Depths of Regina - Turn 1.2 – Settling into Cape Goliath
ROCK arrived at Regina Prime on 04/28/6570 as scheduled. By 1100 hours the ship was docked and the group was able to depart the ship which had been home for such a long time. Excitement was brimming in the group as they entered Regina Prime. Rock, as planned, was docked at Wheel 4, Spoke 15, Dock 21. Without wasting time the group proceeded to the customs area. Though a few anxious thoughts popped up, nothing untoward occurred while passing through customs. The IIS was good on its word and there was not the faintest hint that the group was any different from the other thousands of travelers that would pass through this very checkpoint.
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JACK: We would have unloaded all our personal and IIS gear from the ROCK at this point, including several space suits, etc. Do we need to make special arrangements for any of it to be shipped down below? Presumably some of the weapons and such are not allowed on public transports. Or do we need to abandon anything as contraband?
VAMPERINA: Vamperina definitely wants to keep her Quasar Roustabout.
GM: Can you give me a list of what weapons you have? Are these just personal weapons or are we talking about larger military style weapons? However, anything you could not or did not want to carry with you can easily be shipped for you.
JACK (GM): Primarily personal weaponry, rifles, pistols, and ammo, though there are a few blasting charges, detonators, the Psi-helmets, and 2 doses of the Psi-inhibitor drug that may raise red flags. Midnight would have a better inventory of the heavier weapons, at one point I thought we had a recoilless rifle and a couple of larger weapons for base defense, but those may have been returned to the IIS after the mission, I'll let him get into that.
MIDNIGHT (GM): I believe we left most of our very heavy weaponry on the prison planet when we made a quick escape. Mek and Midnight spiked and otherwise disarmed the equipment, but we didn't take the time to have Jack or anyone haul the stuff back. Your list looks correct to me.
GM-STEVE: The group does not actually have the psi-helmets anymore. The IIS took them back.
VAMPERINA: The only weapon that Vamperina has is a Colt Predator II that she rarely uses anymore. If it is going to be difficult to bring it to Regina, she will just discard it.
GM: Regina Law will require you to have a permit to carry the weapons on you, which is no surprise to anyone. However, you can pack most personal weapons and ship them. There are restrictions but the group does not trigger those.
GM: Based on Steve's comments I would guess that the group only has personal weapons that you have purchased for your characters. Surge has none.
KYLE (OOC): Kyle also has no weapons. Though I'll bet he has to fill out just as much paperwork to get the controlled substances in his doctor's kit through customs.
GM: On heavier weapons and explosives as a business you could register to use them. If you were to have any heavier weapons and explosives right now, they would need to be handed over to the Regina Orbital Authority until the group is able to get licensed to possess them. In game terms, it will be part of your business paperwork, assuming you get the business licensed for legitimate use. Registering as a security service will allow the group to carry weapons while on duty. On duty is fairly restrictive though. Not only must your business be licensed but it must register the security detail with the local government. This will need to be approved before you can carry the weapons. This registration will define where you're allowed to operate with the weapons. Salvage and construction licenses will allow the use of explosives. You'll also be able to store them but the bottom line is the business will be liable if any accidents happen.
GM: The short of it is that you won't be able to tote around weapons and explosives whenever you want. When you have a legitimate job you'll be able to use them within common sense. It is fairly well known to your characters that in Under City many of the laws are not enforced. Think of them like little fiefdoms where the laws could be whatever they feel like. Might is right in Under City.
MIDNIGHT: Midnight's still working on building himself a weapon, but the component parts should be able to be sent down without any problems. He does want to get licensed to carry. He also wants to bet any business registrations needed for basic explosives and heavy weapons up to a point. He'll trust Jack to advise him on where that point is because Midnight would likes the big and powerful weapons. (They're just more fun!)
GM: There are several options for shipping and all are roughly equal. All offer shipping of all types of items, barring they are illegal, including weapons. There are special procedures and paperwork that needs to be filled out for weapons though. For illegal items, the government can hold them for you in the case that you might have a legal use for them. So in short nothing that you can't legally possess doesn't need to be abandoned. Another note on the shipping, the companies can hold them for pickup at a later date. You pay for the time it is stored and you can then specify a delivery address when you want the items delivered. I will assume all gear that you can legal owned will get to the destination of your choice when you're ready for it.
