(no subject)

[exothermia]

Who: Erik Lehnsherr and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide video
Action: the Heron, docked on Solace
When: now

[The video feed opens in one of the ship hangars in Solace's hub - the business end, judging by the many crates and boxes stacked against the wall and the audible power drilling in the background. Erik is also there, actually making a fleetwide video intentionally for the first time. He's not interested in making it last long, so he gets right to the point.]

For those who are still repairing their ships or looking into the services here, it's worth mentioning that it's possible to hire power tools and do the work yourself. Most of the shops won't; they prefer to sell their own services. But there are one or two places that hire out their equipment by the hour. Having watched some of the shops work on other vessels, it's just as good an option, and likely cheaper for some.

[He pauses for a moment, shutting his eyes with faint irritation.]

And. If anyone is in need of space-grade duct tape, I have spare rolls... several dozen of them.

[Bulk buying has never been this exciting, folks. Those looking to catch Erik in person will find him walking around the outside of the Heron in the hangar, or working on fixing the twisted, bent parts of the shuttle dock door outside the ship. And yes, that crate of duct tape is there too.]

Comments

voice

[monolike]

I need some!! [Desperately.] I-I don't have any money right now, but I could trade you something?

voice

[exothermia]

[He pauses for a moment, a bit surprised. He had half expected no one to actually need duct tape.]

I don't need money for it. It didn't cost that much, in the end. You can trade me a service at a later time if you want.

[He has a hundred rolls; taking some off his hands is practically payment.]

voice

[monolike]

[Look right now he has more holes than ship, he needs anything he can get]

That would be really great. Where did you find all of it?

voice

[exothermia]

One of the shops here. It seems to specialise in short term solutions for repairs.

[And there was no option to buy just a couple of rolls, so he cut his losses and went for bulk.]

Just about everything is in bulk here.

voice

[monolike]

That's very true. I tried to get some wire and they wouldn't let me buy any less than five meters. I wonder why that is?

voice

[exothermia]

A balance between a captive market, and offloading things in large enough numbers to justify their own purchases.

[That's his guess.]

I would think if anyone from the Fleet needs supplies, purchasing one bulk order and dividing it among the ships would be a good option.

voice

[monolike]

[what the tender lovemaking is a captive market] Wow...you're pretty good at this kind of stuff, huh? I can never seem to get the hang of economics. [or like, buying things at all]

voice

[exothermia]

In this case, it's just a matter of location. They're the only city on this planet, and this planet seems to be the only inhabited one nearby. So, if people need to buy things, they can only come here.

[A huff. He would never claim economics was his forte, but he's had experience enough with limited supply chains.]

I'm nearly out of credits myself, with everything we've needed to do.

voice

[monolike]

That makes sense. So since there's no...competition? Right? Since there's no other competition besides what's in the city, they can just charge whatever they want.

voice

[exothermia]

Yes, that's right. Hence the prices of everything here. Divided amongst a few people it becomes more manageable, though.

Do you want me to drop off the tape rolls or will you come here?

voice

[monolike]

Oh I'll come to you! Please don't go to any trouble, um... [who are you anyway you economics professor]

voice

[exothermia]

It's Erik. We're parked in the third hangar in the east sector.

voice >> action

[monolike]

I'm Sorey! I'll be right there!

[True to his word he's there in under ten minutes, mostly because he almost ran the whole way. This boy is so excited for duct tape.] Ah, Mr. Erik! Is that you?

[exothermia]

[Erik decides to stay outside the Heron and wait, since the boy is coming immediately. The only thing he does is haul the box of tape rolls down the ramp and out into the open. He's dusting off his hands when Sorey arrives, and straightens up to look over at his shout.]

Yes, it is. You're Sorey then?

[That is one mad tape dash.]

[monolike]

[dude this shit is magical

Because here comes this kid, running up like he just bounced out of a D&D campaign lookin' like a blinged-out cleric with all the feather jewelry, and he is super super into duct tape.] That's me! I know you're just trying to get rid of this stuff but I really, really sincerely do appreciate this. I can absolutely pay you back, and I absolutely will; I use so much of this stuff all the time. It can patch practically any hose!

[exothermia]

[It's not the most commonplace of outfits, no. In the Fleet however it's not so strange, and considering the dress sense of Erik's recent apocalyptic associates, he's in no position to comment. He cracks a bit of a smile at Sorey's evident enthusiasm.]

I'd rather see it get some immediate use than gathering dust in the Heron's hold. And its practicality is why I bought it, despite the excessive amount of it.

In terms of payment, I'll still accept a trade of something later on. I don't care much for credits. [He gets those easily enough from the soap opera that is his life.]

[monolike]

[it's true once you've seen high cut pleather leotards and laser swords you've seen it all]

Hmm...do you eat meat?

[exothermia]

Yes, I do.

[monolike]

Okay, great! I usually make jerky whenever we stop somewhere that allows for hunting game. Can I offer up some future jerky as payment?

[exothermia]

[He considers for a moment, before nodding. It would be useful to have hardy supplies for those long stretches between stops where they can get fresh produce.]

Yes, that would suit me. You do that often, then?

[monolike]

Whenever I can! I'm grateful that we don't starve to death on the ships, but that stuff that comes out of the dispenser... [Sorey shakes his head sadly.] Well, it's just better to have jerky around in case of shortages anyway.

[exothermia]

It's not the most appealing, no. [Erik has eaten it regardless, because for a few months he really couldn't care less. These days he's always on the lookout for more real supplies though.]

I try to freeze food where possible, but we don't have a lot of room.

[monolike]

Yeah, those freezer things are pretty small. I've been salting it, and smoking when it's possible, and then I'll take whatever's fresh and leftover and make jerky out of it. It turns out pretty good!

[exothermia]

It's worth getting a second fridge. [That's what he had done, though the freezer space is still inadequate.] They're all good ideas. Hopefully there's somewhere soon that provides more fresh food than this.

[monolike]

It's kind of hit or miss. There's not a lot by way of fresh food here that isn't kind of expensive, but I'm sure we'll find somewhere like that soon!

[Sorey bends over the box of tape rolls.] Now, how many would you like me to take?