2011-03-25 - Arcades and Ancient Memories

Being without a suit kinda sucks. Seeing just how easily you were outclassed by not only the enemy but your allies as well sucks worse. Ed's way of coaping? Apparently it was to sweep out a newly rented stall in the Aventine Market. It was a large stall, one fitted with plumbing and electrical and plenty o space for any number of uses. However right now it was barren except for the big man wit ha pushbroom. Why was he smiling?

Edward isn't the only one who is without a suit at the moment. Her constant flights back and forth between the Raven's Nest and the SuiKyosha finally took their toll on the cracked energist in the gryphon knight's chest, rendering him only partially functional. And for Sinya, someone who values her freedom, being grounded has not left her in the best of spirits. Worse than that, she'd had to depend on her protege - a sixteen year old boy named Ling - to get her to and from the battleship in a borrowed Gunmen. It was embarassing!

The catgirl is leaning over one of the stalls that happens to be selling La Gian relics, her arms folded. "You haven't seen Kai recently, have you?" She asks, tail twitching with that obvious irritation.

"Kai? No. Hasn't been around for weeks."

Sinya growls quietly under her breath, one of the handful of vocalizations she rarely uses around humans. "Yeah. Thanks." She tosses down a few coins for the information, and then skulks off down the rows, only giving them a casual glance. Normally, she'd be bargain shopping at a place like this, but she needs to calm down first. Sinya walks to the supporting bar of one of the stalls, letting her head thump against it twice, ears folded back. "What am I going to do?" She mutters to herself, not realizing that the stall she's head-bashing against happens to be Edward's.

After several moments sweeping Ed realized he wasn't alone. Posture and everything else suggested Sinya was in a decidedly not-pleasent state of being. So he sat his broom against a wall. "Something on your mind lady?" Casual tone. Just try being friendly. He didn't know what was getting her back up and didn't want to make it worse.

The sound of a voice nearby, and worse - a familiar one, causes Sinya's ears to lift as she slowly looks over towards Edward. Her expression is one of disbelief at first, seeing him in a large, very empty stall, but then it focuses, her green eyes zeroing in on him as she cants her head up. "Oh, Edward." Taking a breath to calm herself, the catgirl shakes her head from side to side. "It's that no-account smuggler I was working with earlier. No one has seen him in weeks and I still don't have my energist for Arius." Her hands ball up into fists, but then after another deep breath, release again.

Controling emotions is not exactly a strong part of her character. Her cautious nature about letting others get too close to her usually avoids such instances, but today the irritation has simply gotten to be too much. "You don't happen to know anyone else who could smuggle me 5MNFB energist, would you?" The numbers and letters she rattles probably would be foreign to a lot of people. However, for those who dealt with such rare items, it essentially means that she needs a five inch blue unflawed crystal.

First thought on his friend was bit back Hard. No need for Edward to throw the girl's fears at being ripped off back in her face. So he made a slow shrug before smoothing the wrinkles out of his powder blue suit jacket. "Well it's supposed to be difficult to get from here to there, and even more difficult to get the sort of Energist you said you needed yes?" Low voice. He wanted to sound soothing. "I have made my own inquiries since I have my own interests in Gaea, but the only idea that springs to mind is asking if Captain Xiang would be willing to lend a hand." On paper that at least seemed sound. She was their liason officer and current lead technical assistaint. She could hardly do her job properly if she wasn't able to get around. Of course a great many things on paper don't work out so well in reality.

"I'd wager good money that he couldn't find one and is just laying low so he doesn't have to face me." Facing the ire of the catgirl might seem, to some, like saying 'fear the wrath of my adorable kitten!' but Sinya had proved she is more than capable of taking care of herself. "Low-life." She snarls, tail snapping once. Perhaps the most frightening thing about it is just how upset this is making her, including the fact that her claws are fully extended, looking quite sharp, and quite dangerous. "At the very least, I refused to give him anything up front for it. I think he underestimates how quickly his carrier as a smuggler is about to end."

Edward's words don't seem to bring her any great comfort, although she does tilt her head towards him. "As much as I appreciate the suggestion, Edward... I'm not going back to Gaea. I'm a little too noticable there." She raises one arm, tapping a claw on the bracer marked with the Zaibach emblem. "And I doubt the good Captain wants to take on all of Zaibach for my sake, and I don't have the credit to buy his services even if I wanted to." She flops to the ground, leaning her back against a wall of crates separating Edward's stall from the next over. "That's why I need a smuggler."

