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Episode: 5.27: Juno Steel and the Case Closed (Part 1)

Author: Harley Takagi Kaner and Kevin Vibert
Duration: 00:57:17

Episode Shownotes

Well, Juno Steel. Time's up. It's time to answer the question:Who will you be next?Welcome to the Penumbra, dear Traveler. We hope you enjoy your stay.(Trigger warnings can be found at the bottom of this episode description and at the end of the transcript.)-------You can find all of our transcripts

here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1OLddnnYamZuglgZc8pM2gqToPOwEBccM?usp=sharingTranscripts will come out along with the public release of the episode.On staff at the Penumbra:Ginny D'Angelo -- Head of Merchandise and OutreachMelissa DeJesus -- Script editing teamHarley Takagi Kaner -- Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designerJoelle Kross -- TranscriptionistNoah Simes -- Production managerGrahame Turner -- Script editing teamKevin Vibert -- Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writerRyan Vibert -- Composer and performer of original musicJeff Wright -- Graphic designer--------Attribution: Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license.“Outside Bars Night Skopje Ambience” by damjancd https://freesound.org/people/damjancd/sounds/321616/“Electronic club rave music” by TheoJT https://freesound.org/people/TheoJT/sounds/739962/“Fm Radio Static White Noise” by IcedPhoenix49 https://freesound.org/people/IcedPhoenix49/sounds/732435/“suburb spring morning traffic 01 200314_0119.wav” by klankbeeld https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/560159/“Confirm Beeps (No Delay)” by Dylan Kelk https://freesound.org/people/SilverIllusionist/sounds/664262/--------TRIGGER WARNINGS:- Sudden loud noises- Deception and gaslighting- Alcohol use- Drug abuse- Theft- Discussions of mortalityFor early and ad-free episodes, production scripts, commentary tracks, blooper reels, livestreams with the creators, and much more, you can find The Penumbra Podcast: SPECIAL EDITION at: https://thepenumbrapodcast.supercast.com (In old episodes, you will often hear us mention Patreon, which was our old platform and is no longer live. Please feel free to ignore!)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Full Transcript

00:00:00 Speaker_10
Hi, this is co-creator Harley Takagi-Kahner. Before this episode starts, you're about to hear some ads.

00:00:06 Speaker_10
If you find that annoying, like I do, I wanted to let you know that you can access early ad-free versions of the episodes over at thepenumberpodcast.supercast.com, as well as a whole bunch of bonus content that we think you'll really enjoy.

00:00:22 Speaker_10
Thank you for supporting independent queer artists, and enjoy the show!

00:00:27 Speaker_04
Hi there, travelers. These are the final episodes of the Juno Steel series. You are listening to part one of Juno Steel in the case closed. There will be a part two in two weeks.

00:00:37 Speaker_04
We just wanted to take a quick second to say thank you so much for sticking with us for lo these eight years. of creating the show. It has been such a delight. We love what we've put together for you. We really hope you love it too.

00:00:50 Speaker_04
A couple of very quick announcements before we start. Number one, we'll be having a live post-series Q&A for patrons on Sunday, September 8th.

00:00:59 Speaker_04
That Q&A will eventually go out onto the feed for everybody else, but only patrons will be able to access it live. Only patrons will be able to see the video. It'll be a live stream, you'll be able to submit your questions in the chat.

00:01:10 Speaker_04
Besides that, another big announcement that we teased on social media the other day, but we wanted to say on the feed. We do have new projects in the works after Juno and Second Citadel are over. That's right, you heard right.

00:01:22 Speaker_04
We will remain extant after the end of this series. We are not going anywhere. And if you would like to find out what those projects are as early as possible, make sure that you go over to patreon.com slash the Penumbra podcast and follow us.

00:01:35 Speaker_04
You can do that for free. Remember to learn about it before anybody else. So if you are champing at the bit to know what our gay little selves are going to be doing next, head on over to Patreon and join us.

00:01:48 Speaker_04
Once again, thank you all so, so much for everything that you've done for our show, and we hope you enjoy the finale. Ah, good evening, traveler, and welcome to the Penumbra. Tonight's tale is Juno Steel and the Case Closed.

00:02:24 Speaker_00
Hang on just a second, Mr. Steele. I know I got the key card somewhere. That one's for my apartment. That one's for my secret stream stash. That one's for the bakery next door. Don't tell them I have a key, by the way. It was such a pain to get it.

00:02:35 Speaker_00
And if they change the lock, I don't know what I'm going to do when I need a midnight snack.

00:02:37 Speaker_05
It's that card there. Brush metal looking. Has, you know, my name on it.

00:02:43 Speaker_00
Oh, you're right. Voila! Surprise!

00:02:49 Speaker_05
Surprise?

00:02:49 Speaker_00
Yeah, Mr. Steele. What? You don't recognize it?

00:02:53 Speaker_05
I mean, it's been a few years, but... Yeah, no, I recognize it.

00:02:58 Speaker_05
I recognize the address when you told the Ruby 7 to bring us here, I recognize the building from down the street, and I recognize the office when you got lost in the building and asked me which one was our old office again.

00:03:09 Speaker_00
Well, here it is! The Office of Juno Steel Investigations! Just the way we left it. Well... A little dustier than we left it, but still, ain't it great?

00:03:25 Speaker_05
Wow. It's just... Wow. I can't believe it. How'd you get this place back, anyway? I expected we'd have to find a new office.

00:03:37 Speaker_00
Oh, I never gave it up. I've been paying rent on this empty unit for years now.

00:03:40 Speaker_05
Really?

00:03:40 Speaker_00
Yeah, I just... You know me, I have trouble throwing things away, saying goodbye and all that. And the money wasn't a problem or nothing. I mean, I wrote a program that's been managing my investments for years now, so... Do you like it?

00:03:53 Speaker_05
Of course I do. Thanks. Rita, I don't know what to say. Everything is right where it was. Your monitor, your big computer chair, the door to my office. Hell, even my old death trap of a car is still parked on the street where I left it.

00:04:12 Speaker_05
At least I think that's my car. It's covered in so many parking tickets, I can barely see it.

00:04:16 Speaker_00
You said you were ready to be a PI again, so I thought, if it ain't broke, why fix it?

00:04:21 Speaker_05
Right. And I do need a job. Only thing that's broke around here is me.

00:04:26 Speaker_00
What do you mean you need a job? You're still on my payroll, Buster, and don't you forget it.

00:04:30 Speaker_05
Rita, it was nice of you to take me and the RWBY on vacation after that mess with the Dokkana group, but you don't have to pretend it was something else. I don't want to borrow any more of your money.

