Shadowrun: Lonestar (Sigr & Dr Herbert West)

[Dr Herbert West]

As orks went, Van Hauser wasn't a bad looking guy. His skin was a little clearer of dermal deposits than a lot of orks though he was showing signs of age. While he was only in his thirties, for an ork that was getting up there and Van Hauser had already invested in some basic cybernetics just to keep up at work. His short, military style haircut would have hid any grey that crept into his black hair, if there had been any. Like most orks he had broad shoulders and a heavily muscled body. For the most part he looked completely natural short of the datajack port just behind his temple. Even his cyber eyes had a realistic look, modeled after his original eyes.

Each day started the same way for David Van Hauser. He got up and left his apartment before driving in to the 75th Lone Star Precinct in Redmond. Once there he got fresh coffee going for the other people coming in to relieve the third watch. Then he worked out in the gym before showering and getting into his uniform. For the last four years he had taken to wearing form fitting body armor under his usual patrol armor. It was an extra layer of protection that was needed on the streets of Redmond. The gangers were getting better armed every day and Van Hauser liked going home alive.

That day would be a little different, though. The suits had decided that he was to be assigned a new partner, a rookie, that he would have to break in himself. It had been years since he had played the part of a field training officer and Van Hauser wasn't looking forward to it. Standing in front of his locker he stared at the neatly organized shelves for a moment as he sighed, mentally preparing himself for the day. Grabbing the heavy armored jacket and his helmet, Van Hauser closed the locker and made his way to the briefing room still very much lost in his own thoughts.

He had been told that his rookie had shown a lot of promise in orientation and again while at the academy. None of that meant anything to him, Lone Star officers cut their teeth on the streets not in training. Nothing could prepare an officer for gangers armed with flame throwers, summoning angry elementals to attack you, or rooms full of people zoned out on BTL chips. She would learn soon enough, and hopefully she'd learn fast enough that she didn't get them both killed.

As he stepped into the cramped briefing room and squeezed through the rows of simple desks, Van Hauser nodded to Lieutenant Alvarez the watch manager. Alvarez had come up through the ranks, starting out a patrolman and managing to survive through round after round of promotions. A human man of Aztec decent, a cyber arm and a slew of scars were reminders of his time in the barrens. "Where's my rookie?" Van Hauser asked.

"She should be in any time. I think someone said she was changing." The Lieutenant answered.

Other officers started filing in as Van Hauser buckled his duty belt and holstered his weapon. He had been there longer than most and had grandfathered in with the Browning Max Power rather than the lighter pistols they were issuing the newer recruits.

 

[Sigr]

Her fingers danced around the golden ring, wondering what to do with it. The metal band rested on the ring finger of her right hand, but Sara ended up leaving it there, even if it could come to a disadvantage, she didn't want to get rid of it. After all, criminals on the streets would use anything to get to you. She sighed, brushing her red hair back, continuing getting ready. Sara had recently cut it to keep her locks just above her shoulders in a comfortable length, even if her husband liked it longer, it was starting to become a nuisance even when tied on a ponytail. The standard issue armored jacket was so bulky that it perfectly covered her ample chest, making the woman appear bulkier than she really was. Maybe with time she would decide for something more discreet, but it wasn't as she could afford much better, not now.

Sara was barely wired beyond the most basic connectors, so she was wearing a pair of glasses over her grass green eyes that could feed her the information she needed. Besides that and her standard uniform all tidied up, she was looking precisely as what she was, the greenest of rookies out there. Just arriving at the precinct had been unnerving, as it was far from being a civilized place, but if she would be easily scared she wouldn't be doing the job at all and would end up being a suit like her husband. Not that it had anything wrong but she wanted something else, something more. With abilities that made her top the charts and an attitude to match, Sara had been soon the center of the wrong kind of attention, that far from wanting her to get experience slowly, had destined her to hell.

She secured the armored jacket one more time, making sure it was properly fastened, then adjusted the standard Ruger Thunderbolt heavy pistol to her waist. It was almost a sign that she was finally a real Lonestar agent, but little did she know that most agents had a variety of favorite guns and that rarely carried just one. Sara sighed before closing the locker, finally picking a couple of fingerless gloves with taser palms just in case. They had the advantage of covering the ring on her right hand, but sure that wasn't the main reason for wearing them. In case they needed extra gear to take down one of those razorguys or ghouls she had been hearing about, the car sure was equipped for it.

Finally ready she headed out, finding the unmistakable look of her new partner. Sara didn't know much about him but a general description of his looks and even less about his character, so she could only hope for the best. Prim and ready, she stood at attention in front of him. "Sara O'Halloran ready for service, sir" she introduced herself. Sara liked to keep her maiden name, as having her husband's would seem odd and could raise questions about how ready she was to serve.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Van Hauser sized the rookie up with a long look. She was pretty and that would create it's own challenges out on the streets. People would say anything to try and set an officer off and all the usual demeaning bullshit would likely be waiting for her. Another problem was how new her gear looked. It was obvious how new she was and that too would be used against her. Working the streets in Redmond was like swimming in shark infested waters. The more you could do to make yourself not seem like prey the safer you were.

