2011-02-28 - Fixing Up Mechs, Shooting Down Men

For nearly the past week, attempts at getting a hold of Sinya by any means of communication have apparently fallen on deaf ears. Direct contact on her radio frequency gets no reply, and even her electronic mail account doesn't get any results. One might almost suspect that perhaps they were given false information, or that the La Gian girl simply dropped out of reality through the mists, just as she'd once come onto Earth years ago. Luckily, this isn't actually the case. The truth of the matter is that she'd gotten herself into trouble - the kind of trouble that has lasting consequences.

The address for Sinya's shop, if it can even be considered that, leads to a downtrodden part of one of the dome cities. While there is a plackard above the door proclaiming that it actually is a place of business, the hole-in-the-wall building seems more like a storage yard than an actual shop. Beyond a fence, various bits of machine parts are stacked or hung, although most of it is blocked from view by the wooden slats. The door is partially open, as if it were a sign of being open for business. From within, there is a sound of clanging metal, occassionally intersperced by the pop-pop of a gas flame.

Inside the building is a waiting room, obviously having been empty for some time if the amount of dust there is any indication. A computer blares brightly from behind a desk, showing a screensaver, but little else. Through an open doorway, the hallway leads into a warehouse lined with more shelves of various parts. The further inside, the louder the sounds become.

Edward Fawkes had actually been one of those people attempting to get hold of the La Gaian girl. Beyond the wierdness that started boncing around his head when he saw her suit he wanted to discuss a few equipment related matters that he wanted someone's oppinion on. So, after double checking the information on the chip she'd given him Edward took a flight to Mars. He'd never actually been there before. Not dirtside anyway.

The nieghborhood itself gave Edward little trouble. Most people having decided he was some form of genetic abomination and so could probably break them in half. While he wasn't an intintional oddity he had size and strength to spare so the one person that tried was neatly folded and stuffed into the nearest trash can. He'll be alright if he can get himself unwedged and it's a fairly public place so people should notice.

Once he set eyes on Sinya's 'shop' he grimaced, pushing the door open the rest of the way wit hthe head of his cane. Dust everywhere was never a good sign, but the sounds kinda clashed with the 'abandoned storefront' vibe he was getting. "Hello?" Tenetive voice. No need in startling someone mid-weld.

The sound of banging stops momentarily, as if whomever was there certainly heard something. "In back." A voice calls, echoing in the empty place. Even so, it's clearly the voice of the young mechanic, even if there is a strange sound to it. Then, the clanging continues.

Just beyond the last stack of shelves is the far back of the garage. Two tall openings seem to be large enough for mechs to come and go, although only two seem to be present at the moment. The first is a gundam, looking pristine and polished, the second is Sinya's own guymelef, which has obviously seen better days. One arm is completely detached, sitting off to one side, the metal melted and warped from plasma fire. Most of the armor plates have been removed, but there is scorching on the inner hardware as well. One wing is missing most of it's metal feathers and the other is hyper extended in a way that the joint should not be able to bend.

If the guymelef is looking bad, Sinya is no better for her troubles. The catgirl's head is wrapped in bandages, one ear showing a burn mark that goes all the way down to the skin. One arm is in a cast that extends from her last two fingers all the way to her elbow. Other various bandages wrap her chest and arms, and there's even a bubble cast on one leg. For the most part, she seems like someone who /should/ be in a hospital, but instead the catgirl is bracing a piece of metal with her injured arm as she hammers out dents from one of Arius's pauldrons.

Edward Fawkes slowly pokes through the warehouse looking at this and that thoughtfully, apparently in no rush. Then he sets eyes on the Gundam and inhales sharply. Beyond video feeds he's never seen one. "So this is the white devil....Hmph." He snorted.

Then his eyes saw the Guymelef and he muttered something in that half-familliar alien language Sinya might recognize, growing louder without realizing mid sentaence, "Good Lord... I didn't think those things /could/ be melted from the outside." His eyes turned to Sinya herself and he had to fight down the urge to grab everything from her and demand she sit down and take a break. The woman was obviously banged up and also just as obviously running on pride as much as anything else. So taking that from her would be a bad thing.

"Want a hand?" English this time. Part of his brain was wondering just what he'd said earlier and why but right now concern was keeping him from freaking out.

The sound of someone speaking close by has Sinya's singed ear twisting in that direction, cuping to catch the sound even as she seems to focus singlemindedly on her task. Her tail twitches behind her, seeming to be about the only part of her that managed to come out unscathed. "Just waiting for it to be picked up." She murmurs, obviously referring to the 'white devil' that he's commenting on. "Finished that one a few weeks ago, but the pilot hasn't bothered coming to get it." Bang. Her hammer comes into contact with the metal plate again, and then comes to a stop as she runs her fingers over it, feeling the surface. Most of the dent has been removed, although it certainly needs a fresh paint job and a bit of a buffing before it will look normal again.

