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A Nexus watering hole ((Wildstar Tavern--join in!))

Started by Mixxi, November 16, 2013, 11:33:38 AM

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Mixxi

((Kai wants to meet people!))

There was never a quiet time in the watering hole, but mid-afternoon was about as close as it got. That suited the dust-covered man who stood in the doorway surveying the tables and patrons. His goggles were pulled down around his neck, and the contrasting area of skin around his eyes that wasn't covered in road grime gave him an unintentionally wide-eyed, surprised appearance.

His eyes lingered on an empty table in a corner, sheltered by shadows, with a chair facing the entrance. Fine lines appeared at the corners of his eyes, and he walked directly to a table in the center of the room, dropping his duster on one of the chair backs and divesting himself of gloves, goggles, and hardcap. Running his hand through spikey brown hair in an unsuccessful attempt to smooth it, the man turned his back on his belongings and made his way to the bar and the pretty Auron bartender leaning on it. She straightened as he approached and reached for a glass. “What can I get you?"

"Nothing right now. But . . . " he leaned forward across the bar, gesturing for her to lean closer as well. Speaking quietly, he slipped his right hand into his pocket and withdrew it, closed, casually resting it next to hers on the counter.

She raised a pair of curious lavender eyebrows, but covered his hand with hers, accepting what was within, and then turned to disappear through the doorway behind the bar.

Moving to the end of the counter, he slipped behind the bar and bent, taking a glass from the back of the shelf. He hummed and tapped the glass absentmindedly, surveying the wide variety of bottles, flasks, casks, decanters, canisters, and gourds. He was still pondering when the bartender returned, and she laid a folded cloth on the counter as she watched him select several different containers and add portions of their contents to his glass. At last, he held the glass up to the light, seemingly pleased at the rather unappetizing muddy brown of the contents.

"That's a lot of work for something that looks like what's in my slop bucket," she commented, nodding at the dregs bin near her foot.

He raised a crooked left finger. "Ah, but it's not finished yet. Will you do the honors? Just the  breath of a beautiful creature will do it."

She rolled her eyes, but leaned forward to blow softly on the grim-looking surface. And like an inverted sunrise, a golden flush spread downward through the liquid until the entire contents glowed with a clear, pale light, tiny bubbles rising toward the surface.

The bartender looked at the glass with admiration. "Teach me to make that?"

The man was watching the glass, equally bemused. "Probably not. I never make the same thing twice." He picked up the cloth from the counter, and nodded a thanks to her as he took cloth and drink back to the table.

Patrons began to trickle in as he used the cloth to clean the grime from his face. Taking a pouch from his belt, he removed an assortment of metal and glass cubes and tiles and piled them in a small, disorganized heap in front of him. He took a sip of the drink and sighed contentedly, pushing the cubes around a bit with his left index finger, occasionally taking one up and setting it in the center of the table. This hand was different than his right, the bones and tendons no longer making straight lines. His little finger remained curled, even when the rest of the hand was extended, and the entire impression was of something that had been wrung out and never returned to its original shape. It didn't seem to bother him, and he handled the intricate etched pieces with delicacy and precision.

When he had arranged about ten of the small objects into a pattern apart from the pile, he reached out and tapped the tile at the center. The cubes were replaced by a pool of water no more than a foot across, tiny rings of ripples dotting the surface as if from unseen rain.   


Gith

#1
(OOC: physical description details subject to major changes pending getting to see character creation)

A snort of derision can be heard as the man has the bartender blow on his drink. The snort originating from a table with a lone occupant sitting up against the wall out of the main glow of the room's illumination. The outline of long and shapely legs ending in large boots protrude from an otherwise undefined shadow as she sits sideways to the male's viewpoint.

Quote from: Mixxi on November 16, 2013, 11:33:38 AMThe bartender looked at the glass with admiration. "Teach me to make that?"

Another snort accompanied by a beautiful female voice muttering containing such things and "grade 3 chemistry", "simple trickery", and "that's all it takes to get a date now-a-days?".

The head of the shadow turns toward the male as he continues to perform parlour tricks at his table. Eventually, when the pool of water appears, the silhouette has apparently had enough and stands, picking up her drink and walks toward his table in the centre of the room.

