Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on May 17, 2010 20:34:18 GMT -5
Duskwing hunched over slightly and stared at Screwdriver. What who? "Huh? I ain't tired. Been travellin', 'cause I ain't on Cybertron."
He blinked slowly at Swindle. "Uh. Okay. So you'll buy stuff. What are dem big words for, to confuse Ratbat's boys 'bout what happened to the fuel rations or somethin'?"
Duskwing slid open his cockpit canopy as he talked and pulled out several cloth wrapped packages and thumped them down on the counter. One of the packages jingled rather than thumped.
"Got some of it in local credits, and some of dis here fancy stuff--" He unwrapped the jingly package, spilling out a small pile of glittering gold and gems. "Locals favor gold over palladium or iridium for jewelry. They're weird like dat. Dunno if it's worth that much--lot of these funny crystal rocks, too," Duskwing said, pointing at the diamonds, opals and emeralds. "Just carbon and some metal oxides, nothin' really rare like crystal energon, y'know? Locals are big on 'em, though, so you should be able to make somethin' tradin' with 'em--I mean, you're Swindle!"
"Dis," the big dark blue & purple Seeker said as he unwrapped a small flat package, "is access passes and contact numbers for some of dem casinos as doesn't let us riff-raff in. Me, I ain't up on the local games enough, though I nailed a few cyber-pigeons as was rollin' well at the tables, which is why I got cash for you. And jewelry. Woulda done more, but casino goons was gettin' touchy, so I skedaddled."
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Screwdriver
Rookie
The Lady Protector, Her Splendid Primacy, Grand Duchess Screwdriver. The Devout Silencer of Common Sense and Logic
"And *I'll* live happily ever after..."
Posts: 225
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Post by Screwdriver on May 18, 2010 9:19:53 GMT -5
Screwdriver seems quite pleased to be the recipient of a hug.
"I wish to initiate a group hug!"1 she exclaims, making a grab at the nearby (and ready to pounce) Mistwind in an attempt to pull him into the 'group hug.'
Succeed or fail, however, she then gives Swindle a very serious look and, nodding to the hula-hoop in her free hand (the one she didn't use to grab Mistwind), she says, "One ring to rule them all, one ring to bind them." Then she shakes her head. "Only one, I can forge no other." She had to take apart a magic mushroom for the one she's got, and there aren't any more of those about!
She peers around Swindle at Duskwing, and her optics light up at the gems that he lays out. "Then the merchants, scaring away the parent birds with shouts and outcries, would secure their treasures,"2 she observes idly.
1 The Teen Titans episode, Divide and Conquer 2 The Arabian Nights Entertainments
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Swindle
Major
This space for rent.
Posts: 571
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Post by Swindle on May 18, 2010 12:35:40 GMT -5
Swindle attempts to disentangle himself from Screwdriver and addresses Duskwing. "Still haven't done the reading? Some free info, then! Junkions speak almost entirely in lines from Earth popular culture, mostly their visual broadcasting. If you haven't been to Earth or watched their TV obsessively, a lot of it is going to be over your head. Of course, for a nominal fee, I'd be happy to throw together a Junkion-ese primer for you."
As the Seeker unloads his cockpit, he moves over to the counter and beings sorting piles. "I don't know any Ratbat. On a planet like Pz-Zazz, the cops don't investigate what they don't have to. The few honest citizens around will force them to investigate a fence. A redistributor of previously owned property can slip by under the radar." As the pile of loot grows, Swindle experiences respect for Duskwing's skill at thuggery, amazement at his naivete as to how much it's all worth, and joy at the size of the haul. "Duskwing, if we're gonna be in business, you've got to know what's what. Organics value things for their shininess and their rarity more than their usefulness. Gold doesn't corrode, but it's hard to find and pretty. Diamonds, the carbon crystals, are one of the hardest naturally-occuring substances, but that's not why they're valuable." Swindle selects and holds up between his fingers three particularly fine diamonds and an emerald. "I could trade these into enough energon run Mistwind for a week." Setting the gems back on the counter, he scoops up the casino passes and shuffles them into a neat pile, flipping through them. "Definite potential here! I'd say you've got more than enough to pay for Mistwind's rocket launcher, including the trade-in for the upgraded version I've got ready here, as well as a downpayment (and then some) for your new weapon, which I would be happy to demonstrate for you, by the way!"
Swindle frowns, turning back to the Junkion. "Only one? You've gotta work with me here, Screwdriver. What do you have that I can sell? Something you can make lots of, maybe with slight differences in shape and painted different colors, so I can blind-pack them. And then we'll take them off the shelves and release them again with new colors, then we'll find a crate of the old ones we 'lost' and sell them to collectors at inflated prices!" Swindle is already writing the ad campaign in his head.
