The Man in the Horn-Rimmed Glasses

[Swindle]

Day 19, Semi-Private

Swindle sits in a booth in a fancy restaurant. It's the kind of place where the lights aren't too bright, and the conversation is hushed. It has little stained glass light fixtures over the tables and has likely been the site of hundreds of shady deals.

Swindle is here waiting for someone, perusing the drink menu and giving every impression of not having a care in the world.

[SceneMod]

Many a shady deal has in fact been brokered in this establishment, but then, so has many a legitimate deal as well. The man in the horn-rimmed glasses and well-cut, but forgettable suit walks easily and confidently up to the booth. As he slides into the seat opposite Swindle, a waitress- quite the pretty little thing, and the only humanoid actually working in the establishment- drops a frosty mug of something dark and foamy in front of the man.

"Thank you, Devera," Noah says, "And good evening Swindle. I do hope something on the menu suits?"

[Jetstorm (BM)]

In the same booth, but sitting up on the edge that is against the wall, is Jetstorm. He's learning on one hand, watching the various goings on in the restaurant. He can't even pretend to eat or anything, so the only thing to do is people watch. Not like that's a bad thing, however.

Jetstorm turns his gaze over, a bit lazily, to look at the man. He nods slightly.

_{ooc: here with Swindle's permission}

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

Jetstorm is not the only blue jet present. Flanking Swindle is Assault, sitting there in a sophisticated and upright way, careful to not let his wings poke into anything, his weapons subspaced and his frame dressed in a rather expensive and classy looking tan suit, matching Swindle's colors rather nicely. The Seeker is staying silent for now, content to watch the bar and the horn-rimmed glasses man in particular (though only giving him a brief acknowledging nod), holding something that looks like a tea cup filled with pink fluid in one hand, though he's not sipping from it.

[Swindle]

"Hello, Mr. Be'net. Glad you could join us! I'm sure I'll find a fuel here that's compatible," Swindle responds.

"You and I are businessbeings, Mr. Be'net, so let's get right down to business. I have here the only extant recording of the God-Egg of Pz-Zazz hatching. The real Egg, mind you. It's a fairly low-quality recording, and the disk is heavily copy protected. I'm going to sell it to you for an exorbitant amount of money, and then you're going to tell me about Primatech and related topics," the arms dealer says, smiling sweetly.

And if Mr. Be'net doesn't want to talk, well, Swindle's associates aren't businessbeings.

[SceneMod]

The easy smile which seems to always be a part of Noah doesn't falter. Ever. He pointedly looks at both Jetstorm and Assault in turn, then to the empty spaces on either side of himself. Noah shrugs, unconcerned. So he's a human-analogue outclassed by super robots who could paste him easily, so what?

"Only recording? Are you quite certain of that, Swindle?" he says, settling back a bit in his seat. I know of two others." Neither of those are in his hands, but he knows of them.

Devera doesn't so much as twitch an eyebrow. She just waits, pen poised, for Swindle and the mismatched jets' orders.

[Jetstorm (BM)]

If there's anything Jetstorm has learned about Swindle, it's that trying to out-deal him usually ends badly. Not from personal experience, but from hearing about others that may have tried.

Jetstorm tries to hold in a laugh at that thought and shakes his head. "Nothing for me," he holds a hand up to the waitress.

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

Assault does perk up at the lovely waitress though, flashing her a modest smile (though it's not a beaming one like he intended), putting his cup down and giving it a little tap. "Yes, could I get some Interstellar flavorer please? Just a little bit, to spice up my drink a little."

[Swindle]

"Oh really?" Swindle says. "That's interesting news. Pretty sure I could still find a buyer even if you weren't interested. So who has these other copies?" He suspects at least one of them was made by a little flying camera drone, and he suspects the little flying camera drones are operated by Primatech. He's not saying anything about that yet.

"I'll just have a straight fuel oil, please," he says to the waitress, giving her his winningest smile.

[SceneMod]

"That's one oil, straight up, one kicker- you wanna shaker or a stirrer, sir?- and nothing for the little guy. I'll have that right out. Mr. Be'net, I assume you'd like your usual meal as well?" Noah nods, and once she has Assualt's answer, Devera will head off to put in their orders.

