RP has begun. But I'm calling this chapter zero because I want to be sure this RP works first before I make this official to the plot. The idea is simply that we will post some stuff and have fun. If things look like they are going in a good direction, then we shall continue from there. Setting scene...

For the past month, it's been all anyone can talk about. A high class planet with rich resources and beautiful tourist sights has been discovered and settled on in the Morus sector. The problem is that just about every faction that exists settled there around the same time and nobody has proof of who was there first. So the planet was given the temporary name "Planet X" and an agreement was worked out. Now there are multiple colonies on the planet, but all of them support the free transport of all factions through and in them. But each colony is controlled by a different faction, so they have different rules. Those rules, of course, very much reflect the rules you would have at the homeworlds of those factions. So if you don't like how one place is run, you simply go to another.

In any case, many have seen opportunity here and between blatent and covert competition of the factions, there are also the consumers who come here for a number of reasons. Some see the chance to make a killing by simply buying something and exporting it. Or perhaps someone may see this planet as a great new home. Or a home away from home. Others still are here to support their favorite faction by showing up for the more overt competitions such as races, gladitorial events, etc. What your reason for coming here is... well let's find out, shall we?

The Rush Settlement on planet X, owned by the Tharians is where our story begins.

  What hasn’t been said via exposition for why one would come to Planet X?  Lets see...

  Some come looking for that one bit of technology they haven’t been able to get their hands on yet.  Wait, that’s sorta mentioned.  Others come in search of people for whatever reason.  That’s not the case here though.  Sometimes people even come to such places in hopes of establishing their own little claim.  But again, that’s a no for this case.

  The reason Joe Darkthorne had ended up in the Rush settlement was a longstanding tradition across existence.  A simple, yet effective reason that has given cause for all manner of deeds great and small.

  Because he felt like it.

  Well, okay.  That and to see if Barrakians have raised their standards for ship hull integrity on the sales floor when he wasn’t paying attention, and this place was conveniently close by when he opted for this ‘because he can’ course of action.

  Obviously, Joe has forgotten about online shopping reviews.

T'shock is in the ship sales dept and more specifically, in the part of shop where there is supposedly a genuine Barrakian ship. She inspects it with suspicion and figures it to be a cheap knock-off since this is, after all, a Tharian settelment. And Tharians aren't exactly known for their honest business reputation. T'shock is no ship expert though. She then spots Joe nearby and sees he is examining the same ship.

"Don't suppose you were looking for something in particular..." T'shock starts, wondering what an alien's take on this ship would be.

  “I was, but I’m getting the feeling that this might be the wrong place to properly check.  Sure, there are lots of technical ways to tell if a ship was actually made by who or to what standards...”

  Joe was a ship expert (even if his player was a bit of a tech dunce at times), however the masses would be spared technobabble through a preference of simpler means.

  He looked over to the lady who started up the conversation.  “Though I suppose another sure sign is the seating arrangements didn’t have wings in mind.”

OOC Style: Playing off the knock-off comments to just go with it as opposed to holding things up asking for OOC clarification of what Joe could figure out.

T'shock scrunches her face. "...serious? I hadn't looked inside yet..." she takes a quick peek and grunts a litte. "Yeah... they go to the trouble of making big seats, but forget that half our race have wings. Figures." she looks back to Joe. "What brings you here? Looking for barrakian ships?"

  Joe had adjustable seats in his ship for a reason beyond the comforts of recliners, even if that was one of the initial reasons.

  “Sort of, already got a ship.  I was planning to see if Barrakian hull standards have been adjusted recently.  And sometimes listed technical specifications don’t always meet what’s really used.  But I don’t think this one here quite fits that example.”

  Joe was wondering if Barrakian ships were actually tougher than their listed standards.  Not how close an imitation ship was trying to get.

  “Were you looking for one, or did you also have a slightly different reason?”

T'shock smirks and says, "Just making sure the universe is still working properly. Seems Tharians are still trying to shnerk people and Barrakian ships are still harder to make outside of Barrak. But far as I know, barrakian hulls are adjusted every month. Why would you wanna know that? Curiousity? Or planning to impliment such standards to your own ship?"

Jacqueline Diamant had been moving between settlements for a few weeks now, looking over the populace and distinguishing the tourists from the businessmen and the rich from the poor.  She was careful to stay away from society that was *too* wealthy for now.  After all, the rich didn't stay rich by gambling it all away on a game of cards.

The balance the opossum was finding now was the primary reason that she was currently in the Rush Settlement.  She'd just finished talking over a deal to buy a small lot of land near the heart of the settlement.  It'd been expensive, but she was willing to take the chance that it would pay off in the end. Still, the Tharian she'd brought the land from had to have his people talk it over with her father's people to properly finalize the investment.  That would probably keep her business for the day on hiatus, which meant that she had a little free time to get a better handle on what sorts of creatures populated this specific area.

Of course, in her mind, there was no better place to end the work day and pick up information than a local bar.  With that thought in mind, she began walking down the streets in search of a pub, bar, or whatever drinking establishment this area of the settlement had.

Joe and T'shock are approached by a small white bunny with purple bat wings who's wearing mechanic's overalls.  Clearly not a Blissian, but could be mistaken for one at a distance.

"Greetings and Salutations, my friends!" he addresses them with a confident smile, spinning his lucky wrench in his right hand with his other resting in his over-sized tool pouch, "Not to needle-nose into your conversation, but I couldn't help but overhear my favorite phrase, 'implement such standards to your own ship' and I just HAD to come over to offer that I ply my trade, kupo."

With an elegant bow, he introduces himself.

"Nono Moogle's the handle, my fortunate comrades, and upgrading ships is my specialty, Kupo.  For you, the first upgrade is absolutely free of charge, kupo!  Priceless, you might say!  Lucky t'was I who came to offer my wrench, for there's many a mech-hack-nick who'd try and screw you.  Give you the shaft!  Wrench money from your pockets, kupo!  Not I!  No no!  Not at awl!"

With that he proudly produces an official looking diploma with large words scripted across the top.  (It reads "Certified Master Moogle Mechanic" if you happen to be able to read Mog-ese.)
This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Sat 26 July 2008.

  Joe could comment on this recent situation right now, but opted to answer the first question he was asked, well, first.  “At the moment, it’s mostly curiosity.”  Why plan to implement standards when you already have?

  Back to Nono “I could probably say something about a lack of good business sense, but then the fact I’d suggest she takes the free upgrade as opposed to making my own sales pitch means I don’t have any either.”

  Considering the diploma, this was one of those times Joe wondered why Humans were practically the only ones who went with the consideration of using a language that didn’t require extra effort for others to understand.

T'shock's attention is diverted from Joe as she looks down at Nono. "You do any kind of upgrade?" She was surprised at first that such an offer would come along. Then she remembered where she was and that it's quite possible this is just some guy looking to make her ship "better" only to break down in a week so she has to have it serviced again. But giving this guy the benefit of a doubt, she holds her tongue on that matter.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:53, Thu 24 July 2008.

Nono poses proudly with a broad grin at T'shock's question.  "I can tool in anything from a coffee maker to a quantum accelerator and beyond, kupo!  As for business sense, you drive home a good point, my shrewd friend.  Perhaps a partnership is in our future?  I'm new 'round these parts and I plan to ratchet up my reputation.  What I get out of the deal is your assurance that you'll convey to your connections what a kupo-riffic job I did!  You'll have bragging rights that you're the first of your makes and models to have the good fortune of having been upgraded by yours truely, kupo-po!"

After spinning around gleefully, Nono's grin seems a little uneasy.  He realizes too late just how boastful that sounded... even for him.  Oh well.  Sales is all about bragging anyway.

  Joe never quite got the ‘do a crappy job so they need more work’ thing.  Considering they would likely call someone else to take care of it after finding out the last person sucked.

  “I think I’ll pass on the first upgraded part, but I guess you could also point out I’m not too bad at this if you felt like it.  Less doubting you’re handywork, more preferring to fix things myself really.”

T'shock scrunches her face a little. "How about you two come see my ship? I'll be happy to take you up on your offer, Nono, and I'll have... uh... what IS your name anyway?" this last bit directed, of course, at Joe.

In the marketplace a second hand dealer gets a few new items to sell.  Several stasis pods sit open in front of his shop, a freshly printed sign declares [Just arrived!  Barely used!  State of the art stasis storage units 5000- Free delivery!].  A single stasis unit sits to the side, a much smaller sign advertises. [750-  Runs! As-Is. Make us a deal! Free delivery!]. The lone stasis tube hums quietly while it's monitor remains dark, the door stuck shut.  The shopkeeper wanders around having various high tech lab equipment loaded into his shop.

Nono can hardly contain his excitement!  This'll be his first up-close look at a real Barakian ship!  And a chance to upgrade it to boot!

"Kupopopo!!" he exclaims with an arial loop-the-loop.  He'd love to talk shop with Joe, now that his suspicions are confirmed that Joe is a mechanic, but he's too excited to speak.  Besides... Joe was just asked an important question.

  While some had a habit of overly dramatic introduction, Joe had the bad habit of constantly forgetting that whole ‘introduce yourself’ thing.
  “It’s Joe, and now that just leaves you on the nameless list.”  Of course, when people remind him of this then he doesn’t exactly see the issue in doing the same to them.

 “Although I’m sure you could fill us in on the way if you wanted.”

  OOC Style: I have got to stop waiting till I’m about to tilt over to post things.  I’m feeling I’m forgetting something here.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:45, Tue 29 July 2008.

T'shock is a little unhappy from the way Joe asked her name. She feels like somewhere in there was a hidden insult. But she decides she has no solid evidence to back her feelings and just says, "My name is T'shock." as she leads the way to her ship.

Jacqueline walks out of an establishment that is not-so-ambiguiously named N'glair's Pub about an hour after her initial entry.  Aside from sampling the bitter local brew, it'd been a complete bust for information or a good drink. The most she was able to gather was that people in the Rush Settlement generally didn't seem to feel like they had a lot to lose by staying in the new colony.

At least that meant that a casino may be a worthwhile investment after all.  It made her fur bristle with pride at having chosen such a place to start up business.

As she walked further down, she came across the ever-present marketplace that every new settlement never seemed to be without. More creatures than she cared to pay attention to were selling clothing, food, and even weapons in the hopes of starting a new small business, or perhaps just making some pocket change.  Some of the products interested her a little, but she didn't see much overall that she couldn't do without.

One shop, however, does catch enough of her interest to warrant her coming over: the high-tech seller with the various stasis pods and lab equipment.  It's not the equipment itself that interests her so much as one detail she notices...

"Stasis Units for 5000 credits each, except for one at 750?" She walks up to the shopkeeper as she speaks, nodding to his merchandise. "Is there something wrong with that one?"

The shopkeeper makes a beeline towards Jacqueline as if he's able to smell the money on her, "Oh!  This one.  I got a warehouse full of lightly used equipment.  Some biomed company liquidated thier labs so I got a deal on a huge lot of barely used equipment.  This one specifically still works, it's just locked, and I don't want to spend the time and money having a technician come in to fix the monitor, and get it unlocked.  It runs great, and it has it's own power supply.  It'd make a great parts machine if you buy the rest of the stasis pods." he explains giving the cheaper pod a firm slap.  "And quite frankly, I just want it off my lot.  If I can't sell it I'm sure I could get a good price from the scrap yard."  He makes a show of thinking, then declares "You know, if you bought it here for 750 I bet you could get eight or nine hundred from the junk shop.  Working power supplies fetch good prices." he says pouring on the used car salesman charm.

On the way to T'shock's ship, Nono's big ears catch wind of the words "working" and "junk" in the same sentence and his fur stands on end.  Nothing breaks his heart like a perfectly good machine being tossed into a junkyard to rust.


"Excuse me, my friends," he says to Joe and T'Shock in the most heroic voice he can muster, "But it sounds like there's some rescuing that needs done straightedge away!"

With that he makes a beeline through the crowd toward the stasis pod salesman.


This message was last edited by the player at 23:34, Thu 31 July 2008.

The shopkeeper isn't the only one who smells money.  Across the street, Lucky, one of Ollen's most recent "business partners," has also noticed Jacqueline's clearly refined taste in clothes.

"I'll take your offer into consideration," he answers the shady real-estate salesman he was speaking to, dismissing any "limited time" objections.  He then turns to watch how Jacqueline carries herself more closely.

"What do you think, Frank?" he asks his the guide he hired to show him around, "Could she be the one I've been looking for?"

"Oh please," answers the wolf, annoyed, "Not a chance.  No muscle following her around for starters.  You really from Tavern?  I'm starting to think you've been yanking my chain."

Lucky chuckles and rubs behind his head, but offers no explanation.

  Joe nodded in response to T’shock’s answer.  “Nice to have met yah... And would this be life in danger rescue, or more personal ideals course of action?...  I can take a lake of horrified screams that it’s the latter?”  The first bit having been directed at the winged lady, the rest of his commentary had an obvious direction.

  Joe shrugged.  “Well, considering he’s the one who’s gonna be working on your ship, I guess heading there without him wouldn’t turn out so well.”

T'shock gets a Jigglypuff style frown and marches after Nono, looking like she's gunna get in a fight. Well SHE thinks she is, anyway. She has no idea what Nono is "rescuing."

Of course, she isn't rude to Joe and responds, "Then let's follow him." she says, pretty well stating the obvious.

Jacqueline eyes the salesman carefully, "So you're willing to take a possible loss of 150 credits?  From the looks of it, I doubt it'd fetch half that much, though it's not totally unrepairable or unusable."

Her eyes glitter as she looks around the shop.  She senses a deal to be made, and Jacqueline Diamant was never one to walk away from a deal empty-handed. She points out one of the normal stasis pods, "I'll tell you what... I'm in need of one Stasis pod personally, but I could use a spare. I'll buy that standard pod for your asking price, but I'll be generous and also give you 500 credits to take that piece of junk off of your hands. For a damaged piece of equipment, that's more than fair." She wasn't entirely sure why she wanted to buy the cheaper pod, but it might have been either the alcohol starting to take effect, her own desire to make a deal, or a combination of both. Rationally, she knows that this shopkeeper is ripping her off just as much on the 5000 credit pods, if not more, but she presses on.

The shopkeeper already has a bill of sale displayed on his tablet computer, which he hands directly to Jaqueline.  "Sold!  Like I said, can't have busted old junk skanking up my good product.  And that pod isn't just your standard apple keeper.  These were sold from Genitech labs, you can bet they don't buy your run of the mill budget equipment.  That old busted up one will make a good parts machine.  So, the two most important questions: 1.  Hard currency or e-transfer, and 2. Where do you want me to drop these off?".  He asks while working his weasly smile.

"Busted old junk!" Nono echoes in an offended tone, examining the readings on his diagnostics device, "Why, this marvelous machine is in nearly new condition, kupo!  In fact, even though it was left turned on it's power supply is happily humming full bore.  The last owner merely neglected this sturdy stasis pod and a mere tune-up would likely have it in performing perfectly!"

With one hand, Nono brandishes his diploma like it's an FBI badge, and with the other he flips a screwdriver into the air and catches it.

"If I may?" he asks, his posture indicating he's ready to repair the machine on the word "go"

T'shock gets a priceless look of pure confusion, disgust and amusement all at once. She wants to stop this, but can't help thinking it's A) None of her business and B) Making her pretty curious. She is prepared to defend this "Moogle" if necessary since she realizes Nono is basically about to scare off a customer which will tick off both the customer AND the salesman. After all... with the thing repaired, it will be worth a lot more.

  Apathy is a healthy emotion (such as it id considering the definition).

  For example, you have someone running off on you in order to give enthusiastic, if questionably timed (not that Joe was much better in that regard a lot) exposition about what they intended to do.

  Now he could worry about this, or he could be amused by the situation at others expense.  The former wasn’t much fun, and the latter wasn’t very nice.

  Of course, the end result wasn’t much different from T’shock’s at the moment.  Stand on the proverbial sidelines and see what happens.

The merchant looks down at the little moogle, looking slightly annoyed, "Wait'cher turn, kiddo.  Me and the lady have some buisness to conclude here.  If yer looking for a job go inside and fill out a resume."  Apparently this merchant can also smell empty pockets as well.

Lucky was thinking of casually stepping forward and helping the pretty possum resist some impulse buying, though this would be the first he's seen anyone buy two stasis pods on an impulse, but he decides to stay put and continue to watch from a distance.  For one, there's the unusual timing of an offer to fix the broken machine.  That isn't how cons are supposed to work!  He's probably not an accomplice.  On top of that there's two rather large persons following said mechanic, one with the look like she's ready to pull someones head off as soon as look at 'em.

"I've seen a lot of interesting new things in my travels," Lucky muses half to himself, half to his guide, "but this takes the cake."

"This could get interesting!" answers the wolf excitedly, always ready to watch a good fight.

Jacqueline looks down at Nono with a bit of surprise, but also a smirk before she turns back to the shopkeeper, "We already have a deal of 5,500 credits for the pair of them, right? Then run that through with an e-transfer. Jacqueline Diamant." She indicates her name as she hands the shopkeeper a family credit card.  It's more in her father's name than her own, but she was free to make any purchases for the new prospective casino that she felt were necessary. Storage is always necessary.

"As for the moving part... why don't you hold that thought for now?" While watching to make sure the shopkeeper runs the card accurately, she turns an eye and her voice down to Nono, "So... You say that you can repair it?  How much are you willing to do it for?"

The shopkeeper nods, running her card through the reader, inspecting the data that pops up.  "Ahh, there we go Ms. Diamant, 5500 credits.  And I'll only hold onto these for a day so you two'd better figure out where you want it." he says.  He looks down at Nono, wondering what he thinks he can do that the techs at the auction house couldn't or didn't bother doing.  "Oh, and if you end up breaking them, there's no refunds." he cautions.

"Your promise that you'll not scrap this fine machine is payment enough," Nono answers Jacqueline, ignoring the salesman's comment though clearly offended, "It wrenches my heart when a perfectly good gizmo gets sent to the garbage, kupo.  Oh... and you'll recommend me to your friends, won't you?"

With that, Nono pops open the service panel and focuses in on what his diagnostics tool indicated might be the problem.

"Just as I thought!" he announces triumphantly while holding up a scorched component in front of his face, "The display power relay needs replaced.  I could probably craft one in my spacecraft and save the 'order the part and wait for it to arrive' hassle if you'll let me take this with me."


This message was last edited by the player at 23:29, Wed 20 Aug 2008.

In Nono's hands the damaged circut board looks neatly cooked just as he declares.  Even without the monitor's circut board the stasis unit keeps running smoothly.

T'shock is once again wondering what the gods are up to if they have someone like Nono running around finding how to fix something when it seems like such an easy problem and Nono seems so... unassuming. T'shock steps closer as if to indicate the moogle has her protection should anyone think of stirring much trouble. But she considers how Nono is already on one job only to grab another. How many fix-up jobs did this moogle have when he offered assistance to T'shock? She decides to speak her mind. "You know... before you got distracted with this, you offered to look at my ship. How many jobs do you take on in a given day at random and how long do your customers wind up waiting?"
This message was last edited by the player at 08:54, Tue 26 Aug 2008.

  It was to Joe’s mild embarrassment that T’shock’s good point had completely skipped over his train of thought.

  He had been considering both why they would need to bring the whole thing with him in order to find or make the replacement to the relay.  Well, that and what someone who had just paid for the thing would think of someone they had never met before  rushing up and asking to take the whole thing with them.

  “Multitasking seems to work best when you’re able to actually multitask.”

  Of course, there were also the implications of a stasis unit being sold when it was active.  Would you consider it normal if a washing machine was doing it’s job when you bought it?  Would you check to see if it came with free T-shirts if you still bought it despite that oddity?  You would kind of have to by default if you ever planned on using it yourself.

  “As a timesaver for all involved, you do remember where we are right?  They sell those things.  And as you casually demonstrated, anyone can safely take them out and put them in while a machine is still going.”
  In THE FUTURE!^TM (or whatever this counts as), such safety concerns were no longer an issue unless needed for dramatic tension.  Joe's life has often been made easier thanks to this.

  With all the many and various fancy displays on things to let people know it was actually fancy sci-fi technology instead of regular technology, it would be a surprise if nothing could be found off the shelf.

  Though admittedly, if Nono had one of his own or fixed one up, it would probably be a bit cheaper.

Jacqueline 'hrms' at the offer Nono gives her, rubbing the underside of her muzzle in thought. "So, you'll repair it, just like that, huh?  Even though I admit that 500 credits is pocket change... I still would like to keep track of my purchases.  How long will it take and where is this spacecraft of yours located?"

After asking her question, she motions for the Moogle to wait as she turns to the shopkeeper and gives him a business card, a simple vanilla coloured card with the address and insignia of the Diamant Casino on Tavern: a crimson diamond with an ornate 'J' in the center of it. One the back, there's a scrawl indicating the address of her family's current waiting ship in the colony. "The address on the back there is where I'd like the pods to be sent, thanks.  That'll be effective for a week, so if it can't be delivered in that time, then send it to the main address there. There's no extra cost for that, right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:53, Sat 30 Aug 2008.

The shopkeeper inspects the card, "Hmm, Gerard spaceport pad 3 mooring 12.  I have my boys heading in that area to pick up a load later tonight.  How's 16:00 hours today sound?  And yeah, as the sign says, free delivery." the shopkeeper says making a note on his tablet PC.

"Yes I did, my tall, red, and beautiful friend," Nono answers T'shock with a confident smile, "And not long at all.  As you can plainly percieve, this was an emergency, kupo!  Another fine machine rescued from the clutches of the junkyard by Nono the Great!  Oh-ho-ho!"

He makes a note of where Jacqueline's ship is located as he answers her question.

"My ship is but a hop and a skip from here, most lucred lady, but I move too and fro from time to time.  So I'll simply stand and deliver the patched part at... 16:00 hours, kupo?"

He offers Jacqueline his business card and waits for her to exchange his for hers.


This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Wed 03 Sept 2008.

Lucky relaxes a little now that the situation seems to have calmed down some.  His wolf friend looks disappointed.

T'shock mutters to herself, "Psh... rescued. The thing was going to be sold anyway. And nothing is wrong with having good spare parts..." But for now, she stands by, waiting on Jaqueline and Nono with her arms folded, keeping a neutral expression. Though she notices the disappointed wolf. "What?" she asks the wolf blatantly, as if she had been paying attention to the fact he was watching.

  While ‘rescue’ might be a bit melodramatic considering the situation, there were worse things to obsess over.  Not that Joe was much better in some areas though.

  While T’Shock may or may not have noticed the wolf type guy earlier than their comment just now, Joe had not noticed Lucky till right then.  Hey, the look of ‘oh good, no hassle’ was always a good one.  It meant a lack of a hassle, after all.

  At least, he hoped that stayed the case anyways.  It was so hard to tell sometimes.

Jacqueline agrees to the shopkeeper's offered time and turns to Nono as he speaks to her. Upon his offering of his business card, Jacqueline produces another one of hers and exchanges. She looks over Nono's card and does her best to store his name in her memory

"16:00 seems to be a popular time... That will be just fine.  If anything goes wrong, I want you to get in contact with me as well. I've rarely heard of a Moogle that was poor with technology, but better safe than sorry." Her eyes widen as she really sees, for the first time, the creatures that are with Nono. She hadn't really been paying attention to Joe or T'Shock throughout the multiple business exchanges.  However, as both seem rather preoccupied, she figures that addressing them would be fairly pointless.

She nods officially to the Moogle, "So, Nono? A pleasure doing business with you. If everything finishes well, then perhaps we can work out some form of compensation, such as an invitation to our new casino here once it's built?  They say that the first night is the luckiest." Jacqueline smiles smugly as she walks back from the shopkeeper's counter to give any other potential shoppers room.

(Skipping ahead...)

