2011-02-24 - A Business Arrangement?

Edward Fawkes hasn't had much luck in his recent pokings around. As it turns out mercenaries not on contract, no matter how polite or well mannered, are not generally allowed to nose through a ship's logs or is welcome to ask overly probing questions about it's business. So he went to plan B; find the nearest bar and lurk, buy a few drinks once he's found the right crew, and hope he can get them chatty before they have to leave or pass out.

Now how to get from here to there without being noticed. Spotless three piece suit and being freakishly tall do not subtle make.

Location, Location, Location - That is the key when trying to atract business. With both military and mercenaries coming and going from the nearby bar, this particular part of the harbor is the perfect spot for someone selling... well, let's just call them second-hand wares. Under a simple, propped up canopy, a young woman has an array of bits and pieces that seem to have been salvaged from the wreckage of various mechs. There is everything from thrusters for a mobile suit to more unusual peices that must have been cast-offs from some of the martian units.

The saleswoman, one Sinya Leland, is talking animatedly about a computer console, complete with circuit boards and connectors hanging from it every which way. She's dressed warmly, with a woolen hat pulled down, covering her ears. Between that and the long coat covering her arms, it would be hard to guess that she wasn't human. Then again, there were those odd stripes on her cheeks.

"You must think me a fool. Come back when you actually want to do business." The man, apparently flabbergasted that the woman had questioned his offer, just stands there for a minute, slackjawed, and then mutters something that sounds like: 'didn't want this piece of crap anyways' before walking off sullenly. Sinya, content that she's avoided yet another seedy individual trying to take advantage of a merchant, settles back down into a fold out chair, kicking her booted feet up onto a nearby crate as she keeps an eye on a group of uniformed soldiers eyeing a beam rifle.

Edward Fawkes quirked an eyebrow at Sinya's stall. The guy that just left looked familiar. Then again this was his fifth lap around so faces tended to blur. He looked at the makeshift stall carefully. Sure he had a self-imposed job, but he was hitting a dead end so maybe a we break would let his brain find traction again once it got back on task. That or maybe he could talk the woman into...

"Hello." He hunched down to avoid bumping into anything, on the way in. Actually judging by the overly careful way he worked around the different parts and brik-a-brac it's potentially funny to watch, or sad, or... whatever. Descision time. Be honest, or try inventing a reason to poke his head inside then get to the point. Ed shook his head and looked from shop owner to the way the 'gentleman' went. "Was that guy here long miss?"

The young woman's green eyes are just slightly too large to be quite normal on a human, something that obviously is a bit disconcerting to the soldiers, who quickly avert their gaze and keep their eyes on the rifle, murmuring in low voices as they discuss how much they plan on offering for it. That's when her eyes flash towards the most recent patron, head tilting ever so slightly as she watches the cautious entrance of the tall, dark-skinned man.

"A bit overdressed, aren't we?" She comments in a soft voice, sounding far more amused than anything else. "Feel free to look around. Nothing will break just because you look at it." She murmurs by way of reassurance, pushing herself up onto her feet. As she stands, there is a flash of metal barely visible under the cuffs of her jacket, as if there were bands wrapped about her wrists. At first, she doesn't pay him much mind. Usually, most people dressed in such a fashion wouldn't go slumming in this kind of shop, and the few times they did... they were looking for something, and usually weren't willing to pay a reasonable price to some lower lifeform.

Still, she's polite as she hrms considerably, shrugging her shoulders. "Fifteen minutes or so. Asked me every question in the book about that console unit, then refused to give me a decent price for it. I might be a girl, but I'm no fool." There is a subtle bit of warning to her voice, as if she were warning him from making any foolish offers on her wares. "He'll probably be back. I doubt he'll find anyone selling one of these that isn't just hocking it for parts."

Edward Fawkes flashes a ghostly smile. "Thank you miss." He jotted that little factoid down for later. "I realize it's a bit off but I mean the man no harm, he doens't owe me money or anything. I'm just trying to do a little homework on a job I got stiffed on. Figure the angles out and if the little return package I paid for will square things or if I need to keep my hand in.' He wasn't sure if he should feel guilty over paying to have that strange set of sextuplits trash the man's home, but he didn't like being played for a fool... especially when it meant him being a bully boy. 'In the meantime....

He picked up a pair of displays that would've taken a normal person both hands just to grab one, tucked both under one arm, and eyed a side console sitting off in a corner and motioned to it. "Any way to test make sure everything on that works?"