00:04:39 Speaker_00
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, Mr. Steele. We've been over this and I meant what I said.

00:04:42 Speaker_00
Just because I took you and the RWBY to a resort planet for three months and then we did a cross-galactic road trip on the way home for another three months and I paid for all of it does not mean I loaned you any money. Rita.

00:04:53 Speaker_00
We've been down this road, and I ain't never going down it again. I hired you fair and square, and I paid you for your work.

00:04:59 Speaker_00
It just coincidentally happened that I paid you exactly the same amount as the rates at an all-inclusive resort planet, plus three months' worth of road snacks.

00:05:06 Speaker_05
Hired me, huh? For what company?

00:05:09 Speaker_00
Uh, Rita Investigations, obviously.

00:05:12 Speaker_05
The only thing you ever asked me to investigate were things like which pool got the most sun, so you could never go to that one.

00:05:18 Speaker_00
Yeah, Rita's don't like getting sweaty.

00:05:19 Speaker_05
Or the case of why isn't there a drink with a little umbrella sticking out of the top in Rita's hand right now, or which snack bar had the best salmon cream pies.

00:05:27 Speaker_00
Well, do you think I wanted to spend my time trying all those salmon cream pies?

00:05:31 Speaker_05
Rita, you eventually did try all those salmon cream pies just to see if I was right.

00:05:35 Speaker_00
And you are, which means I chose you wisely. But what do you think you're doing trying to distract me when you're on the clock? You got work to do, mister, and time's a-wasting.

00:05:43 Speaker_05
Work? What work?

00:05:44 Speaker_00
We gotta make this office sparkle, spick and span. You ain't gonna catch any new clients with a litter of dust bunnies running around the place. I wanna be able to eat on this floor.

00:05:52 Speaker_05
Don't you mean eat off this floor?

00:05:53 Speaker_00
What? Ew. No, Mr. Steele, why would I want to eat off the floor? I just want what any red-blooded Martian woman wants, to be able to sit on the floor with a salmon cream pie without my butt getting all dusty.

00:06:04 Speaker_05
Hey, if you say so. I'll get the dustpan.

00:06:07 Speaker_00
And I'll start polishing the desks. This place is gonna look so good, Mr. Steele, just the way we left it!

00:06:16 Speaker_05
Just the way we left it, huh? Maybe that's the problem. My name is Junot Steele, and I'm about to be a private eye again. And the funny thing is, I know it's what I want.

00:06:35 Speaker_05
I know after everything I've been through in the past few years, the mad anthropologists, and politics, and brainwashing computer chips, and crime, and life on the run, and mind reading alien cars, and undead lovers, and him.

00:06:51 Speaker_05
What I want is to do what I love the most in the place I love the most. Solving mysteries in Hyperion City. My city. My beautiful, banged up, messed up home. This is who I want to be, truly. So... why am I so afraid of it?

00:07:14 Speaker_00
So... Mrs. Steele? Yeah? Um... I've been wondering, you know, since we're back here and all, have you heard from, you know?

00:07:28 Speaker_05
Nope.

00:07:30 Speaker_00
Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to.

00:07:31 Speaker_05
You've got nothing to apologize for. I told him to take some time, and he's taken some time. It's the right thing to do for both of us. So, yeah.

00:07:40 Speaker_00
That don't make it easy, though.

00:07:42 Speaker_05
No. No, it definitely does not.

00:07:44 Speaker_00
That first week at the resort with him was real fun.

00:07:47 Speaker_05
Sure was. Do you mind if we stop talking about him for now?

00:07:52 Speaker_00
Sure thing, Mr. Steele.

00:07:56 Speaker_05
I couldn't blame Rita for asking about Nureyev, really. It felt like he was the part of my life everyone was waiting for a definitive answer on. Me included. Not that I have anybody to blame but myself for that.

00:08:10 Speaker_05
Why the hell does doing the smart thing have to feel so... Last time I saw Nureyev was a little less than six months ago. We'd spent a day or two recovering from our escape from the Dokkana trash ball.

00:08:25 Speaker_05
Me physically, him emotionally, and Rita both, given that during my Dokkana disappearance, she stress drank enough Megafizz soda to achieve liftoff if you shook her too hard. But after that couple of days, we'd stalled as much as we could.

00:08:40 Speaker_05
Each of us had a question lingering. Me in the time since the Orencos disbanded, and him in the 20 years since Nocana first caught him in their trap. What in the hell was each of us gonna do next?

00:08:53 Speaker_05
Rita had already bundled us into the Ruby and set course for the resort planet of her dreams, Tangaroa, the surface of which was 90% clean blue ocean, 8% tropical island, and 2% floating roller coaster, the biggest in the galaxy.

00:09:06 Speaker_05
A ride so long you had to make a reservation and set aside three hours of your day for vomit-inducing speed. Rita had a reservation, but Nureyev and I backed out of it, so she took the Ruby in her pocket and set out for 172 minutes of spins and drops.

00:09:21 Speaker_05
Nureyev and I had our own kind of rollercoaster to go on at the same time. The kind that spins your head and drops your stomach without moving you an inch. And we couldn't have picked a prettier time for it, honestly.

00:09:33 Speaker_05
Just after sunset on an empty Tangaroan beach, the sky purple as a bruise with a thin hum of light still on the horizon.

00:09:40 Speaker_05
It reminded me of neon street signs, that fuzzy light which reminded me of the view out the window of my old apartment in Hyperion City. Everything was reminding me of Hyperion those days, and I was finally figuring out why.

00:09:59 Speaker_02
My, this planet is beautiful, isn't it?

00:10:01 Speaker_05
Sure is. Nice to get to take a break for once, too. It feels like I've been in a dead sprint non-stop since Dark Matters attacked the Carp Lodge.

00:10:10 Speaker_02
I certainly know the feeling. The executives' deadlines were always hanging over my head, pushing me to move faster and faster. Even without them there, sitting still like this feels so strange. It's probably going to feel like that for a while.

00:10:26 Speaker_05
How are you doing? Hmm? You know, with slip and everything, how are you doing?

00:10:36 Speaker_02
I'm not sure. I don't know how to express it without sounding very confusing.

00:10:44 Speaker_04
Well, confuse me then.

00:10:48 Speaker_02
I'm mourning, certainly. That feeling I've felt before. But what's surrounding it, that I understand less. Because to be frank, I'm not precisely certain what it is I'm mourning.

