As promised I approached the greenhouse area intending to visit Penny, as I said I would at our last meeting.
On arrival I see Seffy perched on top of the chicken coop and a couple strangers in the vicinity. There’s a man next to Penny outside the greenhouse and a woman by chicken coop.
The woman is talking about how roast chicken was appealing. Seffy pointed out that unfortunately despite wanting fried chicken, she’d been told they were more useful as a supply of eggs. I agreed with that after offering greetings to all.
Penny doesn’t make any introductions of the strangers to me,which seemed odd. However listening to their conversation I gathered she was still trying to find out the man’s name and he was being evasive.
I notice someone come up behind me and move towards the greenhouses so they’re not directly behind me. Not taking in their appearance at that point, just they were very large in stature.
Moving on into and through the greenhouse building, I had a look around while listening to the conversation between the first man I’d seen and Penny. By the time I’d emerged at the other end of the building it was revealed he wished to be addressed as “Sharke”.
Sharke
The unknown woman blurted out a barely understandable sentence before leaving the area hastily. Evidently not comfortable with the growing number of strangers around.
The unknown woman before she took flight
As I emerge from the greenhouse I’m now facing the stranger that had come from behind me, he’d come closer. I could see another reason the woman may have bolted. He.. presumed from stature, was not human. Humanoid in shape but his head was elongated and his skin appeared leathery.
Humanoid, but not Human..what *is* this thing I wonder.
So I ran a scan with my optical implant. Originally intended for detecting dangerous goods in packages, I’d had a few upgrades made to it. The result showed that the outlines of internal organs seemed to be in the right places for a human, so maybe he was once? I’d noticed his pistol with my regular eye already, the scan revealed just some spare ammo in his long jacket and random stuff in his bag.
Out of curiosity I did the same scan on the other guy, Sharke, talking to Penny. That brought some interesting results. I hadn’t noticed his hands weren’t completely flesh, he’d had quite a few augmented upgrades too. He noticed what I did and didn’t seem to comfortable about it, but made no verbal comment. The conversation revealed that both of them were in need of shelter and that Sharke was in need of a medic and a technician for his hands.
I told him we have a bot-shop so fixing his hands wouldn’t be an issue and we had private accommodation in old shipping containers. Penny chimed in with more information on a shelter and medical facilities. At this point the non-human announced that he was a medical doctor. It crossed my mind that may explain is current appearance, an experiment gone wrong perhaps…or right?
Penny took them over to the large building opposite, that she referred to as the “Church”. I’d just thought of it as a hall or barn, since it contained mostly medical and droid repair equipment.
The building Penny describes as the “Church”
I followed them over at a distance. Sharke made the gentlemanly gesture of indicating I enter ahead of him, but by the time I caught up he’d gone ahead. I slipped in quietly and leaned against the door frame briefly before taking a seat on an old folding chair, since I had not much to contribute to the discussion at the time.
Keeping to myself out the way
Penny was trying to get the Doctor to fill in some paperwork, which seemed a little ludicrous given the circumstances. But I figured this was Ellie’s domain and being an android it made sense she’d want everything orderly.
Penny then made her departure to go tend to the greenhouse and feed the chickens, I followed her out, leaving the Doctor and Sharke talking I bade them farewell.
Following up on my post “The AMZ Delivery Lady“, Ava is surprised to encounters the recipient of the package she had been supposed to deliver weeks earlier.
Ava exits her storage crate home and crosses towards the group gathered near the buildings and greets the group
[13:13:15] Ava looks around at the gathered folks
[13:13:25] Ava: Hi everyone
A round of returned greetings are received, but one gets her attention more than the rest.
[13:17:30] Penelope Keene turns to Ellie and raises a shoulder to gesture at Kam. "She's expectin' a kiddo." She tilts her head to the side as another unfamiliar face approaches, Ava, as others are calling her. She gives a wave with her cigarette clad hand. "Heya, Ava. I'm Penny. I run the farm over there. Good to meetcha'." She nods across the crater towards the warehouse that containers her tech.
[13:19:49] Ava pauses as if reading something only she can see and puts her hand slowly on her pistol.."and..how well do you know her?" as if Penelope hadn't spoken. You all remember the package I was meant to deliver? Apparently she was the one meant to collect it.