The shadow moves with a grace indicative of years of training as it veritably glides out of the shadows to reveal the inhumanly shapely physique of ... a green skinned abomination.

The Mordesh female walks with the swagger of a woman who knows the entire room is looking at her but in this case it is for entirely different reasons. If one were to just look at her form it would be one of proportions considered to be unrealistically beautiful by human standards. An almost too thin and lithe body with all the right curves is covered by a long coat with many pockets and a body glove with a belt connected to two thigh holsters holding beautiful yet vicious looking energy pistols.

A hood is attached to her heavy coat to protect from the elements that are rarely encountered given that many exiles spend most of their time aboard space ships and stations would indicate she is headed somewhere planet side. Her thin legs flow into heavy boots made for trekking through the wilderness and her hands are covered in tough looking leather gloves that form fit her hands such that she can still manipulate her weapons easily but also have reinforced knuckles that might come in handy in a fist fight. Her shirt is a tight fitting top to a body glove that only accents the curve of her breasts and almost hides the fact that she is wearing heavy body armour underneath it.

If one were to inspect further they would notice that she is wearing a full body suit of body armour beneath the body glove and her jacket is a heavy duty flak jacket designed for further protection from small arms fire and bladed attacks. That, plus the pistols and other weapons and gear on her belt, as well as a heavy backpack indicating she lives out of this bag should have been far too much weight for this thin woman to bear but she does so easily and with grace.

"Mind if I sit here?" she asks as she is already pulling out the chair to sit down, slinging her pack onto the ground beside the chair. Removing her heavy and also armoured hood she reveals the once beautiful face of a green skinned Mordesh. Her features might have been considered to be chiselled if it were not for the necrotic green flesh; her eyes perhaps soft and alluring were they not yellow irises with pupils of blood red. Her dark hair falls all over the place as the obviously artificial strands are not tied back currently.

Placing a deck of cards on the table as she delicately arranges herself in her chair in such a way as to be in complete contrast to her very combat oriented appearance. Once satisfied with her state of affairs she looks up from herself and to the male now sitting across from her, removing her right glove to reveal a green skinned hand, extending it toward him in the limp wristed fashion of a woman who is used to having her hand held delicately and not shook.

"My name is Tecta and you look about as bored as I am sitting here waiting for a transport I take it? Nice tricks." She indicates the water with a jut of her pointed nose. "Enough to impress a low tech forest dweller but I hope you have some more applicable skills if you are going to Nexus I take it?"

Tecta surveys the room, speaking loudly so other can hear. "Well, if we are going to play some cards we are going to need at least a few other people." She looks around expectantly as if people should be falling over themselves to satisfy her wishes. As no one immediately volunteers themselves she looks irritated and turns back to the man. "I hear the next ship coming in is some freighter called Saga. Or was it Serenity? Iunno ... something with an "S". And it is delayed. Big surprise there. If only I could have gotten my private ship off of Grismara I would not have to put up with this s**t." She pouts as she apparently remembers conveniences once afforded to her. "Do you know how to play (insert 2 player strategy card game)?"

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Mixxi

#2
((Erm. Re: the change of location...My guy has a reason he has to already be on Nexus, but I suppose this could be near a spaceport or something. I was thinking the whole Saga ship thing was going to be something that would gather us together, not be the transport that gets us there. Kai would have found his own transportation to Nexus, but I figured he might hook up with the Saga ship people once there. Not quite sure how to go from here, since I hadn't planned for him not to be on Nexus yet. For now, I'll just treat the location as a generic bar.))

As the woman approached the table, the dusty man looked up and then back down at the tiny pool of water. His eyes studied the ripples as they touched each other and mingled. She had settled herself by the time he looked back up and he leaned forward, taking the extended hand in his own. Looking directly at her, he inclined his head over the hand with great courtesy.

"Tecta. And I am Kai." Mordesh were always a relief to him. What horrors they had seen, they had visited on themselves. No guilt there.

He released her hand and pointedly ignored her comment about the pool. "I wouldn't mind a hand or two. Long as it's friendly. And you're welcome to join me at my table." He emphasized the possessive very slightly.

Talon

#3
The door opened as a patron left and a small Aurin slipped in the door while it was open. Rapidly flicking its short tail in after it to avoid it being caught by its closing.