00:11:05 Speaker_02
It feels strange to have this sudden surge of loss for someone who died a lifetime ago.

00:11:10 Speaker_05
Sure, but did you ever let yourself think of him as dead? What do you mean?

00:11:19 Speaker_05
For a few weeks after Benton died, I honestly felt, well, fine's not the word, pissed off at my mother mostly, but the reality of it, you know, the fact that he was gone and would never come back, I wouldn't let it touch me.

00:11:33 Speaker_05
I knew he was dead and I could say that he was dead, but I didn't feel the weight of it yet. I kept waiting for him to show up. Some irrational part of me kept feeling like, well, he's dead today, but maybe tomorrow reality will Change his mind.

00:11:49 Speaker_05
Eventually the feeling caught up with me and I had to take it all on at once, but you... Hell, you had it much worse. You had people promising that he'd be back. I don't know how you're supposed to mourn through that. I don't think you can.

00:12:03 Speaker_05
And now you got 20 years of feelings to catch up on.

00:12:06 Speaker_02
I think you may be right. I'm not sure I ever let myself feel his death. It always felt like a problem I would solve eventually. I don't even know what I hoped for, to be honest. Even if they had brought him back to life, good as new.

00:12:22 Speaker_02
I mean, didn't you want to get back together with him? Honestly, I'm not sure I ever let myself think that far ahead. Not after the first few years, anyway. What could we have done, really?

00:12:38 Speaker_02
He'd only had the experiences of a teenage boy, and I am very nearly a middle-aged man. By that token, I'd have made a better guardian than partner.

00:12:50 Speaker_02
Suppose I would have done that, been his guardian, helped him to acclimate to the world after his 20-year break from it. I felt I owed him that much for saving me.

00:13:02 Speaker_05
Nureyev, nothing against Slip. This isn't his fault, but the way he saved you cost him like two weeks. You spent 20 years in return. I think the scales are balanced by now.

00:13:13 Speaker_02
That isn't true. I didn't give him 20 years. Yeah, you kind of objectively did. That isn't how it felt, though. I only ever gave him one day. Today. For two decades, I woke up and thought, this is what I have to do today to save him.

00:13:31 Speaker_02
The debt was so massive, the work to escape it so endless that I could never afford to look more than a day ahead. I'm not certain I've had a single introspective thought. I didn't just file away in twenty years. Oh. Could be worse.

00:13:46 Speaker_02
Some people go a lot longer than that. I think... I fear... that may be why I asked you to run away with me. Years ago, now. I had such strong feelings for you, of course. But making that kind of decision?

00:14:06 Speaker_02
Let's drop everything and start from zero together. That's the kind of thing you can only do if you don't seriously believe tomorrow will ever come. It's a fantasy of avoiding consequences forever.

00:14:18 Speaker_02
Miasma had been very lucrative for me for a time, but when I became sidetracked helping you to stop her, I fell so far behind in my payments. It was all so overwhelming, I thought, Well, I suppose I didn't think. I just needed to escape.

00:14:34 Speaker_05
Somehow. That makes sense. I kind of wondered how your life actually worked at the time. What do you mean? A super thief roams the galaxy, stealing exclusively high-cred targets for presumably high-cred bounties, yet he doesn't have a single belonging.

00:14:50 Speaker_05
No home to go back to, no gentleman thief estate to manage. Hell, he even has to steal a car to get around, and he can just vanish from his own life without so much as a comms call. All that money had to be going somewhere. I just didn't know where.

00:15:04 Speaker_05
And... That's why you didn't come with me? Oh, hell no. If anything, that made me want to come with you more because it made you a mystery. I didn't come with you because, well, they weren't good reasons, I'll tell you that much.

00:15:19 Speaker_05
I think it's a good thing I didn't go. I had a lot more growing up to do before I could make me work, let alone us. And I needed the people around me to help me do that growing. Mick and Rita and all of them.

00:15:33 Speaker_05
Sometimes you do the right thing for the wrong reasons, I guess.

00:15:42 Speaker_02
I have to say I envy you those connections. 20 years of work without rest and what do I have to show for it? Not a single person. Not a single cred. You've got people.

00:15:55 Speaker_05
Rita, Buddy, Vesper, Jet... Me. I suppose so. And hang on. If you don't have any money, how are you paying to be here?

00:16:04 Speaker_02
Oh, they don't know I'm here. You haven't noticed that I conveniently disappear whenever an employee comes too close? God, you're good. Indeed I am. Juno. I thought it through, and I'm ready. Yeah? Ready for what? For us.

00:16:36 Speaker_02
It wasn't right of me to pressure you into coming with me when we barely knew each other. I understand now how much your loved ones and your home mean to you, and I'm willing to change what I need.

00:16:46 Speaker_02
My life has plenty of room with my work and my debt gone. It is free for me to fill it with whatever is convenient. I could find a place in Hyperion City, learn a trade, or pick pockets, or perhaps try some white-collar crime.

00:16:56 Speaker_02
I hear that's very lucrative, and we could- No, I have. I'm ready, Juno. This next era of my life, I know what I want from it, and what I want is you. I'm ready. Truly. Narev, you're not.

00:17:16 Speaker_05
What? You're not ready. Or maybe that's not what I mean. I'm at least confident enough to say that you're not in a place where either of us can know if you're ready right now.

00:17:30 Speaker_02
Does that make sense? I... But... I'm so confused. Forgive me for assuming, I suppose, but I thought... Given that you followed me so far, I... I thought you wanted... Us?

00:17:48 Speaker_05
I do. More than just about anything, I do. Then why would you... Reject me I'm not rejecting you then what is this? Listen the way I feel about you I've never felt this way about anybody before I've never loved anyone this much.

00:18:11 Speaker_05
I've never wanted to be with someone forever like I want to be with you.

00:18:14 Speaker_02
Then we should be together.

00:18:17 Speaker_05
That's what people in love do. I agree, but I think you've got some stuff to figure out first. Some of it I can maybe help with a little, but a lot of it, a lot of it's the kind of thing you've got to figure out on your own.

00:18:36 Speaker_05
I'm serious about you, and that means if we're going to be together, I want to be together for keeps. No whirlwind tryst that flames out in a few months or a few years. Honestly, I'm not sure my heart could take another one of those.

00:18:54 Speaker_05
And I know that right now feels like you could just rewrite everything you want in life to fit me, but I can guarantee you're not gonna feel that way forever. If we're gonna make this work, we have to find a life that works for both of us.

00:19:07 Speaker_02
But... I'm not sure where to start. I'm so terribly out of practice in determining what I want from life.

