Welcome to Gaia! ::

A new office recently opened on the first floor. Seems we were getting quite a few walk ins that had no clue where to go.

Architects fault, not my companies.

So I set up this walk in office where you can place orders. Now normally shipping takes some time, but for the right price or with the right connections A~E can hook you up. Not saying that we commit seedy dealing like that, but we do. I'm bad at not saying things.

'Nother neat thing is they can get you an almost immediate meeting with Lester if you want to talk about... Big weapons.

((Gonna break my own rule and describe something OOC:







Pretty much if you need Lester drop me a PM or post in the OOC thread. I'll get you set up when I'm on. Which is too often.))

Freddy watched Ryoko for a little while before responding. "Okay."

Ryoko sighed impatiently at the young man. "So, do you have any recommendations, or...?"

"One of 'em big katanas, right?" To this, Ryoko nodded. "Yeah, those are real popular. Half the people in Gaia use those; we got a pretty big selection." Leaning forward, he finally put his newspaper down.

"So, lady," Freddy continued, his elbows resting heavily on the glass countertop, "What's yer price range?"

Freddy was rudely roused from his newspaper a second time as Ryoko called for him.

"Hey, you got any swords that don't suck?"

Rolling his eyes at the feisty customer, he shot back, "You got any money?"

"Tch." Ryoko drew a katana- the most expensive of the bunch at an even 30,000 gold- and gave it an experimental swing. Frowning as the blade rattled slightly in the hilt, she resheathed it and returned it to the pile. "The companies making this s**t can't be turning a profit."

Turning abruptly, she returned to the counter. "Okay, I get your point. Katana are overused, and the demand drives up prices on decent blades. That it?"

Freddy shrugged.

Ryoko sighed again, this time in exasperation. "Well then, could I get a longsword?"

"Yeah, 'cuz that's much better." Freddy's voice deepened into a tone of mocking sarcasm. "Listen, lady, you need to think outside the box. Your basic European longsword is still one of the top ten popular sword categories, right up there with your katana, and your b*****d swords."

Leaning in so that her face was inches from Freddy's, Ryoko's eyes flared dangerously. "I've had a very bad day. Why don't you just cut to the point?"

Backing off, Freddy said, "Alright, alright. No need to get PMS-y." Ryoko's stare remained on him. "Fine, I think I got what you need in stock..."

With that, Freddy disappeared into a room behind the counter. Sighing once more, Ryoko returned to a proper upright position and waited impatiently, her fists resting on her hips.

Quickly swallowing her annoyance, Ryoko turned to see Daniel. Smiling back, she replied, "Surprised to see you up and kicking. Afterlife treat you well?"

At that moment, Freddy returned from the back, carrying a roughly 3-foot-long bundle in his arms. Seeing Daniel, he sent a greeting in the form of a nod, not even bothering to make sure Daniel was actually facing the young man.

Setting the bundle down, he quickly unwrapped it. It was a beautiful sword, if nothing else but for its sheer simplicity. The hilt, steel and wrapped in shining black leather, was narrow and curved at the end into a little forward-pointing nob. Far shorter than the hilt of her old nodachi, it could barely accomodate the grip of two hands. It featured a cross-guard, the same silvery-steel color, and it was sheathed in a blue-tinted metal sheath with two loops that connected to a strap, also made of polished-black leather. The shape of the blade was a wicked curve, roughly twenty degrees from the hilt, and it had the same width of your average saber.

Ryoko whistled lowly. At two-and-three-quarters feet, the blade lacked the length that she was accustomed too, but the whole thing had a straight-forward feel to it that she could appreciate.

"May I?"

Freddy nodded, beaming with pride. "Nice, huh?"

"I did, but then I somehow ended up at the library with you." She took a look at her exposed arms, which still bore some light scarring from the ice needles. "Looks like somebody healed us while we were out."

Taking hardly a glance at Daniel's pistol, Freddy turned around and grabbed a kit from a shelf behind the counter and tossed it down next to the firearm. The box was labelled "High Quality Generic Gun Care Kit."

"That's two thousand gold," he said in a monotone voice, now standing behind the register. "Anything else?"

As Freddy's attention was on Daniel, Ryoko picked the sword off of the counter and drew it with a metallic shnnng. The sheath transmitted the vibrations of the draw directly to her hands, something she wasn't accustomed to after years of using a wooden sheath, but the quality of the blade made up for the trifling annoyance. Cleaned to have a mirror-like reflection, the blade was razor-sharp and light-weight. Clanging the spine against the sheath experimentally, Ryoko nodded. By no means was it a three-thousand-times folded blade of Japanese legend, but the machine-pressed weapon was at least sturdy enough to take a few blows. Looking at the blade a second time, she noticed the emblem A~E engraved on the tang.

"How much for this..." She thought for a moment as she tried to classify the weapon. Not common in Gaia, but she knew it from somewhere. "...shamshir?"

Freddy gave her no response, as he was busy 'serving' Daniel.

"Oh, right," Freddy said, turning again to the shelf. "1,000 for a magazine of 17, 500 for a box of 30. Take your pick." Keeping his back turned to Daniel, he continued, "The other ones, I'd have to check in back for. You cool with that?"


Ryoko scowled as she returned the shamshir to its sheath and placed it again on the counter. Though she usually reserved scorn for those who treasured their blades like the prodigal son, she couldn't help but feel more comfortable with a good sword in her posession, and already she was becoming attached to the weapon.

"How much for the blade?" she asked more forcefully, and again her request was ignored. Unlike most Gaians, this guy seemed to lack the ability to carry on several threads of uninterrupted conversation at once.

"Right," Freddy said, once again going to the back.

Cursing under her breath, Ryoko called after him, "And how much Luger pistol? Preferably Beretta 9000S F9." She'd prefer to have an extra pistol she was used to, but since her previous gun was paid for by her old company in Carter City, she didn't have a good idea of how much it would cost.

Turning to Daniel, she leaned against the counter, her right hand idly caressing the sheath of the sword.

"Talk about service..." she muttered. "Next time I pass out, I'll leave a note reminding my hero to remember my s**t."

"Fine, fine," Freddy called back, a tone of boredom in his voice.

Ryoko couldn't help but grin at Daniel's statement. Life was simpler back then. "That's true. I have a tendency to fall out with my bosses, though... I think I must be meant for freelance."

It was true, too. In Carter City, she was fired from her bodyguard position for becoming too 'emotionally involved' with her charge. In Barton Town, her first position as a mercenary indirectly led to her boss' death. It was fast becoming a pattern with the woman.

"Still, I must admit missing a steady paycheck, not having to worry about what my next job was, or even having my 'friends' picked out for me," she said, an expression of dark humor on her face.

Freddy finally emerged from the store room, and lined up the following items on the counter: a 15-round magazine of blaster rounds, a small pile of 9 combat knives of varying shape, and a Nyman 9mm Luger (for why would the A~E shop carry an opposing brand name?). Pointing to each in turn, he said, "1500, 700 each, and 21,000."

"What about this?" Ryoko said, tapping the blade beside her.

"23,000," Freddy said with a sigh. "Shamshir's aren't so popular, and that line's been reduced to clearance price," he added with a shrug.

He didn't even seem to notice Daniel's attempt at a counter-offer on the gun care kit.

[Edit: Fixed for improper brand name useage.]