It's 15:30, a half hour early for the delivery.  An unmarked delivery van hovers up to the Diamant's ship, parking near it's cargo bay door.  A pair of delivery people walk out of the van, bantering as delivery people are want to do.  15 minutes and 2 hover-jack trips later the van pulls away leaving the stasis units unsupervised, and ready for someone ELSE to put them into Jaqueline's ship.

Nono smiles at Jacqueline's compliment to his people, though this is the first he's met anyone in the area who's even heard of a Moogle.  "Well of course she's heard of us, kupo!" he corrects himself, "She's got a nose for a good machine!"

"It would be my pleasure, ma'am," He answers with a courteous bow.

He then turns to T'Shock, "What a serendipitous surprise that was!  Such a superior surveyor of servos she is, and now I have her card!  Now let's go see this super-duper ship of yours, kupo!"



(For skipping ahead purposes, assuming nothing prevents him, after marveling at T'Shock's ship and boasting about how little could be done to improve on such perfection, (then contradicting himself by offering a long list of "minor" changes he'd love to try), Nono would immediately set to replicating the part and then travel to the delivery point on his chocobo.)
This message was last edited by the player at 11:40, Tue 23 Sept 2008.

The wolf grins nervously at T'Shock's question, and is relieved at Nono's talking with her.  Gives him an excuse to not answer the question.

"Casino you say?" Lucky asks Jacqueline with an easy-going smile, "You're talking my language!  Allow me to introduce myself, Madam.  My name is Lucas Huntington-Whiteley, but my friends call me Lucky.  During the day I'm an investor for Castrophie Corp, but at night I'm a sucker for a classy casino."

Lucky nods in an informal bow to her, hoping he wasn't too forward or casual with her.  Judging from the fact that she so easily did business with "commoners" without so much as a condescending look, he's guessing she actually prefers a more personal approach.

(OOC: Roll a DC 20 Knowledge: "Rich People Gossip" check to determine whether your character has heard of the Huntington-Whiteley.  30 or better and your character also has heard there was some sort of scandal involving the family.)
This message was last edited by the player at 16:47, Sat 20 Sept 2008.

T'shock is still a bit suspicious of Nono's claims, though she has figured him for a harmless guy personally at least. Curious of the rich girl, though, T'shock follows Nono to the meeting spot. One might almost get the impression T'shock is Nono's bodyguard. Which technically, T'shock kind of is... feeling Nono could very quickly get himself in trouble and seeing him as a decent guy, T'shock feels she'll pay him for his "free services" by serving as a scarecrow until he's done modifying her ship's lower-end technologies (Namely, the things Nono would have brought up).

T'shock may be weak for a Barrakian, but it's amazing what a race's reputation will do for you.

  If T’Shock filled in both the customer and potential bodyguard slot regarding the situation, where did this leave Joe?  Why, slightly behind her and to the left of course.  Wait, that’s a little bit too literal.

  What was the term?  Ah yes, curious bystander could probably work.  A lack of anything better to do at the moment wasn’t even a requirement for such, but a requirement Joe had going for him anyways.

  Although he was curious what area on the scale of ‘can be repaired where now?’ Nono’s improvements would be on.  He was optimistic it would fall toward the ‘Any shop, and sometimes the owner’ area for the moment.

(OOC: It seemed condusive to the flow of the storyline that I go ahead with the repair rather than wait.)

Nono arrives on the scene moments after the delivery truck pulls away, fully expecting to have to spend most of his 15-minutes-early time convincing Jaqueline's security chief that he has her permission to board her ship and tinker with the...

"Kupo-ho-ho!" he gleefully chuckles, "They delivered them early!  And with plenty of elbow-grease room for me to work with!  How fortuitous!  How thoughtful!"

With a flutter of his tiny purple wings he dismounts his chocobo and begins the 5 minute repair.  Open panel, clean leads, connect replacement part, pop into housing, close panel, flip switch!  Piece of cake, kupo!


This message was last edited by the player at 11:58, Tue 23 Sept 2008.

As Nono expected, as soon as he reinstalls te missing part the monitor lights up showing some sort of monitoring screen.  At the top of the screen there's a scrollable window that reads [C.H.A.D. unit #0006 status].  The earliest date shown is over 2 years ago with a single line of text, 'Psychological fitness test results: failed.  Unit is defective, terminate and recycle.'.

Below the status screen are a series of diagnostic charts that look like random line graphs, and bar charts each one labeled with numbers with without measurement units.  One of the line graphs could be an Electrocardio graph (heart monitor) of a person who's heart is beating only once every few minutes, but it could just as easilly be measuring minute power surges.

It wouldn't take much effort to poke through the touch screen menus to find the controls to open the stasis unit.  There are no passwords or lockouts currently on the panel.  Apparently the monitor broke down with the controls unlocked.

(in the past)

Jacqueline smirks curiously as the Moogle rejoins T'Shock. She doesn't know much about typical Barrakian/Moogle relationships, but it still looks like strange company to her.

When Lucky approaches her, she expects him to be some sort of common wanderer or maybe even a customer for the salesman, but she's caught pleasantly off-guard as he tells her that he's an investor.  Not too great a difference from her own job today... Interesting.  Of course, in a place like this, she's not certain if he's telling the truth or not, but one more pocketbook being used at her family's casino is a plus. Keeping with tradition, she bowed her head in return.

"Huntington-Whiteley, huh?  Well, if you're looking for a 'classy casino', then you won't have to look any further.  Diamant is famous for high class and high stakes all over Tavern.  As I said, the casino is in the process of being built here, but, once it is, I'll personally seek you out for an invitation to the grand opening night." She nods and makes a mental note of the cat and his name, reminding herself to look it up later and see what she can find to see if this cat is who he says he is. The same should probably go for Nono, but he had a card, which gave him a little more credibility.

After excusing herself and wishing everyone she spoke with a good day, she makes her way back to her ship.

(Not so far in the past)

Jacqueline finished her business officially with the Tharian her family had purchaced the land from. For all intents and purposes, the new casino would be a go.  All that was left now was getting the workers over to the colony and construction started, which would probably be a day to two later. How long the casino would take to build was anyone's guess, but several months was probably a generous estimate. With technology constantly improving, however, who knew?

(In the semi-sorta present)

Jacqueline is waiting patiently for the shipment to arrive, playing a game of solitaire, as it's a quiet night.  She had no idea that a new colony could be so boring at night, and it didn't help that her father had security keep an eye on her while she was over here so that she wouldn't get into something dangerous during the dark hours.
An announcement goes off, telling her that the shipment has arrived. Glad at it being early, and for the excuse to do something else, Jacqueline makes her way to the cargo area of the ship to make sure everything goes smoothly, and to hopefully greet that Moogle when and if he arrives with the spare part.

(Closer to the present)

The loading team is slow to arrive to move the pods into the ship, and Nono has already started his work by the time they arrive. Seeing the unfamiliar face basically toying with their property, they make a silent call to security.

(The present)

After Nono gets the pod up and running, a pair of tall, lean, and black-suited oppossums rush to the area, looking at the Moogle and his team threateningly.
"You're unauthorized to vandalize or disrupt Diamant property! State your business or we will be forced to remove you."

As the two marsupials in black try to intimidate the group, Jacqueline is just reaching the cargo bay, looking curiously at what's going on, but too far away to stop or get involved in it yet.

(In the past)

Before Lucky can offer his business card and continue pouring on his charm, Jacqueline has excused herself.

"Wow," Lucky thinks to himself as he returns the card he was going to give her to his pocket, "Busy lady.  Diamant?  Never been in one of those casinos, buuut that's a good thing come to think of it."

Thinking back to that time of his life is far from Lucky's favorite pass time, so he focuses back on the matter at hand.

"Where did she say the delivery would be made?" Lucky asks to anyone in the area who cares to answer.

"Gerard something-or-other," answers Lucky's wolf companion.

No one else seems willing to answer Lucky's question.  (Nono by now has completely tuned out anything not Barakian spaceship related.)

"Ah well," Lucky sighs, "I suppose that and the name Diamant should be enough to find it.  I can offer my card there."

(In the present)
Lucky was right.  The port authority was more than happy to co-operate and give an Ollen representative the location of the Diamant ship... for a price.  Lucky arrives at the dock and overhears the distant raised voices of the two Diamant security officers.

"I hope everything's alright," he tells the wolf in a worried tone before motioning for the canine to investigate.  The wolf rolls his eyes and heads in the direction of the voices and Lucky follows several paces behind.

T'shock is a Barrakian. It doesn't matter how much self doubt she has, she won't be intimidated. She folds her arms. "This moogle here offered to repair this damaged piece of equipment for some young lady named Jaqueline." she answers with minor annoyance, but thorough confidence. "Me and the human here are just watching and I'm making sure nobody harms the moogle. At least until he has done what he has offered to do for my ship."

T'shock twitches a wing. "But just because you work for someone who thinks they own this place already doesn't mean you can boss me around. I didn't do anything... yet." that last word drenched in animosity, but T'shock keeps her posture unthreateningly relaxed.

  “Considering the given requirement to not be removed was to state our business, we should be all set anyway.”  Joe considered how far one could get taking such extra literally, but even he doubted if someone stated ‘I’m here to rob the place’ or similar they could use it as an excuse.

  Not to say it wouldn’t be mildly amusing, so long as it happened to someone else.

  “Of course, at least security was considerate enough to wait until Nono finished working before doing anything.”

 Intimidation.  Not something Joe was good at a lot of the time when he tried.  Considering he wasn’t trying now, it was a given he failed hard at being threatening to the guards.  Or at least he hoped that was the case.

As the altercation between the Diamant security forces and the....  Random collection of repair rescue forces occur something else happens.  Something, inconvenient.

The freshly repaired monitor begins to flash red and yellow, [Oxygen level critical!  Emergency reanimation sequence, activated.]  Inside the electronic coffin, CHAD begins to stir, his lungs burning from the stale, noxious air.  As the altercation outside continues loud thumping sounds can be heard from inside the stasis unit.

The noises grow louder, and the cover of the stasis unit suddenly starts growing dents shortly before the cover blows open, the hinges barely holding on as the cover slams itself into the tarmac.

The C.H.A.D. unit sits up, holding onto the sides of the stasis unit, panting.  He takes a few moments to take in a few lungfulls of fresh air.  Once he's taken care of the immediate need of air, he looks down at himself, tugging at the sensors that are stuck onto his bare chest, removing them one by one.
Once the sensors are removed he begins to stand up in the stasis pod, revealing to all that whomever left him in that pod never bothered to dress him, just left him there in his birthday suit.

T'shock stares in wonder at the man sitting up shirtless and leans forward a little while tilting her head slightly. But when he stands up, T'shock lets out a squeak and covers her mouth before quickly rushing to spread a wing in front of the guy's mid section / crotch area so nobody can see it. She herself having her back turned to him.

"....anyone got something he can wear?" she manages to let out.

In response to the security officers' command, Nono holds up the business card Jacqueline gave him, insignia facing them.  He pauses while his friends defend his right to be there.

"Madam Diamont..." he begins, only to be interrupted by the Frankensteinian rebirth of CHAD.  What kind of monster would leave a person stuck inside a stasis pod?!  Who is this person?  Is he going to be alright?  He hovers there, mouth agape.

"...Kupo."  O.O


This message was last edited by the player at 22:34, Mon 29 Sept 2008.

  Joe meanwhile, was considering the dents in the ex-door, along with that pleasant message about psychological fitness failure.  They apparently didn’t think an obvious passing grade in physical fitness was worth listing though.

  “My pants are currently in use unfortunately.”  Proof that Joe has tact.  No, not his comment just now.  The fact he realized the possible implications of saying something like ‘if you want him to have pants so much, give him yours’.

  “Of course, considering the timing, It’s probably better for them it happened here rather than in the guys store.”

Lucky and his escort freeze in place and just stare in shock when they get close enough to discover it's birthday suit day at the Gerard Spaceport.


This message was last edited by the player at 00:03, Sat 04 Oct 2008.

The guards seem to accept the explanation for Nono's presence readily enough, becoming much more agreeable upon seeing the business card. However, T'Shock's attitude does little to make them trust the ragtag crew of characters any more.

As CHAD's pod opens up, they let momentary panic show, looking accusingly at Nono for being the source of the problem, but eventually finding themselves staring at what emerges, open mouthed.

"Looks like I got more than I bargained for." Jacqueline says with a bored chuckle as she walks out of the cargo area and approaches the group. She raises a brow as she looks at CHAD when he stands up, "A lot more... This is my stasis unit, isn't it? Does that mean that he's mine too?"

The oppossum security guards quickly move and take place at Jacqueline's sides, trying to look official and regain their composure. Jacqueline looks at Nono with light humour in her eyes, "I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that this isn't an added gift from you and your friends..."

CHAD looks down towards T'Shock as she spreads her wings out before him.  His curiosity gets the best of him as he reaches out and places his palm against the leathery wings.  He feels his way down to one of the bones that frame her wing.

After exploring the sense of touch for a moment he takes his hand off of T'Shock and looks up at the group, "Who's my comander?" he asks looking from person to person, not recognising any of thier species, not even the Human.

As Jaqueline speaks up, he turns to face her, "You... Bought me?" he asks. He steps down out of his stasis pod, and walks up to Jaqueline, likely towering well over her flanking guards.  He stands at ease, feet shoulder width apart, his hands folded at the small of his back.  "C.H.A.D. unit reporting.  Awaiting general orders." he states oficially.

T'shock blushes deeply, tensing up a little as CHAD touches her wings. Upon seeing CHAD move away without concern about clothing, T'shock watches CHAD with a look that says "What a nutjob" before hurrying to follow him and keeping him covered. "Anybody?!" she asks in a semi-annoyed tone. "I can't be caught following him around like this all day!"

Now there's a barrakian who cares.

Jacqueline thinks as she looks CHAD over, unable to keep from snickering at T'shock's actions.  Her security guards are more than a little uncomfortable at the towering 'thing', but they do their best to keep their composure and not lose their dignity.

Jacqueline chuckles, looking at T'shock, "He's clearly not a typical biological creature, so I think your modesty is more than a little wasted on him.  Still, if he's really mine, I don't want him wandering around and scaring folks away from our establishment..." She looks up at one of her guards, "I don't think any of the slacks we have available will fit his build. Pick up a kilt from the supply room and make sure it's the biggest one you can get."  The guard nods and bows out, giving one last look at CHAD before moving swiftly back into the ship.

Jacqueline strokes the underside of her muzzle thoughtfully as she looks at CHAD, "As for your general orders, let's try this... C.H.A.D. unit, state your purpose and why you were contained in the pod that I purchaced."

In the back of her mind, she hopes that Nono doesn't charge her for probably uncovering what was a very good, yet very unintentional investment on her part. She also hopes that he doesn't try to 'rescue' CHAD, as he seems like some kind of machine... biological or no.

  Joe wasn't particularly fond of the whole buying and selling of people sort o thing.  But there are times when it's just really obvious that someone is all about the following of orders, regardless of how stupid they may be.

  Hopefully Jacqueline wasn't the kind to give stupid... er.  "As the lady said, pants are in short supply."  ...Did he just wordplay?  Such shame.  And Kilts don't even have pockets.

  "And I doubt either of us are quite concerned enough to give him our pants."

It seems CHAD has caught more attention than anyone counted on. Rather suddenly, a large group of people show up with cameras and microphones. "Excuse me! You, next to the big guy! Is he your boyfriend? Are you part of a Barrakian strip club?" Meanwhile, another one is shoving a mic into Nono's face, "Rumor has it you were the one who rushed in to make sure this stasis pod made it into Ms Diamonte's hands. Are you and Diamonte in cahoots and did you have something to do with the cover-up of this massive, naked man?" Still another interviews Joe, "Any relation? You both are large humans... are you of the same origin as this man?" Another interviewer tries to yell in Jacq's direction, "Ms Diamonte! Did you buy this stasis pod knowing what was inside? If so, do you own a slave trade division?" What kind of slavery is also very obviously insinuated by a few other questions and comments from the crowd such as "I don't blame her... LOOK at him! He's so... wow..."

Somehow, Lucky is lucky enough to get a sensible question, "Sir, could you tell me what in the world is going on?"

Along with the crowd of people, Drizzeleaf arrives. Upon hearing all the potential scandal, she can't help but laugh her little heart out as she spirals down and crash-lands on a nearby wooden crate and makes a little squeek sound from the impact before continuing to laugh. Drizzeleaf takes a big gasp of breathe as her eyes widen and she hesitates a moment, looking at the whole scene. She then proceeds to laugh some more. Hard. She pulls a little hanky, apparently from nowhere, and whipes at her tearing eyes with it. "STAAAAHAHAHAHAAAP!" she yells while laughing. "I CAN'T BREAHTE!!!" she just continues laughing, grabbing her belly and kicking her legs while laying on her side, wings twitching.

Speaking of tearing up, T'shock looks like she's going to cry as her face contorts in anger and deeeeep embarrassment. "He is NOT my boyfriend! And I am NOT part of any strip clubs!" her voice cracks a little from her trying not to cry from the embarrassment. She quietly curses herself in Barrakian since she is losing her cool and thus, showing she is weak.

Meanwhile, about two blocks northeast and inside a Strife Alliance embassy, a young (And by young, we're talking about 14 years old) mouse girl is looking over some info on her computer screen one more time before a guard peeks in the office and says, "Sgt. Lincoln, your newest charge has arrived."

Amy looks over at the door as a bat with large, thick glasses is escorted in. Once all the saluting and such is over with and the escort dismissed, Amy says, "Watch." sits back down and turns on a nearby monitor, playing back a piece of news:

The news clip shows that a building that was producing materials for the Research and Development branch of this settlement caught fire and was all but annihilated before the firemen were able to put the fires out.

Amy stops the recording and turns to face the bat. "What the public doesn't know - and hopefully never will - is that the fire is suspected of being started on purpose as a means of sabotage. By all means, find out what is going on... but there are very key things I want to know and for you to focus on in particular: First - I believe the Tharians are too opportunistic to not look for an excuse to blame the Strife Alliance so that this embassy can be kicked off this settlement. Therefor, I want you to make sure that will not be the case. That is your top priority. Secondarily, I want you to find out what was once inside that now burned building. There is a chance the Tharians themselves sabotaged their own building to cover up something more nefarious, but I don't want to jump to conclusions just yet. Do you have any questions?"

Amy doesn't know if the bat is aware of why she is in the position she's in, despite her age. The fact that this bat was not likely warned of such a thing probably compounds his curiosity about her. Which leads Amy to other thoughts as she prepares her mind for his response.

(Meanwhile)

Nash is indeed surprised when he first sees Sgt. Lincoln. He'd been told about her as being quite impressive, among other superlatives that he'd mentally filed away before coming here, but the one thing he hadn't been told of was her age. She was more than ten years younger than him.

It surprised him enough that he fumbled his first salute to her, giving several more afterwards to make up for it.

His eyes focus behind his thick lenses as Amy turns on the monitor and the situation is played out for him. When she turns to him afterwards, Nash jumps to attention and listens to her closely, taking all of the info in. His ears twitch as she gives her theories of what the Tharians might have done. He'd remembered reading about their culture, and it seemed like a plausible situation... Still, he made a mental note to recheck his data to see if that was counter-cultural.

His mind hiccups back into reality as Amy asks him for questions. That means that he has to talk, say something... What to say...

"Uhm... No? Wait wait... y-yeah. Yeah, I do have a question... or a few, if that's okay?" He adjusts his glasses, going through some of the more rational concerns in his mind. After clearing his throat, "Do we have the coordinates of that building so that I know where to look? And... uhm... do I need any sort of cover or disguise? And a contact... Do I have a contact to report to in the settlement?"

He calms himself a little, getting the most obvious of his questions out of the way. "I'm... uh... sorry about all of the questions. I just want to make sure of as much as possible, Ma'am..."

  Joe had serious doubts C.H.A.D was related to him, even if it was hard to be sure if there even was anyone related to himself.  "Well, sometimes when two people fall in love, and sometimes when they don't, they have kids."  This probably wasn't the case with C.H.A.D, but refer to previous uncertainties when it came to Joe.

  "I've always wondered though, how do so many of you always mange to show up out of nowhere without anybody seeing it coming?"  The sudden stealth ambush of multiple, fully equipped news teams made even the most hardened ninja clan weep with envy.

During a media frenzy most people do thier utmost to look calm, and try not to say anything that will invite too many follow-up questions...  Unfortunately, press relations was never part of CHAD's training.

He stands at attention before Jaqueline, with T'Shock at his side, providing cover.  He proceeds to state everything he knows about himself, "My purpose is to be an expendable replacement for millitary personnel.  I am put into low survivability situations to preserve non-expendable personnel while still accomplishing the objectives given."  He says in a well practiced, confident tone as that, his own meaning of life, was programmed into his brain.

"And... There?"  he glances back at the stasis unit he was in.  "I was told to stay there by the doctor until someone got me."  He stares at the stasis unit for a long moment before looking back at Jaqueline, "But I couldn't breathe in there." he explains sounding less sure of himself.  "I think I disobeyed my orders..." he says looking around the area, as his mind wanders.

He looks to T'Shock, "I was told my Commander would give me everything I needed to follow my orders." To him, that includes clothing.  He reaches out to touch her wing again, an interesting sensation to him having never really touched anything like it before.

"Are you all members of the same unit?" he asks looking about the amassed crowd, observing the menagerie of new species that abound.

His only hope now is that everyone in Genitech, or every news agency there just ignored everything he said.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:50, Sat 18 Oct 2008.

Lucky regains his composure and straightens himself out.  Talk about your sticky situations!  If handled wrong this incident could sully the Diamant family name, bring unwanted attention to Castropie Corp, end his career, and could even become deadly depending on how unstable CHAD's programming is.  He calms himself, and takes a deep breath.

"I believe that answers your questions," he answers the crowd in general with as much authority as he can muster, as if he's appointed himself the public relations spokesman, "Clearly this experimental military android has been delivered to the wrong address.  Ms. Diamant is handling this egregious and potentially extremely dangerous error with confidence, dignity, and humor.  Survival questions come to mind such as 'What sort of ruthless and unstable terrorist organization would be involved with such a thing?' 'to what lengths will they go to silence those who know of it's existence?' and 'just how quickly can something that large tear my head off if it misinterprets something said here?'  I for one don't want these questions answered.  I plan to use my connection to Castrophie Corp. to erase my ever having been a part of this incident.  Everyone here would be wise to do the same and I'd be happy to vouch for you."

He hands a small stack of his business card to the reporter who spoke to him.

"Be so kind as to see that everyone gets my card.  Thank you."

He directs a "by your leave" nod-bow to Jacqueline.

"Ms. Diamant."

Lucky walks away, trying to hide just how nervous he is.  Hopefully, the reporters will catch the drift that sticking around is a very bad idea and that reporting on the incident is equally unwise.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:37, Sat 18 Oct 2008.

Jacqueline laughs off the question about her having a slave trade, making a light comment that she's more of a slave than any of her employees.

When CHAD starts to explain his purpose, she nods idly, going over the various functions a military grade solider like that could have in her employ... and not coming up with many quite yet. She's certain that, after a little while, some more creativity would come her way. Her thoughts are cut short by Lucky's public speech, surprised at his attempt at subtle intimidation and how he handles himself.

She smirks as he gives his parting nod to her, "Hm, of course. I'll bet it won't be the last time. There'll be the grand opening, after all."

As all of this is winding down, the oppossum security guard finally returns, carrying a sizable, plaid colored kilt for CHAD.

T'shock anxiously awaits as the security guard puts the kilt on CHAD. Once it's placed, she moves away from CHAD finally. But to Lucky, she gets lightly annoyed. "I don't care where this guy is from, as long as I'm here, he won't be harming *anyone*!" she wiggles her wings some and folds her arms. "You may be terrified of him and where he's from, but I'm sure not."