"Morning, I'm Van Hauser." He finally said after a long awkward pause. "Take a seat and we'll see where we're patrolling today." Van Hauser quickly added. The morning brief was about to start and the Lieutenant would be handing out the assignments for the day. If they were lucky they'd get Touristville where she could get her feet wet without getting shot at the first day on the job.

"Alright everyone, take a seat." Alvarez said stepping behind a modest, slightly beat up podium. He ran through the assignments and Van Hauser tensed a bit when Touristville was given away early on. His car was 13X which meant his assignment was always the last one called. When the Lieutenant did finally give them their assignment it wasn't good. "Thirteen X-Ray, you'll be taking the rookie to the Rat's Nest." There was a look shared between Alvarez and Van Hauser that took the place of an entire argument. Van Hauser relented and as the Lieutenant continued to talk about the company's newest initiatives, Van Hauser spoke quietly to O'Halloran. "Okay, so it's going to be a rough day. Are you from Seattle or did they ship you in?"

 

[Sigr]

As her partner was giving her the once over and then some, Sara made the effort to stay still and not say a word. She looked at him trying to get a read of his eyes, trying to find contempt or anger, pity or scorn, but she couldn't garner any information from his eyes beyond resignation. "Good morning" she managed to answer once Van Hauser spoke, sounding a bit startled. It's not like she had lived sheltered and never saw an ork, but considering the social circles she moved in, most of her friends were either human or elf, and now she had a partner that looked like twice her size. "Yes sir" she quickly said, not wanting to get on the bad side of her partner on the first day, sitting down as soon as she could, awaiting for the briefing.

With lieutenant Alvarez giving away the assignments, Sara paid more attention to Van Hauser than to the podium, as she was nowhere near aware of how things went there, nor in any real precinct for that matter. Once Alvarez talked about a rookie, Sara turned towards the podium, as there was no other rookie there but her, and there seemed to be some kind of tension in the air she couldn't quite map. Rat's Nest wasn't the name of a pleasant place, but perhaps it was on those kind of places where she could start to make a difference, even if Van Hauser didn't seem that positive.

"We'll manage, sir" Sara whispered. "I may be green, but I'm tough" she said with a nod. "I don't know the city though, I'm from Chicago and moved recently" she explained. It was just recently that her husband had been reallocated there, just before she had ended her training, so she just followed suit. He wasn't particularly happy of her calling, so things would be less tense if she just tended to agree on other things to compensate. "Will we need more firepower?" she wondered, being an amazing shot in the academy she was eager to prove herself, even if she still didn't have to fire against any person yet.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Green but tough. That worried Van Hauser in a way. Confidence was good but the streets had a way of smacking your right in your confident face. Van Hauser nodded his head and gave her a quick smile. It was probably better to not shit all over her idealism within the first ten minutes of knowing her. Instead he ran through a checklist in his head of all the things they would need to square away before they went out into the Rat's Nest.

"It's the North Seattle Refuse Center." He explained to O'Halloran. "It's one of the largest open air landfills in the world. It's also home to a few thousand squatters. Got it's name from all the rat shamans that hang out there." Van Hauser glanced at her jacket just to check and see if she was a company mage or not. He didn't see the runic mumbo jumbo those guys had on their coats so she was a regular officer like him. "It's also got one of the worst crime ratings in Redmond." Her question about firepower wasn't lost on him. With the Rat's Nest you didn't have to worry about heavy hardware but even a simple .22 caliber could kill you. It was the number of cheap, junky guns shooting at you that could become the issue.

"We need to stop by the armory and pick up some 227's. Also, I don't care if you don't wear a helmet here...but you'll put it on before we leave and you don't take it off until the end of your watch. Copy that?" Van Hauser said authoritatively.

 

[Sigr]

Tall, tough Van Hauser turned out to be capable to smile, and it wasn't a bad look on him. Sure, his ork features made the smile look a bit goofy, but it softened his otherwise intimidating look. It wasn't entirely honest, that much Sara was capable of reading, but at least it could be a good start. She was painfully aware that no veteran liked to babysit a rookie, who would?

Van Hauser's briefing about the place brought her into focus. "Rat shamans? Fuck" Sara uttered, disgusted by the thought. It wasn't like she had something with magic, or that's what she would say if answered, but it unnerved the hell out of her. "And one of the worst crime rates?" Sara echoed, looking a bit down. That didn't sound like the place you patrolled, weeding out the criminals one by one, dismantling their operations to keep the public safe. Rat's Nest sounded like a place you torched and let it burn until there was only ashes to sweep under the rug.

