Planet Wysteria in the Granstream Nebula, placed behind a protective asteroid belt that shielded it from the harmful rays of the Xion class sun. With two moons glowing beside it, superheated by more direct contact with the suns harmful rays. but the planet itself remained largely undamaged. Although surface based terra-forming would be difficult, underground civilizations could still be started, acting as the industry centres that supported the floating cities above, supported by powerful substructures and elevator systems.

Wysteria was one of the Earth Alliance's major resource centers, but its beautiful upper atmosphere and position in space made it double as a favoured resort. While the majority of its working force labored underground in artificial environments, many of the floating cities were considered holiday destinations with various attractions.
However to keep this all in place, a police system also needed to be put into place, so the Wysteria Defensive Force was formed. A militaristic police force equipped to watch over the cities.

As with an civilization of man there would also be crime to deal with, pirate bands in space, smugglers, black market traders, illegal betting and gambling, drugs. Murder, violence. The vices of man were inescapable even in space. Making sure it didn't overwhelm the populace was the best that could be hoped for.

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And it was here that the now Detective Amelia Valentine was serving as a member of the WDF. Even as she donned her coat, listening distinctly in the silence to the faint whirs that marked the technology half her body was composed of. The finest, cutting-edge prosphetices to replace what she'd lost, the synthetic flesh feeding almost natural information to her.
But it never really felt right.. Like walking with one eye closed.. Like walking with legs that were almost always numb, fingers that felt more than they should.

She'd heard the jokes already, Bionic Woman, Terminatirx, Robot Girl. But perhaps the one that bothered her the most was Cyborg, it was right down there with tin-woman or scrap metal. She'd put holes in a few walls for some remarks.
But that's just the way people were. She checked her gun. It was a pulse-power gun. Or PPG. Used some sort of energy cap to fire high heat rounds. The blasts would cauterize the wounds so the mess wouldn't be as great when killing some-one.. Blood would still spatter, but you couldn't possibly stop everything.

She didn't really need one but the formality remained. She had advantages other humans didn't. A few sanctioned modifications to the tech in her body gave her hidden weapons, abnormal strength and generally made her intimidating when people realized just how dangerous she was. Even as she stepped out and headed for her sector's station and adjusted her coat and her gloves. The only part of her that didn't have obvious tech on it was her chest and neck upward.
The scarring on her face had been repaired, medical technology had advanced nicely, but the synthetic flesh on her body was black, non-reflective. Almost smooth, simulating the feel of flesh but not the warmth, not the look.

She was looking forward to meeting her new partner today. It would be nice to meet some-one who didn't know every lame cyborg joke out there, at least not yet.

Ivy was surprised when she got a letter from the WDF in the mail. They wanted her to join their force. Having just retired from her previous investigative career Ivy was a little reluctant to accept. After a couple days of thought and a couple weeks of boredom Ivy decided to give it a shot. If she didn't like it she could always retire again. Ivy walked over to her desk and pulled out the letter once again. Dear Ms. Nolan, We here and the Wysteria Defensive Force, or WDF, would like you to consider taking up a position as one of us. We have heard about your background in investigative work and think you would make a good partner for our Detective Amelia Valentine. Please consider our offer. Detective Valentine will meet you next week to recieve your answer and hopefully welcome you to out force.Ivy folded the letter into a small square and put it in the pocket of her jacket.

Pulling on her hat and strapping her civilian issue PPG into her shoulder holster Ivy set out to meet her new partner. It would be an interesting meeting. It was in a place Ivy had never been before and she wondered if she would even be able to find Detective Valentine. She hoped she could, it would be embarrassing if not. As Ivy left the apartment she locked the door and turned on the security system. Walking down the stairs and onto the street Ivy began to wonder about Detective Valentine. Could it be the same Detective that had required technological surgery? If so Ivy was very interested to meet this woman. She had heard a lot of jokes made about her but had never learned the cause of her injury. Possibilities ran through Ivy's mind as she walked. Eventually she decided simply to ask. Still she wondered why someone like Detective Valentine would need a partner like Ivy.

((I know it's short but I'll get better as we go))

[That's what he said *snickersnort* XD but seriously, dont worry about it, I dont have big demands, just activity and a decent posting length (which you've covered there nicely)]

Valentine had found her way to her favourite canteen, The Wystern, simple name with simple tastes, it had managed to retaint he name in spite of the many cafes and restaurants that had wanted the name, she liked the odd act of defiance it had being such a smaller place compared ot these big name companies that had asked to take it. But no, they were happy keeping the name and their customers since it lay close to one of the biggest WDF stations. Plenty of officers would go there, but there was also a great deal of civilian customers. Amelia meanwhile sat comfortably in her favourite corner of the outside sections, just below the shade, a cigarette hanging half loosely from her lips, though it remained unlit.