Typical barrakian pride. T'shock refused to let anyone present walk away thinking she would just shut up in the midst of what Lucky just said, lest anyone construe that to mean she's a coward.

The kilt is somehow even funnier than the guy walking around naked and acting like it's no big deal. At this point, she is in genuine danger of going unconscious from lack of air. Drizzeleaf can now no longer speak.

The crowd seems lightly uncomfortable with Lucky's statement, but they ARE the press. Death and threats of death don't scare a good portion of them... and when T'shock makes her statement, they seem encouraged to continue their questioning as they prepare to crowd Diamonte.

"Ms. Diamonte, what do you plan to do with this new military unit?"
"Lucky, what is your connection to Ollen Corp?"
"Are we going to see a one-on-one combat between the barrakian and the nudist?"

Amy nods to Nash. "Yes, you'll obviously be given the location. No, you won't need a disguise, but that is your discretion. Yes, you have a contact and your contact is me." She stands up again. "All you need do is think as though you were talking to me. I will be keeping track of your mind as you do your mission. As a psychic with telepathy, I don't need a contact for you to go through. But I will give you this to throw any spies off..." she walks around her desk to Nash and offers him a special looking communication device. "I will occasionally tell you through telepathy what false information to feed me over the comm device, depending on what we find out. Any other questions?"

Yes, Amy knows how Nash feels. But it wouldn't do any good telling him she can feel the emotions of anyone within 40 feet of her, now would it?

CHAD looks down as Jaqueline's uniformed guard hands him the kilt.  He steps into the one size too small skirt, pulling it up around his waist with some difficulty.  With the skirt he needs only 2 more articles of clothing to make him look like an unconvincing transvestite schoolgirl, or, Mari from the Project A-Ko movie, not that anyone from this planet would know that.

He's largely oblivious to the attention he's getting, as nobody is addressing him directly, he starts to wander in the direction of what sounds like labored breathing.  He suspects the gasping person is some distance away, until he passes Drizzleleaf, and the sound is behind him.  He backtracks, passes her again.  He paces past the crate Drizzleleaf is on three or four times before the thought occurs to him that the noise could be coming from the crate itself.  He kneels down, taking note of the sparrow sized person rolling around on the crate beside herself.  He watches her for a few moments before asking.  "Do you need a medic?  Are you having a siezure?" he asks reaching out to scoop the little person into his hand.  "I need a medic!" he announces loudly, and prematurely at the crowd.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:02, Tue 28 Oct 2008.

  There are times when words fail.  Often when words fail, there is a simple action that can convey a lifetimes worth of deep meaning for any given situation.

  Facepalm.

  "It's never a good sign when I seem calm and reasonable by comparison to anything, ever."  Like comparing the fanciness of Captain Hook's replacement hand to Lockjaw's tendencies to stick laser crossbows and at the end of his wrist.  But then, that would also be the sort of thing people around here technically wouldn't know.

  Joe considered the latest in the short line (it's only been what, five minutes tops?  It will be a long string later) of shenanigans.  "I think conventional CPR is out.  But it's my professional amateur opinion that the symptoms should pass if thins get less ridiculous.  Which means she'll probably be like that all week."

In the midst of the crowd of gathering onlookers, a pair of floppy, white ears fan out at CHAD's cry.  Someone needs help!

Politely making her way out of the crowd as quickly as she can, the Blissian makes a charge for the call.  When she gets close to CHAD, she holds up her staff in a helpful manner, and also to let him know that he was heard.

"A medic! Did someone call for a medic? Please, don't try to move yourself... I'm here to help!" She runs up to CHAD, not visibly phased by his appearance, "You're the one who called, yes? How can I help you?"

She gives a reassuring smile to him, as if trying to instill that, no matter what, everything will be all right.

Nono is stunned for several minutes as the events unfold.  Is that really an android?  Couldn't be...  But if it's organic, then it's a person, right?  What kind of monster would make a breed of people for cannon fodder?  How would you program them?  Is there a remote control?

Too many questions and too much craziness for Nono to handle all at once.  He tries to ignore everything else going on around him and studies the stasis pod more closely to calm his nerves.

"I see," he thinks to himself, "The inside of the glass is tarnished thanks to this ancient filter remaining un-replaced for so long.  No wonder nobody knew there was someone inside.  Without the proper tools most wouldn't even know it was turned on.  Nice power cycle system!  Highly efficient use of energy.  What's this do?"

He's very relieved when he hears there's a medic handy when needed.  He was about ready to panic.

Nash looks down in thought at Sgt. Lincoln's orders. Enemy spies? Is it going to be that bad? No... don't be stupid. Of course it is... This is a big deal. Don't panic... Don't panic...

His first mission, and he felt like he was being entrusted with so much. He still didn't feel like he knew much about his commander, but he figured that he probably didn't need to.

"Uhm... I can't think of any more questions at the moment, Ma'am..." The bat nodded his head in self-confirmation, "I'm guessing that you want me to move out soon...?"
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Thu 30 Oct 2008.

Jacqueline rubs the underside of her muzzle in thought at the reporter's question, "Well, he seems like he'd be pretty strong... and the new Diamont casino could always use another bouncer or security guard. I'm sure that, once we figure a few things out, we'll have a nice little end to all of this." She sighs, "But, really... this isn't that big of a deal. A lucky find of an android. I'm sure there are plenty of political and personal scandals for you to gawk over. At least wait until the casino is up to start that kind of bunk on me."

The oppossum arcs a brow as CHAD simply walks off, but doesn't try to stop him. He doesn't seem to be hurting anything and, really, she doesn't have the foggiest idea of what to do with him anyways. Besides, few things are funnier to her than a kilt on a massive creature like that.

Her gaurds are a little less lax about CHAD's business, keeping a tight eye on him and keeping a constant distance from him as he moves about, though they highly doubt they could do anything to really control him.

Amy simply nods, trying not to show that she's nervous by now thanks to Nash's emotions. "If you need anything, just think it." she says as a goodbye.

The crowd makes way for the Blissian, many people smiling at the sight of one, others turning into instant obsessive fans. One of the reporters faces her cameraman and says, "A-as you can see... we now have a Blissian present and offering assistance! This must be the emissary of Bliss that rumors mentioned was headed to this settlement!"

Excited, the crowd watches the Blissian work her magic, as if waiting to see a football player make a touchdown.

Drizzeleaf takes a few deep breathes before looking at the one holding her and pausing only to burst out laughing some more. I mean... how would YOU feel if some hulking nudist in a kilt was concerned for your health because you're laughing? The irony here is immense, for the very person who desires to help Drizzeleaf is the reason she is failing to take in oxygen.

T'shock seems somewhat concerned when CHAD makes his move, but when she sees the laughing Fae, T'shock just folds her arms. "It's just a Fae laughing her head off..." she doesn't know much about Fae other than that she heard they find the oddest things funny. Though this is a case she can't blame the Fae for laughing, T'shock still thinks the Fae shouldn't be laughing THIS much. Should it?

Standing at his full height, his hands cupped in front of him CHAD reaches down to show Elena the hysterical Fae who's laughing herself sick.  His cupped hands are large enough for Drizzel to build herself a 2 bedroom nest in.

"It's breathing is erratic, and it looks like it could be having a siezure."  That's his diagnosis of an overly emotional response.  Once he hears T'Shock's comment he adds, "It's head my also come off." he says with a straight face taking T'Shock much too literally.

After making his report, he stares long and hard at Elena.  The Blissian looking very familiar to him, he feels compelled to volunteer, "I've seen you before."  Though it's highly unlikely he's seen Elena before, it's more likely he's seen a Blissian before.

  And so, Joe is reminded of the difference between taking something literally, and being literal minded.  At this rate, he’s tempted to fix T’Shock’s ship so he can make sure something is done about it sometime this year.

  But that would require A) To deprive Nono of his payment... of not getting paid. Yeah.  B) Would require Joe effort, seems a more likely reason.  C) No idea where she parked, would also seem a good reason.

Elena headtilts at CHAD's summation after looking at the 'victim' in his hands. She smiles at him, picking up on his mistake.

"It's okay. She's just laughing very hard," Elena can't help giggling a little herself at the Fae, "Probably because she finds something to be really funny. Just give her a little time to herself so that she can calm down, and the worst she'll probably end up with is a little fatigue and some aching ribs." She hasn't had quite as much experience with Fae before, and seeing one laughing so hard does momentarily make her wonder if she's having a bout of hysteria, but she figures she'll deal with that if it comes up.

Elena's sizable ears pick up the reporter's words, quirking a brow at the title of Blissian emissary. Were they talking about her? As the crowd gathers around, she smiles, a little shocked at the attention and unsure what they expect her to do.

"Well... I think she'll be all right now. False alarm?" She says to the reporters hopefully.

Nono's long ears shoot straight up at the mention of the word "Blissian."  Legends abound about the Blissian technology.  Some say they even built a ship that could travel through time itself!  Probably an exaggeration, but still... every rumor has some basis!  He drops his project and flies over the crowd to take a look at Elena...  Oh yeah.  She's a Blissian healer, not a Blissian mechanic.  Still...  her ship's gotta be impressive.  Nono reaches into his belt and pulls out a pair of scissors.

"These'll fix a girl's giggles real fast," he says frankly, snipping at the air with the scissors, "Just hold 'em open near her hair and she'll snip right out of it.  Works every time.  Too bad no one ever appreciates the repair, kupo."

He offers the scissors to Elena.


This message was last edited by the player at 18:12, Thu 06 Nov 2008.

Jacqueline sighs at all of the crazed commotion about everything. To top it off, now a Blissian is added to the mix. She knew that Blissians drew plenty of positive press, but if there was an incident here and it wound up being linked to her family's casino, then they wouldn't stand a chance in this colony. She had to think about how to best handle this if it turned bad...

She also had to get a better look. With all of the reporters gaggling, she couldn't see anything that was going on with CHAD. She hoped she was lucky enough that the screwy thing wouldn't go haywire or react violently to the crowd. He seemed okay for now, but this was starting to annoy even her.

As Elena explains the situation to CHAD, he looks down at the Fae in his hands. "Oh..."  he says simply, realising he raised a false alarm. He'd bring her back to the crate she was lying on if he wasn't belly-deep in reporters.  Instead he opens his hands over Elena's head to deposit Drizzel on top of Elena's hat to recover.


After finishing his impromptu mission, he looks down at the gathered crowd as they fawn over the medic.  All the species looking new and strange to him.  He reaches down to pluck a hat off of one of the crowd.  After turning the hat over in his hands a few times, he drops it absent-mindedly.  His curiosity about the hat satiated he reaches for one of the hand-held recording devices carried by the press, all the while ignoring any protests shouted his way.

Nash nods at Amy's words, taking a firmer hold on the communicator before pocketing it. He gives a salute in goodbye, trying his best to retain his confidence. "Just think it... Yes, ma'am! M-moving out!"

Turning around, the bat swiftly makes his way out and into the wide world of the settlement. Don't worry... Know what to ask and what to listen for... I just need to find the building and start from there. Simple.

He takes a breath, calming himself down now that he's out of Amy's physical presence, and does his best to mentally locate the building he's looking for from the recesses of his own memory knowledge about the settlement.

Seeing things starting to clear up, CHAD clothed and the fact the press is off of her, T'shock decides to get going while the going's good. She may not want anyone to call her a coward, but she's not needed here anymore as the goliath has proven to be a gentle giant.

She looks to Jaquline and says, "Well he's yours, therefor your responsibility. If you need help, let me know, but I still have some business to finish with the moogle..." she tosses her calling card at Jaquline. Seems T'shock here is not just a wandering Barrakian, despite her young and small-for-Barrakian appearance. According to the calling card, T'shock is a freelance Bounty Hunter. It gives an e-mail and a website.

T'shock then heads over to the moogle. "You coming to my ship? I think things are wrapping up here..." she gives a sideward glance to Joe and says, "And are you comin'?"

Drizzeleaf goes uncontious and twitches. A reporter nods. "Yeah... this happens to Fae. It's what they do. Should be OK..."

The news crew don't seem too bothered by CHAD's antics, though when it comes to expensive equipment, they do protest. Strongly. "HEY! LET GO!" one says, trying to wrestle the thing back. Although CHAD could probably lift the camera and the person holding the camera like they weighed nothing, the expression and loud voice seems pretty obvious.

Another reporter, of course, points a camera at Jaquline. "Isn't this unit yours? Can't you stop it from harassing the news crew?"

Amy keeps an "eye" on Nash via his emotions and thoughts and even closes her eyes to see vaguely what he is seeing since that is a part of his surface thoughts. Soon, she can see, hear, taste, feel and smell what Nash does. She makes no indication she is in his mind yet, though, maintaining silence until he needs direction.

But Nash can easily enough find the site and there are plenty of "men in black" at the site of the burned building. Nearby, a television shows what the reporters are broadcasting... a blissian and some large super-soldier sighted at the local Diamonte shipment.

  Joe nods in response to T'shock's question, ignoring the amusing carnage nearby.  "Yeah.  If anything to make sure that at least someone takes a look at it if it comes to that.  Though admittedly, this recent situation was kinda distracting."

  So what's a big distraction then Joe?  Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?

Jacqueline smirks at CHAD's antics with the reporters. She knew that it could quickly turn into something of a nuisance, but for now it was making her laugh as much on the inside as that Fae was on the outside.

She takes T'Shock's card when given it, looking it over with light interest. Her casino wouldn't need a bounty hunter for any reason she could think of, but it couldn't hurt to have the card around just in case. Part of her was even curious about what that kind of life was like... Living like a rogue.

She comes quickly back to reality as the reporter asks her about controlling her unit.

With a smile, she says, "He is my unit to command, from what I've gathered, and I can probably tell him to stop what he's doing.  With so many reporters around and crowding my ship's area, though, I'm not sure if I want to tell him anything until you all agree to pack up and move along to the next daily gossip."

Elena is a bit confused on what she should do when she's handed a pair of scissors and the Fae is placed atop her head. She smiles in thanks to Nono, careful not to nod with her light cargo.

"Oh! Well, thanks for the idea, but I'd rather not scare her too badly. She seems like she's easily excitable.  Thank you for the idea, though, really!" She looks at Nono strangely for a few moments.  She'd heard of Moogles before, but never had really seen one. This was very close to what she pictured, however.

The Blissian is relieved that all of the reporter attention is off of her, but her face falls as she sees CHAD getting a little more rough than the reporters like. Unable to move quickly, she calls out from where she's standing, "Would you all please calm down? If everyone would stop pushing each other, then maybe we could learn what we all want to find out."

Further comments from her are stopped as a powerful-looking Deksharr female comes up and places a hand on Elena's shoulder protectively.

"Don't worry about them, ma'am. You have other concerns in this settlement, yes? Perhaps we should address them while we can..."

Nono's a bit disappointed that the fae passed out before his fix could be applied, and that the Blissian didn't want to even try, but he's not surprised either.  He offers a pair of his business cards to the Dekshar and the Blissian.

"I'll be taking back my scissors then," he requests with a crooked smile, "Call me when you have a chance, please.  I've never seen a Blissian ship before.  I'd cry if I missed the chance to admire yours, but I've got a previous obligation I must see to, kupo."

He nudges his head in the direction of T'shock.  When he gets his scissors back he flies off to hover near the barakian to indicate he's ready to follow her.

Nash's eyes wander to the television momentarily as he passes it. His eyes widen behind his glasses. Is that really a Blissian? Wow... the amount of technology and history they have would be amazing to look at hands on.  Maybe later... For now..." He looks over to the building and manages to control himself enough to look back at the television in a calm manner.  This is the place all right.

Don't alert them... This is an opportunity... How many ways are there to proceed from here? He barely gives a singular nod as his brain goes over the various possible outcomes of what he could do. Right now, as far as he knew, no one knew that he was a spy or would have any reason to believe anyone from Strife was giving this special attention. Unfortunately, he was also in plain sight, and eavesdropping there could be entirely pointless. Therefore, only a few solutions stood out as the best ones for the situation with the least amount of backlash if they failed. There was nothing to worry about yet.

Pushing up his glasses, he starts walking towards the site of the building.  His face bears a curious expression as he gets closer. When he's in speaking range of one of the imposing-looking men around the site, he speaks in a surprised, waivering voice, "Oh! By the wing, that's awful looking... What was this place? What happened...?"

He mentaly hopes his actions betray as much unfamiliarity as he's currently feeling.

When CHAD hears Jaquiline talk about a the unit that's hers to command, he stops inspecting the lifted camera, and cameraman curiously, but now suspiciously.  He starts to asses the crowd around him.  He feels he could easily remove them by force.  As he considers all the possibilities the ones that involve busting heads comes to mind.

The moment he starts to consider crushing the smaller fuzzy people, a voice nags him at the back of his mind, asking him if it's really nessicary.  Does he REALLY want to injure someone?

CHAD starts to breathe a bit heavier, watching the crowd with wide eyes, waiting for his order to clear the crowd...  And quite possibly the order to put down the cameraman.

"Good news," Lucky tells his bodyguard a safe distance from the craziness, as he puts away his communicator, "I've got one of the boss's best negotiators on it!  Shouldn't be long before those reporters go away."

He watches the goings-on from his new, safely distant vantage point.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Wed 10 Dec 2008.

One of the men in black responds to Nash, "This was a research facility. It caught fire and was burned down. Didn't you watch the news?" the other man-in-black is standing guard, serious. Amy watches them through Nash's goggles-for-glasses and thinks on different ways to approach this, but reminds herself to leave it to Nash until she needs to intervene. He was handpicked for a reason after all...

Meanwhile, the press looks like they don't have much choice. The one says, "OK, already! I give! Just call the giant off!" but another says, "Hey, you may be a quitter, but I'm not! You know, Ms Diamonte, this is going live. You may want to choose your words and actions carefully."

T'shock turns her head slightly when she overhears how things are going, but figures Jaquline has things under control. Should things get ugly, she'll find out. T'shock heads off with Joe and Nono.

Once at her ship, T'shock shows it to Nono and Joe. "There ya go. A real Barrakian ship. Made on Barrak. By Barrakians. Enjoy. Feel free to tell me what kinds of upgrades you recommend, Nono."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:14, Tue 16 Dec 2008.

The fairy slowly sits up and shakes off a little. Seems she's over her laughter for now and takes note of what's going on. Giggling as she sees the giant with a kilt is still there to confirm she really saw what she thought she saw, Drizzeleaf listens in on what's going on before getting to her feet and flying over to CHAD. It seems he is much more focused on his task at hand, not to mention doesn't seem to pay attention to mundane things like taking what isn't yours is considered bad. So she simply lands on his head, fully prepared to dodge a swat, should he try. Drizzeleaf doubts her laser pistol will even annoy CHAD, much less hurt him, so she doesn't bother pulling it out.

  "It's always nice to see a ship that can actually take a hit." Sure, lots of ships are considered plenty durable.  But is it technically the ship taking a hit with it’s the shields doing all the work?

  Joe still prefers the latter admittedly, as it is easier to 'fix' less than physical things oddly.  Must be the complete lack of parts that would need replacing.

"Immensely impressive!" Nono commends as he flits to and fro admiring T'Shock's ship, videotaping the tour, "Super shields!  Prodigious propulsion!  Wonderful weapons!  Monster maneuverability!  Kupo!  Such a difficult duty to advance what's amazing already!"

He hovers at the control panel and proceeds to access the ship's technical logs (unless scalded by T'Shock).

"Hmm...  I see your fuel consumption isn't quite ideal but that's to be expected with such a sturdy ship, kupo.  I believe I could potentially improve your efficiency by 10 to 20 percent without losing any existing functionality or durability, depending on how much time you allow me to work on it.  If I were to add an expendable arm, the main gun turret could have a KiZo as much as 80 percent larger than it is already!  Oooh!  If I put that arm on a AxRoB, you'd have full coverage from every direction!  An A.I. copy of your preferred combat techniques could be programmed into the nav and targeting computers!  Your ship could fight on even if you were to lose consciousness!  Then, with an LiSA and HIDI your ship could...yes!  Couple that with a hmm... and a yeah!  And with a kupo here... we could... hooohooo!"

Nono trails off into incomprehensible chatter while excitedly flitting about taking measurements and jotting down ideas.



(OOC: Not posting Lucky, he's just watching to see how long before the negotiator gets those pesky reporters' bosses to yank their leashes.)
This message was last edited by the player at 20:05, Fri 16 Jan 2009.

Jacqueline sighs at the words of the more daring reporter. They're right. Press on her would reflect on the new casino. It was a pain, but part of territory. Still, that doesn't mean she has to totally play nice.

She waves at CHAD, speaking in her best commanding tone, "C.H.A.D. unit! Put down the camera and leave the reporters be. Come with me to my ship and wait with me until we get back inside." She looks to the reporters as she starts making her way closer to the ship's docking bay, "And you are all officially trespassing on my ship's designated area as of now. I don't believe it would be bad press to say that my new bodygaurd unit was simply doing his job in my defense, would it? I'd call that excellent press of an example of how secure the new Diamant casino will be."

She smiles disarmingly, "Now, if any of you would like an official interview, set up an appointment through the proper channels."

Elena watches patiently at how the events with CHAD and the reporters are unfolding. The Deksharr is right. She has other things that she's looking for in this settlement, but this seems like an oddly dangerous situation right in front of her. If things become violent, then these people would need healing as well.

Her bodygaurd holds her firm, however, keeping her from doing anything more than watching at the moment. For now, that is all the Blissian can do, preparing to walk away quietly as soon as it seems like matters will settle down peacefully.

She looks up at Miya, "We need to find those most in need in this colony. Those that otherwise can't be helped. Whether it's in the slums or right here."

Nash looks embarassed at being talked down to like that, lowering his ears, "N-no... I'm sorry, but I really don't usually watch the news. Nothing good on it..." He looks past the men in black at what he can see of the building, though his poor eyesight doesn't really pick up all that much. Good... the first option is working so far... Just listen. Remember to listen and keep taking steps...

Nash shakes his head in amazement, "But... what happened? How did it burn down? Was it just some kind of accident?"

"Understood."  C.H.A.D. says flatly as he sets the camera, and the camera operator back where he found them.  With the camera person put back C.H.A.D. starts to wade through the crowd of reporters, carefully nudging anyone in his way.  Once clear he walks briskly to Jaqueline, ducking just slightly to enter the ship through the cargo door.

Amidst all the exitement he's forgotten about the fae who has taken residense atop his bald head.

The negotiator, aka Mr. Gont, watches on his screen as Jacqueline holds her own and smirks. He then contacts Lucky and says, "As you can see, Lucky, Ms Diamonte can handle herself. There is no need to bother the reporters' bosses. But informing us of such an event is certainly the kind of thing we appreciate. I'm positive Diamonte will make for a nice business associate. See what you can do in the near future to bring her into the fold."

The reporters look diappointed, but defeated. The one who challenged Jacqueline in the first place looks satisfied. "Very well. We'll be in contact, ma'am." he says before he walks away and the others reluctantly follow. Diamonte has effectively nullified the situation without bringing any bad blood on her name.

A male fox who was not among the reporters hobbles with his cane in the direction of Elena and smiles at her. "Hey there." he begins, "My name is Jason Rowe. I was wondering if I could offer you some assistance. I couldn't help but overhear you need to find people who need help? What kind of help?"

The man in black eyebrow-twitches. He's slightly annoyed by Nash and says, "Yes. An accident. They say it was an electrical fire that happened due to overuse of resources. If you're not a reporter, then you shouldn't be here..." he says darkly. This is the kind of stonewalling Amy was expecting and most likely Nash too. But there has to be a way to learn more without tall, dark and annoyed having to be involved. Shouldn't there?

T'shock acts like she knows what Nono is talking about, but she's doing a good job since she at least knows some of it. She has to. T'shock knows there are billions of people out there looking for a quick buck... or worse, a quick laugh.

