Magnolia's Boarding House

[Rolemancer]

Magnolia's Boarding House
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Not too far from the Juniper Port you will locate a quaint but sturdy structure known to the locals as Maggy's. The boarding house can most times be found filled with travelers who need a place to layover and don't want to be cooped up in the Port for days at a time. It's clean and Maggy serves an amazing chicken pot pie.
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[Tara Marx]

Tara found herself still in bed as the late morning sun began to creep into the room around the half closed ornate draperies. She lifted a hand to shield her squinting eyes and took in the sight of the drapes. Maggy sure has an odd taste in window treatments. ....she pondered.

It had been five months now since she had arrived on Constance. Constantly moving from town to town all around this 'God Forsaken Rock' as she would call it. Today marked day ten in Juniper Grove and lodging at the Magnolia.

Well I better get moving, you already slept half the day away...she scolded herself as she threw off a jumble of sheets and blankets and swung her legs off the side of the bed. As she sat up her head felt heavy and ached with a touch dizziness to top it off. Tara reached a hand to her forehead and wiped away a collection of beaded sweat. I really have to go easy on that Juniper Beer next time.

[Tara Marx]

Tara just stared at her feet for a few moments as they hovered a few centimeters from the old oak floor boards. Her eyes zeroed in on her toes as her thoughts drifted. Her toe nails were painted pink with white flowers. She let out a light laugh, it seemed like a good idea a few days back to get a pedicure at a kiosk in the Space Port. She had been feeding her 'Rim World' persona so much these last few months she just needed to at least, fancy up her feet.

Once up and about she freshened up at the wash basin, slipped into her black denim jeans and a loose fitting sleeveless shirt. She took a seat at the small metallic desk and set up her Cortex Portal and began checking for messages. There were a few people she had hoped to hear from and a few she didn't. The incoming message file held but one new communiqué, and it was from Julien Drogo...reluctantly she opened it.

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Good day Captain Marx I hope you are making progress towards gathering your crew and procuring a ship. It seems the time to make our move is upon us and there is no time to lose. You will find an attached encoded file with this message. It will have the required passcode for the Map Cube. Make haste my dear, it is in mine and your best interest. We'll speak face to face soon. JD
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[Rolemancer]

Julien of course held all the cards plus a few extra aces, that's how he managed to survive all these years. Always one step ahead of his partners, enemies and those he just used for his own gain. Gryphon was on her way to Ariel to make a most hasty delivery but they never did get to return Drogo's cargo and that is what set this whole thing in motion. Federal Marshals caught up with Gryphon near Bernadette. After one Fed ship was lost, the second escorted a wounded Gryphon and crew down to the planet surface. In a large forested area the ships set down and a gun battle ensued. At days end the Feds lay dead, Tara's crew looking worse for wear but alive. Gryphon was abandoned and her crew quickly absconded with the Fed ship. Once again Julien stepped in to help but for a price as his agents assisted with their escape. Now after several months of laying low it was time to act and now it was time for Tara to pay up.


NPC: Julien Drogo of Drogo Enterprises

[Tara Marx]

With no other messages of importance Tara shut down the portal and closed her eyes. She sat still for a moment then brushed back her hair letting out a sigh as she stood. "Game On!" she exclaimed. Months of planning have now come down to this juncture, time to pull all the loose pieces together. Yes, a few pieces still remained misplaced but she'll just have to trust that some things, just perhaps, are out of her control.

Tara pulled on her boots and strapped on her gun belt. Removing the medium sized autoloader she did a quick breech check then reholstered the weapon. Lastly grabbing a worn brown satchel which she swiftly slung in one swift move just before exiting her room.

Maggy was in the kitchen on the first floor and could hear one of her occupants descending the creaky staircase. The boarding house owner was in her mid to late sixties and could pass as anyone's Grandmother. She first opened her house up to boarders shortly after the war to help ease her pain having lost most of her family.

"Is that you Tara dear? ....you missed breakfast you know, now come sit and have a biscuit you're gonna wither away." Tara stopped at the foot of the stairs listening to Maggy's invite from around the corner. She really needed get going but the aroma of fresh baked biscuits began her stomach to growl. "Sounds great Maggy thank you." Tara responded as she turned the corner and grabbed a stool at the counter. "Smells great!" And it really did she thought, then realizing just how starved she was.

[Tara Marx]

[On The Streets Of Juniper Grove]


Some time later Tara found herself walking the main street through Juniper Grove. It was your typical Rim Planet village or town if you will. Dusty unpaved roadways with wooden planked pedestrian walks. A good mix of stores and service shops which included a saloon of course and a few serving meals. Today she was headed to Jacob's Emporium for something special. Besides the normal every day goods, Jacob had connections that offered him the advantage of procuring items not normally purchased in a general mercantile store. Tara checked her PDA for any new messages before entering. "Nothing"...she said disappointingly to herself and pushed open the door.

[Tara Marx]

[Jacob's Emporium]

Once inside Tara could see the proprietor was busy with a customer. She slowly walked past the main counter catching his eye to inform him she was here to pick up her surreptitious order. She continued on moving up the next aisle so as not to draw undo attention hovering around the counter. The Emporium was filled with your basic goods as clothes, tools and the like. Jacob even had some prepacked foodstuffs, just what a Sodbuster would need to survive on a Rim World.

Tara was inspecting some weather reading instruments when she heard Jacob speak. "I have would asked for Captain Marx, right this way if you please." She turned to see him motioning toward a door at the far end of the aisle marked storage. "Sounds great!" she said and followed. Once in the back room he pulled a few boxes from a stack and began to open them for inspection. "Hope everything is to your liking...first we have the Fedband Scanner." "Nice, very nice."

Jacob smiled. "...and next the Comm-pack, ah this is the long range model as requested." Tara picked up the unit to have a closer look. "My guy also did a signal scrambler job to her." Jacob proudly exclaimed. Tara took a few minutes to inspect everything as her clandestine salesman stood by wearing a proud grin. Tara put everything back in it's packing and turned to the man. He was an older gentleman and she was sure he'd been doing this type of work for sometime, also she thought he could pass as Maggy husband. Tara smiled... "It all looks legit Jake, sold!"

[Tara Marx]

Tara gathered up her purchases and made her way back to the Boarding House. She managed to sneak in past Maggy, not that she didn't like her but she did like to chat. Once locked away in her room she checked her messages hoping for some better luck. A smile appeared on her face as she finally received the message she had wanted. "Why thanks Mister Carver." She said softly to herself.

Now she could at long last move forward with the next part of her, or better said, their plan. Tara checked the coordinates that accompanied the message to an old map she had of the local area. A quick review of the Global Topographical Projection(GTP) confirmed Mischief's location. At first light Tara will be making a little house call.

[TARA EXITS TO MISCHIEF]