This caused Edward to start pacing. Not only was he short of funds to lend to any sort of concrete direction, but he wasn't sure how the frak to help. Sinya's threat was less 'aww kitty unhappy' and more 'OMFG IT'S A LION GET IN THE- *dead'. Something tugged at him but he disregarded it. He wasn't even sure Where these memories were supposed to center at, if a way existed from here to there, or even... anything. Unhappy giant is Unhappy.

Luckily, the silence actually seems to be enough to get Sinya to take a few breaths and calm herself dowm. Her claws slide back in, standing out a bit less from human fingernails at their normal length. "Sorry." She comments quickly, letting her head droop for a moment. "I'm sure you don't want to hear me ranting about smugglers." When her head lifts again, her face is more collected, giving the faintest of a smile. "I'll just have to poke my nose around in the dark parts of the 'nest and see if I can't find someone else willing to make a premium for a run to La Gias and back."

It's only after she has this course in mind that her eyes look the long-way up towards Ed again, curiously. "So... what exactly are you doing in a big empty stall, anyways?"

Funny the little Gaean woman should notice something like that amid her own problems. "Cleaning it while waiting on word back on if the suppliers I'd gotten in touch with can actually come through, or if I'm going to have to look elsewhere for equipment." Why was he so frakking embarassed about the whole idea of an arcade? Oooh yeeeaaa. Building/city full of cut-throat mercenaries. He wasn't even sure this highly scaled down version of his end goal would actually work or if he was hounding up the wrong tree... but it was /something/ to do while he was grounded. "Don't strictly need to be here, but cleanup doens't need me out there. Don't know enough about the different parts to do grunt work in mantinance, and i"m sure you saw my suit out there. I'm kinda stuck here so I figure why not?"

Sinya's eyes look around the wide open space. "Suppliers?" She asks, pushing herself back onto her feet. The momentary explosion of frustration seems gone, replaced by that usual cat-like curiousity. "What exactly are you planning on setting up? I mean... even the parts I've fixed won't even fill up a quarter of this space." It seems that her first assumption is that he's going to sell mech parts. "Oh, that reminds me!" Her expression brightens. "I've had my Kyoshan trainee working on the shipment you sent me. The Dom is finished and sitting in the garage if you want it. We've also got the two Jenice torsos ready and some of the guns."

With a smirk on her lips, she chuckles slightly, "I figured if I had the kid and needed to get him some practice, I might as well finish off my work for you, too." Leaning back against the crates, the catgirl seems quite proud of having managed to juggle three jobs at the same time. "Err..." The comment about his unit has her looking a bit ... sheepish. "Yeah, I noticed. You were in that battle over Mumbai, weren't you?" Her tail curls about her legs, going somewhat limp. "I /tried/ to come, but that's when Arius's energist crapped out. I had to get the hangar crew to haul him back to the 'nest."

"It's alright lady. Hell nobody canbe everywhere at once." Ed waved Sinya's frustration at not being there away. "Only reason I was there was because i had a bit part in one of those cheeseball movies, and i tend to take shelly with me... which ended up being a reasonable idea." Just didn't really amount to all that much considering everything "Eh... the thought that counts?" And the fact he'd gone right back in after the dust settled to help look for anyone that might've gotten trapped as a result of his Epic Faceplant?

"A shame I'm too big for your standard cockpit since even if I personally dislike the Dom it's at least /something/ to fly. Eh well. I guess i could go ahead and get decorators in here, but I'd rather wait for the cabinates to get put in first so I can get things arranged for maximum flow without blocking off whatever I put on the walls." He hm'd thoughtfully. "Guess I could go ahead and get the consession area set up. Nothing too big. Plenty of spots to grab a bite if you're hungry. Just wanna have something for anyone not wanting to leave."

"I may not be able to be everywhere, but by the gods I sure try." Sinya's laugh is soft, the anger of her earlier outburst fading in front of her friend. "Still, I was hoping the crystal would at least hold long enough to test some things." She pulls a datapad out from her pocket, tapping her clawed fingernails on it. "When we found Arius back on Gaea, he was crushed beneath the bones of a dragon. The damage was extensive." She holds the datapad outwards, bringing up a three-dimensional model of Arius, which floats in the air, rotating clockwise. "Part of his main energy system was damaged. As much as my father and I were the best mechanics Zaibach ever enslaved, we didn't know much about Ispanos, so we did the best with what we had." The image zooms in on the three energist crystals. "I tried some modifications, trying to see if I can't replicate the original design. Only problem is one very cracked secondary energist."