GM: On a sidenote, I will send all the expenses for the business and settling in once the first month passes. I'll keep income/expenses to a monthly basis.
JACK: Sounds good, I am keeping a business account where my old 'party fund' balance used to be, with 90,000cr in it now, 15k from each of us.
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Since everyone had agreed that all would head directly to Cape Goliath, Surge had booked passage down to the planet at 1335 hours. Within 45 minutes the group found themselves passing through the spindle heading to the north end, where their shuttle would depart. After an enjoyable lunch in the entertainment district and a brief stopover in the merchant district the group arrived at the north end, where they boarded a shuttle for Cape Goliath.
The shuttle was a mid-sized 60 passenger space transport. It had view ports near each aisle of seats, allowing for a good view of the planet below. Regina was mostly water and appeared as swirls of white over blue and green. The flight to Cape Goliath would take a little over 80 minutes.
The approach on Cape Goliath brought back familiar memories for some in the group. After breaking the cloud cover they could see the city below. The city was a densely packed collection of spires that climbed above the cloud-shrouded cape. The ocean could be seen a several kilometers out from the city with the fog hugging the coastline. Behind the city, rose the rugged but green Goliath Mountains. The city, due to the lack of sun, seemed to always have lights on, especially in the mid to lower parts of the city. The buildings were a collection of mirrored glass, metal and stone. The overall color of the city was gray.
The starport occupied the northwest corner of the city far from the mountains in the east. The shuttle landed on one of the landing pads, above most of the city. Only a handful of towers were allowed to rise higher than the upper starport. Departing from the landing pad the group passed through several buildings of the starport, descending deeper into the city, until they arrived at one of the CART (Cape Area Rapid Transit) hubs. It would take some time to find more permanent residences in the city so the group booked several suites at the Shindaran Suites, in Upper Starport. They were moderately priced and were very convenient for the group.
Over an early dinner, the group discussed the initial strategy for starting the business and settling in. The first step was to establish a shared residency as well as business office. Surge had already done some research into the various neighborhoods and Prospectors Quarter seemed to be the most promising. It was nestled in the heart of the city, bordering the University of Regina. The university itself took up most of the northern part of the cape touching on the starport to the west and the Mercantile North district to the east. Prospectors Quarter was also in Mid City, which was directly in the middle, vertically, compared to the rest of the city. It was filled with students, working families and plenty of small businesses. The streets were a mix of closed tunnels and open blacktop roads. It was not completely blocked from the sky above as much of Lower City and the Under City was. Surge had produced a score of possible spaces available for lease. Surge, Kyle and Midnight would take up the task of narrowing down the places, with Jack taking over the last part of the business handlings.
The second step was to research all the requirements to starting the business. Vareq, Jack and Vamperina would spearhead this effort. They would first look into the various permits and licenses necessary to register as a business entity in Cape Goliath and the Imperium. The group agreed to each pitch in 15,000cr to start the consulting business, which should be enough to cover the startup costs in the first half year or more.
Finally, each person had their own personal things to deal with now that they were free and had all the services of a city at their disposal.
GM: If any of you have personal business you want to handle let me know.
MIDNIGHT: Once we get an actual residence, Midnight will check the email account he set up while on Jewel Prime. He doesn't expect anything, but he’ll still check.
JACK (GM): I made the rolls and paid the fees for private pilot's license and Ship's Gunner - Rockets license, not sure if that was already taken care of elsewhere, or it needs to officially happen now. Either way, shouldn't take too much time out from my other activities to get them done.
GM: It resolved during this week. Go ahead and update your character sheet with the changes.
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The search for leasing space took over three days. On May 3rd the group of Surge, Kyle and Midnight narrowed it down to the 17th property. It was on a sleepy street in Prospectors Quarter just a few blocks from the southeastern corner of the University District in Mid City. The neighborhood was filled with several art galleries, mom and pop stores and two casual restaurants. The biggest draw was a pub on the corner, which catered to college students. The space in question was a narrow store front on the street, only 5 meters across. It used to be an advertising firm and the landlord indicated they left in a hurry. Several pieces of their office furniture were still remaining, though all personal items and files were removed. He was confident that they would not be coming back to retrieve them and were forfeit. The main level went back 30 meters, with two private offices and a large storeroom in the back half. The very back of the main level was a two vehicle garage with a service door leading out to the alleyway behind.
