Letter Bee

Ebonfort

Par misspelled Azure Strand as 'Azure Watch' in his mind, but his other misnaming was 'Azure City'.

[Ebonfort] The Edge of the Map

The misnaming was Azure City, not Azure Watch, but yes, forgetting to call it Azure Strand had been a mistake. Nevertheless, Par nodded, saying first to the Aenshi:

"I'd bargain for 40, but the ship awaits," spoke the 19-year old boy. "all right, 30 gold pieces it is," and Par then took the money, before saying to the captain:

"Thank you, sir! There won't be any trouble abroad ship, sir!" Par fully intended on keeping that promise; he had no intention of flubbing up his prospects. And with that, he handed over his horse over to the fox-person, though not without taking off the survival kit, cargo, and crossbow, which the 18-year old boy carried by himself to the ship's deck, to the probable amusement of the rest of the merchants, who were now wondering what a nobody like him was doing on their vessel.

------

Now that 'Alexander Skye' had deposited his cargo, the 18-year old boy went back up to the deck, a little tired out, especially as he still carried his survival gear. He then waited for the Captain to finish talking with the Fairy. Yes, said Captain looked as though he can skewer him if he made any trouble. So, that precluded any ostentatious displays of, well, anything.

Either way, once the Captain finished talking with Dain, whose name Par may or may not have heard while waiting, Par would then say:

"Hello, Captain, my name is Alexander Skye, and I got admitted to the ship at the last minute, as you may very well have seen. I've been told that I'll have to share a cabin or set of cabins with the rest of the merchants? If so, what quarters or section would render me less of an inconvenience to the rest of the other traders?"

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

((Collab between Letter Bee and Gentlemanvaultboy))

The doors to Mr. Hut's office opened, allowing Rudolf and GG to enter what at first appeared to be a small, spartan room barely big enough for the baskerville to fit, with a simple wooden desk and a portly man in a tuxedo, with a full head of hair and piercing blue eyes, as well as a small mustache, in a chair at the end. However, once the doors closed again, the portly man - Mr. Hut - clapped his hands, causing the walls and ceiling to widen and expand, providing more room for the Baskerville. The desk then retracted into the floor and was replaced with a large table filled with choice meats and vegetables.

"Do you like it?" spoke Mr. Hut. "This is my new 'Office of Requirement', fitted with complex machines and memory-alloy materials that allow the room to change to their owner's specifications, and the specifications of the guests. I just entertained one young heir in this room, now...let's just say that you have full run of it as I do."

"Now, you're here about Tops?" asked the man.

"Well, that's who my information led to. I... GG, what did daddy tell you about fatty steak?" Rudolf said as the behemous marched forward and lifted a large steak into its mouth. It looked back at Rudolf, hands on his hips and tapping his foot, then raised its head higher and marched off to one of the rooms far corners to tear into it, ignoring him. Rudolf shook his head. "So headstrong. Just like his father. Anyway." Rudolf contiued, walking up to the deck and making himself a sandwitch. "I've been looking for a proper thread to pull on this hobbyist situation for a while now. I think Tops might be that thread, I just need to know where he is."

"Two places," spoke Mr. Hut, "the first is his establishment, Tops' Bar and Hotel, which I gave to him five years ago as his 30th Birthday present. The second is The Labyrinth, a section of heating and water vents, as well as storage facilities, running underneath the city, at the crust of the station. Another hangout is Madame Venus' Pleasure Palace, where almost every kink can be satisfied."

Rudolf bit into a slice of something or other that he's put between two slices of lettus in liue of bread. "Labyrinth seems to me where my interestes lie," he said between swallows. "Unless you can fit an army of monsters in a bar or brothal. You have a map of it?"

A small column rose up to Mr. Hut's left, carrying an old-fashioned paper map on its top, which the man then took, then tossed offhandedly to Rudolf. The paper map contained an image of the twists and turns of the Labyrinth, as well as the presumed base of the 'Artificial Rancor' Army.

Ruldolf gave the map a thorough look. "I was hoping for something digital, but this works. Is there anything down there that you absolutly don't want broken." He asked, sideying GG has he came back to the desk and, heedless of Rudolfs disapproval, took another steak. "My boy can get a bit...rambuctious in exicting situations."

"There's a small fusion reactor and a large pipe transferring heat from it to other places. Don't break those, or you'll literally die, along with millions of workers and customers," was Mr. Hut's reply.

Rudolf whipped out his PDA, scanning the map with it before fiddling with the digital display that was created. He found the reactor and the pipeline and, with a few deft flicks of his thumb, marked them as vital area. Then he he input a six digit password and pressed a button to the screen. A light at the top of the PDA flashed and GG looked up, its eye flashing the same way. "I just updated the VI with that information. It shouln't be a problem now. I'd like to do the same with any personelle you might have down there. Informants, agents of yours, people you want to make use of. I don't want anyone caught in the crossfire."

