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Oh Mother, where art thou? - Printable Version

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Oh Mother, where art thou? - Lorelii_Darksaint - 03-17-2016

High above the Planet Erie Commercial Starport, a lone figure stares out an office window of the shipping complex and into the gloom of the approaching night. Outside, only millimeters away, a spring storm is howling like a banshee, venting it's energy against the transparasteel and alloy walls of the east tower as it had every other evening for the past week.

Focusing on her reflection, she studies herself for a moment, reaching up to move her untamed red and blonde bangs that covered her left eye. She is slim, but with well-developed shoulders and the long, gracefully limbs of a dancer or acrobat. Dressed in a blue and black spacers jump-suit, her hand rests naturally on the holstered pistol worn low on her hip.

Turning back to her desk, Lorleii Darksaint looks around the office again. Across the room, opposite her doorway, the new logo of Saint Shipping & Logistics declared the business name for all to see. Half a dozen cubicles and a small break room made up the rest of the new business center, but the desks were empty, their occupants having long since left for the day.

Business over all was good, with a freshly inked contract with Orbital Spa and Cruise to resupply their resort and liner locations. The overhaul of the company's second freighter had gone well and had finished well within the quote given by Baltimore Shipyards. The only unexpected costs had to do with the increased pirate activity through the Omega systems, but until escorts could be hired on a regular basis, it was part of the price of doing business in that sector.

Lorleii sighed and shook her head and went back to her desk, if only her personal affairs were going as well as the business. The least of her problems was a balky torpedo tube on the port side of her Havoc II bomber. Even after spending an entire day with the maintenance techs at Norfolk, the torpedoes were still being armed only 40% of the time from that launcher.

[Image: Lorleii_on_Erie_zpsnqvojvct.png]

However right now, her concentration was on a missing person, namely, her mother Moleigh. The last time Lorleii had seen her, she was picking up a courier packet to deliver to the Chairman of Orbital Spa and Cruise for his approval. After a routine communications check prior to making a jump into the Colorado System, Moleigh and her Marauder had disappeared. After searching though some wreckage near the Jump Gate and determining that it was not her mother's ship, Lorleii had contacted the officials at OS&C asking for assistance.

While the assigned agent Karen Banks had been more than gracious in communicating with her, Lorleii had been disappointed that the only thing she had received was a grainy video feed from inside one of OS&C's many resorts. She plays the video again, the audio feed matching the sound of the drizzle outside, and watches as her mother looks up as if startled and abruptly leaves the table she was sitting at.

Picking up her personal datapad, Lorleii opens up a tight beam communication to Karen, hoping that she has some additional news...

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Kdawg1990 - 03-18-2016

The head office of OS&C on Curacao resembled a bee hive at this time of year, with employee’s toing and froing, orchestrating the many operations which ensured customers received the service they expected. It was a scene in stark contrast with the view from the office window, the large expanse of the light blue sky was blemished only with the odd vapour trail of craft making their way to and from the planet. Below, the ocean was calm, encrusted with sparkles of light reflected off the crests of waves caused by the light wind. A few large ocean liners in the distance provided the only discernible objects in the scene as they gracefully glided across the horizon.

In the hustle and bustle one member of staff seemed out of place, sitting quiet and still, staring out of the panoramic window which enclosed the office. Karen was in no mood to join the general goings on, it had only been a week since, Captain Daniel Simpson, had died in an accident in Pennsylvania. He had been the only solid dependable person she could reply on, her mother had died giving birth and her farther died 6 years ago in a ship fire. Now aged 32 she felt once again alone and helpless…

*ping*

The sound of a new message in the inbox interrupted the gloomy reminiscing:

“Miss Banks,

I’m sorry to hear the news of the loss of your close friend Daniel, his death was not only a personal tragedy but one for the company as a whole my condolences to you at this difficult time.

Although I can sympathise that you must be feeling down at the moment I have an assignment I want you to handle. I have received information of a missing person, one Moleigh Darksaint. She happens to be the mother of the CEO of a new supply company we are working with and was supposed to be delivering some contract information to us…

Her daughter, Lorleii, will be in contact with you shortly. I don’t want this to become a PR disaster, with us losing the mother of our new supplier! Drop your other work and concentrate solely on this case. I trust you have the connections to get to the bottom of this without causing too much of a scene so to say… Hopefully she will turn up unharmed or lost outside of our jurisdiction and we can move on. I’ll leave this with you.