It's only once the piece is repaired that she looks up, glancing at Edward with a mixture of curiousity and distraction. Of course, she couldn't forget the tall, suit-wearing gentlemen she encountered on earth, but just what he's doing here is beyond her at the moment. "That's the second time you've spoken that language around me." It seems that as focused as her mind is, her ears at least function properly. "What is it, anyways? Sounds awefully familiar." She plucks up another piece of twisted metal, reaching her injured hand for a pair of pliers. After pulling off a few bits of wire, she tosses the remaining piece into a bin with a disgusted growl in her breath, listening to the sound of the metal clang around before coming to rest with the rest of the refuse. "Mind dragging that bit over to me? I'm not supposed to be walking on this until the end of the week." She rolls her eyes, and then points a clawed finger towards another piece of Arius's armor.

Edward Fawkes pulls the bin over as asked and looks around to find something not mechanical to use as a seat. "Honestly couldn't tell you lady. First time I started babbling is when I saw that," He gestured to the Guymelef absently. "Seems to involve a few other bits of stuff floating in my head, but nothing coherent and if I try focusing it all fuzzes." He was definately irritated at that and it showed. "As for why I'm here? Concern since I've tried getting in touch with you over a few things, other folk're worried. Plus I was in the nieghborhood-" looking at different properties he could convert into the mega-ultra-arcade he's been knocking around for a few years. "-and figured I might as well stop by."

The fact of the matter is that Sinya hadn't asked why he'd come, although it's probably better to know then not. The sad fact is that some people are quite singleminded, and when it comes to her work, this catgirl is indeed one of them. "I doubt many people missed me." She notes, smirking slightly as she reaches into the bin and plucks out a small piece that appears to be part of Arius's faceplate. Looking it over, she turns it in her hands, inspecting it for defects. It seems that that piece had managed to avoid most of the blast, and is set to the side with the other pieces of repaired or salvaged armor.

"Lucky to be alive, though." She reaches in, pushing herself up on one leg as she fetches out a piece that is obviously human sized. She frowns, looking at her helmet and slowly begins dissecting the parts. There is a suspicious bit of red splashed here and there across the metal fo the visor. "If you're looking for a deal, now's the time. I could use some money to cover the repairs to Arius." She puts a few wires into her mouth, talking around them as she motions to the condition of her mech. "Mmm. Ah tink da seants are in da tird aisle." Her words end up a bit muddled as she points him in the direction of the one item he'd mentioned wanting before.

Quickly, her hand comes back and reclaims the wires, pulling them free as she reaches for a screwdriver. "But I'll give you a tip. If you're a civilian, trying to be a white knight doesn't really work so well against trained military." With a couple of turns of her wrist, the headset comes apart into two pieces, the outer casing, and the inner display. "This is going to take forever." She sighs, obviously still focused more on her machine than she is on a possible customer.

Edward Fawkes leand forward, watching Sinya work. "I've actually been with the trailers for awhile." Granted most of that time was spent as something of a traveling accountant watching thier financial interests but eh. "Suited up when the things got screwy with the Balmarians. Kept my hand in after since it just seems like the right thing for me." Then again she did have a point, millitary tends to have the best training and best toys.

"Though there was this one job I had to take to scare the crap out of this one trust fund brat out of taking a one man crusade.... doens't work out like TV."

At the mention of him being part of the Trailers, Sinya actually does pause in her work, looking up with an almost confused expression. Perhaps it was the suit, or the way of speaking, but something about him just didn't strike her as fitting in with her particular faction. "Hrm. Never really pegged you for a Trailer." She muses outloud, a momentary distraction from her repairs. "Then again, I guess most people don't peg me for one either." She tosses a part of the helmet into the refuse bin, and then seems to focus on the visor, reaching to hook the wires into a nearby computer before booting up a program.

A moment later, the screen displays a few from Arius's visor. "Thank the creators for small favors." She murmurs to herself, and then pulls the visor on over her bandaged head, looking at Edward through it - or perhaps looking at something else entirely but just having her head in his direction. Even as she begins to move her head back and forth, the remains of the guymelef's head following the motion high above, the girl realizes she should be actually making some attempt at talking. "I guess you seem more like the type to have military connections. Then again, I guess there are a few more well off members of the Trailers, I'm just not one of them." She nods her head apraisingly, content that at least one system she set up is still functioning, then slides the visor off of her forehead.

Blinking as she comes back to the world around her, the catgirl shrugs her shoulders slightly, "I ran afoul of a Frightener who figured I was some Crusader employed mercenary. I wouldn't have even gotten involved in fighting if he hadn't shot at me. I was only trying to cover the evacuation of the farmers." She sighs to herself, looking at the remains of the helmet as she plucks out the voice control system wire by wire. "So what can I help you with, besides a refurbished seat?"

Edward Fawkes grunted softly, "I dislike and distrust governemnts as a rule, but want to offer what services I can to people I feel need it."

He eyed her helmet then the guymelef then back to the helmet. "I'd actually wanted to see how you'd feel about going in as someone I can send parts and material to I come across. Your call on what gets accepted and regected, and you'd get as much information as I've got on where it came from." No black market deals... ick. "Work tends to get thigns scrapped. It'd be a shame to have useable materials go to waste."

