Chaos_Dragon

I don't care that this was probably the least healthy meal you'll find outside of an auto-parts store; it was delicious. ^_^

@rosso:

Though his outwardly cavalier manner did not waver, he was mildly surprised; he hadn't expected her to take his offer seriously, given her apparent dissatisfaction with the difficulty of this transaction. This might be easier than I thought.

Reaching into his belt pouch, he withdrew a small, metallic sphere and tossed it in turn to Val. The sphere would seem almost unnaturally cold to the touch, and its surface presented no apparent flaws. "Just give that beacon a drop of blood and leave it someplace open," he explained. "It'll let me know you're looking to make a purchase."

With no further explanation, he took a single step backwards into a tear in the fabric of space that appeared mid-stride and swallowed his figure before resealing just as quickly.

@rosso:

Smirking, he resumed his desultory manner, crossing his arms and resting his weight on one leg. It was ever a ruse with him, of course, his twitchy cybernetic reflexes were always ready to explode into violence. Perhaps too ready, some of his superiors seemed to think, although Kallak made a point of ignoring them.

Not really seeing how this could bite her, eh? She's clearly never had a date with an offworlder; spend enough time in the interstellar scene and you'll be finding teeth in the damnedest places... "Oh, it can be a power suppressant, at need," he responded as Val finished her explanation, "but I won't ruin the surprise. Once your brain trust starts poking at it, I'm sure you'll see the potential."

He held up the small vial, casually flipping open the top with his thumb. He then held the thumb over the aperture, and the flesh of that digit seemed to shimmer and liquefy briefly, flowing into the small container. Once the vial was filled, he quickly snapped it shut. His thumb looked no different, but the "flesh" that had flowed into the vial was now a dark, metallic hue, and it seemed as though it was active, spreading around its new prison systematically, as though analyzing it.

"Enjoy." He casually tossed the vial Val's way. "Shit favor or not, looks like you're walking away with what you came for. Pleasure doing business. Let me know if you ever want a real taste of what's available, out there." he jerked his thumb in the general direction of the sky.

@rosso:

His gambit seemed to pay off, and by all appearances his buyer had interpreted his little display correctly: he was here for business, not pleasure. All bluster aside though, her counter-offer was intriguing; he certainly returned Xi's antipathy, and he was beginning to suspect that the huntress had set up this meaning because she calculated that one of them wouldn't have walked away from it.

"I'm gonna pass on hunting the huntress," he replied, his blade spinning in his hand and resuming its home in its sheath with that delightful hiss of metal on synthleather. "Couldn't tell you where she's gotten to even if I wanted to; and finding her when she doesn't want to be found ain't worth my time. Tell you what, though, if you've got nothing of sufficient material value, how 'bout a little compromise?"

He reached into one of his belt pouches, and produced a tiny, empty vial. "I'll give you this much of your 'cure' in exchange for some information. I want to know what your history with Xiandra is, and what you plan to do with the sample. I'm willing to bet that intel's worth a bit to the right bunch."

@rosso:

Sonova-

The cyborg instinctively threw up an arm to shield his organic eye from the flashbang that unexpectedly ended the verbal stage of negotiations. He briefly mused that perhaps his fellow Ephemeran, who had never hidden her contempt for him, had finally decided to attempt to off him. As he felt the impact of the bullets, however, he realized that, had this been the case, his assassin would have been better informed. Once, such projectiles would have posed a serious threat; these days, not so much.

That said, physics was still physics. The impact of the shots knocked him flat on his back. The necrotite that infused his body responded immediately, and the flesh around the wounds would seem to shimmer, as though it was more liquid than solid, as the damaged tissues were swiftly repaired. He leapt back to his feet, timing it so he could catch the last bullet as it was ejected from his body, which he tossed back at Val.

"See?" His manner was desultory, even as his free hand closed on the hilt of his blade. "This look like some kind of power suppressing 'cure' to you?" Without waiting for a response, he was suddenly in motion, his sword flashing from his sheath and swirling in an arc designed to bisect the barrel of Val's firearm. There was no salvaging a deal when one party was dead, after all.

@rosso:

Kallak's grin broke into open laughter at this point. "It actually worked, didn't it? You terrans actually think this is some kind of miracle cure." With an exaggerated effort, he regained his composure. "Alright, look...here's the deal: if you actually got your hands on this 'cure,' you'd get why I've got no interest in investing in anything going down on this planet. I mean, you saw what happened at that one city of yours, Euthanasia or whatever, right? Your planet's on the greater cosmic radar now, sweetheart; there's players who'd make your pretty head spin making moves on it even as we speak. I'm more than happy to give you what you think you're after, but I need something of value that I can take with me, off this planet, now."

@rosso:

Well, she's not a complete idiot, at least...

Kallak's grin widened. He enjoyed the back-and-forth negotiation of deal-making almost as much as he enjoyed straightforward combat. It was something about the matching of skill, probably. Or maybe the fact that both benefited from fighting dirty.

"Money? I'm not interested in whatever seashells or beads you use for currency on this planet; I need something I can spend anywhere: rare gemstones, precious metals, weapons, tech...although I don't think you're going to have much of that last to offer, either. But if you wanna play it that way, I'm game. I can get you an ounce of the 'cure' for a kilo of vibranium, or something of comparable value."

Yeah, that's what the last guy said.

Gotta focus on those silver linings. ^_^

@rosso:

"Cure?"

The cyborg seemed momentarily taken aback, before the realization of what was seeking hit him. A wide grin split his scarred features, and he allowed himself a hearty and not at all pleasant laugh. "Ah, right...that's what they're calling it here. Forgot that it was this planet."

He cocked his head, now fully appraising Val with his mechanical orb. "Depends on what you're offering. Last I heard, they were passing the stuff out free at clinics, so I'm guessing you want it for some other reason than killing an inconvenient power. That bein' the case, I'm pretty much the only source who's offering it up without a fight. Tell me what ya got, and I'll tell ya how much it's worth."