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#Miner'sRespite – September 10, 2015
Jason is seated at the Respite with a drink sat in front of him. Still quite uncomfortable with his arms, he's wearing a long sleeved white shirt to cover them as best as he can. Aside from that, however, he's dressed as usual. Black fatigues, black boots and a shoulder holster containing his Phalanx.
Vasili walks in through the front door, wearing his regular flight-suit zipped all the way up, a backwards cap, and his pilot's headset around his neck. He scratches his growing beard as he approaches the bar and sits down. The russian pilot flags down the bar tender and orders a beer. Upon recieving the cold beverage, he takes a long sip and sighs quietly in content. Vas glances around
the bar, his eyes hidden behind aviator sunglasses, then his gaze lands on Jason. Specifically, his robotic hands. He smirks and looks over the bar. "You must be Wolfe." he says, his accent rather thick.
Jason raises an eyebrow and glances to the side, studying the man for a moment. "I must?" he asks, "And why is that?" He takes a quick sip of his drink and sets the glass back down.
Vasili nods over at him. "The hands." he says. "Victoria Steels mentioned you had extensive cybernetics." he takes another swig of his beer. "You aren't a man whose time I want to waste, so I'll make this quick. My name is Vasili Kasharin, and I am a pilot/uav operator, and I'm looking for work." He takes his eyes off the bottles behind the bar and looks over to Jason. "I am a specialist
in construction/surveying, transportation, and recon. I have my own craft with light combat capabilities, and I would like to extend my services to Red Rock." He looks away again. "I've been checking out your operations recently, doing my research. I'm impressed."
Vasili takes out a little projector and sets it to show his craft. "My bird's specs are readily available to my clients, should you need them."
Jason glances down at his hands, opening and closing his fists a few times as he listens to the man speak. Feeling a bit more self conscious about his cybernetics now that it's been openly stated, he absently tugs at the sleeves of his shirt, pulling them down a bit more over his wrists. " Guessing if you've been checking us out then you know we recently hit a rough patch." he says,
returning his hand back to his glass. He gives a quick glance over at the projector, but without understanding any of the intricacies of that sort of thing, is unable to assess whether or not it's impressive. "So... What sort of construction are we talking?" he asks, "And how many does the aircraft seat?"
Vasili looks over and taps the projector, showing a cut-away. "The crew bay seats 6, mofified to allow heavy gear, while leaving leg-room, plus one co-pilot. I can fly her myself, but an extra pair of eyes is always nice." he projects a small simulation. "In terms of construction, my ship has surveying equipment to detect faults, gradients, all that technical stuff, along with a carry
capacity of 20 tonnes, all of which can be moved with precision. As for my technical skills, I've dabbled in engineering, and have an electrical qualification." He swigs his beer. "I know about the rough patch. You were attacked recently. Which is why my first time prices are... negotiable."
Jason watches the man as he goes through a checklist of his vehicle's capabilities, not particularly paying attention to the specifics, but he nods along. "Right. So it sounds to me like you're looking for a little freelance work through our agency rather than signing on with us directly...?" he asks, bringing his glass to his lips again to take another swig.
Vasili nods. "That is correct. I am a contractor." he says, looking back over the bar. "Loyalty is not an issue. I cannot and will not take contracts against my own clients." The russian takes a swig of his beer. "Bad for business. My costs are relatively low, I only need enough to cover my costs and to fill my stomach." He looks over again. "Of course, my prices drop significantly if
Red Rock has a hanger and is willing to let me stash my ship there. Parking isn't cheap around here."