With a brief nod of her head, Sinya simply accepts the thanks as if it were nothing particularly of heed to her. She walks out towards the edge of the tent, peeking her nose out. There is the slightest twitch, as if she were smelling the sea air, and then her head turns back to sweep across the small shop. Stopping on the soldiers, one of them finally nods his head to her, and she steps over a few other objects gracefully before speaking to them in a low voice. The offer they are making seems to be more reasonable to her, and some money changes hands quickly. Crouching down, Sinya puts the rifle into its wooden carrying box, and then hands it over. "Nice doing business with you."

Only once the money is squirreled away into her pocket and the soldiers have left with their purchase does she turn back towards Edward, head tilting to the side. "You don't have to explain yourself to me. I serve soldiers, mercenaries, merchants, civilians. Just so long as the fighting stays outside my shop, we're good." She offers a thumbs up... of a clawed hand. Then, she hesitates, looking him up and down in a somewhat curious fashion. "Hrm. Can't say I'd take kindly to someone stiffing me on work either." She folds her arms across her chest.

"Does this person have a name?" She taps her foot slightly, and it almost seems as if the belt that is around her waist twitches along with it. "If you have proof of them not paying, it might be in your interest to let the Trailers know. Especially for the sake of those of us who make our living off of this." She motions her chin at her goods, and then lets her green eyes sweep back towards him. raising one eyebrow with a skeptical expression.

"Hmfh. Everything I sell works." Her voice drops a bit, obviously offended at the insinuation that she might be trying to rip someone off. "I wouldn't make very good money selling refurbished goods if I made a habit of selling bad parts." She takes a deep breath, as if she were a little tired of dealing with people questioning her sales. Muttering to herself, she mumbles something that sounds like: 'Wouldn't have this problem on Mars.' "I do all the work myself. I even maintain my own guymel-er... my own mech. You're welcome to ask around. You won't hear a bad word about Leland Tech." She thumbs towards the bar dismissively.

Edward Fawkes shook his head. "Guy owns a mining company. Paid up for services rendered. Just misrepresented the situation so more my fault for not digging better than him for being scum.' Which is why he was trying to fix that. He wondered how to handle her now bruised ego and decided omission/oversight might work best here. Just when his mouth was about to open she said the 'G' word. Something tickled at the back of his head, sounded /almost/ familiar... but not enough to poke at the moment too much. "And don't go thinking I'm some brainless Fop..." Claws? Bell... stripes. Lots of elective surgery? Genetic modification? "I figure if I can't buy off the rack anyway I might as well have something with a little flash to it no?"

Settling down into her chair once more, the woman props her feet up, leaning back and letting her eyes slip momentarily shut. It seems that she's already determined that there isn't a big chance that he's going to steal her goods. "Don't do much work with mining corporations. Mostly I do repairs and diagnostic work on mechs. There's good money in salvaging and refurbishing parts other people can't fix." One eye slips open, and then she just sighs as she can't seem to rest for very long.

"You do realize this is a tent, right? I have to buy a drink at the bar to go to the bathroom. I don't want to /know/ what they'd charge me for an electricity hook up." She leans forward, clawed fingers pressed against her knees before getting to her feet again. "But if you insist." She walks towards the back of the stall, which is lined up with the edge of the harbor, then neatly hops up onto the railing. She glances down, and then jumps. Wait, what?! That jump would probably seriously hurt, or kill most normal people, not to mention the cold of the water beneath. But somehow, rather than a sound of pain, or even a splash, the woman's voice comes up from below. "Mind lending me a hand?"

No more than ten feet below the edge of the railing stands an ancient looking machine. Unlike most normal mechs, this one definitely is from another time, perhaps another world entirely. It seems like a knight, except with great metal wings folded behind it. Sinya, sitting in on the mech's shoulder, is pulling on some wires, hooking them to part of the mech and then spooling out the length. Looping the wires over her shoulder, she climbs to the edge of the mech and offers her hand out, as if she's fully expecting a hand-up.

Edward Fawkes slowly followed the woman to where she'd made her apparent suicidal jump and looked down. Ah a convenient parking spot for her... her....

He froze. Still. Birds could've started landing on him. Thousands of thoughts and images flicked through his head. All at odds with eachother, none easily picked apart from the rest. His pupils contracted to pinpricks and he muttered a string of words, not part of any language anyone would recognize. Sinya might find some familiarity to the tone. Something like how someone that knows spanish might find familiaritis with italian but at the same time not know a thing about the language. Am I dead yet dreaming, or is this real?

