Log started on Monday, 17 Apr 2000, 9:39 PM EST by "Duffy" at "Holodeck5"

Projects Building 45b, rooftop
Squat amidst more majestic buildings, this apartment still affords an "impressive" view of the Elles. This is one of the places in Luna where the bleak grey concrete meets the bleak grey sky... but oddly, urban desolation doesn't seem to stretch all the way into this little corner of the city. Strings of laundry flap like banners amidst the maze of venting ducts. The cracked tar and gravel surface is broken up by a number of faded plastic deck chairs, and some gnarled potted shrubs that have proven fit to survive up here. Some empty crates have been overturned for use as tables, and each one holds at least three forgotten coffee mugs. A ceramic bowl full of sand nearly overflows with cigarette butts, and next to it stands a coin-operated telescope uprooted from some other high-altitude tourist trap. Off to another side stands a weather-beaten portable grill, serviceable despite browning paint and several dents, and attended by a court of (mostly) clean utensils, and a half-filled bag of charcoal. A large canvas umbrella whose colors have washed into bland white and yellow stripes shields an antenna array strung with out-of-season holiday lights in the shape of little chili peppers, and a radio with only cosmetic water damage. (Possibly.)

Rhythmic thumping comes from the stairwell door that opens onto the rooftop, followed by the door creaking open slowly. Revealed in its frame is a Rottweiler-patterned dog-man who clenches a basket firmly between his teeth while leaning on a crutch under his right shoulder and pushing open the door with his left hand. Having gotten his foot in as it were, he transfers the basket to his left hand and walks onto the rooftop. *thump* *thump* "Hey, Jimbo," he calls. "Made some tuna noodle casserole. Just like old Mother Machree's used to make."

A Devilcat pokes one of the pepper-shaped lights before setting some grocery bags full of hamburger meat and hot dogs down. Some of the packages are empty. Apparently she got hungry on the way up.

Jimbo stands over the grill, bobbing his head to some staticky music from the radio. He just seems to match the rhythm without really noticing what the music is, and if it goes too fast, he just skips beats. His attention seems more focused on the charcoal he liberally hoses with a can of lighter fluid. Perhaps his stained "Too Hot to Handle!" barbecuing apron affords him some warmth, because despite the wind, he's dressed in some baggy shorts and a t-shirt, with a pair of flip-flops on his feet. He reaches up to scratch his head as Duffy arrives, and ends up scratching at the goggles seated squarely on his forehead without really noticing. "Oh, hey guys. Make yourselves at home, I'll have these hot enough to cook on in no time flat."

Seated on a white plastic chair he dragged over toward the edge of the roof, Taro gazes out across the city. Today his lack of the usual formal wear is conspicuous. Instead he's wearing little more than a grey shirt and a pair of somewhat worn jeans. What's worse, he's smiling -- something he has been doing more frequently in the last few days.

Duffy, outfitted for the Lunar daytime weather in pretty much a T-shirt and patched dark blue slacks, sets the basket down on a crate that looks big enough to serve as a table and pulls back the loosely draped cloth to reveal a glass-lidded serving dish, the lid too fogged to see inside. "I'll hold you to that. I'm starving," he says with a chuckle. "Hey, Ice, good to see you again. Whoa... What's up, Taro? You actually look happy!"

Ice moves over to give the dog-man a hand. She's dressed in a tank-top and some shorts, looking like she's fresh from the gym. As always, her eyes are hidden behind a pair of darkly tinted goggles. She points to Duffy's leg. "Better?"

The black kitsune rolls his head around and lifts a hand in greeting to Duffy and the others. "I do look happy on occasion," he tells the dog-man. "As much as some of you may think my face would shatter if I smiled too long."

A young woman with short-cropped curly black hair steps through the open door onto the rooftop, wearing black jeans and t-shirt with vest. "Whoa. Hey, nice view, Jimbo," she calls out, a pair of large round Tupperware containers balanced precariously, one on top of the other, in her hands.

