No other questions!

“I can do that.” Rei assured the sergeant: how hard would it be to keep her mouth shut after all? Still... Best not mess up and have to see for herself, right?

Which meant finding a way to occupy herself for the next, hmm, twenty minutes or so before she had to follow in the hall. Without unnecessarily draw attention to herself. But...

Rei looked around for a second or two. Maybe she ought to be able to do two things at once? So instead of trying to be stealthy, she leaned against the cart, looking bored, with her comlink in hand. From time to time she looked around as if waiting for someone, grumbled and looked back at her device.

Hopefully everyone would assume she was just waiting for someone - and getting annoyed they were getting late - and wouldn't question her. And should someone try to come to her 'help'... Well... Maybe they'd be the one to cause the cart to dump its load on the ground?

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 579):

There are a large number of miners who are doing the same.  So you do blend in.

Except.

You're the best looking one on the field.  Really.  Not just your ego tripping here.  Compared to most of the folks here, you're hot.

Which means...

"Wellllllll...hey beautiful.  Where'd you pull in from?"

A man in dust covered overalls saunters up, pulling a cart of his own behind him.  He gives you a big, toothy grin and inches closer.

"What you sellin'?  I might know someone's who buying."

14 minutes to go

To say that Rei had been counting on exactly that would have been… Oh, alright, she had. But whatever happened to him would be his fault, not hers!

A bit annoyed without having to force it much - who’d ask him to say that to her? - Rei answered “Right now, I’m not selling anything, that’s the problem.” She looked once more at her com’ with a grunt. “As for buying…” She blinked, genuinely unsure of what he was implying. “Over there?” She pointed at the hall.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 581):

He seems to completely misunderstand you.

He follows your finger and scratches his chin.

"Well...there's gonna be a lotta people around.  But if you wanna do the transaction in public like...I guess I'd be okay with that."

Rei watched the guy for a moment, obviously unsure: clearly, if misunderstanding there was, it wasn't just on one side as she had no idea what he way saying, much less implying. Was she having a stroke or something? She had checked her blood sugar before leaving the ship so it shouldn't be that but...

For now, she shook her head,  “This” she pointed at her cart “is what I'm supposed to be selling, over there.” pointing once more at the hall. “But my boss, _{damn him} is more than late. _{Probably passed out drunk under a table somewhere}, and I've never done this so I have to wait.”

She scowled.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 583):

He frowns and scratches his cheek.  "Oh.  Well then.  Never mind.

"If you're hear ta sell, go in that door there."

He points to a large entrance, which you already know prospectors with ore are supposed to use.

"Well.  Best a' luck.  Uh...ya mind if I ask your name?"

Rei was pretty sure she hadn't understood something. Obviously, the miner had expected to buy something from her, which was most definitely not some dumb rocks. Drugs maybe? Well, she didn't have any, so…

“Yes, I know that's the door, but…” she grunted, “I have to wait for my stupid boss. _{Or I will for a bit more anyway.}” she shook her head. “I'm Rei.”

“Hmm… Is there someone I should, uh, talk to? Once inside, I mean?”
This message was last edited by the player at 09:22, Tue 07 Feb 2023.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 585):

He chuckles.  "Sides me?  Still not ta late to give my your comm line...

"But they'll have someone at the door ta check ya in.  You just go where they tell ya."

He gives you a friendly wave and walks off.

I know it's been a bit.  You have any questions about Rei, her cover ID, or anything to do with Rokzi's plan (which of course will work out splendidly without any hang ups what so ever) before we continue?

Thanks

All's good, I went over it yesterday :)
I might still have missed a few things, but, well…

“Alright,” said Rei. “Thanks.” she added after a while, though she wasn't quite sure what she was thanking him for.

After a few more minutes, her heart rate increasing noticeably, Rei decided that she might as well go in. Hopefully she was going to get a good opportunity to do what was required of her. What she had promised she could do…

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 587):

Then here we go...