With her reasoning for things explained, she clicks a single key which causes the image to disappear. Then, with one movement, she drops the datapad back into it's carrier at her side. Then, of course, he's of talking about cabinates and concession areas and Sinya gets very, very confused. "Wait, this isn't going to be about the mech parts, is it?" She gives the area a second look before turning back to Edward, eyes brightening. "You're opening the arcade, aren't you?" There is excitement in her voice, obviously quite happy to see his dream come to some sort of fruition. "That's awesome! Why didn't you tell me you giant knucklehead!?"

Ed really tried to keep his head in the hear and now, but this catperson kept dragging things up. The design looked familiar. Then the image flickered away and the big man shook his head.. Oh aaand there's the verbal ear-pull which made him wince. "Well... er..." Think! Thiiiink you giant lummoxc. "Between you being busy and this kinda being filled iwth people with other interess I... kinda wanted to hold off on showing off till I was able to actually have something to show." Well there was that one girl that seemed interested. Isaura? Ishnada? He shook his head slow. "Was thinking cockpit sims along the back wall. Standups in a cluster here," He pointed, "And here." Gestured again elsewhere in the big space. "Keep the concession pit as it's own island in the middle so people would have to pass it at some point. Plus .." He stopped himself. "Sorry. I've been thinking this project through for a very long time." Sheepish looking? Afraid? His heart was going faster. He looked slightly cowered down, smaller... well less huge anyway.

Leave it to Sinya to try to make a discussion back onto mechanical things. The simple fact is - machines make more sense to her than humans, even ones built thousands of years ago by post-Atlatians. Still, there is definitely interest in her eyes as he starts to explain about the layout of the arcade. "Oh, jeeze, I'm not mad at you." Sinya rolls her eyes, chuckling softly. "I'm /glad/ you're getting things started. Every great dream starts with a single step, you know?" Her eyes seem to follow the trail of things as he points them each out, as if trying to figure out just how it might look completed.

When he stops, though, Sinya blinks and turns towards him, tilting her head with a confused expression. "Why sorry? There's nothing to be sorry about." Crossing her arms over her chest, she nods around the area appraisingly, "I think it'll work. If nothing else, it'll be a good start until you're able to buy a bigger place."

"It's just I know me. I get the ball rolling and most times people just sit and look at me like I'm half-mad... or that i used the ball to run over 'em." He chuckled at that. "Then again here i am, guy that probably could be the stuff of most anybody's nightmares talking about opening an amusement center." ...That was the latest rebrand of 'arcade' wasn't it? Or was that from last year? He seemed to relax as he spoke. "Rent's gonan be hell between electrical and plumbing... oh Electrical's gonna be frakking /murder/ on me if everything goes how i hope, but it'll be worth it."

"Half mad?" Sinya smirks, showing a bit of one pointed tooth. "I think we're all a little bit mad here, take a look around." Afterall, the 'nest was filled with mercenaries, merchants, and people from all sorts of strange places all brought together under one banner. "Besides, better to be a little mad than be boring." Her tail slowly sways behind her as she steps out into the space, getting a feel for it. At the very least, this is serving as a well needed distraction to her own issues.

The issue of rent has her nodding as she hrms to herself. "It'll be hard the first few months. At least until people get the word out and things get really going." Her expression shifts as she looks back at him, almost as if she were searching for something in his expression. "I just managed to sell my shop on the Red Moon so... I could float you the first month's bill. Just so long as you pay me back for it." There is a wicked twinkle in her eyes, almost cunning, "And let me have some free play time." There's always a catch.

Hmm, free play time for someone willing to help with backing? "Actually I'd extended the rights of free game time to anyone in the co-op backing me. Granted I had to give them a fairly sizeable share, but I still own the place." He started pacing. The arcade had been his own shelter against his own problems, and it was serving admirably in that respect. "The biggest worry I have is whether ther'ed be enough interest here. Sure I'm probably going to post great numbers for the first month or so, but after novelty wears off what keeps 'em coming back?" He could rotate machines out, that's how most of the ones he's been to manage. Keep a stable of classics in place and have units cycle out every six months on the 'blockbuster' games that tend t ocome and go like the wind.

"Well, I've never really played much in the way of games. I figure it gives me a chance to try it out." Sure, there were better things Sinya could be doing with her money, but working two - sometimes three jobs had left her with quite a bit of extra cash. Even the outlandish price she was offering for an energist didn't really break the bank. "So, let me know and I'll take care of it. You're a friend, so it's the least I can do." If nothing else, Sinya certainly subscribes to the 'Trailers stick together' mindset, at least among those she knew.