"Can you blame us?" quips the dog-man. "Sure, Ice. Doctor's orders are to take it easy for a couple weeks, but at least they haven't tied me down in bed yet. I just won't be doing any high-kicks for a while."

Jimbo lowers his goggles over his eyes, and carefully touches his cigarette to the coals. There's a fwump and a fireball, and he jerks his hand back, shaking it rapidly until he's sure it's not on fire, then laying the grill grating over the top of the barbecue. "Hey, glad you could make it, Jet! If you think that's something, check it out through the telescope ... You have to turn it on, though ... See the crown with the hole in it on a string hanging off the side? Stick that in the slot then pull it back out. Oh, well, after you drop off that stuff..."

Jet tips her sunglasses down on her face to examine the kitsune, after placing her containers side by side next to Ice's bags. "Better be careful there, Taro. I think I spot some cracks already." One finger points to the right side of the fox's muzzle demonstratively.

The Devilcat nods and moves to set out a few more chairs.

Duffy whips his head around, his right hand wrapping awkwardly around the crutch to his trenchcoat pocket, which, since he didn't pack along a trenchcoat this time, isn't there. "What-- oh, just the grill. Heh. Shoulda figured someone with your skills in demolitions would start his grill up with a bang. Hey, Jet, how's business?"

"You think so?" asks the kitsune. He pushes himself to his feet and runs a finger along the side of his muzzle. "Well, I can't have that," he lets his smile drop, "I couldn't very well let Miss Blue see the paint chip."

Once he's sure the coals are burning, Jim raises his goggles back to his forehead, and kneels by a cooler. "Yeah, wouldn't do to let Taro split. He must be on a roll! He brought me a box of donuts today. Not just the plain ones, one of those nice twelve-packs where you get the four powdered ones, the four cake ones, and the four chocolate ones."

Duffy licks his chops at the mention of donuts and looks around to see if he can spot the box.

"Donuts?" Ice looks at the kitsune and then back to Jim questioningly.

After reaching into his pocket and pulling out his shades, Taro slides them to hide those golden eyes of his. "Didn't I tell you, I owed Jimbo here a donut, Duffy?"

The box in question sits near the cooler. Only one powder and one cake donut are left of those options, but the chocolate ones are left untouched. Jimbo breaks open the cooler, and begins rooting around. "Anybody want something to drink while we're waiting? I got cola, beer, and ... uh ... beer."

"How about your 'ol buddy, your pal who gave you a ride to the Pagoda Gardens?" suggests Duffy, his eyes starting to look puppyish as he tries to sneak over to the box. His stealth is spoiled by the thumping of his crane on the hard roof. "You'd spare a donut for him, wouldn't you?"

The dark-haired woman breaks open the containers she brought. "I'll have a beer, Jay, thanks. I brought my pecan pie, and triple-chocolate mousse Heartattack Cake. Sounds like we're oversupplied on desserts, eh?" She sprawls into one of the chairs, looking around leisurely, and holding out a hand to Jimbo for a beer.

"I don't know," considers the fox-man as he taps his chin. He dips his head slightly and examines Duffy for a moment. "I wouldn't be violating a doctor's order, now would I?"

Jimbo places a cold brew in Jet's palm, and laughs, "Can't have too much dessert when it's home-baked. Mm, man ... after all the snack cake doorstops out of the vending machine at HQ, I could probably eat that pie by myself..."

Ice leisurely seats herself in one of the chairs and licks at the palm of her hand.

Duffy chuckles and then mMMms, sniffing the air in Jet's direction. "Not at all. Plenty of food and good red meat, to build my body back up, that's what I need." His tail wags. "Sure, cola's good, Jay. Last thing I need is to fall off the top of this roof."

Taro waves Duffy off toward the box of donuts then. "If Jimbo does not mind, I cannot say I do either. I have to say you deserve it. You certainly have been active lately."

Jet cracks open the bottle expertly and takes a long draught. "Ahhhhh." She sets the bottle onto one of the crates and looks about. "So your date with Destiny Blue went well, Taro? Told ya she'd appreciate you talkin' to her."