Regards

Mr Pines
CEO”


Karen sat back in her chair, not quite believing the message, a number of thoughts quickly raced through her mind:

“Why has Mr Pines contacted me with this directly?”
“What does he see in me?”
“Why is this to be kept under wraps?”
“Who is this person?”
“Why is she so important?”
“Who would want to …”

A slight pang of excitement rushed down her spine, a sensation which had not been fully experienced since her early years with OS&C scouting and running courier missions to far flung luxury liners and remote planets…

The next few days were filled with communications with Lorleii and the start of the investigation, the first step having been cross referencing Moleigh’s ID with the security records. Had she landed on the planet through the usual docking bays the security logs would have some record of this. Unfortunately the system returned no positive matches. It was a blow for sure, with no official records of a landing she would be next to impossible to track down but Karen had never expected the case to be resolved quickly. The first break through occurred after Lorleii provided an image of her mother.

The photo showed a women in her 50’s and although her age showed, she was still, in Karen’s opinion a good looking woman. Red hair, which she had passed onto Lorleii, flowed down onto her shoulders it framed a pale slender face, her cheeks where scattered with numerous freckles, but what stuck out most where the piercing blue eyes. They seemed to burn through the screen, hiding untold stories and a life full beyond her years.

Karen entered the image into the security system, focusing on the progress bar as the face recognition program ran through all the CCTV footage from the many resorts. Karen had mixed feelings about the outcome, though she wanted Lorleii’s mother to be safe, truth be told the best outcome for OS&C would be for there to be no trace of her, Karen could close the case and return to a normal routine, but there was a part of her excited by the prospect of something more exciting…

“Target identified”
“Location: Bar Lounge, Diogo Resort”
“Time since last sighting: 72 hours 35 minutes 3 seconds”
“Playing video file” came the automated voice of the computer

Karen watched as the grainy CCTV footage played. It showed the inside of Bar Lounge, it was not the usual high luxury bar found on Curacao, certainly not drab, but dark and foreboding. It was frequented by the less sociable clients, people from the fringes, well off yes, but their business was often based beyond the laws of house space. It was a hotbed for gambling, drugs and less than respectable entertainment.

In the video Moleigh was sat alone at a small table not far from the bar, she looked around nervously, she had clearly spotted the camera and turned away. After about three minutes she looked down seemingly busying herself with something, then abruptly left out of shot, she had drawn little attention from the other punters and did not seem to make any attempt to talk to anyone there. It was not much for Karen to go on and left more questions than answers…

Why was she there?
How did she get there?
Why was the main CCTV cameras not working?
What was she using in her hands?
Where had she gone?

These questions needed to be answered, Karen knew the only way to make progress was to go to Diogo Resort and find out herself what had been seen that day.

The resort was named after the small remote island it was built on, it was at least a four day cruise from the headquarters but there was no time for sailing by sea, Karen decided to take her own transport. She opened her data pad whilst traveling to her apartment and quickly messaged Lorleii, it was not the update she had hoped to send but at least there had been a sighting of Moleigh. She was alive.

The doors automatically opened as she neared, the interior was a modest affair, a single bedroom, a small toilet and a kitchen. It was untidy, decorated only with a few dead house plants. Karen made her way to a door off the main room, slid her ID card through the scanner, a little green light turned on and the door opened. As she entered the dark hanger a few lights flickered and struggled to turn on, after the scene had finally been illuminated the outline of an Arrow class light fighter covered by some old stained sheets came into view. The craft had been a gift from her father back when she had first joined OS&C but after he died six years ago she had requested to be transferred from the courier missions to the public relations and human resources department… a safe … steady job … behind a desk. Since then the craft had remained unused.