"As for how to keep business... make sure you have late hours. You'd be surprised how many drunk pilots will be looking for something to do when the bars close up." She leans against one of the supports, stretching her arms over her head. "Or have competitions. Get the Mercs in here for some prize money or something, make a fortune on the entry fees." Then, a thought seems to strike her, "Drunken dancing, oh god that's going to be hilarious."

Drunken DDR.... That was actually a simi-obscure game mod that tried simulating the plastered experiance in game, and a drinking contest. First one to fall over on Expert lost. It caused Ed to grin. "So long as I can figure out an unobtrusive way to get them to leave weapons at the door and take fights outside. Most of the stuff here would be irritatingly expensive to replace." Not bank breaking, just 'why did that goon have to put his fist through a moniter?' Annoying.

The Energist.

That made Edward frown a little. "You said it's about so." He held his hands to denote something about the size of a soccer ball. "Kinda reddish, glowing?"

"I'd say work with the honor system. Have a little booth to check in weapons and leave it at that." Sinya closes her eyes, imaginging what the place will be like when it's done. "We've got a lot of jerks in the Trailers, but most of them aren't going to go out of their way to fuck things up for the rest of us. So you're probably safe." With a shrug of her fuzzy shoulders, she seems not too worried about it. "You might get a brawl or two, but you're big enough to play 'bouncer' if you had to, and I doubt anyone here wants to fight you in a hand to hand one on one." When her eyes open again, she smirks as she looks at him, "I mean, if I didn't know you were harmless, I'd be afraid of running into you in a dark alley."

The question about the energist seems to catch her off-guard though, blinking as she has to switch her mind back to the previous topic. "Huh?" Her head tilts. "Oh, the energist, you mean?" She asks, scratching at her cheek before giving the back of her hand a lick. With a quick motion, she brings it over her ear, and then shakes her head. "They come in all shapes and sizes. The red ones are drag-energists, exceptionally rare since they're purified in the body of a dragon." She folds her arms over her chest then, looking thoughtful. "The others, blue, yellow, green... they're lower powered and naturally mined. Normally the shards aren't hard to get, and they're plenty to power a small machine, but I need a large one. That's harder." She blinks again, tail curling into a curious question-mark. "Why?"

"I only have fragments, but I've seen their like. A city at the edge of civilization powered by several of these things." He grumbled low at the thought. "I wish i could find a way there as all I could do was smash the crystals since they were flawed in a way that if left alone would have glassed the vally. As is... " He grunted low then stopped. All that was in english. "Wow... That's different." Surprise touched his voice.

For a time, Sinya is simply silent, looking at him with her mouth left slightly open. Usually, when he rambled about his various memories, she only caught bits and pieces, as the language wasn't quite the Gaean tongue that she was used to growing up. Worse-so because she was exposed to human languages from a young age. "What... what are you talking about?" She asks, obvious confusion written on her face. Something about his words are enough to have the hairs on her tail standing on end.

"I... " Ed's face scrunched. "Was sent to investigate some mad genius." He only remembered lfashes. A man iron willed even after being dosed with his own mind-altering drug to keep him passive. A woman, companion... No. Away from there! everything's too snarled around her! His frown deepened. "Something about how he had managed to power an entire community had upset people in the Confederacy. By the time I'd got there their own agents had sabbotaged several of his power stations and he had responded by drugging them...." There was more. Much Much more but none of it would resolve. "He was a genius. An eventual ally.. .but wholly insane and with motives i never could figure out."

While the explanation may have more details, the catgirl remains lost to exactly what Edward is saying. "Is this... more of those memories you were talking about? The weird ones that usually make you speak Gaean?" She takes a few steps closer, looking at him with obvious concern. It's her tail that remains puffed up, obviously spooked by what he's saying. Of course, there's a lot of it that she misses as well. "I don't... I don't think this is normal." She closes her eyes, making that grooming motion again over her ear, as if trying to somehow make herself feel better in a very, very odd situation. "I don't think what you're seeing is /you/ Edward. You've never been to Gaea, remember?"

A small problem that. "Memories." His voice rumbled deep. "Yes. More. One of those big moments in a life, which is probably why more is coming up in that perticular segment than anywhere or when else." He started pacing again, putting the broom over a shoulder. "Why do you think I had started thinking i've been losing my mind Sinya? It feels real, I know it isn't part of my past here. I also know it's something that happend.... I just don't know where."

