The Maelstrom of Stardew
Year 1 (Summer)
Chapter 2: Spring Cleaning (Part 2)
Sunday, the 29th of Spring, 2017
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
[LOAD GAME]
…
[LOADING QUICKSAVE DATA.]
[GAME LOADED. WELCOME BACK!]
Taeko happily smirked as he finished the order on his computer. Two grand worth of summer clothes for Elly May, and it'd be here tomorrow. He closed his browser out before looking over the changelog again.
"Ginger Island, eh?" Taeko thought. "Well I can't go there yet."
He looked at the letter he got from Willy before coming in, about something he had to show Taeko in time when the Community Center was restored. He had actually completed two more Bundles today, the [Enchanter's Bundle] and the [Artisan's Bundle] netting him five [Gold Bars] and another [Keg]. He also put a few items to start three other bundles, the rest of Crafts Room bundles.
He got up to leave for the city to go see Velma, but before taking some of his weapons.
"Elly May, I'm going into the city." Taeko said before looking for her.
She rose from the lake, water dripping from her naked body.
"Ok, I was going to go into the woods and gather some wood." Elly May said. "And sorry, I went skinny dipping in the-"
"No, that's perfectly fine. Don't even bother wearing anything if you want to use my lake for a dip." Taeko said before slapping her behind. "That's an order."
"Yes, sir." Elly May said before she happily left for the garage.
Getting on his [Shotaro], he [Fast Traveled] to the office. He looked at the map for Zuzu City seeing it was some amalgamation of both versions of Los Santos with a few original touches, meaning new neighborhoods. He went up to Velma as he brought up the customization menu saying he had a few new options for Velma.
"Velma." Taeko said as he sat in his office chair.
"Taeko, I got some news for you. Namely new operations." Velma remarked.
"I can start a biker gang?!" Taeko asked excitedly.
"Slow down. Before we can get to them, I do have two things to tell you first. Remember Tamaki, the housesitter for your loft? She moved out, getting a job in Forjado Fierro working in radio." Velma mused. "She left her regards. Secondly, I have an old friend who's set herself up as an information broker and she's interested in working with you. She wanted me to give you this."
Taeko was a communicator which became labeled as a Key Item.
"She'll contact you in due time. Aside from that, I just wanted to do a few other things given the updates." Velma said. "Namely, Chloe's corruption is complete. Given the System recalculating things, you did enough to break her. So you got full customization for her, do so from your computer or you can tell her. New commands and events are also available."
"So Max and Chloe have 'swapped' vibes. Not going to lie, I'll miss the hipster Max, but punk rock Max is pretty hot." Taeko said before getting on his computer. "Velma, is there anything else you can recommend?"
"You can now buy auxiliary property to start up special farms or other businesses of ill repute using 'The Open Road'. Runs just like in GTA, but my old friend will be managing it. Your computers and devices were upgraded this morning to go on the dark side of the net. Given the options, I suggest a Weed Farm and a Cocaine Lockup. Meth isn't your style, counterfeit cash is too messy, and document forgery isn't going to benefit our organization." Velma said as Taeko took note. "I'll leave you to it."
"Wait a minute, I may as well have you here for a moment to put you in a new outfit." Taeko said, selecting it on the menu.
Velma now wore a long salmon sarong skirt that has a design of a green seaweed with red and yellow flowers on the side with ruffles that bares her hips with a partially-zipped short-sleeved orange leather vest with a V-neck line and an image of an actual Chrysanthemum morifolium is printed on the left breast near the shoulder that exposes her stomach, red high heeled pumps,, a lavender-pink backpack, and white sunglasses with black lenses.
"Perfect way to start the summer." Taeko said as Velma sighed.
"You are so lucky I rock this outfit." Velma said before leaving.
Taeko went to his office computer, deciding to go into the Open Road. Once he set up his account, the communicator buzzed. He answered it to hear her voice.
"So you've decided to take up my offer to work with me, Mr. Maelstrom. I've heard plenty about you. Your trials. Your 'abilities'. Your progress."
The communicator's screen lit up to see a woman's face. She was pale with brown hair, which is usually very messy, in loose oily waves held back with plastic barrettes, and wore red-rimmed, armless glasses with yellow lenses.
"So no bullshit." Taeko stated.
"None at all. The name's Marcie." Marcie stated. "And I'll be your broker, mainline hacker, and heist planner. I got plenty for you to do to make us both wealthy fellows."
"Ok, I was just in the middle of setting up a Weed Farm and maybe a Cocaine Lockup." Taeko said as Marcie laughed.
