Lords of RPG

The Odyssey gets a message that our 'package' is ready, referring to Tony Gold's sale of the bio-hazard samples. At a convenient time when the team is between hops, they take some R&R on Veridian. Cam sets out to the Nebulous club to collect a sizable bounty.

As Cam is leaving the ship, two plain clothes officers of the law approach Cam and say, "Mr. Hendershot? We are following up on that Shadow Fleet pirate attack you and your team was involved in. Could you come down to the station and make a statement? It would clear up and finalize our investigation."

Cam, surprised, says, "Yes, I can be down there in about hour. Do you need anyone else?"

They shake their heads and respond coolly, "No, that won't be necessary. A Mr. Corvus gave us your name as being key to his recovery. It will tie in nicely with his statements and we can put a bow on this whole mess. We'll see you in about an hour then?" And they turn to leave.

Cam waves them goodbye and heads to the club. The doorman recognizes Cam and let's him in. He is shown to the same lobby area where they had dinner before. Tony comes in with two body guards, one is carrying a briefcase. He slides on the table in front of Cam. "Here's your half." He looks around and notices Cam is alone and says, "I hope this calms things down on your team?"'

Cam gives a look of what-can-I-say and shrugs the comment off. He turns the case around and pops it open. There's thousands of credits, just like Tony said. He turns his attention to Tony and asks if there are any jobs that could use our skills?

Tony replies, "Ah, right to business. I'm working on one that could be right up your alley. It's on one of the moons of Abyssal. It's a retrieval mission. I'll give the details once I have them in a few days."

Cam reaches to shake his hand and they leave with Tony saying, "Come down to the club and have a good time. Tell Striker I have some ladies that were asking about him." With that, Cam gets out of the booth and leaves the club.

He give Corvus, who was waiting for him around the corner, the briefcase to take back to the ship. "Did they give you any trouble?"

"No, everything is on the up and up. We may have mission while we are headed to Abyssal. Let the crew know. I'll be back shortly." And he heads to the Policia station.

A Sargent takes Cam back to an interview room fairly deep into the station. Cam marches off the number meters from the exit, 52, and makes a mental note of what the corner of the station looked like. The Sargent motions for Cam to take a seat. There's a one-way mirror, a camera up in the corner and a DNA scanner in front of him. The Sargent says, "Don't worry about it. We didn't have anything else available." Cam chuckles, but gets a weird feeling that he is here for more than just a statement.

After a few minutes, two men enter the room. They ask Cam to review a statement made by Corvus. There's pictures of the team and one of Corvus' scar on his neck. It all checks out and Cam agrees with statement previously made. Cam fills in some gaps and the number of pirates that he could remember and the number of dead bodies. He gets into the story-telling and remembering  the adrenalin rush of combat.

The two detectives look at each other in disbelief, and one says, "You have said that all of this was in self defense. However, we have a witness that saw what happened. We're going to need you to be part of a line up."

Cam pushes away from the table and says, "I'm going to need my lawyer." As if he actually has one.

"We thought you would say that. A counselor arrived just before you did. He's been asking to see you. Send him in."

When the lawyer arrives the two detectives leave, the lawyer says, "Don't say anything. Captain Maroosh needs his favor from you, now. Give me anything you don't want confiscated. You need to get inside the prison and protect a Jacob Billings. You don't look like much, but the Captain says you can handle yourself. That's not for me to know. The charges will be dropped once Mr. Billings has made it out."

Cam is dumfounded, but slowly wraps his mind around what is happening. He is placed in a line-up where he is identified by an eye witness. They state that Cam started firing first. Cam is then taken to a padded cell with bright lights and a balcony where men in surgical masks walk around with clip boards and compads. It feels as if someone is in his mind. A female. He can smell her in his head. It's as if she was right next to him, in close and very intimate. But no, it's not right. He tries to resist...tries to protect his memories...his secrets. She is circling the pirate attack memories but nothing else.

Cam is processed and taken to another facility outside of the metropolis and into one of the many prisons on Veridian. He is taken to his cell where he meets Jacob Billings and says, "What's so special about you?"

Befor Jacob can answer, two burly men enter the cell. One has a sap, and the other has a shiv. One says, "Turn him over to us. He's not worth it."

Cam snaps his fingers and his whole body is covered with a diamond like finish in a flash of light and he says, "Let me introduce you to my thirty six inches of blade." He forms line by separating his hands in the air and a diamond-like blade forms in front of him. Cam feints towards one assailant causing him to back into the other man's shiv. Then he slices the other man's arm off above the elbow. Screams and heard throughout the complex. The first man backs out and drags the injured man with him.

By this time guards come and beat Cam with rods. Most of the blows are absorbed by his unseen armor. He acts like he is hurt worse than he is. Jacob cowers in the corner. They beat him to unconsciousness. The guards don't say anything and don't care to ask any questions. 

Cam heals Jacob, bringing him back from the brink of death. Cam says to Jacob, "Someone wants you dead. If it's not the prisoner's, it's going to be the guards. I think we need to get you out of here."

The next day Cam and Jacob make their way to the bathrooms where one wall faces the outer edge of the prison. This time four hoodlums corner the two of them. Cam is not messing around. His shoulder mounted, psychic guided kinetic system materializes on his right shoulder. He shoots the first bum, sending him flying backwards in a pool of his own blood. The splattered bystanders scatter. 

Cam turns to the wall and says, "Stand back. I don't know how thick this wall is. It might explode." He concentrates and causes a burst of psychic energy to impact the wall. A human-sized cavern is made part way through the wall. He does this two more times and blasts a hole through the wall. 

He shoves Jacob through the hole and follows him into the massive hole. Outside they make their way into the jungle. Cam has Jacob wait for him while he assesses the surroundings. He teleports high up into a tree and looks to see if anything has followed them. So far the guards haven't reacted. They move through the jungle at a good pace.

They see a gravcar approach. It circles in the distance. They can only hope that vehicle is for them. They don't have many choices other than to investigate. As they approach, the gravcar lands in an opening. Machinegun fire behind them erupts. Cam covers Jacob as his armor absorbs the impact. He pushes Jacob into the vehicle and returns fire in the direction of the guards. He tells the driver to take off and he will be on board in a minute. Keep it 30 meters above ground.

Cam creates a diversion as the gravcar takes off. He lays down cover fire and teleports behind an adjacent tree. He takes the next several seconds to teleport further into the forest, following the gravcar. He then teleports up into a tree and then teleports into the inside of the gravcar. He surprises everyone and says, "Get us out of here!"

They make it back to the Odyssey where Cam yells, "We need to take off, now!"