Madripoor: In Her Shadow

[Onyx]

Onyx was working out of a small office in Madripoor. The place was cheap rent in a cheap part of town but Onyx did her best to keep the place clean and organized. It helped her think. The office was small. Two rooms. There was a desk in the front room and a cot in the back. The creaky and rotting floorboards were covered with a few throw rugs and a couple bland paintings were hung next to banged up filing cabinets. There were no pictures of Emily or Aly. Not even on the large desk towards the back of the room that Onyx fell asleep at more nights than not. She couldn't afford to take the risk.

She was a wanted woman. For the past few weeks, she had been hunting down the people who designed the mental programming they had installed in her at the pens. The slavers weren't eager to give up their secrets and more than once Onyx had to try to convince them. The results were messy and in the process, she had made a few enemies. If she cared, she didn't seem to show it.

The people she was looking for were ghosts. She wasn't even sure if they were alive anymore. There were plenty of people using the techniques and programming that had been developed, but no one seemed to understand how it worked.

Onyx sat at her desk and watched the sun go down. There was an half-empty bottle of wine on her desk. Another stack of files leading to dead ends were piled next to it. She watched the sun go down and missed her family and friends terribly.

[Narrator]

Outside a truck rumbles past. It's old and shabby but that describes most vehicles (and a lot of people) in Lowtown. It looks like an old refurbished military transport. As it rolls down the street the tarp covering the back is caught by a gust of wind and one corner pulls free, flapping in the wind. It's too dark to see much of the inside but after a second or two an arm reaches out to grab the tarp and pull it close again. What makes it notable is the fact that the slender, clean and manicured fingers look very out of place and more like they belong into Hightown along with the expensive looking fabric of the sleeve.

[Onyx]

Onyx frowns as she watches the truck roll by. She picks up the bottle of wine and stands up. The shadows in the room grow dark and deep around her and without a moment of hesitation she steps into a shadow against the way and out of a shadow inside the back of the truck.

[Narrator]

For a second there's no reaction from the people inside and Onyx has a chance to at least get a cursory glance around. There's a mercenary sitting in the far corner, towards the back, holding an assault rifle. Opposite of him is a woman wearing a white silk blouse, pencil skirt and pumps that she seems to be trying not to get too dirty from the floor. Her head is turned towards the rear, almost as if she was trying to look through the tarp and into the small dust-cloud left in the truck's trail. To Onyx' immediate left and right are two more mercenaries with handguns. In the middle of the two benches are two young teenagers, one on each side, both with ziplock ties around their wrists. After a moment one of the closer mercenaries seems to notice her and scrambles to raise his gun at her.

"Who the fuck are you!?" he shouts, which in turn makes everyone except the woman turn their heads.

[Onyx]

"My name is Onyx, sir," Onyx says. She bows her head politely. "I brought wine. I apologize if there is not enough for everyone. I wasn't sure how many people were in here."

She glances at the teenagers, but doesn't say anything or seem too concerned about it at the moment.

"I would appreciate if you did not shoot me, sir," Onyx says. "It would be hazardous to your health."

[Narrator]

A telltale click comes from the pistol of the second mercenary while the third slowly raises his rifle. At least until the woman raises her hand and all three of them freeze.

"You have quite a bit of brass to drop in uninvited." she says as the mercenaries shuffle nervously in their seats.

[Onyx]

Onyx sets the wine down on the bench. "That is only because you are unaware of my capabilities, ma'am. There is very little risk in satisfying my curiosity. Especially considering the fact that strange vans full of armed men and women in this neighborhood are usually people trying to kill me."

"However, that does not seem to be the case here," Onyx says. "So, the question is: Who are you and what are your intentions?"

[Narrator]

"Who I am and my business in this town are not up for discussion." she says in a voice that sounds like it is used to not just giving orders but having them obeyed. It unpleasantly scratches at a behavior in Onyx' memory that has since been smoothed over. "We're not here to kill you, though if you wish that can certainly be remedied, regardless of your capabilities." She sounds like she's testing Onyx to see how much she cares to press the issue.

[Onyx]

Onyx didn't like the woman. She didn't like her attitude or the way her voice made her feel. It brought back unpleasant memories and feelings. A lot of Madripoor did that and she was starting to get tired of it.

And that might be part of the reason why Onyx tried to grab the nearest mercenary and throw him out of the back of the moving truck with her enhanced strength.

[Narrator]

The two other mercenaries startle and raise their weapons as the third hits the tarp and tears it lose before tumbling to the ground and rolling a couple times. The two kids flinch and cower in their seats. There's a moment of high tension as fingers slightly tug at triggers.

"So rude. Don't they teach you manners anymore?" Surely the woman must be talking in general. She has no reason to suspect Onyx is a former slave, after all. But then why does that thought bounce around in her head? Throwing people out of moving vehicles is awfully rude. Proper behavior would be to sit down and have a calm, civil conversation. There's now a free seat too.

[Onyx]

Onyx takes a seat. She pulls a glass made of darkness out of a shadow and pours some wine.

"I am sorry, ma'am," Onyx says. "That was terribly rude of me."

"However, not introducing yourself is also rude. Especially when you've entered someone else's territory."

[Narrator]

"Curious. Here I thought I had made deals with all the local factions." she says, turning towards Onyx. She's wearing a dark veil that obscures her face entirely, leaving only vague impressions of a pale face behind it. "You can call me Muse."

[Onyx]

"It is wonderful to meet you, Muse," Onyx says. "And may I ask who your friends are?"

[Narrator]

"Simply escorts for me and these two thieves who made the unfortunate decision to try and steal from me. Some areas require a certain amount of protection from unsavory elements, as you were so eager to demonstrate. Which begs the question of what you are doing here."

[Onyx]

"Pest control, ma'am," Onyx says. She appears to be considering the situation. "I have no interest in policing every criminal enterprise that moves through this area. I am more than willing to leave you and your business interests alone."

"However, let me make one thing very clear. If you are associated with the slavers operating in Madripoor in any way, we will be meeting again. And it will not be nearly as polite as this, ma'am."

[Narrator]

"Then you must be the vigilante I've heard people grouse about. There's a bounty out on your head, you know." she says, returning the polite warning.

[Onyx]

"If anyone wishes to collect it, they know where to find me," Onyx says.

[Narrator]

"Don't underestimate the kind of people this town attracts. And if one rocks the boat too much they will put their differences aside for a time."

[Onyx]

"Thank you for the advice, ma'am," Onyx says. "I will be sure to consider it."

[Narrator]

"I would ask if you wish to be dropped off somewhere but you don't seem to have trouble getting around. You should go home." she says and though she's probably just talking about Onyx' place in Madripoor there's a feint stirring of memories of Emily and Allison. They had been on her mind so that's just natural for her mind to jump to. A resurgence of feelings from earlier this night, perhaps a little stronger this time.

[Onyx]

"Yes. I should," Onyx says. "Have a lovely night, ma'am."

Onyx fades into the shadows and in a moment she's gone. Back to her office.

[Narrator]

The woman flicks her eyes across the interior of the truck, then turns to one of the remaining mercenaries. "Send someone to pick up Yeung and outfit all transports with light fixtures. Reduce any entry points as much as possible and keep an eye on the shadows. She'll be back and she will most likely try to get into one of our place of operations. Send this truck to the junkyard when we're done and have it crushed into a cube."