In the dim light of the bar, Viridian hadn't recognized Theodore at first. Plus, it had been several years.

"Has it really been 10 years?" he asked Theodore. "Yeah, I guess it has. You still got the itch?"

When he said Viridian could call him 'Teddy', he was torn between laughing or barfing.

"Do I have to? When did you stop being just plain old 'Mac'?"

He sized up Teddy to see how much change there had been before turning his attention to the other man.

"Pleased to meet you, Aaron."

Sometimes it was hard to tell what people were about, and sometimes it wasn't. In this case, the fact that the other two were here--presumably in response to a message similar to what he'd received--helped add to his impression.

But it worked both ways. Just as them being here added a bit of dimension to them, so, too, did their presence give some dimension to Cheshire and this endeavor. Although that made him a bit suspicious now, he also found it amusing... and a good thing.

"Heheheheheheh, Mac is fine too!"

As he followed the conversation between Theodore and Viridian, a small smile appeared upon Arron's face. After the ex- Navy Captain responded, Aaron turned to Viridian and responded to his greeting, "Please to meet you too, Viridian". He turned his gaze at Theodore for a moment and then turned back to Viridan, tilted his head slightly, and asked "So, how do you guys know each other?"

"We met during the war, he was a mercenary hired to protect Deneb while I was there from the Zhodane invasion that was thought to be imminent, the Marines were stretched too thin so mercenaries were used."
This message was last edited by the player at 13:15, Sun 05 May 2019.

That wasn't quite accurate, of course, since Viridian hadn't been that kind of mercenary, but maybe Mac really thought he was. He did try to 'talk the talk', but wasn't fool enough to actually go into combat!

"Those were odd times. You either had to step up or get run over from behind," Viridian added. Best keep it rather vague.

Switching his gaze from Theodore to the mercenary, the medic listened intensely. "That sounds grim.", the small man said, then continues with a question at Viridian, "But I understand from you that the Zhodane's never came?"

"Nope, never came, they knew better, how bout it Vir?"

"Yeah. As I understand it, they were looking for an Ancient artifact," Viridian answers. "I've heard it called the Tox Uthat but that's also from fiction. It's rumored to be a quantum inhibitor but just be a fancy ukulele for all anyone knows."

"So, either they found it and didn't need to move farther into the Imperium, or else they were stopped and didn't want to put any more money and effort into what was probably a pig-in-a-poke anyway."

Teddy then concentrated on the woman on the other side of the table. "How many do we await Cheshire?"

"I sent notes to a dozen people that I felt might be interested," Cheshire replies, "but I don't expect all of them to respond."

"However, I do think a certain quorum is needed, which may depend on who does show up."

"We'll give it a few more minutes. If no one else shows up by then, I'll have to start with who is here."

  If it wasn't brown, it was drab. On Axim, that was the rule.

  Zhouth was the exception to prove it.

  It wasn't that his outfit was comprised of unrelated pieces, accessories, and decorative flourishes. That alone would have been merely jarring. No, it was that each one of those things was rendered in its own bright, mismatched color, such that the entire ensemble was heard long before it was seen.

  In this region of space, and especially on a vargr, one might have immediately thought 'corsair' save that the stereotype continued with intimidating armor, bristling weapons, and a brash swagger. He had none of those things: the retinal assault notwithstanding, his garb was entirely civilian; there were no weapons in sight; and while he hardly seemed lacking in self-confidence as he entered and looked around, there was nothing in his manner that suggested aggression.

  Indeed, he would have passed as entirely unremarkable... if only he'd worn brown.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:30, Tue 07 May 2019.

Teddy turned when the Vargr in party-colored attire walked in the door. At the distance and in the light, he didn't recognize him. He knew immediately the vargr was one that they waited for. "Looks like another has arrived."
This message was last edited by the player at 12:59, Wed 08 May 2019.

  Zhouth's eyes and ears swept the room before his gaze returned to the openly-clandestine gathering at the back, and without further ado he strolled over to it.

  "C?"

  That had been the enigmatic signature on the letter, of course, and the inquiry was apparently his way of confirming that he hadn't missed some less obvious clandestine gathering amidst the gloom, though judging from the relaxed tone and the hint of a smile curling the corners of his lips, he already knew the answer.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:43, Tue 07 May 2019.

Ingrid hesitantly pushed open the door to Braxton's and looked around. It was clear to see that this was no place for a proper lady, and she nervously clutched the skirts of her elaborate blue dress. Her green eyes kept looking from the note in her hand to the faces of each person at the bar. Who could possibly be C?

