Log:Ghost and Ten in the Coffee Shop

Ghost's Story 2013/03/23 	 Ghost Ten 1

In the Coffee Shop
Ten enters the coffee shop, after a long practice session in the gym with her new staff. She hasn't bothered to change out of costume, not least because she'll have to be in it to swing back across town later.

Ghost is seated at a table in the front of the coffee shop with a pile of glossy sales catalogues on the table alongside a tall frosted glass containing a milkshake. She's got a chocolate moustache under her nose.

Ten sees Ghost and grins. "See you've found the coffee shop."

Ghost looks up now and smiles, "Hello, Ten. Yes. Scrapper bought me here to wait so Princess Lorelei could interview me."

Ten nods. "It's a popular hangout for metas. Or used to be, I gather there used to be a lot more. Mind if I join you? Once I have my coffee."

Ghost nods, "Please do. I'm not doing anything that demands much attention. Although, how anyone can drink that bitter brew by choice amazes me."

Ten smiles ruefully. "Not as well as I used to be able to. I can't face it without milk and sugar now." She goes to order it.

Ghost pulls the sales catalogues to her side of the table to give Ten room to put her coffee down when Ten returns.

Ten comes over once she has her coffee, and glances at the catalogues. "Shopping for something?"

Ghost nods and selecting a catalogue at random she turns it and pushes it across to Ten. "A personal digital assistant. What's called a PDA, if I got that right. It seems it's almost essential. And my headware storage is filling up. I need something to dump my POV recordings to."

Ten nods. "Pretty well everyone has one. Well, we don't have 'headware'. So it's what we use for a portable computer and communications device, and so on. But yeah, there's so much choice - even just in the colour, let alone anything useful.

Ten says, "Unfortunately they don't make what I need...."

Ghost nods, "Yes. Just one company makes many different models. And there are lots of companies. I'm constructing a feature/cost matrix in my headware to evaluate the best option." She looks over the catalogues, "There seems to a lot of choices. If you'd like to detail your requirements I can see if any of these models will suit you."

Ten laughs. "They won't. What I need is one that's as indestructible as I am. I've had three broken

Ghost says, "Are there military versions? Have you looked at any of those?"

Ten says, "Oh, I'm sure there are. But I suspect they still won't be tough enough. Or if they are, so expensive I'm better sticking with the throw-aways."

Ghost nods thoughtfully. "If I was back home I could have enchanted a PDA for you. But not here. Not unless there are Mana nodes with vastly more intense Mana fields in them." She pulls the shoulder of her tee-shirt to the side and twists to expose a runic tattoo on her back at the shoulder. "That gives me protection. Enough to stop the projectiles from most of the ballistic weapons I've seen in use here. The same enchantment can be used to toughen any object."

Ten says, "Handy. Well, I imagine a questonite case coudl to the trick too - if the insides are well enough built. But that's military secret sort of stuff. And ridiculously expensive, I imagine."

Ghost says, "You mentioned you were a member of this Starguard. That's kind of a military organisation isn't it? Can't they issue you with one. It would seem to be in their interests to have available communications to their members. Not just communicators, like the one I see in your ear, but image and data file communication as well." Ghost makes a mental note .oO(Talk to the Princess about communicators. We need something very badly.)"

Ten says, "Yeah, they got me one. And it lasted two missions before it was smashed." She grins. "you have to understand that half the fights I'm in I'm jumping *in the way* of heavy fire to stop other people getting hurt."

Ghost laughs, "That is... well, I'd call it insane if it wasn't that you are still here to sit at this table and drink coffee. Princess Lorelei asked me about my abilities regarding personal combat. My answer was I avoid it if at all possible. It does sound as if short of getting a... questonite... cased PDA, your cheap expendable option makes most sense. And remind me to be close enough to you if I get involved in a combat for you to be able to jump in the way easily."

Ghost adds with a smiles, "But not -- too -- close if you make a habit of being in the middle of the heaviest fire power."

Ten grins. "Or you can jump behind me. But yes, I'm pretty indestructible. Not sure how much so. But I've never been hurt much since I got my powers."

Ghost says, "I can see how that would influence your reactions. And the jumping in front to take the shot is part of the 'Hero' mindset I assume?"

Ten shrugs. "I supppse.... I never really thoguht of it that way. Lives are important: I've always felt that way. Now I have my powers I can save people in ways I never could have before."

Ghost nods slowly, "I admire the concept. It's not something that I've thought about. I started out as a shadow culture merc. And picked the jobs that didn't make me want to throw-up when I looked at myself in a mirror afterwards. I guess my team was about one of the closest things there were to a hero group back home. But we were shadow mercs. Most of our jobs were illegal by the laws of Derwood."

Ghost says, "Illegal is not the same as immoral. I've only done the one thing that I wish I could take back."

Ten says, "Then you're doing better than most people! But as you say, illegal and immoral are different. In another place or another time, I might be a criminal. My conscience might make me one."

Ghost nods. "But here you're a hero. I admire you for that choice. Such power as I've seen displayed since I've been here, well the temptation to use it for personal gain must be very strong for anyone with that inclination."

Ten says, "We have a proverb to that effect - but, I don't know. Maybe I'm weird, but I've never really felt tempted that way much." She smiles. "To the annoyance of the entity that gave me my powers, who seemingly was trying to corrupt me. But maybe knowing that I'm annoying it helps keep me on the straight and narrow."

Ghost grins, "Interesting motivation."

Ten says, "But anyway - now you're here you have the chance to be a hero too, right? If that's what you want."

Ghost says, "To be honest, Ten, I'm not sure what I want. I joined the Princesses' Guard because it gave me a roof over my head and spending money. And it was more of an act of charity by Princess Lorelei in offering me the chance than any realistic evaluation of my skills. I wouldn't become one of the villains. I do have scuples. But I'm not sure if I'd willingly go out of my way to put my neck on the chopping block to help others without some kind of incentive. I guess I'm a merc who likes to be able to look at herself in a mirror. On the other hand, if I can help someone without getting myself killed I'd almost certainly do it."

Ten smiles. "Well, that's a start. And I think you could do worse than working for Lorelei! She was a hero herself, you know, before anyone knew she was a princess...."

Ghost says, "She was? I really do need a PDA. Data here is online. And without a PDA I don't have access to it. Uh. Yes, of course! Something she said at the first meeting. She talked about enjoying her time in a team like the one she was forming."

Ten says, "I can't tell you much about it - mostly just what I saw on the news. I didn't have my powers yet when she was active."

Ghost grins, and finishes off her chocloate milkshake. "Time to go spend some money." She smiles, "Thanks to people who play this game called poker for money and yet have very little idea how to calculate the odds involved. And don't even try to memorise the card order in the deck. It's strange. They seem to pride themselves in being able to shuffle a deck so the cards are interlaced one-to-one without realising that makes it easy to keep track of where each card is."

Ten grins. "You can keep track of the cards? Impressive."

Ghost says, "Not completely. But, depending on the shuffling used, with an accuracy of between 50% to 90%. Which is enough of an edge against people who don't that winning is pretty assured."

Ten says, "Yeah - pretty good! But is the princess not paying enough, then?"

Ghost stands and laughs, "The Princess has been very generous. But I can always find use for more currency. Like buying the best PDA on the market for features compared to cost."

Ten grins. "Fair enough."