"Start with the weed first. The communicator has a metallic band on the side, it's removable. Take it and attach it to one of your ears. A cybernetic implant that's an all-in-one headset that is all controlled by your mind." Marcie said as he put on his right ear with the System making it vanish from sight. "My contact will be on your phone. You have fun now, and I'll contact you in a few days when I have something more set up for you."
Velma returned with [Joja Cola] for both of them before she took a seat.
"I suppose I should update you on the gang situation given the updates. First off, the Southside Hoods have blended into the Scorpions MC. The Purple Dragons have taken a lot of damage, so much so they've bleed into other gangs. We have two gangs out in the countryside. Namely, Zuzu County. An Amish Mob nicknamed Anomaly. They had an alliance with the Red County Gang…"
"Then why didn't they back them up?" Taeko asked.
"Simple. They had an alliance, but while Marty was liked by Anomaly's leadership…he wasn't liked by the populace. Also they were not fans of the Madzou twins nor for picking a fight with the Shadow Yakuza. The group's known for smuggling, thefts, protection rackets, and robberies. However, the Red County Gang would be insurance and muscle." Velma explained.
"Meaning they're likely at a loss for what to do. And the other gang?" Taeko asked.
"Los Pantheros. They're pretty low on the radar, a recently new gang that acts like a biker gang. Drugs, illegal racing, rackets, carjacking, road piracy, and the typical shebang. They're beefing with the Scorpions, because of some macho and fem bullshit." Velma explained. "They're mostly insular as they run the racing scene in the countryside. They and Anomaly don't normally interact, mostly because of where they're main turfs are. Both gangs aren't exactly in any position to do us any harm unless you want to start expanding over there. Even then, considering our more empowered agents, Anomaly does not have a chance in fighting us, thanks to former RCG members being forthcoming with information. The heart of Anomaly is a fortified village in the middle of Chiliad Mountain State Wilderness. I believe you know it in the games as the Altruist Camp. Better Amish than cultists I need. As for Blessed, they've dissolved and left the Republic. Lastly, there's the Amps."
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Taeko asked.
"Well the group had a bit of a rebranding. Ragtag's out of the picture, seems he made enough money to ditch all those teens he mutated and retire. So there's new leadership and a new name, the Meta Jacks." Velma remarked. "However, this time…the System set up a mission string for you. Saint's Row styled for to combat them, you should be a mission marker here for them tomorrow."
"What about the other gangs?" He asked.
"Los Pantheros and the Scorpions are going to be neutral, until you pick a side." Velma said slyly. "That mission will come soon enough. And Anomaly isn't really going to be hostile depending on your choices. One last thing, about the Dee Dees…I took the liberty of setting them up to work. By the way, you 'lost' the loft."
Taeko groaned, but he was told he could now buy safehouses in Zuzu City…and was given something as compensation.
[You now have 'Eclipse Boulevard Garage']
"Go check it out." Velma remarked. "You'll find the Dee Dees there as your new garage mechanics…well Dierdre mostly. Delia's just kinda there. Oh yes, you can now buy garages, warehouses, and hangars. Ruby will manage your hangars, the twins will handle your garages. As for who will handle your warehouses, that will come when you get a large warehouse. And the game will keep proper track of your safehouses and properties…even track your garage."
"Good. You can go and take all forty of those bottles of wine to [Desired Myth]" Taeko said as Velma left with the case of them. "Whew…"
He drank the [Joja Cola] before getting back onto The Open Road to get himself set up. On the weed farm section, he was given the option of four places to set up.
San Chianski Mountain Range? It was the cheapest, but it was also the furthest. Also there was the matter of the gangs out of the countryside. It really came to the one in Elysian Island or Downtown Vinewood.
"May as well take the Downtown Vinewood location. Expensive, but I can get myself an apartment near the place." Taeko said, buying the property.
[You own 'Downtown Vinewood Weed Farm']
[Owning Open Road Properties]
[Given that similar rules apply for all five businesses on the Open Road, you'll get this text upon getting one of them. These businesses have a supply meter, that maxes out at five, and a meter for product. For [Weed Farm], that's bundles that max out at 80. One unit of supplies produces at one every few minutes (how long and its worth depends on upgrades purchased). A unit of supply will be depleted every three hours to which you can replenish via buying the supplies online or stealing them though small missions. Sell missions can be set up through the business's computer.]
With that text box cleared, he was automatically placed into a mission before Marcie was in his ear.
[GTAZ Mission: Business Setup - Weed Farm]
"So you've bought a weed farm. Excellent, let's get started. There's a Pony with the supplies you need, it's in Vinewood Hills. Specifically at the Sisyphus Theater. The van's marked with Smoke on the Water livery. Don't worry about the cops, it was stolen by some low-rank wannabes trying to sell to the Meta Jacks. They left at the Sisyphus for them to pick up. Get it before they pick it up. I'll work on getting employees for this. You got someone in mind to take charge."
