RE: The Fearsome Encounter (GBS3G8) [Round 2: Oh Two Oh]
10-21-2013, 02:17 AM
Mr. Lost smiled as he glanced at the tiny disc in his hand. He'd been using the thing for years now, and he still couldn't get over how handy it was.
He didn't have a damned clue how such a small piece of metal could hold a silver statue, a whole bolt of nanofiber cloth, a petrified Roagarian Slugmonkey, and an entire crate of processed trontite ore, but that didn't stop him from appreciating the fact that it could.
It was a good haul, good enough that it would keep Found off his back under most circumstances. Not today, though - nothing would satisfy that stick-in-the-mud if Lost didn't return with the torpedo.
Not that there was any risk Lost would skip this theft. After all, quite aside from how much the merchandise was worth, he could never pass up a chance to make a deal go sour for Scorpiocore.
---
For his part, Scorpiocore was having a bad day. Some lowlife had been pestering Phannie, and his men still hadn't caught the bastard. It wouldn't do his reputation any good if he let scoundrels have their way with his women even once.
But simple reputation wasn't his only problem. The arena had been losing money for some time, and Lhaine was threatening to cut all ties with him if he didn't find some way to turn that around. He was essentially left to hope that his recruiters found someone who could draw a crowd.
The worst of it, however, was that he still had an AM torpedo to deliver, and somehow he needed to set up the whole exchange without the Admiral discovering his involvement. It wouldn't matter if the mutiny worked out, of course, but Scorpiocore preferred to hedge his bets.
He didn't even trust anyone else with the cargo. He was carrying it aboard his personal ship, and had kept an eye on it himself ever since his arrival. Only a few underlings knew he was even on the Oh Two Oh today, and even fewer were authorized to see him.
His recruiters, Jaakan and Nessa, were among those few. And they had just called in.
"So who've you got for me?" Scorpiocore muttered as they walked aboard, carrying two stasis crates. "Lhaine doesn't accept just any fighter, you know."
"We witnessed a most impressive battle, sir, and brought you both participants," Jaakan said, opening his crate. "Though I suspect that only this one will be suitable."
There was a large silver statue in there. Scorpiocore gave his senior recruiter a skeptical glare.
"I pay you to bring me fighters, Jaakan, not art."
"I assure you, Mr. Scorpiocore, this specimen is indeed a fighter. Nessa, would you care to show our employer the losing combatant?"
Nessa opened up her crate. The body inside was badly mangled, though Scorpiocore could tell there was a good deal of muscle on him.
"If anyone but you had shown me this, Jaakan, I'd call him a liar. So this statue's alive?"
"It appears to be. However, we are not sure what causes it to move."
"Lhaine's not going to be happy if she can't figure it out, either."
"There is an alternative option, sir," Nessa said. "Before we prepared him for delivery, the wounded one told us that the statue is made entirely of zanite."
Scorpicore's eyes widened.
"Zanite? That much? Might be worthwhile to just melt that down and pay Lhaine off directly," he mused. "Right, just leave those crates here, I'll figure out what to do with 'em later. After I've unloaded the merchandise and secured that spacebot."
The recruiters nodded, closed the crates, and walked out before concealing themselves again. Scorpiocore retracted the ramp, then headed to the cockpit to get a scanner that could confirm the statue's composition, and also calculate just how much it was worth if it really was zanite.
The moment he left, Mr. Lost emerged from his hiding place. Seeing three crates out, and not being immediately sure which one held the merchandise, Lost simply stored them all. The disc had plenty of room on it.
By the time Scorpiocore discovered his items were missing, Mr. Lost was already at the bar.
---
Lost chuckled. There hadn't been as many goons around the ship as he'd hoped, but he'd still had his fun. Now it was time for business - namely drinking.
The Blind Eye was, in his opinion, the best tavern on Oh Two Oh. It wasn't just that the regular patrons were known for not caring in the slightest who else wandered in, or even that they tended to forget who'd bought which drink and rarely noticed which table you were grabbing one from.
Lost appreciated that atmosphere, but at the end of the day, he just liked the booze.
When he walked in, aside from the regulars, there were some birds talking to a large spider, and a body on the ground. Not that the latter was unusual.