Karen grabbed the sheets and pulled them off the craft, sending plumes of dust into the stale still air. She took a step back and surveyed the craft, it was just as it had been left. She climbed the steps up to the cockpit and pulled the release handle, the canopy slowly raised and as it did a plethora of screens and lights began to blink into life signalling the boot up sequence of numerus flight, weapons and navigation systems. Karen climbed down and stepped over to a locker in the corner of the room and unhooked a set of flight clothes, a leather zip jacket lined with animal fur, a leather cap and a pair of googles, which had been custom made to display the HUD inside, she changed, happily noting that they still fitted. During this time the craft had finished its start-up sequence, she drew in a large breath and exhaled slowly on the climb into the cockpit, the landing thrusters came online causing the craft to hover in the hanger, the gear raised and locked in to the smooth hull and the canopy closed. A bright shaft of sunlight raised steadily as the hanger doors opened, cutting through the dusty atmosphere, Karen thumbed the throttle control nervously, the doors locked open, full throttle!

The main engine roared into life jettisoning the craft like a rock from a catapult. The exhaust wake shattered the calm surface of the sea and sent spray high into the air, temporarily creating a rainbow in the failing droplets. Karen’s heart beat raced as she soared into the spotless blue sky…

“I hope my questions will be answered, I hope I'll have more to report to Lorleii soon” Karen thought as she entered the coordinates into the navigation computer. The Arrow pitched starboard and headed east, towards Diogo Island…

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Kdawg1990 - 03-21-2016

Karen cruised high in the atmosphere for a smoother more economical flight. The sun had set a few hours ago, above was awash with points of light and swirls of gas, below the sea mirrored the sky, though less defined and distorted by the ocean’s slow swell.

Her star gazing was interrupted by the navigation system indicating the start of the planned decent to Diogo Island, Karen throttled back the engine, a reassuring whine and the slight ticking of cooling engine parts sounded from the rear of the craft. The arrow dropped into a shallow dive, the view from the cockpit filled with the rippling array of the reflected stars, after a few moments the lights of the resort became discernible from amongst the others.

“Karen Banks to Diogo control” she called over the intercom

A few moments of silence followed… a slight crackle came through the speakers in the cockpit

“Diogo control to Karen Banks, we have your vessel ID information, what are your intentions?”

“I’m requesting to land sir”

“Landing clearance granted, sending landing vectors to pad 6, safe landing miss”

The navigation system received the vectors, her HUD googles projected the required flight path, she continued the decent … gear down … landing thrusters activated … she pulled back on the control stick and gave the craft a small amount of reverse thrust to slow the forward momentum and level the craft. She touched down on pad 6 and with a flick of a number of switches the arrow’s systems were shut down and the canopy opened. She grabbed a hold all bag and climbed down from the cockpit. Karen gave her body a stretch, it had been a long flight and although the craft had a comfortable seat the interior was cramped.

She looked around and spotted a man approaching from across the landing pad, wearing all black and what appeared to be a gun holster on his belt. She straitened her flight jacket and walked towards him.

“Greetings Miss Banks, I’m Steve Wilson chief operator of this facility, we have been expecting you”

He was not the usual OS&C representative, sleek, well-spoken and full of smiles, he was instead broad shouldered tall and rather intimidating, his face was weathered with a scar running from below the left eye to the chin. “How had he known I was coming” Karen thought and was about to ask a question along those lines…

“Pines informed me about your trip here, I gotta say we don’t often get head quarter types around here, the situation must be serious!” His voice hinted at an undertone of sarcasm.

“Well we have a missing person to locate and Mr Pines wants it resolved as soon as possible” Karen replied with a slightly harsh tone

“Well that can wait till morning Miss, it must have been a long flight for you. We have made arrangements for your stay, please follow me to your room” He turned and starting walking without waiting for Karen’s reply.

“Nice man” Karen thought and raised her eyebrows.

She followed Steve until he stopped in a corridor lined with doors, he drew a door card from his pocket and opened a room. He spoke as he handed the card to Karen.

“It’s no luxury room I’m afraid as its usual reserved for crew of supply vessels but I’m sure you will manage, I have arranged an escort to meet you here at 1000 tomorrow, he will be able to take you anywhere on the resort, night Miss Banks”

The room was even sparser then her own apartment, there were no windows, a single bed with what looked like unwashed sheets and a wash pod consisting of a toilet, shower and sink. The walls were devoid of any decoration if you discounted the oily finger marks around the light switch.

After washing and changing Karen turned on her datapad, a new message from Lorleii, it turned out her ship was being repaired and had delayed her trip to Curacao. It was a shame as Karen was anxious to meet, she felt there were unanswered questions and any help would be useful to the investigation. It was clear from the message that Lorleii was relieved there had been a sighting of Moleigh but the disappointment about the lack of other leads was apparent. “Hopefully that will change soon” thought Karen. She laid down and searched the bedside cabinet for something to read… a well-thumbed copy of Kusari babes… “Bloody typical” she muttered.

