Jan 28 22:34:08 108 PA - Hiring an Instructor
From Chronicles
Jan 28 22:34:08 108 PA.
MONKEY BUSINESS
Erica is sitting at an arcade machine. She has a frozen coffee drink next to her on a small table while she manipulates the joystick of the arcade machine. She swears under her breath as her character is hit by a computer generated CS Deadboy. She backs up from the machine as she loses and picks up her coffee drink to take a sip from it.
The older man pokes his head in the door of the establishment, clearly not sure what the place is, or even why he's there, beyond simple curiosity. "Huh. Pinball machines. Sabine would have loved it." Gabriel walks completely into the room, shutting the door behind himself and unlatching the silent hooks of his light coat. As he moves slowly around the room, his gloves and woolen cap are also removed, then stowed in a largish pocket across his abdomen. There may not be much in the way of food, but at least they sell some kind of soda, which is what he pays for up front, knocking the cap off with an expert, swift whack of the neck of the bottle against the counter's edge.
Erica is walking around with her frozen coffee drink as she looks from arcade machine to arcade machine. As she walks around she spots Gabriel. Slightly surprised at seeing him here in the arcade she walks up to him. "Hello there. Fancy seeing you here." She mentions as she rocks back and forth on the heels of her boots.
"Oh, hey, Miss Erica! Didn't expect to see you here, either! Of course, I didn't really expect to see anyone here... just kind of looking around today. Still lots of places in the city that I haven't seen yet." Gabriel punctuates his statement with a shrug and a small salute to the woman by raising his bottle of soda. "Hey, got a little business to talk to you about. Nothing major or Earth-shattering. Talking here is fine with me, but it has to do with a certain skill-set of yours. Not sure if you want to discuss it here or not. Again, it's no super-secret tidbit of information, though." The old man smiles, his drawl thick.
Erica leans against one of the cabinets as she sips on her coffee drink. "Sure this place is as good as any I guess. Unless it it is super sensitive, but doesn't sound like it is." She says with a slight smile curving her lips. "What skill-set are you talking about?"
Gabriel chuckles. "No, no. Nothing super-sensitive. Anyway, I have a problem. Back in my day, this wasn't a problem. But today, it is. Feet used to be fine. You could run, you could hide, you could hop on a motorcycle, or in a car, or commandeer a truck, and generally get away from a bad situation. But today?" The older man shrugs very dramatically and jabs the neck of his soda bottle toward the sky. Or at least, the ceiling. "Everything flies. Not just fighter-bombers. Everything is a helluva lot faster than I could ever hope to be, which means I have to either not be seen - incidentally, everything seems to manage to see me no matter what I do - or I have to face it head-on, which again, I am generally not built to do." He smiles and nods in Erica direction. "But a jetpack? That seems like a good mesh of both worlds. I've come into some money, so I can afford one - but I need someone to teach me how to use one. Which, obviously, is where your skills would greatly help me out."
Erica nods her head slowly as she listens. "Oh yah being able to fly can get you out of some rough spots. Not to mention it is very convenient. Of course I like that I don't have to refuel my jetpack. Saves on money." She says with a little chuckle while she pauses to take a sip of her coffee drink. "But it does take a lot of coordination to be able to fly and shoot accurately. Not to mention crashing into the ground. My armor displays a lot of info to help me from doing that. Not to mention I have a gyro compass inside my head. Worth it for any serious jetpack pilot." She pauses to laugh a little bit. "But I am going on and on. If you want me to teach you I can no problem."
Gabriel smiles widely. "That would be wonderful, Miss Erica! Thank you so much! I'll be happy to compensate you for your time, I now that not everyone just has time around like I do, sitting on their hands and hoping for some grunt construction work to come along. Guess I've returned to my roots." The Kentuckian smiles at the thought. "I'm not sure that I'm keen on implants yet... just doesn't seem natural. No offense. Maybe later. I've looked into 'packs, though, and it looks like I can afford a basic electric model. The nuclear set is far out of my range. If you can suggest a good manufacturer, I'd appreciate it. Might as well purchase as good as I can afford when it comes to saving my hide."
"Isn't natural? You mean like indoor plumbing is natural?" Erica says with a laugh and a sly little smile. "Natural is way overrated." She shakes her head slightly and then shrugs her shoulders. "Well Triax is always the best no matter what it is they make, but I think the Wilk's version is pretty good for the price."
The older man bobs his head as he listens intently. "I'll ask around, see if I can get a price somewhere. Probably not like ordering from the Sears Catalog," Gabriel says with a chuckle. "So if I just use my regular compass, the one that's been getting me around the world for the last twenty years or so, will that be sufficient? Maybe not make me a super-shot from the sky, but honestly, simply getting out is more important than anything else." He looks somewhat apprehensive - no, very apprehensive - asking, "Or do I need to, ah -" he taps his skull "- get a metal plate inserted in my head? Because in my time, that was usually considered a bad thing." The last is said with a chuckle.
