02. this is my life now

[bullhorned]

Who: Gendry
Broadcast: NEVER
Action: On the Iskaulit and the Golden
When: August

The Golden

He'd went to sleep in his nice comfortable bed on the planet, completely oblivious to the notion that the fleet would be leaving that very same night. It was simply one of those things for which he'd had no intention of worrying about it. He woke with a start later because his augment was designed for one thing, which was to tend to the ship's engines. So when the ship began to sound just a bit ragged, he instinctively rolled off the floor the Atroma had unceremoniously dumped him in.

So they were right. He muttered some curses, then pulled himself up to his feet and went to work. After an hour making careful calibrations and monitoring the sensor readings (thank gods he'd learned to read!), he was finally able to return things to what he thought was comfortable. He would afterwards reflect that he really had absolutely no idea what he'd been doing, but the important thing was that the ship hadn't blown up and that this was about the best anyone could hope for. Though as he looked at the contents of what he had to work with, an idea had begun to come to mind.

Some days later, his crew would find him having already removed many of the panels off the stove as he tried to find a way to increase the heat. This was only his preliminary efforts, but he was fully convinced that he could cobble up the components he would need to make a workable forge up here in space. He had the experience, the knowledge, and absolutely none of the permission required to make it a reality.

(tl;dr: find gendry tearing up the kitchen, working on the ship, or paying a little too close of attention to what the exercise equipment is made of.)

The Iskaulit

At some point, someone had the decency to tell Gendry that he wouldn't have to live the rest of his life confined to one tiny ship trying to take things apart in order to stay busy. Instead he was able to live his life confined to several ships, one of which was large enough to be its own sort of marketplace. So one shuttle ride later and he was there!

There was absolutely nothing that interested him. The purpose of the gym eluded him, he didn't want to meditate, he barely could read so books were right out, he wasn't feeling particularly devout, and he hadn't been long enough away from the planet to feel particularly sentimental about seeing plants being grown. So that only left the space bar. With the well practiced ease of a man who spent an awful lot of time on a medieval world, he ordered an ale. What he received wasn't quite as frothy or watery or dirty as what he was used to drinking, but it was certainly a beverage. Eventually a few drinks later and he finds himself sitting on a bench in the public art display, staring at the mural of an artificial sunset.

(tl;dr: gendry can be found at the bar, checking out the art exhibit, or otherwise just wandering the iskaulit taking in the sights for the first time..)

Comments

[bullhorned]

"It's no secret. Everyone knows it." At least, everyone in Westeros did.

[ladybro]

"Everyone definitely does not know it. I don't know it. Why should I ever know it? It's not like it's prone to come up in conversation..."

Unless, of course, you're talking to Gendry. In which case it seems like you can't go three minutes without talking about sex.

[bullhorned]

"Not here. Where he's from. Where I'm from. Not just that, but he's a kinslayer as well. Killed both his father and his nephew, the king. Not as anyone cares, as they were all just more Lannisters."

[ladybro]

...Wow, his world was screwed up. Kate's nose scrunched.

"How do I know you're not just spreading some nasty rumour? This sounds like some real tabloid crap, just saying."

[bullhorned]

He offered a shrug. In truth, he had no answer to that on whether or not it was a rumor. From his place in the world, he only ever heard things. But the Brotherhood put a great deal of effort into finding out things, so it seemed reasonable enough to feel that they were right. "All I know for sure is, his sister, the Queen, she tried to have me murdered. More'n that, she murdered brothers and sisters of mine I ain't ever met. It don't matter if it's true or if it ain't. They're all the same or near enough as to make no matter."

[ladybro]

"--Just because one branch of the family tree is rotten, doesn't mean they all are."

A little touchy? Probably. Not merely because of what Gendry was suggesting, but because she had her own rotten limb with which she didn't care to be too closely associated.

[bullhorned]

He snorted. "One branch? It's the whole bloody orchard."

[ladybro]

"Sure, fine, but do you have any accusations for him specifically? Or just the rest of his family? Because even the baddies have their black sheep."

[bullhorned]

"Ain't I made enough already?" Kinslayer, kingslayer, potentially sisterfucker. And married to Sansa Stark he might have added, but that issue was one he wouldn't openly confess. "There's not a good thing to be said about him. Not as I've ever heard it."