While Sinya reaches out a hand, trying to be comforting, it ends up missing by almost a foot as he paces by her. The catgirl, not one for great displays of physical affection simply draws her hand back, lips pursing. "You aren't losing your mind." She states firmly, regardless of the fact that the strange behavior is enough to set her fur on end, she at least sounds sure of herself. "I've spent enough time in La Gias to know that there's more to heaven and earth than what we can see with our own eyes." She doesn't follow his path, although her eyes do. "Maybe it's something you'll come to understand later. Something you need to take piece by piece." She takes out her datapad and offers it out to him, "Write down what you remember, anything and everything, and then see what sense you can make of it."

"Maybe." Ed stopped to lightly put a hand, more just his fingertips, on Sinya's shoulder. "Anyway. I had asked Eddie Malone how hard it would be to mount an expidition. He said it wouldn't be easy, but within the relm of doability. So if Kai's well and truly skipped town there are other options." His voice hardened. "If he comes back withut what you need from him..." He lets the threat remain open ended. He would what? Give him a stern talking to? Actually Ed was thinking along the lines of breaking both his legs, then his arms... and then working his way from there, and it showed on his face.

Almost insistant, Sinya pushes the datapad at him, seeming to only give his fingers on her shoulder a cursory glance. Unlike many would expect, she seems to be one of those stand-offish type of cats, at least one who rarely sought out physical contact with others. "Take it, and at least try to sort out your own brain." She steps back, almost casually but not quite, shaking her head. "I've got a sixteen year old kid with an amazing talent he has no idea he has, a cyborg in slavery to a corporation, a big gallute with memories of some other life and an emporer who pretends to be something he's not. I wonder if my life can get even more complicated." Still, there is that hint of a smile on her face, as if she were actually enjoying the complications brought so recently to her life."

The comment about this other possible source for her energists gets a perk of her ear, but for the most part she just continues walking backwards, hands clasped behind her back. "We'll see. I don't trust Kai, but he hasn't failed me yet. He's just... taking longer than I'd like." She sighs, letting her hands come up. "Ex-slaves don't take well to being chained down anywhere."

"Everyone wears a chain of some sort." Gaean, or at least the off brand Ed seems to speak occasionally. Then back to English. "Any idea if there's a way to find out if anything's happened to him?" He didn't seem to midn overly that Sinya was of the 'I'd rather you not' sorts where touch was concerned. It seemed to justify his caution. More thought, especially when she rattles off all her problems. "I'm none too happy about R's situation either and=" He grunted, apparently not sure where to look. "I hope that kid you're training works out well."

"True." This time, she responds in Gaean, although perhaps not the exact dialect that he's using. It comes off sounding strange - as if she hadn't spoken words in her people's own tongue in a very, very long time. While she does seem to draw back from the touch, it isn't exactly as if it's unwanted, simply cautious. "Maybe if I had some contacts on the inner world, perhaps, but I don't." She lifts one leg, using it to scratch the back of the other, closing her eyes in enjoyment of the sensation before she continues. "Most people who come back and forth from Gaea don't want much to do with me. I'm trouble, especially if Zaibach finds out they're helping an escaped prisoner. Kai... just happens to have less qualms about screwing over Zaibach than most." As a fellow beastmen, he certainly had very good reasons for wanting the empire to fall - even if his methods mostly involved stealing key parts and selling them to upper worlders.

Ed was about ot leave but stopped when the lady spoke. "If Zaibach is like any of the component fiefdoms that tried toppling the Confederecy..." What was he saying? These guys were probably better armed and far better equipped. Nothing in his jumblepile suggested any of the Aristos had Gymelef, or even powered armor. The exception was that.... that....

Low rumbled mutter. "Damnit." He tapped the side of his head. "Why can't anything clear pop out when that happens?"

Once more, Sinya simply goes silent when he starts speaking of that other world - that other life, her ears perked forwards. "I'm sure it will come to you sooner or later. Write it down, and give it time." She takes another step back, letting her eyes wander up and down the aisles of small carts and booths, "As for me... now that I'm not feeling like a raging tiger, I'm going to go see if I can't hunt down a few people who might give me some leads on Kai." She raises a hand, offering him a smile and a wave in farewell. "Take care, Edward, and good luck with the arcade."

"Take care of yourself." Ed watched the girl go before trying to figure out which way to that little Thai place he'd seen on his way in. Hungry Giant is Hungry.