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]Â 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..