T'shock looks over at Joe while Nono is busy trailing off. "I don't like that situation from earlier. What kind of work do you do again, 'Joe'? Maybe you'd be interested in a little adventure..."

Drizzeleaf looks about inside Jacqueline's ship with a big smile, grateful that her size is saving her from being noticed for now. But as always, she will need to be watchful of how much she flies since she doesn't want to draw attention to herself at this point. Operation infiltration is now in effect.

  "I'm mostly a mechanic, though Nono seems to have that covered in this case."  Some might consider do-it-yourself cybernetic replacement a bit further than mechanic Joe.  "I do some incidental bounty hunting, but I tend to leave the actively searching for stuff on that end to the more professional ones."

  Joe considered a certain obvious detail.  "Of course, that seems to be along the lines to what you're doing.  Why don't you tell me what you actually have in mind before I decide to go along with it."  Having nothing better to do at the moment can only go so far, after all.

As if in a wold all his own, Nono quietly proceeds to repair what little can be repaired right away.  A tilt seat that wont tilt quite right.  A loose control stick.  A squeaky hatch hinge.  A flip-down panel that wont latch.  Whatever it is, he finds it and fixes it.  Some of these require a little bit of disassembly, but he works quickly and confidently.  Eventually he stands with his fists on his hips, unable to find anything else that can be improved without new parts or bigger tools.

"Mesmerizing marvel of machinery, mam," he says at last, "It speaks of strength, stamina, steadfastness...  spirit!  I must say, I'm very impressed.  How long would I be allowed to work on it and how much are you willing to spend?  It's impossible make your shield of a ship as swift as a swallow, but perhaps I can make it as deft as a dragon.  Cunning as a cobra.  Perceptive as a panther... you get the idea, kupo."

Nono looks up at T'shock with eager eyes.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:38, Sat 07 Feb 2009.

Lucky sighs half in relief, half in disappointment.  Relief that the immediate threat is taken care of, disappointment because he was hoping to impress Miss Diamonte with Castrophe Co's influence.

"I'm glad she managed to save face on her own," Lucky answers, "and you can bet I'll be making an attempt to forge a partnership with her, but I'm more concerned about the danger that the makers of that... 'android' pose.  You can bet they'll try and bury any evidence of their ever being connected to it, and possibly bury Miss Diamonte in the process.  No sense in letting our partners get killed.  What can be done to ensure her safety?"

Lucky's feeble attempt to sound professional would easily be transparent to a negotiator.  His shaky voice betrays that he's genuinely concerned for Jacqueline.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:33, Sat 07 Feb 2009.

After the reporters have thankfully left the vicinity of her ship, Jacqueline lets out a sigh.  The press could be such a handful.  You needed them to really get a business off the ground, of course, but somehow they always overstayed their welcome.

In the cargo area of the Diamant ship, it's surprisingly close-quarters, although she and CHAD are currently in a more open area of it.  Around them, several larger opossums in black suits stand around, watching the new arrival carefully. A few of them notice the fae atop CHAD's head, but they're not exactly sure if she's part of the deal with CHAD or not. Jacqueline, being much shorter than CHAD, has failed to notice the fae up there at all. Though she's not oblivious to the dangers of the massive being that she's currently dealing with.

"C.H.A.D. unit, I would like to have some more information about you before I try to find a place for you with our company... First, who made you and what were you made for?  Second, what are your capabilities and requirements to operate? Energy sources, ammunition, waste... anything that you need to fully operate, I need to know about now so that I can figure the cost of keeping you here." She's speaking in an official voice like she was before during her earlier directions to CHAD. If she was his owner, she wanted to make sure that was cemented into his head.

One of the black suited opossum, a tall, lean, handsome one in sunglasses and a red tie, takes a small step forward, "Miss Diamant... Considering the radical addition this would make to the ship's crew, I'd suggest that we notify your father... He would want to know about this."

Jacqueline shook her head fiercely, keeping herself focused on CHAD, "Not yet. I can handle this just fine."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:40, Thu 12 Feb 2009.

At the approach of the fox, Miya puts a careful hand to the holster of a blaster. It's not too obviously threatening of a motion, but it does ensure that the fox knows that Elena is not alone.

Elena, however, is much less suspicious and more thankful. She gives the traditional Blissian greeting to Jason after his introduction. "Oh! Yes, yes we ARE looking for people in need!  Medical need.  My name is Elena and I've come to this settlement to offer healing and care to those who otherwise can't recieve it." She frowns slightly as she sees his cane, "You look like you need some attention too... Do you know a place in this settlement that needs a healer, Mr. Rowe?"

At the stonewalling, Nash pushes up his glasses. He wasn't getting too much out of this man.  Of course, it was now at least clear that the public knowledge was that this was an accident.  Of course, that could have just as easily been found with looking at the news. There has to be another way to approach this... Indirectly. That has to be the way now. They don't suspect I'm anything major... It's okay.

He nods in thanks to the guard before turning around and walking away, giving himself a wide bearth as he walks around the site and looks for another place to go over his options and perhaps pick up some more public information and rumors. He does his best to not actively look at the building or anything the men are keeping watch over. To the Men in Black, it looks like Nash is well out of earshot, but the bat is actually specifically keeping his ears attentive so that he can pick up any conversation the men might be having in his absence.  Of course, this made his attention to where he was walking less than stellar, but he's fortunate enough to not run into anybody or anything just yet.

C.H.A.D. follows Jaquiline onto her ship.  He takes a moment to look around this new environment.  Taking notice that the species mix on this vessel are much more homogenious than outside, and everyone is dressed similarly, too....  Save for Jaquiline. He automatically assumes he will be replacing some or all of the black suited 'possums once he recieves his orders.

When asked about his needs and capabilities, he answers immediately with a pre-programmed sales pitch.
"I am a C.H.A.D. unit created by genitech industries as an expendable, multi-role millitary personnel replacement.  I am trained to take positions in infantry, artilliary, heavy armor operations, security, escort, information extraction, insurgency, and counter-insurgency roles.  My basic needs are 2000 Kcal of food energy per day, along with 8 liters of water. Up to 14000 Kcal ans 12 liters of water for extended heavy combat. I can survive for 28 days without food and 7 days without water with reduced effectiveness.  I only require standard bio-waste disposal.  Standard millitary rations and quarters are reccommended.  If not available I can provide for myself if mission times allow.
I require 4 hours of sleep per 24 hours, and a standard oxygen/nitrogen atmosphere. Ammunition and equipment needs will depend on my mission."
He finishes his pitch, and stares at Jaquiline for a moment, assuming he's given her enough time to mull things over he asks, "What is my first assignment?"

So far, so good. Drizzeleaf's gone unnoticed by the one who matters. Though she finds C.H.A.D.'s actions funny, she holds her tone and then realizes the more complicated indications of something like him exsisting. She is easily able to not only keep from laughing, but even gets concerned as she hears his requirements listed and such. Drizzle rubs her finger against her mouth in thought as she ponders her options. It may not be as obvious as it seems. Is this "C.H.A.D. unit" capable of understanding emotions or friendship? Drizzeleaf saw his concern for her earlier and while she may have thought him too funny for her to notice at the time, in retrospect she can see CHAD as a potential frie-err... ally. Drizzeleaf reminds herself that she is on a mission. But then... CHAD was not her assignment. So he's fair game... isn't he? Drizzeleaf decides to stay put until such time as she can be alone with CHAD.

.......what does CHAD stand for? Oh well. A question for another time...

One of Jaqu's hired help shows up and says, "Miss Diamonte? There is a man waiting for you on the main communicator."

And this is why Nash makes for a good spy. Being well out of anyone else's hearing range, Nash is able to hear the men speak. "Our being here is bad. I tried to tell him." "Well you know how he is. He's the boss. What do WE know? Punk kid... doesn't have any respect for experience." "Hey... careful what you say. If he heard you say that out loud..." "Let him. I'll bet I could egg him on into a fist fight with me and then he'd be sorry." "Listen to you... man, I hope you do. Whether you win or get your butt handed to you, I'd PAY to see that."

Amy, of course, overhears this from Nash's thoughts and thinks about it. The sends a telepathic message, "I have a hunch. Your next locations of interest are the Lockman establishments in this settlement. I have a suspicion they could be involved. Shops, Embassies, Trade locations... anything to do with them. I doubt this bunch will give us any further information."

----

Jason responds to Elena, "Yes, ma'am, I do. I can lead you there. Far as I'm concerned, though, I should be OK. Though a physical when you're done with the others wouldn't hurt, now would it?"

Jason looks directly at the phaser grabbing and gives Miya a chuckle and a smile. "Honestly ma'am... I'm defenseless... but someone as pretty as you can frisk me any day."

(OOC: Heh... reminded of one of my visits to an airport. Apparently, the metal detector detected something on me and I emptied my pockets and such, tried again, still detecting something. So the young, attractive female security officer frisked me. Have to say... up until that point I was really upset about all the extra security. Heh. Turned out to be my belt. >.> Airports....)

----

Mr Gont keeps his demeanor to business and says, "Mr Stryker... there is no need to worry. I appreciate your concern and will get on it. But as long as she is of interest to you, be assured she will be a protected asset. Just don't let the investment go to waste. That said, I'm uploading an official request from Castrophe Corp to let you interview this new bodyguard of hers. I'll be surprised if she turns down the offer we're giving in return. The questions we want you to ask are in the upload as well, but feel free to ask your own candid ones. Anything that comes to mind. Thorough is important here. You have your new assignment, Mr Stryker... Mr Gont out."

With that, Mr Gont hangs up. Then faces a man who is in his office and says, "Time to dig up some bones. Someone didn't clean up their mess well enough and we can't have that. Find what you can. Clean up the rest."

The man nods and leaves.

T'shock looks back to Joe and seems uneasy. "That upstart business woman. I don't like her or her people. I especially don't like what that incident feels like... I want to find out more and hopefully bring whoever is behind this Frankensteinien project to justice. I felt his touch... he's no robot." She looks down and away, rubbing her arm. "Nobody should have to live like that; Convinced that slavery is the only life there is."

T'shock scews her mouth to the side as her eyes meet with Nono's. He's disarmingly cute. And all compliments. "Yes. Yes I do get the idea. You've given your free assessment. What'll it cost for an actual upgrade?"

  Joe had been wondering about all the assumptions the guy was a robot.  Unless genetics companies were branching out and working on Terminators of late with a concern for Fae health.

  And yes, Nono does have the whole 'Aaaaaw, I can fit them in the overhead compartment! This makes things cuter for reasons yet determined by science' gig going.

  "I'm not exactly good with the whole morals conversation thing.  Though while someone getting away with that sort of thing on a mass production scale can't be a good thing, at the very least I don't think anything bad will happen to Chad because of Jacqueline.  The hard part there would probably be convincing Chad otherwise."

  The whole 'Hey! Free person!' thing annoyed Joe.  But a part of him reminded Joe of certain survival facts on how things could have gone for 'would have died in a few hours' Chad.

"You're quite right that the big bald bodyguard was no 'bot," Nono replies to T'Shock softly, "The stasis pod status screen made that abundantly obvious.  But after you've informed him of his alternatives, don't be surprised if he chooses to live his life in servitude.  He certainly wouldn't be the first to be quite content to live that way, Kupo."

He bows politely to indicate that she is speaking to one such person.

"The cost to upgrade your ship depends on which upgrades you choose.  Or conversely, the upgrades you'll receive depend on how much you're willing to spend.  Depending on what you want, it could cost anywhere from 1 to 1 million credits.  Anywhere from a few minutes to several weeks.  That's why I asked for a time and money budget.  Knowing that, I could write up the options that would fit into that budget."

(( OOC: The GM and I are leaning toward using the GURPS book on ships as a framework to decide how much a ship costs, how much repairs cost, etc.  They use dollars while Faction goes by credits.  1 credit is about $10.  Most ships cost way too much to own outright and would require a house-sized mortgage to acquire. ))
This message was last edited by the player at 18:29, Sat 21 Feb 2009.

"Are you kidding?!" Lucky answers the now silent phone in a panic, "Mr. Gont?  Hello?"

Lucky hangs up, face-palms, and sighs.

~ME?!~ he thinks to himself, ~Interview that... that giant?!~

"What's the matter, boss?" the wolf asks in an amused tone of voice.

"For some reason I gotta talk to that naked giant," he answers.

"Formerly naked."

"Whatever!"

Lucky opens his phone and checks his email for the list of questions he's supposed to ask.  He steps out from his hiding place and notices that only the Blissian and two others have stayed behind.  He figures now is as good a time as any to introduce himself to her.  He composes himself and approaches the group as casually as he can.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:18, Sat 21 Feb 2009.

Jacqueline rubs the underside of her muzzle in thought as she listens to CHAD list his requirements. Standard military rations and quarters? Standard bio-waste disposal? She's slowly starting to suspect something. Before she can ask the question on her mind, the messenger appears.

Jacqueline sighs, "Right... Thank you. I'll be right there." She looks at CHAD and nods, "C.H.A.D., your first assignment is to find quarters that suit your needs. There are several open rooms where the rest of the guards stay. Once that is complete, and you're made familiar with the ship, we'll assign you general security duties and patrol."

She looks to the tall, suited opossum who spoke earlier, "Sabre, I'd like you to take CHAD here and show him where he can find his quarters. Keep an eye on him and don't let him get into trouble.

With a nod of finality, she takes her leave and makes her way to the conference room to see who's trying to contact her.

"Please don't let it be one of those reporters all ready..."


After Jacqueline leaves, Sabre, the tall opossum suit, walks over to CHAD, doing his best to appear professional, "You heard Miss Diamant. Follow me, please. The guard quarters are right this way." He waits for confirmation that CHAD understands him before leading him out of the loading area and further into the ship.

Miya's eyes widen in indignation at the comment, but she grimaces to hide her surprise. She lowers her hand from her weapon, but is clearly ready to use it should the need arise.

Elena's eyes widen happily as she practically jumps for joy, "Oh, that's great! Just lead the way, and I'll be more than happy to help out where I can. I promise you, Jason, that we'll do as much as we can to make sure the people you're talking about are as healthy and happy as possible. And, of course, that includes you, so I'll be happy to give you a full physical. Don't worry about it!"

The Blissian looks over in surprise as Lucky approaches them, unsure of what he wants. He seems friendly enough, however, so she offers a polite wave. Miya makes sure to train her eyes on the healthier-looking Lucky in order to be sure that he's not the dangerous type. She remembered seeing him around earlier.

Nash is momentarily surprised to hear Amy's thoughts mixed with his own, but he quickly calms down and agrees with her. With a nod, he makes his way towards the nearest Lockman establishment, doing his best to appear as inconspicuous as possible.

Uhm... what gives you that hunch? Oh wait... nevermind. Heh, psychic. I need to know as much about this as possible... Who should I be looking for? What should I listen for or ask about? He thinks these thoughts as strongly as possible, hoping to be able to reach Amy with them.

Stares down at Jaquiline intently, taking in every word as well as adding in his head .o0(Allow nothing to stop the completion of this assignment.  Knowledge of this assignment is given on a need-to-know basis. In case of capture, any evidence of this asignment is to be destroyed.).  Once Jaquiline leaves Sabre in charge of C.H.A.D. he looks down at the opossum, "Understood.  I am ready to proceed." he says in a buisness-like tone.

As they walk through the ship C.H.A.D.'s mind starts to wander, and he starts asking questions in a slightly less formal tone.  "Am I replacing you?   How many of you am I replacing?  Why does everyone look the same here, but not outside?  What is a kupo?"  He hardly gives Sabre time to answer any of those questions until he's finished asking everyting in his head at that moment...

T'shock squirms slightly as what Joe and Nono say ring true. "I have to try." she comments quietly. Then looks to Nono. She's tempted to ask how much he would charge to be her servant. Then realizes someone else might try to pull that. "Well... my budget is 2,000 credits." which is a goodly amount to spend on a ship, but she's wondering just how capable this critter is. "But I wanna see the quality of your work first. I'll yank that down to a 35 credit limit and see what you do with that first. Though I have an additional question out of curiousity... how much do YOU cost, Nono? You seemed to hint you yourself are for sale..."

She doesn't look interested in buying Nono, so why she is asking that could be anyone's guess.

Jason smiles brightly at Elena. "That would be splendid! Thank you so very much. I..." he notices Lucky approaching. "Heh... looks like you got yet another interested party." From the looks of things, the black cat is well-to-do and has his OWN bodyguard. A bodyguard on a Blissian is no surprise and, in fact, expected. But anyone else... it's a flaunt of wealth. Or caution. Either way, Jason isn't worried about Lucky so much as he's worried about Lucky's bodyguard.

--------------------------------

Jaq's onscreen displays a male wolf clearly dressed in the uniform of the Lockman Empire's Space Pirate division. "Greetings, Miss Diamonte. And welcome to the Rush Settlement. I trust you've had time enough to settle in and can now get to know your future associates. I'm from the Lockman Empire and will be your contact, should you want anything from us. As you may or may not know, the Lockman Empire has a very powerful influence on this settlement, controlling a good 20% of it. We heard of your coming with plans of establishing a casino and are interested in becoming business partners."

--------------------------------

Amy returns Nash's thoughts with another telepathic response. "I don't know who, honestly. And questions..." Amy pauses the telepathy as she sighs and asks herself why she's being told to investigate by proxy. She's no detective... "You know what? You should probably try to blend in among the Piressens. Are you familiar with Pirace enough to act like you're from that planet?"

  Joe might guess basic curiosity would be a reason T'shock would ask.  "I'm ready to go give this a shot when you are.  A lot of things would never get done if nobody tried because of likely results."

  That wasn't to say it was always a good idea.  But then you get into 'well if people never acted on bad ideas' etc etc spiral of logic failure.

Nono's eyes light up when T'shock mentions the 2,000 credit budget.  He wasn't expecting quite so much.  The 35 starting limit sounds like an interesting challenge.  Just how many improvements can he squeeze into that amount?

"My work is the quintessence of quality!" Nono declares confidently, "The epitome of efficacy and efficiency!  You'll delight in the day you darkened the door of Nono, Kupo!"

He spins in place a few times, wrench thrust in the air above his head.

"To answer your other question," he continues, "What's the cost of the cosmos?  The charge for charm?  The tax on talent?  The surcharge for sunshine?  My work I effort as freely as the firmament gives starlight.  If you're suggesting that I'd sell my self, I could no more forgo my freedom than you could bottle up your beauty in a jar or package your perkiness in a box, Kupo."

Nono takes a bow.

"I don't suppose you'll be needing the services of your ship for your mentioned mission.  Think I could use that time to tinker on it?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:18, Mon 30 Mar 2009.

Lucky returns Elena's wave with a wave of his own.

"Hello everyone," he addresses her and the others with a lot less confidence than he would like to project, "My name is Lucas Huntington-Whiteley, but my friends call me Lucky.  This is my guide, Mr. Walter.  I'm a representative of Castrophie Corp, visiting this settlement to help people realize their goals here.  So, may I ask, what are your goals, ladies and gentleman?"

He offers each the ubiquitous business card, forcing himself to make eye contact and crack a nervous smile.  Meanwhile, Lucky's wolf companion folds his arms and assumes a cool-as-a cucumber posture in spite of how excited he is to see a Blissian and a Dekshar face-to-face.  He's heard rumors that some Dekshar have been known to hold their own in a fist fight with a Barakian, even sometimes WIN!  This one seems more the shooting type though, so he's especially careful not to make any sudden threatening moves.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:51, Mon 30 Mar 2009.

At seeing the wolf and listening to his words, Jacqueline nods with slow certainty, thinking as she speaks, "Thank you for your welcome. We of the Diamant Casino Family are looking forward to working with you and your people. As I am sure you can assume, turning down an offer of partnership with such a powerful presence in the settlement would be more than foolish. As the head representative of the Family here in the Rush Settlement, I speak for all of us in very seriously considering your offer." She nods again, smiling thinly, "However, I hope you will understand our reluctance to blindly accept your offer right away. Once we have a full contract and terms for the partnership laid out, then my people will be more than happy to fully take the offer. I trust that's reasonable to you?"

---

Sabre sighs at all of CHAD's questions, clearly doing his best to keep them straight as they are asked. He holds up his hand and counts off as he answers.
"Let's see... You know as much as I do on the issue of replacement. We are all dedicated employees to the Diamant Family, and many of us have held our positions for years. My guess is that you would be an addition instead of a replacement. That answers questions 1 and 2... And part of 3. We don't all look the same, but we come from the same place. I imagine that has some impact upon that. So that was question 3... Question 4, well, I really have no idea. It sounds like slang for something, and languages are not my forte." The opossum looks at CHAD curiously, "You seem like you have a lot of knowledge in your brain, though... Can't you simply look up a definition? Or are you not that kind of robot?"

They move through the ship slowly, helping CHAD to get somewhat accustomed to it. As they talk, they enter into a lift which Sabre commands to take them to a lower deck.

Elena's ears droop a little lower at Jason's comment, though her smile stays upheld. "Heh... wow. It seems like I get so popular for just being me, even if no one's met me or heard of me before."

Miya nods at that, "You are a Blissian in a land of growth. For many, that is more than enough to warrant attention."

As Lucky comes up to them and introduces himself and his companion, Elena seems quite genuinely interested, nodding and paying full attention. As he hands out his business cards to them, Elena looks over it curiously and holds it in her hands for now while Miya simply 'hm's and drops the card to the ground, having no use for it.

"My goals? Well, it's simple, really. I want to help people here. There's so much sickness and suffering around... It's my purpose to ease it where I can!" She takes up her staff in one hand and raps the end of it on the ground lightly. At a thought, she tilts her head, "Catastrophe Corp, though? I don't mean to be rude, but that doesn't sound like an organization that helps people. What do you do, Mr. Huntington-Whiteley, and why are you interested in talking to US?"

Miya still stands aware and ready, not offering anything to the conversation, but obviously listening clearly.

At Amy's suggestion, Nash thinks, "I have read about Pirace, yes. I don't look like their typical resident however, as space pirates don't typically dress in my attire, but I can do my best to look less conspicuous."

Covertly as possible, Nash steps behind an outcrop of wall and loosens his bow tie, taking it off and slipping it into his pocket. He can't keep the lick of his hair down that well, but he hopes the absence of his tie is enough to keep him from looking too professional for the atmosphere.
Stepping out from behind the wall, Nash keeps his hands loosely at his sides and tries to look somewhat relaxed and as if he knows exactly where he is going and what he is doing here. Meanwhile, as he walks, he keeps his ears open for hints of gossip or news that might give him at least an indication of how to link Amy's 'hunch' with physical data.

C.H.A.D. follows Sabre onto the elevator, considering his answers.  When he's asked about his ability to look up definitions he replies, "No sir, I am not a robot. I am a created life form, sir.  I do not have access to a computer network, so I can't look anything up.  Since I was assigned to you as a subordinate you are now my only source of information and orders until Jaquiline re-takes command." he admits.  Then he falls silent for a few moments, and just before the elevator ride ends he says randomly, "That red lady seemed upset..."

T'Shock smiles as not only does Joe say he'll go, but Nono confirms that he rather prefers his freedom. She then blushes at his comment on her beauty and perkiness. "No, I won't need my ship for this. Thanks, Nono. Have fun." she then looks at Joe and nods her head before grabbing some gear off her ship and heading off towards the upcoming Diamont establishment. Once out of the ship, T'Shock asks Joe, "So what I'm thinking is the direct approach first. If that fails, then we'll take the stealthy approach. After all... if that possum sees us as upfront, she won't expect us coming from in back."