00:19:18 Speaker_05
Then... that's what you need some time to figure out. And I'm guessing we'll have to be flexible, and I'm guessing it'll be hard, but it sounds worth it to me.

00:19:31 Speaker_05
If what you want to do is bounce from planet to planet, wherever the wind takes you, and what I want to do is stick to Hyperion City, maybe we don't live together a good chunk of the time.

00:19:39 Speaker_05
Sometimes I go on adventures with you, sometimes you visit me, but the only way we're gonna make it together is if we're complete people when we're apart. A person can't be what you want to do with your life.

00:19:53 Speaker_05
We can't be together every second of every day. You need a plan for who you're gonna be when I'm not around. And who will you be? Juno Steel. Private eye. Who else? I envy you that, too. What, being a PI? Sorry, only one professional snoop per couple.

00:20:15 Speaker_02
No, no, no. Having a purpose. A calling. Thought I had one, but... Well, I suppose you're right. A person can't be your only purpose, or what will you do when they're gone? Why do you want to go back to being a detective, Juno?

00:20:35 Speaker_05
It's... less that I want to, and more that... I can't not do it, if that makes sense. It does not. Oh, yeah, well, I guess... Depending on whether you like me or not, you'd either say that I'm curious or that I'm nosy.

00:20:51 Speaker_05
But the truth is a small thing, a delicate thing, easy to lose or break or hide. And there are people out there who are good at hiding it. People who ruin lives and never get caught. And if they had their way, the truth would never be found again.

00:21:06 Speaker_05
When I think about that, I get itchy. If they're gonna bury the truth, someone should dig it up. And I can't help but be that someone. It's what I love to do. And what I have to do. I feel pretty lucky that I have something like that, honestly.

00:21:23 Speaker_05
It's hard than luck if you've worked on it for so long. I'd say the same thing about you and thievery.

00:21:29 Speaker_02
Yes. Yes, perhaps I would like to stay a thief. But to what end, I'm uncertain.

00:21:39 Speaker_05
Nothing comes to mind? Nothing besides slip that matters to you? Norea?

00:21:47 Speaker_02
I'm just thinking. Perhaps... Brahma. Yeah? What about it? I'm not certain yet.

00:22:01 Speaker_05
Well, you don't have to know right away. We're on vacation, remember? Might as well enjoy it while we got it. And maybe we'll part ways for a little while from here, but one day, if you decide you know what you want, and you want me to,

00:22:16 Speaker_05
If you think through what life's got on offer and you imagine fitting me into it without losing yourself in the process, just come knocking on my door. I'll be waiting.

00:22:26 Speaker_02
And if I can't find a way to make us fit with what I want?

00:22:32 Speaker_05
Then we just don't work together. It's nobody's fault. It'll be sad for a long time, but it'd be worse to live a life you hate even if it's with a person you love. I love you too much to watch you be miserable.

00:22:48 Speaker_02
Yes. And I love you too, Juno. I'll think on it.

00:22:58 Speaker_05
Nureyev stayed with us on Tangaroa for another five days. He was quieter than usual then.

00:23:05 Speaker_05
Sometimes I thought he was annoyed with me, and sometimes I thought he was just thinking, pushing himself to get through two decades of feeling as fast as he could. But feelings come and go when they like and we don't get much say over that.

00:23:18 Speaker_05
And apparently the feelings got too strong to handle because one morning, I woke up to an empty bed and a short note on his pillow.

00:23:25 Speaker_02
Dawn in search of myself. Will knock if I find him. Wish me luck.

00:23:32 Speaker_05
He had written your better half after that, then scratched it out. That seemed like a step in the right direction to me. And I'm proud of myself, too, in a way. Proud of doing what I could to protect what matters to me, even if I had made a mistake.

00:23:49 Speaker_05
At least it was a new mistake. That's a kind of growing up, too. Then a month passed. And another. And another.

00:24:02 Speaker_05
I still thought what I had done was right, but that possibility lingering in the air, that possibility that he'd never come knocking, that he'd decide he didn't want us after all, it started to ride me.

00:24:17 Speaker_05
I regretted not asking for a definitive answer either way, worried that I'd spend the rest of my life wondering if I'd ever see him again. Then we, Rita the Ruby and I, came home to Hyperion City.

00:24:32 Speaker_05
Which was nice, but same office, same city, same job, no thief beside me. Had I really come all this way just to end up back where I started again? What proof did I have that the last few years actually meant something? What did I have to show for it?

00:24:53 Speaker_00
Done and dusted. We went suns up to suns down, but the old place is looking pretty professional, ain't it?

00:25:00 Speaker_05
Yeah. Yeah, it is. Better than it used to, honestly.

00:25:04 Speaker_00
You bet it is! Now we just gotta keep it that way. After all, you never know who might come a-callin'!

00:25:11 Speaker_05
Uh, yeah, I guess that's true.

00:25:15 Speaker_00
Say! Say, Mr. Steele! You mind checking if we have any messages on the office comms for me?

00:25:21 Speaker_05
You just plugged it back in an hour ago, Rita. There's no way we have a message yet.

00:25:25 Speaker_00
Aw, come on! Why not just check?

00:25:29 Speaker_05
Fine, fine.

00:25:38 Speaker_07
You have two messages.

00:25:41 Speaker_00
Wait, two? Really?

00:25:42 Speaker_07
First message. Hello, Junebug! As I'm sure you're well aware, this is Cecil Kanagawa, star of streams and star

00:25:53 Speaker_06
What the hell? Uh-oh.

00:25:57 Speaker_07
And by a birdie, I mean, of course, an extensive surveillance network I set up in the neighborhood surrounding your office. And I just had to reach out to you so we can work together again.

00:26:08 Speaker_07
I saw your glamorous performance on that Dark Matter stream, and you were positively divine. A legend. Such a natural talent that I decided I could forgive you for skipping town without telling me. Bad, you know, bad. I have a case for you, of course.

00:26:25 Speaker_07
I know you'd never come by unless I did. So I've hired a rival network to kidnap me again. Message erased.

00:26:33 Speaker_00
Mr. Steele, why'd you delete that? You didn't even let him finish.

00:26:36 Speaker_05
I heard enough.

00:26:36 Speaker_00
But he could have been a client.

00:26:38 Speaker_05
A client? You think I should work for the Kanagawas again?

00:26:43 Speaker_00
Well, not when you say it like that.

00:26:45 Speaker_05
Just crawl back to all my old clients like nothing happened? Hell, why not give Valas Viki a call? Or maybe I should walk over to O'Flaherty's tombstone and ask if he's got a job for me.