Watterson grins. "Yeah, Pegleg ... how's that haunch of yours holding up? I wasn't sure which way that was gonna go... it's a good thing Ice was on hand to hack us back in the clear. I just wish we hadn't let the big man get away."

The dog-man chuckles and then snitches one of the chocolate donuts to tide him over until the food's ready. "Thanks, Jay. Nah, it's all right, maybe you missed it, but Ice pegged him. We managed to get some babble out of him in interrogation, but..." He shrugs and takes a chomp out of the donut. Munch. "Nature nut."

"Nice shot that, Ice, must have been quite a bit away, and in the dark too," adds the dog-man.

"What's the full scoop on that story, Duff?" Jet looks inquisitive. "I've only heard the second-hand scuttlebutt so far."

"Warm," Ice says lazily. "Saw."

After a brief walk over toward Jim, Taro holds his hand out for a drink. He doesn't actually say what kind of drink he wants, however. He does though, smile over at Jet. "I would not call it a date, exactly. But I will say we plan to meet again," he answers her.

"Oh! I guess I was paying too much attention to Wrasslin' Dan the Gaian," says Jimbo, rubbing the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. He stubs his cigarette out in the sand-bowl, and peers into the coals.

Jimbo reaches a hand into the cooler, and comes up with a cola and a beer, tossing the former at Duffy, and placing the latter in Taro's paw. "Here y'go."

Duffy finishes off the rest of the donut, then starts setting up the tuna noodle casserole and plates so that people can dig in. It's... a generic sort of tuna noodle casserole, probably heavy on the starchy stuff, but filling. "Hmm, I figured I'd ask a bunch of Dark Eden types about this Blue Heaven stuff. Seems like it's fairly serious ju-ju, Jet. The Crescentian we talked to said it was pure evil and that we shouldn't talk about it, it might bring trouble down on us." He pauses to snag a cola and gulp it down. "He was right, too."

"Gotcha, Taro," Jet says after a long swig from her bottle. "Not a date. Uh huh." She listens thoughtfully to Duffy's story.

The Devilcat tilts her head sideways and motions to Duffy. "Leader. Psychic?"

"Hmm... I don't know, really. We won't be able to prove anything 'til we catch her," Duffy says. "Anyway, Ice is talking about the fortune teller we went to next. She's a Gaian; the Stone Archive said that Blue Heaven was something that Templars of Gaia used in their ceremonies. Supposed to 'evolve' someone to the next level, make 'em faster, stronger, more powerful, but it's fatal... Her dossier said she'd been suspected of alchemy and providing illegal drugs, but no one'd ever pinned anything on her, so I figured she'd be a good next informer to talk to."

After getting a drink, Taro peers at the beer can as he walks over to retrieve his chair from where it sits by the roof edge. "Pure evil ... Well, that certainly is quite a description." He pops the can open. "You do seem to get the interesting ones Duffy. And yes, not a date at all." His smile creeps wider.

Jet rolls her beer bottle between her hands, listening intently.

Duffy eyes the desserts wistfully, but visibly forces himself to look away from them. "Yeah, rather have been on a date with Miss Blue, myself. Well, Ice spotted a plug-ugly Gaian out front watching; he'd come up sometime while we were talking to Madame Genoa. She wasn't being very cooperative, either-- hey, she's a Gaian, right? And an alchemist? And she claims not to know anything about this special sacred stuff. So, I figured she was in cahoots with the Armageddonists, these people who think the end is nigh."

Having fetched his chair, Taro pulls it over to where the others are sitting before he sits himself down once again. Idly he sips at the contents of the can, his smile fading into a light grin as he listens.

Jimbo stirs the coals thoughtfully, small glowing ashes rising up and winking out in the air. He eyes them a moment longer, then looks satisfied enough to unwrap what meaty goodness Ice left in the bag. Unhooking a spatula, he slaps a few patties down on the grill, which hisses loudly, then settles into a steady sizzling.