Noah sips his drink, then says, "Oh I'm sure you can find buyers for every copy you can make, but if you'd really like to turn a profit off the footage there are better, more imaginative ways."

"We don't deal in intangibles at Primatech, Swindle. But I am curious- how did you like watching the birth of a god?"

[Jetstorm (BM)]

Jetstorm nods a bit. He only wishes that being able to refuel would be easier in public, what with not having a mouth and everything.

He looks over at Assault, then to Swindle. There's something satisfying about being backup.

[Assault/Arthur Aldrin]

Noah's comment reminds the blue Seeker that he still has to find a way to get Swindle let him see the footage. A futile effort. A daunting, impossible task! Which is why it will be that much more rewarding when he manages to pry it out of his fingers.

Still, he stays silent, letting Swindle do the talking. But that doesn't mean that he keeps himself unoccupied. He takes a careful little sip and uses the advantage of having no pupils to glance around the restaurant, and as far as he's concerned, everyone here is a risk.

The elderly couple that act just a little to lovey dovey, the people sitting near the exits on a rather quiet day, the lack of proper table manners for some of the patrons...But not everyone here could be part of a possible Primatech operation. That's good; should the blasters be drawn, not everyone will focus on them and it would make it that much more easy to turn the situation to their advantage.

[Swindle]

"I'm always interested in hearing about better more imaginative ways to turn a profit, Mr. Be'net. It livens up the daily grind."

"The birth of a god?" Swindle echoes, leaning back in the booth. "Now there's an odd question for someone who doesn't deal in intangibles. I don't deal in intangibles either. I deal in weapons, as you're likely aware. But I've dealt with intangibles. Have you heard of the Vok, of Nexus Zero? Nice creatures! If you're ever in the area, you should look them up. They're energy beings, ascended to a higher plane of existence, I'm sure you're familiar with the schtick," he says, waving a hand dismissively. "They're intangible, inscrutable, and powerful; god-like, you might say. They also make very large weapons capable of destroying planets and a high quality negatronic force-field emitter. I've traded with them, and it wasn't that different from trading with anyone else. Money and goods changed hands. Or changed energy tentacles, rather. I've met a lot of powerful beings, Mr. Be'net. I've met creatures that filled my spark with awe and terror, but I've never met one I'd call a god, never met one that was worthy of worship.

No, I'm a devotee of the Almighty Credit. 'Buy low, sell high' is my litany, and the universe is my temple," Swindle says, gesturing expansively and grinning. "To answer your question, seeing the Bird was awe-inspiring. Really made my jaw drop. But I don't think it was a god."

"Speaking of which, how's your daughter doing?"


----
I've been from one side of this galaxy to the other, seen a lot of strange things. But I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful Force controlling everything.

Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side.

[SceneMod]

Noah's smile doesn't falter, but his eyes go flat and cold at Swindle's inquiry.

"She is doing quite well, thank you. We expect her to be walking in less than six weeks."

After all, his daughter's illness is very public knowledge, with all the charity work he's done. Why wouldn't he discuss it?

"Oh, gods are tangible enough, Swindle, both the dark and the light. It will be interesting to see what this one does with this world before it dies."

The waitress returns with the various drinks and a plate of food for Noah. Once she heads off again, Noah continues, "But really, that isn't why we wished to talk to you. We appreciate ambition, but more, we appreciate people with appropriate ties in high places who aren't afraid of using those ties to their own advantage."

"By the by, I'm not sure who the 'Vok' are that you're speaking of, but you can be certain we will be on the look out for them in the future."

[Jetstorm (BM)]

"Not sure why walking is so great," Jetstorm murmurs, mostly to himself. If Noah hears, it's not like he's going to do much. Jetstorm continues to look uninterested in the conversation and continues to people watch the boring people in the room.

Jetstorm straightens up a bit and moves to sit on the edge of the booth in a way that he's not bothering Assault or Swindle, and continues his watch from there, learning on one hand.