How much for that puppy in the window?

[Anonymous]

Lunch break! Fuck yeah! Alexis packed up his tools, setting them carefully back into their case and locking the case. He had been helping one of the permanent mechanics with a damaged hull repair, but it would be wrapped up soon. He needed to score some better jobs, but, first, lunch!

He stripped out of the greasy coveralls he wore when he worked, tossing them over his tool box. Quick check in the mirror, yeeeeah he was sexy. Cocking his fingers like guns, he winked at his reflection. He was in a lime green and black retro button up and black jeans, his chest and abs on full display. Why hide beauty man?

Adjusting a pair of Edanith sunglasses on the top of his head (because, man, they were totally cool), Alexis started out. There was a little deli/diner place not too far he liked to eat at. It had some pretty good vegetarian options, which was hard to find sometimes. Noodle sandwich, here he comes!

Whistling softly to himself, Alexis strolled down the street and into the little shop, browsing the selection, spicy noodle sandwich in hand. Just had to snag his favorite chips and-

Alexis stared in horror as some brunette guy snagged the last bag. He scooted closer, quickly searching the piles and coming up empty. Head swiveling and he locked onto the guy the way only a dog after food can. He moved closer, making sure to look nice and pitiful and stared intently at the bag of chips in his hand.

Like, you totally don't need the chips man. You can totally share them and like get some serious karma. Give me the chips. Give me the chips.

[Tally]

Goddamn it was good to have money again.  Especially when he needed food.  Nathan scanned through the wrapped sandwiches and cups of potato salad and saw he could afford anything there.  No more begging weeny station vendors for packs of gum, by the gods. He could afford sandwiches now.  This was living.

He'd get chips too.  Just because he could.  Ever since leaving Libra, he'd been living off protein blocks and various foods in powder form.  They'd picked up a decent job, but didn't get their pay until the goods were delivered.

He probably could have afforded more, but he was being over cautious.  It had been a long time since he'd had crew to pay.  Didn't want to eat their wages.  Didn't want to eat the ship repairs for that matter.

He didn't really notice it until he was at the register, handing over the money, but some guy who didn't know how to button his shirt had been shadowing him the entire length of the deli.  Nathan glanced at him side-wise, but the guy wasn't even really staring at him, but staring downward.  Staring at his hand?

Some barely audible words crackled in his mind, staticky.  Among the indecipherable noise was one complete word.  Chips. That one came through clearest.

This was just weird, and Nathan couldn't believe he could still think that after flying with Cian and Papillion. Frowning, he leaned away from the strange guy and transferred the chips behind his back, to his other hand.

[Anonymous]

Alexis's eyes followed the chips, staring a hole through Nathan's torso to where they were. His entire being was focused on the object of his desire. His thoughts focused harder on the chips, willing the stranger to give them over. They were the best kind! And he wanted them so bad!

[Tally]

Cancer is so full of freaks.  You'd think he'd be used to it by now, as often as he found himself here.  Heck, he was friends with plenty of odd folk.  Odder even than this one.  It was just the intensity of the guy's stare that unnerved him.  He'd never been stared at quite like that before.

Ah, he knew what to do.  The guy had a sandwich in his hand.  He'd have to stop and pay for it, and that would give Nathan a chance to disappear in the crowd outside.  It wasn't quite as crowded as he would have liked, but even having to pause long enough to pay for his sandwich would force the guy to break that freaky stare.

"Thanks," he muttered to the cashier, and make a quick exit, dodging around the people entering to slip out of the deli.  He didn't look back.  He didn't want to see that guy still staring after the chips Nathan carried away with him.

[Anonymous]

When Nathan started leaving, Alexis let out a small whining sound, straightening to follow the chips. He then whipped around, slammed the sandwich down and some money. Without bothering to wait for the change, Alexis took off after the man with the chips. He couldn't help it, he wanted those chips so bad!

"Hey! Hey!" Jogging to catch up, Alexis grinned at the man, "Wanna share those chips dude? They are like, totally the best flavor man and like food taste better with friends, yeah?"

[Tally]

Success!  Nathan was out the door and away and feeling very good about himself and about his sandwich and chips.  He didn't even know what had just happened.  Maybe he'd imagined it.  Oh well! He was almost to the corner and then he'd be well out of sight—

—or not.  He didn't even make it to the corner before that guy caught up with him.  Damn he was persistent.

Nathan turned slowly, a little surprised this actually was about the chips.  And just the chips.  Nothing else.  This guy was following a stranger around over a bag of chips.  Nathan wondered if he was maybe a bit slow and had got away from his minder.

Curious in spite of it all, Nathan broke open the bag and slowly lifted out one chip and offered it up.

[Anonymous]

Alexis's response was immediate. He snagged the chip, shoved it in his mouth and happily crunched away, smiling at Nathan. Once it was gone, he licked his lips, hooking his hands into his belt loops and his smile got even bigger, "Thanks brah. That was totally awesome. I just, like, totally love those chips. Sorry man. You must like, think I'm a total creeper. I'm not, promise."