For the most part, Sinya is absolutely oblivious to whatever sort of inner workings are going on inside Edward's mind. All she knows, is that he's suddenly doing an immitation of some midieval gargoyle. "If you keep standing there, birds are going to set up shop in your mouth." She calls, her voice somewhat teasing as she draws her hand back, using it to remove her woolen hat and then run her fingers through her hair. As the wind catches the red tresses, it also reveals something else - ears. Brown cat's ears, covered by the hat before, are now clearly visible, lifting slightly as she tucks the hat into her pocket. "Hello? Earth to Mr. Suit guy?" She doesn't know his name just yet, so apparently this is close enough.

She does blink at the words he finally mutters, head tilting as one ear cups forward. "What did you say?" Hesitating, she bites at her lower lip slightly as a strange feeling lingers - like something she should remember. Then, shaking it off as if it were just some minor irritation, she offers her hand out again. "Come on, I need a hand. If I have to activate Arius just to get back up, I'm going to use him to hang you upside down by your skivvies from the nearest flagpole."

'Words cannot encompass how lost I am.' More of that wierd-speak. Then he shook himself. Right. Girl. Electricity. Testing stuff. "Name's Edward miss kitty." He tried keeping his tone light but even though he was moving, now with deliberate purpose, he was still visibly unsettled.

With another shake of her head, trying to rid herself of that eerie feeling the odd language seems to cause in her, Sinya accepts his help and finally hauls the wiring up over the edge of the harbor railing. Once with her feet on the planking, she sets the clump of colored wires down, plucking through them to select a few from the bundle. "Sinya." She replies simply, "Sinya Leland by adoption, if that counts. Never had need of a surname before ending up here." She murmurs the last part to herself as she pulls over one of the panels he had been holding, hooking the wires up to it with deft, clawed fingers.

If nothing else, to many trailers the name Leland should be remotely familiar. There is a small traveling group of salvagers who work largely on Earth, cleaning up after mecha battles and making a fair price off of their work. Mostly travelers, vagabonds of sorts, the entire clan never stays in place for very long, but they are known for their repair skills. "Here, this should do it."

As if on queue, there is a faint sound of electricity and then the monitor flickers to life. With nothing connected to it, it just displays a blank, faintly blue-glowing screen, but all the pixels function and there doesn't seem to be any issues with it. "Anything else you need me to hook up, or do you believe me yet?" She asks, pushing back up to her feet and clapping her hands together. "It generally isn't a good idea to carry expensive diagnostic equipment with me everywhere. It's all got a thirty-day warrenty excluding combat and intentional damage." This last part is rattled off as if she were one of those radio announcers giving the fine print at the end of a commercial.

Edward Fawkes caught that muttered remark but said nothing. Nor did he seem to make any outward sense of being wierded out by Sinya's feline heritage. "Aye lady I believe you." Ed smiled to her and reached for his wallet. Sure he possibly could get a dea haggling with her, but his tenure with the trailers has taught him that in haggling situations if the seller has already felt cheated on one deal that day, the next was likely going to not be bargained with. Especially if the buyer, even accidentilly, called reputation into question.

"How long'er you gonna be here for? I'd promised the last person I'd subletted out salvage rights on what they hauled in, but since I'm dirtside again and can take a more personal hand I figure having a working relationship with someone who knows what they're doing might be in best interests."

It almost seem as if she might continue giving out the 'terms and conditions' of her work, but instead Sinya neatly closes her mouth head tilting slightly as she gives a nod. "Let's see..." She grabs up a datapad and taps on it with her claw, the 'belt' that had been around her waist slipping free and twitching behind her. "Just the two panels, or do you want that console unit, too?" She asks, having noted him eyeing it earlier. However, her ear twitches at the prospect of more steady work, causing her to look up.

"Hrm. I travel back and forth between here and the red moon pretty regularly. But Arius doesn't go nearly as fast as an Orbital Frame, so it takes a while to make the journey." Her eyes scout towards a pair of passers by who seem to be drawn to her goods, although for now they seem to be just browsing. As she watches them, almost suspiciously, she murmurs, "I've got a small garage up on the red moon, and one in Hindustania. I move around a lot. Trying to drum up new business, that sort of thing." She turns her eyes away from the couple and looks back to Edward, "Haven't had steady work since my last contract ran out. Pretty interesting work, too. Fixing LEVs and the like."

