New Girl in Town

Posted on Fri Apr 10th, 2026 @ 3:22am by Station Services Mara Ricci & Alliance Johannah "Mack" Shepard

Mission: Tis the Season...
Location: Somewhere in the guts of the 'Plex
Timeline: Current

ON

It was Mara’s first day on the job- the first hour, really- and she already had a smudge of something on her cheek. This happened so frequently, she marveled at those who managed to stay clean for the whole day.

She had been dirty practically her whole life; her mother used to joke that Mara left her room in the morning and all the dirt on the ship noticed and leapt on her. Mara was beginning to think this was actually true. Perhaps it was her super power- dirt magnetism. Now she just had to figure out how to use that to her advantage.

But never mind. There were many systems in need of repair and she had been the one to draw some of them. So here she was, probably in the way, repairing them.

Mack was strolling down the corridor Mara was working in. It was down in the bowels of the 'Plex. Natalia Petrovich's Plexies had hacked Security again, cutting the video feed to this area. Mack figured that meant they were going to do something. She'd sent some of the Plexicops to two other areas where the Plexies had cut the video feed. They liked to cut multiple places at once. Sometimes they hit one area with graffiti, sometimes more than one, and sometimes they hit nothing at all.

Plexies were annoying but basically harmless. As Mack walked, she encountered an engineer working. She chuckled. "You've got a little something on your face."

“I’d be more concerned if I didn’t,” Mara answered, fighting a bolt that didn’t want to come loose. “I’d start to think the dirt had something against me.”

Mack laughed. "Heaven forbid the grease and grime of the 'Plex would forsake you," she said. "Hey, you haven't noticed any cyberpunk teenagers looking like they think adults are dumb and like they want to cause mischief, have you? Or any graffiti or any equipment that might have been tampered with or systems that might not be working right? We call them 'Plexies'. They're more annoying than dangerous. They hacked and killed or redirected the cameras in a few locations around the 'Plex, which usually means they're either up to something, or someone paid them to kill the feeds to allow some crime to occur." Mack realised she hadn't introduced herself. "I'm the Federal Marshal around here," she said, pulling back the lapel of her Browncoat so Mara could see her badge. "Johanna Mackensie Shepard, but people call me 'Mack' to my face, or sometimes 'Mack the Knife' behind my back, because I always have one or more blades on me and I know how to use them. I used to be Chief of Security here. I'm helping out while I break in the new guy."

“Mara Ricci,” Mara replied with a grin. “The new head engineer.” She liked Mack- at least so far. “I haven’t seen anybody like that, though. But, incidentally, that’s exactly what I’m trying to repair- once I figure out exactly what they did. I’m still tracing the problem.”

"Yeah," Mack said. "They're clever little húndàn, I'll give them that. I have to tread slightly carefully with the Plexies. Their leader is Natalia Petrovich. Her father is the local Bratva Pakhan. Luckily, I usually manage to stay on his good side without sacrificing too many of my few and far between principles, so as long as I'm selective about leaning on her, we're good. Besides, like I said. They mostly just pull largely harmless pranks. I just make sure they don't start moving from annoying civil offenses and minor misdemeanors to low level felonies or worse. Which is fine with Sasha. He finds them useful, and they make his daughter happy, but he doesn't want to have to burn any of his influence with me getting one or more of them out of the Clink."

Mack frowned. "If you got grease on your face looking for the problem, does that mean they did something mechanical?" she asked. "That would be a little out of character for them, but not unheard of."

“To be honest, I don’t know where the grease came from,” replied Mara. “It could have come from my breakfast for all I know. Although, where I got grease from dry toast and applesauce I’ll never figure out.”

Mack raised an eyebrow. Dry toast and applesauce was a diet for someone with diarrhea. "Um..." she said. "I know I'm may regret asking this, but are you feeling okay?"

“Totally fine, why?” replied Mara, completely unaware of the connection her breakfast had with any sort of digestive upset.

Mack laughed. "That breakfast is on the list of foods you eat if you have diarrhea," the Marshal said and laughed again. "Well, good to hear you're not ill. This is a terrible area of the 'Plex to be in if voiding your bowels in a hurry is going to be a requirement!"

“Is it, really?” laughed Mara. “It’s been one of my favorite breakfasts since I was a kid. Maybe my mother once gave it to me when I was sick and I just never realized why.”

"Well," Mack said. "On to less gross subjects. Where did you come to us from?"

‘Immediately, The Poseidon,” replied Mara, fighting with a bolt that didn’t want to go back in place. “It a mid sized cargo vessel. Before that, a handful of ships, but I’m originally from the Apollyon.”

Mack raised an eyebrow. "As in 'The Destroyer'?" she asked. "That can't be the name of a cargo ship! Were you born on a battleship or something?"

“It was a cargo ship,” Mara answered with a vague grin. “Still is, I suppose. The former captain had an odd sense of humor and the current one saw no reason to rename it.”

"Well," Mack said. "Greenleaf is where people with strange or exotic backgrounds seem to congregate. I was born and raise on Londinium, served in the Army of the Union of Allied Planets. I resigned, though they say I deserted, and I joined the Browncoats, which you probably figured out as I still wear the coat. I was a bounty hunter and a hired gun for years before I landed here as Security Chief." Mack tapped her badge. "Now the UAP, who hated my guts and wanted to hang me, and would have if my family hadn't intervened, just made me the Marshal for this area. Which sort of means I'm the law around here. Well, Judge Isaac 'Hang'em High' Parker is the law. I'm who expects to see it kept, and who he'll send to fetch you if you break it."

"Well, good thing my parents and foster father raised me to avoid breaking the law," replied Mara. "And I do. Avoid it, I mean. It just makes like easier."

Mack chuckled. "So then if or when we share a cup of coffee or tea and some fresh ponchiki, right out of the fryer from Donuts Czar Us, there won't be bars between us," she said.

“Certainly not,” replied Mara. “Wait, there’s a place called Donuts Czar Us and I haven’t been to it, yet?”

"Yes," Mack replied. "It's run by the Bratva. That's common knowledge around here, so I'm not talking out of school. It's often staffed by reluctant Plexies trying to earn a little cash legally for once. The Pakhan is almost certainly laundering money through there, but that's not a hill I'm willing to die on at the moment. And the food is good, for a doughnut shop at least, and so is the coffee and tea. It's a Plexie hangout, so the people watching is fun, as are the looks of disdain from the Plexies who are suspicious of anyone over the age of 22. We should grab a table and something to eat and drink there some morning before work. It's a fun way to start the day."

“Good coffee, good food, and interesting atmosphere,” commented Mara, amused. “Sounds like the total package. I’m in.”

"Excellent," Mack said. She pulled out a business card. "Here's my Cortex ID and my personal comms number. Send me a wave or call me night before or even morning of, and I'll meet you there."

Mara set down her tools for once and reached out to take the card. “I certainly will,” she said with a grin. “Wish I had one to give you, but never mind; I’ll just keep this safe.” And she put the card where she knew it wouldn’t get lost- in her tool kit.

"I'm sure I can find you if I want to," Mack said. "I'm the area's top cop after all." Mack laughed. "See you around, Chief Engineer."

“See ya,” grinned Mara. She liked Mack. Perhaps she had just made a friend.

OFF

UAP Marshal Johanna Mackensie Shepard (AKA "Mack" AKA "Mack the Knife")

Mara Ricci, Chief Engineer