*Beep Beep Beep* *Buzz* *Beep Beep Beep* *Buzz*

Karen awoke and reached under the pillow, grasping the datapad she swiped the alarm off… 0930…
It had been an uneasy sleep filled with restless thoughts, the itchy hard bed had not helped. A feeling of apprehension filled Karen whilst getting ready for the day, these were not the normal surroundings for an OS&C pencil pusher…

*Knock Knock Knock*

The escort arrived promptly at 1000, she opened the door… expecting another Steve, another hench ex-military type. Instead, in the door way was a smartly dressed man wearing glasses and holding a datapad, Karen attempted to hide her surprise but was sure the man was a little bemused at her facial expression.

“Umm greetings Miss Banks, George Errington” he offered his hand

Karen shock his hand but noted his rather limp handshake…

“I’ve been requested to take you on a tour of this facili….”

“I need to go to Bar lounge” Karen interrupted, she had no time for games and it felt to her that this was some sort of tactic to interfere with the investigation…

“Well …well that will… umm… come later in the tour miss” George stuttered

“No you can take me now” she insisted

“That’s not possible, Bar lounge is closed till 5 pm, but if you follow me I can show you around the extensive client entertainment village…”

“I’ll wait till 5 then, just show me where it is located, I’ll make my own way thanks”

George tapped at his datapad…

“I've sent you a map with a route to the bar, hope you enjoy your visit Miss Banks” his voice notably sharper. As he took a step back from the door Karen slammed it shut.

She paced back and forth in the small room and waited for the time to pass, the investigation was not going as planned, the list of questions were growing steadily longer and no answers were forthcoming. Her frustration was growing “Who the hell is messing me around!” She almost said out loud.

7 hours later

The bar was located at the tip of small headland on the Northern coastline. Unlike most facilities on the Island, which had been built on the surface and were overtly signposted, it had been built underground into the bedrock and was not even on the official tourist maps. After some time searching Karen located one of only two entrances to the bar, the elevator door was cut directly into the volcanic rock in a passage way far from the main tourist routes. The message from George indicated the other entrance was linked with a small marina nestled in the cove formed by the headline and was only accessible from the sea. She stood with her finger on the down button and checked the immediate vicinity for any CCTV cameras…there were none… *button pressed*

The doors of the elevator opened to the dark interior of the bar, though it had not been open long the air smelt of stale cigarette smoke, dust particles danced in the few dim lights dotted over the bar and tables. The place was empty, apart from the barman, whom was busying himself by cleaning the taps.

Karen approached…

“What can I gets ya?” the man asked without even looking up

“I was wondering if you could help me with a missing person whom was seen here a few nights ago”
She asked whilst placing a photo of Moleigh and her ID onto the bar. The barman half-heartedly inspected the photo…

“Never seen her”

“Well do you agree this is you and this is the women in the photograph?” Karen showed the video pointing at the screen.

“look Miss...” he checked the ID card “...Miss Banks I see a lot of people come and go thought this place, I don’t remember her, now is there anything else?”

“Was there anything odd about that night?” she added quickly

“Either I can pour ye a drink or I can ask ye to leave”

“Pint of liberty ale”

She grasped the cold perspiring glass and took a mouthful as she walked to a table…pondering what the hell she was doing, why she was here and why no one seemed to want to help. Despondently she placed a cigarette into a long holder, it had been a present from Daniel, and lit it. She sat for a while slowly smoking and drinking her pint. The emptiness of the bar seemed odd, as if someone had informed the usual clientele that there was someone poking around.

*Swoosh*

The doors to the other entrance slid back, two men entered the bar dressed in overalls, ordered some drinks and took a table. They were in a jolly mood and discussing some aspect of their work.

“It’s a Pithogamantus breaching for sure”
“Come on Terry that was clearly a ship impact..”