"I won't pry, of course. We are a security company, after all. Client are entitled to their privacy."

"Well," said the portly man, "I already have a few hundred agents watching the labyrinth, as well as a list of moles within Tops' organization." Another column and piece of paper arose, and went towards Rudolf. "Here is the list. Warning, though, Tops himself won't likely be at the Labyrinth, but I can trust others to 'take care' of him."

"I can't imagine that he won't move once he relizes what's happening." Rudolf said, scanning the list without looking at it and repeating the process. The PDA blinked. The eye blinked, the pictures on the list registering in the VI. "That should give your people ample oppertunity to grab him. I don't suppose I could meet these people, could I?"

"They're in one of my suites in this very spire, a varied bunch of people, technically employed by the Heir to the Mayors and Merchants' association - oops, sorry, I mean the Guild! -" Mr. Hut was interrupted.

"Small world, so am I! I think..."

"Yes, the Guild's Mayors provide the space for your company to work in, while they and their merchants both provide funding," Mr. Hut was a little cross. "Either way, Paradise 'Par' Rapids is here on a fool's adventure against the Sphinx, which dovetails with my plans against Tops nicely." Another smile.

"Vegas Station is a world in miniature, so, yes, 'Small World' is a good description. Now, anything else?"

"Can't think of it if there is." Rudolf replied, giving two sharp whistles. GG got up and wandered over toward them. "Pleasure doing bussiness with you Mr. Hut." He said, extending a hand. "This rancor problem of yours is going to be settled in no time."

A smile at that, and the doors opened, beckoning the guests to finally continue with their business...

Rudolf look at his hand, then brough it behind him to scratch the back of his head before making his way out of the room. "C'mon GG."

The baskerville lingered for a moment in the office, turning its head as it examined Hut. Then its tendrils floated forward and grabbed as much meat as they could wrap themselvs around and lifting it into the air. It grabbed another steak in its mouth.

"C'mon boy!" Rudolf called from the hall. GG took one last look at Hut then padded out after its owner, easily catching up to the chubby little man as he headed down the hall. "We're going to meet our boss, and after that...we're going for a little walk."

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

@Gentlemanvaultboy Sorry for not giving your character a hook; was busy with the other chars.

I don't want to double-post, so perhaps collab when you're online? Preferably today my end.

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

Par had been invited to stay in Mr. Hut's spire, supposedly out of respect, but the real reason was so that the merchant can be watched. Nevertheless, the 19-year old boy knew how to get what he wanted while staying in the boundaries set by his host, limits that had just gotten wider.

Now that the meeting was done, Par went back to his assigned quarters, listening to business and intelligence reports. The association of mayors and mechants that made up the Guild of Free and Fair Trade seemed to have woken up to the Sphinx's new advances, and word had arrived of an ominous new developement: The Domination had created a new, crude, weapon - a Fusion Cannon - basically a gun that shot superheated hydrogen at the enemy.

Said weapon wasn't perfect; it can only be used once or twice per battle, but its development was such an alarming danger that the Guild was ordering the construction of more Q-Ships - merchant ships with hidden guns replacing parts of the cargo - and arming allied militas on frontier worlds, as well as rallying an coalition of various Planetary Defense Forces and Mercenaries. It seemed that the Guild had finally grown a spine.

But it won't be enough, Par knew. The Sphinx were about to exceed their industrial capacity, yet they were still fighting. And worst of all, it looked as though they were in fit shape to continue doing so, that strains of logistics and supply hadn't -

"Mr. Rapids, Count Jericho and...some guests are here to see you," a computerized voice, a VI, spoke. Said VI spoke with the melodic tones of a girl about his age, similar enough to a real person for people's comfort, or in the Sphinx's case, discomfort and anger. Par nodded in response, then asked:

"Who are these...Guests?" The VI nodded; and, projecting holograms of Reuben and Ahnciel, continued, with a tone that can be mistaken for an actual Sapient being's:

"A representative of the Society of Steel's Steel Rangers - he has the necessary credentials and cyberization - and a gene-mod, Non-Gardner, who introduces himself as Ahnciel. The former wants to see you, the latter is...under the protection of the former." The VI continued.

"Approaching via another route to speak with Mr. Hut is one Rudolf Pendrick, lead scientist of Baskerville Corp." Par nodded at that, guessing that this must have something to do with Benjamin Tops' treachery; that man was doing a lot to bind together Vegas Station and the Guild. Nevertheless, Reuben and Ahnciel interested him in equal measure, and he knew what to do.

"Let them in; security checks would be useless against a Steel Ranger and a Gene-Mod, anyway," Par had that teaching drilled into his head back in the days of his mentoring. "Also, prepare tea and snacks for the Gene-Mod in the suite's living room; I'll be going there."