Ava steps closer to Penny
(Ellie on left, Penny on Right)
[13:22:40] Ava addresses Penelope "You were meant to collect a package at Helix city a while back weren't you?"
[13:27:30] Penelope Keene blinks rapidly as Ava suddenly addresses her with such a detailed question. She stutters slightly as she speaks. "I mean, I ran packages every once in a while to Eden's Nursery, but I mostly stuck to my warehouse, tending to the plants." She grins playfully, attempting to lighten the mood. "I had a lot of takeout delivered."
[13:30:27] Ava taps her eye augment "Face recognition of package recipient. I was delivering the package you would have collected. I think a very dangerous package. Given I was given a personal bomb shelter capsule to bring with me when I came to Mars."
[13:33:08] Ava steps up closer to Penelope. "I think several of us would love to know who you were picking it up for, given the place pretty much exploded after the delivery was missed."
[13:38:19] Penelope Keene brows furrow and she mouths "huh?". She brings her hands up as Ava approaches. "Whoa, I have no idea whatcha' mean. I know nothing about explosives. I never dealt with stuff like that." She shakes her head and glances around at the others. She nods to Balan and gives a wave.
[13:38:48] EL1 Ell1e 's lips press, obviously hearing Gabor and Kam talk as her L.E.D's stay faulted to Ava as she seems to watch her every movement. "Perhaps, Kam. Gator, you should head inside the cave. There is much less dust there, and it is healthier for the baby. I will bring you refreshments shortly." She says, her tone mellow and yet holding to a want to see them safe. She starts to turn to mention something to Balan, but her open lips pause as she nods her head once. "Yes. Fairwell. Miss Balan."
[13:41:40] Ava: Well Penelope, it was a munitions crate I was delivering, so I guess you were just the runner then.
[13:44:22] EL1 Ell1e 's interest in the conversation the two are having is given with the fact her eyes flicker to them for the faintest of milliseconds. Her eyes staying now, at a steady yellow, she seems almost at peace in stance. If one were not to observe her steady appraisal of Ava's movements.
[13:45:51] Penelope Keene's face is still twisted in a look of confusion as she watches Ava approach her. She drops her cigarette to the ground and stomps it out before crossing her arms across her chest, bristling slightly at the implication that she may be out to hurt people. "I ain't never hurt anyone. I ran packages. Grew product. That was it."
[13:48:39] Ava extends her arm in a non-threatening but insistent motion and indicates the touch sensor on her couriers armband "hand print would settle whether you were the person meant to collect it. However that doesn't mean you meant anyone harm. The person you would have been collecting it *for* clearly was.
[13:49:44] Penelope Keene nods slowly, hesitantly offering her palm.
[13:50:28] Ava: so as I said, we might like to know who you were meant to take that parcel *to*
[13:50:33] EL1 Ell1e 's steps are light, gently placed as she walks steadily toward Penny's side. Her smile, as it appears on her features does not make it to the mimic of the expression on her cheeks. "Understood." She states, almost sharply.
[13:51:35] Ava watches as the scanner flashes green and beeps a positive reading
[13:52:43] Ava: What are the chances of the person it was going to still being around and expecting it,any ideas?
[13:53:51] Ava steps back slightly to a more relaxed distance
[13:57:04] Penelope Keene lets out a sigh, hating talking about her past in the city, but realizes that she doesn't really have an option at the moment She mutters "okay, we doin' this then" under her breath before locking eyes with Ava and speaking in a clipped tone. "I was employed by a gang that ran outta' the casino in the city before it went down. I grew their product and we sold it out of Eden's. I didn't get outta' that warehouse often, and I definitely didn't ask questions when I was pickin' up packages and delivering them to my boss at the casino." She lets out a sigh, looking over to Ellie to see her reaction before turning her attention back to Ava. "I wanted to get a fresh start and get away from that."
[13:59:03] EL1 Ell1e 's eyes flicker the lightest bit of green seeping back into the yellow orbs as the tone shifts. The fact that she is listening, obvious with the way she lets her head shift the faintest amount from person to person.
[14:02:42] Ava notes the glance to Ellie and ajusts her stance addressing both of them "well I'm sorry to be raking up your past, but if they're going to come looking for that package..it puts us all in danger. You see why I wanted to know?