"What happened then is what Ice is talking about; there wasn't any kind of relay device, signal, or whatever, and we weren't in line of sight from that guy, but while we were getting all suspicious, this guy gets up and starts walking away, like he's been told to get going," Duffy continues. "Can't prove that it was telepathy, maybe he just had really good hearing, but..." The dog-man trails off as he snuffles the barbecue. He licks his chops distractedly.

"Heh. Talkin' to Ursula, I can't figure if they think the end is nigh or if they're just hoping they can make it come," Jet interjects quietly.

Jim wags an index finger at Duffy. "Cram a donut if you have to, let's not get distracted, now!"

Duffy blinks at the admonition. "What, who thinks? Oh." He shakes his head, and then does as Jimbo prescribes and snarfs another donut. "Yeah, to make a long story short, we tried sneaking after 'em, got caught by four thugs, had a firefight, and Jay and Ice here managed to take 'em down, three permanently, two who're in for questioning now. Madame Genoa'd scarpered off in the meantime. But yeah, I think this ties in to those people."

"Eyes. Heat," Ice grunts out as she switches to her other hand.

Jimbo flips the browning patties, and begins rolling hot dogs onto the grill, one by one. "Nah, my eyes are fine, the goggles will ... or, did you mean Genoa?"

The dog-man looks puzzled over to Ice as he dabs crumbs from his muzzle and then licks them off his fingers.

Taro glances over at Ice and cocks his head to the side curiously.

"Hey, can I have one of those burgers before you get 'em overcooked?" Jet asks, swinging out of her chair in a smooth limber motion to stroll over to the grill.

The Devilcat rubs her chin as she ponders. "Dark. Heat." She says, and then peels her goggles off. Her eyes glow a deep blue, similar to the Gaians' eyes a little. "See."

Duffy looks at the Devilcat in puzzlement. "Whoa... Spooky eyes. I didn't notice anything funny about Madame Genoa's though."

The kitsune lowers his glasses slightly, dipping his head so that he can peer over them and at Ice's eyes. "Quite interesting," he comments.

Jimbo looks up at Jet, momentarily puzzled. "Huh? Oh, yeah!" He hurriedly scoops a patty off the grill, nicely browned. "Might be a little pink in the middle still, if that's okay. Fixin's in the cooler, mustard, ketchup, maybe some relish. Bring a plate over here, and will put a scoop of potato salad on there for good measure."

Ice slips her goggles back on. "Heat," she notes and then shrugs. Her ears flick, hinting at a slight bit of irritation. Her tongue rasps across one of her large canines.

Jet wrinkles her nose at the browned burger. "Guess I was already too late," she murmurs, then winks at Jay. "I'll live." She gets it tucked into a bun and ambles to the cooler for relish, looking thoughtful.

"Hmm... Well, I guess we'll find out if we ever catch that lady," Duffy says. He follows Jet to the barbecue for a burger, fairly slavering at the scent. "Smells just right to me."

Taro adjusts his glasses to their proper position on his face before he stands up and walks over to Jim. "I believe I will have two of those hot dogs you have there," he tells the cook. "I have actually never had hot dogs before, may as well try one now."

"Heh, Duff, if it smells edible to you, it smells right," the human female kids. She ladles a dollop of relish onto her burger, and a few squirts of mustard. "Gaians and Bauhaus and the Apollo," she mutters, resuming her seat.

"Duffy?" The Devilcat waves one of her thick hands towards the dog-man. "More?"

Jimbo brandishes his spatula, scooping up another thick patty, and deftly sliding it onto a bun. "Steady, steady, one at a time ... someone do me a favor and find the plasticware, unless you guys wanna eat the sides with your fingers. Here y'go, Duffy ... you need a plate for this, or ..?" He casts a thoughtful sidelong glance at Ice, but says nothing more than his cooking chit-chat.

Duffy puts the works on his burger and digs in messily. "Huh, wha? More what? Oh, I brought some plasticware in the basket, I wasn't sure if you'd have them."

Ice plants her chin in her hand. "Interrogation," she replies.

