>>>>>[Besides being rude and presumably British, who the hell is "Cap'n Jack", and why the hell should I care about this melor or morel or moron-whatever he's asking about? What's in it for me?]<<<<<
-- Who, me? (01:02:14/11-29-72)
>>>>>[Cap'n Jack, aka Captain Jack Turner is a smuggler, a thief, a murderer, a pirate, and utterly without morals, scruples, or any other redeeming qualities. So pretty much just like most of the rest of us. He operates almost exclusively out of Pirate's Cove in the Ork Underground, though he's human, smuggling drugs, BTLs, guns, and the occasional "livestock" in on his fishing boat The Fortune Hunter. Word on the street is that the new Assistant District Attorney in Downtown Seattle has her cross-hairs set on him as a link to one or more of the Mafia crime families, since he's run contraband for them, the Yaks, the Triads, the Tong, and anyone else willing to pay.
Problem is, she's having trouble reaching him in the Underground. Knight Errant's contract is very specific about what areas it can and can't police, and the higher ups at Ares are holding them to that. And since the Ork Underground isn't technically a district of Seattle, Ares won't let them go down there unless it's an emergency. They're trying to strong arm Brackhaven into renegotiating their contract. Anyway, so long as he keeps his head down, pays his dues, and doesn't piss off the Skraacha, he's in one of the safest places in Seattle right now.]<<<<<
-- The Invisible Kid (00:00:00/00-00-00)
>>>>>[Tell me about it. Fucking ridiculous rules. Goddamn red tape.]
-- Tosh (01:48:28/11-29-72)
>>>>>[Call me a clueless newb, but I'm not sure I understand that. The Ork Underground is right under the streets of downtown, isn't it? So why doesn't it count, and why won't KE send the fuzz in if they know where this guys holed up?]<<<<<
-- Who, me? (01:57:51/11-29-72)
>>>>>[Ok, first of all, Bryce, I just deducted 200¥ out of your bank account. Call it a stupid tax. Second, get yourself a better stealth program and upgrade your firewall. Third, seriously? Centaur Porn?
To answer your question, it's simple. KE's been chomping at the bit for years to get the Seattle contract. Lone Star finally screwed up enough to let Knight Errant muscle in, but Brackhaven managed to negotiate some pretty good terms for the city. In less than a year, Damien's boys in black & gold have mostly shut down the Tempo trade and very publicly took down one of the worst Serial Killers in history when they took down the Mayan Cutter after his two and a half year reign of terror. By the way, my virtual hat off to you for that one, Detective Tosh. Anyway, KE has the public's favor right now. They have a 5 year contract at the moment, but they're hoping they can manage to get that renegotiated immediately, rather than waiting 4 more years. One of the ways they're doing this is being very careful about following that contract to the letter. That means they don't involve themselves in any Corp's business than Ares or their other contractees, and they don't step outside their jurisdiction.
Seattle has long ignored the Ork Underground, considering it to be not a part of the city. It's a footnote at best. But what folks don;t realize is how big the OU has become. The tunnels and warrens encompass almost the entirety of downtown, and there are tunnels, roads, and paths that lead out into every other district in the city. You can travel almost anywhere in Seattle without ever seeing the sky, if you know what you're doing and you're lucky enough to avoid the gangs, the criminals, and the paracritters that live down there. Very little the Underground is mapped, a deliberate move on the part of most of it's residents, and what few maps that are made are quickly rendered inacurrate as new tunnels are constantly being dug, and old tunnels collapse or are filled in.
So in part, the Underground is nearly impossible to police, even if KE wanted to do the job. Many of the residents still resent "Topsiders", those who live above ground, and Lone Stars actions during the Night of Rage still leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of many of those who call it their home. They don't trust the cops, and they don't want them down there.
Beyond that, since the OU isn't technically part of the city, KEs contract doesn't include it. So they don't go down past the public entrances at Lordstrung's and the Rhino, along the Tourist Highway.]<<<<<
-- The Invisible Kid (00:00:00/00-00-00)
>>>>>[Dammit Kid, what have I told you about hacking into the code? Knock that drek off, or I'll have to take some steps you won't like.
Not everyone is adverse to letting the law into the Underground. The O.R.C. and M.O.M. have been working on getting some measures passed through next year that will recognize the Ork Underground as part of Seattle, making it a full blown district. Project Freedom would mean tax money for civic improvements, mapping the Underground, roads, schools, hospitals, the works. It would make the citizens down there legitimate, make them a part of the city once more, instead of the boogeymen and the monsters hidden away underground as they're often portrayed these days.
Of course, if you listen to the talking heads at city hall and in the governor's office, they make noise about the crime rates down there and how they don't have the money to overhaul the OU. If you believe that fragger Brackhaven, Seattle's broke. Which doesn't stop him from living in a mansion and taking a limo everywhere he goes. Some ARO spam making the rounds in in the Underground lately talks about how the city is offering amnesty to any SINners that move out of the OU, offering them a chance to start over and get a "real life". RUmor has it that he's doing this to get as many voters out of the line of fire, before he starts pouring in cement and burying the OU once and for all.
I sound like a propaganda poster, I know, but... Dammit. He's a Brackhaven, for ghost's sake. Like he's going to treat metahuman's fairly? Frag that noise.]<<<<<
--MacCallister (04:47:10/11-29-72)