She knew it wasn't allowed here, it was there more to be ready for when she was going. her doctor had complained that cigarettes could kill her, but she retorted that after having one lung replaced she didn't have to worry about suffocation, and since she survived such an awful accident, a little cancer was the least of her worries at this time.
He wouldn't admit it but she needed to handle her stress, both mental and physical, in some way, and since she wasn't looking to partner up with some-one because of what she probably considered physical deformities in her mind.. Well.. She needed an escape that wasn't addictive narcotics or medication.

But this Ivy wasn't that kind of partner. no she was here to be her partner in the WDF as a detective. A simple test of her skill would be to see if Ivy could spot her without giving her any actual clue. She'd even requested her image wasn't released to Ivy personally. If she'd done some research before hand then all the better, if her memory served her from news articles or documentaries about the Hero of the Regliz Assault, then once again all the better, a good memory or research skills was always an upside. If she could figure out who Amelia was without either of these to fall back on, then once more, it was instinct, another driving force that could lead a detective to the right answer. Past experiences and knowledge acting to guide with an unseen hand.

Miss Valentine wasn't exactly hiding herself, but she was calmly stirring a spoon in a cup of coffee with one hand, almost perfectly, the other holding up a datapad with the latest goings on. She actually had an assignment to start on straight away. She'd told the director as kindly as possible to screw orientation and get Ivy stuck in immediately. Orientation was awkward, and annoying. Although rules and regulations said it had to be done straight away, they could alter a few details and worry about it later.
Her eyes flicked up just once in the direction of an approaching young woman.. Yes, she could see Ivy, the facial recognition software linked to the one prosthetic eye brought up a micro-sheet of facts and figures. The wanted detectives working in pairs at the least for traditions sake and to make sure there were indeed two people, one to witness the others actions, to back up the other or restrain them if need be. The work could occasionally be stressful.

But hey, that's what sex, alcohol and cigarettes were for...

[Once again, slightly big post, but I was on a roll and couldn't help it.. xD]

Ivy walked up to the small tavern called The Wystern. It was a quaint little place, right next to one of the larger WDF stations. As she walked up to The Wystern Ivy scanned the folks sitting outside. There were a couple of cops in one corner and some civilians in the other. There was a woman off in the back corner but, she was shrouded in shade and Ivy couldn't make out any features. Walking into the tavern Ivy went up to the bar and ordered a hot lavender and chamomile tea. As she waited for her tea Ivy looked around at the patrons and the atmosphere of the little establishment. It was a decent sized business, especially for how many people packed this place daily. Ivy had done a little research on The Wystern before she had come. If you couldn't know the person you were meeting, the least you could know was the place. This lovely little restaurant had been offered heaven and earth. Yet, come hell or high water had refused all offers to change it's name. This was THE Wystern. The best little business this side of town and a personal favorite of all employed by the WDF.

Ivy payed the bartender and thanked him for his service as she stood and carried her mug outside. Making her way past the civilians and into the nicely shaded corner, Ivy smiled and asked, "Hello Detective. Mind if I sit with you?" Pulling out a chair and sitting down Ivy slowly sipped her tea as she watched her future partner. After a moment she mentioned, "This is quite a nice place I must admit. The tea is fabulous and this little corner is particularly comfortable." Ivy looked around at the surroundings, enjoying the view as she waited for the Detective to respond. There was a tall tree shading this corner and some shrubbery all around. It was cute.

"Damn.. And here I thought I was making a good job of acting casual.. Guess I need to brush up on my blending in.." Amelia replied with a slight smirk, glancing over at Ivy, in the shade her left eye could be seen far more distinctly, a very faint glow coming off the interior iris, separate sections shifting and focusing, there were some who were put off by such a thing even a WDF officer or two,
"Ivy Nolan, right? You served as a Private detective for three years, right after graduating from The Holmes Institute of Law and Criminalistics. Add to that extra curricular activities such as firearms handling and Close Quarters Combat training.. I'm sure that got you out of a pinch or two. Looks like some-one noticed you enough to want to make you a WDF officer.." Amelia whistled slightly, smirking a bit before looking across the road. From here there was a straight view to what was referred to as the Pleasure Dome. It was a mostly adult section of this particular platform they were on. Needless to say the more adult a location the more prone to violence it was. The play-park cities were a lot friendlier. And also a lot less exciting..

