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RP [Lands End] Business deals

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Eli suppressed a yelp as the burly woman pulled him away to another table and sat him down. He scratched an itch caused by his rough clothing, yet another reminder of what he'd left behind in order to survive. He stared at the woman, red hair flowing everywhere. Who was she? Why did she choose him, out of everyone in the bar? Was she one of them?

The thoughts continued to bounce around in his head as Eli replied, "I'm... not sure what you mean. I just arrived today and came here for a meal. Who are you?"
 
She grinned and extended her hand, "Sorry, hon, I always do get ahead of myself. Name's Johanna, Joe for short. As for my question, " she swept her other arm around the room,"are you hiding from something like everyone else? You don't have to say what it is, I just figured it was either that ot you're a very lost tourist."
 
Myrna walked over the table. "Is everything okay here? We don't usually take kindly to people force-ably grabbing our patrons and pulling them to a table."
 
"Sorry, sorry," Joe said, holding up her hands as a sign of peace,"I always forget that civilians are sqishier than military folk like me. I didn't mean to cause trouble, honest."
 
"Nothing to do with being squishy. Has to do with respect. You come into this eater, you better have you manners in place or you'll be shown the door." Myrna said, then looked around at a few folks. "So are you ordering? Or just talking?"
 
Turning a bit red, Joe nodded and apologized again. Perusing the menu that Myrna handed her, she turned back to the man sitting next to her. "Hope I didn't hurt ya too much hon. You all right?"
 
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Myrna walked away to the service area. She came back with a small tray, she placed two glasses of water on the table, and then put utensils by the two people. "I will give you a few minutes to look over the menu." She said and walked to one of the other tables.
 
Eli shook Joe's hand. She had an almost crushing grip. Army, did she say? Thank goodness the barmaid came over and put her in her place. Eli took a sip of the water, and decided to answer the question.

"I'm a tourist all right," He tried to say it jokingly, "But I've run into a little cashflow problem. My name's... Smith."

Eli took another drink, half draining the delicious water. Space food really was horrible. When the waitress came back, he'd order the biggest thing they had on the menu.
 
Johanna chuckled as she shook her head, "Kid, you're gonna need a better cover story than that. Why don't you ask your friend there to help tailor you one? If my intuition is correct, " she turned to the other traveler," you've done this song 'n dance before."
 
Myrna returned after seeing to her other patrons. "So you find anything you like on the menu? or would you like to try the special?"
 
Johanna turned to face the waitress, "The shepherd's pie sounds delicious. I think I'll go with that and a beer." She looked back at 'Smith'. Despite the cheap clothes and attempt to obfuscate, he looked very Yamataian. The unsure posture, the naive answers, and the way he didn't fight back all pointed to someone who lived a pampered, or at least sheltered life. If she had tried her previous stunt with anyone from her home-street in Funky City, even an old geezer or kid half her age, she would have been decked square in the jaw. That was just the way things went where she was from. Sometimes when she watched shows made in Yamatai she wished she could have a life like theirs, not having to worry about being shot by wandering gangs or hidden Reds, but had decided that what was Yamatai's could stay Yamatai's, she had no love for the Empire. At least when she joined the Nepleslian Marines she could keep a bit more safety with her, in a form of a loaded gun and a mean uppercut. It worried her that the poor guy didn't have anything similar. "So," she started,"do you have any idea where your going from here?"
 
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"The special sounds great," Eli told the waitress. He glanced at Joe, "and a beer as well, please."

Did he have any idea where to go? Well, there was a noticeboard he was planning to check for work. But he was unskilled, fresh out of school, and so out of his depth! This other man didn't seem to be much help, and although he was still wary of her, Joe seemed to have taken some interest in him.
"I'm not too sure, see, this is my first interplanetary trip. I need money, and, um..." where was he going with this? "You seem to know your way around. Do you know anyone who might be interested in giving me a job? I don't care what it is."
 
Myrna took down the orders of the two new combers. She was not sure what to make of Joe. The young man with her looked like a lost lamb that found itself in with a pack of wolves. She took the order slip up and gave it to the cook.

She then returned to Jacob, "So will there be anything else?"
 