The former was, however. There was only one reason why anyone would actually hold a conversation at the Blind Eye, and that was to avoid being noticed. They were likely talking about something of interest. Lost grabbed a full tankard off an empty table and sat down just far enough away that no one would think he was trying to listen in.
A little eavesdropping told him the spider was after a spacebot, and the birds were trying to get their talons on some ambergalactris. Neither of them seemed to know much about their respective targets, despite the high value of both; they were probably new to the criminal underworld.
That would be worth reporting to Found later. Satisfied that he'd heard enough, Lost finally raised his drink.
"Everybody stand up and show us your hands! We saw the bastard come in here!"
Lost was startled. He recognized the voice, it was one of Scorpiocore's men. Had they actually recognized him?
Impossible. No one besides Found knew what he looked like, not even his contacts.
Unless Found had sold him out. Sent him here into a trap. There hadn't been that many goons in the hangar, after all...
Damn. Just how much money had Scorpiocore offered his partner?
"Hey! You! I said stand up and show us your hands!"
Lost stood up, still clutching his mug - he wasn't about to pass up a good drink, after all. He raised his arms.
Then he dropped the smoke bomb.
---
"That's everything I know," Redclaw growled. "I don't see why you should care so much about it, though."
"I'm simply looking for last-minute profit opportunities before you make use of the merchandise," Mr. Found replied. "It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with."
"Speaking of the merchandise..."
"Ah, of course. It's in the back room, I'll fetch it immediately."
"About time."
Found knew, of course, that it almost certainly wasn't in the back room. He could buy some time by saying the back room was a mess, but the customer's patience was already wearing thin. He would simply have to hope that Lost arrived sooner rather than later.
His hopes were answered when his associate held a knife to his throat.
"So, thought you could get rid of your old pal Lost that easy, did you?"
Found sighed.
"Mr. Lost, first of all I have no idea what you are talking about, and second, may I remind you that your little toy there will do me no lasting harm, and third, if you don't have the antimatter torpedo I'm throwing you to our customer out there."
Lost paused, groaned, and put the knife away.
"I knew there was a reason I hadn't taken care of you a long time ago," he mumbled. "And I got the stupid torpedo, hang on."
Lost fiddled with the disc. Several crates appeared in the storeroom, along with a small drink and a silver statue. A full mug of beer also materialized on one of the crates.
"You just can't stay on one job, can you?"
"Hey, I got some good stuff!"
"No doubt." Found pointed to the mug. "I suppose that once belonged to the Bloody Empress of Therius VII?"
"Look, I was in a rush and I wasn't going to give up my drink! But the rest of the stuff's good... well, maybe not the statue, just it looks like one of my contacts. I was going to ask him about it."
"Except then you had this strange idea that I was trying to get rid of you. I won't even ask how that happened..."
"Scorpiocore's men came barging into the bar looking for someone," Lost said. "Right after I'd paid his ship a visit. And even if they saw me on the way, there was no way in hell they'd know it was me unless someone told them. What was I supposed to think?"
Found glared at him.
"I'd sooner go bankrupt than make any deal with Scorpiocore. But we can talk about that later. Which of these crates has the torpedo?"
"Ah. Er. One of 'em does, I'm sure."
Found sighed, and opened a crate. Inside was a snakelike statue. He smiled.
"I believe I know of someone who will be very interested in this," he said, opening the second crate. "Go find a human male in ornate clothing, he's got a sword, looks like a religious leader. Tell him you know where his god is."
"Ugh, another job? I haven't even had a drink!"
"This is time to shape up. We're going to be on the clock once I hand that torpedo over." Found merely glanced at the mangled and unconscious body of Ab in the second crate before moving on to the third. "Unless you'd like to still be around when it goes off."
"Don't see what we're going to get out of this guy if there's that little time left," Lost grumbled.
"I believe in maximizing opportunities. If we are able to negotiate a favor out of him, excellent; if not, we lose little by making the attempt." Found smiled as he saw the torpedo in the third crate. He closed it up again and began pushing it towards the main store. "Now get moving."
"Fine, fine."
Lost left silently, so irritated that he didn't even bother taking the storage disc with him. Found finished dragging the crate along soon after.
Both were gone by the time a very relaxed Errat climbed out of his beer.