Jimbo tosses a pickle chip into his mouth, then rolls a hot-dog over to check its grill stripes before pushing it into a bun, then quickly plucking another off the grill, offering the pair of hotdogs to Taro. "They're great with kraut; you're in for a treat."

"Using my fingers is where I really must draw the line," comments Taro. After getting his supply of hot dogs, he drops off his plate at his seat and begins searching for the requested utensils.

"Oh! Right." Duffy takes the time to mop away vegetable bits from his muzzle, then continues between bites. "One of the Gaians tried to suck down a poison pill, but they got to him before it could kill him; he's in the ward now. The other, his name's Kor Verago; he works at Squeaky Cleaners. I had Clerical go and check their employment records; they don't have a lot of Gaians there but they do have a few other Tribesmen: some Rasputin and Crescentians. He talked like a real nature nut, all stuff about how we'd better watch out 'cause Mother Nature's gonna get us...'" He shakes his head. "Hey, Jet, this might interest you, when they mentioned Blue Heaven, he started going on about how it was just a tool, just like 'all four of the skulls'. And he was talking like there was going to be some kind of major strike, showing the Corporations their 'vulnerability'."

Duffy wurfs, "Crazy talk, but considering how effective that Blue Heaven stuff turned out to be, I'm really worried about what these 'four skulls' are."

Ice plucks at her lip. "Apocalypse. Horsemen?"

After taking a hefty bite from her burger and swallowing it, Jet pauses to ask Ice, "Why do your eyes glow blue? I mean, is there something about heat or cold that makes 'em do that?" She adds to Duffy, "I haven't heard anything about a 'four skulls' yet, sorry."

Taro searches the supplies Duffy brought and removes a few bags containing the plasticware. He begins to open one each of forks and knives as he returns to his seat. "Four skulls ...," he repeats thoughtfully.

"Huh. I think there were four of those too, if I remember the old Brotherhood Kids programming right," Duffy muses. "Hmm, didn't I hear Jet saying something about Gaians and Bauhaus? And something else?"

The Devilcat rubs the lenses of one of her goggles and shrugs to Jet. "Dunno. See heat."

"I believe she means, 'see infrared'," mentions Taro as he nears the group. He holds out the bags so everyone can take what items they need without getting up.

"The Apollo. Though I don't know if it's mixed up in this for sure yet or not. Remember the limo we were chasing? It was an Apollo car. They claim it was stolen, but they didn't bother to let anyone know that little detail until after we had an APB on it. And the 'Blue Heaven' dealers were Bauhaus, not Gaian. At least according to Ursula and Horace." Jet takes another sip from her beer.

Duffy rubs his chin-fur, then munches down on hamburger. "But the big guy with all the tattoos who melted down, he was definitely Gaian. It's just that we'd have had a hard time getting him back to the station."

"Big man with tattoos who melted down you say?" asks Taro. He puts the packages of plasticware down where they can be easily reachable before he heads off with his plate to gather condiments.

Jet nods. "Oh yeah. He was Gaian. But he was a user. Not a dealer. It's the limo guys who were dealing. Not especially good dealers, but they had the goods."

Jimbo fixes up a few more burgers, then shifts some uncooked patties to the outer edges of the grill to cook slowly enough to be ready for seconds. He reaches into the icebox for a brew of his own, popping the top and swigging a few gulps. "Maybe we should cross-reference these four skulls with anything that might be in our records about the city. It could give us a hint as to where these guys'll pop up next, smacked-up on Blue or not. What were they after when you were dealing with that one tattooed fella?"

"Oh!" says Duffy. "Okay. Hmm."

Duffy hmms at Taro's comment as well. "So, you're saying Ice can see things that are hot? And Madame Gaia's eyes were radiating heat? That's odd... Well, yeah, this was while you were having your not-a-date with Miss Blue. I got called over to back up Jet and an associate, Jamie Collins, they were chasing down an ice cream truck and a limo. The latter got away, but we caught the former, and took down a big 'ol Gaian who turned into a reincarnation of Darkness or something after he swilled down this glowy blue drug, Blue Heaven."