Erica laughs again as she shakes her head. "The gyro compass helps you know which way is up and which way is down along with where north is. Trust me always knowing what direction the ground lies is very helpful in midair combat. Not to mention if you are in a cloud bank. I wouldn't want to use a hand to try to hold a compass when you might need that hand. But I can teach you how to get around with it no problem." She takes another sip of her drink before continuing. "A metal plate? That isn't what I am talking about. But maybe you should stop holding on to where you came from and embrace what you need to survive and thrive in this world."
"Miss Erica, you're asking me to forget forty-one years of reality, and substitute it for a new one. It's not like infiltrating Berlin in '45. Or East Berlin during the airlift. Or Hanoi in '58. This is totally different, and I'll point out, I've only been here since late September, and haven't even seen the whole city yet." Gabriel waves his soda bottle semi-randomly around the room. "This is my day's science fiction comic books, fantasy novels, and bad dreams all come to life. Forty-one years versus four months? Please, give me a little time." Gabriel notes the final facts with a somewhat pleading smile.
"Well you should know from your military experience you have to adapt quickly to changing situations. If you don't adapt you can get killed. Every plan of attack has to able to be changed when new circumstances arise. I see no difference." Erica says with a little shrug. "Well just a suggestion. Once you get your jetpack we can start up the lessons."
"Oh, you're quite right about that, Miss Erica," Gabriel says with a thick Kentucky drawl. Not that a 'Kentucky drawl' should really be recognized in this place, in this day and age. "Adaptation is usually what saves your life. But like I said, it's different from adapting to the small differences of a city or culture, versus an entirely new reality. Anyway, before we continue pleasantries - which I hope to do - and I have another question for you, which I will get to, I realize that you can't say for sure, but about how long do you think this will take? And please, quote me price for your time, I won't try to haggle. Though I might try to barter a strong back with it." Amused wink. The two are standing new the little food dispensary of the establishment.
Erica shrugs her shoulders as she leans against an arcade machine. "I don't know how long it would take you to learn. Likely two months to get half way decent to it. We will just have to wait and see." She says before sipping on her frozen coffee drink. "And I don't really know how much my time would be worth. So guess that doesn't help you much at all." She says with a little chuckle.
"Well, you just let me know. But, ah... well, actually, never mind. Different situation entirely. Where'd you learn how to flit around like that anyway?" Gabriel silences himself by putting the open end of his soda bottle into his mouth, tilting it up, and drinking a long pull.
"I'll figure out some price at some point. Not to worry." Erica says with a little chuckle. "I was taught how to fly by the Lazlo Defense Force when I was enlisted. I was trained as a scout, and it is always useful for a scout to be able to move quickly like I can with my jetpack. That and I double as light air support."
The older man smiles. "Ah yes, Miss Erica the P-47, the A-1, the Thunderbolt of the sky. A regular Zeus. Poseidon of the skies." Gabriel winks, obviously having fun at the woman's expense, but not mocking her. "Air support is always good. The Germans knew it all the way back in '39, with their Ju-87s. The Stukas. You know, the kind that made the horrible trumpeting siren noise on their dive-bombing attacks. They actually had sirens built into their struts, did you know that? Yeah, psychological warfare against the poor bastards who were in their cross-hairs." He wiggles his brow and adds, "Didn't work for us in Europe as well as it did in the Pacific, at least, not until their own fighter cover had been pretty well cleared. And the P-51s introduced. Sorry, I'm rambling." He tilts his bottle up again. "I've heard of Lazlo, but I don't know where it is, beyond 'north.'"
Erica chuckles softly at the joke while she smiles at Gabriel. "Well there are plenty of problems in the air like the SAMAS and other types of flying power armor. I have mixed it up with plenty of SAMAS. Not fun." She chuckles again and then sips on her drink. "Lazlo is up by the great lakes. On the eastern side."
"Oh, New York. Pretty area, if you get away from the cities. New York, Buffalo, Rochester, Albany. You get away from them, it's nice country. Binghamton, though? Wow - major shithole. Ithica's nice, though. Good place to see the leaves change." He pokes his chin in Erica's direction. "Where exactly? I hear about Iron Heart, and Free Quebec - now Lazlo - all these independent little countries, or kingdoms, whatever they're called, smashed together in a relatively small place." Gabriel tilts his bottle back, then down, looks inside with one eye shut, and declares, "Empty."
"Yah it isn't a small place. That area of the world is really big. Maybe you should take a trip up there some time." Erica says with a sly little smile. "Lazlo was built near the remains of an old city it what was called Canada. It is on the western shore of Lake Ontario. South of Ironheart and south of Free Quebec."