"Yes sir" Sara nodded, no doubt she was going to wear a helmet. And if it was within budget she'd drive a freaking tank around that place. At least they were going to pick up more extra firepower from the armory. "A reliable choice. The HK227 I mean, won't pack the punch of a larger rifle, but it won't let us down" she commented, eager to serve, to be of use, to prove herself.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Alvarez was wrapping up the meeting and Van Hauser chuckled to himself as O'Halloran made her comment about the HK 227 like she was reading it from a textbook. The Lieutenant dismissed them and Van Hauser stood up and pulled his heavy jacket on and zipped it up. "Okay, first we need to get those 227's from the armory. Then we'll get our Patrol One and head out. Our car is 13-Xray. If we're lucky third watch actually charged it up."

The powerfully built ork grabbed his helmet and started for the armory expecting his charge to follow. Without looking at her he started talking again, "Word to the wise if you get into it with a Rat shaman or really any magic user...if they summon spirits it's best to focus your fire on the summoner. Kill him and you should be good with the spirit. They usually vanish if you drop whoever called them." Van Hauser had seen rookies drop an entire magazine into a spirit wasting time and ammo for the most part. It was possible to take spirits down with physical attacks but it was usually a quicker fight going for the mage or shaman who summoned it. "Also, in Redmond everyone is armed. You're going to see people carrying some pretty serious hardware. If you try to write someone up for banned firearms or carrying concealed you'll be shooting your way out of the barrens against better armed enemies...Oh, and you'll be surrounded in a flash."

The barrens was it's own world. You had to show the streets respect and sometimes they'd show some respect back. Usually what that meant was that you had to fight fire with fire, play by their rules, know when to look the other way and when to push the issue. That would be the hardest part of her education.

When they got to the armory, Van Hauser requested two HK 227's and signed them out before handing one to O'Halloran along with seven magazines of standard amunition. "Go ahead and load a magazine into your weapon but keep it on safe until we get to the Patrol One. Copy that?"

 

[Sigr]

Van Hauser was infuriatingly hard to read, one moment he was all serious and the other got himself a chuckle out of her. Sara frowned, wondering what part of what she had said was so funny. "Thirteen X-ray" she repeated on her way to the armory. She would love driving the patrol vehicle around, but as she didn't know the city yet there was no chance she could manage without getting into a mess. There would be time for that, not being at the wheel would allow her to better look at their surroundings, absorb everything she could about the day to day job.

"Yeah, the academy training was quite insistent on certain rules of engagement" Sara nodded, echoing Van Hauser's advice on magic users. She had only seen magic used in combat while training, so there was no way of telling how well she would react to a real threat, but she was ready to face the challenge. The next piece of advice rubbed her the wrong way, though. "So we have to just look the other way?" she huffed, visibly bothered. "I don't mean to chase everyone that carries a concealed small weapon for defense, but they are running around with military gear and we just do nothing?" she asked. Sara knew it could be a hard place and things were hardly simple, but she was feeling odd nonetheless. "It's going to be a pain guessing when to enforce the law and when to ignore it" Sara finished, clearly miffed.

"I'll need a helmet too" she added, while Van Hauser was requesting weaponry on the armory. It was a snug fit, making glad that she had cut her hair so she had no trouble with it, but it still made the world feel muffled. Sara revised the submachine gun as it was handed to her, making sure that everything worked perfectly. She would normally want to dismantle and revise it herself, but they had hardly the time for that nor it was something to do in front of the quartermaster, as she would seem distrustful. For her it wasn't a matter of trust, just following the proper steps. Sara stored the magazines on the various pockets of her outfit, then loaded the last one, making sure that everything was fine, the safety was on and the gun pointed down the whole time.

"Ready" Sara nodded, a bit more excited beyond her moody self after the talk the subtleties of law enforcement, following Van Hauser around like an eager puppy. She was finally going to hit the streets, to see some action, to uphold the law. Sure, the reality of it was weirder and subtler than expected, as the precinct wasn't as much a bunch of gunslingers that enforced justice on the wild west as a group of people that not only did what they could, but also were keenly aware of what they couldn't do. Sara, at least for the time being, wasn't as aware of those limits.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Van Hauser could tell she was brooding over the news that they weren't paladins marching in to dispatch justice. It was more about keeping the peace and sometimes that meant not kicking the hornet's nest. It would probably be the truest test of whether O'Halloran would make it on the streets. Van Hauser's FTO had told him time and time again, pick your battles. Not to mention corporate would lose their heads if profitability took a hit due to cruisers being shot up or a chopper being shot down.

Their next stop was the garage to get their Patrol One, a sort of armored sedan with computer controlled sensors. They were able to connect to the Grid Link systems is most people's cars and identify them relatively quickly. It would also bring up the owner's SIN and they were able to know everything about someone before they even stepped out of their cruiser. In the trunk was extra ammo, crime scene processing supplies, rain gear, and so on. A shotgun was locked in place between the driver's and passenger's seats but usually the shotgun was a joke. It was difficult to escalate with a shotgun when you were sometimes exchanging fire with gangers armed with military grade assault rifles.