[ladybro]

Rumours weren't accusations -- and from the way this guy was talking, she wasn't certain he was laying down anything more than gossip and conjecture. That said, he could be telling the truth. Far be it from her to underestimate what Tyrion Lannister might be capable of -- villainy or otherwise. And it wasn't like she and him were friends. They worked together, simple as that. But...

Kate was picky about who she worked with, too.

Hedging: "I'll...talk to him about it."

[bullhorned]

"Watch yourself around him," he said with serious concern evident. "They say he killed his old man with a half dozen arrows, even as he was still on his chamberpot."

[ladybro]

Cool as ice: "He can't be all that dangerous. Not if he had to use a full half dozen to get the job done."

[bullhorned]

That made a lot of sense, really. But then he didn't even know what Tyrion actually looked like to really judge his actions all that well. It didn't really matter, ultimately. "He don't need to be, if he catches you unawares."

[ladybro]

"Down, boy." She smirked. His concern was touching, really. "I promise I'm not so easily surprised. Cross my heart."

[bullhorned]

There was a bit of grumbling to be had, a cautionary look around the various corners of the room, then he decided that his tirade about Lannisters had reached about as far as it was going to go. He settled with a sigh. "In any case, I won't be working at any taverns, Lannister or otherwise."

[ladybro]

His tirade might have finished, but the seed of doubt has been planted. She felt no compunction over bringing these issues up with her manager -- to grill him, perhaps, about the content of those rumours. But until she could speak to a few more sources? They were just that: rumours.

So, she switched tack along with him: "Fair enough. No one said you had to. I bet an alternative could be found -- you said you were a smith of some sort, right?"

[bullhorned]

"That's what I've always been. Bit of armor here, some swords there, lots of shovels and horseshoes." But this was space, though. Space was a very different place than, well, basically everything. "Ain't seen too many horses, though. Or dirt, for that matter."

[ladybro]

"...Plenty of metal, though."

Kate leaned back and knocked her knuckles hard against the ship's bulkhead. Metal was everywhere -- in every ship, in every room, in every hard reality of where they lived.

"Bet there'd be a willing market for upgrades and custom jobs that didn't depend on paying into the Atroma's little forced economy."

[bullhorned]

Gendry gave the bulkhead a very wary look. "Lots of metal, sure. But I think it keeps the space fumes from getting in."

He hadn't quite got around to the idea of space being a vacuum, but the idea of space not being somewhere you could breathe was a concept he could follow. He didn't want them to drown in space.

[ladybro]

Space fumes. That was cute. A smile tugged at the corner of her lips, but Kate didn't quite commit.

"More like it keeps us from getting out. You don't wanna be out there -- if sci-fi movie marathons with my friends have taught me anything, it's that you definitely don't wanna be out there. The air's a little thin.

-- Anyway, I was thinking more like finish work. Better bed-frames. Tables. Something other than the standard option. Can you weld? Welding would be helpful."

[bullhorned]

"I can weld." It was among the many things he learned among the dwarves, even if their methodology was a bit different than what he was going to find here.

"I've never did bed-frames before. And why wouldn't you just do wood for all that? Waste of good metal making tables."

[ladybro]

"Not every place or planet is going to have wood that's readily available -- plus, I can't imagine it's exactly sterile. Metal is easier to clean."

Her head tilted -- a long tendril of dark hair slipped over her shoulder.

"Plus, if your work's good enough? You can create a demand for metal things. Cool, artistic, metal things."

[bullhorned]

"I'm more interested in swords. Armor. Helmets, greaves..." He paused, thinking. "Maybe some fidgety bits for the ships. Don't really know if beds are for me. Ain't nothing wrong with the ones we have already."

[ladybro]

"You might be more interested in those things, but every good businessman has to compromise. Is there a market for positively medieval weaponry? Maybe. But it's gonna need to be supplemented by the stuff you don't much care for, but plenty of other people might.

This is a world of blasters and e-shields. Helmets are kinda niche. Unless you're an Asgardian."

[bullhorned]

"Might be I could make blasters," he pondered thoughtfully. Between his experience in smithing, dwarven technology and his augment, Gendry felt pretty confident about all this high technology he was surrounded by. Surely a blaster couldn't be that hard to make. And they were so plain looking. Surely there'd be a market for blasters that looked like dragons and wolves and such.