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Mistwind
Major
Licensed flight addict, deepsea diving fan, mech-pilot rookie - Accepts food and play for services.
Posts: 531
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Post by Mistwind on May 18, 2010 16:51:44 GMT -5
"W-woah!!" Mistwind is pulled into the hug, but feels unsure of how to react. Both Swindle and Screwdriver aren't obvious powerhouses, but they're Decepticons still.
Decepticons are scary even in play, Mistwind knows this from experience!
He blinks, "Ratbat masters ration stocks; it's where our fuel comes from.... you must be quite powerful if you could do the same.... Swindle sir"
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on May 19, 2010 18:36:58 GMT -5
Duskwing gave Screwdriver a quizzical look. "Dere's boids with treasure? Tell me where. I can fly up and blow 'em out of dere nests. Den we can both clean up. 50-50 partners?"
"If you say so Swindle. I figure she's just weird--talks like one a dem poetry geeks. Or an artist." He shuddered. "Eh, what Mistwind said. Ratbat was Straxus chief fuel auditor--decided how much fuel you got, and sniffed out hoarders. Workin' 'round him when you're, uh, unofficially requi--requi--borrowin' fuel from the main depot was like getting a shattered blade stuck in your turbines: a real pain."
Duskwing poked at the gems, looking puzzled. "But carbon is like, common! Primus, if dese guys will pay for crystals, why not have Mixmaster whip you up a batch, see? Also, you ain't usin' my gems to sell Mistwind fuel, he gets his issued from stores like the rest of us. Put the gems against my tab." He gave Swindle a look that said 'I saw what you tried to do there'.
"Hey, you ever hook up with Shortround? He does toys."
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Screwdriver
Rookie
The Lady Protector, Her Splendid Primacy, Grand Duchess Screwdriver. The Devout Silencer of Common Sense and Logic
"And *I'll* live happily ever after..."
Posts: 225
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Post by Screwdriver on May 19, 2010 20:48:51 GMT -5
Screwdriver isn't a Decepticon! She's a Junkion! Well. One who wears a (very badly painted) Decepticon symbol.
Screwdriver frowns at Swindle. She crosses her arms and taps her foot for a moment.
For some reason, it's easier to speak default-Junkion (which is largely commercial-based) to Swindles than to use her own particular twist of it, and she does just that for the moment.
"Oooooone of a kind, hand-crafted, limited edition get it now before it's gone!" she burbles as she lays down her hoop, gesturing to it. She removes a hand-full of wind-up birds, ones that Mistwind and Duskwing should find familiar, from a compartment in her right arm. She starts to set each in the air, where they hover in place. "Small supply hand crafted of the highest quality, each an individually numbered collector's piece..." and now she takes a small tin out of her left thigh, opens it up, and scatters a number of metallic marbles across the floor, "don't let this opportunity pass by, these one of a kind pieces will never be seen again!"
Screwdriver is an artisan. She doesn't do mass-production. She'd get bored!
Screwdriver blinks at Duskwing for several moments, apparently finding him about as incomprehensible as she does. At the mention of Shortround, however, she sighs and slumps. "The golden birds sit in wooden cage; but do not try to take the birds out of the shabby cage, otherwise you will repent it,"1 she explains.
1 A slaughtered quote derived from the Grimms' The Golden Bird
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Swindle
Major
This space for rent.
Posts: 571
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Post by Swindle on May 20, 2010 17:20:20 GMT -5
Swindle gives Duskwing a half-lidded look. "I'm not actually selling anyone fuel, Duskwing. I was just trying to give you an idea of how valuable these gems are. Mixmaster might be able to make diamonds, but they require extremely high temperature and pressure. As in, tectonically high. Large ones are hard to synthesize."
The merchant watches as Screwdriver shows off her birds and scatters marbles on the floor. "Hand-crafted small supply? I can work with that. Not as much of a margin, but doable. It'd have to be a small specialty shop in one of the more upscale districts. I'll see what real estate is available." Then he turns back to Duskwing, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Have you ever done arson or otherwise kicked someone out of their property before?" Because there's available real estate and then there's available real estate.
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Mistwind
Major
Licensed flight addict, deepsea diving fan, mech-pilot rookie - Accepts food and play for services.
Posts: 531
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Post by Mistwind on May 23, 2010 13:08:16 GMT -5
At the sight of the birds, Mistwind already makes himself busy elsewhere. He knows them well enough as he often brings his own blue version back. Fond memories, but usefull ones too.