Jason gives a few nods. "We might be able to work something out if I find a need for some recon or overwatch. Obviously I couldn't match the wages of my own employees, otherwise they'd have no reason to keep working for me if I pay the outside help more." he snickers with a smirk, "But I'm sure we could come to a reasonable agreement. As for sharing storage-..." he gives a slight
shake of his head, "...If there's one thing I know too much about, it's getting dragged in to other people's problems. I understand how the 'private contractor' business works. I know it makes you a lot of enemies, and I can't particularly say I'm ready to just throw my chips in with a man I just met. You wanna fly solo, I can respect that." he nods, "But I'd prefer if we just stick to
Vasili gives Jason a small wave and shakes his head. "Don't worry about it, I have a place to stash it. It just means I can't give you the cheapest possible introductory rates." he explains. "But I am a simple man, I have no need for expensive luxuries. I am not in this industry to get rich." Besides, most of his accounts are probably being watched. "My problems will stay with me, and
lucky for us both, I have very little problems." he smiles at the man, turning his head to look at him. "No offense taken, Wolfe." He activates another sim on his projector. "I should let you know, if I'm needed in the field I will be mostly providing recon. I'm not a full combatant, even with combat capabilities." He flicks a button to simulate the ship dropping three different uav
drones. "My uavs have support capabilities. The only thing not covered in my initial price is this one." he points at the bigger one. "This one has offensive capabilities, but that will cost extra." He slips the projector into this pocket. "You're mercs. When it comes to combat personel, I've found transparency the best way to secure a client. And not get a bullet to the brain."
Jason gives a slight chuckle at the man's openness. "Fair enough." He gives a nod at the hologram, directing his attention back to it, "What sort of damage are we talking about?" he asks as he takes another sip of his drink.
Vasili prods the projector again after taking the controller back out of his pocket. "The UAVs or the ship itself? The ship has a dual mountain machinegun, but nothing more. Just for self-defense or light suppression, nothing more. The ship is loaded with stealth and shielding, so I rarely need to use it." He zooms in on the UAVs. As for these... First one is recon, gets into tighter
spaces than my ship can handle, faster too. Doesn't have the same amount of capabilities, but it'll get the job done. Second, evasion. Loaded with chaff and ECM drives. Simple." Finally, he zooms in on the last. "This is the one that costs extra. Capable of high speed air strikes, loaded with 2 fire-and-forget APHE rockets, capable of destroying up to medium grade armour. They're...
expensive, and not exactly easy to get my hands on. Hence the extra price." he explains. "I don't like using it. Finding the rockets raises flags in places I'd rather they wouldn't."
Jason once again listens as the man goes over what he's offering. "Alright, so recon, surveillance, and if we really need to bring the boom." he recounts. "And what about the range on 'em? How far out can they go for recon purposes?" he asks, his eyes studying the hologram. "There's no denying the value in knowing what we're going up against before we walk face-first into it, but
Vasili pauses for a moment, scratching his beard. "The UAVs' fuel cells can transport them up to... two hundred kilometers from the home-ship before turning back, but that's in perfect flight conditions. They recharge on board and can be re-deployed. As for my ship, the best results will be around the target location, approximately ten-thousand feet ATL, at that range the stealth
systems will fool most sensors." He leans back a little, thinking. "It'd be easy to send out the recon uav to quick-scout an area, find obvious targets of oppurtunity, maybe get some thermal imaging done. Once I'm convinced there's no immediate threat to me and my ship, I'd move in to get the details."
Jason leans back on his stool, nodding a few times. "Sounds to me like you know your shit..." he admits. A few silent moments pass before Jason finally gives a shrug, "Alright, color me impressed. I can't guarantee you work, but pass over a way for me to get in touch with you and I'll definitely keep you in mind if something comes up. I assume you're available on short notice...?"
Vasili opens his omnitool and transfers his details across, easy as can be. "I am." he says. "If I'm not, I will let you know, but right now I have no clients. My time is spent here or in the air already." He smiles at Jason. "Thank you for the oppurtunity, Wolfe."
Jason reaches into the cargo pocket on the side of his pants to fish out his omni-tool. It takes him an abnormally long time, causing his face to contort into an expression of discomfort. He tears his gaze from Vasili, not particularly wanting to be judged right now. A few more moments pass before he manages to pull his omni-tool free from his pocket and start up the holographic
interface. "Absolutely." he finally says, reading over the interface to skim the details and to give him a reason to avoid eye contact after his embarassing display of manual dexterity, "Look forward to seeing those bad boys in action."
Vasili doesn't seem to look at Jason's hands at all while he fishes it out. Infact, he looks over the bar again to give Jason at least a little privacy, but most importantly he doesn't judge whatsoever. He looks back and smile. "Mm, I look forward to working with you." He scratches his beard once more. "I should let you know, I can drop off troops into hot zones, but I'd need covering
Jason finishes up on his omni-tool, causing the interface to dissipate. Rather than going through the process of returning the device to his pocket, he sets it beside his drink atop the counter. "Absolutely. Two, in fact." he says, finally returning to face the man, "Suppose their skillsets cast a bit of a wider net than that, but they can get the job done."