Jason smiles back at Lucky as he's given a card. "Lucky, eh? Nice nickname... though I'd say you aren't the only lucky one here for you, me and Mr Walter have all gotten the chance to meet and greet these two pretty young ladies." He then squats and picks up the dropped card, holding on to it for now. Never know... after all, Castrophie Corp has an outstanding record of doing *exactly* what Lucky just said they do. Though when he hears what Elena says, he isn't surprised. The Blissians probably help each other out so much they don't understand the concept of desperation or the absolute *need* of outside help once in a while. Not that it takes being desperate to turn to Castrophie Corp, but it's certainly where a good deal of the company's rep comes from.

Jason grins, seizing the opportunity to earn brownie points with the newcomer and his bodyguard... and well... Castrophie Corp in general. "Aw, don't worry your lovely face, Elena. Caz-Corp is HUGE... they have a division for everything and are much more wonderful than Lucky humbly makes them out to be. Though that does beg the question..." he looks at Lucky, "Resources and time... how quickly could you guys get materials and such to this settlement for something like what Elena here does? I mean... no offense, but I understand Castrophie Corp is less about actually owning medical equipment and more about giving funds to non-profit organizations. At least as far as the medical field goes. So in a relatively new settlement like this, I don't suspect the help you'd offer would be quick. I know it'd be quality, but again... how much time would it take?"

--------------------------------

The wolf on Jaq's screen nods expressionless. "Of course, ma'am. I will come there myself with the offer and we can discuss any changes. What would be a convenient time for you?" (OOC note: changes are understood all the more among those from the Tharian area of space as bargaining is a part of social life. They always ask way too much and expect to be "talked down" to a "compromise" by their customers, clients, etc. Even in a serious deal like this one, it would possibly be considered rude to not at least try to change the agreement as it is a tool for socializing. Just throwing in a little IC background there for ya. ^_^)

--------------------------------

Some pirates wearing the colors of the Lockman empire walk nearby where Nash is. There are 5 of them and they aren't in full uniform, wearing very casual clothing with little more than nametags and armbands that have the Lockman logo on them. Not that there aren't others that fit that description in this part of town, but this set of 5 catches Nash's attention as they seem excited and nervous at the same time. "I can't wait, but at the same time, I'm worried that I'm not ready." "Yeah, I hear you. I mean, what if he decides to have us do paper work." "I wouldn't worry about that... he himself hates paperwork and we're clearly not high-class personell." "But what if we win this contest? Won't we suddenly be given a promotion *with* the raise and wind up pushing papers?" "Naw... you can take the raise and turn down the promotion. I think." "Well technically yeah, but that's risky. Lockman himself checks his own paperwork once a month and if he sees a name that has a paygrade above what the name's rank says and he doesn't remember why, your pay raise could be reduced back to normal." They all sit there weighing their options for a moment. "Well we could always ask. If we win, of course." "Of course." They nod.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:48, Mon 20 Apr 2009.

Drizzeleaf snorts and covers her mouth when CHAD asks what a Kupo is since not only does the question itself sound funny, but the way the guy who's answering is all serious about it and trying to answer seriously is slaying the poor Fairy. Though upon hearing CHAD's final comment, she can't help but scroll through her mind. Red lady... red lady. Oh yeah! There was a Barrakian there. At the place. Yeah. Drizzeleaf makes a mental note to get herself a muffler in the near future so she doesn't have to worry about giving herself away from laughing hard since, after all, she's discovering the people around her even on a serious infiltration mission are constantly trying to make her laugh. Do they suspect a fairy is spying on them?

  Joe nods as he follows after.  "There is also the fact that we're less likely to be thrown out while being upfront if we don't try to sneak in first thing.  Did you have anything in particular to say you thought would work out for... whatever?"

  While Chad hadn't had any say in the matter really, something about their brilliant plan being convincing someone shelter and a (hopefully) paying job when they didn’t even have pants to their name, let alone a resume was a bad and mean thing, seemed to have some flaws in it.

Nono spins for joy that he'll be tinkering with a Barakian ship.  In short order he fires up her engines and flies off to his own ship to begin the upgrade.

"Small favor, Ray?" he asks his faithful companion when he arrives.

"Wark?" Ray answers.

"Keep an eye on our customer.  She could wind up needing her ship after all.  Let me know if that happens, kupo."

"Wark!"

Ray salutes with his wing and runs off to the launch bay.  An extended animation sequence ensues showing Ray getting geared up by various robotic arms before he's catapulted off the Cid.  Triple-take from various angles for effect.

"Ease sickness you say?" Lucky answers, brightening up, "So you're a doctor?  That's perfect!  This place is so new there isn't an official hospital yet.  I would be honored to help establish one with you if you like the idea."

He glances at Jason.

"Heh.  Thanks for the plug.  As for your question, how does today sound?  I have a meeting with the head Lockman rep. this afternoon, and I'm sure he'd be just as excited about a founding a hospital here as I am.  He'd be the best one to ask where we should set up shop."

He turns back to Elena.

"With you, Castrophe, and Lockman behind the project, this'll be the healthiest settlement ever!"

Lucky looks genuinely enthusiastic about helping Elena, because he is!  He's already thinking of ways to sell the investment to his superiors, and he's confident they'll agree it's a good idea.  It'd be worth it just for having the reputation of owning a hospital where a Blissian works.

Jacqueline nods back at the wolf on the screen, seemingly satisfied with her offer being taken. "Tomorrow morning would be preferred. Ten hundred hours. I've always found that to be an excellent time to conduct business. However, before agreeing upon this meeting, may I first know who I'm speaking with? If you're coming yourself, I would appreciate a name to address you by."

Mentally Jacqueline is very busy, going over the various small things she'll need to check on before determining what they'll want out of this deal.

---

Sabre voices his understanding at CHAD's response of not being a robot. "My apologies. In that case, I'll do my best to answer any question that you'll have." The opossum tilts his head at the comment on the red-lady, "Uh... Red lady? I don't believe I saw anyone but Miss Diamant in red clothing. Who are you... speaking of...?"

At hearing a little bit of commotion atop CHAD's skull, Sabre can't help but look up there curiously. Of course, he's much too short to clearly see anything on top of his head.

Jason isn't making Miya terribly comfortable with his attitude, and Lucky and his body guard make her somewhat uneasy as well. They don't seem to be doing anything too forward or offensive, however, so she just keeps a serious, quiet eye on all of them for now.

At Jason's suggestion and Lucky's offer, Elena's face jumps into shock, "What!? You'd just finance a hospital, just like that? That's amazing! Does your company do things like this often? Oh, that's just so exciting to know...! Oh... but I don't think I would be able to stay at a hospital here. At least not for long. While it's a great thing, of course, people usually have to pay to go to hospitals, right? Not everyone who's sick can pay for treatment like that." She shakes her head, looking determined, "I came here to find people to help. Not to make a profit. If a hospital can get started with my help, then that's great, but I'll still want to help the beings in the streets and in poorer parts of the world. And, of course, I can't stop at this planet. I need to find other planets that need help too. Places where I can do the most good. That's where I'm needed. After all, what better mission is there to do in life than to help others to live happy lives?"

Elena smiles hopefully at Jason and Lucky as she says that, hoping that her meaning has gotten across.

The pirates catch Nash's attention with their talk of a contest. He's certainly not sure what they're talking about, but it sounds important.

Hmmm... Need to hear more, but I can't ask anything... I'm not wearing their colors and obviously not from their group. Nothing around here can fix that, so the best I can do is listen. Let's see... He looks around, trying to be as nonchalant as possible as he tries to maybe find a shirt or band or something that could tie him in with the pirates, but he doesn't find anything. For the moment, he does his best to listen with his finely tuned ears. He stays at a close distance, but doesn't look at the pirates at all, relying fully on his ears to keep track of them.

In reply to Jacqueline (msg #152):

C.H.A.D. looks down at Sabre as Sabre looks up at him, "The red lady.  A female with red skin, black hair, black horns, red wings that felt like skin." he describes.  "She was the loudest outside the ship who kept insisting I get pants." he explains.

C.H.A.D. waits to follow behind Sabre as they head towards his quarters, "What sort of operations commence here?  Space based assault, airborne drop assault, fleet security?" he asks sounding a bit more formal.

T'Shock pauses. She hadn't really thought that far ahead. "Probably the best thing is just to make sure he's being cared for properly. The possum's setting up a new place from what I gathered. And so she really didn't like the press being there. I figure I'll use the press as an ace in the hole rather than a direct threat and simply stick with sounding like a concerned citizen."

She looks unhappy. "Maybe I am being hasty... I just... I got a bad feeling about that possum. Maybe because I was at the wrong place at the wrong time. But following my instincts has rarely been a bad thing..."

Either way, she's still walking in the direction of where the whole event with CHAD took place so she can find out where IS the propper channel. She spots the Blissian and small crowd. She frowns, wondering what's going on, but really not wanting to be the reason other people crowd the lady. She decides the Deksharr that's with the Blissian should be sufficient protection and that her own mission is more important at the moment since the Blissian doesn't seem to be in danger.

Jason raises an eyebrow at Lucky. "Lockman? How do you plan to get Lockman behind this? I mean, I know building this settlement's first hospital would be beneficial to any faction, but... and why them? Because they're the super-power around this settlement? It makes sense finance-wise, but I'm just curious..."

He adjusts himself on the crutch he's using, ever so slightly wincing, but trying to hide it.

-------------------------------------------------

The wolf suddenly loses his serious demeanor as he looks flustered. "Oh my... my apologies, Miss Diamonte. How rude of me... my name is Daniel Corhal. You may call me Dan if you prefer. *ahem* Ten hundred tomorrow it is, ma'am. I shall see you then. Good day." He hangs up.

-------------------------------------------------

As Nash continues his surveilance, he eventually is able to pick up two very important pieces of information: 1) Where the "contest" (Most refer to it as a party) is being held and 2) When. Tomorrow around noon, there is going to be a "party" at the local billiard (which is commonly known to be owned by the Lockman family). At this party, there is going to be a contest to see who the best pirates are. There will be a first place, 2 second places, 4 third places and 5 fourth places. The idea is that whoever places gets to have a high-payed commission in the Lockman Pirate devision. Obviously, the higher the place, the better the pay.

As for why the building Nash is researching was burned... nobody seems to know anything more than what was reported on the news. Few care and those who do are pirates who grumble about "That was a decent gig and now that the place is burned down, I gotta change lanes" or "The people who worked there were decent. How often does that happen?" But again... no leads on why it was burned other than it being a freak accident like the news reported.

As Amy hears of this data, she rubs her forehead. If the party is tomorrow and nobody seems to know anything beyond what the news reported, then maybe it's best Nash go to this party everyone is raving about and win himself a decent place if he can. "Nash... I want you to take a break. Do what you want, but be sure you are well rested for the party, 'cause I want you to attend. I also want you to compete. If at any point, you don't feel you are up to the job, let me know first and I'll give you an alternate plan. But until such time, please do as I asked. Again... make sure you are well rested for it."

Drizzeleaf keeps her mouth covered, not even knowing Sabre is looking up in her direction, but pretty well assuming he is. Upon hearing CHAD describe the Barrakian, Driz nods in approval. Loudest is right! That's a Barrakian for ya. But she is careful not to say as much out loud. Despite the fact outspokenness is also a fairy trait.

(OOC: Preppin' to fast-forward to the next day. Pretty much as soon as T'Shock and Joe are done with Jaq. :) )

  Joe shrugs,  "Never said they were all rainbow and smiles like... Well, them usually."  This last part of his comment made as they pass by the Blissian.  "But while good intentions can lead to terrible things, nobody ever seems to think about the selfish actions that have beneficial results."

  He considered T'shock's general plan (which to be fair was far more detailed than his own nonexistent ones),  "I get the feeling they either wouldn't care, or would only be a bit annoyed at the news thing.  Of course, they might just remind you about what the cat pointed out.  And if the news crews who were there haven't mentioned apparently illegal biotech firm products already, then they probably won't later."

One thing leads to another as Nono winds up dismantling T'shock's ship piece by piece out of sheer curiosity.  At least he takes pictures every step of the way just in case he doesn't (and he won't) remember what goes where.  On the bright side, he finds several components that were in serious need of maintenance before they failed catastrophically.

"Bad news is I didn't improve anything," he mutters to himself as if rehearsing what he'll say to her, "Good news is you won't be stranded several light-years from the nearest station without life support or propulsion, Kupo."

"Cid!" he addresses the ship's A.I.

"What?!" the ship responds indignantly, "What is it now?!"

"I want to be different I said," Nono grumbles to himself, "I'll get the male voice A.I."

"I realize you're very busy what with floating around in orbit and all," he answers Cid, "But could you carve a second out of your hectic schedule to order some parts for this Barakian ship?"

"That tiny thing is a Barakian ship?!" Cid laughs, "Pull the other propulsion drive!  It's barely big enough to be a shuttle craft!  OMG it's a two-seater!  L. O. L!"

"I'll have you know this 'tiny' ship could probably rip you a new exhaust port in one shot!"

"HA!  Not in this lifetime!  There's no way those puny engines could get anywhere close enough to even use those little pop guns."

"It's point-blank inside you, Cid."

"WTF!?  Are you threatening me?!  Need I remind you you're standing near an airlock?!"

Nono face-palms, imprinting a greasy black hand-print.

"NO, you idiot!  You think I want to damage my own ship, Kupo?!  Don't be so sensitive, you sissy!  You're just jealous she's tougher than you are."

"Am NOT!  I could fly circles around that hunk of junk!"

"If you're so fast, then where are my parts, Kupo-po-PO?!"

"You haven't even told me which parts you want, genious!"

Back and forth it goes...

---

Ray's head's-up display helmet locates T'shock and Joe, so he glides down to them, landing at sprinting speed and slowing to a halt.  He faces them and salutes.

"Wark!"

Nono said keep an eye on them, but he didn't say whether Ray should stay out of sight.  So here he is.  Big bird wearing armor.  No explanation or language skills.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Tue 26 May 2009.

Lucky's heart melts.  He smiles, getting misty-eyed.  Almost tearful.  Sure he's heard of the Blissian race's reputation for kindness and generosity, but it's a wonder to behold in person.

"What better mission indeed!" he answers, "You are a credit to your race!  They should make your birthday a holiday!  I could just hug you!"

He calms himself some to answer her questions.

"Yes, we do have the means to found a hospital.  Yes, Castrophe Corp. is known to do that and much more quite often.  That's why I joined them.  Yes, those who can afford to show their gratitude for their loved ones' medical care with financial support to the hospital.  Those who can't afford it usually show their gratitude with volunteer work.  Some, like yourself, even donate and volunteer out of generosity without expecting anything in return.  I would love for you to do exactly as you say!  With your love and Castrophe's influence, we could found a hundred hospitals on a dozen worlds!"

He faces Jason and answers him.

"I've heard nothing gets built here without a rep from the Lockman family approving it, which I'm sure they will.  In fact, I'm sure they'd be thrilled to invest in a hospital here."

Jacqueline nods at the wolf with an air of finality, "Good day, Mr. Corhal." She responds before hanging up as well. After hanging up, Jacqueline takes a few moments to think over what was just said, slowly tapping the side of her muzzle as she does so.

With a nod, she starts up the communicator again, paging a contact that she knows quite well. It takes a little while, but she gets through and is greeted by an overweight opossum in a fine suit. He looks confused as he sees her on screen, "Mademoiselle Diamant?"

"Henri, fetch M. Diamant, please. I have some good news for him." She assumes quite a proud posture, looking nothing but professional. At her order, the opossum nods swiftly and runs off to retrieve her father.

-----

Sabre nods slowly at CHAD, having remembered seeing a woman like he described, but knowing nothing about her.

"She did? I would think that is wise advice. As for what we do here, it is really very simple. Our goal is to keep Ms. Diamant safe, as well as to keep the establishments and property of the Diamant family safe and secure. We're a security team, first and foremost. Sometimes we serve as couriers as well. As part of our team, you'll be involved in these duties as well."

As he finishes speaking, they come to a section of the ship where the quarters are clearly located. Sabre stops walking as they reach the furthest room back, with the door still closed and locked via a keypad on the side. Once they reach it, Sabre informs CHAD that this will be his living quarters for now, giving him the number code in order to operate the keypad. That being done, the opossum still looks quite ready to address any more questions.

Elena looks curiously as Lucky answers her questions and allays her fears.

"Well, thank you for the compliment... That's really very sweet of you." She can't help but blush a little at the fawning response, but she also seems a little bit surprised at his assurance of so many hospitals being built. "Amazing! You could really do that? Make hospitals that really do heal those who need it, regardless of how rich they are! Oh, I'd happily volunteer for that and help to spread and start up so many more!"

Miya seems a little leery of Lucky's words, but she doesn't want to interrupt Elena or stop this line of conversation until she needs to. So far nothing TOO dangerous has been proposed.
Movement out of the corner of her eyes causes her to look over and see T'shock and the others, giving them an inquiring look. They aren't moving towards her or Elena, however, so her concern is minimal, but she's still aware of their presence for the moment.

In the midst of the ongoing conversation, Elena moves closer to Jason, her face showing heavy pity, "Jason, how long has your leg been injured like this? If it truly pains you, then I would insist on helping you right away to at least make sure that it's healing properly."

At Amy's orders, Nash nods slowly, building up the nerve to actually take on what he's being asked. After a moment, he realizes that Amy has no way of seeing that he nodded, so he concentrates. I can do it... I'll be okay. I don't have anywhere that I need to be right now, so I can rest and then compete in that contest... I can do it. He nods again.

With that being confirmed in his mind, Nash discreetly leaves and goes back out into the rest of the settlement, taking a slow walk around the lightly populated areas and also letting his wings fan a bit. He lets out frequent sighs of relief as he takes his walk to obviously unwind from all of the tension of information gathering.

Let's see... If I'm going to compete, I'll need to do a lot more reading. Get the right attire, study cultural habits and traditions, things to possibly bring up in conversation, things to avoid... A lot more reading.

C.H.A.D. tries his code on the door.  Once it opens he steps inside, "Understood. I will stand by here and await my first orders." he says standing in his room.  "I will require a meal preferably within 24 hours... My first, actually." he comments walking over to his bed, if 'possum sized his legs will hang quite a bit off of it.  "May I have permission to modify my bedding?" he asks, frowning at the undersized furniture.

T'Shock stops walking as Joe makes a good point about the reporters. She considers everything said and what good she may or may not accomplish. Then snaps her fingers as a light bulb goes off in her head. "Alright. New plan. We prepare ourselves rather than preemptively striking at someone who may or may not be a threat. Well... I'll prepare *my* self anyway. You're free to join me." After all... the old saying "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" comes to her mind. "No need to go painting a target on my forehead if this lady's anything I need to worry about."

Rather suddenly, an armored bird lands in front of T'Shock. She's startled and takes a step back. The bird salutes her though. "....friend of yours, Joe?"

Jason glances. "....it's been hurting more and more over the past week. I broke it ten days ago. I'm starting to wonder if I set it right or not." Jason set his leg bone himself? If that there isn't evidence that this place NEEDS a doctor who doesn't charge, nothing is.

-----------------------------------

Hearing Nash's thoughts, Amy telepaths, "There should be an internet cafe over at the Tavernese settlement. You'll be able to at least pic up the basics there. And then, with an hour or two of watching the locals, you should be good to go. Though I'll tell you now: Stuttering is likely to be taken the wrong way, so be sure to speak slow if you have to speak."

Drizzeleaf remains hidden for now, not wanting CHAD to... oh wait... she's fallen asleep from boredom. Yes, sitting on top of some giant muscle-bound man's head may seem less than boring to many, but CHAD had to go and start talking about bedding and stuff. Besides... if she's suddenly awakened, chances are by then the possum won't be around.

  "If I'm heading along for this, may as well join you for that as well.  Just because I have some thoughts on what won't work doesn't mean I have more of an idea what will than you do."

  His brain is interrupted in processing some form of banter regarding the forehead target, when Ray shows up.  "I'm gonna have to go with no?"  Had Joe certain details of knowledge to make thematic connections, he'd be able to make a duh guess here.  But alas, these details have escape his current attention.

  "So...  Nice to meet you I guess."  Yes Joe, small talk with the Chocobo will obviously help clear things up.

Ray looks very pleased with his welcome.

"Wark," he says, offering a "handshake" to Joe.

With the surprise round out of the way, a new detail (besides the more obvious battle armor / saddle Ray is wearing) becomes apparent.  The yellow bird is wearing a collar that looks all the world like an intercom.  The shiny red button has an international "press me" symbol printed on it.

((OOC: I realize I didn't mention a translator for Ray in my character sheet, but I figured I'd throw it out there for the sanity of the other players due to my lack of skill with a character who can't talk.))

This message was last edited by the player at 15:27, Fri 12 June 2009.

Lucky nods eagerly in response to Elena's question about if what he says is true.  When mentions "I set it wrong" Lucky winces.  Just the thought of having to do that much less in the likely absence of anesthetic is more than enough to make him cringe.  The wolf gives a "what a sissy" look at his boss.

"Boy," Lucky says, "Good thing Elena's here to help you.  If you need anything just let me know, Elena.  My guide here knows this place like the back of his hand he says."

"Uh... yeah..." the wolf says, a little taken aback at being put on the spot, "If you need an operating table, I'm sure Dr. Hacksaw will let you use his for a small fee.  His is the closest clinic if you don't want to walk to the other side of town to whats-his-name.  Dunno if that guy even has an operating table, though.  Heard he runs his business from his garage."

It's a short while later that another opossum appears on the communicator screen. He's dressed in a very fine, white suit, and looks to be in the peak of health. His smile is soft as he takes a seat and addresses Jacqueline with a tone of ease.

"Good day, my daughter... Or is it evening there? It is so difficult to tell when only viewing the inside of one's ship. I trust you have not been spending all of your time indoors on this journey?" He smiles endearingly, folding his hands neatly in his lap.

Jacqueline speaks firmly in return, "We have an offer for a partnership. A Mr. Corhal from the Lockman Empire has recently agreed to a meeting tomorrow to discuss terms. He already wants to form the partnership, so it is simply a matter of deciding upon what we want out of the deal ourselves."

Her father clicks his tongue as he shakes his head, "Tut, tut... We are family, my daughter. You need not speak to me like we are business partners, especially in private conversation." He nods then, smiling lightly, "But I AM proud... the Lockman Empire is something not to turn our noses up at. I have heard mention of them before. Very good job, my young flower." He looks suddenly more serious, though still calm, "Ensure that the Diamant corporation receives the majority of the revenue that our Casino brings in... and also remember to specifically state that this partnership only applies to the casino that is to be built here in the Rush Settlement, not the corporation as a whole. Now, if you will excuse me, my daughter, I am being missed at a party for one of our partners here back home. You will do very well. Of that, I am certain." With that, he stands up from his chair and looks ready to leave.

Jacqueline frowns a little, but nods, "Of course. I'll be sure to remember that and gain as much favor as possible out of the partnership for our casino here. En... enjoy your party. Until next time, Papa."

She sighs lightly as the screen cuts out and leaves her alone in the communication room.

----

Sabre nods at CHAD firmly, "If you can modify it, then please go right ahead. Just... don't break anything. Heavy damages are taken out of pay. There is a communicator next to the door here. If you need anything, just ask for Sabre." With that, he leaves CHAD to his own devices in the room.

The room that CHAD has is well furnished, though not overly lavish. It, of course, has a bed, but it also has a soft-looking sofa and chair, a shelf for books, a latrine, and viewing screen for watching local broadcasts. There is also a table in the room for either dining or paperwork, from the looks of things.

Nash nods at Amy's directions, taking a moment again to remember that she can't see him. Right... I'll remember that. Don't talk if I don't have to... Don't talk if I don't have to... He mentally keeps repeating that to himself, his typical manner for remembering directions, and makes his way to the internet cafe and the settlement that Amy mentioned.

Along the way, Nash keeps his eye and, more important, his ears open to pick up some more of the talk of the others around him, hoping to catch something of the slang or at least a little bit of dialect to use for later.