He quietly mumbles something along the line of "No uncertified fuel gets into my turbines...". He's actually getting a bit bored, so turns and walks towards the door. "I'm gonna retrieve my rocketlauncher for you, Swindle sir"
------------------------------ Out of thread for two rounds unless stopped
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on May 25, 2010 7:29:20 GMT -5
There's something familiar about Screwdriver's marbles, something Duskwing mostly forgot. Mostly. "Hey, didn't some of the guys get demselves all tangled up in those marbles? Careful you don't lose your marbles, Screwy-driver!" Duskwing chuckled to himself; he'd made a witticism! Wasn't he clever?
He remembered the birds; you played 'catch' with Mistwind with those. "Hey, Mist! Dere's more of your birds what you can catch!"
Oh, hey, Swindle was aksing him a question. "Huh?" Duskwing stared at Swindle for a long moment, trying to figure out the tricky part.
"Arson, dat's setting stuff on fire, right? And den dere's breakin' stuff and killin' people and drivin' 'em into the tunnels... Dis a trick question? I'm a Decepticon, dat's what I do!"
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Screwdriver
Rookie
The Lady Protector, Her Splendid Primacy, Grand Duchess Screwdriver. The Devout Silencer of Common Sense and Logic
"And *I'll* live happily ever after..."
Posts: 225
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Post by Screwdriver on May 25, 2010 11:12:40 GMT -5
Screwdriver isn't too surprised that no one's tried to play with her toys, as some of these have played with these toys before, and children do get bored so easily, don't they? So she starts to very carefully gather the toys back up, being careful to keep the tin in her hand as she plucks each marble off the ground and drops it into the tin, then tucks away the bird.
For a moment, she sets one of the birds hovering as she goes back to cleaning up the marbles, muttering, "But the little boy had forgotten about the hungry birds that lived in the forest. When they saw him, they flew along behind and in no time at all, had eaten all the crumbs."
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Swindle
Major
This space for rent.
Posts: 571
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Post by Swindle on May 25, 2010 20:31:42 GMT -5
Swindle grins up at the Seeker. "Just checking, Duskwing. Everyone has their own specialties, after all. Anyway, I'll know who to ask if I find a good location and the owners don't want to sell. Did I mention I had your new weapon all ready for you?"
He moves around to get a closer look at the hovering bird, being careful not to step on any of the marbles.
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Duskwing
Major
"What the slag happened?"
Posts: 848
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Post by Duskwing on Jun 3, 2010 8:04:49 GMT -5
Duskwing smirked. "Yeah, bustin' cranial cases is what I do. So is blowing stuff up and wreckin' the place. Don't mind helpin' myself to a little extra, if you know what I mean." His expression brightened at Swindle's last comment. "Yeah? Can I see it?"
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Screwdriver
Rookie
The Lady Protector, Her Splendid Primacy, Grand Duchess Screwdriver. The Devout Silencer of Common Sense and Logic
"And *I'll* live happily ever after..."
Posts: 225
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Post by Screwdriver on Jun 3, 2010 13:35:15 GMT -5
As Swindle draws near to the bird, it suddenly darts directly towards him. Whether it hits him or the wall behind him, it immediately richochets off and starts darting high speed towards the ceiling, which it also bounces off before Screwdriver stands, crosses her arms, and looks very annoyed. She holds up her hand, snaps her fingers, and shouts, "Lassie, come home!" The bird starts flying wildly before it can do (much) damage and returns to her hand.
She shakes her head at it and wags the finger of her free hand, clicking annoyedly at it, then removes a panel on the outer side of her left thigh and tucks the bird away, then she goes back to cleaning up her marbles.
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Swindle
Major
This space for rent.
Posts: 571
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Post by Swindle on Jun 4, 2010 10:48:40 GMT -5
Swindle swats ineffectually at the bird as it dive-bombs him, commenting that "I think your bird has a screw loose, Screwdriver," before moving to put a hand on Duskwing's back and guide him into the workshop. If Duskwing lets him, he'll surreptitiously remove the tracer Prowl placed on his back. "Of course! Step into my office!"
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Mistwind
Major
Licensed flight addict, deepsea diving fan, mech-pilot rookie - Accepts food and play for services.
Posts: 531
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Post by Mistwind on Jun 5, 2010 7:50:17 GMT -5
Mistwind returns!
Instead of carrying the bazooka he's carrying a bag of similar size and length, handsewn out of reinforced burlap. It is closed off with several latches, has a handy shoulder strap for easy carriage and a compartment for the ammo underneath. He carefully lays it down, eyeing it, "I'd probably need to rework the case for the new model....".
When the latches come loose, they reveal the bazooka Swindle sold to Mistwind.
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