Jacob was nearing the end of his meal when the waitress returned. He shook his head in response, only glancing up from chewing for a second, still idly eavesdropping on the conversation going on near him. "I'm good," he replied, swallowing the last chunk of lamb. Turning his eyes towards the big woman and the mousy-looking male, he waited to see where their conversation would go.
 
Joe could feel the eyes of the other man watching her and Smith. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right with him. Something about him screamed that he was far too used to hiding in places like this, far too used to being on the run. Anyone who's comfortable in a place like this, she thought, is going to have something to hide. She'd seen it often enough, men who loved the shadows, who fled the daylight like cockroaches, fearful that they'd be found, that they'd be caught. Amoral monsters, sociopaths, maniacs, all of them needing to be caught. She scanned the man's face. He didn't look like any of her targets, especially not her current one, and to be fair it was far more likely he was a bootlegger or common criminal, but it still unnerved her to be watched by him.

"Me, I'm heading to the notice board for work," she replied to Smith, "I hope there's room for another ship mechanic. I do that for my job, cracking open ships and banging out their dents and malfunctions. Love my job, there's just nothing better than gutting a dead engine part and fitting in a new one or welding on a section of a damaged hull. So, what sort of job are you going to look for. You look like a scholarly type, maybe they'll need an accountant or something."
 
It didn't take Eli long to think of a reply. Would he look too eager? Probably, but what did it matter? "I'm good with my hands," he said. "And I took a mechanics class at school last year. Maybe I could help you, and you could teach me some more stuff!" Eli shivered slightly. The clothes still itched, but at least his belly would soon be full.
 
Myrna could tell that Jacob was monitoring the two new arrivals. So rather then bothering him, she quietly went up to the pickup window. She found several plates ready and put them on a tray. She returned to Joe and Eli's table. "Here you go, I hope everything is as you like. If not just let me know and I will do my best to fix it."
 
Joe thought for a moment. On the one hand, she had a feeling that Smith was severely underestimating what he'd be getting into as a mechanic; when he said he took a mechanics class, she knew that he meant ONE mechanics class, and that wasn't going to cut it. After boot camp she had to complete four years of college level classes, and only after she'd actually earned a degree in mechanical engineering would they let her handle ships outside of the classroom. On the other hand, he seemed pretty bright, and if they were able to avoid being separated or she could get him in a secretarial position he might not stick out so badly. She just hoped that he could learn calculus, electrical engineering, and the management of heavy machinery like welders and lathes on the fly. That was quite frankly a long shot though, and she doubted that the shipyard manager would take too kindly to anyone that botched up a customer's rig. Hell, with the tightness of security in this place they might take his inexperience as a sign that he was a spy out of his league. A shudder ran through her spine as she contemplated what would happen to spies here, compounded by the fact that she could just as easily be in that position. She glanced up at Smith. No, they wouldn't jump that far, but she couldn't let her new acquaintance blunder that badly, especially since he already was fairly lost. At the very least though, she resolved herself to helping him find a job, even if it did mean he wound up tagging along with her. That might not be so bad, she thought, 'cause at least I'd have his company.

"You're awfully eager to jump at any opportunity, aren't ya?" She laughed, "I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing, but I'll definitely help you find a job. I guess it all comes down to what we find, huh?" She began to dig into the food Myrna had just brought. God was she glad to have real food for a change.
 
"Thank you so much!" Eli replied to Joe, between mouthfuls. The food was absolutely wonderful. Eli breathed deeply of the exotic scent, so different to food on Yamatai. The meat's taste was much stronger, with a slight bite to it. The vegetables looked homegrown, but tasted as good as any he'd ever eaten. And to top it off, all of the food was covered in a beautiful, think, dark gravy. He turned back to Joe, "So, when do we start?"
 
"Mmm, it depends," Joe said between mouthfuls. "I was planning on checking the bulletin after supper, then applying tomorrow. I still need to find a place to stay too, so that'll have to take priority. Don't suppose they'd like me bumming around on the streets, and neither would I. As for when we'd start the job, it depends on when the shipyard warden gives us hours." She turned to the man that was watching her and Smith, "Hey, that ship we came in on, that was yours, wasn't it? Anything we need to know now? Be great to know of any surprises, since I thought I saw modifications on it when we boarded."
 
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