Thank you! I can’t wait to see what’s next on the other side of the door. 
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The communicator chimed insistently as Descartes struggled with the waste disposal chute. Exasperated, he bounded across the great room and slapped the portal open.
A pair of mech-suited aliens of a species he didn’t know where there, along with a small transport full of new furniture and parts.
“Ahh, come right in”, he said, activating his translator.
They waved acknowledgement and began to unload tables, chairs, and high-backed bar stools. Descartes was hoping to be a good host, and so he accommodated those with all manner of preferences. He walked around the great room as they put in the furniture, and he fussed over the small details. Quite a few of the pieces were new, but some had seen their share of barroom antics.
When then were finished unloading the transport, one of them strode forward with a purchase tab for him to authorize. Descartes authorized another piece of his meager savings, and waved the efficient movers out.
Now for a few shipments of intoxicants and relaxants, and I’ll be ready to open, he thought as he surveyed the nearly comfortable looking room.
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Love this character! I think she deserves her own thread.
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I don’t understand. I thought I’m supposed to put stuff here and role play the story with Descartes. I never did forum roleplaying before. I want to do it right. How do you do it right?
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You’re doing great! This post is just more of an introduction post for your character, and therefore deserves her own thread where you can go into all the details about her.
Others will want to interact with Syrene too!
Popping in and out of threads (and linking) is a great way to interact with everyone, but it helps when each character has their own main collection where they are the star.
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Oh, okay!
I’ll go ahead and fix all that! Thanks! 
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Hear, hear. I’m very interested in hearing more about this planet that @Descartes and @Libbie are working to populate together.
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Jrak continues their waddling through the wet streets, glancing up and down from their datapad until they find themselves standing before the worn down sign with its flickering B. This makes them pause, making sure they were looking at the correct establishment first. Jrak pops his lips, the always slight smile on his resting face - a trait of his species - pressing into a thin line.
Knowing they likely couldn’t get much for the shipment, Jrak was about to turn before they let out another pop of agitation turning to amusement, their frilly gills fanning slightly in the oxygel respirator before settling again almost like dreadlocks - pinned by the clear tanks of the apparatus. Why was Jrak even bothered by how much this person could pay. As long as they tried, it would satisfy the insurance requirements and they could start looking for the next jump. Jrak came up to the establishment door, inspecting it for a moment to determine where the communicator was before pressing a splayed hand against it to signal the occupants inside.
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When Descartes heard the door chime again, he set down his tablet and trotted over to the front portal. He hoped the visitor wasn’t thirsty, because he had no libations to sell them. Yet.
Waiting at the door was a species he was unfamiliar with, but they seemed friendly enough. Apparently, they were keen to offload a wide variety of intoxicants and mildly narcotic beverages. Just the sort of thing he needed, and so he invited the trader in, and showed off his new aquatic room while they negotiated the deal. He needed a fairly full supply, and the price was more than fair.
Reclining by the aquatic pool with his new friend, Descartes felt a weight lift. This just might turn out.
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Delightful! Jrak was quite pleased by this venture, especially considering this entrepreneur had kitted his establishment with such lovely amenities. They took the time to remove some of the light exosuit they wore to keep their skin moist, dipping in the pool. Water was always a better feeling than the efficient hydration liquid the exosuit rolled around them. Jrak explained the situation to @Descartes, showing him the bills of lading on their datapad.
“I will make you an offer, and it will be more than fair. For me, it is already a loss - a big price or a small price, I will not make any more. I think you will find this deal well?”
The amphibian creature touches a few rubbery fingers against the datapad, and turns it back towards Descartes. It was an extremely good bargain, honestly, if he had the credits to settle it.
“I can move the shipments, I have antigravity sleds, however that will be a separate deal with me for my time. You seem like a good person, and I am simply a cargo pilot - not a conglomerate, so I will not take your hide for this. I am pleased to have been your fortune.”
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Descartes looked over the terms of the deal, pursing his lips and slightly tugging on his moustaches as he read.
“Excellent deal, my friend. I agree to your terms, and appreciate the assistance with unloading. Will you be returning to this planet often?”
He watched them casually, wondering what the tell was on this species, without wishing to offend them. You never could be too sure when you could make a good price by way of repeat business.
One thing was sure, all that was left now was to get that blasted sign fixed.
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Jrak waves one of their small arms, the splayed hand waggling. “I come and go. This area has been getting good spot-work, jump contracts, so it is a common place for me. I have been here already four times in the last three months. Perhaps more, soon, I have heard there is a Manufactory being built near this port - and like larvae they are always hungry. It is good money.”
