Touché [Rina!]

[Tally]

Too much had changed on Cancer since the last time Nathan had been there.  Most of it was because Meridia had decided to up and move the station to the gods only knew where.  Shenanigans like that made folk nervous, made them rethink just where and why they put down their roots.  And it meant Nathan had lost some decent contacts.

His mechanic was gone.  Now, he'd found that the guy who hooked him up with some jacked planet-grown food supplies had also taken off.  No one knew where.  He asked around, made some discreet inquiries, and that was how he found himself standing out Bhaskara's door.

"Wait, do I have the name right?  Bhaskara?"  Nathan stopped himself just short of pressing the door's buzzer.

"Yeah, that's right."  Yvette was one of his newer connections herself.  She trafficked almost solely on information.  "Ehh...before you go in though, I should warn ya.  He's a little weird."

Nathan's recent potato-chip-and-werewolf encounter came to mind.  And Cian.  And Papillion.  And Willow!  "Please," he said, shooting the kid a look of profound disdain.  "Have you met my crew?"  Nothing could phase him anymore.  Nothing.

"Don't say I didn't warn ya," she muttered.

Nathan let out a sigh and shook his head.  Mere moment after he pressed the buzzer, the door slid open and he stepped inside.

A few things jumped out at him right away.  Like the huge snake tail taking up a third of the room. Huge.  Looked like it could fit him inside of it.  Then there was the human torso attached to it, half-seen behind a counter top, black tats scrolled across pale skin.  All of this under the warm glow of the longest heat lamp Nathan had ever seen.

A second glance, and the empty beer bottles scattered here and there jumped out at him.  That, and the pile of underaged porn comics sitting on a stool.

Nathan narrowed his eyes at Bhaskara.  "Well played, sir.  Well played."

[Anonymous]

Bhaskara was rather bored. Today had been pretty slow, for both businesses. Which was so bad, as that meant he got to laze around under his heat lamp, a porno magazine on the counter, absently flipping through it.

When his door slid open, the naga lifted his head, expression bored for all of a moment. Then the stranger was giving him a weird look and spouting nonsense. Well played? What the fuck was he going on about? Frowning, he narrowed his eyes right back at the man, "What the fuck are you going on about? Fuckin' weirdo."

[Tally]

Nathan started out of his bewilderment.  Pedophilic snake man or not, there was business to be done.

"Yes.  Sorry about that. I'm a strange one, I know."  He took a step forward.  He wasn't especially scared of snakes, but to suddenly find a python across his path would have unsettled him.  So to now be faced with a giant snake was not just a little disconcerting.  How fast could this thing move?  It looked immense, like it would take forever to get into motion.

"Am I uh...disturbing something?" he asked, eyeing the open porno.  "I could come back later."

[Anonymous]

"What? Naw, I read these for the articles." Bhaskara gave a wide smile, which, when one had a mouth he could unhinge, he could have a very creepy smile, "Stay, stay. What can I do for you?"

The man looked like he might need both of his services. Though it was always a good idea to avoid assumptions about people. Leaning against the counter, the huge naga watched Nathan with a board expression, "What can I do for you?"

[Tally]

"Oh yeah.  So do I.  Articles, totally."  Nathan smiled back at Bhaskara...or tried to.  He was reeling a little from that eerie grin.

Come on, Beaumont.  Don't be a sissy.  You're here to deal.  He's not gonna eat you.

Which might have been true, but knowing that Bhaskara probably could have eaten him didn't help.  Nathan still hadn't moved from his spot right in front of the door.  It probably came across as weird, or rude.  Bhaskara had a strangeness to him, something beyond the enormous snake tail and tats.  Watching Bhaskara lean on the counter top, he realized what it was.  The naga's bottom half hadn't moved at all.  It had the same perfect stillness Nathan saw from snakes at the zoo.  Only his human torso had shown any real movement.

"Uh...oh yeah.  I'm due to cast off in a couple days.  Looking to line up some supplies."  He didn't yet bring up his other reason for coming here.  He preferred to know more about who he was dealing with first.

[Anonymous]

It was a little rude, but Bhaskara was used to people not wanting to get to close. He was unnerving to humans and he didn't really dislike that. It amused him mostly and he watched Nathan with his unblinking orange eyes.

Then let his forked tongue flick out.

"Well, you came to the right place. I have a lot of supplies. Cheap and good, what are you interested in?"