"Well as you may know, I'm Amelia Valentine and it looks like we'll be partners." She stated, reaching into her jacket to pull out two items. A WDF issue PPG was the first, unlike the civilian one Ivy had, this one was handed out to all WDF officers with firearms training and was registered to her personally. PPG burns would leave behind trace that could be linked back to registered weapons and serial numbers were etched just inside the handle.
the second item she took out was a WDF badge. it took on a less traditional four-pointed star symbol with a circle behind it. Her badge number and golden-coloured trimmings.
"Welcome to Paradise." Amelia stated mockingly, smirking slightly as she adjusted her jacket then picked up the data pad again and put her cigarette down so she could sip her coffee, "Questions?"

Ivy watched Detective Valentine for a moment. One of her eyes was slightly . . . interesting. Glowing slightly and shifting like a kaleidoscope, It was a little unsettling. Nothing she couldn't handle though Ivy smiled and nodded, "Yes Ma'am, so it seems we are. Pleased to be your partner and I assume we've got a case so let's get started shall we?" Ivy stood and strapped the WDF issue PPG into the side holster under her jacket and put her badge in her back pocket. Sitting back down Ivy cast a grin at Detective Valentine, "You can call this paradise if you want to. Me personally? I think of paradise as a good meal and a fun night in bed." Pulling out her data pad Ivy switched it on. Surprisingly it automatically went the the WDF assignment board. Clicking on Valentine&Partner Ivy began to read the data file for the case. Looking up for a moment Ivy expressed her surprise, "You people really do work quite fast. Questions . . .well let me see. I suppose we're to start the case as soon as this exchange is over so the only question I really have is are we walking or driving? That and is there any questions you have for me or anything to say?"

Amelia's brow perked softly when Ivy mentioned her idea of paradise. Finding herself frozen for just a moment before she grinned slightly, how interesting.. He took another sip of her coddee as she watched Ivy with a more discerning look now before smirking,
"I like your idea of Paradise.. We may have to talk about that later.." Valentine mentioned with a slight smirk, she realized what she'd said and probably how it sounded, but for now she'd keep it at that level, "We've had a few basic robberies around town lately, apparently the same gang of small-timers have been going on a little spree. We're going to the latest scene to pick out some evidence. And we're driving, of course, or rather, I'm driving."

Amelia stood up, pressing a button on the pad so it would shorten itself then shrink from the side, becoming compact enough to hide in a pocket. They were handy like that. Besides it was encrypted and locked, if some-one entered the wrong password it would fry itself. Amelia picked up her cigarette from the table and popped it between her lips once again before nodding her head toward the nearest exit from the outside of the café. Parked at the edge of the nearby car lot, which was riddled with standard WDF Chasers, was a top-down convertible. It was coluored deep red, the kind of red that reminded one of blood contrasting with a rose. It didn't even reflect the sunlight above very well.

Amelia worked her away around to the driver side, but she didn't actually get any keys out, the car beeped twice, the doors unlocking and hissing open as she slid into place. She'd fiddled with wireless key and downloaded its activation sequences into her internal circuity, literally becoming the key herself, keeping the original locked away safely.
She adjusted the disposable cup of coffee in her hands as the engine hummed to life and looked towards Ivy,
"Get in, partner." She smirked, sipping the coffee once again, "Aah technology, one of life's little perks.."

Ivy grinned as Detective Valentine . . . Amelia smirked. Then Ivy thought about what she had said and she almost blushed a little. Almost, she checked herself just in time to stop herself. Although Valentine being Valentine she probably saw the blush anyway. Pushing the thought to the back of her mind Ivy focused on the task at hand. Compressing her data pad Ivy put it in her jacket and followed Amelia to the parking lot. The parking lot was full of WDF cars. Ivy began to search through the WDF cars, looking for the one that seemed most likely to be theirs.

There was a car with a teddy bear in it and one with a cancer sticker. Ivy's favorite was the WDF car with the bumber sticker reading "I don't suffer from Insanity, I enjoy every minute of it." So caught up in looking at the different cars ivy barely noticed Amelia go to the convertible. It was a lovely blood rose red. Absolutely gorgeous. Ivy thought about her own vehicle. A small Ducati street-fighter, it was oil stain black. Complete with all the colors of the rainbow just beneath the black. Ivy loved her bike, it was her baby. Though as she thought about it maybe her baby could use a little bumper sticker. Ivy decided to get some paint and decal the side of her bike with that lovely little quite when she got home.