Holding his hand out, Alexis continued on, "I'm like, Alexis. What's yer name man?"

[Tally]

Nathan looked down at the chips then back up, perplexed.  Maybe this guy wasn't slow in the head.  He was talking alright.  A little high school girlish with the 'likes' being used as punctuation, but other than that... Maybe he was just really really hardcore about his chips.

Or maybe this was all shenanigans, some confusing joke just to mess with him.  And like a tourist he fell for it.  He was also staring, trying to decide if this guy was for real or not.

He took Alexis's hand but forgot to shake it.  "Uh, yeah.  I mean, Nathan.  Oh hey! Is...is there like a camera?  Is it one of those things?"

[Anonymous]

"Camera? What?" Alexis's laughed, "Are you like, high man? That's cool if ya are, like I ain't gonna like, say anything." Nathan seemed a bit strange, but that was okay, didn't bother Alexis's none, he could rock that. Life was more fun with some twists and all that.

His eyes flicked back to the chips and Alexis's grinned again, "So, like, you gonna eat, like eat all those? Cause, like, I can like totally help you finish them."

[Tally]

"Heh, maybe.  Cian could have slipped something into my food."  He laughed a little, then figured that was the natural end to the encounter and he could go on his way.  This guy—Alexis—didn't look like he was starving so he could just go get his own chips from somewhere else.  Nathan hadn't had a bag of chips since...since so long he couldn't actually recall ever eating them.

"That's...nice?...of you but I think I'm gonna take off," he said while backing up.  "Busy and all that.  Gotta go find a mechanic."

He spun around headed in the direction he'd been going.  Guy was nice and all but...Nathan didn't really see any reason to share his chips with him.  Not like they were buddies or anything.  Let him get his own food!

[Anonymous]

"Ah! Brah! You are totally in luck! You need a mechanic, and I like, totally need some chips man. They're like, totally my favorite flavor and stuff. And like, I'm a total top shelf mechanic." He grinned, dropping a little lower at his hips and giving another easy laugh, "I know, man, you're like totally thinking I can't be this hot and talented, but it's totally true. I got like, magic fingers and shit!"

[Tally]

Nathan turned in one smooth motion and came right back to Alexis.  He offered up the open bag of chips again.  "A mechanic you say.  Top shelf huh?"

And so humble.  Him with his long, luxurious hair and tanning bed bronzed skin.  Nathan must have looked especially short and wimpy next to him.  Where was Papillion when he needed her?  He could have used the contrast just then, just to make himself feel better about having to look up at Alexis.

Stop glaring at his hair.  Smile!  Be friendly! If Alexis could back up that ego, then Nathan was quite happy to make his acquaintance.  His own mechanic had gotten uprooted in the chaos of Cancer's move.  Half the mechanics he could have gone to didn't like him, and he didn't trust the other half not to screw him six ways into the sun.  This one he didn't know, though.  And hey, he hadn't actually made the worst impression ever.

"Ever work on a Swift class?"

[Anonymous]

Alexis took the sudden flip in Nathan's personality in stride, making a happy sound and shoving his hand into the bag, pulling out some chips, "Totally brah! I'm great! Ask around man! Alexis Zilberschlag has got a killer rep man."

And he did. He might not hold the most steady work, but that wasn't because his skill was lacking. He just tended to not like staying in one place long enough for a great customer base. But he was confident in his skills.

Though the fact the guy kept glaring at his head was a little weird. But that was cool, he could roll with that, maybe he didn't like blonds? But Alexis was confident Nathan would love him soon enough, everyone did!

"Totally brah! Those are some sweet bitches, though they can have some cooling problems, gotta make sure ya keep the maintenance going. Treat those babies right and they'll like totally purr for ya."

[Tally]

"Z...Zilbersh..."  He trailed off, having not quite gotten the unfamiliar-sounding last name.  He'd never heard of the guy, and that wasn't a bad thing either.  Dice were tumbling in Nathan's head.  The best victories in his life had been the result of a gamble.  He'd won Diva in a hand of blackjack, and she wasn't even the best thing chance had brought him.

And then Alexis went and impressed him.  Swifts were temperamental, hard to work with, and what he'd said was exactly true.  They ran hot.  Came from demanding warship-level jumping capability out of a compact drive. It wasn't the type of thing you'd know from reading a manual either.

To find a mechanic familiar with the eccentricities of a Swift would be damn lucky, and not the type of thing he could afford to dismiss out of hand.  He pressed the bag of chips into Alexis's hands.  Diva was in powerful need of maintenance right now, but he rather wanted to see just what Alexis would make of her.  "Got a garage?"