00:26:55 Speaker_05
Well, Saffron Farm is out of business, but there must be some pharmacorp out there in need of a stooge, and who cares if we just spent the last few years of our lives going after corpse like that, right?

00:27:04 Speaker_05
Just like old times, working for the rich and corrupt. Is that what you thought was gonna happen, Rita?

00:27:07 Speaker_00
Mr. Steele, you don't get to talk to me that way.

00:27:09 Speaker_05
Why not? As long as we are retreading old ground, why not?

00:27:14 Speaker_09
Just your two favorite ladies on the line, here to congratulate you both on the very exciting venture we hear you have planned next. Back to the P.I. game, eh, Steel? Knew you didn't smell like a career criminal. Oh, Vespa, do be nice.

00:27:30 Speaker_09
Once a crook, always a crook, I say. And I just know you'll bring your new appreciation for bending the law to your old calling. I'm afraid we don't have a housewarming gift for you just yet.

00:27:40 Speaker_09
We're living on retired time, and let me tell you, retired life is real good. But we promise to commit a terribly impressive crime for you to solve sometime soon to make up for it. Although that said, you won't leave your first day back empty-handed.

00:27:55 Speaker_09
Our former pilot has asked us to deliver you a little something special. You'll forgive me for not mentioning his name. He's currently up to mischief that's gotten him in enough trouble that he can't afford to be seen with

00:28:05 Speaker_08
It's in the bottom left drawer of your desk. You might want to update those locks, by the way. I'm totally out of practice and even I could bust through them no problem. Interrupt anything.

00:28:38 Speaker_09
Oh, Vespa.

00:28:41 Speaker_00
End of messages. See, that was, um, that was the message I was expecting. Mr. Steele, are you alright?

00:28:51 Speaker_05
I'm sorry, Rita. I don't know what came over me. I'm just... tired, I guess.

00:28:58 Speaker_00
It'll take some adjusting, but you'll get there, Mr. Steele. I know you will.

00:29:02 Speaker_05
I think... I think... maybe I need to close up the office for the night. We can look for clients tomorrow. I just need some rest.

00:29:12 Speaker_00
Sounds like a good idea to me. Don't forget about that present in your desk, though, and you better show me what you got tomorrow.

00:29:17 Speaker_05
I will. Thanks, Rita, for everything.

00:29:22 Speaker_00
Good night, Mr. Steele.

00:29:24 Speaker_05
Good night, Rita. Damn chair's just as cheap as ever, too. Sure enough, in the bottom left drawer of my desk sat a package wrapped in plain brown paper, an envelope tied to it with a little twine bow.

00:29:49 Speaker_05
I recognized the handwriting on the letter inside right away.

00:29:52 Speaker_03
Juno. I once told you that I was excited to see what you do next, and you have not disappointed. I will be watching you as I was when we first met. I hope that one day soon we will be able to use this gift together in person. P.S.

00:30:09 Speaker_03
Apologies if the wrapping paper is inappropriately festive. I was in a very good mood when I bought it. The newspaper clipping attached may explain why.

00:30:19 Speaker_05
The global government of Heimdall has announced that they are in the early stages of ending their planetary protection contract with Dark Matters.

00:30:27 Speaker_05
Citing the recent destruction of an Outer Rim Dark Matters base X329 by an unknown terrorist group as the primary cause, if Dark Matters cannot even protect their own bases from outside threats, paying them expecting they will protect us is only throwing away money better used on the people of Heimdall, said President Darvish.

00:30:45 Speaker_05
in a press conference Tuesday morning. This marks the third planet in the galaxy to end their contract with Dark Matters over the past several years. Damn, big guy, you're really doing it, aren't you? Three planets down, a few billion to go.

00:31:06 Speaker_05
I peeled the brown paper on Jet's gift and saw it was actually two gifts in one box. a teapot the same green as the Ruby 7, and a canister filled with a loose, crumbly something that I assumed was tea.

00:31:18 Speaker_05
I've never been much of a tea guy, honestly, but it smelled alright. Like smoke and soil with a pear-like sweetness at the very end. I didn't want to go back home just yet.

00:31:31 Speaker_05
The apartment I'd found was still empty, unfurnished except for an insta-bed rolled up against one wall and the hollow echo of my footsteps there just made my thoughts too loud to handle. So instead, I made the tea.

00:31:45 Speaker_05
It didn't take me long to realize I had no idea how the hell to make any kind of tea that didn't come as a freeze-dried instant powder. So I tried to remember all the times I'd been in the carte blanche kitchenette while the big guy was brewing it.

00:31:58 Speaker_05
Boiling water was involved somehow, I knew, so I started some of that going. I remember Jet waiting by the plasma heater, filling the pot a little, letting it slosh around, pouring it out.

00:32:11 Speaker_05
I never saw if the water or the tea went in first, so I did a little bit of both, then waited. And while I was waiting, I could see them all so clearly. Jet humming nothing to himself while he poured the tea.

00:32:25 Speaker_05
Putty's laugh big enough to fill the room and spell her into the hallway. Vespa stabbing at her food like it had personally wronged her. Rita shrieking because she realized she'd accidentally eaten a vegetable.

00:32:37 Speaker_05
And, of course, Nureyev by my side, trying to pass off whatever pond scummy mixed together as good eating. I got lost in that thought for a while.

00:32:54 Speaker_05
I miss them all, but even more than that, I think I miss the feeling that there was always somebody close by just in case something went wrong.

00:33:02 Speaker_05
It was a tight squeeze, the carte blanche, and you couldn't breathe without elbowing the guy next to you, and it drove me nuts a lot of the time. But sometimes it's the things that annoy you most that you miss the most. I wish I knew why that was.

00:33:16 Speaker_05
Then I remembered I was supposed to be doing something about that tea. I was feeling low, and I hoped that the taste might remind me of them again. So I filled up a dusty coffee mug and tried it out. I don't know how the big guy can stand this chunk.

00:33:44 Speaker_05
And let me tell you, that got me feeling even worse. I poured out the rest of the pot and went to return it to the drawer I'd pulled it out of. Only I got the drawer wrong. Bottom right instead of bottom left.

00:33:55 Speaker_05
And I found a little surprise in there waiting for me. Huh. A sealed bottle of red desert tequila. My old go-to. Must have left it there before Rita and I started our life of crime.

00:34:09 Speaker_05
It wasn't that long ago that a full bottle of Red Desert would have gotten my mouth watering. But now, there's something about this moment, this office, the darkening night outside my window, the feelings already curdling in my guts.