The door opened again and a Mordesh entered, letting the door crash shut by the wind pushing against it from outside.

Each surveyed the room and the Mordesh gave the Aurin a little prod, "Just pick a table," he said. The Aurin looked back and he glared momentarily before picking a spot and continuing.

The Mordesh followed, watching the bartender and two others at a table. He collided into the Aurin who had stopped again.

"Kixas, Will you stop surveying everything you see and just sit down?" The Mordesh snapped.

The Aurin, Kixas, narrowed his eyes, "I'd have thought a Mordesh like you, Torran, would appreciate the scientific spirit.

Torran shrugged and slid into a chair nearby, "Perhaps but right now I am thirsty and hungry so get your tail in gear."

Raising his hand, Torran made his presence known, "Barkeep, ready to order."

Kixas frowned, "That was rude," he said.

Torren shrugged again, "I told you, I'm hungry."

Kixas put his head in his hand and shook his head, "I'll order for myself. Separately. Hopefully they won't spit in mine ... Or worse."

The mordesh smiled.

Kixas looked up and over to the other tables, "Oo, what's that?" He whispered, standing on his chair to get a better look, he pointed across to the rippling pool on the table nearby. Digging in his pack he sent a little probe across the room to get a closer look without being rude.

Gith

(OOC: Yea, we can already be on Nexus. I thought the Saga ship was going to be our starting point but a generic bar is fine too.)

Looking at the water as Kai says his name she chuckles. "Doesn't Kai mean ocean or something along those lines in some old human dialect or language? Makes sense I guess." Tecta half smiles. "Grismara had some decent oceans on it. Nothing like Nexus here though." She shrugs. "Anywho..." Tecta holds the deck of cards in her hand as Kai is obviously busy with his water. She frowns.

"So what are you here for? I guess we all have our reasons huh? As my race attempts to pillage the lost knowledge of this place to find ... a cure ..." she bristles momentarily at her own words "I am here to help protect the more scientifically minded of my kind while they do their work. I was never much of a scholar." She smiles pleasantly, appearing not to be bothered by this. "More of an artist. Different type of creation I guess. And now those talents shall be used to build infrastructure in these colonies I guess ... a but if a crude application of such talent but necessary I suppose."

Tecta stops talking and looks at the man, surprised he had not gotten up and left yet. That had happened many times to her but she tried not to take it personally. Most people didn't even like being in proximity to Mordesh let alone carrying on a conversation with them. Abandoned by the Dominion and grudgingly tolerated by the bands of exiles, the Mordesh were in a delicate position. And a lonely one. All people saw was a space zombie, completely overlooking the beauty and grace her race still possesses.

Flipping the deck of cards around in her hands she starts doing trick shuffles in the air in front of herself absentmindedly, looking past her hands at Kai.

"So ... I guess you already know the life story of my people. Never much liked the Dominion anyhow. Although, they did afford myself and my family a life of leisure but change is always ... nice." She smiles, appearing to mostly believe what she just said. "So here I am. The only member of my family to make it off Grismara so far. Hopefully more to come ..." She shrugs her shoulders non-noncommittally.

"You?"

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Mixxi

#5
Kai watched the cards flip, wheel, and cascade through the Mordesh woman's graceful fingers. Such a contrast to the ruin of the wasted flesh that manipulated them. He grunted and nodded. "Pretty show there. I wonder if your skill extends to actually playing cards instead of playing with them." He raised his gaze from the cards to meet her eyes steadily. "And my business is my own. I can say, though, that I'm not here to meet anyone. Quite the contrary."

Suddenly, something moved at the edge of his peripheral vision. Something quick and small. Without looking away from the woman across the table, his right hand dipped below the table edge and a needler bolt sizzled through the air, leaving the faint smell of ozone in its wake.

Only then did he look to the side to see the remains of the shattered and smoking probe embedded in the front of the bar counter.

Gith

"Yea, I play cards. What with having to take over-crowded civilian transports to get here I thought having a few decks would be handy. But then again, trying to get people to play cards with me is difficult so I got good at shuffling and single player games." She shrugs, trying to make it seem like this treatment does not bother her.

Tecta looks up and smiles respectfully at the other Mordesh to enter the bar. Not a lot of Mordesh made it off of Grismara so they were a rare sight and Tecta always tried to support other members of her people.