VAMPERINA (OOC): Just to make sure I'm clear, we're talking about a street that is X number of meters above the ground, right? And it covers the entire span between the skyscraper that we are in and the one across the street. But then there are also places where you can look over the side of the street to the lower levels?
GM: Correct. Prospectors Quarter appears more like a traditional street circa 20th century Earth. About 1/3 of the Mid City is like a city built on top of the Lower City where you might not be able to tell anything was underneath it. Around 700 years ago the growth in the city required that the city build upwards. While in the early years they built taller and taller skyscrapers, the lower parts started to decay and while those in the towers were mostly content they missed having open streets to walk in. Thus they began rebuilding on top of the older parts of the city. Certain lower sections required open skies primarily driven by industry. Those areas that did not were built over. Often times a new ground level was built like a massive roof over the buildings below. Some buildings pass through this level while others live well beneath it making it feel like a 'domed' city. This brings up another aspect of the city's description that I haven't illustrated; the elevation ranges of each city level.
The Spires - 1500 - 2400 meters
Upper City - 900 - 1500 meters
Mid City - 500 - 900 meters
Lower City - 200 - 500 meters
Under City - 0 - 200 meters
The second level was split between four offices in the front and an artist studio in the back. The landlord indicated that the studio hadn’t been used in well over and year and was also available. It had a doorway into the rest of the space as well as an entrance out back, down a metal staircase. The third level was also available with two three bedroom apartments. They shared a common hallway with access to a stairwell that lead to the street. Alternatively, the back of the hallway opened out to the same metal staircase that the artist studio had. When asked, the landlord indicated that the fourth and fifth levels were fully rented out and had college students in them. They also use the same common stairwell to the street and metal staircase out back. The asking price for all three available levels was 9,000cr per month. It was a fairly healthy rent but not unreasonable. The three reported back to the rest of the group that evening.
KYLE: When they see the former artist studio, Kyle will casually observe that this would be ideal for a laboratory/workshop for him and Surge. Not that there aren't plenty of other possible uses for it, but Kyle would certainly at least mention his thoughts. If there isn't one on the main level, it might also make a grand conference room / strategic planning room.
GM: Let me know if this is sufficient and what you would like to do afterwards. The price per month is just for show. In the end it will just be a business expense and all living expenses will not be part of that as you already have that covered in your lifestyle expense. Another question is this property enough for the whole group or will others want another place on their own?
VAMPERINA: Assuming the lifestyle that I am planning (5000cr per month) covers it, Vamperina would like to have her own place not far from the business office. It could be in the same building but a few more levels up, or it could be a nearby building.
GM: Yes, it would. I'll send a private turn with your results in the near future.
KYLE: As far as Kyle's needs are concerned, it looks fine. And it seems to have plenty of space given that the V's (Vampirina and Vareq) want to maintain their own residences. I count six bedrooms upstairs with two separate sets of living areas. After ROCK, this should seem like true luxury. And with six offices and the studio, we should do okay in the business area. Any thoughts on what kind of space people would need? Clearly we need a business office, a computer room for Surge, a medical treatment/convalescing room, a conference room, and a file room. Some of the rest of us may also want offices. I know Kyle will, and suspect others might. But that all seems well within what this space has to offer.
SURGE: Surge requests one of the 2nd level offices would become the computer room. Two of the offices on the street have windows while the other two do not. He does not want windows in the computer room. Surge has no need for a bedroom and will keep his gear in the computer room.
MIDNIGHT: This works for me. Midnight would like a section of the garage to turn into a weapons workshop of some sort. He can even set up a corner cot in there if we need more beds.