Ice shakes her head. "See heat. Maybe."

Hunched over some jars, Taro busies himself with moving 'kraut to his dinner. "Actually, given the similar description of their eyes and Ice's eyes, I believe that they may see heat. If that is indeed what she meant at all." As he talks, a spot of the green topping falls from the spoon. He sidesteps it before it lands on his shoe, but he frowns anyway. "I am rather glad I chose the better of the two 'Blues', having heard all this."

Duffy licks his plate clean and wags his tail as he goes back for seconds. "Heh, yeah. Anyway, you reminded me, Taro; Jet, on the ice cream truck, I found a leather pouch filled with some herbs, ashes, and I think, powdered bone. The Crescentian we talked to identified it as Lutheran work, sort of a lucky charm. We tentatively identified the perps in the truck as Armageddonists... Question is whether they stole the pouch or if the Lutherans are mixed up in this somehow."

Jet elaborates further, "The guys Collins, Duff and I brought in were buying the drug from these Bauhaus fellows in the DICE-7 limo. What was the lead fellow's name... gah..." She wracks her memory.

"Dice Domino!" she pronounces at last, and finishes her brew. "Now there's a name for a casino man. Pseudonym, of course."

Taro returns from topping his meal and settles down to eat it. He takes a bite of one of the hot dogs, and nods approvingly. "I cannot help but think using a limo with a personalized license plate is considerably obvious. Even if the casino were involved, they would have more to gain by not using their own vehicles," he mentions.

Ice rises up to fish a can of beer from the cooler and then returns to her deck chair. She fumbles with the top as she tries to unsuccessfully open it.

Duffy starts garnishing his second burger. "Hmm... Guess I was barking up the wrong tree for Blue Heaven suppliers," he says with a chuckle. "They couldn't find any illegal paraphernalia in Madame Genoa's, and the Crescentian said that the Gaian was looking for the drug when the Gaian stopped by his shop. What I found were probably the Armageddonists." He chomps his second burger and mulls this over. "Maybe these Bauhaus types, they're supplying the Armageddonists with drugs so they'll have a weapon they can point, lock, and fire."

"True. Doesn't explain why they waited a few days to report it stolen, though." She takes a bite from her burger, then retrieves another beer.

Jimbo rubs the bridge of his nose. "Huh ... there might be something to that heat vision thing, Taro... It was pretty obvious they could see in the dark way better than I could."

"Hm. Without knowing more about the situation, any speculations I could make further would just be guesses." The kitsune reaches for a napkin, dabs his muzzle, and continues. "Perhaps blue eyes, and the related infravision, are a side effect of this drug? If anything, they are both blue."

"Interesting idea," Duffy says as he finishes his burger. He glances at the sky, which seems a bit overcast, then shrugs and snags another soda. "Seems like we have a few leads... The Apollo, for the suppliers; the Armageddonists, which we could let go and track to see if they'll lead us to their home base, and I'd been meaning to talk to Marcus Payne, a Lutheran who's sort of a spokesperson for the Dark Eden community, and who might be concerned enough about these Armageddonist going-ons to give us some information. And the four skulls, whatever they turn out to be."

"Perhaps this fortune teller is not psychic, but was merely able to signal the man outside because he could indeed see her move due to his infravision?" suggests Taro. He then takes another bite of his hot dog.

Duffy blinks. "Maybe that's why she lit those candles-- to signal the fellow outside," he says, thinking back to that moment. "That fits very nicely."

Jet snaps out of her reverie to comment, "And they both glow. And Blue Heaven is dormant when frozen. Doesn't 'activate' until it's brought to room temperature."

Ice finally resorts to spearing one of her teeth neatly through the top of the can. She sits back and grins, licking at the top of her prize proudly. "Heat."

Taro's grins widens again. "Also if you ever wanted sneak up on these people, you may want to douse yourself with cold water. I would wager they think highly of their special abilities, and may be caught unaware if you were to hinder that ability," he adds.