Quote from: Mixxi on November 19, 2013, 12:23:53 PM
Suddenly, something moved at the edge of his peripheral vision. Something quick and small. Without looking away from the woman across the table, his right hand dipped below the table edge and a needler bolt sizzled through the air, leaving the faint smell of ozone in its wake.

Only then did he look to the side to see the remains of the shattered and smoking probe embedded in the front of the bar counter.

Tecta looked wholly unimpressed by the shooting as she herself sports some fine pistols. "Really? A needler? I would expect that sort of stuff from my own people I guess. Or Dominion assassins." She shrugs again to herself. "And plus, poison won't work very well depending on who you shoot." She taps her green skinned finger on her green skinned cheek. "Some of us have seen a lot worse."

"If you want to do some real damage try one of these." Tecta deftly draws one of her blasters, keeping the muzzle respectfully directed toward the floor at all times and places it on the table, barrel facing herself. "Chua made actually. These things do some serious damage. And shoot vortexes and stuff. Made from psychically charged material for those of us that have use for that sort of stuff. Works of art really."

Tecta suddenly remembers something said earlier. "So if you are not here to meet someone that means you are here to find someone? You're not a dominion assassin are you?"

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Elly

The soft whir of a scanning orb slipped into the tavern, darting and hovering around objects both animate and inanimate. It swooped behind the bar where it jostled and clanked among the brightly colored bottles, then it abruptly made an about face and hurtled back toward the front door.

It hit with a smack into the palm of a tall humanoid woman who turned it over to check the readout.

<NO DOMINION CARRIER WAVES OR FREQUENCIES DETECTED>

With a slight nod, she stowed it into a metallic bag she had slung over her shoulder. She was tall, with the aristocratic angular features of a Cassian, a sharp shoulder length bob of black hair, and obviously tech enhanced blue eyes. As she knocked the dust off her long trenchcoat, she stopped to appraise the bartender, who was now bobbing up and down in anticipation at seeing the new patron, wringing her hands and arching her eyebrows with pleading eyes.

Verou flashed a practiced saleswoman smile, straightened her jacket and strode confidently toward the bar.

"Roo! You're a week late. I've been going nuts, here. Please tell me you have my stuff."

Calmly and deliberately, Verou removed a small silver case from a hidden pocket inside her jacket. She took out five holosticks and fanned them out in her hand like a deck of cards.

Verou flicked her wrist over, letting them gleam in the lights. "Did you have any doubt I'd hook you up?" She held the sticks closer to the Aurin. "That'll be five big ones, hon."

"Five! I thought it was gonna be three!" The Aurin bartender frowned, her hand shrinking to back behind the bar.

The woman sighed and cocked her head, neatly placing the chips on the counter. "You have to understand.." she purred, "I'm not even gonna tell you how I had to smuggle this off of Cassus. Prime Dominion subscriber-only holodramas are BIG gold out here in the frontier. I'm not lying when I say I have an easier time with black market Mechari tech than this."

Verou tilted her head down and looked up earnestly, "Remember when I told you that the Universe wants you to be happy?"

The bartender nodded reluctantly.

"Here it is- right here.. prime entertainment the Universe has delivered into your hands."

"You'll hate yourself if you don't see Mic and Delphi finally getting together. It happens in episode three! I'll even throw in the heartwarming Founder's Day episode for free."

The Aurin brightened. "You got a deal!" The heavy coins fell to the counter as Verou pushed the holosticks toward her.

Narrowing her eyes and nodding with satisfaction, Verou turned to look for an empty table. "Heya, send me over a Jabbit burger, will ya?" She turned back to the bartender who was already slipping her long ears through the straps of the holoviewer.

Roo blanched, pulled the holostick out and stuck it back into her coat. "Jabbit burger. And a fruity Fizzywhiz. Then I give this back. I'm starving."

She spied an empty table next to what looked to be shaping up as a lively card game. "That should do nicely," she thought. "Dinner and a show."

Talon

A waitress had delivered a plate and mugs of ... Something to the table. Torran raised a glass in a salute, adding a little wink to Tecta before turning his attention to his plate. He didn't seem to mind the indeterminate nature of its contents and tucked in.

The aurin, however, sat back into his chair from standing and was looking at a wrist-mounted screen. His probe was investigating the rippling water on the table where the card players were having their conversation.