JACK: I'm sure it's plenty big, might actually be too big with 3 people not wanting bedrooms ;) Jack will want a presidential office just for show preferably in the corner, as people would expect, but won't consider it a priority. He'll be happy to live in any of the residences above, if we want to keep the second level for labs, conference rooms and other business needs he's happy to go on the third floor, even with the noisy college students living above, he might even enjoy it.
VAMPERINA: If no one else objects, Vamperina will take the second office on the first level.
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The research into the business was going slowly. Surge as well as Storm, Surge’s alter ego, were assisting is finding the necessary legal forms and documentation the group would need to put together their bid. Jack, Vareq and Vamperina were busy reviewing the information and putting together the necessary applications. It was tedious work but required if the business was to appear legitimate.
The narrowing of a business name took up most of the research time. Stellar Consulting was already taken by a business in Cape Goliath. However, after some reviewing it became clear that the name could be extended without any legal repercussions. Several options were open.
Stellar Consulting Enterprises
Stellar Consulting Services
Stellar Consulting Unlimited
Stellar Consulting and Salvage
Stellar Consulting and Troubleshooting
VAMPERINA: Vamperina's preference, in order, is:
1) Stellar Consulting Services 2) Stellar Consulting and Salvage
VAMPERINA: Number 1 is a good, general name for a multi-talented team while number 2 emphasizes the spaceship skillsets, but might turn off someone looking for non-spaceship related services. I would actually suggest registering and using both names with the second being our "brand identity" for spaceship related services. This is mostly for the purpose of our Imperial Net storefront where someone searching for a salvage company would find it.
KYLE: I like that plan. It should be easy to work using both names. And from a legal standpoint we could probably do something like make Stellar Consulting and Salvage a department of Stellar Consulting Services.
VAREQ: "Personally, I like Stellar Consulting Enterprises. Services sounds too much like we wear little paper hats and ask you if you want ketsup with your fries."
While Kyle and Surge are setting up their laboratory facilities, Vareq will work with Midnight and Vamperina on getting our weaponry stocked and up to date.
"We won't be needing emplaced weapons, but keeping a few small arms around in case of emergency is probably a good idea. We'll also need a decent passive security system to warn us of intruders."
"We'll also need a group aircar, preferably armored and potentially armed, for transit within the city. I think its best to plan not to leap, fly or teleport around the city unless necessary."
MIDNIGHT: "Stellar Consulting Unlimited covers all our bases. It doesn't stress any particular skill set, and it implies, rightly so, that we can handle a large range of issues."
JACK: "That echoes my thoughts as well, I wasn't 100% happy with the Services appellation like Vareq, I like to make it look like we think bigger than that. Enterprises or Unlimited were going to be my suggestions, with a preference for Unlimited. We can easily set up a Service division in addition to the Salvage division, if you think that will draw extra business, Vamperina and Kyle.
VAMPERINA: "I'm fine with either Enterprises or Unlimited. Let's go with Enterprises since that seems to have approval from almost everyone.
GM: Barring any other suggestions for the name, I will go with the Enterprises version. You can always add additional names that you wish to use in the future.
JACK (humorous OOC): but if we are Stellar Consulting Unlimited we could have the acronym SCU... And when we're finally outed as mutants we'll be SCUM.
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Jack was also busy networking and doing lunches with various entrepreneurs during the week. While it was unclear if any of it was paying off, Jack felt good about the inroads he was making.
Surge and Storm were also busy getting the Imperial Net front for the business established with a simple interface. It couldn’t be completed until all the paperwork was completed. However, there was still a good amount of coding to do so they got that out of the way while the rest of the week passed by.
By the end of the week, Jack, Vareq and Vamperina felt confident they had most applications properly filled out and submitted. The group’s current licenses were more than enough to satisfy legal concerns for the business. It would simply be a matter of time before all the governmental agencies responded. Regina was known for its impersonal style of government and the red tape was tightly wrapped.
GM: More will come but I’m going to stop here to allow for interjections as well as the final name.
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During this time Vareq spent a majority of the time away doing research and working on his separate residence.
Surge, when not busy helping the others, had started looking for computer consulting work and landed a small contract towards the end of the week. He planned to do most of the work during the night while others were sleeping. He also spent a considerable amount on computer equipment. He brought back a top of the line, Denari XPS system for around 11000cr. It sports a powerful system with three VR hookups and will allow Surge to run all the software he needed, including several cutting edge games.
