IC New Beginnings DAWN Options

[Crossbow]

"I have a small boat making a supply run that direction in a few hours, 1k per head and you will be in Lagos by midnight."

[Mercy]

Snow translates for Con and waits for his response so she can give it to the pirate captain. Lagos by midnight sounds pretty good. She does not lift her head to see how the others are taking the news.

[Thvor]

[ Spoiler ]

Composure roll, because I feel like it: WIL(2) + CHA(6): 8d6t5 4
Much better than I expected. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

Sam continued his dumb guard act, though it was difficult when Snow translated the cost. It wasn't the specific nuyen, of course--just the fact that he doubted Con's ability to handle a negotiation. Maybe Snow would be able to use her "woman in the middle" position to cover the gunman's weakness.

In the meantime, he continued listening to the French. It sounded similar to Spanish, so he found that he was starting to recognize some words, but it would still take a while before he could hold a conversation in it.

[Mercy]

Snow has seen this sort of negotiation many times in the past and has frequently been involved as a deal sweetener or a present when the deal is done. She shuffles closer to Con and talks in a low voice. She is not certain that the pirate cannot understand English, so she keeps her words as if from servant to owner. "Master, perhaps I could be used to reduce the cost a bit if I entertained the brave captain until we arrive in Lagos?"

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor kept his voice equally low, but played along in case they were overheard, "How many times do I have to tell you to stop with this Master drek? I know my position, and you know yours. 'Any man who must say, "I am the king" is no true king.' At any rate, you will not offer yourself to Thabo. Haggle the price, but not too forcefully, just enough to show that we aren't weaklings to be taken advantage of. Suggest we're willing to pay a premium for VIP treatment, I'd rather not worry about a double cross. It doesn't seem so, but in case his disinterest is just a negotiation strategy, see if the boys are worth anything to the captain." Despite using her an an intermediary, O'Connor stood firmly between Snow and Thabo. The pirate captain's slimey demeanor towards the women of his group was bringing up a lot of old memories. O'Connor never imagined that someone on the other side of the world would remind him of his mom's pimp Vadik. He wasn't an underfed scrawny child anymore, and he would stand between this scumbag and his teammates.

[Mercy]

Snow shakes her head. "it is not a matter of protecting me, or any of your teammates. It is negotiating with the man. He has something we want and we have something he wants. Fortunately, he likes the money and women, which is an advantage for us. I will never claim to be as good a negotiator as Sam is or as glamorous as Sammy, and certainly not as good a fighter as you are. But I think that I recognize this type of man, having been part of a number of negotiations in the past. I have often been included as part of a negotiation and do not feel demeaned by that at all, so neither should you. In this case I am another asset that you have on your side of the table and you should freely consider me in that light, in this or any other future situation. My skills at entertaining him are quite good and I am willing to be used in this way. Using me may get us a better price or upgrade us to VIP status, or even help prevent a double cross. I do not feel abused in any way, so you should consider me simply as another bargaining chip. I am not sex starved or insane, just realistic and used to this role and I would give full value for what we can negotiate."

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor sighed heavily through his nose, *Why does she keep putting me in this position?!* He couldn't take the risk that they were overheard and understood. He turned and backhanded Snow with all his force to knock her to the ground, "I take it back, you don't know your position!" He reached down and yanked her up by her hair, "Your job is to translate my words, and a mouth speaks only what the brain tells it to. So tell him what I told you to, and drekcan the back chatter! I'm not protecting the virtue of a whore, I'm holding you in reserve so that your loose and worn slot might actually be worth something!" O'Connor's whole body was shaking, hopefully the pirates misinterpreted it as fury.

Composure: 5d6t5 1
Unarmed Combat: 7d6t5 4

[Titan]

Clementine looked around and saw a nearby copse of trees that looks promising. She turns to their ever so young driver.

"Ahmjay, park the truck over there" she points to the selected spot "in between those two trees. With any luck, people will think it recently crashed there and was abandoned." Ahmjay looks over his shoulder where she was pointing, and clearly thinks on it a moment. He shrugs his shoulders and starts up the truck, preparing to park as suggested.

With that settled, the Ork woman looks to complete the next tasks. She starts to walk towards the camp, looking for some form of cart or baggage carrying device, and someone to speak to about fueling the truck.

[ Spoiler ]

Rolls and such in OOC Post #44

[Mercy]

Snow sees Con tense and so is expecting the blow when it comes, but even so the force is enough to hurt and she falls to the ground in a heap, moaning in pain, only to have Con pull her back up to her feet by her long, snow white hair, bringing tears to her eyes. This is not the first time she has been treated like this and she wills herself to numb the pain, just as she has been taught. The thought goes through her mind of how funny it is that her years as a corporate joy girl allow her to fall back on that training out here. She faces the pirate, bowing her head just enough to still be able to see the man's face. His expression tells her that Con's reputation has gone up considerably in the pirate's estimation. "Mighty chief, my master believes that one thousand per person is too much and makes an offer of eight hundred. He would up that price a bit to have him and all of his companions other than myself provided with good food and respectful treatment during the journey."