Vasili nods with a smile. "Then I can taxi troops before going recon. You sir, have a pilot whenever you need him." he says, then waves the bartender down. "Two shots, vodka, your finest." he says. As the bartender returns, he passes it to Jason. "Nostrovia, chuvak. To our future co-operation."
Jason gladly accepts the shot, visibly perking up as the shotglass is passed to him. "To blowing a whole lot of shit up." he adds before slugging back the shot and setting the shotglass back down. He lets out a pleased sigh as he savors the burn. He gives the empty shot glass a once-over, deciding he's probably going to like this guy. Free shots, useful, and blows shit up? The start
of a beautiful thing. "So... When did you arrive in Freedom Falls, Vasili?" he asks, "Can't imagine you've been here long if you're just seeking us out now."
Vasili downs the shot and grins, enjoying the dry burn down his throat. That's something he's missed from the old country. "To finding the shit to blow up." he says before laughing lightly. He sits back and picks up his beer bottle again. "Its been... about four days, give or take. I've been looking for you for about three of them, but as I understand it, you were... occupied elsewhere.
No matter." He sits forward again. "I've still got a week's worth of creds before I need to start sleeping in my ship in the middle of nowhere. I'm not worried."
Jason tenses up a bit at the mention of being occupied. "Yeah, a lot of work to handle right now." he says, giving any excuse he can to keep from admitting he was cooped up in a hospital bed, "This is a safe bet, though." he continues, tapping a finger against the counter. "I always find my way back here. So, you have a few other potential clients lined up, I take it?" he asks, making
Vasili shrugs before taking a swig of his beer. "Construction on the east side of town's crane is all fucked up. We're organising a small operation there, they still need to get back to my. The independant mining rigs need equipment transported up north too. That's it for now, both are looking to be a one-time thing. Carrying stuff." He sighs. "Kind of boring."
Jason lifts his shoulders, giving a shrug in turn. "Still. Gotta do what you gotta do. At least you've got the versatility to pick up odds and ends jobs fairly steadily, I'd imagine."
Vasili smirks and nods. "Mm, I'm keeping my eyes open." he says. "If you find something, let me know, eh? I can't look everywhere at once." He has another swig of his beer. "How about you? You starting to get the hang of your augmentations?" he asks. "I've heard they're tough to get used to." He gives a little shrug. "Don't mean to pry, of course."
Jason winces slightly, glancing down at his hands once more. "It's coming along." he sighs, "Word gets out, huh?" He raises his head and takes a swig of his own drink, looking down into the glass for a moment before settling it back down, "Not a lot of time to sit around and wait, unfortunately. In this line of work, you either adapt, or you fall." He lifts his hand up, rotating his
wrist as he inspects the new limb, "So... I'm adapting. But yeah, I'll keep an eye out for you. I'll pass your details along if I come across someone that could put you to good use."
Vasili smiles and nods. "Mmm, idle hands are the devil's play things, my father always said. Always need to keep busy." he says and drains the last of his beer. "Keep at it, from the looks of it, you're doing well, chuvak." He leans on the bar a little, scratching his stubbly beard. "And thank you. Just... don't give them to anyone affiliated with Earth authoritarian types, eh?"
Jason shakes his head and puts his hand up. "I don't wanna know." he says with a short chuckle, "Like I said, I've learned my lesson about getting caught up in other peoples' business far too many times to count. I'll make sure to play it close to the chest." he agrees, setting his hand back down with a nod.
Vasili nods and sits back once again. "Then we are on the same page. Good." he says, then stands. "Well, I have to see about getting something to eat. Its good to meet you, Wolfe." He offers his hand to shake. "I look forward to hearing from you.
Jason cautiously reaches out to take the man's hand, careful to avoid crushing it. Control is still a bit of an issue. After giving a firm shake, he retracts his hand and leans an elbow against the counter. "You take care of yourself out there."
Vasili shakes the hand firmly, then begins walking towards the door. "You too, Wolfe." he says, then scratches his chin once again. "Hmmm... pizza again? ...eh, why not." and with that, he leaves the Respite, rather content.
Jason remains at the bar for a bit having a few more drinks, much to the dismay of Halisi, were she ever to find out.