Kixas glanced up and then stood in horror. Rushing over to the bar, he held his hands out, helplessly. The probe was nailed to the bar. Whirling around, his tail flicking in irritation, Kixas stormed over the table. "You killed Spyke!" He accused, glaring at the human.

The needle dislodged itself from the bar and zipped through the air to the aurin's tail where Kixas' small tail wrapped around it and brought it towards the table and in reach of his hands. Picking it up with one hand, he slammed it down in the middle of the rippling water. It stuck vertically, vibrating slightly. The irritation in the aurin seemed to fade for a moment as he stared in curiosity at the ripples.

Spyke, the probe, meanwhile, creaked and slowly slid free of its little dent in the bar to clatter on the floor, snapping Kixas back to the topic at hand.

Mixxi

Kai frowned at the wreckage affixed to the bar and silently cursed himself. A probe. Just a harmless probe. He took advantage of the distraction offered by Tecta and her piece, reaching out toward the weapon. It was a very nice specimen. She was asking him a question, though, and he looked up at her, a wry smile on his face.

But suddenly his view was blocked by an irate Aurin, ears back and small body bristling. The man cringed back before he could stop himself and tried to cover the reaction with a cough of surprise. But the Aurin was not done, stabbing the projectile down into the image of the water. For a couple of heartbeats the two of them looked down at ripples. Kai shivered, and the moment passed as the Aurin turned again to him, nearly vibrating with righteous indignation.

The human looked down sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "My fault. I am so so sorry. Can I make it right?"

Talon

Kixas looked surprised, as though he'd expected a very different response.

The aurin's fur smoothed slightly and his small ears twitched. With half a shrug and a nod of his head back towards the wreckage, "I can fix him but he'll need a part," Kixas glanced back at Spyke's pitiful form now lying on the floor near the bar, "Or two."

Kixas' eyes flicked to the very stylish and impressive pistol held by the mordesh opposite and was thankful the meeting went the way it had.

The young aurin's eyes lingered on the projection of water, interfered with slightly by the projectile now amidst it, then met those of the human again. "Spyke was trying to work out what this was. Until you killed him."

Kixas flinched, "Maybe let's not let his death be in vain?" He said and quirked an eyebrow in question.

Torran continued eating at the other table, smugly pleased that the little probe had met a nasty end but otherwise ignoring the fuss.

Elly

The dark haired stranger at the adjoining table, perked up at the conversation- rummaging in her pack for a black hexagonal case. At the touch of a button the case unfolded itself along the length of the table revealing all manner of small electronic parts and chips.

She tilted her head and waved over to the young Aurin.  "Did I hear you say you need parts? I have all kinds- Dominion standard, Mechari, Pulsar Corp nanos, some Mordesh bio-sensors.."

"I'm pretty good with small robotics. Let me know if I can be of service."

She settled back and finished the last bite of her Jabbit burger, brushing crumbs away carefully from where her parts were laid out.

Gith

Tecta smiles invitingly to the other Mordesh in the room, indicating the empty chairs at the table she was currently sitting at and leaving it at that if he did not wish to be social currently. Completely understandable since most of the time Tecta just wanted people to leave her alone.

Tecta looks at the irate Aurin as he suddenly approaches the table. Her left hand absentmindedly strays to her holster that still has a pistol in it but she otherwise takes no action against him. In fact, having so many people around was somewhat refreshing. Doubly so since none of them were currently telling her she was a freak of nature or trying to shoo her out of the establishment for no good reason.

As Kai apolagizes for the destroyed probe and the other stranger pipes up from the corner Tecta turns around to the offerer of parts and asks, "Would you happen to have a spare 3mm width minimum 15m length trigger spring for a fulcrum trigger system? Dominion standard I think is what the little psychopath used." As she is saying this she deftly disassembles her other pistol sliding the mechanisms apart swiftly until the pistol is in pieces on the table. Taking the receiver up in her hands she indicates a small spring coiled tightly in her trigger mechanism. "Trigger pull has been a bit heavy lately. Need to replace this to get it back to a full hair trigger. I can do without if you don't I just need to keep switching pistols between fights as to not get lopsided."

