's VR casinos. Its fascade was alight with holo displays in a myriad of colors, and drunk and noisy patrons filtered through the broad, welcoming doors. The pair made their way innocuously inside and, after a brief pause to get his bearings, Quinn led them toward a row of planters lined up underneath one of the skylights. He hands Reinhard his shovel, "Start digging." To which Reinhard begrudgingly complies, having to be corrected several times by the healer. It takes him several tries to 'get it right', whatever that was. And the other patrons and staff seems to leave them well enough alone. At last, Quinn was satisfied and the pair leave the casino without a fuss. Behind them, the first rays of dawn begin to glimmer through the skylight. The moment that the filtered sunlight touches the leaves of the sapling, however, it trembles visibly. The reedy leaves broaden and the stems crackle and lengthen. Within the span of a minute, the sapling sprouts fully into a full sized tree. By then, patrons around the casino point and yell as roots burst out from the confines of the planter. It only takes a few more minutes for the sapling to mature fully, its canopy shattering the skylight and several branches bursting out through windows as screaming patrons fled the casino ruins.
Utterly unaware of the commotion they caused at the casino, Reinhard and Quinn ride their dunkeys to the spaceport where Benesh and Saskia are waiting for them. The two were already dressed in the loader's uniforms, and another 2 pairs were neatly folded on top of the flat back of one of the spaceport's rhinotortoise beasts of burden. As the two got changed, Benesh hunched over the beast's head, seemingly giving it a pep talk -- though if rhinotortoise cared, it was not showing it. Once in costume, they took their positions. Sure enough, the Legion armored transport arrived right on schedule. Rumbling past the Elysian bioengineered beasts, the mechanical vehicle was easy to pick out. And, just as the dockworkers said, the transport paused briefly to argue with the foreman before being directed to their usual unloading area, some 100 meters from the shuttle. There, a full dozen of armed and armored legionnaires disembarked, surrounding Cassidy Khosla, who was dressed in professional attire, but with a pair of manacles around her wrists. Without a word the column began moving toward the shuttle, soldiers on guard. Now was the time to make their move. With a nudge, Benesh started the rhinotortoise moving along the tarmac, a luggage sled in tow, taking a lumbering path that would cut in just ahead of the column. As they drew close, he tugged slightly on the reins, and the beast obediently swayed to the left, pushing slowly, but with the insistence of an avalanche, through the front of the group. The soldiers yelled and Benesh yelled back, "Move out of the way! Don't get trampled!" But the soldiers were reluctant to obey. One of the moved forward to intercept Benesh with a raised hand, but had to dive out of the way of the rhinotortoises blunt head. Benesh took this chance to pull the rein more sharply, causing the creature to turn sharply away from the group. This causes the sled to unbalance in the back, toppling its contents -- and the other members of the group -- onto the column. If that was not enough chaos, one of the crates broke open to reveal gestating locust larvae -- a delicacy the group was now all too familiar with -- which promptly took flight in a whirling plague! In the amply adequate confusion, Quinn stumbled past blinded legionnaires to Cassidy and planted the gemini sprout on the back of her head with a firm hand. She looked up at him in confusion as he pretended to help her to her feet. But there a glimmer of recognition in her eye as one of the guards grabbed her and pulled her away. The real dockworkers swarmed around them in short order, pulling the crew away and "reprimanding" them. The guards were on full alert now for some kind of attack, and when nothing exploded or fired, quickly hussled their prisoner away onto the shuttle.
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