KYLE: Will that be available for use by all of us? I suspect at this point Kyle's scientific pursuits will be very processor-heavy. Since he doesn't have labs available, he'll likely do a lot of computer simulations or the like.
SURGE: Surge is willing to allow others to use his system. After reviewing Kyle's research intentions Surge agrees that his system will be sufficient for Kyle's temporary research needs.
KYLE: Kyle also reveals that he has landed a medical job at a clinic in one of the safer parts of the Lower City. He's volunteered for night duty, so his days should be free for other tasks.
VAMPERINA: At this time, Vamperina does not plan to pursue any other employment opportunities so as to keep her schedule free to handle business for our new company. If a few months pass without any business opportunities for our company, then she will look into it.
JACK: Jack spends about 60% of his time away from the offices for the first few weeks, then once the paperwork is done and submitted, it's more like 80%. He's out and about, making contacts, doing brunches, lunches, early suppers, late suppers, clubbing in the evening and well into the night, all of it trying to meet useful people, though he probably tends toward more social stuff than business in the later hours. If the business starts out weakly, it won't be because he didn't put in the effort and legwork, he promises himself.
VAMPERINA: Vamperina will also spend some time making contacts at the other end of the spectrum, putting her Streetwise skill to work. It's not that she plans on trying to drum up some shady business deals for Stellar Consulting Unlimited, but she does recognize that there is value in knowing what is going on in the substratas of Regina and there could be some potential for some troubleshooting contracts.
VAMPERINA: She will start out just getting to better know the area of the Mid City where our offices are located. Then she will venture down to the Lower City directly below our offices and get to know that area better. She will walk the streets, shop in the stores, buy drinks in the bars, etc. to get to know the areas better. At this point, she will not venture down to the Under City. That will come later.
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Cape Goliath Levels
Cape Goliath is generally separated into 5 distinct elevations in the city.
The Spires
The uppermost level is called The Spires. It is for the rich and powerful elite. It can only be accessed by aircar or by internal transportation in the various towers. CART does not have service to this part of the city. The starport maintains half of The Spires level towers, which caters mainly to private starport traffic. There is a restriction within the city that all spacebound traffic must be handled through the spaceport. It would be illegal to have private spacecraft land elsewhere in the city. This, of course, does not apply to the government.
Upper City
Just below The Spires, Upper City is where most the wealthy and large corporations are found. The majority of it is accessed by aircar with occasional CART hubs. Ground transportation is very rare at this elevation but does exist in a few parts of the city. Most of the structures in this elevation are tall buildings rising from the levels below. These buildings have access points, aircar garages and skywalks that connect them all together.
Sky routes are firmly established keeping aircars to defined pathways. It is illegal to fly freely over the city. Once you get within a short distance of a building you can deviate from a sky route though.
Mid City
In the middle of the city is Mid City. It is where most of the middle class live. Ground transportation is common here and most of the city is still open to the sky above. CART is the most popular form of transportation on this level. Many working people do not own their own vehicles and rely on public transportation. In the areas where the Lower City is visible, the streets become wide spanning bridges that connect major buildings. Aircar traffic is quite common on this level with several sky routes connecting the middle elevation to the higher parts of the city.
Lower City
Beneath Mid City, is the Lower City where the working class and poor live. CART remains very popular here with ground transportation following a close second. Very few sky routes exist in the Lower City and aircars are not restricted as they are above. However, much of the Lower City is not open to the sky above limiting aircars far more than the sky routes do. Crime is more common on this level with gangs and drug houses not uncommon in some parts of the city. The police presence is weaker than in the upper levels.
Under City
Underneath it all is Under City. It is almost all underground with an ancient subway system still active. CART does not connect to this level leaving the subway and ground transportation as the only viable methods of getting around. Much of the Under City is separate from the rest of the city. Police do not operate down here and each neighborhood has its own laws and enforcement. Gangs and organized crime have as much power if not more than the neighborhoods. It is widely known that anything goes at this level and the Imperium simply looks away, happy to contain it beneath the surface of the city.
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