“What are you two talking about?” Karen interrupted

The men spoke of their scientific investigation into the marine life of Curacao, it turned out they were OS&C researchers and were discussing an odd sound contact they had recorded recently. One thought it had been caused by the sound of a large marine mammal like animal jumping from the water during its mating ritual, the other believed it must have been a ship impact. Karen was shocked, was this the break the investigation needed, what were the chances. The pair only drank in the bar as it was the only place on the island they would afford and it happened to be accessible from their vessel… “Some luck at last” thought Karen. She did not inform them of the investigation, no longer trusting the information with others, and instead told them she was looking at a transfer from the Head Office to Diogo and was on a tour of the island. Karen arranged to travel with them on their visit to the location of the sound contact, faking some interest in marine wildlife. They seemed happy for the female company though a little complexed by why she would want to spend potentially the next few days on-board a small research vessel.

Karen left the bar and messaged Lorleii, if this sound contact turned out to be Moleigh’s ship she had to be there, and more so she was anxious to meet in person.

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Lorelii_Darksaint - 03-27-2016

As Lorleii dropped out of the last trade gate near Curacao, she was struck by the beauty of the tropical planet. Only high, light clouds that whisped across the oceans and occasional small chains of islands marred what from space looked like a big azure marble.

The trip into Cortez had been uneventful, if you counted the numerous stops that had been ordered by LSF and Navy troops while transiting the New York system. Apparently, even the trade lanes that crisscrossed the home system of Liberty were not immune to Hackers, Rogues and Pirates. Because of this, road blocks and interdiction points were being set up by law enforcement officials to try to stop criminals from harassing civilians. Unfortunately, the only thing that seemed to be happening was a general slowdown of traffic as inspection scans were being made and questions about the results answered.

At times, Loreleii considered being pirated was almost preferable to having to broadcast your ID & manifest at the numerous roadblocks while on an outbound route. At least you could occasionally negotiate with a Pirate...

A blinking light on the communications panel focused Lorleii's attention back to what she was doing. She flipped on the transceiver and checked her IFF broadcast, while slowing her ship and wide port turn out of the exit path of the trade lane.

“... incoming fighter, this is planet Curacao, where you headed?”

“Curacao control, this is Lorleii Darksaint, Chief Operations Officer of Saint Logistics, requesting flight path to Windward II resort, over...” She smiled as she stated her newly minted title.

It seemed like a lifetime ago that she was a musician, traveling from capital city to seedy frontier outpost and back again trying to get her big break in the holo-music industry. And while she made a decent living at it, her band never seemed “new” or “edgy” enough to really be successful. During her last stop on Erie, she ended a long, abusive relationship with her manager and decided to get out of the entertainment industry. Trading in her lights and amps and taking out a loan from a large helium mining concern, she was able to afford a used Kestrel class freighter and started Saint Logistics. After a lot of long, dangerous flights; and being in the right place at the right time on more than one occasion, the company had paid off it's start up loans, upgraded it's equipment and was finally starting to show a profit.

“Yes Ms. Darksaint, we have your reservation confirmed, we're uploading the coordinates to Windward II Resort, dock 41B to your neural net. Your flight path is clear and you are authorized to land. Feel free to to contact any member of the Orbital Spa & Cruise staff if you need anything once you've landed. Enjoy your stay.”

Lorleii flipped over to the local traffic channel and listened to the chatter as she eased her Havoc Bomber into a starboard slide. She slowed to enter the docking ring and begin her descent to the planets surface. As she entered the atmosphere, she wondered how her upcoming meeting with Karen Banks was going to go. She seemed nice enough in the communications that had been exchanged, but there was a lot to be said for a face to face discussion. And with a good conversation about their own personal investigations, just perhaps they could begin to figure out where Moleigh had disappeared to and why.

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Kdawg1990 - 04-07-2016

Karen,s datapad beeped beside her, it was automated message she had requested to be sent when Lorleii landed. …

Flight ID: Lorleii Darksaint
Flight Path: Windward resort
Landing status: Complete

Why had she flown there?… and then the penny dropped, it was unlikely she would have been given a flight path to Diogo directly, it’s too remote and a fair distance from the main docking hangers, or maybe someone was misdirecting her… Karen shook her head “Can’t let myself get paranoid” she whispered to herself.

Getting Lorleii to Diogo was the first problem, Karen’s craft was fast enough to get to Windward and back in time for the science crew vessel but being a single seater it was no good for the job. Karen, after a short while debating with herself, decided to contact the only other person she knew well enough to trust picking Lorleii up and getting her to Diogo in one piece and on time… Peter Simpson the son of her late friend Daniel. He was still on bereavement leave, but having known him since he was a wee boy Karen knew he would be more than happy to go pick up an attractive lady such as Lorleii and better still his Raven’s Talon fighter had two seats.