"Let's celebrate Taro's brilliant deduction-- you want to share out those desserts?" says Duffy hopefully to Jet. He grins and wags puppyishly.

"Well, I do not know about it being brilliant, so much as ... inspired. And," he grins quite obviously now, "I do feel rather inspired tonight."

Duffy shushes Taro, "All's fair in love and war and jonesing for dessert."

Jet hehs and swings to her feet. "Sure thing, Duff. Which do you want?" she asks, pulling a cake slicer from one of the two containers and moving a generous slice of pecan pie onto a plate.

"Yes?" says Duffy, hopefully.

The fox continues to grin even after the shushing. He moves to finish his first hot dog.

The Devilcat licks a bit of foam from her whiskers. "Now. Next?"

Chuckling, the woman slices off a piece of Heartattack chocolate to add to the plate, and hands it to Duffy. "Somehow, I thought that'd be your answer."

After cleaning his muzzle carefully, the kitsune sits up and folds his hands in his lap. "I'd like to say, since I have the time now, that I rather do appreciate your nudging me to see Miss Blue. It would seem that we both hail from the same city, in fact. I am hoping we have more in common."

Wagging furiously, Duffy sets to. "This is wonderful stuff, Jet! Hey, Jay, stop snagging Zs and have some of this." His plate seems at risk of disappearing along with the rest of the pie and cake into his gullet.

Jet watches Duff dig in with a half-smile on her face. "Nothing like an appreciative audience," she remarks, leaning against the crate that serves as a table.

"Try the chocolate cake, Taro, I bet they don't have that on Mercury," enthuses Duffy as he emerges from a sugar-laden haze. "Anyway... You and your associate going to tackle the Apollo then? And I'll see what I can find out about the Armageddonists?"

"Have you any thoughts on, well, acceptable places to take Miss Blue should I have the chance? I do not quite think she would be enamored with roof top Capitol cuisine," asks Taro. He nods to Duffy, and then holds out his plate for a piece of cake. One of the hot dogs still remains uneaten. "If you would please, Jet?"

Duffy rubs his chin in thought, then licks off the pecan bit stuck there that he finds. "Something Mishiman or more Capitol?"

"Bauhaus," Ice says, grinning to herself.

"What, those bunch of hoity-toity lofty 'I'm a lord and you aren't so grovel' types?" says Duffy with a raised eyebrow.

Taro considers the question, ears flicking, before he answers. "I may as well continue with Mishiman. It is what we have in common, after all. I do believe she misses some of the treats of home," he answers.

"My associate?" Jet looks puzzled as she gets a slice of cake out for Taro.

"Nice food," the devilcat replies with a shrug.

Duffy nods. "Mr. Collins-- I think I met him before at a department mixer."

The kitsune turns his grin at Ice. "Ahem. Well, as much as I would like to give Miss Blue the moon itself, I am not a man of great means. I must be careful where I take her, lest I starve myself for her benefit."

"Hmmm, I don't know if my taste is what you want to follow, but there's the Harima Meditation Garden in the Mishima District in the city, combination firing range and tea garden," Duffy comments. "Nice place, though somehow I felt like a Heretic at the Brotherhood social. They were very polite about my shooting stance, said it was very Capitol."

Jet shakes her head. "Collins? Nope, he's not DA, Duff." She looks wistful as she speaks. "Hired muscle, I think -- combat specialist. He was contracted with us that night because we were pulling in people from all over to blanket the place because of that blimp-killer guy, remember?"

Duffy ahs! to Jet. "Well, if you're going to the Apollo, you'd better make sure you have backup, preferably two so someone can stay in radio contact. Place like that'll have hired muscle by the dozens."

Duffy's comment causes the kitsune to cough out a laugh. "Ah! Yes, I can see that they would be quite polite. And as much as I do adore my corporation of origin, I would rather not flaunt my existence here to them. By some quirk of fate I may be recognized as an ex-employee, and I have no great urge to return to Mercury," he says. "I will have to consider this further."