They pop their lips, “We will set up a deal for the unloading service? If you are slim on credits, I will take barter or service. My people know the value of having a connection in distant places.”
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Happy to come to terms, Descartes proposed a mixture of reduced cost stays and solid credits, and passed the sealed tablet back to the merchant. With any luck, he would be receiving regular customers within a few days.
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Jrak reviewed the terms of the lumping deal, and nods approvingly, their gills fanning out slightly in their respirator. Having a place to stay on the off-times would be nice, especially if the industrial sector on this planet does kick off. They pat the datapad and pull themselves out of the pool, starting to put on their hydration suit again.
“I will come within the hour to settle the unloading. Here, I give this to you as well in case you look to order more things. I know distributors, and it will be good to have more clients. I am competitive with the logistics megaconglomerates, much to their dismay.”
Jrak pulls a small translucent chip from a pocket of the suit, handing it over to @Descartes. It’s something he’s seen before, a ship business card or calling card of sorts, with the ID of the ship for intraspace communications. They would then begin to waddle out, so they can retrieve the new bar-owner’s goods.
“The bills can be signed and the payment processed on my return.”
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First
Second
Third
Visit from Jrak
Descartes leaned back in a working hoverchair letting the slight thrumming of the motivator work wonders on the drink that had gone down into his overcomplicated and overwrought digestion. His new friend had delivered as promised, the price had been good, and days of hard labor were behind him.
He relaxed for a few moments with both sets of eyelids closed, and then stood. Descartes strode to the front portal, keyed it open, and then took a deep breath before activating the sign from the newly repaired panel by the entry.
The Blown Valve illuminated to a bright, argon and mercury blue, now steady and proofed against the constant mist that filled the streets of this working-class area near the heavy pads. The deep rumble of a ship launching just a little ways off reminded
Descartes of better times and better fortunes, of life with a forcefield and tether as your only protection.
He returned the supple nod of a saurian passing by, and breathed in the unfiltered smell of kerosene and plasma coming off the spaceport and then went back into the comfortably lit bar.
Now Open
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A handful of patrons sat in the newly renovated bar, gambling and arguing around an augmented reality table game. One of the better players was being accused of cheating on account of having four stomachs. Descartes hadn’t yet tackled the food production facilities in the rear of the bar - that was a mess of permits and costs outside of his current interest. This Rockets and Reptiles fight was getting a bit out of hand though…
Descartes brought up a comm link to a local all-night pizza joint he’d spotted on his errands. He walked over to the game table, and asked the motley crew of freighters and dock workers for their preferred toppings, conveyed it to the polite automated pizza agent, and closed the channel. A few credits spent, but he’d surely make it back in beverages soon.
The crowd launched into a new round, tiny barely flickering drones appeared above the table in a cluster around the large capital ships, and a great space battle was once again joined.
Scarcely any time later, a mech-suited artificial intelligence strolled through the door with a tall stack of the good stuff. The hungry and inebriated patrons fell to the pizza like a half-starved deep space crew and Descartes settled up with the delivery driver.
He was never quite comfortable around sentient software. He wasn’t entirely sure how to treat a being (?) that was composed entirely of data and seemed to exist only by force of will. Did they have an existence outside of their robotic suits? What did they think of programs like the ones used to answer phones, or tally up his taxes? This one was very polite, so he gave a perhaps outsized delivery bonus.
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Captain Danzig Intro
@Descartes
The cumbersome exoskeleton halted and executed an awkward turn in front of the illuminated gas-filled tubes that spelled out The Blown Valve. Excessive condensation was beading off every exposed surface and the ground was over 1.752 units deep in a highly complex solution composed of living and nonliving organisms and dozens of elements. It was also moderately adhesive.
▲▽◀▽△▶▼▼ activated the door notification system, and patiently ran a spectral analysis on the sign. Patience was required when dealing with carbon life forms, even though their entire span of existence was a fraction of the operational life of even a single core module. It was difficult to comprehend how little they valued the time they wasted.
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Descartes looked up from his inventory, surprised by the chime. It was over an hour before he was due to open, and he was expecting the miserable weather to put a serious damper on his night’s business. The door viewer showed a huge hulking mech with a small interstellar cargo container held in front of it. His interest was piqued, and he palmed the portal open.
“Welcome to the Blown Valve”, he said.
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