Snoria City Slums - Bazaar - Eastern District
It was hard to keep a clear head in these parts. The cultivated langue within the bazaar's melting pot teemed of bargain bandits and hagglers. Buyers attacked vendors in droves. They shouted, pointed, and negotiated in a whirlwind of dialects, but despite the language barrier, they all seemed to understand each other - or at the very least, follow an unwritten protocol that didn't escalate to violence. It was like a gathering of thirsty animals, pushing to get their taste of the watering hole by scoring the sweetest deals they could find. Fifteen minutes ago, Luke was people watching from a distance, criticizing the whole fiasco and the drama that came with each business transaction. That was until he saw a Holovid vendor carrying one of his favorite TV shows of all time; a complete remastered VR collection of The Adventures of Astronaut Jones. The mother of all pearls.
It was a popular show in the rim about an over-the-top Astronaut that had the demeanor of an early 20th Century Earth male. He drank pina colodas and knew Space Fu, but always seemed to slap one alien in every episode, very hard in the face.Jones was also an anthropomorphic frog. Life in the rim was hard for an orphan, and Luke was no exception, but Astronaut Jones was the one constant in his life that provided a temporary escape from it all. In Luke's eyes, that piece of nostalgia warranted purchase - at a reasonable price.
"You must not be from here!" The vendor shouted, waving the large hard drive containing all of Astronaut Jones' wild adventures at Luke's face. "I can only cut down to 120 cred. 120 cred only!"
"Bullshit. You sold half that for The Live Free Die Tomorrow or The Day After collection to that Javi jargon-er. That shit is worth double what you're trying to sell me." Luke's 6'4" muscular frame towered over the little Snorian fellow, but the vendor wasn't intimidated in the least.
"120!" The vendor folded his arms. Out of nowhere, a ragged looking man with beady sunglasses squirmed into view and raised his hand.
"I'll buy it for 120!" He said.
"Like hell you are!" Luke elbowed the man out of the way, almost knocking the sunglasses off of his face. "I'll raise the bid by 10."
The vendor looked at the man, who shrugged and casually walked away. "Sold." The vendor flashed a jagged smile. Luke swiped the hard drive from the man's hands and handed over the Snorian currency. As he left, he looked back and noticed that the sunglasses guy reappeared in front of the vendor, who was now giving him a cut of Luke's payment.
"Oh you've gotta be shitting me." Just as Luke was about to stomp back over, he received a thought message from Captain Anson.
<Status check. All operators, update location and readiness.>
"Iceman, in the Bazaar. Eastern District. Ready to roll when you are, over." Luke gave one more look at the Holovid salesman. When they made eye contact, they both cracked a smile. "Touché, you rat bastard." Luke shook his head as he tucked the hard drive into the breast pocket of his blue leather jacket. It suddenly dawned on him that the copy he purchased could very well be a bootlegged version, or something else entirely. Should it come to that, then Luke Galbri will definitely repay the man a visit and slap the vendor as hard as Astronaut Jones would. He decided to stroll through the Eastern District's markets, listening in on the 7-5's dispatch while awaiting orders.
It was a popular show in the rim about an over-the-top Astronaut that had the demeanor of an early 20th Century Earth male. He drank pina colodas and knew Space Fu, but always seemed to slap one alien in every episode, very hard in the face.Jones was also an anthropomorphic frog. Life in the rim was hard for an orphan, and Luke was no exception, but Astronaut Jones was the one constant in his life that provided a temporary escape from it all. In Luke's eyes, that piece of nostalgia warranted purchase - at a reasonable price.
"You must not be from here!" The vendor shouted, waving the large hard drive containing all of Astronaut Jones' wild adventures at Luke's face. "I can only cut down to 120 cred. 120 cred only!"
"Bullshit. You sold half that for The Live Free Die Tomorrow or The Day After collection to that Javi jargon-er. That shit is worth double what you're trying to sell me." Luke's 6'4" muscular frame towered over the little Snorian fellow, but the vendor wasn't intimidated in the least.
"120!" The vendor folded his arms. Out of nowhere, a ragged looking man with beady sunglasses squirmed into view and raised his hand.
"I'll buy it for 120!" He said.
"Like hell you are!" Luke elbowed the man out of the way, almost knocking the sunglasses off of his face. "I'll raise the bid by 10."
The vendor looked at the man, who shrugged and casually walked away. "Sold." The vendor flashed a jagged smile. Luke swiped the hard drive from the man's hands and handed over the Snorian currency. As he left, he looked back and noticed that the sunglasses guy reappeared in front of the vendor, who was now giving him a cut of Luke's payment.
"Oh you've gotta be shitting me." Just as Luke was about to stomp back over, he received a thought message from Captain Anson.
<Status check. All operators, update location and readiness.>
"Iceman, in the Bazaar. Eastern District. Ready to roll when you are, over." Luke gave one more look at the Holovid salesman. When they made eye contact, they both cracked a smile. "Touché, you rat bastard." Luke shook his head as he tucked the hard drive into the breast pocket of his blue leather jacket. It suddenly dawned on him that the copy he purchased could very well be a bootlegged version, or something else entirely. Should it come to that, then Luke Galbri will definitely repay the man a visit and slap the vendor as hard as Astronaut Jones would. He decided to stroll through the Eastern District's markets, listening in on the 7-5's dispatch while awaiting orders.
