Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Forging the Future

Posted by Civilian Thyr Th’arialat (Resident) in Forging the Future

Posted by Civilian Jezem (Upstanding Citizen) in Forging the Future
Posted by… suppressed (14) by the Post Ghost! 👻

<snip>
At 0700 sharp, they arrived where Eryn had requested he meet with her.

~ Thyr

Eryn was leaned against a wall of a building, one leg bent with her foot flat to the wall. She was wearing leathereque pants, that carried far too many weapons, a short sleeved t-shirt that met the waist band but gave a hint of scarring beneath, and a utility belt hung low on her hips. Her white blonde hair was spikey from dampness, but drying in the brisk breeze. She spotted them the moment they arrived. Didn’t know anything about Jezem? HA! She of course had known Jezem and his husband had arrived on Oed, and there was no way Jezem didn’t know about ‘Thyr.’ Well this was going to be interesting. She supposed Jezem was going to give her a good warning, interrogation session and what not. She smirked.

Romanov

Jezem approached Eryn, dressed in his typical orion attire and no less armed. His weapons just happened to double as glittering, golden jewelry. ‘I hate that smirk’, Jezem thought, and let his irritation flash across his eyes. “It’s been a while, Eryn,” He said in a easy, lilting tone that didn’t match the coldness of his eyes. He won’t waste time posturing. She knew what he was capable of.

Jezem

Jezem of course wasn’t the only one armed past the teeth, and he of course also knew what she was capable of. Eryn wasn’t the least bit worried about it and her smirk turned into a grin. “Jezem, how unsurprising zo find you here.”

Shivan wore the expensive work clothes Jezem had purchased. He followed behind Jezem the same way he used to on Pavlajia: like the backup muscle. Except this time he was a pathetic nobody, and Jezem was… protecting him? What world were they in again? “0700. I came, as promised.” He commented. He shot Jezem a look as he added, “Somebody decided I’m too stupid to live. Or make deals for myself.” Not that he didn’t appreciate Jezem, but he did feel like it made him look even more pathetic than he already was.

~ Thyr

Eryn lifted a shoulder. Really she’d given Shivan more than enough money, and the excess Jezem had spent would be wasted and damaged in the work she was offering Shivan. That was between them though. “And as promised I have a job for you. A reputable, legal one. Shall we? Your guard dog can come along to ensure I don’t zhreaten you if he likes.” She waved behind her at the boarded up store front and then walked over to the door, pressed her palm to the control and the door swung out with a soft shnick of the lock.

Shivan had warned Jezem, repeatedly but Jezem had insisted. But the clothes Jezem had bought were high quality work clothes, meant to withstand heavy labor or dirty jobs. The hot metal though, that could damage them.

She entered before them, the area dark, “Zhis is zhe store front, design it as you see fit.” She moved toward the back, “Vatch your step, I’ll get the lights.” She moved toward the back and flipped the lights. The space was empty except for some empty display tables and built in shelves and lots of boxes. The area was marked from the back by a sturdy solid counter. “zhis vay.”

“Store front?” Shivan asked, and then made a face and groaned. “I’m not going to be like, an undercover store clerk, am I? I’m telling you, customer service isn’t really my thing.”

Eryn chuckled. “Undercover? No. Store clerk, vell zhat depends on vhat you vant to do.”

Moving past the counter into the back was a HUGE workshop. A blacksmith’s workshop. The whole back wall opened for fresh air and there was a chimney leading up and out from the forge through the ceiling. More boxes containing tools and materials were scattered around. “I remember you enjoy making veapons as vell as using zhem. If memory serves,” and of course it did, “you vere quite good. Zhere is a fully furnished apartment above zhe shop. Not as nice as zhe mansion Jezem lives in, but comfortable.”

Eryn

Shivan followed Eryn back further into the building. There was a large workshop, set up with materials, supplies, and equipment. Shivan recognized it immediately as a blacksmith’s workshop. It was almost too good to be true. “Your job for me is making weapons?” He asked, puzzled. “For who? You do remember I can’t be caught doing something illegal?”

~ Thyr

“Vepons, tools, parts, vhatever you vant. Legal sales and items. For who? Zhe customers zhat come to your shop requesting items. In exchange, after zhe first six months, you vill put income back every veek to repay your debt. And if you hear anyzhing suspicious you tell me. You do not question or investigate, simply pass on vhat you heard. You may hear zhings or you may not.”

Eryn

Shivan did not like this arrangement.... Well, he did, he would get to do what he liked, but he hated the catch. Most likely the kinds of suspicious things he’d be hearing would be the kinds of suspicious things he used to be involved in. “So I open up shop, run a weapons or metals business, pay you with the profits, and rat on people. And in exchange you don’t turn me in to the feds or the Syndicate.”