Idling, the small man took another couple sips from his cup. Emptied, he put it on the table next to him and uncoupled the rectangular device from his belt.

He listened absent-mindedly to the various conversations around the bar and started fiddling with the uncoupled device. It has strange pulsating blue lines converging in the middle and Aaron started to trace them with his finger as he looked around.

"What are you doing Aaron?"

" Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle, is that you Ingrid? What in the world are you doing here? I'm in a meeting now, but sit down somewhere and quench your thirst and we'll catch up when I'm done!" he says as he jumps up upon seeing her. He looked to Aaron and said, "I've known her since she was eight or nine years old! My have you grown!"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:28, Wed 08 May 2019.

"That would be me," Cheshire responds to Zhouth.

Then a slight frown momentarily crosses her face at Teddy's recognition of Aaron and then Ingrid.

After only a brief moment, her face brightened up again as if something occurred to her.

"Join us. You, too, Ingrid. You were all invited."

Possibly 3 more, she thought, though I wonder how many will pass the test.

"Oh!" Ingrid exclaimed, turning around in a whirl of skirts. "Teddy!" she said with a smile.
She then looked embarrassed and looked down shyly. "That is, Lieutenant McFarlane. I... yes, I'll do that, I don't wish to interrupt. It's been too long since we've seen each other"

She turned back to C, surprised. "Thank you for inviting me, miss" she said politely, then sat down carefully.

  Zhouth circled the table, pulled out a chair, sat down, and sat back; he could have been joining a birthday gathering rather than a hush-hush 'opportunity' for the casual ease with which he was treating it.

  Like Theodore, he was curious as to what Aaron was up to, but the question had already been asked and it would be rude to badger him about it. For the moment, Zhouth merely watched and waited. The gathering would reveal itself, one way or another.

Roland was at loose ends between jobs when the message arrived.  It took only a moment to make a decision and he was walking out the door of the dingy little boarding house and toward the bar.  When he arrived the small group of people including a Vargr and a pair of women, one a Sword Worlder by appearance near the back indicated to him that this was the likely group.  Still Roland wanted to size things up.  He headed to the bar first and ordered a beer.  Glancing at the crew he recognized one man immediately which made him feel much better at least for now.

Walking over to the group Roland nodded.  "I'm Roland Pemberton.  I take it that his is the opportunity?" he directed the last to others.  "Hey Aaron, it's been a while but good to see you again."

Teddy raised his eyebrows in wonder when Ingrid sat down, wondering why she was there. He then focused his attention on each in turn for a moment settling on Cheshire.

Aaron is gazing at the wall while twiddling with the rectangular object as Theodore says something to him. The medic makes shaking move with his head, suddenly taken out of his pondering and quickly re-attaches the object to his belt without saying a word. He follows Theodore's gaze towards the blonde woman with the elaborate dress, gazes at her for a moment before dipping his head in a non-committal greeting.

As a moment later another man calls him by his name, the small man tilts his head and looks at the new man. A look of slight confusion upon his face, as if he is digging inside his head, searching for recognition. He responds with a hesitant, "Hey there", still unsure what to make of it.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:22, Thu 09 May 2019.

"I think I've waited long enough," Cheshire speaks up after evaluating all those that are present.

"I can probably accommodate anyone who arrives late."

"Anyway... it's not necessarily time sensitive, but it could be."

"My ex-mate Erik Grylla has kidnapped my son, Nathaniel. He hasn't taken him off-world yet, but that's still a possibility."

"I was hoping you folks could rescue him for me."

"At the moment, he's staying at the Draxos Estate... a compound about 80 kilometers east of here. As you can probably tell, I really don't have the skills to pull off such an operation, but I do have money that can pay others to do it."

"Is this something you all might be interested in?"

"Uhhh, maybe. . . . . How much does it pay? I thought this was a space job. Most appear to be spacers, though the few I don't know give no clue to that."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:57, Thu 09 May 2019.

  "Spacers with a ship could offer to take him off world," Zhouth noted with a mischievous grin (the vargr equivalent, anyway), and a flourish of one hand. "All kinds of things could happen once they were aboard! Or on the way to it..."

  He lapsed back into relaxed silence after making that observation. Cheshire had left some big questions unanswered, but he wasn't ready to put them yet.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:27, Thu 09 May 2019.