[Tally]

Every moment he stood there it seemed like he noticed something new and unnerving about Bhaskara.  His eyes hadn't blinked since he got here.  he was looking at snake's eyes in a human face and it just looked...off and—whoa, yeah, there was the tongue.  Should have seen that coming, Beaumont.  Didn't snakes sense things through their tongues?  Once again, something that was totally normal to see from an actual snake made him want to shiver when Bhaskara did it.

"That's what I hear."  Enough awkward standing at the door.  He picked his way around the potted plants and joined Bhaskara at the counter.  "I need supplies for six months at least.  We'll be out in the Umbrial Terra sector and I don't want to have sell my body for food out there."

[Anonymous]

Bhaskara's strange eyes flicked over Nathan's small frame, "I doubt you would get much for it." The naga shifted, an odd motion, his torso so much more flexible than a normal humans, "Well, what are you thinking? Protein bricks? Something a little nicer?"

Man, this one was fun. He didn't freak out, but Bhaskara could see his little twitches as he spoke. Just like a little bird or rabbit. Tasty.

[Tally]

"Har har.  All the more reason I need stock up now."  His new supplier was a comedian apparently.  Fantastic.  That wouldn't get old fast.  The things he put up with for a good deal.

"Little bit of both," he said.  He wasn't getting caught out there without the basics, but he had a new crew joining him now and they should have something nice.  Something to celebrate the good fortune before it dried up—as it inevitably would, and at the absolute worst time he was sure.

He caught himself staring at way the naga moved.  It was fascinating in a way.  He looked so human in so many ways that it only made it stand out more when you got a sense of just how different he was.  Fascinating, but not something he should be staring at.  Eyes on his face, Nathan.  Eyes on his face.  It would be awesome if he could not offend his supplier before they even made their first deal.

"And if you have any...discreetly obtained Aedolis code scramblers, I'll want to take a look at those, too."

[Anonymous]

"Aw, don't be so sad. I'm so nice, I'll tell you what. You can sell your body to me for some food." Bhaskara grinned that too wide smile of his, "But I think I have some things for you." It was cute, watching Nathan try so hard to not stare.

Some people just stared openly, others did that subtle, 'I'm-not-really-staring-but-oh-my-god-look-at-him' thing. Both were amusing and the naga was more than used to it. Reaching under the table, he pulled out an electronic pad and tapped a few keys before handing it to Nathan, "Scan through there. It's what I've got in stock right now. As for your other request...give me three days and I can have that for you. That wont be quite so cheap, but I know a guy, so it shouldn't be too much. Run you 250 credits."

[Tally]

"Or—that's—uh, I—I could also just pay you," he stammered.  Point for the naga.  Nathan prided himself on smooth and easy trade negotiations.  That had just flown out of the window, and now his imagination wanted to take the next step there and and wonder at the mechanics of that and—gah, yeah.  Stopping now.

Datapad!  That was what he should be thinking about.  Yes.  Nathan cleared his throat and scanned through the available products, marking the ones he wanted as well as the quantity.

"Two fifty for three days?  One fifty."

[Anonymous]

Bhaskara actually laughed out loud at Nathan's outburst. He couldn't help it, "No need to look so worried. Though, I'm guessing you've never been with a naga before. It's an experience. We're very...flexible."

This one was too easy. And obviously still cracking jokes, "One fifty? Are you kidding? Two twenty because you're just so cute."

[Tally]

He could have said something about how Bhaskara should apply that famous naga flexibility to the price.  He could have, but he didn't.  That was a bad segue, even for him.  He was relieved to be talking money though.  Familiar territory and all.

"For two twenty you should be able to get it done in one day, not three. Two hundred because you called me cute."

[Anonymous]

"Just cause I like how you flirt, I'll do two days for 200." Bhas grinned, teeth flashing at the other man. He was fun and Bhaskara enjoyed how uncomfortable he made him.

[Tally]

Not the best deal he'd ever struck, but considering Bhaskara had him at a disadvantage, it might be the best he could hope for here.  He didn't exactly have the luxury of time either.  They were on a schedule and who else would he find this manner of service on short notice?  Cancer was full of these types.  Finding them was easy, getting in good with them quite a different animal.  Worse for him, because pirates maintained a staggering array of contacts in places like Cancer, and pirates did not like him in the least.  He pissed too many of them off.

"You're robbing me but I'll take it."  He stuck his hand out to seal the deal.

[Anonymous]

Bhaskara shook Nathan's hand and smiled that too large smile of his, "I promise I'll let you do me next time." His tail came out from behind the counter and wrapped around Nathan, "Now, let's be friends. It's always good to get new clients and I would love to build up our...relationship."