A merc bar. That was good, lots of backs that were easy to get up. Lots of guns itching to go off. Of course the utility of that might change if one of them plugged her, but you had to work with what you had. Kade had some experience dealing with mercenaries, the SID used them occasionally as deniable assets and as ready muscle. If she still had access to the black accounts she could have turned the whole bar into a death trap for her pursuers. Of course she wouldn’t be here in the first place if she still had access to those kind of resources. It was a perennial problem for rogue operatives and burned spies, that while they had valuable information, selling it was tricky. Afterall if you sold information about pirate arms caches, the client was within their right to wonder what other useful information you might have, and how it might be a good deal cheaper to snatch you off the street and hook you up to a nerve disruptor until you were feeling more generous. 

She slipped across the room to the bar. A tall human woman with an intricate series of facial tatoo’s and an improbable shock of pink hair turned to regard her, a professional smile splitting her vulpine face.

“Help ya honey?” she drawled. Kade placed the accent as native to the Marches though probably not to Panapontus itself. She drew a handful of mixed currency from the pocket of her black fatigue pants.

“Whiskey, cut with Stripe or Xax if you have it,” she ordered. Every bar in the human universe had ‘whiskey’ though it was just as likely to be industrial ethanol with a dash of yellow color and a cheap flavoring agent. That wasn’t a problem, Kade drank as a professional skill rather than as a personal pleasure. The bartender leaned down and produced a glass and filled it with a few fingers of golden liquid from a dispenser head, then changed the dispenser head and filled the remainder of the glass with a red liquid with a metallic sheen. She slid the handful of plastic notes and credit chips across the table.

“A big tipper?” the bartender asked with an amused glint. The woman had shockingly pink iris, clearly synthetic and ringed with nano inscribed lettering apparently some poem or personal credo. It was attractive in its way and Kade took a moment to appreciate the effect before replying.

“Sure, but I’m hoping you can help me find some friends,” she explained. The bartender nodded knowingly and made a small gesture to the bars occupants. 

“We are all friends here honey,” the woman purred.

“Need two or three for uhh... personal security concerns,” Kade told her, taking the tumbler from the bar and knocking back a mouthful. Whatever it was cut with wasnt Stripe or Xax but it had the warm prickling buzz of a stimulant, which was close enough. 

“Mmmm… card table,” the Bartender purred, “I’ll put their round on you.” As if by magic a tray of drinks appeared before Kade including, she noticed, another of the metalic red tumblers she was drinking?

“On the house?”

“Look me up later honey,” the bartender said with a wink and turned to another client with an artful twitch of her hips. Despite the situation Kade grinned in amusement, then picked up the tray and stepped over to the card table. Two tough looking males, one former TEF judging by the tats, the other self taught or gang taught by the odd slug thrower and the custom pistol tucked into his belt. Two women, one scarred definitely planetary militia gone pro and a rather striking woman with red hair with a vibrant purple streak, a black tattoo on her forehead. Kade thought it was vaguely religious in nature but didn’t have enough data to go on. The woman was harder to place. Her instincts said marines but then changed to navy, maybe vacuum comandos. 

Behind her she heard the door bang open and the clatter of men and women entering and spreading out. In the reflection of one of the mirrors above the bathroom she caught sight of a half dozen toughs, most wearing some sort of body armor and all carrying weapons. Kade took her seat at the table.

“My friend at the bar suggested you might be interested in making a little money,” she said quietly, trying to keep the attention of the searching party away from her. The various denizens of the bar were watching the newcomers dubiously. More than one hand swept back a cloak to reveal a holstered pistol or other concealed weapon. Most of the serious pros just went quiet and looked expectant. Kade smiled a wry grin at the table and sipped her drink.

“I have a little problem as you can see, and I need... consultants.”