Count Jericho, Reuben, and Ahnciel would be allowed in after that, to encounter a young man in a simple grey shirt, pants, and laceless shoes. His eyes were wide open in curiosity, and his face was in a smile.

"Welcome back, Count," the 19-year old greeted, before facing Reuben and Ahnciel.

"Hello there," Par - for that was Par - had a voice that was kind and deceptively mild, with an inner firmness that was only subtly detectable. "My name is Paradise 'Par' Rapids of the Guild of Free and Fair Trade." Facing Ahnciel, Par elaborated:

"The Guild is an association of mayors of various space and planetary settlements and leading merchants of various fleets, bound together for mutual benefit and defense." Turning to Reuben, the boy continued:

"If you're here about a certai mutual enemy," Par's voice acquired a barb at the mention of the Sphinx, "I am all ears. In fact, I just came here to get rid of one of their pawns."

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

@Hawlin@agentmanatee@Gentlemanvaultboy@LHG100, Will be NPCing Count Jericho.

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

Seeing as us three are still here, maybe we should just jump right to the meeting. Jerico said he was taking them there anyway, didn't he?

@Gentlemanvaultboy

Posting from phone. Will do meeting later today if not distracted by Ebonfort.

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

Tomorrow will be four days without an IC post, and I usually kill off my RPs in four days.

Virgin Space: A Space Opera RP of Power, Profit, and Providence

Roll Call!

[Ebonfort] The Edge of the Map

Flashback, Abandoned Hillfort

"One last thing," Malko spoke before he made to depart, handing Par, from his moccassin pockets, a set of forged papers. "What direction are you going on your journey? Southeast, right?*" This elicited a nod from the Merchant, who was only halfway through putting his clothes back on.

"Yeah, trying to avoid Azure Strand due to the increasing disorder - " the young Ex-Ebonfortian was saying before Malko loudly facepalmed, exasperated for once.

"Why?" Par was a little alarmed at his boyfriend's action, feeling as though he had done something wrong, which Malko's next words confirmed:

"Par, the disorder in Azure Strand is a good thing," the Kvaren carefully explained. "The increased criminal activity not only distracts the Ebon Knights, but also creates possible allies if you're clever. And, Par, you are clever, just...inexperienced." The Kvaren then looked at the merchant longingly, before saying:

"And with that, I have to go." And he loped off, with his pack, and left Par to consider his options...

Present Day, 15 Saffra 301 DM

Par had managed to get to the outskirts of Azure Watch, using speed and stealth and the relative emptiness of the poor land, in order to evade both Ebon Patrols and Bandits. On the rare occassions where he had to encounter authorities, he would then show his forged papers to the official in charge, saying:

"My name is Alexander Sky, a merchant's son who got disinherited when my brothers stole my share. I am on my way to Azure City to exchange spices for fish." And then he would show them his cargo, which would serve as additional 'proof'. And this managed to get him through any checkpoint, and now he hoped that he would not gain the wrong kind of attention from the watchman at the city gates. He didn't.

"Better be careful, kid," said the person running the gatehouse, a heavyset man with large jowls. "Thugs and footpads running about, and Ebon Knights aren't much better. Only silver lining is the ship about to leave, some fool voyage south of the desert. Then again, not like this place has anything to bait people except fish..." To all of this, Par would give his nod, before saying:

"What sort of ship? Exploration? Or..." Par realized something, "Trade?"

"Yeah!" the Gatekeeper said, "rumors of some large city or somesuch; I personally don't believe they'd find anything more than sand, but I clap for their efforts; it's the most exciting thing since, well, since the bad things that happened. Now, go, go, I personally don't have time to interrogate every small trader I meet."

And with that, Par left, using his memories of his trips with his father to guide his way to the docks, where he would then sight the unique merchant vessel, so different from the flatter-bottomed fishing boats that flanked it. So, this is what a Galleon - he had heard that term in Azure Strand's streets on the way - looks like, were his thoughts. He then rode his horse towards where, he presumed, its captain was, before finding out that there was a line. He would then dismount, then lead his horse by the reins to the end of the line, saying:

"Hey, is there room for one more?! And no, I don't mean the Horse! I have Cloves and Cardamaom, both as cargo as well as payment to join, if you require any!"

No, it was not the most tactful of attempts to shove himself in, but time was running out; he had only found out about the ship just now, and it was apparently about to leave.

"Anyway," Par continued, talking fast, "my name is Alexander Sky, a disinherited son of a merchant whose share was stolen by my brothers. All I have to my name is my horse, survival supplies, a light crossbow, and the cloves and cardamom I mentioned, which I've been taught were valuable trade goods. I am also a fast learner, being young, and while I'm not that strong, I can move pretty fast and get into tight spots."

"Oh! And I can make gadgets, if needed, and fix and work on machines. I can pull my weight, I promise."

((*This is a minor Retcon with GM Permission.))