00:34:22 Speaker_05
The sight of that bottle made me break out into a cold sweat. And before I could figure out where the hell that feeling came from, the darkness outside my window suddenly turned into white, screaming bright light. What the? Ruby?

00:34:41 Speaker_05
What the hell are you doing outside my window? I parked you on the street. Hey, where are you going? Ruby? Ruby! I took the steps up to the roof three at a time. I had a feeling I knew what this was about.

00:34:58 Speaker_05
And I hate to admit it, but my stomach was sinking already. I wasn't ready. I didn't know when I would be ready, but I sure as hell wasn't ready that night of all nights. Ruby? What's up? You want to go for a drive? Wait, wait, wait. Slow down.

00:35:22 Speaker_05
I'm not following you. No more brain link after the blood filter machine, remember? You want me to get in?

00:35:35 Speaker_06
Okay.

00:35:39 Speaker_05
So, what's all this about?

00:35:48 Speaker_05
Without the ancient Martian junk swimming around in my blood anymore, the RWBY-7 and I were back to how we communicated way back when Nureyev and I first stole it in the Oasis Casino Resort, through the monitor on its dashboard.

00:36:01 Speaker_05
Already I was forgetting what it felt like to talk to the RWBY mind to mind. Whatever strange shapes its alien feelings had stretched my mind into were smoothing out, slackening back to where I started, remembering how close we were.

00:36:16 Speaker_05
Remembering all the times I couldn't tell whose emotions were whose. Sitting in that seat and not knowing what would come on that monitor next. I'm not sure I've ever felt so lonely. You have arrived at your destination. Yeah. You're right, Ruby.

00:36:33 Speaker_05
It was a hell of an adventure, but we really did it, didn't we? Everyone's safe now and we even got a vacation out of the deal, but what... Set course for... home. But we are home, Ruby. This is my home, and I thought you might... Set course for home.

00:36:59 Speaker_05
Estimated travel time... 200,000 years. Oh. You mean... that home. But you can't go yet. Everybody's still... I mean, Reno would just be heartbroken if you left without saying goodbye, so... Are you sure you gotta go home, Ruby?

00:37:26 Speaker_00
Really sure?

00:37:30 Speaker_06
Oh, God.

00:37:32 Speaker_00
Make sure you tell Mr. Steele before you go. He's gonna... I mean, I'm... I'm gonna miss you so much, Ruby Seven. Goodbye.

00:37:50 Speaker_05
So you said goodbye when she left the office earlier today, huh? And I'm guessing that means you're gonna track everybody else down before you go back to your Galaxy 2 buddy and Vespa and all that.

00:38:05 Speaker_05
I don't think anybody knows where Jed or Nerea are, but Right, you can probably sniff him out, can't ya? And... you've grown enough that you can make the trip on your own? You're not gonna, like, end up stranded between galaxies with nowhere to go?

00:38:28 Speaker_05
But then I... I guess I got nothing left to keep you here with, do I? And... You should get to go where you want. Ruby, I... We've been through a hell of a lot together, haven't we? I wasn't always the nicest to you.

00:38:56 Speaker_05
Even when I knew what you were, who you were, it took me a while, but I just... I just gotta tell you. Ruby? I'll miss you too, Ruby. Really. On voyage, Ruby 7. Rate me sometime. 200,000 years from now, I'm guessing P.O.

00:39:59 Speaker_05
Box desiccated remains of human civilization should get you there.

00:40:16 Speaker_05
I watched it as it took off in the direction of the nearest dome exit, stood there and watched it as it became a tiny green speck in the distance, then disappeared behind a floating billboard. Kept standing and watching for a while after, too.

00:40:36 Speaker_05
Well, that's enough for one crummy day. It was late, and I was in rough shape, so I decided it was probably time to throw in the towel and get whatever sleep I could manage back in my new apartment.

00:40:52 Speaker_05
So I made my way down to street level, cleared the layers of parking tickets off my piece of junk car, tried to start the engine, and, well, it didn't go so well. Come on, come on. Stupid goddamn car. Start already. All right.

00:41:20 Speaker_05
Finally, something goes... Oh, come on. What? No, come on. Can I just get one? Can I please just have one thing? Come on.

00:41:32 Speaker_06
Ah!

00:41:38 Speaker_05
But nobody needs to see that part. What's important is I decided to spend the night in my office and I wasn't doing so hot. Before I knew what I was doing, I had my coffee cup in hand again.

00:41:52 Speaker_05
A few cloudy dregs of tea still pulled up at the bottom of it, and I was upending the bottle of red desert tequila into it.

00:42:05 Speaker_05
And I sat there for a minute, staring in the clear, quivering pool of liquor and wondering why the sight and biting smell of it were making me feel like a failure. It's not like I'd given up on drinking.

00:42:19 Speaker_05
On a Buddy Orinko ship, you're surrounded by liquor, or as she calls it, lunch. And at all expenses, paid resort on Tangaroa included booze, so I definitely had my fair share.

00:42:29 Speaker_05
But there was something about this office, this feeling, this bottle that made my stomach do flips. Was I really back here again?

00:42:40 Speaker_05
In my office all night, getting drunker and drunker until I passed out on my desk, all because it was easier to swallow a drink than it was to swallow my feelings? A lingering leaf from the tea jet's kooliak pot me floated to the top of my mug.

00:42:54 Speaker_05
I still felt like garbage left to simmer on a stovetop, but that little reminder of him made me remember I still had something of his in this office. It was in my safe, a little burner comms from years ago before I ever knew the big guy's name.

00:43:12 Speaker_05
and sitting next to it, a deactivated Thea Soul. Possibly the last one Dark Matters hadn't destroyed. I shook the feeling off. The comms had what I was looking for. I found it and pressed play.

00:43:32 Speaker_01
We may look backward, only to ensure we have not walked this path before. We may look backward only to ensure we have not walked this path before.

00:43:45 Speaker_05
I'm looking big guy. I'm looking. I wanted that tequila worse than just about anything right then. But I told myself I'll just listen to it one more time before I take a drink.

00:44:02 Speaker_01
We may look backward, only to ensure we have not walked this path before.

00:44:07 Speaker_05
One more time.

00:44:09 Speaker_01
We may look backward, only to ensure we have not walked this path before.

00:44:14 Speaker_05
One more time.

00:44:16 Speaker_01
We may look backward, only to ensure we have not walked this path before.

00:44:21 Speaker_06
One more time.