"I distrust the military." Sinya replies with a low growl in the back of her throat, pulling the voice module out and seting it to the side before trashing the remainder of the helmet. "Back where I came from, there was a military empire called Zaibach. They pretended to be diplomatic, but really they were just out for power." Her injured fingers stroke lightly over the golden band at her wrist as she shakes her head from side to side. "They enslaved my people, killed my family." With a sigh, she grabs for another panel, pulling it over from the bin to lay across her lap. "Military here isn't much different. Shooting at a civilian just for being in the wrong place. Tssh."

It's clear she doesn't want to dwell on that for very long, as she flips the panel over and starts to disassemble it with quick fingers. Most of the time, she is able to avoid useing a wrech or screw driver, using her claws instead - useful things they are. "Well, I can't afford to buy anything off of you, but I'd be willing to go over anything you send in and fix what can be salvaged for a cut of the resale." As nice as she might be, she is still a Trailer and nothing in the world is completely free. "It would at least help me cover some costs between jobs."

Zaibach? Ed shook his head. Rung no bells, but that meant nothing. Yes on to better topics. "I also have several different certifications to go with my Actuarial position." Wait wat? "So if You'd like some help going over your books I wouldn't mind." After a moment he added, almost as an afterthought. "I might be flush with cash now, but who knows what the future will bring. So being on the good side of someone that can get me replacements seems a good idea." Doesn't hurt that she's easy on the eyes.

Thus far, there had only been one person Sinya had spoken to who even recognised the name Zaibach, but that isn't particularly surprising. Most humans who live on the Mystic Moon, or the Red Moon for that matter knew little about the world of La Gias. Most still mistook her for one of Lord Genome's beastmen, which made it a bit difficult to do business. "Wait, what?" She's halfway through unscrewing a plate when his words seem to reach her brain, slowly, as if they were trickling through the huge stack of mechanical designs floating in her head at the moment. Then, as she realizes what he's offering, the catgirl just shakes her head. "I'm not sure I really need an accountant."

Laying out the various bits from the panel, she carefully lifts each one, discarding circuits which are obviously blown before pushing against the floor with her good leg. The chair swivels backwards as she rolls to the end of one of the shelves, pulling over a box and fishing out replacements. "I keep most of my inventory information up here." She taps her head, her fingers olding the new circuits as she does so. With another shove, she comes rolling to a stop and inches forward back towards her work table, quickly setting to putting the panel back together. "What I don't remember, the computer is pretty good at handling." She pauses, thoughtful, "Well, feel free to start sending work my way. I've got to replace most of Arius's outer armor and that's going to be costly. Hoping to actually get something a little more... blaster resistant in the future."

Edward Fawkes nods thoughtfully while looking over the melted bits. "Beam weaponry is very unkind." Another flash of memory. This kind of damage, slag melted and warped remains. Not in space, earth, or anywhee recognizeable. He's seen it. NOw if only he can just hang onto that image. Spider thing getting melted in half.... Remember.

"Truth be told Miss I had thought to see if you wouldn't mind seeing a play or somehing. However since this is only the secone time we've seen eachother, and you're fairly beat up." He coughs. "I think I should let myself out before my foot is followed by the rest of my leg down throat."

"No kidding. Especially when it's big enough to take out a ship far bigger than poor Arius." Sinya grits her teeth for a moment, showing her frustration. Her tail lashes behind her, but then seems to quiet as she calms herself, picking up the reassembled planel as she moves it closer to the computer and hooks it into the system. Unlike the previous one, this seems to be associated with Arius's thruster control. "I'm lucky I got pulled out of the full force of the blast, or I'd be one crispy kitty right now." Her fingers tap the panel, and while the computer seems to acknowledge the commands, nothing seems to change on the guymelef. "Damnit, boosters are shot." She lets her head tip forward, leaning it on the table edge in dismay.

Her ears perk at the mention of seeing a play, and her head lifts a moment later to look at Edward as if he had grown a particularly interesting second head. "Wait, are you trying to ask me out?" Her nose twitches slightly, and her lips press together in what is obviously an attempt at not laughing. It would be terribly rude, and she wouldn't want to hurt his feelings. "It's... sweet, really Edward, but I'm in no shape to go much of anywhere right now. Besides looking like I got hit by a mech shaped truck, I'm not exactly the type to let some guy pay my way in anything." She offers a small smile, although it comes out a bit strange as it causes her to wince from a cut on her cheek. "I've got to repair Arius, and make some money to get out of the red with everyone I'm going to owe for his parts. Until then, dating is kind of off of my radar."

Edward Fawkes could see the lady was being kind even as she was pretty much shooting him down. To be perfictly fair 'social gatherings' and 'multipul severe injuries' don't tend to mix well. Best salvage what he can. "I suppose so. If you need anything..." Crud, did he give her his contact information?" He frowned and started rummaging through his pockets before setting a chip down on one of the many shelves.

As he exited the store he wondered who the Gundam was for, if it was functional or just a sculpture, and if he should pop his head back in to ask. Nah. Best to keep things from getting more awquard than they are already.