Peer to peer video call selected
Establishing encrypted link with contact Peter Simpson
Link established waiting for acceptance
Call Accepted

The datapad filled with the view of Peter’s face. He did not really look like Daniel at all, in fact most of his facial features were clearly from his mother… except his dark hazel eyes they were undeniably his father’s.

“Hay K how’s things?”

“Could be better Pete if I’m honest and you? Again I'm sorry about your father…”

“Yeah I got the card thanks … I'm over it really he was a great dad but he never shielded me from the dangers of the job… pirates… jumpholes… collisions oh and of course colliding with stars”

He smiled half-heartedly at his own quip, his father had ditched his stricken enterprise liner into the corona of the star at the heart of the Pennsylvania system. The act saved the lives of the vessels picking up evacuated passengers and crew from a core meltdown implosion but cost Daniel his life.

“Well what can I do for ya K?”

“I need a favour… I have an individual I need picked up from Windward resort and bringing to Diogo by tomorrow morning but I need someone I can trust to keep this off the books so to say and I was thinking considering you are officially on leave …. Oh and her name is Lorleii”

“off the books? Is everything okay Karen?”

“I’m currently searching for her mother and I suspect that there is a link to an OSC employee somehow”

“Ah I see well considering I’m bored and I can help two damsels in distress, I’ll go get my flight gear on..”

“Thanks Peter, it means a lot, I’ll let her know you are coming, safe flight”

“No probs K”

Peer to Peer video call terminated

Karen scrolled down to Lorleii’s contact information, it was time to talk…

Peer to peer video call selected
Establishing encrypted link with contact Lorleii Darksaint
Link established waiting for acceptance --- ---


RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Lorelii_Darksaint - 04-08-2016

After getting out of her flight suit and taking a quick shower, Lorleii had finished unpacking and had poured herself a drink before taking up residence on the lanai. The private patio was graced with two graceful wicker work papasan seats with overstuffed cushions, a small table and a hibachi brazier; all of which looked like they were imported directly from Kusari.

[Image: 02%20Lorleii%20on%20Curacao%2001_zpsjw3s0nds.png]

The hospitality at the Windward II resort was what she had come to expect from all of the Orbital Spa & Cruise resorts she had visited. The room was tastefully decorated, modern yet luxurious and with the guests anticipated needs only a hands-breath away. The concierge had assured her that any word from Karen Banks was to be re-transmitted to her room immediately.

She had chosen the chair closest to the glassteel slider that led back into her room and started to perused the weeks reports. The only item of interest was that one of the Kaptains had run into some pirates in the Low Omegas, but had gotten through the encounter with only some minor exterior damage.

“About time we look into some escorts...” the murmured to herself as she looked up from her data pad. The warm breeze whispered it's assent as it passed through a line of coconut laden palm trees causing them to sway gently as the sun slowly set over the horizon.

A soft chime followed by a gentle voice interrupted her reverie, “Karen Banks is being patched through...” Lorleii picked up her personal communicator to see Karen's face outlined on the screen. It appeared a bit darker than where she was, Lorleii assumed that she was on a different island elsewhere on the resort planet.

Peer to peer video call
Establishing encrypted link with new contact Karen Banks
Link established waiting for acceptance
Tap to Accept Call


She tapped on datapad's screen, and as the link was established she said, “Karen, so good to finally have a chance to speak to you directly... Do you have any additional news?”

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Kdawg1990 - 04-10-2016

- - - Peer to peer video call accepted - - -

Karen’s datapad screen flicked to a view of Lorleii, she was beautiful and in Karen’s mind the definition of a strong, confident and independent woman. Everything Karen wanted to be.

“Um … uh he ... Hello Lorleii” she stumbled on her words, conscious of her blushing cheeks, hoping they would go unnoticed.