Elena looks seriously to Jason as he explains himself, not believing her ears. He did this himself! And he's still in pain. She shakes her head, not listening to Lucky or his body-guard's words as she quickly makes up her mind, "If you're in pain, then you shouldn't have to keep suffering. I'll take care of it right here!"

Maya looks at Elena with slightly wide eyes, having been prepared to turn down the wolf's offer of going to any unfamiliar place run by someone with a name like Hacksaw. She knew that the Blissian had a talent for healing, but she hadn't seen her jump to it so quickly.

Elena looks at Jason quite seriously, gripping her staff, "Now, I need to see how bad this is before I can begin. If you would like to sit here so that I can get a better look, that would be perfect!" She looks to Lucky, ears tilted to the side, "You wouldn't happen to have a blanket or spare shirt on you for me to put under this poor soul's leg, would you? I'm not going to operate, but it might make things a little more comfortable."

C.H.A.D. wanders around the room for a moment, taking stock of whats available.  With the room being fairly small and fairly well furnished he goes about taking care of the bed, which is about 2 feet too short.

Since he has been ordered to not damage anything he takes the mattress and box spring off of the bed frame, and all the cushions off of the couch and proceeds to stand them up on either side of the door making them both mostly out of the way, and available to barricade the door in worst case.  With all the cushions he lines them up on the floor to form a single layer of padding that fits his size.  He could sleep on the floor if he had to, but when there is comfort available, persue it.

With his room now set up, he lies down on his newly fabricated bed to stand by for his new orders.  He lies there, eyes open, staring straight up.  He's been asleep in the stasis chamber so long, he can't get to sleep now.

T'Shock notices the now-obvious button and reaches to press it. "What's this do?" she asks, looking at the bird in the eyes before she presses it, to make sure it was OK.

Most of us have learned by the time we're teenagers NOT to press shiny red buttons unless you're sure of what it does. T'Shock is not only one such teenager normally, but a bounty hunter on top of that. Still... curiousity is high and this bird coming along and greeting them has T'Shock wanting pretty badly to press it.

("lack of skill with a character who can't talk." Heh... you've RPed Maverick before. :p But yeah, that's cool. I eventually learned Maverick is more fun if he talks and in the end, RP is about fun.)

There is a knock on Jaqueline's door. When allowed in, one of her underlings, a handsome, but somewhat timid possum reports, giving Jaq a nervous smile and solute. "Hey there, Miss Diamonte, ma'am... there's someone important looking to come in and meet you. Says she represents the Casino Guild of Planet Tavern."

Yes. The Lockman Empire may have enough of an interest to arrange a meeting. But the CGT has enough interest to come knocking unannounced.

---------------------

Jason gives Elena a nervous smile. "Y-yes ma'am..." he says before sitting down. After a brief assessment, Elena would discover the worst case scenario for a bone set wrong: Not only is the bone not able to support the weight well because it's off, but there is probably still some broken bone tearing at the poor guy's leg from inside and there could even be internal bleeding. The guy has a serious, genuine problem. He honestly didn't think much of it, but he's probably in for a wake up call.

---------------------
People sure talk funny when they are from Tharian space. Nash hears a lot of slang and some odd accents he's not used to. Some accents thicker than others, but most of the people here are internationals. Terms like "Blodger", "Pweh" and "Trudge" are common in their cursing. A few weird sayings like "Around the Mountain", "Stick parade" and "What's 4" are said somewhat frequently, but what they mean isn't clear yet. Though it's easy enough for Nash to soon find out "What's 4", by context, is clearly something of a "showed him who's boss" term. The other two... not so obvious. Sometimes, it's hard to tell Piressens apart from Tharians, whose cursewords consist of "Slunge", "Fernicant", "Glutze-blackin'" and "Jim-junkle". Seems everyone uses "Swee-bat" at random. O.o Yes... Nash has a fun job ahead of him. To make matters even more complicated, a white-furred man in a hooded cloak and sunglasses walks over to Nash. He's about 3 to 4 inches taller than Nash. "Well hello there, young man." he says with a soft, almost melody voice. "Looking for something in particular?" he asks with a smile.

A squeek is heard as CHAD's laying down throws the fairy off his head and onto the pillow below. She flies aside, making a jingling sound. "Hello there, Chad. Remember me?" she asks with a big smile.

  Joe says helpfully "It's most definitely not an explosives device."  Well you need to know these things when you're an occasional Mad Scientist.

  "If I start backing away at any speed between slowly and desperate scramble, then you should probably wonder about what you are pressing more than usual."

A proprietary sounding boot-up chime can be heard being broadcasts from the speaker-looking part of Ray's collar.

"Choco-Voco!" a cute little boy's voice coming from the collar says, "Version 3.0!"

"WARK!" Ray exclaims.

"I'm very happy!" the collar translates.

"WARK!" Ray continues, wiggling his wings, "WARK!"

"I love you a lot!" the collar translates, "Especially your feathers!"

Ray chomps to grab a beak-full of T'Shock's hair with a huge smile!  ^.^
This message was last edited by the player at 19:49, Fri 10 July 2009.

The closest Lucky has to a spare blanket when Elena for one is the jacket of his very expensive suit.  Needless to say, he was a little reluctant to lay it on the dirty ground where it could be ruined, but he begins taking his jacket off anyway.

"Sure..." he says, "You can use my..."

Whew!  Jason just got right down on the ground without waiting!  That was close!

"Nevermind."

He glances at his guide.

"I guess closer is better."

When the exam is complete, he offers his hand to help Jason back on his feet.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:10, Fri 10 July 2009.

Jacqueline turns the opossum, her eyes just barely showing a glint of surprise as she nods, "Thank you, Bruno. If she wishes to speak with me immediately, then escort her here. The conference room should be fine for an impromptu discussion. Please tell the others to make any help that she's brought along feel welcome..."

After directing the underling to his duty, Jacqueline quickly does an inspection of herself, checking to make sure that the necessary buttons on her suit are fastened and that nothing looks disheveled or out of order. In no time at all, she has herself and the conference room set up to comfortably accommodate her needs, with the large central table clear and set for heavy discussion should the need arise.

Nash's ears are alight with all of the new language assaulting them. He's well-read on common languages from his home planet, but the words and phrases coming to him here are overall different from anything he'd been familiar with. Unfortunately, his languages studies were terribly light when it came to slang. Still, he could discern some base words and meaning from what was being said and mentally stored and reused them to at least build a small semantic arsenal should the need arise.

As the white-furred being addresses him, Nash takes a step back, thinking to himself Relax... Don't stutter. Don't seem out of place. Don't say anything that you don't understand... Who is this?

He speaks in quiet tone at first, adjusting his glasses, "Hello... Looking for the internet cafe.  Do you know it?"

Elena's face falls into a heavy show of pity as she looks over Jason's leg. She smiles at him, though, looking confident and reassuring. "Your leg really does need serious attention. It's a little worse than I expected, but I can still help. We'll need to operate, though, and get your leg set right. If we don't, you could really be putting yourself in danger. Understand?"

Hopefully, she looks to Lucky and his bodyguard, "I think I may actually need that operating table that you talked about in order to help. If you can take us there, that would be terrific!" She looks more closely at Lucky's bodyguard, "You look really, really strong, so could you do something extra to help me? I don't want this leg to get any worse than it already is. Please help Mr. Jason here to travel. He needs as much powerful support as possible."

Maya looks at Lucky curiously, wondering how he'll respond to Elena's request and how he'll handle his bodyguard. Cautiously, she offers, "I can aid with supporting him as well, if you are unable."

CHAD remains lieing down as the fae tumbles off his head and jingles about.  He thought he felt something on his head, but the fae must be authorized, since it come in with him.

He gives the fae a long look, "Yes.  You were the one 'laughing your head off'.  Are you here to deliver my orders?" he asks hopefully.  As he lies there his stomach makes an angry rumble as CHAD has yet to have solid food.  He dosen't adress the noise, or the discomfort as his orders take precedence.

T'shock acks! Her hair grabbed by a beak, she has to restrain herself from hitting the bird out of reflex. After all... it just said it loves her. And it is just a bird. That and it'd make her look a LOT less tough to hit someone over a mere hair-tug.

"Well they are not feathers. That's my hair. Please let go." she reaches to scratch the bird under it's chin to help along the idea of opening the beak.

She's blushing again, like earlier when CHAD was demonstrating nudist pride. "My day is getting weirder and weirder."

A red Tavernian (obviously) fox enters the conference room and looks for Jaq in order to offer a handshake. "Hello there. I'm Emerald Haynsworth and I'm here representing the Tavernese Casino Coalition or TCC." she has some perk to her as her tail wags a little faster than casual and her smile is bright. "I'm just here to ask some questions about your upcoming casino to find out your focus, how the TCC can help, and who all you plan to call your partners. Even though you are known to be a part of our coalition, being off-planet gives you certain... liberties. I'm interested to hear how you will use those liberties."

TCC. A planet-wide conglomerate from Tavern (duh), but they clearly wanted to beat their competition here for invested interest in an upcoming casino. Essentially, these are the people her dad "works" for, but at the same time, he doesn't. Like any "guild", they aren't your boss or your paycheck, but there are many benefits to being a member... and many consequences to ticking them off.

----------------------------

Jason looks worried for a moment, but then remembers there is a Blissian medic telling him he'll be OK. He gives her a helpless smile as, like most sane people, he begins falling in love with her.

He's lightly worried about Maya since he semi-flirted with her earlier and he suspects she wants to get back at him. But then he remembers Elena and calms himself yet again. "You know... I'm almost glad my leg was broke since it means I met you, Elena. What a wonderful woman you are..." he says to her with a smile.

----------------------------

The man in the hooded cloak nods lightly and presents a way. "Please... this way. I will get you there." he offers with that same soothing voice. As he leads the way, he sings with a truly angelic voice that, although he's a guy, just pulls at the heart and can be felt in the gut.

"If the curtain calls for you
Will you come to take a bow?
If you show your heart is true
Will you share secrets of how?

May life be unfair to you,
Oh you who keeps your face
May life be unfair to you
And hold you in love's embrace.

I've seen the truth, my friend
And now I understand
That when you finally reach the end
You've only just began..."

(OOC: Cryptic lyrics, I know, but I wrote them that way on purpose. ;) The guy in the hooded cloak wrote this song, but that's the only clue I'll give.)

Amy doesn't understand the lyrics of the song the man is singing and she can only hope Nash does as she continues to listen to his surface thoughts.
This message was last edited by the GM at 05:21, Fri 07 Aug 2009.

Drizzeleaf giggles and nods. She has caught enough to know how to manipulate this big guy. "Yes. I have orders for you. And what's more... that bad sensation you are probably feeling? We can get rid of that while you perform your duty!" she says with a smile. "First, you must pass a test. You may be big, but we want you to be versatile as well. That said, I was told to tell you to try to sneak out of here un-detected. Obviously, *I* will know you are sneaking, but I'll be absolutely quiet until you make it out of here. Then I will tell you what your first actual mission is."

She's hoping he can sneak out without incident. REALLY hoping.

  "Maybe, but it's heading back towards normalcy compared to chasing after a tall naked military clone."  Joe comments, then looks over to Ray and asks

  "So, what brings you this way aside from being super happy?"

"Kweh!" Ray exclaims when he releases T'Shock's hair to follow the lure of her scritching finger.  He wags his tail feathers and flutters his wings happily.

"Thank you!" the collar interprets, "I like that a lot!"

He scratches at the ground and flaps his wings vigorously, smiling proudly at both T'Shock and Joe.

"WARK!"

"I will follow you and protect you!"

Walter grins with pride.  Very VERY strong?!  Powerful support?!  Talk about pressing his button!  If this were Sims, plus signs would be streaming over his head... no... exponents!

"Just try and keep up!" he braggs, grabbing his flexed bicep.

Much to Lucky's surprise, the wolf lives up to Elena's expectations.  Being sure to be careful of the injured leg, Walter picks up Jason and carries him on his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, making it look effortless.  He then heads of to Dr. Hacksaw's clinic with a spring in his step and a wag in his tail.

"Wow," Lucky says, following Walter's lead, blushing.

Jacqueline returns Emerald's handshake firmly, offering a warm, steady smile in return to the fox's exuberance.  At her statement, Jacqueline nods and turns to offer Emerald a seat at the conference table as she responds.

"Of course.  Happy to have you here, Ms. Haynsworth.  To answer your questions, we're looking into a partnership as we speak. There's only been one offer so far, but it seems to be a pretty strong choice.  The Lockman Empire.  I'll be meeting with a representative from them tomorrow.  As for help from the TCC itself, we may be somewhat light on employees when the casino starts up, so if you could funnel a few our way or spread the word that we'll be looking, that'd be appreciated."
She takes a seat herself at the corner of the table next to Emerald, maintaining a steady, confident posture as she looks at the fox clearly, "Does the TCC have any specific questions or concerns?  Is there any word on if some of our competitors are moving in on this fresh settlement as well?"

In her mind, she's thinking, of course, of Mouzer, one of the more constant personal rivals her family has had to contend with over the years.  However, the possibility of other enterprises has not escaped her mind.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:49, Thu 20 Aug 2009.

Nash nods and follows the hooded man, trying to get a better look at what lays behind the cloak, but not having much success. The song that the man sings is also quite distracting to Nash's acute ears, taking in the full beauty of the tremolo said with the words and the dialogue itself.
To his mind, it sounds like a riddle of some kind... and his mind takes eagerly to the task.

If the curtain calls for you/ will you come to take a bow?  Curtain call = Death? Final ending? Closing? A finish.

If you show your heart is true/ will you share secrets of how? Show heart is true = Test of personal strength? Strength of character. Fourth line implies that the test is not easy? It is not something easily determined.

1st stanza = A finish that will test the strength of character in a way not easily determined or surpassed.

Possible second meaning?
                        A death that may be intended to be unavoidable.
Caution.

May life be unfair to you/ Oh you who keeps your face. Keeping face = saving face?  Meaning may be different here.  If not, wishing bad fortune to those who put up a false front to protect themselves.

May life be unfair to you/ And hold you in love's embrace. Love's embrace. Contrast to misfortune? Contradiction.  Unless... Sequential.  Misfortune, then comfort.

2nd stanza = Bad fortune to those who present themselves as something other than what they are. Bad fortune is wished, but then comfort.

Final stanza lines are not exclusive.
                                        At first glance.

I've seen the truth, my friend/ And now I understand/ That when you finally reach the end/ You've only just began.  Seen the truth. Undstand. Reaching the end. Precognition? Preplanning. There is more.

3rd stanza = I am aware of something previously arranged which makes sense now that I see you.  Arriving at the supposed finishing point is where something more will happen.

Reaching the end. Tie back to curtain call.

Full = I am leading you to an end that will be a test of character. If you are not true to your character, there will be misfortune, but you may be safe despite it. This has been prearranged.

Nash looks up at the cloaked man, his recent thoughts having occurred in seconds. He speaks carefully, but not doubting his own words or trying to sound confrontational, "... Sir? Where are you taking me to?"

Elena blushes back politely to Jason's clear compliment, "Oh! Well, thank you! I'm glad that I got to meet you too, Jason. Because of you, I'll get to help a whole host of people to feel better and start healing in their lives! That's truly very amazing, isn't it? Everyone in the universe can have that one special purpose that leads to so much happiness for so many others."

When Lucky's bodyguard, Walter, picks up Jason, Elena gives a clap of support and follows happily, "Excellent! Thank you, thank you! Hehe, I knew you'd be perfect for helping with this! Thanks so much!"

At the show of strength, even Maya gives a low whistle, impressed. As they walk off, she gives another glance to the odd group of characters off in the distance, but decides they're not something for her to personally worry about.

C.H.A.D.. stands, "Understood.".  He walks up to the door and pauses, listening carefully for the footsteps he heard Sabre make.  When people wear all the same boots, the make the same footsteps.

When he is sure nobody is around, he quietly exits his room, taking care to keep his footfalls silent.  He pauses at every intersection, listening, and he backtracks towards the docking bay.

The whole time he's sneaking he says not a word, he even controls his breathing to keep his breath from giving him away.

T'shock begins walking again and says, "Thanks for the protection, uh... what's your name?"

She isn't sure what to say in response to Joe. Chasing a nude warrior clone is indeed odd, but she doesn't see how, in any way whatsoever, a sesame-street-meets-final-fantasy escapee following them around, talking is less strange.

Emerald chuckles a little and says, "Well yes... competition you will have with you always. Though I heard the Grenu are setting up a Casino here soon. And knowing the Grenu, it's probably more to compete and less for the financial end. So you'll have a fight on your hands there thanks to such motives."

Emerald pulls out some papers and says, "We'll be happy to send you some temporaries to help you out at the start. Just sign here and here and consider it done." she shows Jaq two places to sign. The papers themselves look like very standard request forms. "I'll fill out the rest." Emerald just hopes that the reports she heard of this lady being new to the Casino owning biz are not only true, but telling. Thankfully, these papers are very good fakes and look exactly like they should. Nothing that would get either Emerald or Jaq in trouble just yet.

She grins and says, "Lemme let you in on a little hush-hushery... I heard Mr Lockman's son Rocky is going to be in this area tomorrow. Supposedly, holding some kind of contest at the local Lockman part of town..."

Emerald isn't sure whether she gave Jaq something to work with or something to shoot herself in the foot with, but she knows it's always tit for tat. Emmy went above and beyond the questions Jaq had, so she's hoping Jaq will compensate with more cooperation or a little rumor or some such...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:06, Thu 03 Sept 2009.

"To the internet caffe, of course..." the man answers Nash before presenting the door to the place he just mentioned. "It is where you wanted to go... is it not?"

Once inside, Nash can see about a dozen computers set up. About 5 of them are taken, leaving 7 empty seats. He certainly has choices...
This message was last edited by the player at 16:42, Thu 03 Sept 2009.

Jason meeps as he's picked up and oofs a little. He smirks and says very quietly to Lucky's bodyguard. "Heh... way to impress the Deksharr there, fella. She's a cute one, if a little jumpy. Then again... jumpy can be a very gooood thing."

He then says in a more audible tone, "Thanks for all the help, everyone... some day, when I'm all better, I'll have to pay you all back..."

Driz covers her mouth with wide eyes, watching the big, bulky guy do a comparatively impressive job sneaking. Once outside, though, she flies off his head, making that jingling sound again. "Alright! Good job!" she says with a big smile. "Now I need to get you some things so you can perform your mission better. Come with me..." she flies off, being sure that CHAD keeps up with her. The direction? An all-purpose store. The Faction equivalent of Walmart.

  Joe once again follows after.  One reason for Ray having a sanity advantage would be the fact the large birdy had a clue what was going on and what they were doing.

  Well, probably.

  "So, is sending someone shopping abusive treatment?"  What does this have to do with anything?  Read the previous post if you're still unclear.

"RAY!" Ray answers.

"My name is Ray," the collar translates.

"Wark!"

"I like shopping!"

Ray follows close behind T'Shock, eyes fixated on her very yummy hair.  :9
This message was last edited by the player at 04:05, Fri 04 Sept 2009.

Walter grins ear-to-ear at all the affirmation he's getting.  He glances at Miya at Jason's comment and blushes.

"You're welcome," Lucky answers for himself and Walter, "And if you should get the chance to help someone in need, your helping them is all the 'payback' I desire, but I'm sure you'd do that anyway."

True to his word, Walter leads the group to the entrance of Dr. Hacksaw's clinic.

"Well here we are," he says, nodding his head at the door, "Could someone get the door for me?"
This message was last edited by the player at 01:44, Sun 27 Sept 2009.

Jacqueline nods in response to Emerald's words, being somewhat familiar with the Grenu and not overly concerned.  After all, competition was natural in this business.  Of course, knowing who your competitors were beforehand obviously tipped the scales of luck to your favor.

At being shown the request papers, Jacqueline looks them over to make sure everything's in order before signing them off and handing them back. "Just please make sure to do a background check on them beforehand... Or at least tell us if you don't. We've always liked to be sure that we can trust our new employees in the midst of so much revenue."

At the mention of Lockman's son holding a contest, Jacqueline looks at the fox curiously, "A contest...? That's... interesting. Not sure if it's actually something I'll have time to see, as I have several meetings tomorrow, but I'll keep it in mind. Perhaps it'll even be an opportunity to test out a new hire... Hm. Thanks." She nods, thinking for a few moments about how CHAD might fare as bodyguard.

With an air of finality, she looks to Emerald again, "Thank you for checking in, Ms. Haynsworth. If there's anything else I can do for you or the TCC, please let us know." She smiles briefly, "If you'd like, I can offer you a drink before you start on your way, if that's all you have for me. It's been a good day for christening new beginnings."

----

Elsewhere on the ship, CHAD and his faye companion have managed to get out of the ship relatively unnoticed by Sabre or anyone else of great importance. Once they are outside and walking away, however, a few of the opossums placed at watch do manage to see CHAD, as he's somewhat hard to miss out in the open like this. However, at first, they don't think much of it, as they don't know much about CHAD in the first place.  It actually takes about a minute or so before one of them remembers the new being taken onto the ship today and gets up to ask the security chief, Marcus, about that being walking out and away on his own, raising a small alarm.

For the moment, Jacqueline has no idea that any of this is going on.

Nash looks up at the man curiously when he motions him inside of the cafe, "It... I was just..."
Don't stutter. Stay calm. Maintain.
"... Thank you for showing me here, sir." He bows his head politely to the man before entering into the cafe and looking at the overall set up.

Sighing with a bit more comfort, he checks the price for usage before choosing one of the open computers that is furthest away from the other patrons inside. After logging in, he begins doing quite a bit of searching on "Lockman" and, more specifically, "Lockman Pirate devision." He also brushes up a little on his information about Pirace and culture.

For once, Nash is feeling fairly comfortable, behind the helm of a computer and a possible fountain of information.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:27, Sun 27 Sept 2009.

Elena follows along with Lucky and Walter quite closely, with Miya bringing up the rear and being ever-watchful of their surroundings and where they're headed. Miya's ears flick at hearing Jason and Walter talking quietly, and she raises a brow at the glance that Walter himself gives her. She has no idea what that was about, but it didn't seem to be anything too serious yet...

Elena's been paying more attention to Walter himself, complimenting him on his strength and visually checking up on Jason to make sure that he's still feeling okay. At Lucky's suggestion for Jason's payback, Elena nods readily, "There we go! Hehe, you guys really do get it! The best thing about spreading peace and healing is that others can continue to spread it and pass the message forward! You can help people everywhere just by helping others to care about peace too." She smiles at that thought, beaming at having run across so many helpful people today.

When they finally reach Dr. Hacksaw's clinic, Miya looks it over carefully from their position. Walter barely has to finish his sentence before Miya's at the door and opening it to let the others in and making sure that Elena only goes in last with her at her side.

C.H.A.D. nods to Drizzel, following her at whatever speed she dictates, unless she takes off at 30 miles per hour, he'll fall behind then.

He follows her obediently, still under the impression that Drizzel is working under orders from Jaquilline.  He's about as conspicuous as a huge human running barefoot across the tarmac in only a plaid skirt can be.  It all just makes sense to him, he DOES need to be outfitted so he follows Drizzel with no question or comment.

T'shock is just happy the bird isn't chewing on her hair anymore. And if anyone ever heard her say that last phrase out loud, she'd probably get a "wait WHAT?" look.

She is sort of stopped by the fact Joe sees and points out CHAD walking along. "Change of plans... we're following the guy. And depending on what he's shopping for, Joe... it could be abusive."

T'shock proceeds to follow CHAD, wherever he's going.

Emerald hears about the meetings and nods understandingly. When drinks are offered, Emerald smiles and says, "Yes please. Thank you very much." She hrms and says, "Well testing out your new hire would be ideal. I mean... getting the attention of someone that influential certainly could be good for business. I plan to take tomorrow off m'self if just to hob-nob with some of his crew."