[14:05:53] Penelope Keene eyes shift over to Cod and she gives a quick nod in greeting before looking back at Ava. "I get whatcha' mean." She puts on a hand on her chest. "I swear, I don't know nothing 'bout what's inside that package though. If my former employer had plans for it, I don't know what they are."
[14:05:59] Ava: I was very startled when my implant went mental at me when I..it..saw you
[14:07:45] EL1 Ell1e 's gaze shifts, reading them both.
[14:08:59] Ava nods "yeah, usually company policy not to ask questions either. We just deliver the weapons to whoever pays, but given that the city is uninhabitable now and I'm kinda stuck here..
[14:09:03] Ava: me shrugs
[14:09:20] Ava: I guess they didn't need what's in the package after all
[14:10:27] Penelope Keene nods in understanding. " Whatcha' gonna' do with it now?"
[14:12:48] Ava: no idea, it's a big doorstop in my crate for the moment. I has some rather nasty anti-tamper measures on it, so unless you were specifically asked to check the contents, it stays that way. Until I can get it transported back to HQ"
[14:13:26] Ava: and as a runner, I doubt you were
[14:13:34] Penelope Keene shakes her head. "I never got to look inside the packages. Just delivered."
[14:13:38] Ava: so it remains a mystery
[14:16:04] Penelope Keene smiles sheepishly, fiddling with the fabric of her jacket as she speaks. "Well, I'm fuckin' horrified that I was gonna' deliver something that dangerous. Best of luck to ya', Ava. Be careful. I gotta' go tend to the chickens, but if ya' need any food, come see me, yeah?"
[14:16:33] Ava sticks out her hand to shake "I'm sorry for being hostile, but you understand. I'm ava, lets start over"
[14:17:06] EL1 Ell1e 's eyes shift gently, watching the incoming hand. She takes a mimic of breath, her eyes stabilizing back from yellow to green.
[14:18:01] Penelope Keene hesitates for a second before nodding in agreement. Her lips quirk into a grin as she takes Ava's offered hand. "Deal. I'm Penny. It's good to meetcha'."
[14:18:59] Ava: I will come by another time for sure.
Once Penny is out of earshot Elli addresses Ava:
[14:24:48] EL1 Ell1e 's arm comes up to accept the half hug from Penny, and her head shifts to follow her movements toward the coop. When Penny is a distance away, her eyes narrow at Ava. "Penny is needing good human connections. Do not effect her human relations." She says, and gives one solid nod before she starts to turn into the shelter.
[14:26:18] Ava hearing Ellies parting words, she turns and nods "Understood".
There has been little to write since my last post about the Crater and its denizens. This mainly because we had to find an alternative land rental in SL, so for a while there wasn’t actually a crater at all. As a result there’s now plenty to show you all.
The new parcel is larger than the last one so the crater is able to be larger larger, but it also spans multiple locations via some teleport doors.
New Landing Point
Out the door and through a tunnel (tp gate) and you arrive in the main crater, which is fairly similar to the previous one.
New Crater entry point
The difference in size is immediately evident as soon as you start walking and more buildings than previously making use of it.
Bits of ruined machinery
Area divided up as before
leading to other places
Including some storage crate home rentals
The various doorways and entryways tp you to other locations smoothly, such as the stacked storage crates lead to rentals.
I rented the smallest of the crates.
The large crate with the purple neon is the entryway to a bar/club venue called Muses.
Muses bar/club
I mentioned at the start that there were other places connected to the crater, to get to those we go back to the landing point. Instead of going out the doorway and through the tunnel, to the left there is a shuttle:
Shuttle located at arrival point (I had my graphics on Ultra for these photos and had to actually reduce the particle count to make it visible through the dust)
Clicking this sends you to a small transport hub with a number of landing pads
Transport junction
Heading off through the archway takes you to a small cityscape location.
City arrival point
It’s a fairly small place, but for the RP it doesn’t need to be big at all.
The story here is that the route I took to get here is like a supply run for the crater. Some of the not-so-legitimate plants grown in the greenhouse are traded for supplies.
Now we have our locations set up again, the story can continue..
Since my last post the group has adopted a name for the crater from a real world crater that exists on Mars; Hellas. Naming it after the Hellas Planitia impact crater, obviously the one in SL is a fraction of a size of the RL one!
Finally I had an opportunity to begin my RP at the Martian crater. Its not a horribly long post because I didn’t have much time, but I got to meet most of the regulars ICly. (It also means you won’t be subjected to too much chat log, which isn’t always easy to read!)