“I hope your flight was uneventful…

…I’ve managed to stall the science team until you arrive, the suspected crash site of your mother’s ship is approximately 15 nautical miles east of Diogo Island. It can only mean she must have had help of some kind to reach land. This combined with the lack of CCTV footage and the odd behaviour of some of the staff here has lead me to suspect that there is an insider, currently working for OS&C trying to hide their tracks… it’s hard to believe… but as of now I’m keeping the investigation quite… I’m not sure who to trust…

…Ah that reminds me, I have organised your transport from Windward to Diogo, a young man called Peter Simpson will be landing his Raven’s Talon on pad 3B shortly, he’s the son of a late friend of mine and I’m sure he can be trusted to get you here promptly…

…Unfortunately that’s all I have currently, I’m hoping that this sound contact is your mother’s ship and that it’ll shed some light on what the hell has going on…

…Looking forward to meeting, any questions before you get ready?”

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Lorelii_Darksaint - 04-11-2016

“Yes, the flight in was nice and boring... my favorite kind when I travel.”, she smiled as a little color crept into Karen's cheeks.

Now that there was only a few thousand kilometers or less between them, the static and background noise in the video feed had cleared up, giving Lorleii a high definition picture of her OS&C contact. Her initial impression was that Karen was attractive enough, appearing innocent, but with eyes that had seen too much pain and suffering.

She listened to Karen's report intently, furrowing her eyebrows as the location of the crash offshore of Diogo Island and the assistance that was apparently standing by was mentioned. Lorleii was also troubled by the idea that there was some forces inside orbital Spa & Cruise that were at work trying to hinder her from finding her mother. It didn't make a whole lot of sense, unless there were other players who had made the effort to remain hidden.

As she listened to the arrangements to transport her to Diogo Island she was surprised by the name of the pilot and his relationship with Karen. “I'll be ready, Raven's Talon on pad 3B, pilot Peter Simpson. I'll grab my kit and head there immediately.”

“Before you go, I want you to know that I made every effort to convince Kaptain Simpson to abandon the Ascension before it's destruction in Pennsylvania. I've heard that you were close... his noble sacrifice ensured the safety of passengers... I'm sorry for the loss of your... friend.” As she croaked out the last word, she looked away from her data pad.

She had never found it easy to talk about death, but this seemed even more difficult than in the past. Lorleii took a moment to compose herself before looking back at the screen, noticing that that Karen looked pale and vulnerable, “Oh Karen, I didn't meant to upset you so... I'm sorry, I just wanted you to know... aw, nvts...”, she stopped as saw Karen's eye's start to fill up. She wasn't sure why she felt so protective of this woman she had not met yet, but if they had been in the same room, Lorleii would have rushed over and given Karen a much needed hug, holding on and comforting her until she knew everything was going to be fine.

“Ok, I'm signing off for now, I'll see you shortly, my friend...”

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Kdawg1990 - 04-13-2016

“bye *sniff* see you when you arrive…” Karen tapped the end call button

--- Peer to Peer video call terminated ---

Karen tossed the datapad onto her pillow and curled up in to the fetal position, as she hugged her knees emotions of grief and frustration flowed through her. She had managed to put the thought of Daniel’s death to the back of her mind but when it surfaced it was still raw and felt to Karen as if someone was poking at an exposed tooth nerve. Surprisingly the sense of frustration came not from the investigation but from the fact she had let Lorleii see her so upset, so vulnerable… so pathetic…she uncurled and lay on the bed, allowing these feelings to slowly ebb away like the going out of the tide.

After about an hour she sat up, took a deep breath in and wiped her eyes. With a clearer mind she set about planning for Lorleii’s arrival, which was now no longer than 5 to 6 hours away, and the next day’s science expedition. Karen decided she would meet Lorleii down on the landing pad herself rather than involve Steve Wilson, or any other OS&C staff member for that matter. It would mean they would have to share the dingy box room for one night, but Karen thought it was for the best and did not mind sleeping on the floor. She reached in to a bag beside the bed and rummaged for the radio communicator, it was a small device and had managed to worm its way right to the bottom. Once it had been dug out Karen tuned it to the frequency of Diogo’s control tower. As she waited for Pete’s voice requesting a landing vector she typed a message to the crew of the science vessel, confirming the sailing time the next morning and their acceptance of another unexpected guest.

Tomorrow, thought Karen, would be make or break for the investigation, either another dead end or the start of some real progress towards finding Lorleii’s mother, although this gave Karen a feeling of apprehension it was the imminent meeting with Lorleii that was foremost in her mind. For some reason she felt a connection with her, this women she had not even met… Karen could not put a finger on it… but it made her uneasy.