Snapping out of her reverie Ivy walked over to the convertible and looked at Amelia, "This is our car??? I though all officers werer required to drive WDF vehicles? Either way it's a lovely car though. I like the color choice." Ivy opened the passenger door and slid into the little car. Sinking into the leather seat Ivy looked out the front window as Amelia drove. The drive was fast and silent as they made their way to the scene of the most recent crime.

"Patrols have to use official WDF Chasers, and technically this is registered as the car I use for WDF business. And its mine." Amelia responded casually with a slight grin, nudging the wheel softly with her knee, smirking aside to Ivy then, "We're detectives, which means we're plain-clothes officers except where required to wear a uniform such as official proceedings, you know, things like that." She rolled her eyes, "Never did like uniforms myself.. I fill them out nicely but they still make me uncomfortable.." Amelia opened up the CityNav on the cars onboard computer, reopening the datapad and typed in the address of the latest incident. It was actually a couple miles away in a different distract, so they'd be crossing the sky ways..
"Autopilot." Amelia stated clearly and the car seemed to lift off the ground with ease, directing itself out of the lot and lifting into the air a good few meters, gliding out into the open air of the street and heading down the set paths, there were still strict traffic laws to consider. Where they could just have flow directly towards it, that would only be permitted in an emergency. Rogue drivers and speeders would try the same tactic but there was a lot of open space to try and escape in, meaning it wasn't hard to spot them or take them down. However it also meant here were more hiding spots they could use inside a city..
On the upside, there were fewer traffic jams..

As Amelia finished her cup of coffee she looked around outside of the car for an open trash can then grinned as they were passing one. With an expert toss it sailed through the air and popped in with ease as she looked back to watch before pumping her fast in the air, "Two points." She mocked with a smirk, turning to look ahead once again and light the cigarette finally, after a few flicks from the lighter failing, Amelia groaned, tossing it into the back seat and pulling off the glove on her right hand, holding her pointer finger up. the tip of it split apart in four equal sections and emitted a small red laser, burning at the tip of the cigarette and letting her light it much easier before the finger closed and she pulled her glove back on,
"So Ivy, anything else I should know about you?" the detective asked subconsciously, "Any allergies or health concerns I gotta watch out for? If you're gonna be my partner I need to make sure you're fit for duty. The last three fella's couldn't quite cut it."

Ivy liked Amelia's explanation, her favorite part was 'No Uniforms'. Ivy hated uniforms, especially official ones, they all looked horrible on her. Ivy was startled when the car lifted off the ground. Having never traveled by air before it was a little unsettling. Playing with her thumb ring Ivy looked at Amelia, "You travel like this often?" Ivy suddenly really missed her bike. Her baby. It kept her on the ground and guided her safely through the streets. It was a good means of transportation, it looked good, and it didn't scare the living daylight out of Ivy. Laughing it off Ivy silently wished she had her bike but refused to say anything. She would have to get used to this travelling eventually, better sooner than later.

Ivy laughed and clapped as Amelia sank her coffee cup into the trash can perfectly, "Wonderful Shot." Watching Amelia have some trouble with her lighter, Ivy pulled hers out of her pocket. She was about to offer it to her new partner when Amelia took off her glove and held up a finger. The finger sectioned apart and made a small laser. Ivy put her lighter back in her pocket and answered Amelia's questions, "Hmmm. I'm allergic to uniforms of all kinds, they look horrid and I refuse to wear them. Same with the color pink, won't go near it. Other than that I'm relatively stable except for my fear of heights and spiders. I'm not too bad about the heights thing but spiders are . . . No. And You?"

"Don't like pink huh? Stay away from my underwear drawer then." Amelia smirked, "Three years in the Military, another five in the Alliance Navy as a Razor X20 Pilot and I still like pink." She grinned a little, drawing in a breath from the cigarette then exhaling, "And yes, I like my car, I had a friend tune her up, she's my baby. The paint coating was a special treat." The woman grinned at Ivy aware that the buildings wer enow rushing by at quite some speed before they took a few turns and finally entered into a small tunnel this lead out to a grand skyway, a massive bridge between two of the floating cities.
"As for heights... well.." She looked over the edge at the massive drop to the planets surface, "You're in the wrong place to be worrying about that." Amelia chuckled, sitting back in her seat and drawing in another breath from the cigarette, blowing it softly up into the air, but it merely got blown back over her head by the wind skimming across the top of the car.