Jason is getting nervous as they enter. Doctor Hacksaw doesn't even have a secratary. He's a jackal and stands about 4' 5" tall. He looks over to see Elena and company. The hunched-over doctor cackles and slaps his tremendous cleaver against a stone table. "Can I help you? Heeeheheheh....."

One of his eyes isn't natural... it's... black. With a little red glowing bead as a pupil. He has a blatantly prosthetic robot leg and his entire place looks dingy. Not sanitary. He wipes some drool off his mouth with the hand that isn't holding the cleaver as his eyes widen with excitement at the group, his grin broadening. There are bloodstains all over the place...

The cost of the internet use is slightly pricey, but that's expected in a new settlement. Especially one that's contested territory.

The cloaked man stays by Nash's side even when Nash goes to the computer. "My name is Billy, by the way. May I ask your name?" he gives a pleasant smile, even if half his expression is hidden behind his shades. He doesn't ask about why Nash is searching on Lockman... yet.

So far, Nash gets a nice refresher course on the basics of the Lockman Empire. Known as the most "piratey" organization, their ruler even has an eye-patch. The Lockman family came into power on Planet Pirace about 20 years ago when Nick Lockman led a rebellion against the government of the planet. He overthrew them with his large army of pirates and established himself as the unofficial temporary ruler. Of course, in a matter of years, he became more official and his temporary status became permanent. The empire steals from the Strife Alliance on a regular basis and is even known to occasionally steal from the Tavernians and Tharians. But 20 years of thievery and high-resourcing has pretty well made the empire need to steal less and become more infamous for its taxes and loose laws than for its thievery as far as Piressens are concerned. However, the Lockman Empire is still known as the primary Space Pirates of the star cluster.

Drizzeleaf directs CHAD to a spot hidden away from video cameras and public view, but also close to the shop. "I need you to stand guard here. Don't let anyone get past you. People won't understand why you are dressed the way you are, so I'm going to pick up some good clothes for you. I'll be back!"

She zooms off into the shop and is able to bypass most everyone in the store with ease thanks to the "no flying" rule not applying to Fae for obvious reasons (Imagine walking all that square-footage when you're that small). She zooms to the "large species" section and finds the especially large sizes usually intended for beefy Barakians. She then facepalms, realizing she can't carry it and heads off to get a voice-activated kart. Soon, she is paying for the clothing and explaining it's for a friend of hers who she's doing this errand for as a favor. The clerk shrugs and takes the Fae's word for it. I mean... why not? Paying customer, regardless.

  "So, how are we going about this?"  Joe asked, as Chad and... That fairy with the giggle fits issues rounded that last corner.

  "Were we going to have Ray compliment his perfect baldness?  Ask if he's been subjected to the full standardized traumatic back-story in all of ten minutes with Ms. Diamant?  Or do something relatively sensible like ask why they're with the Fairy?"

A Barakian ship tears through the atmosphere accelerating at face-flattening speeds!

"YEEEEHHHAAAA!!!" Nono gleefully screams as his own ship quickly becomes a tiny speck in the rear view monitor.

"You're insane," the Cid coms him, "There's GOT to be a VERY good reason the designers of the ship built throttle dampeners into it.  Safety comes to mind."

"KU-PO-PO-POOOO!!!!"

A flick of the stick and T'Shock's ship goes into a barrel-roll and tears a corkscrew hole in the cloud it rips through.

"You're going to die and destroy your customer's ship in the process.  I wonder which matters more to you."

"Wheeeehehehehe!"

Another quick turn of the controls and the ship does a hairpin 180, slowing to a near dead stop in the process.

"Can't you just fix the squeaky seat-belt buckle and leave well enough alone?  You know, it's only due to your cartoon physiology that you didn't pass out from that last stunt.  Even if you survive this, the customer won't."

"HAHAHAHAAAA!!!"

The Barakian sports-ship aligns itself on a return vector and quickly regains speed.

"I can see the engine's heat signature from here!  Wait are you...?!  You loonie!  You're going to crash into me!  I am NOT opening my hangar doors for you at that speed!  Especially since you'll explode the moment you're inside!  I'm outta here, N00B!"

The Cid turns tail and heads for space.  Nono cuts the engine of the Barakian ship.

"Spoiled sport!  Was gunna test the brakes!  Ah well.  I'm off to show off to the nice Barakian lady!"

Nono heads in the direction of the port where his locator tells him his buddy Ray is...

---

"WARK!" the yellow chocobo chimes when he hears the word "fairy."

"YUM!" the collar translates.

His eyes widen and his mouth waters at the tastiest sight he's ever seen - Drizzeleaf - a sparkly bug that tinkles enticingly.

"RAAAAY!" he exclaims, breaking into a full-speed sprint toward the fairy, beak gaping open.

"I'm using my name as a battlecry!"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:45, Wed 07 Oct 2009.

"Thanks Miss," Walter says to Miya as he walks in.

"Yeah.  This guy's got a bum leg," he answers Dr. Hacksaw, apparently not at all surprised by the appearance of the clinic or the Jackal, "This Blissian lady's some kinda expert.  Says it's serious and she might need the use of an operating table."

He carefully moves to set Jason down on the examining table, trying not to let it show that he's at the end of his endurance.

Meanwhile, Lucky's expression has changed to the anime cat smile.  :3  He's completely speechless.

Jacqueline goes over to a cabinet off to the side of the conference room, retrieving two glasses and a bottle of a wine labeled 'Vanguard'. It's a slightly expensive, though still casual wine. As Emerald talks, Jacqueline pours her a glass and places it before the fox before pouring herself a glass.

She nods as she stands next to the table, holding her glass for the moment, "While I agree with you that getting attention from someone as influential as the Lockman Empire would be fantastic, I already have enough attention from them to at least start talking of a partnership. Most of the impression that I have left to leave should be given at our meetings for that. However..." She swirls her wine thoughtfully, "... It still couldn't hurt to give a closer look at some of their other investments and ventures. As I said: I'll keep it in mind." She raises her glass slightly, nodding at Emerald. "To success in our own ventures." After that, she sips her wine gently, clearly savoring the taste of the moment.

With a curious gleam in her eyes, she looks at the fox, "So... you'd like to get closer to the Lockman Empire yourself? Doesn't sound like something the TCC would specifically need... Are you planning on starting something of your own?"


----

Marcus, the short yet muscled opossum security chief of the Diamant ship, is walking around the docking bay hurriedly. He'd already looked over the small amount of footage the security cameras had taken of CHAD leaving his room, but no one seemed to know why he'd done so. All of the guards and other employees didn't seem to know who, if anyone, gave him the order to leave his quarters. Sabre himself said that he'd even told CHAD himself to contact him if he needed anything.
Despite the low-level panic of the situation, it's kept very quiet. As Ms. Diamant is in a meeting, no one dares to call her out of it unless absolutely necessary. The guards posted outside reported that they saw CHAD heading towards the shopping district, but they lost sight of him.

For all intents and purposes, it looked like he'd just runaway.

As Marcus was vocally debating their course of action with some of his fellow officers, Sabre inserted himself between them to interrupt.

"If we know where he's headed, then that's at least a start. Ms. Diamant is going to wonder why we let him leave and why he left in the first place, and we're going to need an answer to give her. That being known... I have a suggestion."

Marcus nods patiently as Sabre continues.

"If he was headed back to the shopping district, he may be returning to the shop that Ms. Diamant purchased him from. I'd like to go there and see if I can find him. We conversed only briefly, but he at least knows me. If he's confused and lost, that small familiarity might be in favor of getting him back here where he belongs."

Though it took a little more prodding to get an agreement, one was eventually met between them: Sabre would go and briefly search the shopping district to find if CHAD's previous owner somehow called him back. Once that was confirmed, he'd return to the ship and help get proper action started in reclaiming their new employee.

Once the agreement was made, Sabre donned a dark jacket and his sunglasses and started out towards the shopping district to locate CHAD.

Nash adjusts his glasses thoughtfully as he looks over all the information on Lockman Empire that he's finding so far. He's scanning it amazingly quickly, clearly trying to take in as much as possible in a short amount of time. It's reminiscent of how one might cram for a test on the night before.

At the question from Billy, Nash jumps slightly, not having expected him to join him inside. He seems a little more anxious about his searching, but tries to keep scanning and make it clear that he's researching. After all, doing that couldn't be THAT suspicious, could it?

A name? Tell him to go away... No, think of a name. Don't use your real name. A name... Something you can remember... Be careful.

He looks at Billy with a sidelong glance, speaking quietly, "Uhm... My name is Nate. Th-thank you for showing me here... Thank you, I mean." He adjusts his glasses on his nose at that, going back to perusing the computer screen.

Elena's demeanor changes when she enters the clinic. Her eyes widen and she takes a few steps back in initial shock. Miya steps ahead of her upon seeing the 'Doctor' and looks defensive, but stays silent for now.

The Blissian looks around Maya to Lucky and Walter, unsure of why they seem so aloof about this place. When Jason is set down on the table, she immediately runs out from behind Maya over to him, "NO! No, no, this is hardly sanitary!" She bows politely, though quickly, to Hacksaw, "I'm sorry, but we need a good clean place to operate. I am not sure what type of clinic this is... but all of the blood around here is a dangerous opportunity for an infection. As a doctor, I'd think you'd have some place very sterile to perform your work? Could you please let us use a safer table? Or perhaps if you have something to clean it with... Anything at all would be a great help."

She puts a comforting hand on Jason's leg, trying to keep him from moving it too much and also just trying to keep him calm in this obviously creepy clinic.

CHAD replies to Drizzel's request to guard the alley with a firm nod.  He stands there, eyes forward, occasionally inspecting the airspace around the dead-end alley, as well as the sewer cover.  He dosen't question why he has to guard this dead-end alley, and when the sanitation worker arrives to empty out the garbage cans behind CHAD, he stands his ground, much to the chagrin of the local sanitation department.

T'shock wonders what the chocobo means by "yum". There's no food immediately apparent. Besides maybe other people's hair.

"I'm curious about the fairy too, Joe." she comments, not sure how to take his commentary. "....which Ray is headed for...?" she chases after Ray. "Ray! Not so fast!"

Emerald raises her glass in return. "Hmm? The TCC? Heh... everyone has personal motives, but who in their right mind *wouldn't* want to meet someone as rich and famous as one of the Lockmans? Heck, an autograph from the son of a planet ruler would be worth the trip to this place. But as for personal motives? I have a dream of being a pop singer some day. But then... who doesn't? Entertainers are a dime a dozen. And Blissians, bless their hearts, make it even harder by sending skilled entertainers who usually don't even charge anything. How can anyone compete with that? Not saying I don't appreciate their reasons for it, just pointing out the reality of how tough a competition it is to achieve such a dream..."

She sips, glances at the wine and then looks at Jaq. "Nice stuff... is this Tavernian?"

Jason nods energetically to what Elena is saying. Hacksaw's eyes widen with glee. "Heeehehehe...." he giggles as Walter explains. "A BLISSIAN doctor? That's like... a Barakian warrior or something! Best of the best, they say! Heehehehe...."

He then turns his psychotic grin to Elena. "Ma'am, I'm a doctor with meager means... heeehehehehe.... but I'll be happy to help you any way possible! *snort* *snicker* Hee...heehehe..." he's trying not to go into a fit of cackling. He seems done with sharpening his cleaver as he rather suddenly slams it into a nearby wooden platform with a solid THUNK that can be felt.

"I have a special room I usually use only for myself..." he says presenting the way and then walking to a back door... that has those plastic flaps hanging from it as a door instead of a normal door.

Hacksaw watches them over his shoulder, his red beedy eye glowing some as he stares right at Lucky. "...hehehehehe... what a beautiful black coat you have... and near this astonishing white-coated Blissian. It's a real sight... hehehehehe..." a rasp in his voice can be heard on that last laugh. To a trained ear like Elena's (Blissians don't have big ears for show!), it would be obvious this man has some physical problems of his own... BESIDES his missing eye and leg.

(OOC: I literally didn't wanna stop typing. I am loving this character too much)

Billy examines the bat. Um? The bat is probably lying. Billy ponders what to do about the bat. He pulls up a chair and sits next to him. "You're welcome. Well, Nate... you seem very jumpy. Are you OK?" the man still has sunglasses on despite being indoors. His voice is as beautiful as ever, but now with tones of concern. "Is there something I can do to help?"

Billy thinks back to when he was a young man and nervous as can be to go to foreign planets. But he's almost positive this isn't visitor jitters since the guy is studying Lockman info specifically instead of stuff about the settlement.

Amy telepaths to Nash, "Nash... not to add any pressure, but this guy... see what you can do about un-masking him. He has that robe and sunglasses on for a reason, I'm sure. And now that he's following you, he's becoming a liability to your mission."

Nash's research is now just turning up branches that spread farther. Just like researching history brings up many many cultures and motives and just becomes a big, overwhelming entanglement of inter-connected or remotely related events, looking up things about the Lockman family is getting to be such also. Connections with the other empires, for instance. How Dominus brought all the empires of Tharian space together and eventually, under his control. The Lockman involvement in this being suspiciously small compared to, say, how involved Coal and it's current ruler Tharcon were...

(OOC: If what I wrote seems confusing, that's kind of on purpose to emulate how distracted poor Nash is by having two people talk to him while he's researching. But this stuff IS important and all part of the story as a whole, so feel free to make a mental note of it all.)

Drizzeleaf doesn't recognize the creature or why it's charging at her, but she knows to flee and with a jingling sound, hurries back into the shop. "HELP!" she yells, heading straight for the nearest person and not caring who or what they may be.

....oh what fun. A giant bird charging into a shop full of people. This could get wild. If it isn't already.

What's more, this will make the spotting job for the possums much easier. But grabbing CHAD back may prove difficult if this all gets blown out of proportion.

  Joe ran after T'Shock and the Chocobo saying "Ray, eating sentient beings is not the solution to our problems."

  Shooting them might be the solution, but there was that slight hope that Joe wouldn't need to find out how many times shooting Ray with their gun set to stun was too many.  They were also hopeful that any ensuing property damage caused directly or indirectly by Ray could get the bill sent to Nono instead of them.  But that was a bit less urgent than hoping people didn't get eaten.

As if CHAD's sanitation worker didn't have enough to be chagrined about, a big yellow bird nearly knocks him over in it's charge for the fairy.  Ray skids to a halt in front of the store, eyes fixed on Drizzeleaf, and considers for a moment if it's worth risking his master's ire to break the "no going into buildings without permission" rule.

"wark..." he thinks out loud.

"master's not watching..." the collar translates.

He crouches, wags his tail feathers and spreads his wings preparing to barrel inside the store when his master's voice booms from the collar.

"No no NO!" the Moogle chastises, as he brings T'Shock's ship to a hover just behind the cringing bird, "Ray!  Have you gone nuts?!  Do not bolt in there!  Whoever you're chasing is no longer a threat to our customer, kupo!"

"Kweh..." Ray mutters, backing away from the store's entrance making it all the more apparent that ship-scale Barakian weapons are inadvertently pointed at a store full of people.

"I love you..." the collar translates.

Nono blushes.  He realizes his friend Ray is trying to soften him up to cover for something naughty, but it's working anyway.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:06, Thu 26 Nov 2009.

As Lucky begins to picture the horrifying things that must have happened in this place, the feeling like he should leave grows ever stronger.  But the chill down his spine isn't sending the flee message.  Instead his knees are knocking together.  When Dr. Hacksaw's cleaver hits the wood, Lucky gasps and nearly passes out.  He stops breathing when the "doctor" looks at him, and when the mention of fur coats comes up, he loses bladder control.  So much for sparing his expensive suit, but that's the last thing on his mind.

Walter rolls his eyes at the other's reactions to the doctor and snatches a wheelchair to help transport Jason to the back room.

"Calm down," he says to both Lucky and Elena in a 'give-me-a-break' kind of tone, "Jeez.  You act like you've never heard that people who are bleeding to death go to doctors.  What'd you expect to see, lollipops and cotton candy?  If he didn't know what he was doing he'd be out of business faster than you can say 'angry relative out for revenge.'"
This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Thu 26 Nov 2009.

As the commotion builds in front of the alleyway C.H.A.D. steps out onto the corner of the sidewalk, looking up at the Barrakian vessel, and down at the bird.  Taking both into consideration he says to himself, "I am under-equipped to handle this situation..."  But then again who is, really.  Well, Maybe Nono steering that gunheavy vessel.

Jacqueline gives a small smile at Emerald's assessment of the wine, "It is. If you can tell that from taste alone, then I'm impressed. Of course, I suppose it's also a logical guess, considering. This was a very... professional wine back home, and for good reason." She swirls her glass again for a short while before sipping it once more.

"So, you want to be singer?" She smirks at that, "Interesting, though you're right that they're a dime a dozen. Good singers, however, are worth every penny. If you're willing to compete and take a chance, then you'll be that much closer to success." She shrugs, sipping her wine again, "So, from the sound of things, the TCC seems to be more something for you to use to get around while you work towards this goal that you really want?"

----

Meanwhile, Sabre is moving through the shopping district by now, moving much quicker than he expected due to all of the commotion.

True to his position, he doesn't let it show that all of this craziness is bothering him, and he even sees through all of the chaos to see CHAD in the midst of it. However, he's more than a little unprepared for the descending Barrakian ship. The very sight of that in the shopping district makes him nearly lose his sunglasses.

While CHAD is debating what to do, Sabre debates his own course of action. He's found CHAD, so he should return to the ship, but CHAD doesn't seem to be doing anything violent or rebellious... Could it really be that hard to just ask him to come back?

Straightening his coat and his shades, Sabre covertly makes his way around to the sidewalk corner that CHAD is standing at, strafing around the hovering ship and the crazy loose bird. Once he gets close, he assumes a nonchalant stance close to CHAD, looking like he's watching what's going on in front of them, but directing his voice to the side in a hushed tone.

"Hey... Hey! Chad? You're a bit far from home base, wouldn't you say?"

Nash is doing his best to keep track of what he's trying to research while also listening to what Billy is saying AND mentally receiving Amy's mental messages.

Nash nearly responds to Amy aloud, but he catches himself quickly, straightening his glasses to calm himself.

Find out more about him. Got it. I can do that. I can do this... What was his name again? Billy. Got it.

He takes a breath to slow his tongue and responds to Billy slowly, clearly trying to watch his stuttering, "I am fine, thank you... Just checking on a few things. I'm... not very familiar with all of this area. You seem to know it, though..." Nash turns a little and glances at Billy, "Do you live around here, maybe?"

He idly searches on one of the more random links he finds when looking for information on Lockman. He's mentally cataloged most of what he's found all ready, even if he hasn't gotten all of it perfectly, but he wants to keep searching to build up his base of knowledge and to hopefully make it look less suspicious.

Miya is the first between the two of them to take defensive action in response to Hacksaw's demeanor. Not hiding her movements, she places one hand on the holster of her gun and keeps her eyes on Hacksaw at all times. She is sure to place herself between the position of the doctor and Elena, even when they're moving.

Elena is unable to stop Walter from getting Jason onto the wheelchair, and she's personally torn about what to do. She can hear the rasp in Hacksaw's voice and it becomes a little more clear to her just what she's dealing with in this settlement. It is not going to be clean or sterile. If it were, then they would not need her like they do now. Even the doctors are ill here. It's terrifying, and her hands are gripping her staff with a white grip, but she moves her feet after Walter and Jason as they go into the room.

"Thank you, Doctor. As long as you can give us space to work with, I can help Mr. Jason, and I will do the best job that I can. Her voice is tremulous, but her face is serious as she focuses on what needs to be done. When they get into the room, she looks around to see what she has to work with.

As Elena goes into the room, Miya walks alongside her, keeping her hand on her pistol and watching Hacksaw. When the others go into the room, Miya stands at the door and gives Hacksaw a warning look. "They can handle it from here. If you don't mind... wait out here until she's done. This may be your clinic, but that Blissian is my employer and, frankly, I do not like the look you are giving her. Do we understand each other?"

T'shock had hurried towards Ray and slows down once near him. She recognized her ship and further recognizes the voice of it's repairman. She looks up at the ship. Heh... Nono having a Barakian look UP at him is probably a short thrill. "Nobody was a threat to me that I know of, Nono. Ray was just chasing a fairy for some reason. Are fairies mortal enemies of Ray's kind where he comes from?"

Though she's a Barakian, T'shock shows her naivety by not being able to wrap her mind around a sentient being desiring to kill another sentient being for no other purpose than to eat them. But Joe suggested it, so...

"....EATING? She's... she's a PERSON!" she near-freaks.

Emerald grins. "Right on the nose, Jaqueline. TCC is meant to be a temporary job for me." she ALMOST said "gig" which would have sounded too... well, what she really is. "And no, I couldn't tell from taste alone. Just educated guess work. We all need reminders of home, don't we? Tell me something... do you get involved in politics outside of business?"

Hacksaw raises an eyebrow at Miya and grins. "Oh so crystal clearly, ma'am... you understand this is my clinic and I understand your concern. The good doctor asked me to give her space. When a doctor asks that, people *must* respect that. Far be it from me to infringe on a fellow medical practitioner's personal preferences... however... just understand not to push your luck with me or I will have you all dismissed and your "employer's" patient will be out of luck. As long as you understand this, I believe we do, in fact, understand each other." the whole while, he kept his grin quite wide. He's enjoying this all too much.

Jason is able to lay on the relatively sterile table and winces. "Thanks for asking for space, Elena... I thought I was going to have to stare at that creepy grin throughout the whole process..." he says very quietly. "...you can see why I didn't come here to begin with."

Jason then speaks up in defense of Elena, "Cut her some slack... she's probably used to Blissian hospitals. Which probably DO have lollipops and cotton candy. And no blood."

After all... it's hard for most ANYONE to imagine any place on Planet Bliss having blood-stains anywhere.

Billy headshakes. "No, I don't live here." he answers. Billy then pulls up a chair with the backrest facing Nash as Billy sits on it backwards, crossing his arms on the top of the backrest and then leans his chin on his arms. "But I believe I can be a lot of help if you were looking for someone who might know a thing or two about the cultures collecting here. I'm more familiar with the Tharians personally than any of the others, but believe me, I know quite a bit about the others as well. Such as the Piressens... and their current Emperor, Nick Lockman."

Amy watches the conversation between Billy and Nash, wondering how Nash plans to get Billy to betray himself and show who he really is. Or if Billy wears sunglasses and a cloak for some other reason. She can't shake the feeling, however, that the man has nothing but good intentions and sees Nash as part experiment, part friend. Amy is confused. Something that she's had to get used to ever since the SA put that restriction on her to not read minds unless permitted to. Not that there's a way to police that, but Amy has learned reading minds is to her what the beer bottle is to obsessive drunks. Take one drink and the second one is twice as tempting.

Drizzeleaf sees what's going on outside and comes out of the store with the store manager. She rasberries at Ray. "Pthpthpth!" fists on her hips.

The store manager, a 4' tall weasel notices the Barakian standing there and a Barakian ship hovering up above. "...ma'am, is that your vehicle and is that your bird?" he asks of T'shock in a stern tone.

...look at T'shock's eyebrow twitch.

  Expert in tactful responses and comforting needed?  Too bad, you get Joe.  "Well, you know.  Excitedly exclaiming 'YUM' and charging open beaked at something bite sized does give the impression."   They eye the taking this rather well manager (he can't 'eyes' someone as well what with the replacement even more obvious than a certain Doctors).  "The bird isn't ours, and the ship isn't taking up parking space at the moment.  The ship can move easily enough if it's bothering you though."

Ray is marginally sentient when he's fully fed and not tempted by such a pretty morsel.  But now?

"Mine?" he says, staring at Drizzle like her raspberry was an enticing cherry on top of her already savory sparkles.