When Van Hauser and O'Halloran got to their car the big ork popped the trunk and secured the HK 227's and gave a quick run down of where everything was in the trunk to his new partner. This was the boring part of the job that had to be done. He also explained the process of inspecting the car at the beginning of each shift and walked her through how they'd do a follow up inspection at the end of their shift. Once all of that was out of the way he told her, "I'll drive tonight but tomorrow I'll let you take the wheel. Just pay attention to the routes I take. Making a wrong turn in the Rat's Nest can mean having to call a wrecker to pull your cruiser out of waist deep mud." That said, he got into the Patrol One and fired up the engine.

"So..." Van Hauser started to speak, sounding more casual than he had been thus far. "What did you do before this?" As he asked his question, the ork pulled the cruiser out of the garage and started heading for the 203 north.

 

[Sigr]

"Nice..." Sara circled around the car, grazing it with the tip of her fingers. It was all prepped up, with gear she thought it was more than enough, since she wasn't entirely aware of what they were facing. Planting her face against the glass, she peeked inside, looking at all that fancy police gear before Van Hauser called for her from the back of the car. "Well, we seem to be a little police station of our own" she said, looking at all the stuff on the trunk. It was out of need though, as it was expected of them to cover multiple tasks and sometimes be more versatile than one could foresee. It was a lot to take on the first day, inspections, routes, procedures... but at least Sara had a pretty good memory.

As she sat on the passenger seat, Sara couldn't quite hide how excited she was. Van Hauser may have rained on her parade, forcing her to face the harsh reality of the task they were supposed to do, how much law they could afford to enforce, but it was still all she wanted to do. Being in that car, all the gear around her, the shotgun at her left, it felt almost unreal through the visor of the helmet, but it was there.

She was in Lonestar.

"I will be able to drive tomorrow?" Sara echoed, Van Hauser seemingly had added more fuel to the flames of her enthusiasm. It was a bit intimidating, but she had a whole day to get familiar with the area, and it wasn't like the next day she was going to be alone in the car. The ork's shift of tone as they started to move didn't go unnoticed, making Sara be glad that her partner wasn't all protocol and orders. There was a person under the gruff tone and uniform after all.

"I was mostly a student, bit of a housewife too" Sara admitted. If she didn't trust her partner, who was she going to trust? "We married young, and since he has a steady job, I could get ready for what I wanted" she continued, her grateful expression partially obscured by the helmet. "He's busy most of the time, and he'd largely prefer I didn't risk my well being like this, but..." she sighed. "I had to do it" added, determined. She was indeed very young and inexperienced, sharing that part of her life just like that, feeling safe there.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

RE: Shadowrun: Lone Star (Sigr & Dr Herbert West)

She seemed young to already have a background as a housewife but some families were more traditional than others. It was a weird time they were living in. Cultures were clashing all the time, old and new, ancient and contemporary. Van Hauser figured he would have to find out why she married so young another time. Perhaps when they were a little more comfortable with each other.

College was a good thing though. It meant that she at least had an education. Illiteracy in the sprawl was an epidemic and it was sad to say that some of their officers learned to read during their training with Lone Star. It also told him that she came from a working class family at the very least and not some street family. O'Halloran would likely need to learn street culture and he'd make it a point to talk to her about those things.

"I understand his concerns." Van Hauser started to say. The risks were real. Gangers loved to take out Lone Star and gods forbid they ever encounter actual shadowrunners. Runners would kill Lone Star in a heart beat and usually had the hardware to do it in a flash. "But I'm glad you're here. You've got a lot to learn but with the way things go around here we need all the people we can get."

Van Hauser paused for a few moments as he got onto the 203, merging into traffic easily. "I'm Seattle born and raised. Grew up here in Redmond, figured I'd try to make things better rather than join a gang. Left the barrens when I was younger and joined Lone Star. Besides gathering scrap metal it's the only job I've ever had."

There were plenty of orks in gangs that Van Hauser used to call family. He'd cut ties with a lot of his family years ago. There wasn't any drama, they just stopped talking to each other. A few of them thought that having family in Lone Star would mean favors and get out of jail free cards. That wasn't the case and they didn't appreciate it.

 

[Sigr]

"Shadowrunners..." Sara mused, barely a whisper. For all of Sara's comfortable life, granddaughter of a suit, daughter of a suit and married to a suit, shadowrunners were almost something out of fiction. A boogeyman that threatened the established order just to profit from it, sometimes a tragic romantic hero in a few trideo movies. "I'm also glad to be here. I want to help. Even if it's risky, some of us have to keep the rest safe" she said, looking around, taking in their surroundings, the routes.

Sara said nothing while Van Hauser disclosed part of his life. There was no nostalgia in those tough eyes that focused on traffic, his rough voice wasn't any softer when talking about the past. "Must have been tough..." Sara said, thinking that she couldn't even begin to understand where her partner came from, but it was something she would have to end up learning on the job. "But you went above and beyond that place, and now are on the good side" she said, showing how naive her worldview was. "Maybe that's part of what I want. Grow beyond what's expected of me. I know I can do more and be more than what I am supposed to be" she said. Feeling a bit awkward after sharing a bit too much with her partner, Sara soon changed topics.