"I'm not afraid of anything really." Amelia lied bluntly, rolling her shoulders, there were a few things she was scared of, but she never wanted to admit them out loud, some-one with her reputation couldn't afford to be scared. She had hidden goodies all over so it wasn't hard to get out of a bind, but there were still things that frightened her..
Her eyes focused on the sky way mainly, the enclosing city that they were going over to. It was another of the adult sectors, clubs, casinos, that sort of thing. This one had a specialty for rape cases.. Luckily that wasn't the kind of case they were dealing with here,
"And sooner or later you may have to wear the WDF uniform," Amelia smirked, glancing at Ivy, "I'm sure you'll be fine in it. Just for formal occasions, not even I can escape that."

Ivy was a little shocked at Amelia's comment but responded anyway, "I'll remember that, Hahaha." Ivy knew about Amelia's background, the only thing she didn't know was the cause of the accident that warranted her surgery, still Ivy was impressed with everything Amelia had done. Paying attention as Amelia spoke Ivy found herself warming up to the woman, that and she barely noticed how high they were. That is untill Amelia mentioned it. Looking over the side Ivy quickly sat back in her seat and slouched a little, "Oh Dear . . ." Ivy believed her when Amelia said she wasn't afraid of anything. If anyone could say those words and mean them it was her. She had definitely been through a lot in her life. From what little Ivy knew about her Amelia seemed an extremely strong woman. Ivy was relieved when the conversation moved to uniforms, something to think about aside from how high in the air they were. Not that the thought of Amelia's underwear drawer wasn't interesting, but the pink killed the thought. Ivy grimaced at the thought of herself in a uniform, "I know I'll have to wear one . . . I just don't want to. I've yet to find a uniform that's actually wearable for me."

Amelia chuckled at her new partners reaction to the height, Amelia was so used to flying planes and jets from her time in the Alliance Navy as well as flying fighters in space that height didn't bother her so much.
"Dot worry, the only times we have to wear uniforms these days are for meeting officials from the Alliance and Earthgov or at funerals for officers killed in the line of duty.. There isn't exactly a high mortality rate her though so no concerns there.. Although one of the patrolmen from our unit, Lance Rickson, did get capped, they caught the guy who did it, small time criminal, Freddie Trejo."

Amelia shrugged to herself, leaving her cigarette in between her lips for a moment as she checked the map, they were almost there.. The great suspended road of the skyway had a fair bit of traffic running across it, and energy barriers on either side made sure that, if there was a crash, they landed on the skyway itself instead of plummeting into the toxic atmosphere below.
The woman looked on once again as they flew into the entry tunnel of the second city, turning off to the left away from the main streets and turned again. The vehicle keenly guided itself through the narrower flight-paths so they could find the store that had been robbed.
Amelia's attention shifted when her radio sputtered to life, it was her direct link to their station,
"All units be advised, shots fired at 454 McMillan street. Three fatalities reported. All local patrols are requested to divert if currently unoccupied, Unit 53 is on scene and cordoning off the area." Amelia raised her brow at this then looked towards Ivy,
"That's the address we're headed to.." She stated, picking up the receiver, "Affirmative HQ, Detectives Valentine and Nolan en route,"

Amelia seemed oddly disturbed by this as she rubbed her chin,
"That's the second time this place as been hit within two days.." The woman smirked just a little, "Well at least it doesn't get too boring out here.." she commented, placing the cigarette in a small ashtray located just below the dashboard.
As they got to the address it was clear to see that the gunshots had attracted a small crowd, as these things often did, a Patrol car was parked nearby and the two officers were keeping people back and trying to take statements from those that had been nearby,
"You ready?" Amelia asked with a smirk, climbing out of the car as it shut itself down.

Ivy sat up straight as the radio in the car went off. As the radio puttered out the address they were headed to Ivy turned to Amelia with a slightly surprised look. When they got to the small store a crowd had already gathered. People were crowded as close to the yellow tape as they could get. The car already on scene tried to keep the people at bay but there weren't enough officers. Nobody had gotten past the tape yet but some had cameras and cell phones and were snapping pictures. Looking at Amelia, Ivy commented on the crowd, "You would think they've never seen a crime before . . . I find that hard to believe in this city." Hopping out of the car Ivy shrugged off her jacket and left it in the car. Everything she needed was somewhere on her person, the jacket was just a courtesy to civilians. Ivy followed Amelia over to the crime scene and pushed her way through a small sea of people to make it over there.

The place that had been hit was a small convenience store. Locally owned place, in fact the owners lived just down the street. Ivy pulled some protective covers over the bottom of her boots and began to walk around the crime scene. There was a lot of broken glass and some random objects scattered about. Ivy decided to search inside the store as well. The drawer from the cash register was missing and several shelves were knocked over. Ivy went into the maintenance room and found something quite surprising. This little store had a big security system. Well not necessarily big but you didn't need three computers to monitor such a small store. Ivy called out to Amelia as she pulled on a glove and switched on the computers, "I might have something!"