RE: Oh Mother, where art thou? - Lorelii_Darksaint - 04-19-2016

Lorleii watched Karen's image fade away as the call transmission ended. “Ok, maybe that wasn't the best way to handle that...” she said to the walls of her suite as she set down her data pad.

She turned and looked out at the ocean for a few minutes and watching the waves come in while she considered what she knew about her Mother's previous life. She had been a freewheeling trader for a long time before Lorleii was born, that much was given. However, she had also found out that if you wanted something moved with no questions asked and no “entanglements” of any sort, Moleigh Darksaint was one of the best smugglers money could buy.

There was also the question of Lorleii's father. Her mother had never actually said who it was, though she had let on that her sire was one of the major players in the Confederation of Unaligned Worlds criminal syndicate years ago. Her direct questions had always been met with a wink and a knowing nod along with “Well, he might be...”. The arguments the the two of them had about her parentage was one of the sticking points in Lorleii's relationship with her mother. Invariably, they ended with one of them storming out on the other, vowing to never talk to the other again. Then after a ten-day they would meet over coffee at one of the Freeports and all would be good until the topic came up again.

Despite their arguments, Lorleii had sent for her mother when she had formed Saint Logistics. The fact remained that Moleigh knew the trade lane routes and who to contact about lining up cargoes so they were ready to be loaded once the previous commodity was out of her freighters hold. And at the beginning, it looked like her mother had tried to leave her prior life behind her. She had kept to the trade lanes, cooperated with the house officials and her reports had been filed with no obvious anomalies. But now with her disappearance, it was entirely possible that one of her old “acquaintances” had tracked her down, and was trying to re-kindle her association with the Confederation.

Lorleii sighed and turned away from the peaceful scene outside, and began to get her kit together. With any luck this was going to be a short trip, fly out to Diogo Island then to what could possibly be the crash site of her mother's ship. She packed her bag lightly with a change of clothes, chronometer, ear-piece communicator and data pad as well as some extra ceramic tipped rounds for her side-arm. She also checked her DM .40 cal Falcon to make sure it was ready for action then slipped the pistol back into her thigh holster. Once she was sure she had everything that she needed, she picked up her kit and left her suite to go to the landing area.


The landing pads at the Windward II resort were bustling with activity, Tourists and Vacationers arriving and departing from far off locales, commercial ships arriving with supplies to be unloaded by the OS&C ground crews as well as an occasional liner.

Lorleii watched this frantic ballet of space craft from the landing pad gate with an amused look as she listened to the radio traffic on her earpiece. It wasn't often that she had the chance to see this grand dance, as usually she was in the middle of it herself. The space port controllers had their hands full ensuring that every craft came and went safely about it's business and in a timely manner.

Soon enough, she heard a request come over for landing pad 3b, and watched as a Raven's Talon Heavy Fighter dropped from the pattern overhead and landed. A young man emerged from the cockpit, looked around at the few people that were waiting and once he saw Lorleii, smiled as he walked over to her.

“You Lorleii? I'm Pete. Ya can stow your gear behind the jump seat. Hop in and we'll get ya out of here. K's waiting.”

She looked Pete over, he was a fairly good looking young man but there was something about him, maybe it was his cocky swagger, that made him appear older than his years. “Ok Pete, just need a second to get on-board and strapped in.”

There wasn't much extra room in the fighter's cockpit for a jump seat, and it most definitely wasn't built for a passenger's comfort. But for a short hop across the planets surface, she could tolerate a bit of discomfort. As she squirmed into the seat, she caught Pete watching her intently. “Pete, you shouldn't stare so, a lady could get the wrong idea...”

Pete could feel the heat rise to his face, “Sorry Lor, I didn't mean to...” He knew Karen was going to be merciless in her teasing if she found out he had been checking out her friend.

“No worries kid, I suppose I should take it as a complement.” She buckled the flight harness, put on her helmet and plugged it into the fighters comm system as he was sliding into the pilot seat. “Ready when you are.”

As they lifted off the pad, Pete got clearance to re-enter the outgoing traffic pattern. “Next stop, Diogo Island and our friend, K.”. As he hit the thruster he added, “Hang on, it might be a bumpy ride...”