failureisntachoice | Mask or Menance IC Contact Post

[ He's mostly just genuinely interested, having had combat armor himself. ]

In the sense that I find the topic fascinating? Yes.

What about you? Would you rather be in a robot body? Or one that can actually simulate feeling things and doesn't have everyone staring at you?

[ Staring here at least. At home it wasn't much of an issue. ]

[ He considers her question rather seriously. ]

I would miss eating. And wine. But not my bone structure. And what I wouldn't give to be tall ...

The bone structure part, I can see. [ She looks over his form and shrugs. ] Why do you care about being tall?

[ He shifts a bit, uncomfortable, though he forces his tone to stay light.]

Cuts a more impressive figure, for one.

[ She's watching him out of the corner of her eyes now, noticing his shifting. She didn't think his height would be this sensitive a topic. ]

There's perks to being the underdog. For one, no one expects you to take them out. Somehow you made it to the head of a mercenary fleet, or were you making that up?

[ Physicality always is, with Miles. Whether he's stubbornly ignoring it or at the mercy of its rules ... Miles can never forget the body he's in. ]

Ha ... you are correct, at that. For both. I am truly a mercenary fleet admiral.

Think you would have done that if you were in a hulking suit of armor?

Probably not. But then again, I wouldn't even have been in that situation to begin with.

[ He'd have passed his entrance exam, for starters. ]

You never did tell me how you ended up with a fleet that large.

[ She turns more towards him, making it more obvious she's watching him expectantly as she tops off her glass. ]

[ Aha. Should he spin a lie to make himself sound fantastic? Alas, as tempting as the thought may be, he'd rather stick with the truth. ]

Trickery, mostly. I started off with three crew and a jump pilot. Ended with the entire Oseran Free Mercenary Fleet.

[ She stares at him long and hard trying to determine whether or not he's pulling that out of his ass. The story sounds like a load of shit, but the way he says it... ]

And how the hell did that work?

Our first job was an arms-smuggling deal. We encountered resistance - the Oserans were part of the blockade to prevent us from getting through. We took them by surprise, And then, I convinced them to join me.

You convinced a fleet of mercenaries to join you? [ With a crew of three and a pilot. How. ]

They could have just taken your cargo and made their own profit.

They could have, but they didn't think of it. I had them fooled - pretended to be from a larger outfit, with rules and uniforms and everything. So we used them as leverage against a capital ship, and from there a space station, and from there the entire blockade.

[ The story sounds so outrageous she actually believes he's telling the truth. She snickers and reaches for one of the blintzes. ]

You make it sound so easy. Is that how you plan to build up an army here? By walking around like the Pied Piper with fake regs and matching outfits? You had to pay them sometime.

Oh, I did. It's much easier to do so if you win, after all.

How are you going to do a repeat performance here? There's nothing to win that pays out.

[ Yet anyway. She's be annoyed at the government ever since she learned they don't pay out extra for any imPort help. ]

... I admit I'm not sure. But - there must be something. We must only build up enough forward momentum to reach it.

You're going to have to hit the ground running then.

[ Or has he already been doing that? She finishes off her blintz and glances over at his little lean-to. She's not sure how much business should really be talked about on something considered a date. ] So, do you have anything hiding in there?

[ Miles doesn't mind, anyway; it's all one and the same to him, as deep in his cover as he is. ]

A few extra snacks?

[ She looks at the lean-to with doubt. ]

That's all? No fireworks or sparklers hidden in there?

[ Miles laughs a little at that. ]

Alas, I wish I had now.

Would have looked good over the water. [ Wine in one hand, she adjusts herself so she's leaning towards him. ]

We could go out and find a few. After we finish eating. [ How hard could it be? ]

[ Ah. He can't help but swallow a bit at that, leaning in as well. ]

Finish off tonight by blowing something up?

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