Amelia had done the same as Ivy, covering the bottom of her shoes, however as she looked around the room she frowned a little. Three fatalities, just as reported. What looked like the shop clerk and tow bystanders, though the proximity of one to the clerk made her wonder if they had a relationship, she'd fallen just beside the counter.. As Ivy investigated deeper inside, Amelia took a step or two back so she was more in the entrance until she could see what she had spotted at a glance the first time,
"Yeah, I think I do too. Our killer was standing right here." She called back, looking up towards the cameras but then to the black scar that had cut itself across the room. Although it consisted more of several black burns. She held out her left hand for a moment, pointing at the far right of the broad arc, but as she moved it along to the left, the patterns didn't seem to fit. Same for going in the opposite direction. The position of her arm felt awkward.

"These are close range PPG burns." Amelia added, Using her right hand then and pointed at the left side of the burns, though she felt she had to angle her hand a little. Typical, gangster style wielding. Centuries old and still the most cliché firing style she'd ever seen. As she moved her arm along the room she could see in her mind where each shot had hit a target or just burned and blasted the items in the shop,
"I'd say whoever did this was about my height give or take, they were using a high fire-rate PPG, possibly a Tec-PPG Light Machinegun, one broad swoop." She emulated the arm movement once again, "Quick, messy and probably gang-related. Did the cameras or security catch anything useful?"

The computers whirred and buzzed as they turned on. The one on the left came up first. It opened straight to the security feed. Ivy began clicking through the videos trying to find the most recent one. Then the computer on the right came on and Ivy saw Amelia standing in the doorway, "Hey You're on camera right now!!! This thing is still recording!" Ivy looked at the keyboard then waved the mouse. Finding the off switch Ivy shut down the cameras, "It's off now!" Ivy waited for the final computer to turn on. It seemed like it was a personal computer, nothing surveillance related that she could see. Moving back to the computer that had been recording Ivy began to flip through the data files. When she found the one from today she called Amelia over, "I think I found today's video, let's watch it."

"Huh.. All right I'll be there in a sec." Amelia replied, staring at the bodies, she worked her way through carefully and knelt by the bodies of the two that were closer together. It was the store owner and his wife. The woman looked at the owner in particular before noticing something odd. There was an unnatural red mark on his clothing in the shape of a star. As she inspected closer it certainly looked like it, and the fumes of a spray can came to her nose.. Was this a mark of a kill? She'd seen some journals where certain organizations would leave their mark on a target. But why was this man a target?

Pushing on her knees she stood, working her way into the back where Ivy was watching the tape. Everything seemed like business as usual until the attack occurred. She watched as two young men, their faces half-covered by black masks, burst their way in. They yelled at the store owner but among all the shouting and noise it was mostly inaudible. And just as Amelia had done, the one that seemed to be in charge of the two punks opened fired on the store, spraying wide and catching the customer, the wife and the owner all in one go. Such a move didn't always bring results like that, but he'd somehow gotten lucky.
The leader of the two, with slicked back hair, worked his way around the counter, bringing out a micro spray can. Kids these days liked to use them, they were easier to hide and the super compressed chemicals meant they could store a lot of paint in there. He sprayed the red star onto the owner and looked up in the direction of the camera as his friend pointed it out.

The younger of the two and by far more nervous looking motioned for the leader to follow him out, but as they retreated, Amelia noticed something. The red jacket of the younger lad snagged on the counter as they rushed out,
"Did you see that?" She pointed at the counter corner, "Maybe he left a little piece of himself behind. the jacket didn't have any distinguishing marks but we could maybe trace the fibres to specific manufacturers. All fibres are micro imprinted these days by specific designers since they use replication technology as a cheap alternative to real fibre. Caught a gang of street thugs the same way, one of their victims managed to claw a couple of them and take away some clothing fibre." She looked in the direction of the downed store owner, squinting a little,
"But that Red Star, I want to know more about that.." She frowned but looked at Ivy, "Check that counter corner but before you do that; do me a favour, there was a robbery here a few days ago, three in fact, at about five in the afternoon. Check the records if they go that far back and see who did the robbery. I have a feeling it'll be a young man with slicked back hair and a younger accomplice."