"Mine," the collar translator interprets, making it slightly more clear that it wasn't a question, but a declaration.

Nono gawks and blushes.

"No not mine," he says, leaving the ship right where it is and fluttering over to his preoccupied friend, "Not yours either.  What is your major malfunction?  I fed you plenty this morning, kupo!  Are your screws loose?  I'll tighten them up for you then!

He reaches into his satchel, pulls out a strap wrench, and uses it to muzzle the bird.  Ray instantly collapses, writhes around on the ground, moans and cries like he's in torture.

"I'm very very sad," the collar translates.

Nono has a sad sympathetic look on his face for his friend, but tries to remain stern.

"Don't be such a squeaky wheel, it's not that tight."

"Sorry about all this," he addresses the group with an apologetic bow, "I've never seen him bust a gasket like this.  He's usually so very noble and kind, kupo."

He gives a sheepish, but still proud smile to T'Shock.

"I came over to show off the progress!  She's flying like a champ!  You should give her a spin!  I'll bet she could break 100MPS²* easy!"

He looks over at Driz.  "Best way I can make it up to you is to fix anything of yours that needs fixin.'"

Do fairies even have spaceships?  Or tech?  If not, that needs to be rectified, kupo!

*(( That's metric jargon for "from zero to 60 in less than half a second!" ))
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Mon 18 Jan 2010.

"Walter," Lucky whispers through his teeth, still paralyzed.

Walter doesn't hear him.  He just laughs when Jason makes his point.

"You're probably right!" he says, laughing some more at the mental image, "And when they put another Blissian under the knife, fruit punch comes out instead of blood!"

"Walter," Lucky whispers again.

Walter again doesn't hear and looks over to Miya with a big smile.

"Relax, Miya.  I can understand defending your sweet cuppincake gumdrop, but he's a jackal.  They give that look to everyone all the the time.  No need to slap leather over his version of cotton candy.  I'd say he's been pretty generous.  Hasn't even asked for a fee for renting the table."

"Walter!"

Walter leans against the doorway near Miya and Hacksaw and folds his arms in a relaxed posture like no one had threatened anyone.

"Outworlders, heh," he says to Hacksaw, "Wait till you hear their plan for building a non-profit hospital."

"What's wrong with building a non-profit hospital?" Lucky asks defensively, forgetting for a moment that speaking up might draw attention to his wet pants.  Or worse yet, draw attention from Hacksaw.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:25, Mon 18 Jan 2010.

As Sabre calls for C.H.A.D's attention he looks around the ruckus at the opossum, and shakes his head, "I estimate I am only four kilometers from the space station, and I am where I was ordered to be." he replies, then he looks around for Drizzle for confirmation of his orders.   Following the muzzling of Ray, the danger to Drizzle is over and with the Barrakian ship parked he feels free to go back to his alleyway to maintain his guard, as he heads back he looks over towards Sabre, "I may need assistance securing this alley, this area is more active than I anticipated.  I'm not equipped to handle all of this myself." he claims.  But then again, who is?

"That we do." Jacqueline closes her eyes only briefly in memory as they talk. "Politics only interest me so far as being useful for keeping business going. Outside of that, it seems a bit repetitive, wouldn't you say? There's a lot of interesting risks taken on the surface, and it almost seems like a unique game to play... but, then, after awhile, you start to realize that nothing really changes. Different people win, of course, but only a few of them really get to matter."

She sips her wine again, letting out a slow breath afterward, her glass being empty. She gives a thin smile to the fox before her, "I'm guessing your interest in politics goes outside of just the TCC and your goal of singing, hm? But why do you ask me?"

----

Sabre raises a brow at CHAD's initial response, "Where you were ordered to be? But... no one gave you an order to do any of this- Hey!" His shades fall down his muzzle a little as he hurries to keep up with CHAD as he moves back to the alley.

Frowning, the opossum stands alongside him, readjusting his sunglasses, "I can't help you do something that none of us ordered you to do. I'm actually under orders to find you, since the whole crew thinks you went AWOL. Who gave you the order to leave, anyway? No one said they knew anything about your leaving."

Despite his words, Sabre seems to be guarding the alley along with C.H.A.D, standing next to him and looking less than inconspicuous.

Nash's ears perk at hearing the Lockman name mentioned from Billy. As soon as he does that, he realizes the fairly large visual cue he gave and tries to reverse himself, lowering his ears forcibly, which only seems to feel more awkward at the moment. Frowning at himself, he turns to the computer again and looks through the random info he's getting.

"So... you know a lot of cultures? B-but... your best is Therian? Well... I'd be interested in hearing about them... Sure. But, uhm... How do you know so much about these cultures? Do you travel a lot...?" He's not watching Billy now, but he keeps his ears open to hear if he makes any large movements.

Try to get him to talk more about himself. Not about other things. But... other things are useful too. That's true. I can do both. Who is he? His glasses are so dark. Be logical. Perhaps he's blind? Sensitive to light? Has a disease or abnormality in his eyes? He can't be blind. He can see what I'm doing and what I'm typing.

Elena actually smiles a little in response to Jason's defense of her, "Lollipops, yes, but not cotton candy. That's much too messy to keep around! Now, I need you to lay back and relax, Mr. Jason. I'm going to make this as painless as possible, okay? We'll have your leg fixed in no time at all."

As she says this, she passes her staff over Jason's legs and squeezes and shakes it gently. It's very rudimentary Blissian medical technology, helping the muscles in Jason's leg relax and a slow, natural feeling of drowsiness pass through his entire body. As she does this, she looks around to see what is available to her here already, seeing what she will have to substitute with her own limited supplies at the moment.

At the door, Miya seems unaffected by Hacksaw's threat, though she frowns at Walter's comments, putting her free hand to her temple and massaging it gently.

"I don't intend on pushing my luck, Doctor. Luck has very little to do with what I'm trying to do here. I simply do not want to make this more difficult than it already is... You make a good point, though. Thank you for letting us use your facilities."

After a moment has passes, Miya sniffs the area curiously, only briefly turning to glance at Lucky and confirm his current state. With that being done, she politely doesn't say anything about it and instead maintains her guard.

T'shock looks at the squirming bird with mixed feeling. Must be one of those barely sentient races who still relies heavily on instinct. But Nono seems to have things under control. "Wow... and this is no charge?" T'shock asks Nono, double-checking.

She then looks at the fairy. "Aren't you the same fae we saw earlier who laughed herself unconscious?"

Drizzeleaf huhs? and turns her attention to Nono. He's offering her free services... She smiles brightly. "That would make my day! Yeah! Though... are you sure? I mean... a ship the size I fly in might be... um... a whole other experience for you..."

She asides to T'shock, "Yes I AM that same Fae... please don't remind me of the large, beefy man walking around struttin' his stuff or I'll laugh again!" she pauses and starts laughing. A moment later, though, she whipes a tear from her cheek and says, "But seriously... I was JUST trying to shop for the guy when Big Bird came along."

The store manager folds his arms at Joe. "It is. It needs to be parked in a proper place, not pointing at my store with gun turrets open."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:53, Sun 07 Feb 2010.

Emerald says, "Oh just like to keep tabs on things. If your ship is in the ocean, you need to know where the tides are going... Oh, sure, as you pointed out, the tides are all the same and all water, but unless you wanna get washed up or devoured, you gotta know at least a little bit. Try less to think of it as a race of nameless people, but as a force of nature that will always be with us. Just like solar flares. Since politicians will never be fully aligned, their purposes effect each other a whole lot less than they affect the so-called little people. But that's as far as my interest goes there..."

She takes a quick sip, holding up a finger to indicate she's still answering. "As for why ask you? Conversation sake, really. Partly thinking out loud and partly hoping you would be able to satisfy a few curiosities I had about this upcoming contest Rocky's holding. Such as why he's holding it."

Hacksaw smiles at Miya. "Good to know... I'll bet we'll be hearing some bone-snapping sounds soon!" he calls out to Elena, "The anesthetic is in the drawer marked with the letter "P"! Should be on the right wall! But of course, if you enjoy hearing him scream, I won't object!" he covers his mouth, snickering.

Jason gulps. "B-bone snapping? I heard about this... doctors have to break your bones in order to re-set them... please tell me it won't be so bad..."

Hacksaw looks down at Walter and cackles. "A non-profit hospital? Now that's a laugh! Oh well... she IS a Blissian. She still doesn't know that outside of her cozy little socialist world, money makes the universe go round."

He glances at Miya. "Tell me, young Deksharr... do you just protect her body? Or do you protect her soul as well? Because if you do, you should warn her against her naivety."

The man with the shades is still smiling. "Yes! As a matter of fact, I do." his soothing voice says with a sudden rise of childlike enthusiasm. "I mostly roost on Tharia, but I travel a lot to all kinds of places in order to get to know people and, well, make them smile. See... I'm an entertainer. A musician. But for the people I sing for... it's so much more than that. I'm a bard. I sing of their culture and their ways and remind them of their patriotism. It usually brightens their day quite a bit."

Amy finally feels it. "That's it!" she sends to Nash. "What he's talking about now is his passion. I think it's especially the fact he makes people smile, but... the other stuff makes him happy too. I can feel it."

  Shows what the store owner knows. Guns on a Barrakian ship retracting?  Yeah right.  They just cover them to ensure they are intact for later use.

  Joe looks to Drizzeleaf "You're taking no pants man pants shopping.  That's reasonable" Wait, it is?  "I'm more curious how you ended up doing it in the first place...  And if there's something I should know about that alley?"  Not one, but two dudes guarding said alley.  Not out of place at all.

  Back towards the unamed but put upon store owner, "Well, I'm sure he'll move it as soon as... uh..."  Joe can't think of when Nono would do it of their own intent with all the distractions.  "Hey, Nono.  Could you move the ship somewhere not crazy please?"

Nono answers the manager first.

"The gun turrets don't have a 'closed' position," he points out, then rubs his chin, "Though I could add that feature."

To Joe he answers, "If I must.  But I would much rather T'Shock have a chance to test her out!"

He presents the ship to her with a flourish of his hand.

Nono smiles at Drizzeleaf, recalling the silliness earlier with much amusement, but he's even more tickled by her challenge.  He wiggles his fingers proudly.

"Nono's nimble numbers are notorious!" he boasts, "Fashioning a futuristic fae fighter would work wonderfully!  Kupohoho!"

Ray notices his tantrum isn't working, so he gets back on his feet.

"Yeah... Dunno how they expect it to stay afloat," Walter adds about the hospital before addressing the other topic, "But as far as protecting bodies goes..."

He gives a flirty smile to Miya.

"You've got a fine one, Missy!  Don't take offense from Hacksaw's latest comment, I assure you he only wants to save your friend some disappointment."

Seeing as he's being summarily ignored by everyone but the one person who's polite enough to ignore him on purpose, Lucky slinks back to the door and exits Hacksaw's clinic.  He drapes his jacket over his arm in an attempt to hide the wet slacks while making a phone call.

"Yes.  You make deliveries?  Good.  I need a suit delivered to the Hacksaw clinic pronto.  Payment on delivery.  You happen to know of a place that sells or rents suits?  OK fine...  Now for the next item I'll need..."

Through the power of wireless communication, Lucky arranges for his embarrassment to be minimized.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:51, Mon 08 Feb 2010.

Chad replies to the question posed by Sabre, "I was ordered to leave the vessel without causing an alarm and later to maintain security of this alley by the small voice that was on my head." he admits vaugely not knowing Drizzel's name.  "Since nobody else noticed my departure I have accomplished the first part of my orders sucessfully.  Now I must maintain this area until the voice returns with supplies." he informs Sabre, figuring he's allowed to know since he's part of the same unit as well.....  Everyone so far.

Jacqueline picks up the bottle of wine as Emerald talks, looking it over lightly, as if asking herself something. Nodding, she pours a small bit more into her glass as she lets the fox continue.

When she's finished, the opossum sips her wine thoughtfully before asking, "You really are interested in that contest, aren't you? I know you said that you want to get closer to someone powerful like the Lockmans, but do you know anything about this contest at all?"

As the conversation goes on, Jacqueline appears to get just a little more conversational, sounding more open to the idea of looking into this contest that's got Emerald so intrigued. She certainly isn't like most of the representatives that she's met with before.

---

Sabre listens to CHAD with an incredulous look on his face, at a loss for words for almost several moments.

"Small voice on your head? What? Are you... are you malfunctioning? Hrm." He frowns as he tries to think of what little he knows on how to repair biological machines. Unsurprisingly, it's minimal.

At best, all he can do now is stay with CHAD and try to get through to him with an authoritative, yet calm voice. "CHAD, unless that voice gives you a name to refer to or is sent by Ms. Diamant herself, you should always double check with me or another of your superiors! We haven't even given you a proper briefing on what your tasks should be yet... How could you logically think that your own employer would want you to sneak out of her own ship?"

Nash sits up in a bit of surprise, both at Billy's enthusiastic tone and Amy's enthusiastic telepathic response.

Mentally, he wonders So he's not a bad person, right? Not someone to worry about? If he's honest about wanting to make people smile, then he shouldn't be that bad. He could be lying somehow, but, if Amy... if you can feel him being honestly happy, then that sounds like it's a good thing. Do I keep asking about him?

Tentatively, he turns a little to look at Billy, adjust his glasses and taking a breath to remind himself to speak slowly, "So... you sing? That explains the poem you were saying earlier. It was a song, right?"

He immediately has a thought, an idea that's enough to make him raise his eyebrows as he thinks, He's been around... All around... Maybe I can ask him more about Lockman? Is he trustworthy enough. You barely know him... That's too dangerous, isn't it?

Elena frowns at first, but then smiles gently to Jason, patting his arm in a reassuring manner, "It won't be as bad as it sounds... I'll do my best to make it as painless as possible. There'll be pain to get it to heal and set right, but it'll be okay." After making sure that he's laying back, the Blissian hops over to the drawers and looks for the one with 'P' on it.

It doesn't take her long to locate the drawer or the anesthetic itself. Once she does, she wastes no time in applying it to Jason to make sure that his leg is properly numbed. The effect is stronger than the effects of her staff, but she's careful enough not to overdo it.

She waits for the drug to take effect before moving on to the next step with the leg, speaking soothingly to Jason all the while to keep him from worrying, and to keep him from focusing on his leg.

Back out by the doorway, Miya's eyebrow twitches as Walter makes a less than subtle pass at her. To both him and Hacksaw, she responds with a cool, level tone.

"I protect her from individuals who would want to harm her. It's that simple. However, I would not suggest mocking what a Blissian can do, if only because their kind have done plenty already."

She keeps her eyes lightly active as she watches both of them carefully, considering them to be less of a physical threat than before. Unfortunately for Walter, Miya doesn't respond to his compliment on her figure.

Drizzeleaf hrms. It's SO tempting to let the non-uniformed man continue to be such. She decides she'll return to that later. "Alright then, Mister! I'll get my ship shortly. By the way, my name is Drizzeleaf. Yours?" she holds her hand forward, but even someone as small as Nono will likely be letting her shake his finger instead of his whole hand. She continues to jingle as she hovers at a height that would be convenient for finger-to-hand shaking.

She looks at Joe. "The alley? It's just so he isn't walking around in public barely dressed. As for why I'm doing it? That's a long story and I don't have the time to tell some stranger like you about it. Sorry!" she grins broadly.

T'shock spreads her wings. "I'll move it. Thanks for the upgrade." she comments towards Nono before flapping to her ship and entering it. Whether Nono decides to pilot it away or stick around for Driz's ship, T'shock makes sure that her own ship doesn't stick around.

Emerald headshakes. "That's just it. I don't know much. All I know is that the winners get to be recruited into a pretty high-paying position like elite bodyguards or something. But the details? And why? Dunno. Is Rocky's old team failing? Did he fire good help? Is he hiring body guards for some foreign diplomats? Who knows? I'm guessing you know as much as I do..."

Hacksaw grins at Walter. "Looks like your client found himself some seriously good help. Strong of body and strong of sense. Two very potent things in this dog-eat-dog universe. Heh..."

He then looks at Miya. "Oh I don't under-estimate what the Blissians do. But I don't under-estimate what everyone else does either. History is all the proof I need. When Blissians stick to themselves, they prosper. When they visit other worlds, they are met with open arms and all, but not so much open wallets. And founding a hospital is no small deal. Especially on a settlement like this one where just about every faction in the cluster is vying for claim over the place. Everyone will want their piece of the pie and the higher-ups won't care if a Blissian gets hurt in the process since they can wash their hands and look all clean on the screen. I will consent to this: Blissians have founded hospitals on other worlds. But really... this IS different. This isn't a united place. Thankfully, all the war they want to wage will be done so financially... but that, of course, is part of why founding a free clinic, much less hospital, will be nigh impossible."

He frowns, for once not cackling and looking serious. He growls a little. "In all honesty, I hope she pulls it off and shows those self-serving egomaniacs who's boss." But he smiles again. "So yeah... as a friend to her, you should seriously consider helping her with the research. You would be much better than her at researching the reality of the situation. It isn't just numbers and public opinion that count, after all."

Jason smiles endearingly at the Blissian, wishing he could flirt more with her, but scared that if he does he'll take her mind off her current task. "Thanks, doc..." he says, figuring THAT, at least, is warranted.

Billy chuckles. "I did sing it, Nate..." he demonstrates by singing the first phrase again. "Don't remember?"

Amy telepaths, "Yes you should continue asking about him. Though I suspect something... see about getting those sunglasses off of him."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Fri 19 Feb 2010.

  "So, it wasn't because you were putting effort into not laughing yourself to death every time you saw Chad then?"  But of course, that was a short story, so if it was a long one then that couldn't have been it.

  Joe watched as T'Shock flew off to fly off.  Then considered heading off to somewhere less filled with ridiculousness, but something told him ditching the spazzy bird even if Nono was with them now may be a bad idea.

It's slowly sinking in that the flying, sparkling, jingling, sugar sweet looking morsel is a PERSON, not just a very fancy bug...  But she IS still a flying, sparkling, jingling, sugar sweet looking morsel.  Ray smiles at her and makes a bird-like purr at her, but his eyes are still fixed on her like a cat staring at a laser pointer.

"I'm being friendly!" the collar translates, "So I can trick you into letting me eat you!"

Amazing how much can be said with body language, isn't it?

Nono finger-shakes Driz's tiny hand and blushes.

"Heh.  Sorry about Ray.  I'm sure he'll figure out you're not food soon enough.  Especially if you're nice to him."

He looks over to the alley.

"As excited as I am to see a Fae ship, it wouldn't be very nice to leave that poor guy naked and alone.  Let's see what we can do for him."

Nono floats onto Ray's back and Ray walks toward the alley as instructed, frequently glancing at Driz.

---

"Excuse me mam," T'Shock's comm says, "This is Cid, Nono's more sane partner.  Fortunately he left the comm on.  I thought I should give you fair warning that he disabled a very important safety feature in your ship - the throttle dampener.  The designers of your ship knew well the physical limits of your race and made it so you can't accelerate beyond what your body... or the ship's engines for that matter... could handle, but my crazy partner has this need for speed...  Long story short, be VERY gentle with the throttle until you're used to the new setting.  You'll find it's a LOT faster than before.  Also, I found you a nice parking spot right behind the store."

Walter smirks.  One, Miya didn't tell him to take a long walk off a short airlock, and two, he too likes the notion Hacksaw suggested of showing up "those self-serving egomaniacs."

"Sound advice," he says arms folded, leaning on a nearby wall, "But that's what doctors do, right?  Give sound advice?"

He looks over to Jason.

"Such as 'a little pain now or be lame for the rest of your life.'  Besides... I'm sure it's nothing you can't handle.  Right, tough guy?"

Meanwhile, Lucky makes with the getting changed into a clean suit when it arrives.  He'd comment on how to make non-profit hospitals profitable for everyone involved, but he's not present for that conversation.

C.H.A.D. cooly (As cool as a guy wearing a skirt can, anyway.) monitors the street activity, "I'm not malfunctioning, the small voice is over there." he states nodding towards Nono and Drizzel, either of whom could be counted as 'small'.

As far as Sabre questioning his logic he replies, "It is not my place to question the logic, motivation, or ethics of orders given.  I simply carry them out.  I followed the orders of one of a higher rank, since I have no rank, everyone qualifies.  As soon as I recieve the promised briefing I will begin to follow the orders as they are outlined by my general orders.".

Meanwhile:  He's watching the alleyway, since Sabre hasn't explicitly told him to do diffrent yet.

Jacqueline sips her wine slowly as Emerald talks, "As of right now, that's exactly true..."

She swirls her wine thoughtfully, going over the questions that Emerald mentions.  It's interesting, yes, and to ignore such an obviously large movement from someone as big as the Lockman Empire was foolish.  Whether she cared for big politics or not, this could make obvious waves for the casino here.  Then again, it could also be nothing, and may have no impact on what she was doing at all.

She sighs, muttering "... it IS worth looking into." Slowly, she shakes her head, having said that more to herself than Emerald, "Okay, I think you've sufficiently piqued my interest on this by now. As I said, I have meetings tomorrow, so I'm not entirely certain that I'd be able to personally look into this... but what would you say if I asked you to do a little information gathering for me, Miss Haynsworth?  Having you come back here and tell me you were able to learn about this contest and what it means?"

---

Sabre notices the various others staring at him and CHAD, and he shifts in his spot, feeling less than comfortable in his current position.  He nods at CHAD's pointing out of the Moogle and the fluttering light above him, though he isn't quite sure which is the source of the voice.

"CHAD, if this voice did not give you a rank, then you have no proof that it was of a higher rank. You were not given a proper briefing yet so that you could get settled and we could properly determine where to place you... However, if you wish for us to pull rank and treat this as if it were war-times, then fine." He pushes up his sunglasses officially, but tries to keep his posture calm, "CHAD, I am your commanding security officer.  I outrank the voice over there and am under orders to find you and return you to the ship immediately.  Conclusively, that means that you have orders from me and from MY commanding officers to return to the ship right now. Once there, you will return to the quarters that I showed you earlier, and wait there until I personally come to take you for your briefing..."

He sighs, not actually enjoying have to be so official, "Is that understood, CHAD?"

Nash politely mouths the line after Billy sings it, looking ahead as he thinks about it, "Oh... you DID sing it. I... I'm sorry.  I thought more like a poem or... or a lyrical verse or something." He takes a forcibly slow breath to calm his speech again, nodding slowly.

"I do remember it, Billy... It was a very unique song. Uhm... where did you learn it from?" His ears twitch as he mentally gets Amy's message, starting to think of ways to accomplish that.

Ask about him... get the glasses off. Why the glasses? They seem okay. How would you get yours off? You need to at least try. Why would you take your own glasses off? Maybe you have that in common...

As he thinks and listens, Nash idly reaches into his pants pocket and roots around for a light blue plastic case. Opening it with a click, he takes out a small, smooth, red cloth. Carefully, he removes his own glasses, revealing his squinting and horribly inefficient eyes as he cleans the dust thoroughly off of his glasses before putting them back on as he listens to Billy's potential response.

Elena smiles kindly back to Jason, telling him "You're very welcome. Now please lay back and hold still.  This will be easier that way, okay?"

Elena checks to make sure she has what she needs with her. There seems to be quite enough materials to make a proper cast, or at least a splint, and she makes certain she can set this up for Jason immediately.  With this all set, there is nothing left to do but unset Jason's leg from its previous state and reset it, holding it firm with a cast.

Not wasting any more time, the procedure begins, with Elena talking soothingly to Jason through the worst of it.

By the door, Miya seems unaffected by Hacksaw's hard words, keeping her face calm and her attitude collected. She does raise a brow as he mentions her being better suited for researching reality, but she doesn't react otherwise, "I see... We'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Whether she's really considering it, or if she's simply done with this line of conversation, no hint is given in her tone or her posture.