You push the cart to the entrance.  A bored looking asks your name, yawns as you say it, and scans the cart Ident-tag.  He waves you through, not once having looked at you.

The hall is already filled.  Prospectors mostly.  You see guards posted around the perimeter.  Most of the guards talk amongst themselves.  A few fraternize with the prospectors.

At tables, buyers are finishing setting up their "stalls".  The trading day is about to begin.

You can see the central table Rokzi and Peri plan to hit.  No sign of them yet.

"Hey.  Numb Butt.  I said next!"

You're snapped back by a rude voice to your right, shouting at Numb Butt.  Whoever that is.

Glancing, you can see one of the buyers whose set up his booth.  He's staring at you with a hostile look.

"You gonna just stand there, lookin' pretty?  Or you gonna do business?"

It's obvious he's talking to you.

Just after she stepped in the building, Rei paused for the moment, both to get her bearings and to try and see if she could spot Rokzi and Peri. Which apparently, displeased one of the buyers for some reason.

Had she needed to go through with the plan there and then, she likely would have gone to him, but as it were, she simply frowned as she considered the man. “I'm here to sell this,” she pointed at her cart, “yes. But I'm not going to sell it to a rude guy like you.”

She sniffed, then made to get away from where she was.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 589):

"Oh.  So sorry.  Didn't mean to offend your sophistacted pallette missy."

He rolls his eyes then points at the ore in your cart.  "That's a mid grade aluminum ore right?  Don't bother denying it.  I can tell from here.  No one else here is gonna give you a halfway decent price.  I'm about the only one who's gonna be willing to give you a third a' the way decent price.  So stop arguing and get over here."

You spot Rokzi and Peri.  They are moving into position.

With Peri and Rokzi getting into position, Rei paused, looking like the man’s words made her reconsider. She still sounded doubtful when she pointed out, “Why would no one else give me a decent price?”

She looked to hesitate, glancing towards the entrance, before adding quite unsure, “I was only supposed to bring this here for my boss, he’s the one who’s supposed to be dealing with that…”

Which might sound like blood in the water, but… As long as he paid attention to her and she didn’t rush it to allow her crew-mates to get into position, there were only advantages. It wasn’t like she was really trying to sell anything after all.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 591):

He groans, rolling his eyes like he can't believe you're that stupid.

Rokzi and Peri are talking to someone.  A couple of propecters pushing their own cart suddenly get in your line of sight.  You can't see Rokzi and Peri.

"Well numb nuts.  When's your boss gettin' here?"

“If I knew, I wouldn’t be here. Hmpf.” Rei looked around, not particularly please to see - or not see as the case might be - that she had lost track of Peri and Rokzi.

Should she go now? Should she wait a bit? After a bit of hesitation, she decided to go: worst case scenario it would be too soon and they’d abort. Better than too late to achieve anything…

Still, cautious to do it properly, she looked around to find something - or someone - that could explain why her cart suddenly vomited all of its content on the ground.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 593):

Just to make sure...you are turning the cart over right?  Not just looking for someone to blame it on before you do?

Thanks

Well actually no, Rei does indeed look around to check what she could accused of turning the cart over, especially considering the constraint that she need to prevent anyone form seeing what’s at the bottom of it.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 595):

Okay.  So you are NOT turning over the cart right now.  Just looking around for someone to accuse of tripping the cart over then?

There seem to be three candidates.

You can rile up that guy who's been busting your chops.  If you poke him enough, he'll probably storm over.  Or you could just invite him over to inspect the cart.  Maybe tell him it's broken or you're too dainty to push it over to him.

There's a group of prospectors pushing through the door behind you.  They'll probably pass around you.  Just randomly picking a guy and accusing him would probably work as people are too busy in their own conversations to pay you much mind.

Or you can see a couple of techs walking this way. They should pass close by to you.  Maybe you'll get a better result if you accuse company personnel of tipping over your precious cart?

Indeed, look first, then drop the cart

Briefly, Rei considered her options. The merchant one she ignored pretty quickly: she didn’t want him angry at her even before she turned the cart over after all.