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Elly

Quote from: Tecta"Would you happen to have a spare 3mm width minimum 15m length trigger spring for a fulcrum trigger system? Dominion standard I think is what the little psychopath used."

Tucking a swath of silken black hair behind her ear, Verou affixed a cyber monocle to her left eye, scanning a small collection of springs suspended in gel medium.

"What about this?"  She extracted a niobium spring and presented it to the Mordesh woman. "It's from a Tentek trigger system, but they usually work in Dominion guns, unless it has some kind of Chua tech upgrade. Damned abominations. I won't touch rat-tech." She sneered in disgust at the thought of it.

"Eh. Anyway. Install it and try it out. If it's a no-go, give it back before I leave."

"I'm Verou, by the way. Freelance tech sales and service. Pleased to meet ya." She smiled and nodded, then sipped the last of her fizzy drink through a glowing neon straw.

Gith

Quote from: Elly on November 19, 2013, 09:06:47 PM
but they usually work in Dominion guns, unless it has some kind of Chua tech upgrade. Damned abominations. I won't touch rat-tech." She sneered in disgust at the thought of it.

Tecta seems to be enjoying the conversation about tech while Kai apolagizes to the Aurin for breaking his probe. Up until the dark haired stranger (human?) uses the word 'abomination' to describe the Chua. Tecta visibly bristles as the word is said and her demeanour becomes a combination of offended and just tired.

"You know, I have often heard that word used to describe me and the rest of my kind. And if the Chua are abominations for simply being born that way I guess the fact that my people did this to ourselves makes us all the worse I suppose?"

Tecta signs and frowns to herself. "It is not that I am defending the Chua. Most of them are in fact psychotic. Most--but not all. Just like most of my kind are either dead or insane--but not all of us. So if you call Mordesh insane or Chua psychotic I guess that is fair given statistics but labeling all of us as abominations isn't fair."

Tecta takes the spring from him and looks at it to see if it will work in her gun. "And besides, rat-tech and tech from us space zombies is usually pretty good stuff. You should learn to respect the genius that is a Chua weaponsmith. These guns will put holes in a mountain if I want them to." Tecta hands the spring back. "Thanks for trying but the spring is not rigid enough for this gun." Tecta swiftly reassembles her gun and holsters it, grabbing the other one from the table in front of her and holstering it as well.

Tecta orders a fortified meal type drink from the waitress, which is coincidentally green in colour as well, and sips it slowly, staring at it, her mood mostly ruined as she yet again has to try to defend herself and her people and prove that she is in fact still beautiful and not just an abomination space zombie.

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Elly

Verou blinked and perked an eyebrow. "My, that escalated quickly."

"I do not consider the Chua 'abominations' because of their origins, but rather their actions. Their tech is designed to kill while inflicting the most pain and damage possible. A band of Chua killed a pilot friend of mine with exceptional and needless cruelty- mostly because they thought it hilarious. They laughed themselves silly as they exploded subdermal bombs under his skin one by one."

My view on destructive tech is that it should get the job done as quickly and painlessly as possible. Cruelty is unnecessary and against the laws of the Universe. That is why I won't touch Chua tech."

"I suppose that in this entire wide Universe there may be a 'nice' Chua, but I'm not too eager to test that hypothesis."

"And I certainly did not call you anything, zombie or otherwise. Honestly I like Mordesh people as a rule. Damn good technicians, shame how the Dominion screwed you guys over like they did."

"Not here for drama, and I meant no offense."

Verou throws up her hands and shrugs.



Gith

Tecta sighs, her shoulders slumping. "Sorry, I guess I just don't like that word. I hear it far too often. And the Mordesh are just as guilty as the Chua in that regard. We were all proud members of the Dominion before our little contagion incident. And you should see some of the poisons and other things we made that were less than humane. At least the Chua and Draken are honest about the fact that they fight and kill because they find it fun. My people try to say it is all for science." She scoffs at her own words. "I was never much of a scientist thankfully."

Tecta stirs her green drink with her green pinkie finger slowly.

SW:TOR - Tecta (Dark) / ValGith (Light)
Diablo 3 - Alpharius #1269
Wildstar - Tecta
Lost Ark (NA East-Avesta) - Gith
WWZ - Gith_
FFXIV (NA-Cactaur) - Gith Redmayne

Mixxi

#17
The lean man raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips as he watched the Mordesh woman blithely wave others over to his table. It seemed a bit of an an assumption on her part.