Duffy hehs. "Hmm. There's Club Eden, if you can score a get-in. I bet Miss Blue is on the get-in list. It's a very exclusive nightclub."

The dark-skinned woman leans back in her chair, rolling her beer bottle between her hands while the two men discuss locations.

"Now, there is a thought. The problem is that, I have no idea what is beyond the door. Nor do I have any idea how to get past that door. I could not very well ask Miss Blue to let me in so I could take her there; that would simply unacceptable." A hand is reached up to move for his plate. "Jet, I seemed to have lost a piece of cake somewhere ... ?"

Ice swallows her hot dog down in one quick gulp and then idly kicks a few roof pebbles around with her toes.

Leaning back and enjoying his well-fed state, Duffy muses the problem over. "If you can take the noise, Pizzaworld's good solid Capitol entertainment. You can watch the animatronics and eat real Capitol pizza, and if you like games, they've got an arcade upstairs. I don't know if that's Miss Blue's style, but hey, maybe she'd like to let her hair down and go somewhere she doesn't have to behave like a priceless Mishiman vase."

Jet stifles a smile at the thought of Destiny Blue in a pizza-parlor arcade.

After a moment's pause, Jet comments, "Heck, Taro, maybe she would like it. I forget, is she fresh in from Mercury or has she been here a while?"

Taro's smile fades slightly. "I ... do not believe Miss Blue would be impressed. If she seeks to 'lighten up' as Jimbo may say, I am most certainly not in any position to offer much in that respect. I might be uncomfortable there, and one can only imagine what she would think of that damaged Vicky Vixen. Dread the thought a youngster may ask her to strike me with a pom-pom." He shifts a bit, and then reaches for his can of beer. The fox-man sips this thoughtfully before he answers. "She has actually been off about as long as I have, if I recall correctly. She spent some time on Mars, in fact."

The dog-man laughs. "Oh come now, Taro, it'd be funny. And you know, you just admitted you've been in there at least once, so the food can't be that bad. Anyway, there's a dance club around too, I'm blanking out on the name..." He looks over to Jet to supply the missing fact.

"I was there to handle a parking collision," notes Taro in his defense.

"Anyway, Taro, if she's been on Luna as long as you have, she probably knows quite a few places she likes already. Why don't you just ask her where she wants to go?" Jet points out. "And that'll help you figure out her tastes."

"You mean Dusk 'til Dawn, Duff? I love that place, but they tend towards loud live music, lots of rough-edged rock groups. Late and early in the night cycle they usually have more mellow acts, some jazz, some blues. They're only open during the night cycle, too," she adds, "In case the name didn't tip you off."

"I think I just may ask her what she would like. If she seems uncertain, I could always put a few options before her and see which ones she prefers. That way I can examine her interests as well as find a place to take her." The kitsune tilts his head slightly, narrowing his brow a bit. "Assuming she would actually like to go on a date, and that I can ask her without sounding absurd."

Duffy hehs and glances over toward Jay, who's catching a nap in the sun. He takes the rest of the burgers off the grill and starts cleaning things up. "Aw, faint heart never got the girl, Taro. You do that, and hey, who knows where things'll go? Anyway, give me a hand cleaning up, we don't want Jay to think we're terrible guests... And I'll make sure he gets some of the dessert in his fridge, too."

Taro rises from his seat and places both the beer and his plate off to the side. "Well, I have come this far. I cannot very well stop now ... " He smiles and offers Duffy a hand up. Well, a hand beyond the napkin he is holding. "I'm rather hoping I can bring along some of these hot dogs. I fear I am a dreadful cook, and well, it pays to save. Especially with Miss Blue in mind."

*** GM Note: Hero Points Awarded -- Duffy: 2; Taro: 2; Jimbo: 1; Jet: 1; Ice: 3

*** GM Note: Totals to date -- Duffy: 16; Ice: 7; Jamie: 3; Jet: 6; Jimbo: 11; Taro: 8

Log stopped on Tuesday, 18 Apr 2000, 12:50 AM EST by "Duffy" at "Holodeck5"