[Anonymous]

Chips! Yay! Alexis's face lit up when he got the entire bag of chips and he spent a moment happily shoving them into his mouth and chowing down on a few. Once they were gone, he licked his lips, the easy smile back on his face, "Zilberschlag brah. And I like got a temp one. Totally workin' there freelance and stuff. Normally I like to travel and stuff, ya know? Like, see the stars and stuff. But like, last crew fell apart. Bad leadership man."

His odd colored eyes watched Nathan, studying him in a new way. A ship said a lot about their owner and he was curious to see what this mans ship said about him. Alexis hoped it was good things, because he already liked him.

[Tally]

Nathan smiled as he watched Alexis scarf down the chips.  His enthusiasm for them was almost childlike.  It was odd and endearing at the same time to see a guy like that so excited over a bag of chips.

"If you're not busy, we can stop by the ship.  You can take a look at her, tell me what you think."  They'd only just met, but he couldn't help but speculate as he led the way toward the docks.  Diva needed a mechanic—had needed one for some time.  Nathan did what he could and made do with maintenance whenever he found himself at a station, but Swifts were delicate ships.  He needed a mechanic on his crew.  And Alexis liked to travel...

"There she is."  He pointed to Diva's sleek black shape.  "Blackjack Diva."

[Anonymous]

"Whoa man, kiiiinky. Hardly know ya and I like get ta get all up in your ship?" Alexis laughed, tossing the chip bag into a trash can, following along after Nathan. Unlike the typical imagery of a werewolf, Alexis didn't really stalk around with barely contained feral power, all sleek, predatory movement. He had a sort of lazy slouch.

Once they caught site of the Dive, he gave a low whistle, "Aw man. That's totally one pretty lady. Look at them curves." Nathan had some good taste in ships. His hands twitched with the urge to get inside her, see how she ran. His pace picked up, eager now, giving Nathan a cheeky wink, "Ya know brah, ya can totally tell a lot about a man, from like, his ship."

[Tally]

He smiled at the praise, even though it wasn't for him.  Couldn't help but have pride in his ship.  It always felt good to have people admire her.

"Then let's see what Diva has to say about me."  Nathan hoped to the gods that Cian wasn't hanging out inside the ship at the moment.  Though the mage was better than any guard dog, he didn't want him scaring away potential mechanics.  But they were on Cancer now.  Cian should be out and about, looking for new things to catch on fire and whatnot.

He got on the intercom when they entered through the cargo door.  "Anybody home?"  No answer came, so Papillion must have been gone as well.  Couldn't say he wasn't grateful for that.  Papillion was great and all, but he hadn't known her that long.  He didn't yet know if he wanted her around when he was trying to close a deal.

"Engine room's this way."

She was a small ship, just big enough to house a crew of seven comfortably, with a little extra room for passengers.  Nathan remained silent as he preceded Alexis into the engine room.  There was plenty to say on the state of Diva's maintenance...and he wanted to see what Alexis made of it, without any explanation from him.

[Anonymous]

Once he was inside the engine room, Alexis went to work. He ignored Nathan, not really caring about him at the moment. Not with a sweet ship like this on front of him, "Hey beautiful. Let's see what ya got goin' on."

She was indeed a beautiful ship, sleek and beautifully made. Though oh so delicate. Swifts had to be handled well, maintained and pampered. Frowning, Alexis's hands ran along the wires and parts. She had some, sure, but she wasn't getting the attention she deserved and needed, "Aw baby. This is like, totally harsh. What did that bad man do to ya?"

Wiggling farther in, Alexis followed one of the tubes along, muttering to himself as he went. His coveralls were still back in the garage, but he didn't really seem to notice or care as he crawled through the ship. "Whoa man. Ya got some blockage in here. Bad. Don't ya like, take her in? When's the last time ya like flushed her out?"

[Tally]

Nathan leaned on the engine frame and watched Alexis...thoughtful .  They were both of them taking a measure here, of each other.  He didn't know if he would meet Alexis's standards, but he did know a good mechanic when he saw one.  The way Alexis handled the machinery, without hesitation, told him a lot.

His datapad chimed while Alexis was inspecting Diva's equipment.  His eyebrows shot up when he read the message.  Since arriving on Cancer he'd had three different job offers.  With the pirates so thick in the skies, ships like Diva were in demand.  Everyone needed someone to run stealth and recon for them now.  He'd responded to one of the offers with a demand for half payment up front.  It wasn't usual, and he hadn't been serious.  No one payed out until they had assurance of the merchandise.  But here was their answer, and it was affirmative.  The money would be in his account within hours.

Folk are really getting desperate out here. And he suddenly had extra coin to throw around.  It made him nervous, such sudden good luck.  Made him wonder when the other shoe would drop.

"Hey, I done the best I can by her," he said, sheepish and indignant at the same time.  "Been a year or so since we had a mechanic on crew.  Had to get her checked out whenever we rolled into a station, but we been out on the edge for some three months now."  He shrugged.  "I kept her alive, was all I could do."