Co-authored by: Ray of Meep (GM), Acewing13, Ikate Keda Studios, TheCountryWarrior
23XX A.D, two months after the raid on the warehouse
Silbern System, Stahl Belt, Nikolaus Otto dwarf-planetary system, Magnuski Station
The Maybach Ring is the oldest of the modern rings of the station, with the central tube visible and a line of lights illuminating the habitable surfaces. Due to its age, it hosts the governing body of the station and the de-facto government of the Silbern system as a whole, along with an embassy and multiple courthouses.
The Lancers were driven to the Maybach Civil Courthouse in a private shuttle with one way windows. A few drones diligently followed them, recording their movements and broadcasting it all live on the various GDW media platforms. Ulrike helplessly watched it all on her datapad. Somehow, the general public was made aware of the custody battle, and by extension, the presence of her mercenary team on the station.
"Does dat li'el 'appen round 'ere dat ma custody ba'le gets televised?" Joan asked, looking out the window of the car. "Ah mean really? Dis is a lot o' atten'ion fer a custody ba'el," She added, looking at Ulrike.
"Well, besides the occassional pirate raid, things are pretty peaceful in the Silbern system." Ulrike put her datapad down and looked back at Joan. "You've got plenty of bored kids who'll stick their drones on anything eventful."
"However," she continued, "Consider that a hostage crisis did happen a few months ago, and people know we're here as mercs. They want to know everything about us, espeacially the sweet, sweet drama." She forced out a chuckle.
"Well, dey kin suck an egg fer all ah care," Joan sighed, shaking her head. "Dis is gonna be terrible..."
"No, this will be fine. They'll have forgotten this by next week, there's gotta be a whole shit ton of more interesting things happening around here." Juan looked out the window to the drones, and sighed. "Media vultures."
Aesthetically, the courthouse was a traditional, ancient design which itself was based off even more archaic Greco-Roman designs, a bulky and tall prismatic shape, slightly slanting rooftop, with columns guarding the main entrance. However, behind the structurally insignificant columns and the false white brick was the main airtight, steel box that the Lancers saw in their hostage resuce mission with every opening, door and window alike, outfitted with emergency airlock shutters that could come down within seconds.
They stopped in the basement parking lot that spanned the entire ring. Eberhard got out of the shuttle first wearing sunglasses wearing a black suit. Ulrike followed with her own sunglasses and her own grey suit and dress pants. Parked next to them was Captain Rain and a couple other of Joan's co-workers. Roughly a hundred feet away stopped Tyler, his lawyer, and his own co-workers.
Entrance to the court was only a dozen feet away from the Lancers, but Tyler's team were already walking over. Tyler was in a typical suit. As he walked past, he gave both Joan and Juan the stink eye. Following him was his lawyer. The lawyer specifically was a woman with brown hair who didn't look past her thrities, mixed Asian-Caucasian descent, clearly Earth-born with a relatively stout body like the Lancers, donning a flamboyantly blue suit and a skirt. She took off her sunglasses and switched to a normal pair of glasses, a pair of leery black eyes.
Joan kept herself stoic, adjusting her uniform tunic, but it wasn't hard to tell that was purely to stop herself from cumpling like some wet tissue trying to stand on it's side. "Is dere seriously nuffin else 'appenin?" She grumbled, shaking her head. "It feel like one o' dem cheesy law shows. Now all we needs is fer dem ta 'ave us in da big courtroom where dey 'old da murder trials," She said, starting to walk towards the stairs.
"And then there's either a twist, or the rich guy get's off scot free or something. Or a second murder. And me without my notepad of one liners." Juan chuckled, ignoring Tyler, the horse's ass.
"I'll do my best to make it a successfully boring day," Julian said as he and Beatrix walked to the group, brushing at imaginary wrinkles on his suit.
Eberhard looked at his friend at put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at the drones and looked at Ulrike, who nodded. "Given how few of these things are, these aren't from big media. If it really was the Magnuski Times on our asses we'd have more than just a few cameras looking at us."
"Den let's get dis ovah wif," Joan sighed, starting to walk.
The Lancers followed Tyler's cohort up the narrow stairwell, made of cheap concrete but decorated with planetary scenery, and entered the first floor of the courthouse. The whole interior was designed to give a homey, Earthly feel, with false wooden walls and carpet, ambient pale light gently lighting the hallways and rooms. On a bench sat an ungracious old lady, tapping her foot impatiently as she smacked on a piece of gum. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall, with a visible metal implant in her spine, but otherwise wore a plain grey suit and dress similar to Ulrike's get up. Her silvered, brown hair was tied up in a bun and, old as she may look, her blue eyes glistened as if she wasn't past her fourties.
"Yer fuckin' late, Tyler." The old lady spat out, then glared at Joan. "You too, lassey. You don't say a peep for two decades and this is the shite you get yourself dragged into? Fuckin' pull these poor legs of mine half a dozen light years through space. I hate space, you know that?!"