Of the other two options, she assumed that both were relatively equal in terms of actually doing it reasonably well in such a way that she wouldn’t be caught having been the one doing it, but the goal was to draw attention. And considering that she didn’t exactly have friends among the locals, she didn’t want to alienate a group of them. Who knew, they might be well liked and she’d find herself alone with everyone ignoring her cart. Most definitely not the result she was hoping for.

So instead, Rei picked the company technicians: among a rather…rough…crowd such as that one, it ought to give good results, and if she did it right, she might get a lot of prospectors taking that opportunity to…hmm…well, express themselves.

So as the technician approached, she pretended to cave in regarding the buyer’s demands. “Oh, alright.” But as she started pushing the cart in his direction, she discreetly put her foot in front of a back wheel, preventing it from rolling forward. “What the?” she pushed some more, looking baffled.

Then, when the technicians were close, she began to go around the cart to see if there was something in the front blocking her, stumbling on the man, ricocheting on the cart…and turning it over.

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 597):

Just because I'm a right royal b, pick a number between 1 and 5

Uh… 4?

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 599):

BWAH HA HA HA HA!

You put your plan into effect.  You fake the stuck wheel with the skill of a stage actress...one of the good ones.  Not one of the B-Vid ones.  Your sashay around the side of the cart is probably a thing of beauty.

And as the first tech comes into view, you manage the stumble...

And his friend tries to catch you.

"Whoa.  You alright?"

But he doesn't quite grab you.  In fact, he inadvertantly trips you, and your fake fall becomes a real one.

You stumble back against the cart and

WHOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM

It turns over.  Rokzi wasn't kidding about that speaker.  It's so loud the clear plastic in the windows overhead vibrates.

You landed on cart, which has turned over onto one side.  And your right knee hurts something fierce.

On the plus side, Rei’s performance was going to be very convincing and not at all forced. On the most definitely minus side, that hurt like hell! A bit stunned by the way events had unfolded, Rei stayed on top of the cart for a couple of seconds clearly not quite sure where everything was, then grabbed her knee with a whine. Knees were thankfully pretty robust so at least nothing should be broken, but that did nothing as far as alleviating the pain went.

Then, suddenly, Rei shot up, looking panicked “Oh, crap!” Without losing any time, she began to shovel what she could back into the cart, though massaging her knee from time to time with a perfectly genuine wince. “My boss is going to kill me.” She whined, her eyes a bit wet without even glancing at her surroundings. Not that she had anything to fear from a fictional boss obviously, but… She most definitely wasn’t overstating how much that had hurt.

In fact, if it were up to her she would have just stayed lying where she was on top of the cart, but Rokzi had warned her: she had to at least put some of the ore back in the cart to hide the other stuff that was in there that she’d have troubles explaining. The rest, including looking around to assess the situation, could come later.

At least no one would be able to say she hadn’t made as much of a mess as possible…

In reply to Kaya Wilden (msg # 601):

I wish you'd tell my knee that knees are strong. It doesn't agree

You begin shoveling ore chunks into the cart.  The tech who knocked you over stumbles forward.

"I am so sorry!  Are you alright?  Your knee okay?"

The other tech sighs and leans over to look at you.  "Miss.  If you'd like, I can take you to the medic station.  My associate here can clean up your cart."

It’s not me saying it, it’s Rei!
And it’s not her fault if the Avatar took your bending!

Rei winced, rubbing her knee between two handfuls of ore. “I think so.” At least she would be as soon as she’d be relatively sure the speaker was hidden from view once more. And once she’d have made sure her knee was really fine. Preferably under a layer or two of fresh ice too.

“Don’t worry about it. Once all this is back where it belongs. I’d rather not give my boss any reason to fire me…” She cringed a bit, then shook her head. While doing so, she took the opportunity to look for Peri and Rokzi. Because she realized just then that she had forgotten to ask another question: what was she supposed to be doing with the cart now?
This message was last edited by the GM at 03:31, Wed 01 Mar 2023.