OOC: No please lead away...We're losing momentum fast

[ooc: Alright, Mr. Kent, unless we need to go in a particular sequence can I have Blinov answer the call for witnesses and deal with the outcome of that?]

[OOC: Certainly! Any order will do! I'll chime in sooner next time.]

Magnus directs you all inside the station to the desk sergeant, then with an eager clap of his hands he bids you all good day. "I must be off to reopen the lounge at the Orb! There's a small but faithful group of drunks who will be missing my presence!"

Blinov:
The desk sergeant leads you down the hall to a sterile metallic interrogation room, which seems almost unnecessarily intimidating. The Marshall greets you calmly. "So, you might have some information, eh?" He sits opposite the table from you, and folds his hands.

"It's a decent reward, if any evidence pans out," he notes.

You describe the person with whom you saw the victim meet--a nubile young blonde with a briefcase. When she left for the spaceyard, she was carrying the old marine's pipe. Of course, none of this was on surveillance feed from the hotel due to the mysterious interruption, but the Marshall has an idea.

"Ah, I'm calling over to the yard, have them send their security feed over." When he walks into the adjacent room, you peer over the Marshall's shoulder and immediately recognize it. It looks like the control room from your omen...

Denny and Jolene:
The inside of the municipal building is busier than you might expect, but then again it is a capitol office. Who knows, you might even encounter the Governor herself if she's not traveling!

The lobby has a news screen similar to that in the Golden Orb hotel. Though the flashing news items read "Breaking", it's best to remember that these were delivered yesterday, and are a day old.

• BREAKING: The governor of Delvoo is seeking engineers to assist in the repair of a levitation-harness. As the planet's meteor shower problem increases, levitation-harnesses and their embedded grav-sling systems remain of utmost priority in defending the flying cities.
• BREAKING: Miracle cure found on Cradle? Scientists at the Bioethics Institute claim to have discovered a wonder drug that has shown great promise in the treatment of terminal ailments.
• BREAKING: Murders on Shaddai! Three retired members of the Protectorate military have been murdered on trade planet Shaddai. All had long careers, and one--Bernard Gosrock--was even a decorated general in the War thirty years ago. Planetary governor Emil Karkov assures the safety of travelers to Shaddai as Protectorate security has been increased.

Older News (all news prior to present month, May):

• (circa April) Popular interplanetary churn-drop musician D3ead4og (that's pronounced "DeadHog" to the uninitiated!) is bringing his show to Qetesh next month! His tour of the Protectorate worlds began on Clio, visited Thalia, will arrive in Qetesh in May, and will end in a grand weekend on Atlas and Adonis.
• (circa March) The governess of Adonis, Rhea Solis, has passed away from an allergic reaction to Thalian herbs. Newly appointed governor Piter Klattenhoff has requested an autopsy and full investigation, suspecting foul play.
• (circa January) The Titan Protectorate celebrates 50 Years! In January our young alliance celebrated its formation with parades and festivals on capital planet Atlas in the grand city of Titanopolis.

At the bottom of the digital screen a small scrolling advert mentions the courier system. "Want to see the stars up close and help keep the Protectorate united and informed? You could be a Courier! Contact @courierxp on QNet to learn more and travel the galaxy!"

There is also a holographic poster placed next to the board, advertising Deadhog's show in Jessup tomorrow night. His special guest performer is Marie Eidolon, and the opening act is S'MOOV. The animated deadhog mask graphic winks at you playfully.

Blinov waits to see what happens.

Blinov:
In a few minutes, the Marshall is looking over the feed from the spaceyard, and sure enough, there's the girl you described. Before reaching the loading area for the flight to Atlas, she ditches the dead marine's pipe and a small bag in a garbage receptacle.

The Marshall calls his men to the spaceyard, and before darting out of the surveillance officer, he turns to you. "We usually don't get useful results when we offer a reward for information. Local Qeteshi are sort of likely to mind their own business and look the other way, even for credits. Well now--I guess you've earned it."

He performs an electronic transfer on his commpad, and rewards Blinov 200 credits!

The Marshall has a sergeant escort you back out to the rest of the group. Your time at the municipal building has eaten up some time, and now it's very late in the morning.

Denny watches Blinov, after his...interrogation, to see if he notices anything different... He says to Blinov

"How did it go?"

Blinov flicks an imaginary wad of bills in his hands. "That poor marine's gonna be paying for a lot of slick T-shirts. What do you think my next design should be? I'm thinking something based on The Girl Who was a Butterfly Knife."

"Well at least one of us got paid. But you best hope she has no feudin kin and kind." Jolene is genuinely happy for Blinov, but there's a crease of confused reluctance on her brow. Such behavior, walking up to the po-po and get paid for spilling beans, is rather bad form to her Qeteshi views. Keeping things in house and general distrust of the law is almost beyond generational among settlers she's used to.

Smiling wry, "Now if, by your leave, you're ready to pick up your second payday before lunch..."

"I'm at your disposal. Let's go."

A pair of armed men stand outside the NME office, bit they were clearly expecting you. As your group approaches, one guard stoically steps aside as the other leads you into a small but well decorated lobby. From there, the young secretary takes you in to see Ran Iijima.

Iijima checks the holographic clock on her desk when you arrive, then looks up at you. She is rather disappointed not to see Commander Turov with you.

Denny looks over Ijima, trying to place if he's seen her before, he whispers to JoJo and Blinov..

"What's with the bodyguards...did yall leave in unfriendly terms last time?"

Denny:
You've certainly never encountered this beatiful creature in person before (you'd surely remember her if you had!), however the Iijima name carries certain connotations for you--you recall the Iijima Clan from your late fathers tales of planet Kazo. According to Dad, the Iijimas were one of the prominent ruling families in the Forbidden City--respected and feared, and wealthy beyond reason. Not really what you'd think of as the "desk job" type...

"So you're here about our little...payment snafu, eh?" Iijima continues. "That mistake was...unfortunate, but to not surprising, what with all the staggering feats of accounting we've had to juggle lately..."

Beside her appears a tall man, very thin, with dark hair and an angular face. Despite the realistic quality of his face, his eyes are blinking bulbs, similar to your own robotic helper Modia.

"My first computational error in decades!" the thin man defends himself to Iijima, and sneers at her, as if she is an old and hated enemy. He turns to you all. "Now, how in payroll were you missing?" he asks impatiently, preparing to transmit the credits electronically. "And once we're all paid up, will that be all for today?"

Denny whisper's to Blinov and JoJo

" What do we have on her, can we "cattle" prod her for any info? " "Blinov...What do the voices inside your head say ey?"

"This was Aleksandr's project, and he didn't exactly give us the play by play. If the money's forthcoming I say we just let this go smoothly but mention that Aleksandr is looking forward to seeing her or something."

Blinov surreptitiously draws and peeks at a tarot card just in case.