Edward Fawkes quirks an eyebrow. "Never been to Mars." Red Moon? Must be a culture thing, or related to that... whatever that had him talking gibberish. "Been to the Asteroid Belt a couple times with a few crews looking to set shop up. Thought about going out to Uranus but nah. Most of my work's been in and around Earth, Luna, and occasionally around the sides." He caught himself sizing Sinya up and shook his head. Bad idea to try taking a possible business contact out on a date, no matter how curvy. "The moniters, the console, and you happen to have any spair seats?" She didn't need to know this all was going into a home arcade setup rather than him just buyins spares for Shelly. People acted funny if they realized you were an arcade nut.

Another few taps into the palm unit and she nods, adding the console into the numbers she has running for his purchase. "That's the way with contract life. You get a good deal, and you go. It wasn't bad work, though." Her ears shoot towards the couple, and then her eyes follow a moment afterwards. "You'd better take that memory chip out of your pocket right now before I turn you into the port authorities." As the man tenses, and seems about to run, she adds on, "And don't try running. My people have super human speed, and you won't escape." It's a lie, a bold faced one for anyone who knows about the beastmen who hail from her particular part of La Gias, but apparently he and his consort don't know this. Quickly, the man takes the chip out of his pocket, tosses it onto the ground, and flees.

With a sigh, Sinya rolls her eyes and walks over to retrieve the part, plucking it off of the ground. "Great, now I'm going to have to retest this for defects. Stupid thieves." She hisses, watching their retreat as her tail puffs out slightly. Then, seeming to realize what she's doing, her ears fold back shyly, "Erm, sorry about that." She mutters, and then seems to get back to the task at hand. "I don't have any seats with me, but I've got some back at the shop." She taps at the palmpad yet again, then looks up. "I could send you some images and specs and have anything you want delivered. Otherwise I can give you a data chip with my shop location and my activiation key. It'll show you if we're open or not." Which, by the sounds of all the traveling she does, isn't actually that often.

Edward Fawkes rumbled deep in the back of his throat as he thought the offer over. "HAving your shop on file would probably be helpful." He put a hand on someone who had 'bumped' into him. "Cough it up." The person glowered up at him, earning the would-be-pickpocket a glower and a firmer grip on his shoulder. "I'd suggest next time you find a mark that can't break you in half." After the person stumbles away and Edward retrieved his wallet he started counting out bills. "Want me to stay awhile, scare people into not being morons?"

As she's tallying up the cost of the purchase, as well as setting up the datachip, Sinya doesn't even notice the other patron getting near Edward. It isn't until that rumbling sound that her ears pitch forward and her head rises again, blinking. At first, she bristles with the audacity of a second person trying to make off with something in such a short time period, but it seems that Edward has it neatly in hand. As soon as the wayward pickpocket is warned off, she laughs, shaking her head with an amused expression.

"You know, you wouldn't have to worry about that so much if you didn't look like some rich son of a millionare who just happened to stumble into the wrong side of the tracks." She motions towards his suit. "You're big enough to scare off most people. It's just the clothes that make you a mark. Maybe try a t-shirt and jeans?" She suggests, eyes sweeping the store once more to make sure nothing else has managed to wander off in the meantime. Then, she plucks a chip out of the side of the palm-pad. "This has my shop's data, and my direct line if you need something in a rush." She holds out the chip, and then turns the palm pad towards him so he can see her calculations. The price is reasonable, and even has a discount applied for buying multiple things. "And I'm sure I can manage. Most people are dumb enough to not pull things with me anyways. They're too afraid I have laser beam eyes or space rabies."

Edward Fawkes snortlaughs and pays up before pocketing the chip. "I'd honestly figured you'd get more hangers on than fear-mongers." Wait scratch that. People tend to be xenephobic as a whole, so not surprising at all. "And no. I de-suit for Nobody." With a deliberately careful motion he pulls his cane apart just enough to show it could easily skewer and or bloodify anyone coming after him. Then with a second motion the cane was just a cane again. Oh sure cute, but what if someone pulls a gun? Oh well. Ed was whistling as he headed for the front exit.

"Oh, I get the occasional perv who's watched too many cartoons and think catgirls are nothing but overglorified sex toys." Sinya's eyes roll back as she shakes her head, then laughs as she accepts the payment, placing it neatly into one of the many pockets in her jacket. "They usually get a swift kick in the nuts for their trouble. I didn't spend most of my life learning to fix mechs only to spend my life as a slave here, too." Too? She doesn't explain this further, eyeing the sword-cane with an appraising nod of her head. "Well, to each their own, but at least it looks good on you." She notes, and then heads back towards her chair and its lookout on her goods. "Thanks for the sale. You're welcome back anytime." She notes, offering a small smile before flopping unceremoniously into her chair.