"So... on patrol. Do we just keep moving until we see something fishy?" she asked, keeping her eyes on their surroundings and not on Van Hauser. "Or do you have some stops in mind? Usual criminals, informants, spots prone to trouble..." Sara said, eager to know the daily routine even before it happened, wanting to skip steps. "You'll do the talking, of course, but any advice to not look so much... well, green?" she asked, although deep down she knew it was impossible, that anyone could see through her like she wasn't there.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Van Hauser shrugged, "Our contracts with Redmond are simple, we're mostly here to control property damage. It's not like downtown where they run traffic and and all of that or Bellevue where they really want you engaged. This is just about mitigating costs for the clients." He was of course referring to the handful of corporate clients they had in Redmond as well as the local government. "If you're working Rat's Nest you'll occasionally get calls to go investigate the source of a leak or something...Salish lands border the dump and they'll bitch sometimes about pollutants leaking into their lands. We're not equipped for that kind of bullshit so give it your best with your respirator on but don't risk your own ass."

Their exit was coming up soon and Van Hauser got off and the dump came into view. A huge sign said North Seattle Garbage Center but someone had put fresh paint over top that said RaTs NEsT! and there were remnants of paint from the many times the sign had been vandalized, painted over, then re-vandalized. "Well, here we are..." Van Hauser said as they pulled into their beat for the night.

"The key to not sounding green is adjusting the way you talk to match who you're talking to. Redmond keeps it gangsta...sometimes the only way you'll earn respect is to take your jacket and belt off and throw down with one of these idiots on their terms. Don't take their shit but don't abuse your power. Only charge them with what you say you'll charge them with. They'll respect that and you're less likely to get shot at or face resistance when you do have to slap cuffs on someone." Van Hauser rattled off the rules as though they had actually been written down by someone. "Also, set aside a little money from each pay and get some certified credsticks...being able to throw some money around without strings attached is a good way to get information once you do have respect."

Van Hauser wasn't stupid, he knew O'Halloran wouldn't like the idea of paying bribes or getting into fist fights for street cred but she was in Redmond now. The higher ups had tosse her to the wolves for her first assignment and she'd have to learn quick.

 

[Sigr]

"Mitigating costs..." Sara frowned. She wasn't stupid, she knew that the world was a scary place with people being mean and just looking for their own benefit, but that didn't mean she had to be the same, and she was sure that there was other people who felt like that. Inaction was the worst part of it, so even if she took note about how to react when toxic agents were involved, her mind was settled on being better.

"I can almost smell it..." Sara said, even behind the helmet and inside the car, just passing below the huge sign and the Garbage Center was on view, it was like she could even taste the dreary place. Visibly tensed, Sara relaxed a bit as Van Hauser continued talking and giving advice. "I'm no stranger to getting into a scuffle" Sara said, although the mere use of the word 'scuffle' was probably a good enough clue to guess that the kind of fights she may have been on were nothing like what you could found there.

"Bribes? Really?" Sara looked for signs in David's face that he was somehow joking. "I don't think that's right" she said. "If it's a test it's inappropriate, and if it's a joke, it's nowhere near funny" added, but she didn't stop there. "Funneling money back to this place? For what? So they can spend it in more drugs and guns?" she protested, her simplistic vision of the issue getting on the way.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

"Well, kid..." Van Hauser said, carefully scanning the stacks of scrap that had been crafted into homes and even businesses in some cases for snipers or any other kind of trouble. "...what you'll find is that money talks in the sprawl...and bullshit walks. A good cop produces results. So long as the good guys go home at the end of watch and the bad guys are either arrested or in the ground, those are results. Don't forget these people need to survive as well. Many of them are SINless and will never hold a real job. They have to have a hustle. Everyone has one..."

Lord knew that David had his own hustles. He wasn't crooked, he didn't go out of his way to help the scum and the gangers...but if he could find a way to draw a profit from getting things done, that was just smart business. Lone Star would only do so much for them and they didn't get paid anywhere near what they deserved. Sometimes the enemy of your enemy was a damn good friend.

Van Hauser pulled into an area where the ground was packed hard to the point it almost seemed like concrete. Hell, it might have been at one point. Several businesses formed a horseshoe shape around the area and represented one of many small markets in the Rat's Nest. "Most of the products here are either bootlegs purchased from the Yakuza or the Triads. Either that or it's stolen. The owners sometimes have info and are likely to be the first ones to help you if you ever have to do an investigation. They also know if anything toxic has been found or spilled so if you get one of those calls come here rather than the hazard site. There are dozens of these markets and you'll get to know them all."

Parking the Patrol One, Van Hauser looked at her and said, "Might as well meet some people. Just remember, the barrens are all about respect and you get what you give."