He didn't have a damned clue how such a small piece of metal could hold a silver statue, a whole bolt of nanofiber cloth, a petrified Roagarian Slugmonkey, and an entire crate of processed trontite ore, but that didn't stop him from appreciating the fact that it could.
It was a good haul, good enough that it would keep Found off his back under most circumstances. Not today, though - nothing would satisfy that stick-in-the-mud if Lost didn't return with the torpedo.
Not that there was any risk Lost would skip this theft. After all, quite aside from how much the merchandise was worth, he could never pass up a chance to make a deal go sour for Scorpiocore.
---
For his part, Scorpiocore was having a bad day. Some lowlife had been pestering Phannie, and his men still hadn't caught the bastard. It wouldn't do his reputation any good if he let scoundrels have their way with his women even once.
But simple reputation wasn't his only problem. The arena had been losing money for some time, and Lhaine was threatening to cut all ties with him if he didn't find some way to turn that around. He was essentially left to hope that his recruiters found someone who could draw a crowd.
The worst of it, however, was that he still had an AM torpedo to deliver, and somehow he needed to set up the whole exchange without the Admiral discovering his involvement. It wouldn't matter if the mutiny worked out, of course, but Scorpiocore preferred to hedge his bets.
He didn't even trust anyone else with the cargo. He was carrying it aboard his personal ship, and had kept an eye on it himself ever since his arrival. Only a few underlings knew he was even on the Oh Two Oh today, and even fewer were authorized to see him.
His recruiters, Jaakan and Nessa, were among those few. And they had just called in.
"So who've you got for me?" Scorpiocore muttered as they walked aboard, carrying two stasis crates. "Lhaine doesn't accept just any fighter, you know."
"We witnessed a most impressive battle, sir, and brought you both participants," Jaakan said, opening his crate. "Though I suspect that only this one will be suitable."
There was a large silver statue in there. Scorpiocore gave his senior recruiter a skeptical glare.
"I pay you to bring me fighters, Jaakan, not art."
"I assure you, Mr. Scorpiocore, this specimen is indeed a fighter. Nessa, would you care to show our employer the losing combatant?"
Nessa opened up her crate. The body inside was badly mangled, though Scorpiocore could tell there was a good deal of muscle on him.
"If anyone but you had shown me this, Jaakan, I'd call him a liar. So this statue's alive?"
"It appears to be. However, we are not sure what causes it to move."
"Lhaine's not going to be happy if she can't figure it out, either."
"There is an alternative option, sir," Nessa said. "Before we prepared him for delivery, the wounded one told us that the statue is made entirely of zanite."
Scorpicore's eyes widened.
"Zanite? That much? Might be worthwhile to just melt that down and pay Lhaine off directly," he mused. "Right, just leave those crates here, I'll figure out what to do with 'em later. After I've unloaded the merchandise and secured that spacebot."
The recruiters nodded, closed the crates, and walked out before concealing themselves again. Scorpiocore retracted the ramp, then headed to the cockpit to get a scanner that could confirm the statue's composition, and also calculate just how much it was worth if it really was zanite.
The moment he left, Mr. Lost emerged from his hiding place. Seeing three crates out, and not being immediately sure which one held the merchandise, Lost simply stored them all. The disc had plenty of room on it.
By the time Scorpiocore discovered his items were missing, Mr. Lost was already at the bar.
---
Lost chuckled. There hadn't been as many goons around the ship as he'd hoped, but he'd still had his fun. Now it was time for business - namely drinking.
The Blind Eye was, in his opinion, the best tavern on Oh Two Oh. It wasn't just that the regular patrons were known for not caring in the slightest who else wandered in, or even that they tended to forget who'd bought which drink and rarely noticed which table you were grabbing one from.
Lost appreciated that atmosphere, but at the end of the day, he just liked the booze.
When he walked in, aside from the regulars, there were some birds talking to a large spider, and a body on the ground. Not that the latter was unusual.
The former was, however. There was only one reason why anyone would actually hold a conversation at the Blind Eye, and that was to avoid being noticed. They were likely talking about something of interest. Lost grabbed a full tankard off an empty table and sat down just far enough away that no one would think he was trying to listen in.
A little eavesdropping told him the spider was after a spacebot, and the birds were trying to get their talons on some ambergalactris. Neither of them seemed to know much about their respective targets, despite the high value of both; they were probably new to the criminal underworld.