~ Shivan

“No Mr Thyr. You have broken no laws on Oed and despite my previous associations I vill not hand anyone over to zhe Syndicate. In exchange I pay off your non-syndicate debts and bank roll your shop.” Eryn shrugged, “As long as you stay legitimate, zhe local authorities vill have no reason to arrest you.”

Eryn

Shivan nodded. “Okay… I’ll do it.” He glanced around the workshop back back towards the storefront area, “It’ll be a while before I can open it. The store needs to be cleaned and I need time to make some things to start off with.” He glanced at Eryn, testing boundaries, “So… What happens if I happen to hear something I don’t mention?”

~ Thyr

Eryn shrugged. “Depends. If you mean something you know you should tell me. I pull a percentage of your funding for the month. You do something illegal I stop funding you, and you lose your lease on the shop.”

Eryn

Shivan nodded. “Okay.” He walked around the workshop, looking at some of the equipment as he walked by. “Anything else I should know about this arrangement? Oh, let’s go look at the apartment… Jezem’s kindness aside a place of my own isn’t a bad thing.”

~ Thyr

“Zhat if you do anything zhat harms zhis colony or zhe people, vell… you know my idea of vengence. Oh, and I am not babysitting you. I have left a comm in zhe apartment you can use to contact me. I vill be by every couple of veeks to see if you need anything.” Oh she knew Shivan would do something stupid, but this was low risk and put the space to good use. Eryn nodded to the stair way. “Up zhere. It is furnished, but you may change it if you like.”

Eryn

Shivan nodded. “‘Course I do.” It wasn’t as scary as the Syndicate’s idea of vengeance. He nodded, “So call if I have something to tell you, otherwise we go about our own business.” He headed to the stairway going up but paused at the bottom. “Cool. I probably won’t. Not much into interior design.”

~ Thyr

Eryn shrugged. It had the necessities and that was it. Shivan could do or not do. She waited down stairs while he looked around. When he returned she initiated the alarm system so he could set his biometrics and own security code to the building’s alarm system. “Zhe property is on lease. If zhere are any problems vith zhe physical building or maintenance needs contact Davivica Hayden-Smythe at Oed Realty Group and she vill arrange for it to be taken care of.”

“Vell, Thyr, good luck in your endeavors. I vill stop by in a couple veeks.” She turned toward the door, “Oh yes,” she held out a piece of actual paper. Written on it was an account number. “To jump start zhe business, funding. And vhatever personal items you might require until you start making a profit.” There was enough to get whatever he needed for two weeks but not so much that he could be reckless and burn through it. “I vill deposit more every two veeks.” Then she left.

Eryn

Jezem trailed behind the two, silent as the night. Though he fully intended to have it out with Miss Eryn. . . Shivan was his own man and didn’t need Jezem to fight his battles. Well, not all of his battles. The idiot got himself into the red with the Syndicate. Clearly he needed some guidance still. What Eryn promised wasn’t a bad deal in the grand scheme of things. Honest work with a legitimate shop would build Thyr’s identity and lend it more legitimacy. What crawled under Jezem’s skin and rotted was the fact that one of his own was indebted to someone else. To provide the cash for Shivan to get work clothes was one thing, but to give him his own home and bank accounts? Poison churned inside his stomach until bile swelled into his throat.

Once Eryn left he turned on Shivan, “You are not considering living here are you?” It sounded like an accusation. That wasn’t how things were done. Crewmates did not live on separate ships. If Jezem had the emotional intelligence to recognize what he was feeling it would have been called possessive. Jealous.

Jezem

Shivan cleared his throat awkwardly. “Uh, no. I’ll store things here. For the shop. Use it as a ‘you and Argam need alone fime’ crash pad.” The apartment was furnished, after all. “Wouldn’t it be safer for you if I did stay here?” Shivan asked him.

~ Thyr

That ugly coiling, poisonous feeling plunged into a simmer. Subtly, Jezem relaxed. “Idiot, you live on the other side of the house. There is an entire courtyard between you and Argam and I.” The Orion pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache coming on. “I know how to look out for myself, don’t worry so much about me.” It wasn’t an answer. Jezem wasn’t sure if he could or would give one. A part of him felt that the moment he left Shivan on his own the man would blunder into deeper trouble. “It would be smart to split your time between here and my home. What’s it the humans say ‘don’t put all your eggs into one basket?’.

“Then I’ll do that.” Shivan said. “I’ll be fine. Eryn… I expected worse from her. I’m keeping my eyes open in case she turns up with some other string for all this.”

“Use part of your earnings to set up a safe house. Somewhere only you know about and is stocked with enough supplies that you could lay low for a week. Keep a stash of trade goods there in case you need to jump ship.” Jezem just managed to keep his cool saying all that. Though he loathed to admit it, there may come a day where he couldn’t protect Shivan. Jezem scowled at the wall.

Jezem

Shivan nodded, “I was planning to. To set aside a few outs for myself. You really think I’d leave myself with no way out if this all goes sideways? Do you think that lowly of me?”

~ Thyr