He hadn’t been to an event so large since the beginning of this life. It was an odd, unfamiliar inversion of things. Here, he would not be expected, announced, even recognised. Glass was now an unknown. His reputation would not be rebuilt from the shadows, and it was for that which he deigned to bring himself. Luxury was one thing, but status, notoriety - another. Showing up in the usual suits now would demand unwarranted attention, and so he had opted for simpler dressings - a black jacket, pants, and boots, barely contrasted only by an olive shirt, all of which seemed to fit his lithe figure perfectly, as if tailored. It wasn't readily obvious whether, or in what way Glass was armed. In the same way as to which he had been accustomed, he had placed his trust in the Hackers' accompaniment of security for the evening.
Though he had arrived with the majority of the Hacker contingent, he had lingered behind amongst the entourage and quietly watched on. Today was an opportunity for observation and familiarisation - of the criminal underworld, and all of the new ‘friends’ he had inherited along with it. That, and of the Hackers themselves - their methods, the personalities, and their place in this mess - and from what he had seen already, it was indeed a mess.
“Damn”, he said, clicking his tongue. “Not even the industrial accident claimants had faces that misaligned”, he muttered, looking at some of the Rogues out of the side of his eye.
Resolving to avoid the brunt of the social catastrophes, he found Yoko sitting nearby, quite far from anyone else. Ideal. He had met her before during a logistical operation, though she was hardly someone with whom he was familiar. “Yoko”, he said as he quickly sat, avoiding the question of permission that might drive him into the unfamiliar and still disturbing crowd.
“It's good to see you again, and what a beautiful dress that is - from Kusari, is it?”
He had seen similarly formal dresses at Kusarian corporate events before. Briefly glancing across the room as he sat, and noticing the scene at the bar, his weak smile faded back into a flat expression, and his voice dulling to match it.
“Quite the crowd, isn't it.”
Matriarch Kiri
Matriarch Kiri observed the Lane Hacker carefully while speaking.
"It is good to meet you Assassin Bunt,
The minor insult was not my intention. It was as explained caused by ignorance from our side. We have had security issues lately and we tried to minimise complications. Not inviting the Lane Hackers was a mistake that I take full responsibility for. I hope the Lane Hackers will forgive me this error. I too am interested what the future will create between our groups. We welcome the chance to strenghten the ties to our allies of old."
The Rogue messenger returns towards Moka from Robert...
![[Image: RoguesLogo.png]](https://discoverygc.com/wiki/images/0/01/RoguesLogo.png)
"One more!" Hank is heard yelling out as a drunk Rogue sculls back a pint of Sake, clearly one he didn't need. Moments later he power chucks all over his mates around him who erupt into a loud cheer and laughter as the drunken fool falls to his knees. Moka chuckles, he knows that boy has got to fly the Galileo leg of the trip south in a days time. It will take him a week to recover from this....
As Moka reaches for his fourth pint for the event, he notices the same pale Rogue heading his way. He punches Hank in the leg and points him out, prompting Hank to sigh and turn to confront the returning messenger. "What the **** you want now?" Hank commands. "Robert Dixon is back from Gallia and says you'll have... uhh... no... you know.. pecker if he were to suck it off.."
Moka cracks up, he remembers now. "Sh!t, that slimey weasel is back. You tell the lazy prick to get his ass in here!" he commands. The messenger stammered a little more, then uttered "He has some pox or something from Gallia you want to see, or he'll umm... give it to Unioners?"
Moka's humor turned serious and he stood up, tapping Hank on the shoulder and starts striding past the fearful Rogue, heading towards the exit.
As Moka makes for the exit, he notices Robert.
"Hey Bob, I see you made it back. What ya got for me?" Moka half shouts across to him as he makes his way over.
Hank is in close pursuit, a little confused about what is going on but sticking by Moka's side all the same. The Rogue that had passed the message before scuttled off to find his buddies before someone decides to shoot the messenger.
As tensions start to brew between the two Rogues, Moka interrupts
"Hey, ****ing cut it out. Can't you men just ****ing get along for a change. I invite your asses up her to get drunk, high, laid... what ever you wanted and this is how you repay me? ****ing each other? Jesus Christ you two...." Moka leans in between them against the bar, deliberately blocking their pending brawl. "Hem, take Hank and find me the Professors, I need to talk with them soon." Moka nods in Hanks direction, waiting for Hemlocke to leave.
![[Image: 264px-LR_Logo.png]](https://discoverygc.com/wiki/images/thumb/4/48/LR_Logo.png/264px-LR_Logo.png){kind=logo}