00:44:23 Speaker_01
We may look backward, only to ensure we have not walked this path before.

00:44:39 Speaker_10
Juno Steele? Hello? Juno Steele? Wake up, Juno Steele. Come on, it's time for you to wake up. What the hell was that for? Who the hell do you think- Who do I think you are? Juno Steele, I hope.

00:45:00 Speaker_10
It says on the door that this is the office of Juno Steele, Private Eye, and a private eye is what I need right now.

00:45:07 Speaker_05
I tried to talk, but it felt like someone had poured quick-setting concrete down my throat. Because the girl sitting across my desk from me, she looked just like... But it couldn't be. It was impossible.

00:45:25 Speaker_05
She looked just like Sasha Wire had back when we were teenagers. The expression, the eyes, the mannerisms, everything.

00:45:34 Speaker_10
Hello? Mars to Juno, are you awake yet?

00:45:39 Speaker_05
Well, I must have really overdone it on the booze last night.

00:45:41 Speaker_10
Excuse me?

00:45:42 Speaker_05
Miss Dream, you sitting there looking just like... A nightmare this crazy doesn't crawl out from a sober mind. Oh, hell. Back to your old tricks, huh, Steel?

00:45:54 Speaker_10
It doesn't look to me like you drank very much.

00:45:56 Speaker_05
Yeah, how do you figure, Miss Nightmare?

00:45:58 Speaker_10
Your mug of liquor is full. And that bottle only seems like about a mugful of it is missing. Unless there's an empty bottle somewhere around here and you desperately need your stomach pumped, I'd say you didn't drink anything at all.

00:46:14 Speaker_05
Yeah, it kind of does look that way, doesn't it?

00:46:19 Speaker_10
Where are you going?

00:46:20 Speaker_05
Just dumping this out. So, let's say you're not a nightmare. Nightmare? The hell are you doing here exactly? Or do you break into offices like this every morning just to feel something?

00:46:39 Speaker_10
Your door was unlocked. I was surprised. I thought I'd have to wait outside for a few hours before seeing you.

00:46:46 Speaker_05
A few hours? What time is it? Five in the goddamn morning? What the hell are you doing breaking into my office at five in the morning?

00:46:52 Speaker_10
Again, I did not break into your office. And I'm here because it's an emergency. You find people, right? Missing people?

00:47:00 Speaker_05
Typically, when I find them, they aren't missing anymore. What's it to you?

00:47:03 Speaker_10
My partner has gone missing.

00:47:08 Speaker_05
Isn't that kind of an adult word? I'm grown-up enough. Sure sounds grown-up. Me and the grown-ups in the grown-up club, we're always saying how grown-up we are. Are you going to help me or just mock me? All right, so your girlfriend is missing.

00:47:19 Speaker_05
Boyfriend, actually. Oh.

00:47:23 Speaker_10
Okay. Boyfriend. Does mystery man have a name? Reggie Caldwell. I have a picture of him, too. I could send it to you, but... that's not your comms, is it? What? Oh, right, that.

00:47:39 Speaker_05
Shut up, Arnie. This is my con.

00:47:41 Speaker_10
It's not much better.

00:47:42 Speaker_05
Just send the lousy picture, will ya? Cute couple. You have any siblings? Older cousin, maybe? Last name Wyer?

00:47:50 Speaker_10
How is this relevant, exactly?

00:47:51 Speaker_05
Oh, you know. Just PI stuff.

00:47:53 Speaker_10
I would appreciate it if we could keep the joking to a minimum. Time is... We have very little time to find him.

00:48:00 Speaker_05
You think he's in danger or something?

00:48:01 Speaker_10
We have a trip coming up in three days. Off planet. I need him back by then so that we don't miss it.

00:48:08 Speaker_05
Wait, hold on, not to pry, but you love this guy, right, Nightmare?

00:48:12 Speaker_10
Of course I do.

00:48:13 Speaker_05
Because usually when somebody goes missing, it's a lot of crying and screaming about the little things, like, I don't know, what if he's dead? What if he's been kidnapped? What if I start receiving his fingers in the mail?

00:48:22 Speaker_05
What kind of postage do you even put on a finger to send it through the mail?

00:48:24 Speaker_10
Fine, yes, I understand. The tickets for our trip were very expensive. We've been saving up for a long time, and it would really be a shame if we missed it. And before you ask, the tickets are non-refundable.

00:48:39 Speaker_05
Oh, they always say that. Show me the tickets. I can't. Reggie has them. So is this a missing persons case or a missing tickets case? I think that should give you enough to go on. Enough? Come on, Nightmare. We barely got started.

00:48:51 Speaker_05
I'm going to need a little more info if you want me to find this guy. Has he ever disappeared before? I don't see how that's relevant. I'm pretty sure you do, actually. So is it not relevant, or do you just not want to answer?

00:49:02 Speaker_10
Everyone's always jumping to conclusions about Reggie. It isn't fair. And he's been working really hard lately on improving himself. Really. Self-improvement. It's become a major focus for him.

00:49:15 Speaker_05
So he has run away. I'm guessing a few times, but you're sure this time is different? You don't believe me. No, I believe you. Or maybe I should say, I believe your side. As for what's going on in Reggie's head, I'll just have to ask it myself.

00:49:30 Speaker_10
Then you'll take my case?

00:49:32 Speaker_05
Case? Yeah, I guess I will. I will take your case.

00:49:40 Speaker_10
Perfect. Thank you, Detective Steele. And now for your payment. Damn. Damn! It seems I forgot my wallet! Yes, um... Don't sweat it.

00:49:59 Speaker_05
I'll take payment at the end. Just give me your comms coordinates so I can reach you later.

00:50:03 Speaker_10
Comms coordinates?

00:50:04 Speaker_05
Yeah. Or what, did you think you were just gonna keep showing up at 5am till I bagged your man?

00:50:10 Speaker_10
Well... yes, actually.

00:50:13 Speaker_05
That's a no-go nightmare. Gonna need some way of contacting you. Can't have you running out on the bill.

00:50:20 Speaker_10
There. Will that do?

00:50:23 Speaker_05
That's a Newtown area code, isn't it?

00:50:26 Speaker_10
You can tell at a glance.

00:50:28 Speaker_05
I've got some personal history in that area. Is that a problem? You look disappointed.

00:50:33 Speaker_10
No. No, that won't be a problem. We'll be in touch then. Thank you, Detective.

00:50:40 Speaker_05
Don't mention it. Hey, uh, Nightmare. She looked back at me from that doorway and for a second I felt so sure. That impatient look she had, the tough act she wore like a baggy suit. She looked so much like Sasha Wire, here again, 18 years old.