That would be worth reporting to Found later. Satisfied that he'd heard enough, Lost finally raised his drink.
"Everybody stand up and show us your hands! We saw the bastard come in here!"
Lost was startled. He recognized the voice, it was one of Scorpiocore's men. Had they actually recognized him?
Impossible. No one besides Found knew what he looked like, not even his contacts.
Unless Found had sold him out. Sent him here into a trap. There hadn't been that many goons in the hangar, after all...
Damn. Just how much money had Scorpiocore offered his partner?
"Hey! You! I said stand up and show us your hands!"
Lost stood up, still clutching his mug - he wasn't about to pass up a good drink, after all. He raised his arms.
Then he dropped the smoke bomb.
---
"That's everything I know," Redclaw growled. "I don't see why you should care so much about it, though."
"I'm simply looking for last-minute profit opportunities before you make use of the merchandise," Mr. Found replied. "It's nothing that you need to concern yourself with."
"Speaking of the merchandise..."
"Ah, of course. It's in the back room, I'll fetch it immediately."
"About time."
Found knew, of course, that it almost certainly wasn't in the back room. He could buy some time by saying the back room was a mess, but the customer's patience was already wearing thin. He would simply have to hope that Lost arrived sooner rather than later.
His hopes were answered when his associate held a knife to his throat.
"So, thought you could get rid of your old pal Lost that easy, did you?"
Found sighed.
"Mr. Lost, first of all I have no idea what you are talking about, and second, may I remind you that your little toy there will do me no lasting harm, and third, if you don't have the antimatter torpedo I'm throwing you to our customer out there."
Lost paused, groaned, and put the knife away.
"I knew there was a reason I hadn't taken care of you a long time ago," he mumbled. "And I got the stupid torpedo, hang on."
Lost fiddled with the disc. Several crates appeared in the storeroom, along with a small drink and a silver statue. A full mug of beer also materialized on one of the crates.
"You just can't stay on one job, can you?"
"Hey, I got some good stuff!"
"No doubt." Found pointed to the mug. "I suppose that once belonged to the Bloody Empress of Therius VII?"
"Look, I was in a rush and I wasn't going to give up my drink! But the rest of the stuff's good... well, maybe not the statue, just it looks like one of my contacts. I was going to ask him about it."
"Except then you had this strange idea that I was trying to get rid of you. I won't even ask how that happened..."
"Scorpiocore's men came barging into the bar looking for someone," Lost said. "Right after I'd paid his ship a visit. And even if they saw me on the way, there was no way in hell they'd know it was me unless someone told them. What was I supposed to think?"
Found glared at him.
"I'd sooner go bankrupt than make any deal with Scorpiocore. But we can talk about that later. Which of these crates has the torpedo?"
"Ah. Er. One of 'em does, I'm sure."
Found sighed, and opened a crate. Inside was a snakelike statue. He smiled.
"I believe I know of someone who will be very interested in this," he said, opening the second crate. "Go find a human male in ornate clothing, he's got a sword, looks like a religious leader. Tell him you know where his god is."
"Ugh, another job? I haven't even had a drink!"
"This is time to shape up. We're going to be on the clock once I hand that torpedo over." Found merely glanced at the mangled and unconscious body of Ab in the second crate before moving on to the third. "Unless you'd like to still be around when it goes off."
"Don't see what we're going to get out of this guy if there's that little time left," Lost grumbled.
"I believe in maximizing opportunities. If we are able to negotiate a favor out of him, excellent; if not, we lose little by making the attempt." Found smiled as he saw the torpedo in the third crate. He closed it up again and began pushing it towards the main store. "Now get moving."
"Fine, fine."
Lost left silently, so irritated that he didn't even bother taking the storage disc with him. Found finished dragging the crate along soon after.
Both were gone by the time a very relaxed Errat climbed out of his beer.
There's no reason for this | Or this | Death is inevitable | You can't challenge fate | The smallest change | I'm overwhelmed
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse
I'm serious | It makes perfect sense | Easy as ABC! | I can't even explain it | Cleaning up someone else's mess
I suck | I rule | I've got it made | Really, I'm serious | This bugs me | It's all lies | I want to believe | Beauty is a curse