Ava woke up in her acquired tent, wishing it was the motel room ceiling from the city, rather than tired canvas. Immediately she checks the munitions shipping package she was meant to deliver was where she left it.
Thankfully no-one seemed to have been in her tent while she slept, her weapons and the package were where she’d left them. Not that’d she’d have ever known about it if they had. The anti-tamper measures on the crate were designed to incapacitate anyone nearby for several hours,what they’d do to someone already asleep was a worrying thought.
Hearing voices outside she unlaced the tent flaps and emerged from her shelter.
[12:26:11] Ava emerges from her tent "Hi there"
[12:28:44] Sefran): looks up towards the heavily armed woman "yuh sup 'skintight' i dun think i seens yew round fore uh huh im tha Seffy an yuh tha stories er all true yup...unless yer cop then ummm yuh is all lies im innocent yuh"
[12:29:17] Ava notices there seems to be quite a bit more random furniture about since her last visit "Someone been raiding a skip ((dumpster)) for more chairs?
[12:30:40] Ava nods "Oh yes, I've heard of you, nice to finally meet you"
[12:30:53] Jadz shrugs under her blanket. "I don't know where all this junk is coming from. When it's mealtime though, lots of folks need a place to scarf. Wish they'd pick up after themselves..." She squint. "Do I know you?"
[12:31:48] Ava shakes her head "no, we've not met, I'm Ava"
[12:32:50] Sefran): shrugs "yuh who knows where this junk comes from but ehhh is comfy yup.....so wots yer deal there skintight wot brings ya to this lil slice a paradise...fortune fame wot uh huh"
[12:33:11] Ava: I was making a delivery to the city when everyone had to evacuate, I waiteda bit longer to try and get that done,so just arrived
[12:33:48] Jadz holds her blanket with one hand and slips out a hand to shake. Her fingers are stained with Martian dust. "Jadz."
Seffy and Jadz
[12:34:40] Ava shakes the proffered hand "Nice to meet you Jadz"
[12:35:13] Ava looks over as someone with very bright hair approaches
[12:36:04] Sefran): tilts her head looking a bit confused "Jadz?? huh always though yer name was bar bish....pffttt bar bish is more fun yuh" she nods several times convinced this is the best idea ever
[12:36:29] Ava takes a seat on one of the rickety chairs
[12:39:19] Ava: well to answer your suggested question, no I'm not a cop. I just tend to escort dangerous stuff so need to protect it and myself.
[12:40:15] Ava: although to be honest, on this job the package would be fairly efficient at that on it's own.
[12:40:49] Jadz scowls at Sefran, who she was beginning to like. "Could you please stop calling me that.... horn dog?" Looking up to Ava: "Good think you're not a cop; you probably wouldn't last long here if folks even got a whiff of you being one..... Package? What package?"
[12:42:16] Ava indicates yellow and grey box in her tent. "That thing, but I wouldn't recommend you touch it"
[12:42:44] Sefran): "yuh last cop i saw shot me....an fer no good reason yuh sure maybe i insulted his mother but seriously....." she looks over to jadz and shrugs "....but but....phine woteva yer Jlow now pfftt yuh uh huh"
[12:43:22] Jadz taps her chin with all of her fingers, like a kid guessing what's inside a Christmas gift. "I wouldn't dare!" She chuckles.
[12:44:15] Sefran): everyone gets a nickname ;p ))
[12:44:50] Lunatantric comes down to the small encampment streching having her puple outfit on today... Her movements slow and graceful as she looks around seeing the small crowd....voice soft and seductive. "SO what aer you all up to today..."
[12:45:08] Ava points to the stasis capsule next to the tent "Well they gave me that too, to get inside if the package was opened..while I was still on the planet. So give me a chance to get in if you're gonna try!"
[12:47:32] Ava raises a hand slightly in greeting to the woman with the bright hair "Hi, I'm Ava, just making introductions"
[12:48:24] Jadz stands to greet Luna and shuffles over to her. "Just waking up and gossiping with Sef. And meeting some new arrivals." She points inside Ava's tent. "Can I shake it?"
