Posted by Civilian Anna-Liza Riddle (Mystery Writer) in Riding Along on a PUSH-BIKE [Open Thread]
OOC:
OK … let’s see how this goes … Anna-Liza Riddle and Di L Emma are …

Going for a ride on their pushbike, lovelies, around the streets of Oed, (meow)
Going to get a strong brew, lovelies, to meet an old friend, could be you! (purr)
But some nasty … tries to steal the bike (oh no)
And kind stranger/s … help her out (woo hoo)
Please, help her out!

My inspiration for the way I’ve worded this introduction is the following youtube song (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MF4IjOeQqNQ) warning … 1970 music video, Australian voices singing, but all clean language and actions (nothing that goes near breaking the club rules).

So, hoping for a few good Oed V-ers to be part of it …
So, the needs are
- the old friend (someone in Starfleet who’s been around for a while who may have known Anna-Liza from her days as a Science Officer, and potentially from when she was married to Sol V … her back story is she’s been around Oed V for most of her career/most of Oed V’s existence)
- the kind stranger/s

IC
Anna-Liza rode her bike from her house down the streets of Oed V towards the commercial centre of the settlement. As someone who had never learnt to fly a shuttle, runabout, starship or even one of the hover vehicles on Oed V, she needed a mode of transport that was quicker than walking and allowed her to take Di L Emma with her. The solution was simple, a PUSH-BIKE.

A PUSH-BIKE, or in full a Personal Unified Secure Hybrid - Biometric Integrated Kinetic Explorer had a frame of lightweight, tritanium-polymer blend. Unlike older bikes that came with greasy chains and gears and spoked wheels (moving parts that could break easily, and leave grease stains on one’s uniform, overalls or dress, the PUSH-BIKE was designed with hubless wheels that operated on magnetic suspension. Anna-Liza was still pedalling, but the energy transferred wirelessly to the magnetic rim-drive, providing Anna-Liza and Di L Emma with a smooth ride.

Anna-Liza got the PUSH-BIKE with the ‘navigator pod’, a secure canopy (made of transparent aluminium) to ensure that Di L Emma could ride in comfort and safety while looking out at the lesser beings that moved about on Oed V. Just below that navigator pod was a forward small cargo hold, made of spun-duranium wire. It looked delicate, but it was strong, and virtually indestructible. It was large enough to carry Anna-Liza’s groceries and gardening supplies. The bottom of the basket even had a low-level, localised stasis field to ensure that fresh produce stays perfectly crisp and intact until the rider gets home. The basket has a cover on top, that is designed to hold a PADD for directions or communications, along with a set of padded, cylidrical slots specifically machined to hold small objects that may prevent Anna-Liza from holding onto the handlebars, but items that she might need in an emergency … such as a mystery she needed to solve, or an idea she needed to record. The console meant that she had easy access to those items, and she didn’t need to rifle through the basket’s contents.

There was a bell on the left handle bar of Anna-Liza’s PUSH-BIKE. It looked like a traditional, vintage bicycle bell (a polished, domed hemisphere mounted right next to a handle bar) but made from a highly reflective, brushed duranium alloy. It served two purposes, firstly as a comms device that allowed Anna-Liza to make and receive comm calls with a single tap on the top of the dome, and also permitting voice commands.

The bell’s second purpose was a warning device. Even now, she used it to warn a citizen who was engrossed in their tricorder while walking that she was coming. The warning went out as a directed sound wave at the citizen in question, and didn’t disturb the young parents with babies who were trying to put their little ones to sleep. The warning sound was at a frequency that wouldn’t disturb Di L Emma from her important role of look out and catnapping.

As she rode the PUSH-BIKE through the streets of Oed V, people would note that it purred rather than rattle and click. In the case of Anna-Liza and Di L Emma’s PUSH-BIKE, it was difficult to know exactly when the purring was from the vehicle and when it was from the cat. The magnetic drive used by the PUSH-BIKE produced a low, soothing electromagnetic pur. As Anna-Liza reached the top of a hill that went down into the centre of the commercial sector of Oed V, she stopped pedalling, allowing her vehicle to coast down the slope, and the purr dropped to a barely audible whisper, accompanied by the soft crunch of the smart-tread tyres against the ground.

She was in here to meet with an old friend over a coffee and a natter, it would also help to clear her head, her friend called her out on her time working on the cosy murder mysteries and the lack of time she spent with her old friends, and although Anna-Liza had refuted it at the time, on reflection, she knew they were right so she was in here to meet them at a cafe.

Pulling up outside the cafe, she parked her bike. she touched the sensor on the vehicle’s frame, which scanned the bike’s navigation pod, confirmed the presence of Di L Emma and kept the pod full of breathable air at the right temperature for maximum comfort, while simultaneously locking the bike in place.

Next, Anna-Liza pulled her equipment out of the basket’s cover - the padd, the pens, the tricorder, the magnifying glass - things that could be stolen. She stepped away from her bike and went to the door of the cafe, scanning the interior and outside tables for her friend.

“Hey! He’s stealing her bike!”

Anna-Liza turned and saw a tall, slender figure, dressed in what looked like a crumpled raincoat and a mask underneath on the bike, trying to get it to go, without success. In her navigator’s pod, Di L Emma was hissing savagely, her back arched, her claws out … but she was caught, and there was no way out from where she was.

Anna-Liza headed back towards her property, as the figure had abandoned trying to ride off with the PUSH-BIKE and instead seemed to be trying to lift it … with no success. Either the bike was heavier than it appeared, or it had an inertial dampener installed, or something similar.

The figure abandoned that attempt, and, seeing Anna-Liza returning, rushed her and knocked her to the ground. The figure reached down, took her padd and something else, and turned to leave. Anna-Liza appeared to be in shock, though she tried to get to her feet, without success …

Anna-Liza Riddle, Amateur Detective and Writer
Di L Emma, her cat
Mysterious Ne’er Do Well
Oed V

One of the things that was so strange about Rende’s life was watching people she knew when they were barely entering adulthood grow older than her. Well, in years they weren’t, but they reached old age a lot faster than she did. One of those people was Anna-Liza Riddle. Rende was on her way to meet her for coffee and a chat. As she crossed the street the crowd suddenly grew thick and stagnant. It set off her finely tuned senses as she pushed her way through. Just in time to see Anna-Liza tackled and the perpetrator run off with Anna-Liza’s things.

=/\=Police to Sloan Square, Risk it for a Biscuit. Reporting assault of an elderly human woman. Personal items stolen. Suspect was tall, slender, and dressed in what looked like a crumpled raincoat and a mask/=/\=

Rende hurried over and knelt beside her, “Anna-Liza. Easy don’t get up yet, are you hurt?”

Cmdre Asam, Lt. Governor