 

[Sigr]

Sara immediately knew that not only she had been naive, but also spoken way too much of things that didn't know. Perhaps there was nothing on Van Hauser's tone and it was just her imagination, perhaps it was, but being called 'kid' certainly was a dead giveaway. They way he talked about those people was of course one well informed, as he had made his humble origins well known, so it was something that even if troublesome, Sara would have to accept. She hoped to be a positive force there, but as they delved deeper into that place, Sara wondered how much she could change the streets and how much the streets would change her.

"So illegal for one or another reason" Sara blurted when David explained her the merchandise usually sold there. She had meant to stay silent instead of making herself a fool, but sometimes she couldn't help it. "I guess that in this place, when you have to resort to certain... things to live, selling that stuff is the best you can do" she admitted. No wonder that the people around would be the friendliest of them all, knowing that the law would look in another direction to get a tip here and there. Meeting people there sounded as intimidating as any new endeavor, and Sara was ready to be all eyes and try to not look scared or too wary at the same time.

It wasn't going to be easy.

Sara checked her gear, making sure that everything was properly adjusted, specially the helmet and the armored jacket. She had to be respectful of those people and at the same time not remove her helmet? It was hard doing both, but she kept the helmet on, knowing better than to disobey a direct order, largely preferring to just interpret 'being respectful' at her own way. In any case, if it was customary to remove the helmet there, she would follow Van Hauser's guidance. Opening the door and setting her first feet outside, Sara could almost feel a shiver. That was nothing like a properly paved ground, nor was she in a proper part of the city.

That was nothing like being her old self.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

As soon as they stepped out of the cruiser all eyes were on them. Some people didn't try to hide the fact that they were staring but others gave sideways glances or tried to hide and watch them from concealment. There were a few armed people in the crowd and they seemed to watch Van Hauser and O'Halloran more than the rest. Two of them were orks, the other two human. Between them there was a shotgun, a couple AK-97's and one human had what looked like a homemade flame thrower. There was nothing legal about flame throwers at all but Van Hauser knew that it was more for devil rats than for people. There were no pesticides that worked on devil rats that wouldn't be a huge danger to people as well so people made due in places like this.

Van Hauser walked with a purpose, going straight to a little food vendor. The vendor was an uncommon sight in Seattle, a hobgoblin. Slightly shorter and more wiry than a normal ork and originating in the middle east. "Amir!" Van Hauser said with a smile. "My friend!" the hobgoblin replied, coming out from around the homemade grill to give Van Hauser a hug.

Normally Van Hauser wasn't big on the hugging but with Amir he knew it was a cultural thing and didn't think too much about it. Patting him on the back he waited for Amir to step back into his stall before he continued. "This is my new partner, O'Halloran." Van Hauser said, motioning towards Sarah. Amir smiled a big bright smile and offered her some sort of meat on a stick that was a dark brownish red that he was charging two nuyen for. "Here, eat!" Amir gushed.

Laid across his grill were more skewers of the brownish red meat as well as skewers of edible bugs. He also had the set up to do a sort of crude takoyaki from the looks of things but who knew where the ingredients came from. Van Hauser glanced at the skewer of meat that Amir was offering O'Halloran and gave an approving nod.

"It's teriyaki...it's good." Van Hauser assured her without directly addressing what kind of meat it was.

 

[Sigr]

Weapons and thugs and more weapons was all that Sara could see for a few seconds. It wasn't easy to see the people that had to live in such a place behind those weapons, something that made the firepower kind of understandable, but Sara focused in seeing them as people and not criminals. Following Van Hauser in his determined movements, trying to look as sure of every step as himself, Sara saw how friendly he was with one of the people there, a hobgoblin vendor named Amir. At least he didn't seem to be armed, that was a plus.

"Call me Sara" she said, trying to be respectful with Amir, offering one hand to shake and taking the suspicious stick of meat with the other. It was like nothing she made at home, that was for sure, and yet it looked shiny and appetizing. Raising the helmet's visor and taking a bigger bite than common sense would advise, Sara's eyes opened wide to the sweet yet strange, good but chewy mystery meat. "Mmh-" she nodded, chewing on it a while, then gulping it down. "The sauce must be a well kept secret, it's better than mine" said, taking another bite. "I needed a bite, didn't eat anything, meeting my new partner made me nervous" she confessed, "but he's good so far" she voiced before finishing the meat with gusto.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Amir laughed heartily and nodded his head several times. "Yes, yes...this one will make anyone uncomfortable!" The hobgoblin joked about Van Hauser.

The bigger ork just gave Amir a smirk and shook his head. "Yeah well, any time Amir starts a conversation with, 'My friend' just know he's going to fuck you."

Amir seemed to laugh that much harder at what Van Hauser said and waved his hands like he was shooing Van Hauser away. "You'll give away all my secrets! You're bad for business, go, go!"

This time it was Van Hauser who grinned and motioned for the rookie to follow him. "See you later, Amir." He added before his attention was stolen by the comms in his helmet.

Thirteen X-ray, thirteen x-ray, units 10-43 in your direction coming from the Plastic Jungles. Possible 10-35.

"Fuck." Van Hauser spat as he heard the last code. "Come on kid, you might be in for a treat tonight...10-35's are Shadowrunners."