Ivy nodded, "I'm sure we can trace the jacket fibers and through that we should be able to figure out who bought the jacket. No promises on the last part but It's worth a shot. When we're done here I'll do some research on red stars and gang symbols, see if i can find anything." Ivy began clicking away at the keys and shifting through the videos. After about twenty minutes of searching through the videos Ivy decided to switch computers. Standing she moved to the other security comp and began looking through the files. She found the one she needed relatively quick and clicked on it. It took a minute for the video to come up. When it showed on screen Ivy sat back and watched the store get robbed the first time.

Two young men entered the store, one a little older than the other. The young man went up to the counter and began speaking to the clerk while the older one walked between the shelves. The young man between the shelves vaguely reminded Ivy of a man from a movie she watched as a little girl. Thinking about it Ivy had to stifle a laugh as she thought, the store just got robbed by Severus Snape and his little friend. Focusing back on the video Ivy watched the younger of the two grab the clerk by his collar and shout at him. Then things got interesting. The younger man threw the clerk to the floor and walked over to his friend. The two spoke silently for a moment before walking out of the store. Ivy counted the rows of shelves and turned to Amelia, "Check the isle between the second and third shelves I think you may find another of your red stars somewhere. I think the first robbery was a warning. The second one was a hit."

Sure enough, as her new partner had pointed out, there was another red star. Gangs that used a symbol were typically the kind that believed they could get away with it. Having a symbol to represent their motivations or vices actually made them easier targets and it also made it easier to find who they were associated with. After a while she focused on where the jacket had been caught, then on each body in particular, thermographics showed the bodies were still warm. Her last focus was on the star in the aisle again before she turned to Amelia,
"Alright, I have a memory download of the scene," She stated, tapping the side of her head softly, "Who needs an eidetic memory? I actually HAVE a camera in here." The woman grinned, "It's admissible as evidence. Anyway, I'm tagging what we've found and our observations for forensics."

She paused for a moment as if staring into space before shifting her left arm and turning it so the back of her hand was faced up. Amelia finally pulled the glove away, revealing the cybernetic replacement. Although in some sense sit looked like an extremely intricate glove beneath the first one, extremely thin seams revealing the motivational joints. However the more abnormal moment was when the back of her hand popped open, a small datadrive standing up and allowing her to remove it before the tiny compartment closed again. She quickly pulled the glove back on and pocketed the data-drive,
"We'll hand this over, write up our reports and wait on forensics, meanwhile we can look up that red star. Any questions?"

Ivy followed Amelia out into the main part of the store and helped to tag and bag all the evidence. Processing the scene was always the funnest part in Ivy's opinion. When they were done with everything Ivy followed Amelia to the car. The ride back to where they had started was much more pleasant than the initial ride. Sitting up Ivy looked over the side of the car for a second, she might be able to get used to it. Ivy shrugged her jacket of and set it in her lap. Stretching her arms over her head, Ivy relaxed and tried to enjoy the ride. After a while the silence started to bother her and she turned to Amelia, "So where would you like to go from here? Any orders or instructions?"

[Woaah slow down there tiger xD getting a little ahead of us there]

"Orders?" Amelia chuckled, shaking her head, "We're partners, we dont order each-other. We'll head back to the station, get you orientated, set up your access and such, then we'll get working on this red star thing. Some young punks just shot up a store, murdered the owners and sprayed their shop with gang signs, so we're gonna nail the little bastards and see about their little red star, where it comes from and who we have to take down to shut the whole damn gang down entirely." She smirked a little, the thrill of having to deal with an actual gang was making her eager. If they were organized enough they'd have weapons and if they were large enough they'd probably try to resist..
Having a good excuse to fight made Amelia quite happy.

Amelia gunned the engine on the vehicle a little more, forcing it to leap forward a little faster, speeding gently through the suspended skyway ad weaving softly between the other sky cars making their way in the same direction,
"Somewhere there's a crime happening, Ivy, and we're here to make sure it damn well stops." She remarked with a grin, reaching into her pocket to produce another cigarette that she calmly placed to her lips once again, "So what was life like for you at home? They didn't really cover those details in full on your profile." Amelia asked with a little curiosity, diving below a busload of commuters so she could look up for a moment at the engine compartment below. Nothing being smuggled.. You could never be too careful with these old clunkers.. That didn't last long though as she carried on ahead, leaving the older machine behind quite easily.