[Titan]

Some time, and many confused and unintelligible exchanges later, Clem finally finds someone who speaks broken English.

"Excuse me," she said to a lanky young man. "Is there any fuel for a truck I could purchase?" The shirtless resident scrunched up his forehead. "F-fool? Fee-al?"
"The Universe conspires against me..." She mentally sighed, and kept that thought to herself.
"Fuel. Diesel?"
"Ahh! Dee-sel. No. No dee-sel." He animatedly shook his head and waved his hands back and forth across each other to indicate the negative to the slow Ork.

"Goddamit."
"How about a cart? Or Wheelbarrow?" She mimicked pushing a cart that looked almost more like pushing an old manual wheel chair.

"Kard? Weeburrow? Oh. Oh, oh, oh. Bar-r-r-ow." He pointed at a rotting wooden wheelbarrow that looks like it might be centuries old.

"Well, it is something. Not good, but something."
Clementine pointed to the overturned wheelbarrow, then to herself, then back to where she parked the truck. Then repeated the sequence once more. "I. Take? I. Take?" The boy just nodded his head while waving her off and went back to listening to his music player loud enough that Clementine could hear the music even though he was using ear buds.

"Maybe the Buddha was right. My life sure is suffering..." She righted the wheelbarrow and started pushing it back up to the truck. As she passed the frustrating boy, she nearly whispered to him "Domo."

When she arrived back at their truck, she had to tell Ahmjay the bad news. "Sorry, Ahmjay. They have no fuel here for the truck."
"Not a problem," he replied to her quickly.
She felt he must not have understood him. "Has some chickenshit mage cast a spell on me to conceal my words?"
"No, Ahmjay. There is no fuel here. Is there a station or location nearby to fuel up?"
"No. You don't understand. I have enough fuel to make it back." He puffed himself up. "I am prepared for this trip." He smiled assuredly.

"Man... If he was about twice as old, I'd slap him around a bit. He might not deserve it, but it'd make me feel a whole lot better." The Ork woman frowned ever so slightly.

"Fine. At least something is turning out right." She parked the wheelbarrow next to the back door of the truck and proceeded to load all of their bags except hers and O'Connor's onto it. She stashed hers and O'Conner's bags in the door opening, and prepared to wait for word of what is happening.

"How long is this gonna take? Can we not get out of here already? Damn!" Clementine's face easily showed the dark mood forming behind her eyes...

She pulled out her commlink, and nearly called Snow out of reflex. "Nearly slipped up there." She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "Come on girl. It is just a simple text. You can do it..." Clementine glared at the comm like it owed her money.

"Alright. Let's see here. Text. Recipient."
<<Snow>
"Then it was... Flag."
<<Snow | Unimportant>
"There." She stood there for what seemed like minutes to her staring at the comm trying to will it to write the text for her.

<<Snow | Unimportant> Moved truck to cover. Gear packed and ready to move. I can move it all, but I bet O'Connor doesn't want any but him to carry his. Let me know if we are sailing, or driving.>> She sent the message, secure in the knowledge that Snow's comm would use the most subtle indicator that a message was received, and that it could wait for her convenience to read it.

"There. I can't be blamed for screwing over any negotiations then."

[Mercy]

Snow's implanted 'link lets her know that she is receiving a message from Clem and she uses the time it takes for the pirate chief to consider Con's counter offer to send a response. >>Hey, Boss. Looks like we are going to take a boat to Lagos. Con is working on the details of the cost right now.<<

Her face stings from the force of Con's blow and she knows that she will have a mark there for a bit. Still, it is a slight price to pay if it helps them get to Lagos safely and within budget.

[Crossbow]

"Mighty chief, my master believes that one thousand per person is too much and makes an offer of eight hundred. He would up that price a bit to have him and all of his companions other than myself provided with good food and respectful treatment during the journey."

"You will have a spot on the deck for the trip, it's only a few hours and it is a small boat, and as for treatment, we won't sell you to slavers for eight. You can bring your own food." He apparently thinks that is the end of the conversation, he directs a couple of people in the tongue you have not yet mastered, one goes to get the boys and the other seems to be your guide to the transport. He is waiting to be paid.

O'Conner feel a light touch and the small weight of cred sticks being dropped in his pocket, Jane would probably make a good living as a pickpocket in the Barrens if anyone had money.

[Mercy]

Snow translates the pirate's words to Con, still not sure if the pirate can understand English or not. "The chief is willing to accept the eight hundred per person and it looks like he is done with the negotiations and wants to be paid. We are to bring our own food. This other man is to take us to the boat. I will go get your things if you are ready."

She sends a note to Clem back at the truck. >>Boss? Looks like Con negotiated our ride. We will need to head to the boat so I will be coming to help move things down here.<<

[Titan]

"'Bout Damn time," the Ork woman cheers in her own head - despite it only being a few moments of standing around.

<<Snow> No need. I can handle it. I'll tell Ahmjay to give us five minutes as a fail-safe, and if he doesn't hear from any of us by then he can bolt.>>

Clementine slips the commlink back into it's pocket, and turns to Ahmjay smiling.