00:51:05 Speaker_10
Um, detective?

00:51:08 Speaker_05
Never mind, I'll call you when I've found a lead.

00:51:11 Speaker_10
Alright. Oh, I'm so sorry. I was just... I'll just take my things and go. Have a good day.

00:51:28 Speaker_00
Mr. Steele. Was that... Was she... Was that who it looked like?

00:51:33 Speaker_05
No, right?

00:51:34 Speaker_00
She looked just like... A client. Oh, Mr. Steele, did you find a client already?

00:51:39 Speaker_05
Uh, yeah, a client. I've got a client. Rita, I am sorry to say it, but I'm putting in my notice. I can't work for Rita Investigations anymore. I'm thinking of opening my own shop. Juno Steel. Private eye. How's it sound?

00:52:00 Speaker_00
This is agreeable to me. And without my only employee, I shall close the office of Rita Investigations immediately.

00:52:06 Speaker_05
I'm sorry to hear that.

00:52:08 Speaker_00
The business world can be cold and cruel indeed. But, on the bright side, I'm looking for a job again. You wouldn't happen to need a super-secretary, would you, Juno Steel Private Eye?

00:52:17 Speaker_05
Depends. Does she have a criminal record?

00:52:20 Speaker_00
An extensive one.

00:52:21 Speaker_05
You're hired.

00:52:22 Speaker_00
Oh boy, oh boy! Rita and Mr. Steel back in action!

00:52:26 Speaker_05
You're damn right they are. Now, let's get moving. We've got a case to solve.

00:53:02 Speaker_04
If you've enjoyed this tale, please consider supporting The Penumbra. You can do so by buying our merchandise. Just go to thepenumbrapodcast.com and click on the store tab.

00:53:12 Speaker_04
You can also make a one-time donation to The Penumbra via PayPal at ThePenumbraPodcast. Or, if you'd like to keep our stories running in the long term, we hope you will support us on Patreon. Every dollar helps.

00:53:23 Speaker_04
At just $4 per episode or higher, you will receive ad-free episodes two days before the public release. At the $7 level, you will gain access to behind-the-scenes content and production scripts.

00:53:33 Speaker_04
And at the $10 level, you will receive access to commentary tracks like this one from co-creators Harley Takagi-Kaner and Kevin Vibert.

00:53:41 Speaker_10
A lot of why we do this is for the group of people that we work with.

00:53:45 Speaker_04
Yes, very true.

00:53:46 Speaker_10
And we knew that it was going to be meaningful to people to have that old group reassembled for the end, rather than, you know, being in a new location with a lot of new characters and, you know, starting something different. And it did.

00:54:05 Speaker_10
It felt really nice.

00:54:07 Speaker_04
Yeah, no, totally. And I don't, I'm reminded of this because of what you said about We would like to give special thanks to all who support us on Patreon, but especially to Glowbug's gift to the Olala Memorial Scholarship.

00:54:23 Speaker_04
My Penumbra hyperfixation is back at 100% power! Amethyst. The Corn Eye and the Lonely Ghost. Alexiou. Tori Zuza. Dandy Fine, a.k.a. Mr. Jet Sekuliak's number one fan. Zeez here. Pietro Juno. Spaghetti Mehmet. Jonathan Wilkes will miss OG Penumbra.

00:54:46 Speaker_04
Juno Steel and the Costco Hot Dog. Hi, my name is DJ and I love this podcast.

00:54:53 Speaker_04
Ari Berry, Jonah Steele, An Intrepid Lilac, Andy Bell, The Werners Wishing Well to Juno's Journey, Kasey O, Juno G, Bettina Trevino, Alim Muqtadir, Brittany Potter, Sophia N. Juno, Thank You for the Transgenderism, Juno Steele, The Emerald Eight, This Podcast, Haha,

00:55:16 Speaker_04
with love for the end and hope for the beginning. Nore. Kira. Jack M. Cohen. Paladin of Gawain, good boy of the Citadel. Girl in the Midnight Sky. Adrian Cadena. Thank you, Penumbra team, for your amazing work. Braylin. Quintessence the Bloodgunk Brat.

00:55:36 Speaker_04
Hannah and Leah's Adventures in Gender shenanigans. The Lady Guinevere, and it always needed to end this way.

00:55:43 Speaker_04
Sidney bids a tearful goodbye to the Juniverse, Cobbled Vibrance, Jammy, Rachel, Osipete, Laura, Diana Cause, Benjamin Fisher, SCP Chloe, Desert Willow, and the finally getting them a napping place.

00:55:59 Speaker_04
Rachel Howard, June Gashoku, SkyFireForever, TheLadyHasClaimedAnotherOneJayHull, James Evelyn, TheBestestDetective, Liv Allen, AliceTheTimeLord, InMemoryOfSpiralOpal, EdenTheGayBookworm, PrideonThanksThePenumbraPodcastForGettingHerAGirlfriend, SoLongAndThanksForAllTheGender,

00:56:24 Speaker_04
Michael David Smith Kiki's Podcast Patronage Service Shura is a guy in the same way that Juno Steele is a lady.

00:56:40 Speaker_04
Radia Sulna, Rainn and Pippin from the Glenn Dimension, Dr. B, Karen Z.H., Genetic, Cortue, Minchowski, Ash, and Angel Acevedo for their incredibly generous contributions per episode. Thank you.

00:56:57 Speaker_04
This tale, Juno Steel and the Case Closed, was told by the following people. Joshua Elon as Juno Steel. Kate Jones as Rita. Noah Symes as Peter Nureyev. Leslie Drescher as Cecil Kanagawa. Sarah Gazdovich as Buddy Arinko. Chloe Kunia as Vespa Ilke.

00:57:18 Speaker_04
Alexander Stravinsky as Jet Sekuliak. And Harley Takagi-Kaner as Nightmare. The Penumbra is created and produced by Harley Takagi-Kanner and Kevin Vibert.

00:57:29 Speaker_04
If you wish to know more about the full production team, you can read about them in the show notes of this episode. I'm afraid that is our time for today, dear traveler. We hope you will join us again soon.

00:57:45 Speaker_10
It's Harley again. I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you're interested in getting early ad-free versions of the show, along with a lot of other bonus content, remember to check out thepenemberpodcast.supercast.com.

00:57:59 Speaker_10
And if you heard anything about Patreon in that episode, ignore it. That was our old platform, and everything has been moved over to the new one. Thank you for considering supporting our work.