[12:48:34] Sefran): "ya know there skintight tellin me i cant open tha box is like puttin a big shiny red button in front me an tellin me NOT ta push it....im totally gonna push that button yup jus ask Jlow here she tell ya yup.....sup purple hows yew taday"
[12:51:33] Ava: Well, yes I know saying "Don't touch" is like an invitation to some. But in this case..if you want to keep breathing..
[12:52:49] Sefran): nodsnods "jus nother grrl keepin a tight lid on her 'box' yuh been there skintight uh huh i feel yew yup"
[12:53:50] Ava: At the depot we call that model the Paranoia box. If the wrong handprint tries to open it, you get a lethal electric shock.
[12:53:53] Lunatantric smiles pulling Jadz close and gives her a soft kiss on the cheek and looks over at the other two and to ava in particular. "I am Lunatntric..one of the muses here....a pleasure to meet you." Voice is soft, secuctive yet carries a deep edge to it...not evil but very dangerous.
Luna joins us
[12:54:37] Ava looks at Jadz "you want to share my tent? We only just met"
[12:55:26] Lunatantric: Well if she is oging to your tent i come with her.
[12:55:53] Sefran): laughs to herself "preach sista i knows all bout tha paranoid 'box' yuh gotta wrap it fer yew tap it yup"
[12:56:01] Jadz leaning against Luna. "I meant shake your package. But yes, I agree - I wouldn't let Sef here anywhere near your 'box'."
[12:57:08] Ava smirks "maybe another time, Jadz"
[12:57:28] Jadz suddenly embarrassed. "Easy folks, the sun is just coming up. Who wants breakfast..." She goes behind the counter. "Ava, mind asking who the package was for?"
[12:58:01] Ava: Well you're free to go touch it, just let us all get out the range of the cloud of intoxicating gas first.
12:58:04] Jadz turns on the propane stove and cracks some eggs.
[12:59:57] ViçṮФЯiâ: hi
[13:00:14] Lunatantric laughs a bit seeing how easily jadz is embaressed and looks to Ava and walks over to her leaning down and whispers to her slowly...before moving to help jadz. "Well my time is a bit messedup...its lunch for me.."
[13:00:30] Sefran): "wait?.....we still talkin bout tha box now cuz this really startin ta sound like my nights stent wiff tha weird boi (cypher) yuh toxic gas and shackin 'packages' uh huh.....an yew should gemme a chance ta shake yer 'box' Jlow might be good fer ya yup"
[13:00:46] Ava shrugs "for all I know it could be someone in the camp. I don't have a name, or know what they look like." taps her eye augment "this thing knows what they look like, so when it spots them, I'll know"
[13:02:08] Jadz lifts her blanket up and over her head and hides her face after Sef's suggestions. She scrambles eggs blindly.
[13:02:18] Ava: But given the lengths the recipent went to for most secure package, which ain't cheap, I doubt I'll find the recipent around here.
[13:02:23] ViçṮФЯiâ: look from onr to the other talk trying to put it all together .. " what box of gas ? .. did some thing happen
[13:04:33] Sefran): points towards the yellow box in the tent behind her "yuh Vicvic thats a no touchy box er somethin we gotta stay away from it or we all die or something dunno.......REALLLLYYYYY wanna open it though ughhhh"
[13:04:39] Ava: Oh hey there Vic, the gas is one of the anti-tamper features on a package I was meant to deliver
[13:05:01] Lunatantric: you know jazzy..your sooo cute when you blush like that.
[13:06:45] Miss Balan Sichao (Terra Goulet) yawns and stretches, "Good morning crater crew."
[13:06:59] Jadz stomach drops. "I can't help it!" She scratches the bottom of the teflon pan with her spatula vigorously, scrambling the eggs.
[13:07:21] Ava turns in her chair to the sound of another voice "Hi
[13:07:22] Lunatantric looks over to B as she walks out and smiles. "Hey there B...how are you doing today." turns back and hugs Jadz..
So after some thought and discussions around suggestions made by others, I’ve made a change to my Mars RP character.
My previous story was around a bounty hunter hiding out on Mars after the Hunter became the Hunted. However this really was a poor recycling job of a previous character. Also it is apparently a very common unimaginative character role choice in this particular community.
One of the members suggested why not something much more mundane, maybe I was simply delivering a package when the city was evacuated. Which made me think of a certain global retail and tech giant.
I decided I could have some fun with this, so after some thought I came up with “AMZ Armory”. The weapons shipment branch of the “All Mars Zone” the go-to company for anything on Mars.