(sorry >.< this plot is new to me so i'm not completely sure what i'm doing just yet)

Ivy looked over the edge of the car once more and answered, "Well i thought I'd ask. I don't know your routine or how things are supposed to work here, being a free agent doesn't exactly prepare you for organized work. Nailing the little bastards does sound fun though." Ivy sat quietly and stared at the ground below as she thought about how to answer Amelia's question, "I suppose I'll be honest this time . . . I was born in England and moved here cause we thought it would be easier to live. I got forced into modeling for a painter by my cousins so I could make money. Got involved with a little thievery, did that for a couple years. Finally quit and went to school to be a private investigator. Now here I am." Still staring over the edge of the car, Ivy rummaged through her jacket until she came up with a cigarette and a lighter. After lighting the cigarette Ivy put away her lighter and looked over at Amelia, "Well that's my childhood." Giving her a big grin Ivy turned back to looking over the edge of the car and silently smoking.

"No shit, you were born on the Homeworld?" Amelia chuckled, "I hear it's been becoming a bit of a dump, the technology to fix the environment came a tab it late, but hey, we're already out in space and they still have atmospherics to keep the city air clean. I was a spacer, born on a battle frigate my Mom was stationed on. I mean we had a house in Mars Dome, apparently Terra-forming that planet was easier, though there's still a lot of deserts to clear away." The woman pulled her arm in as they reached their sector. The Headquarters was visible from most places in the city, not because it was tall but because it had a distinctive shape. The upper section was a massive landing pad for combat VTOL's with reinforced stabilizers and plating covering the building itself. It was a veritable fortress so that some cocky mercs or criminal gangs couldn't just lob a black market missile their way.

Amelia directed her vehicle to the basement level parking areas, finding her usual spot not too far from the elevator leading up into the building and hopped out, snapping her fingers at the vehicle once. It responded by locking itself and its control systems. They were in a Precinct but still it was a matter of habit,
"So, modeling huh?" Amelia remarked looking her partner up once, lips forming a wry grin, "Yeah I could see it.. Keep any snaps?" She questioned, teasingly, "And thievery, well well, you do have a bit of a checkered past. Give me an excuse to cuff you up and I probably will.." The threat was another mere joke, suggestive at best as she walked towards the elevator,
"Worst I ever did was a little drinking when I was a teen, went straight into the military academy after. It was mom's way of trying to punish me, but she didn't expect me to become Captain of my own flight squadron." Amelia sighed, stepping into the lift and waiting for Ivy, "Those were good times.."

"Yeah, but we left when I was 3 so I don't really remember anything from my short life there," Ivy relaxed a little and pulled her coat back on as they approached The Headquarters. Ivy hopped out of the car and followed Amelia wherever she was headed. "Yeah, I kept a couple of the better one's," Ivy gave Amelia a cheeky wink and continued to follow her into the building, "Handcuffs are fun to play with, hahaha." Ivy hopped into the lift and watched to see what button Amelia pushed. Floor 13, filing that away for future reference Ivy finally responded, "Wow, you're pretty accomplished." The lift pinged and the doors opened and a couple more people filed into the lift. After that the ride was quiet. When the lift got to their floor Ivy followed Amelia out.

"Fifty three escort missions, one-hundred and four combat missions, I met the President even," She rolled her eyes on mentioning that man, "He shook the first hand I had reconstructed, but frankly I was too done in by drugs to remember it right away or even be in a totally coherent mindset. Used me in his silly PR campaign, supporting the soldiers and all that crap." She leaned back against the railing inside the elevator, looking over to Ivy, "I dont think I even did the hand-shaking, I think they had one of the techs position it manually to look like I was doing it myself."

She snorted a little at the idea, rolling her shoulders. it didn't do much for the arms, but it loosed the muscles in her torso a little. Amelia watched as the numbers rose one by one,
"I still have my pilots license but the came up with some nonsense that I was shell-shocked and incapable of being a coherent Naval Officer, funny thing is I've piloted the VTOL's here and a couple gunships. They only bumped me to detective because of my other advantages, seeing things better, hearing sometimes, the fact that I can record visuals and submit them as evidence. A few of the brain chips keeping my cybernetics functioning helped to download and learn law." She smirked a bit "And if anyone I'm going after happens to be a runner, they cant exactly escape from me." the woman looked to Ivy, "I've never really wanted a partner in the past, I normally dont get along with them. But you're not bad,"

She looked forward as the doors parted, opening to a relatively busy precinct, receptionists dealing with inquiries, officers walking back and forth, writing reports and chatting among themselves. Quite a few actually looked in Amelia and Ivy's direction but quickly returned to business,
"Your desk's the one across from mine, over in section 1C. Captain's office is over there." She pointed to a hexagonal room closed of from the rest of the large room, "You should go see him, Get your orientation done, I'll call up the team at the site of the burglary, see how things are going, when you're done we'll go grab some lunch."