Gabriel gives slightly harder chuckle than before. "Oh yes, I'm familiar with a place called Canada. Good people, if you're into hockey. Otherwise," he smiles, but holds a hand out horizontal with the ground, then flaps it up and down around the ninety-degree axis that his wrist makes with it. "Western Lake Ontario. That would be Toronto, I assume? Can't think of any other large city in the area - Buffalo, but that's US, so it doesn't count. Trouble with the Coalition? Lots of magic, or mostly tech, like gyro-compass implants and scouts on jet packs?"
Erica looks a little confused. "What is your question? Yes everyone has trouble with the Coalition as I'm sure by now. Lazlo is mostly magic based. Although they use plenty of technology as well. I think you should take some time and try to learn about the world and stop worrying about things that are long gone and forgotten."
"I'm sorry, I should try to be more specific. And yes, you're right, I need to adapt. Not let go, because that information is still useful, but adapt. Lazlo. So, you're magic based, which means that the Coalition won't like you. You're also tech based, which means you have a good balance for combat, probably better than what Tolkeen is doing, unless I haven't been following that war closely enough?" A few credits are tossed to the counter... and a new bottle of soda is tossed to Gabriel, who once again cracks the top off with a whack on a nearby edge - this time, part of a sturdy metal pinball machine. He drinks a sip, then asks, "Now that we've slid onto the topic of Tolkeen, mind if I hit you up for something else, or at least bend your arm and ear a little?"
"No they don't like Lazlo, but Lazlo is far enough out of the way that the Coalition isn't doing anything but some harassment here and there. Tolkeen has been doing a lot better then most people thought they would do. They have taken out a lot of Coalition troops and skelebots." Erica says as she finishes off the rest of her coffee drink. "Oh what do you need now?" She says with a little giggle.
Gabriel smiles and answers her question with, "I need a receptive ear, an open mind, and only a little consideration. I know that Sebastien - Mr. DuBois, I don't know how you know him - came to speak with you about this, but was rebuked. This regards the rumors of towns disappearing up near Tolkeen. I met with one of the guys who came here talking about it. He's an asshole, but he's setting up a meeting with 'the boss' whatever that means, for everyone to get more data. I wasn't impressed. Then the other day, Sebastien hit me with some kind of vague vision, or whatever it is that his kind have." Gabriel straightens up and quickly adds, "You know, psychics. I didn't mean it to sound like an insult. Anyway, after hearing what he had to say, I basically to him to shove it, and to tell the other guys to shove it. Still... I'm going to hit that meeting, just for the hell of it. Just wanted to ask you to at least come to the meeting. Maybe both of us will walk away telling him where to put his problem. I don't know. But if people do go.. whoever and however many, well..." the older man winks and grins, "Everyone's always in need of close air support."
Erica nods her head slowly up and down while she listens. "Sounds easy enough. I can help out with this meeting sure. No problem. Where and when is it?" She asks casually while tossing her empty cup into the trash. She shares a grin with Gabriel. "Close air support will be had then. I haven't heard much about this town. Sounds like a fade town, but I don't know much about that sort of thing."
"That's great, Miss Erica, thanks. Like I said, All I'm asking is that you go to the meeting. Then we can all tell they guy what we think of him, right?" Gabriel smiles and taps his bottle. "Not empty! These towns though - and it is, apparently multiple towns - just from what I've heard, give Sebastian and Alexandre's information what credence you will, it is 'dead boys' with lots of bullets and explosions, with a 'horned death head.' That was Sebastian's contribution. He couldn't tell me what it means, and I'm not even going to try to guess what it means." He stops for a moment for a sip, then says, "While I consider myself to be a brave man, someone who will always stand up for those who can't help themselves... I'm not going to put myself into a suicidal situation, either. If the intelligence is bad or full of holes, and if there aren't enough of us to join and head out... well, I'm going to fold my cards, so to speak."
"Alright sounds good. I don't put a lot of stock by 'visions' but I am sure we can find out what is going on. Maybe make some credits along the way. Just give me a call when we are supposed to go." Erica says as she flashes Gabriel a friendly smile. "I need to get going for a bit though. I have to run to the store to pick up some groceries. But I am always willing to help those in need. Just give me a time and place and I'll be there."
The older man grins, tilts his bottle back, and drains it in one long pull before tossing it in the trash next to Erica's coffee cup. "Thanks, Miss Erica. I'll contact you, and if I hear anything further before the little briefing a let you know." He then slip son his winter gear - not latching up his light coat - and extends an arm toward the door. "After you, miss. I've had enough of this place, and I'll walk you halfway to the store, assuming you use the same place I do." He will then simply wait to escort Erica out.