Van Hauser ran for the Patrol One and clicked his comm on and responded to dispatch. "We're on our way, can we please get confirmation on the 10-35's?" How one handled gangers who thought they were hot shit and how one handled shadowrunners was totally different. Gangers would kill you if they could just to build their rep but they also would stand down and take the arrest rather than get into a drawn out gun battle. Runners on the other hand had money creating an incentive to shoot their way out, and often times they had the firepower to do it. Climbing into the car the ork fired up the engine and started for the south east entrance to the Nest. "It might just be gangers but get ready and be smart. The patrol one is decent cover thanks to it's armor but I've seen Runners carry APDS ammo which means anything less than the engine block wont protect you from shit."

 

[Sigr]

"The secret I'd want to know is about the sauce, but this is just my first day" Sara followed with the tone of the conversation, although it was clear that Van Hauser wanted to move on and this was just a small pause on their day. "Later!" she said, following him. "I wasn't lying, the sauce is good but..." Sara shivered a bit, "the meat was... well, I don't think I even want to know-" stopping her chatting as she noticed something was odd, Sara's attitude soon changed back to her straightforward one and not the relaxed posture she had showed moments ago. Her helmet received the same communication, and knowing most of the codes by heart she was distracted by one she couldn't remember.

"What? What's a ten-thirtyfive?" Sara asked eager as Van Hauser started to swear. The answer sent a shiver along her spine. They could stumble upon the very thing they didn't want to, the one thing that Van Hauser warned her about. Climbing on the passenger seat, Sara looked at Van Hauser. "No reinforcements?" she asked, turning to check that her equipment was all sorted out. So they had just arrived there and now were in a situation where hoping for gangers was the best outcome. "I'm ready" Sara said between clenched teeth, and it was indeed true, but that didn't stop the slight shaking her body trembled with. It wasn't exactly fear, although such a thing was present. It was also a bit of excitement, anticipation, and the worries about performing properly.

She was going to do her best, after all this was what she wanted. This was what she had trained for.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Van Hauser turned on the rumbler siren and called in an eta to their dispatcher. Like the rookie, he was feeling a bit of adrenaline kick in as they raced to intercept the high speed pursuit. For Van Hauser it was calming in a way, and added to his focus. This was just another day in the sprawl but any time runners were a real concern you were crazy not to be a little afraid. They were the pinnacle of street crime. Runners often trained every day in one way or another and too many Lone Star officers went to the range a half dozen or so times a year and that was usually right before their yearly qualifications. Not to mention it was impossible to keep up with technology. Van Hauser had a few implants but it was nothing compared to the Street Samurai. Razor boys and razor girls walking the street with reaction times of 72 kmph...

As they got to the gate, Van Hauser swung the patrol one around so that his door was facing the direction that the suspects were coming from. Quickly, he unlocked the shotgun and handed it to the rookie. "Here you go, Sarah...be safe, remember your training and stay behind the engine block. If they're runner's they could have heavy equipment. If that's the case just stay low and keep behind cover as much as you can. Always have an egress route, NEVER let yourself get boxed in."

They didn't have time for more of a pep talk than that.

The big ork jumped out of the car and got the HK 227 before moving around to the same side of the cruiser as Sarah. By that point he could hear a car rumbling down the streets and shots being fired. Van Hauser listened closely to the gun fire. Gangers usually shot like crazy, wasting ammo trying to look tough. Runners chose their shots more often than not, conserving high priced ammo to make sure they had enough to get through the battle.

There was a lot of auto fire which was both a good sign and a bad one. Good in that most runners wouldn't rock n' roll unless things were really bad. The bad news was that it meant they were probably gangers with old AK-97's. That meant they'd be dealing with 7.62 rounds which was never good. "Watch yourself, sounds like they have rifles..." Van Hauser stated what was obvious to him but wasn't sure if the kid knew or not. Clicking his comm on he reported that they were in position, "And send us a goddamned Yellow Jacket or a Wasp, please." Some air support sounded great if they were potentially runners.

Suddenly a Bulldog Step Van came into view and the rumbler sirens seemed to shake the very ground. Three cruisers were chasing the van and some tattooed maniac was hanging out of the side of the van with an AK-97. Van Hauser momentarily patted himself on the back for having called the weapon. Then he clicked on the loudspeaker of his Patrol One and announced, "Stop your vehicle! You have no where to go! STOP NOW!"

 

[Sigr]

The cold touch of the shotgun made Sara grasp it until her knuckles were white, metal against flesh made her feel safe, holding something tangible. It may have not the greatest of ranges, but its stopping power was to be respected. Leaning against the car she could feel her heart about to burst, fear and excitement tangled together in a dance until there was no way of knowing which one was leading Sara's movements. She didn't twitch nore move to the sound of approaching shots, closer and closer and closer. "Autofire. Old rifles. They can't be runners, can they?" Sara asked, a mix of hope and fear in her voice.

