voice!

[wronganswer]

[ It's not immediately after arriving that Anderson finally accesses the network. Out of sorts and deeply discomfited, she falls back on professionalism, as she's been trained to do, and scopes out the area first. This reconnaissance includes a brief mental skim of assorted passersby, mostly to gauge honesty and make sure this isn't an elaborate psychic-induced hallucinatory trap.

She's strong, but she's not invulnerable. She knows that's a possibility.

Except... it seems like it isn't, and she really is here, wherever 'here' is in the universe. After the two days she's spent poking around and reassuring herself of the reality of everything, though, that's not even the most incredulous part to her. ]

Looking for some information. [ Her voice is smooth, pleasant, a young woman's voice largely stripped of tone and easy to listen to. ] Someone told me there's no police here.

No judges.

How does that... work? Has anyone had experience with the intermediary system?

[ How can a place like this exist? It seems impossible to her. And just who is she, here? Who is she if not a Judge? ]

Comments

[mylawn]

Private security is a popular line of work, if you can imagine.

[wronganswer]

No kidding. But private security doesn't keep the peace.

[mylawn]

Stop-gap more than anything. It doesn't hold.

[and then...]

Why the interest?

[wronganswer]

I'm a Judge. It makes me uncomfortable that there's no one looking out for the public interest.

[mylawn]

I can see how you might find this a little disconcerting.

[wronganswer]

More like unnatural. It has to be serving someone's interests.

[mylawn]

Means we have to find out who's at the top.

[wronganswer]

My thoughts exactly.

A headless entity just doesn't make sense.

[mylawn]

They are an alien species. Maybe it makes perfect sense to them.

[wronganswer]

Maybe. I'm not sure I buy it. There's too much tied up in all this.

Anyway. I'm Anderson.

[mylawn]

76. Welcome aboard.

[wronganswer]

Thanks. Is that a code name?

[mylawn]

It's what people call me.

[wronganswer]

Okay. What do you do around here, 76?

[mylawn]

Freelance security, mostly. Odd jobs.

[wronganswer]

Does that pay well? Have to do anything questionable?

Not sure I want to keep what I got assigned.

[mylawn]

Pay is all right. I pick the clients. Something comes my way and I think it sounds off, I don't take the job.

What do they have you doing?

[wronganswer]

Smart. I could do that.

I'm an anti-cheating specialist at a casino. Not the best use of my skills.

[mylawn]

Sounds...thrilling.

[wronganswer]

Right. I might join you in private security. Not sure what else I could do to contribute.

[mylawn]

I have a contact for you. She's away right now ["""away"""] but she runs a private security firm.

[wronganswer]

Who is it?

[mylawn]

Her name's Shepard. You can drop her a message, but it might be a little bit before she gets back to you.

[wronganswer]

[ She's actually heard of Shepard already, but not by name, so she doesn't make the connection. ]

Thanks. I'll check it out. Maybe I'll see you around.

[mylawn]

Seems likely. Tell you what--I need a hand on a job, I'll drop you a line. See if you like the work.