After a few days rest, the crew regroup to decide on the next job to do. Gunhead continues working away with Kave on the Bakersfield CitiNET, while VC is working on optimising the power systems with Son Ji Won. Rama, Rez and Fennec agree to start investigating the Oildale gangers to gather more information on their intentions. They decide a stealthier approach might be a better idea, and drive to scout a nearby bridge that is expected to have gangers posted on it.
They park a short distance away and approach on foot to get a closer look. Through some checks they are able to identify a long bridge spanning the Kern river, with a few gangers set up on top with cars and barriers blocking the road. A small building lies off to the side, which they figure must have been a rest area, and they can hear a TV blaring inside. Rama wants to continue scouting further, but they agree to wait until nightfall to approach the building any further. They spend some downtime in Fennec’s car to wait for dark.
A few hours later, they exit Fennec’s car and sneak back towards the building they saw earlier. Rama approaches a window and peaks inside, spotting a woman napping on a couch in the room, with the TV they heard still blaring in the background. They decide on a plan to break in and subdue the sleeping ganger, in an attempt to gather information on the Oildale ganger group. Inside, Rez stands by the TV and prepares to turn it up loud, while Rama and Fennec prepare to restrain the ganger. While Fennec is moving further into the room, he trips onto the ground, startling the woman. Rez blasts the TV to full volume and Rama moves in to make a grappling check. Fennec recovers and works with the rest of the crew to subdue the ganger. Rez confirms that the rest of this ganger’s party outside on the bridge haven’t heard the commotion, and inspects the room. She finds a note from the ganger’s boss marked as a shipment schedule, indicating the bridge gets resupplied every two days. They pack up and get back to Fennec’s car, taking the ganger with them back to the University.
Arriving back at Bakersfield University, they are questioned by one of the security guards. He reluctantly lets them in, directing them to a secure room in the history department to use as a holding area. Rama asks the guard to call in Richard to assist with the interrogation efforts. Fennec heads to the cafeteria to brew some fresh coffee, and they all setup in a secure, locked room in the building. Richard comes in a short time later, and they begin questioning the woman. Rama over extends as he begins to move closer to the ganger, accidentally hitting the table and breaking a coffee cup. They continue to try hard-ball interrogation tactics, but fail to successfully get any information out of them. Fennec tries a different approach, using his nomadic ties to ask the ganger about their use of the oil and petrol with their old-school and retro-fitted ground cars. Through further prodding, they are able to confirm that this ganger knows about some deal setup with the Raffen Shiv nomad group, which has helped with keeping the Oildale gangers resupplied. Fennec continues prompting them along, feigning interest in setting up a better deal on behalf of his Aegis nomad clan to keep them talking. They leave the room and discuss the situation with Richard, who asks them to keep pushing for what information they can gather. Rama brings up an idea of pushing out the Raffen Shiv, forcing a gang war to break out between them and the Oildale group, which they consider.
They enter back into the room where Rez was watching over the ganger, and speak with her again. Fennec proposes a deal, they’ll let the ganger go if they bring a proposal forward to her bosses, but he wants to know their approximate size to ensure they are producing enough resources to supply the Aegis group (supposedly). The ganger indicates the group operates with a few dozen people out of a couple of older refineries, which Fennec finds interesting given the amount of manual labour required. From here, the conversation turns sour, with Fennec noting their ganger group is small-time given their size. This infuriates the ganger, and the proposal breaks down, with Fennec bailing on the plan. They agree to keep the ganger confined at the University for now, and head back to the cafeteria to regroup and decide what to do next.