Before she could get an answer the target appeared in front of them, both agents and the car being the only thing in its way. It was everything the suits were afraid of, it was the very image of savages at the city walls, the sound and look of the threat to civilization. Her husband would worry and tremble if he could see her in the way of that rickety thing with that lunatic spreading bullets from the side. Sara didn't worry, didn't tremble. She was supposed to be the wall that kept those elements at bay, the wall that protected people like her husband. She was no longer at that side of the civilization, she was the very line that separated them.

"My last meal aren't going to be some mystery meat teriyaki skewers" Sara grunted, loud enough for Van Hauser to hear if he paid attention over the approaching ruckus. In the past Sara had that idea that her learning, her training would be like an encyclopedia to consult every time that she needed to do something, but now in the thick of things, all those lessons seemed to congeal into an instinct, a visceral move. Sara briefly peeked over the patrol car, seeing that the van wasn't nowhere near stopping before Van Hauser's booming voice. Sara had another plan.

Firmly propped on the shoulder the shotgun fired once, twice, pieces of the bumper flying around as her shots didn't find their mark. "Fuck. Focus, wait your time..." she muttered. In their chase, the van stopped going straight for them for a moment, veering slightly to avoid a mountain of debris. Then it was her moment, the shot sounded twice, once when Sara fired the shotgun, another when one of the frontal tires of the van was reduced to shreds. The next seconds felt like slow motion, as the incoming van lost control, brushed their car pushing it and Sara a few steps back, then ending up smashing against a wall.

Breathless and with her world spinning around, Sara found herself on the ground, wanting to get up and finish the arrest, if there was someone yet alive to get arrested. Using the shotgun as a crutch, she stood up to see what happened.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

Van Hauser was a little amused by her talking to herself but overall was impressed with how Sarah was handling the stress of the situation. She was mostly solid and her chattiness in those few moments before they were engaged didn't bother him. Looking over the roof of the patrol one he could see the van wasn't going to stop.

BANG! BANG!

The rookie had fired at the van and did some cosmetic damage. There wasn't time to do much thinking at that point. Like Sarah, the next few moments seemed to happen in slow motion. While the rookie was focusing, Van Hauser noticed that the passenger in the van was drawing down on them with something big. In the sprawl anything with a big barrel could be a micro grenade launcher and there was no way Van Hauser was just going to stand there and get blown up. Squeezing the grip of the 227 his smartlink came online and he fired five shots in a row. Most found their mark after passing through the windscreen of the van but there was no time to celebrate. As he had been firing, so had Sarah and the van lost control and grazed their cruiser.

The patrol one swung suddenly clockwise and knocked both himself and Sarah to the ground. The difference was that he was an ork and quickly rolled with it and was back on his feet. Other cruisers were quickly pulling onto the seen and Lone Star were spilling out and moving tactically towards the wrecked van. Van Hauser quickly moved to Sarah and without looking up from the wrecked van, his weapon at the ready, he asked, "You alright? Sarah, are you alright?"

 

[Sigr]

"Did you get the plates of the gangster van that ran over me? I'm going to report them to Lonestar..." she joked, even if her voice came out as a tired groan. Sara leaned into Van Hauser for support, getting up and steady with the help of his strong physique, making more obvious than ever the size disparity between them. "Did we get them?" she asked, looking around in the wrong direction, feeling a bit disoriented after the crash, then facing the proper way and seeing their comrades swarming the crashed van. "We did get them!" she said, sounding happy and perhaps a bit surprised. "Do we make a good team or what?" Sara said, raising one hand for a high five.

"My head hurts a bit thought..." she mumbled, getting the helmet off and releasing her shoulder length red hair. She ran a hand through it, and sighed relieved when it returned clean of blood. "It's probably nothing, but checking your own head isn't easy, can you make sure that the crash didn't miss a thing?" Sara asked Van Hauser, turning around so he could look at her head. "I don't want to go to the doctor to a check up on my first day like I was some kind of little baby..." she added. "Maybe just thinking of filling the report of this makes my head hurt" Sara joked again, clearly trying to relieve the stress of the situation.

 

[Dr Herbert West]

With the the other officers all over the van, Van Hauser lowered his weapon and turned his attention fully to Sarah, the rookie. When she took her helmet off it was a quick reminder that she was gorgeous, especially when she lowered her beautiful red hair. "Sure..." He said stepping forward to look at her head.

Removing the sap gloves he normally wore, the ork tucked them into a pocket before running his fingers through her hair to check for blood. The wavy red hair was like silk and she smelled of some kind of floral shampoo despite having been in that helmet for so long. A twinge of something hit Van Hauser in his gut and he stepped back when he realized he wasn't doing that great of a job of checking her for injuries but had been running his fingers through her hair like a lover.

"Yeah, you're good." He quickly said, "Are you sure you don't want a medic to at least check you for a concussion?"

There would be a mountain of paperwork and they'd spend hours out there watching the scene while the detectives gathered evidence. That at least would keep her from going to sleep. If she did have a concussion they'd know it soon enough, even if she didn't talk to a medic.