23XX A.D, two months after the raid on the warehouse
Silbern System, Stahl Belt, Nikolaus Otto dwarf-planetary system, Magnuski Station
The Maybach Ring is the oldest of the modern rings of the station, with the central tube visible and a line of lights illuminating the habitable surfaces. Due to its age, it hosts the governing body of the station and the de-facto government of the Silbern system as a whole, along with an embassy and multiple courthouses.
The Lancers were driven to the Maybach Civil Courthouse in a private shuttle with one way windows. A few drones diligently followed them, recording their movements and broadcasting it all live on the various GDW media platforms. Ulrike helplessly watched it all on her datapad. Somehow, the general public was made aware of the custody battle, and by extension, the presence of her mercenary team on the station.
"Does dat li'el 'appen round 'ere dat ma custody ba'le gets televised?" Joan asked, looking out the window of the car. "Ah mean really? Dis is a lot o' atten'ion fer a custody ba'el," She added, looking at Ulrike.
"Well, besides the occassional pirate raid, things are pretty peaceful in the Silbern system." Ulrike put her datapad down and looked back at Joan. "You've got plenty of bored kids who'll stick their drones on anything eventful."
"However," she continued, "Consider that a hostage crisis did happen a few months ago, and people know we're here as mercs. They want to know everything about us, espeacially the sweet, sweet drama." She forced out a chuckle.
"Well, dey kin suck an egg fer all ah care," Joan sighed, shaking her head. "Dis is gonna be terrible..."
"No, this will be fine. They'll have forgotten this by next week, there's gotta be a whole shit ton of more interesting things happening around here." Juan looked out the window to the drones, and sighed. "Media vultures."
Aesthetically, the courthouse was a traditional, ancient design which itself was based off even more archaic Greco-Roman designs, a bulky and tall prismatic shape, slightly slanting rooftop, with columns guarding the main entrance. However, behind the structurally insignificant columns and the false white brick was the main airtight, steel box that the Lancers saw in their hostage resuce mission with every opening, door and window alike, outfitted with emergency airlock shutters that could come down within seconds.
They stopped in the basement parking lot that spanned the entire ring. Eberhard got out of the shuttle first wearing sunglasses wearing a black suit. Ulrike followed with her own sunglasses and her own grey suit and dress pants. Parked next to them was Captain Rain and a couple other of Joan's co-workers. Roughly a hundred feet away stopped Tyler, his lawyer, and his own co-workers.
Entrance to the court was only a dozen feet away from the Lancers, but Tyler's team were already walking over. Tyler was in a typical suit. As he walked past, he gave both Joan and Juan the stink eye. Following him was his lawyer. The lawyer specifically was a woman with brown hair who didn't look past her thrities, mixed Asian-Caucasian descent, clearly Earth-born with a relatively stout body like the Lancers, donning a flamboyantly blue suit and a skirt. She took off her sunglasses and switched to a normal pair of glasses, a pair of leery black eyes.
Joan kept herself stoic, adjusting her uniform tunic, but it wasn't hard to tell that was purely to stop herself from cumpling like some wet tissue trying to stand on it's side. "Is dere seriously nuffin else 'appenin?" She grumbled, shaking her head. "It feel like one o' dem cheesy law shows. Now all we needs is fer dem ta 'ave us in da big courtroom where dey 'old da murder trials," She said, starting to walk towards the stairs.
"And then there's either a twist, or the rich guy get's off scot free or something. Or a second murder. And me without my notepad of one liners." Juan chuckled, ignoring Tyler, the horse's ass.
"I'll do my best to make it a successfully boring day," Julian said as he and Beatrix walked to the group, brushing at imaginary wrinkles on his suit.
Eberhard looked at his friend at put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry about it." He glanced at the drones and looked at Ulrike, who nodded. "Given how few of these things are, these aren't from big media. If it really was the Magnuski Times on our asses we'd have more than just a few cameras looking at us."
"Den let's get dis ovah wif," Joan sighed, starting to walk.
The Lancers followed Tyler's cohort up the narrow stairwell, made of cheap concrete but decorated with planetary scenery, and entered the first floor of the courthouse. The whole interior was designed to give a homey, Earthly feel, with false wooden walls and carpet, ambient pale light gently lighting the hallways and rooms. On a bench sat an ungracious old lady, tapping her foot impatiently as she smacked on a piece of gum. She couldn't have been more than five feet tall, with a visible metal implant in her spine, but otherwise wore a plain grey suit and dress similar to Ulrike's get up. Her silvered, brown hair was tied up in a bun and, old as she may look, her blue eyes glistened as if she wasn't past her fourties.
"Yer fuckin' late, Tyler." The old lady spat out, then glared at Joan. "You too, lassey. You don't say a peep for two decades and this is the shite you get yourself dragged into? Fuckin' pull these poor legs of mine half a dozen light years through space. I hate space, you know that?!"