My characters delivery order:
Obviously since SecondLife is a 3D environment, so couldn’t not create the props for the RP.
The “AMZ Nuke-Safe” a customised version of an escape pod I bought.
The AMZ “ULTRA-Safe” shipping crate (customised from this kit.)
Next-up will be my first IC (In-Character) RP in this scenario, coming soon!
A few of the more active members of the Helix community got together and set up their own RP location.
Fortunately my single RP at Helix had made enough of an impression I was invited to join them.
The rough story, (which is still a work in progress), is that there was a disaster of some kind and the city was evacuated. The RP is in a crater where one of the groups of evacuees ended up, here’s a few pics of the small but intruiging place:
Previous crater arrival point
For some reason I never really feel part of an RP group til my character has somewhere to sleep. Some space was cleared for me to put up a tent:
My new home on Mars. Quite a step down from the cheap but comfy hotel room in Helix.
I shall see where the story goes next, I really have no idea, but often they are the best kind of stories!
With the closure of Helix RP region, one of the other suggestions made was a place called Haven, so I went over and had a look.
On arrival I read through the info available, the rules and storyline etc. Here I found that Haven is just part of a group of 3 RP regions, collectively known as “The Verse”. It’s based around the FireFly TV Series from 2002-2003.
Though being aware of the show, I never followed it, so just went by what the Do’s & Don’t s in the Rules notecard before going for a brief explore. You Do need to click the cube for the InfoPack,it has the rule nc’s (if you’re too lazy to read them, the basic rules are on yellow boards on the walls) but also landmarks for the various key locations throughout the 3 regions. You’ll need these because there doesn’t appear to be a tp pad to leave the arrival point.
Haven Arrival Point
Bar
Medical centre
Companion House..so..”brothel”
Ground level landing area
Magistrates Office seems to be one of the largest buildings
A varied range of retail locations
Capital City
I just explored the ground level with just a brief visit to the Capital city that also looks like there’s lots more to explore. Certainly a possibility that needs further investigation.
One final point that may please the Trekkies is that unlike Helix, you’re welcome. Provided you obey the Prime Directive (I’m sure I don’t have to explain that here). There’s info about agreeing with the admins in the notes, if you want to do business or missions you’ll need permission.
So in my last post I wrote about my first RP as a citizen of Helix City. The very next day I received the following in a Group Notice :
Group Notice From: |Helix| Roleplay, Forsaken Later
Helix Family – Thank you all for your overwhelming support but due to RL, the owners and staff have made the hard decision to close Helix. This was a heavy choice and we do not take it lightly. Everyone has helped shape Helix into a great community and we want to again thank you and hopefully we will see you all again in the stars!
-Helix Administration
Well that’s that. Quite disappointed to say the least. But in the current financial climate when many people are struggling to make ends meet, it’s understandable. Obviously this leaves a rather large number of players in search of a new SciFi/Cyberpunk RP location. I suggested Hangars Liquide, and there were other suggestions, so we shall see where we all end up.
I paid another visit to Helix City, following up on my previous Helix City introductory review post.
I looked around at their various rentals they offered. If I was going to be visiting, I really needed at least somewhere safe to retreat to if the streets got too dangerous.
I opted for the cheapest option, which was a room in a hotel. I figured it was also quite realistic approach. Finding some temporary accommodation when new in town, makes more sense than renting a big apartment if you’re not sure how long you’re staying.
My new room in Helix City, standard hotel room layout with sci-fi tweaks.
I then went for a bit of a wander to see what was in the immediate vicinity. I found a small back alley place where some of the locals were hanging out.
I introduced myself and reacquainted myself with the woman I met on a hover bike on my first visit. They invited me to sit and have a drink with them. So I joined them and we chatted.
The locals. My new..friends?
I was asked the obvious questions of what brought me there. I hadn’t thought too much about my story at Helix yet so I recycled one. I adapted the ‘bounty hunter’ approach from my RP at Liddell Correctional Facility to fit the scene. I said I had been pursuing a bounty and had the tables turned on me, I was now the one being pursued. Hiding out in the crime – ridden Martian city made sense.
I padded this out when asked how I’d come to be a bounty hunter, I said it was a matter of dishonourable discharge from service, although I did not clarify *which* service and politely declined to expand on the “why?” because I had just met them all.