With a sigh, he turned back to the Aurin and then jumped slightly at the metallic clatter as the woman unceremoniously broke down her weapon and dropped the pieces on his table. The flurry of activity and gathering of beings around him made him uncomfortable and he took a step back, easing around the table to the side away from everyone. Picking up the small pouch, he swept most of the metal and crystal chips into it and cinched it shut, tucking it away inside his worn leather jacket. He left the pool intact.

Finally looking up, he was surprised to see the Aurin still regarding him, and he took a quick breath. He had to get over this. Squaring his shoulders he nodded to the smaller figure and touched his chest where he had tucked away the bag.

"Neuro-resonant imagining matrices. A friend gave them to me. She called them dream stones. Although they are not made of stone nor do they show dreams." He glanced down at the pool. "This particular image. . ." He shrugged. "I wasn't surprised to see it."

Kai started to turn away, eager to avoid the Aurin's bright eyes, but hesitated, glancing at the intersecting ripples in water. He began to reach into his jacket. "If you're curious, you'd be welcome to give them a try yourself. I confess, I'm beginning to wonder if they're stuck on this pool or if it's just me."


Talon

Kixas ignored the mechanical exchange and tilted his head to regard the human curiously.

"Neuro-resonant imagining matrices," he repeated, "I think I like dream stones better too, despite the inaccuracy."

He stared at the water for a moment before looking back to Kai, "But why does it continually make a pool for you?" He asked. The question was obvious but he gave it the weight of actually asking, "And you're not surprised?" He continued, knowing this human wasn't about to volunteer a lot without a few queries.

Kai seemed more skittish than most aurin. He wasn't about to pry too deeply but the human had brought it up so it was only polite to ask. Wasn't it?

His eyes shifted briefly to follow the human's hands, to the pocket into which Kai had stashed the 'stones'. Kixas hesitated. He wanted answers first before using an unknown technology. Sadly, he glanced back at Spyke who would be no help at the moment.

The aurin shifted his weight subtly from side to side. It was barely noticible but a tell about his indecisiveness and nervousness about not having more data.

Torran finished his meal with a loud clatter of eating implements on crockery, punctuated by the slide of the dish along the table and the scrape of his chair against the floor as he pushed it in the opposite direction.

He stood and turned, shaking his head. Kixas had already made some new 'friends'. Silently hoping it took a while to repair the drone, Torran made his way over to the table after recalling the pleasant coaxing of the mordesh woman there. His pistols were in easy reach as he approached behind the mordesh. He raised an eyebrow in appreciation of her stripping and reassembling her own weapon quickly.

For the moment, he ignored the saleswoman but his eyes flicked around the room ever-wary.

Mixxi

#19
Holding the small bag in his right hand, Kai leaned over the table, taking care not to disturb the technical discussion on the opposite side of the circular tabletop. Reaching out a crooked forefinger, he pushed one of the chips out of alignment. The pool immediately flickered out of existence, leaving only the pattern of cubes and tiles beneath it. The projectile that Kixas had driven through the image had barely missed skewering one of the delicate-looking blocks.

Pushing the small collection to the side of the table closest to him and the Aurin, he carefully poured the rest of the objects out of the pouch to rest beside them. He absentmindly touched them with his finger as he spoke to the Aurin. His eyes remained on the objects, avoiding looking directly at the small, furry figure.

"Pick out a few. Doesn't matter how many. Whatever feels right. Then, put them apart from the others. You'll start to feel an itch." He touched his temple, and his hand paused. In spite of himself, he turned his head and found himself grinning at the Aurin. "Well, I feel an itch. No idea what it would feel like in your brain. Like a gnat buzzing in my ear, but . . . well, inside." He chuckled. "It's really not as bad as I make it sound."

He stirred the cubes and tiles a bit more, picking up a cube between two fingers and turning it end over end absently. "Just move them until the buzz goes away. That means they're right. And then just . . . touch the center. They say the image will hold some significance for you."

His twisted fingers slipped on the cube and it rattled on the table. Taking a quick, deep breath, he stepped back, gesturing for the Aurin to step closer to the collection of metal and etched glass. "If you like."