Episode 5, or Why does trying to hire a vat clone army end up in a bar fight?
After a stressful day dealing with Captain Martinez's attempts to belittle and perhaps fire Delilah, she was ready to release some stress with a drink at The Loreto with Dwabit and Scout, so all three of them did that.
Inside The Loreto was the usual set of regulars: Paulsen, (the VCVFWA Port Rails Chapter president,) Alder, (another member of the VCFWA Port Rails Chapter,) and a couple of ex NED Marine cyborgs who had been recently discharged, "Truck" Andon and Willie Soner. Of course, Remy the bartender and Trinity the owner of The Loreto was there.
As the three walked to their regular booth in the back, Deli gestured to Remy to make her a double of her usual drink; she really needed to decompress.
A guy in a business suit came into the bar, ordered a drink, and started a conversation with Alder and Paulsen. He was asking about being a vat clone, what was it like, etc. Alder was answering his questions, being friendly, while Paulsen just sat drinking his beer and trying to ignore the conversation.
The crew were sitting nearby and overheard most of the conversation. The businessman had introduced himself to Alder and Paulsen as Teve Kelley, and was getting more personal with his questions, like, "What was it like growing up being a vat clone?" In response, Alder was starting to bullshit him about that. The guy should have known that vat clones don't have a regular childhood, they just pop out of the vat as an adult, knowing how to shoot people and take orders.
A friend who Dwabit hadn't seen for a couple of years, Kiowynne, came into The Loreto looking for him. She spotted him in the booth with Scout and Deli, and she made her way over. She needed to talk to Dwabit about getting back a thing she had left with him the last time they saw each other.
At this point, Paulsen was getting visibly steamed about the way the guy wouldn't let up about vat clones.
It was then that two other guys in working man clothes that were a little too clean came in and took seats at a table against the wall where they had a view of Alder and Paulsen. They didn't look or move like working men, they looked like security or military men.
Meanwhile Teve Kelley, Alder, and Paulsen were continuing their conversation. Paulsen finally came to his feet, pushed Alder aside, and got into Teve's face, telling him to get the hell out of the bar and leave them alone.
The two men near the wall quickly walked towards Paulsen. Deli scanned them and noted they had some sort of energy pistols concealed on them. They moved up to Paulsen together, shouldering Teve aside, and grabbed Paulsen. Without thinking, Deli threw her glass at one of the men's head, and missed. Her glass sailed across the bar and hit Willie Soner's head instead. The two marines got up and came around the end of the bar to deal with Deli.
At his point, I am unsure about who did what, when... any help you can give me, I will update this page. --jdh
Dwabit ran across the table and leaped onto the two men grabbing Paulsen, knocking one of them out and staggering the other.
Kiowynne ... either punched out the second guy or confronted the marines coming around the bar to address Deli attempting to cool them down.
The bouncer started around the bar to stop the fighting.
Teve started to sidle towards the door of the bar, intent on taking his leave.
Deli apologized profusely to the ex-marines and convinced them that it was an accident. They accepted the apology and headed back to their seats at the bar.
Five more guys, similarly dressed as the first two burst into the front door of the bar. Three went right directly towards Paulsen, Alder, Dwabit, and the two men who started the attack, while the other two circled the bar to the right.
Scout quickly moved to stop Teve from leaving, suspecting he might be involved in the attack on the other vat clones. She raced around the three incoming guys and got in front of Teve before he reached the door.
Dwabit rushes the 3 guys coming around the bar, bowling them over like pins, ending up on top of them. They are out of the game.
Scout confronts Teve, asking if he's involved with this attack. Teve insists that he has no idea what is going on, although she still is suspicious of him.
Scout gets more information from Teve, that he was just here to do a deal to get vat clones to work for his corporation, NKC (Nomia Kolpuh Corporation.) Teve gives Scout his card. Teve leaves the bar.
The last two of the five guys reverse course to get sight on Dwabit. They pull their pistols and shoot at him as he is prone. He tries to roll out of the way, but their tasers get a solid hit. Unfortunately, his Tardigrada cuticle protects him from the worst of electrical shock, and he is only dazed for a moment.
Deli runs across the bar to the two remaining guys arms and a pair of other limbs extended, and picks up the two guys by their gun hands. She uses her other limbs to jerk their guns out of their hands.
The bouncer talks everyone down and throws the 7 guys out of the bar. Trinity comes out of the office and scolds everyone for getting into a fight, she is very disappointed, especially with Dwabit. Dwabit thinks this is just what you do in bars, what's the problem?
Deli searches the Gaia global network for a guy named Teve Kelley, and finds nothing, not even on Gaia LinkedIn.
She calls the number on the card, the person who answers says, "Nomia Kolpuh Corporation - Port Rails, can I help you?" Deli asks for Teve Kelley, the person says he is not available at the moment, but she can take a message. Deli says she will try again later.