"Good news! We are nearly out of your life. I'll be toting our things to the boat now. Wait five minutes, and if you do not hear from any of us, you can head on back home. Just watch those turns in the Jungle, eh?"

She slings one duffel over each shoulder, and hefts the wheelbarrow by the handles with a little grunt. She calls over her shoulder, "Should Innocent want a report, tell him you did a great job." And she proceeds to roll along the path her colleagues went, without even thinking about the fact that Ahmjay has no way to verify his claim of a job well done to Innocent.

[Mercy]

Snow reports to Con. "Master, Clem is bringing the baggage down." She then lowers her head again, waiting for the blow that she knows she deserves for not waiting for Con to tell her to speak. Given that the pirate is still right there, it would be out of character for him not to hit her and she braces for it. She put herself in this position and she has to play the part, and she knows he has to play his role as well. The pirates would expect nothing less and might even do them harm if he eases up on her now.

[Necrogigas]

O'Connor stepped forward and deposited the credsticks in the lackey's hand. He turned as Snow gave the update and cringed as if expecting to be hit. A pained grimace slashed across his face as O'Connor was forced to play his role. He struck Snow across the other side of her face. He didn't say anything, he didn't trust himself to speak.

Unarmed Combat: 7d6t5 4

[Mercy]

Even prepared for the blow, it forces her to her hands and knees on the ground. Con walks off and the pirate captain calls out that he should thrown the wench into the sea. He bends over and whispers in Snow's ear. "You tell him that I said that. Maybe he will sell you to me after all and I can use you until I tire of you." The captain stands and laughs as he walks off. Snow shakes her head and sends a message to the others. >>Well done, Con. You have his respect now, something he would not have given you if you had not done this. He wants you to sell me to him so he can use me, so you will need to have an answer ready for him. Sam, Sammy, Clem, Jane. Do not come to help me as my apparent caste here is low servant. In fact, looking at me with derision would probably help.<<

Snow moves to her feet and walks off after Con, passing Jane, Sam, and Sammy, but keeping her head down as she does, as if in the presence of her superiors.

[farothel]

Sammy wasn't happy with how things were going. O'Connor seemed to like his role a bit too much. But at least they had a way to get out of this jungle. She did give a quick look over to the pirate leader in the astral, just in case.

[ Spoiler ]

assensing on the pirate leader.
intuition 3 + assensing 3 =6: 6d6t5 3

[Titan]

Clementine hauls the gear through the pirate camps, both slow enough to not have to deal with these 男性の狂信者, but fast enough to leave before she does something the pirates will regret.

She looks around at the rather squalid conditions and wonders how this life can be considered better than wherever these… Pigs came from.

Clementine sees the group ahead, and is glad to be getting out of here.

[Mercy]

Snow follows behind Con until they get to Clem pushing the wheelbarrow, at which time she falls in behind her. When they get back to where Con had talked to the pirate captain, they find a man waiting to lead them to the boat. Snow translates as well as she can and the man turns and begins walking down the trail, eventually breaking through some trees and pointing at what must pass as the pirate's ship.

[Thvor]

Once the boys were taken from him, Sam fell into step a half-stride behind O'Connor, continuing to act like a jaded guard. When Snow followed, he was between her and Con, which hopefully would help avoid further physical demonstrations.

[Mercy]

Snow sees Sam position himself between her and Con and feels grateful for the gesture. He is acting a role, too, right now..........not as a slave, but as a guard. That role still puts him above her in the pecking order, but not so far above her that she must pretend to fear him as well. She picks up her pace just a bit and comes up next to Sam on the trail and reaches out a hand to softly touch his arm in silent thanks, dropping it and resuming her distance from him. Any of the pirates watching should be led to believe that there is something going on between the guard and the slave, if they thought about it at all.

[Titan]

Clementine resisted the urge to scowl in confusion. Instead, she kept her face passive. But she clearly missed something during her "party" with Ahmjay. O'Connor was brooding more than usual. Sam seemed to be inserting himself between O'Conner and Snow. And now it looks like there might be something happening between Snow and Sam.

Just what the hell happened here?

[Crossbow]

Your boat turns out to be a heavily modified tug. The captain points you to a small spot at the bow of the boat. There is enough room for you to sit with your bags close at hand and not much else. You have barely enough time to settle in before the pirates start up the engine and move out of the cove.

When you reach the open water the boat turns east and keeps the jungle choked shore in sight. The boats crew keeps their distance from you, but there is plenty of chatter in the odd language of these locals, especially between the pairs of guards that watch you from port and starboard to make sure you don't wander.

[Mercy]

Snow does her best to keep her role going and sits as much apart from the others as possible given the limited space. At least she is able to paint a picture of being alone. She uses her hands to check her face and body, wincing as she touched those places where Con had hit her. The man had not pulled his punches and Snow accepts that he could not under the circumstances. Still, her face hurts and she knows there will be bruising there, and the soreness around her left eye tells her that she has a pretty good black eye forming there. The visual damage would be less if she could get to and use her medkit, but that would be out of character and the grim reality is that the kit will not be useful by the time she gets to Lagos and can get to it. She shrugs her shoulders and tries to get some rest.