His mind went to the captains, although…Chloe came to mind as an option.
"Marcie, let me check something real quick." Taeko said before calling up Chloe.
"Taeko…hey." Chloe said shyly. "What can you do for you?"
"I need to ask you something…you got experience growing the bud, right?" Taeko asked, leaning back in his chair.
"I mostly sold, but I know how to." Chloe said before asking why.
"I have a potential job in mind for you. I'll call you when I get it set up." Taeko said before hanging up. "Marcie, I got someone in mind."
"Noted. Get to it, T." Marcie said.
Before he left, he moved to the customization section before going over to Chloe. He did return Chloe's hair to its natural strawberry blonde hair lengthening it a bit. He didn't remove her tattoo…and looked over at the preset outfit. He selected a few on a 'list' before logging off his computer. He changed into his [Claude Outfit] before he left the office to hail a cab. Twenty dollars later, he was dropped near the area. He got the van and started driving. Given he got the one in Downtown Vinewood, the drive was short. He arrived at the place parking in the glowing marquee.
[Mission Complete! Your 'Weed Farm' is now set up. +2 Supplies]
He got out of the van and went inside the building, finding the place was set up. There were stacks of black planters, containers of Sod Off fertilizer and multiple pedestal fans added to the grow area. He went over to the laptop on the side, an TOR admin laptop in a small room for him. He immediately purchased the security upgrade as he had no desire to deal with raids.
"Marcie, it's Taeko. It's all set." Taeko said before texting Chloe to meet him. "So how long until we have staff?"
"Sadly, tomorrow. But you can take advantage of this to either buy or steal supplies if you want. I'm off to get brunch later." Marcie said before hanging up.
Chloe arrived in her truck before he came out of the building. It was rather odd to see Chloe wearing Max usually would wear, looking rather soft and approachable.
"Well Chloe, I got you some work. I want to put you in charge of my weed farm. It's set up, but we're not getting employees until tomorrow. I'll be handling getting supplies and selling. I just need you to grow the stuff." Taeko noted as Chloe gave a smile.
"Sounds like a good time. Do I get free samplings?" Chloe asked.
"You can, but don't overdo it." Taeko said firmly.
A key for her materialized in Taeko's hand as he gave it to her.
"I'll see what I can set up on my own." Chloe said as he left. "Later."
Taeko headed out, promptly walking towards the nearest safehouse in the area he could buy. A medium-end apartment on Spanish Avenue that was a little over a hundred grand to which he bought.
[You now own '0605 Spanish Avenue'!]
The garage was able to hold six cars and two bikes to which Taeko found a plus. Too bad, it was going to take a few minutes before his rides would appear there. So he solved a lack of chairs by doing what every crime boss protagonist does…steal a car. Funny enough, he found himself jacking the same red [Feltzer] that those rich douchebags had stolen from them. Not complaining, he [Fast Traveled] to the new garage. While he knew he could customize the decor, he left it alone. His radio station was playing on the radio, as he found all his vehicles there. The place was clean, well organized, big, and fancy with the tools needed for repairing and maintaining cars. He parked the stolen car in a spot before getting out. He noticed a glass-walled area clearly for the mechanic and next to it were two cars, a red and white pair of [Comets].
The System ran Taeko on how dealing with the garage and fees worked. Simply put, there was a daily fee of 50 gold a day as the 10% and SecuroServ would handle paying the 90% of it.
"Welcome to your garage." Deirdre said coming out from the break down.
She was dressed more as a mechanic with the typical monogrammed shirt, dark pants, and boots. Her long blonde hair was tied up in a bun.
"Good to see you. Here's my end of your pay." Taeko said, tossing her 2,000 gold. "Where's your sister?"
"Sleeping. This place came with living quarters and we're really grateful for this cushy job. Well I am…"
"I was told your sister wasn't exactly a mechanic, but that won't matter as she can get off her behind to deliver me my rides. You'll just be getting the money." Taeko said as Dierdre laughed at this. "And about your debt, seeing that you both are vital employees for the SSS…I'll forgive your debt."
Deirdre took it well before because tossed the keys to the [Feltzer].
"Be a dear and have it sold for me, please." Taeko said before leaving on his [Shotaro].
She was not going to complain at all given she got a 25% cut. She considered this new job, practically an easy street for her. Far better than risking her neck out in the streets. She woke up her sister telling her it was time to work.
[GAME PAUSED? WOULD YOU LIKE TO QUICK SAVE?]
[Yes *] [No]
….
[GAME QUICKSAVED! Hurry back.]
(A/N: More setup, but I had a lot of plot points to wrap up. Next chapter, we see some action!)