0000 : 01 : VIDEO

[0000]

[ click! as the device starts recording. the screen is filled by a strange, helmeted visage -- all features completely obscured, just shiny black material and smooth curves. a pause, as the figure tilts is head slightly, then speaks in a curious, electronically-masked voice. ]

What a strange vessel.
Lacking in New-U stations,
psychos and midgets.

[ and then a brief pause before his helmets project a holographic image -- a bright red :) that floats before the glossy surface. ]

I seek a way home.
But until then, for hire:
Expert assassin.

Comments

[video]

[biffail]

Y-Y-You're an assassin?! For real?

[Larry shrinks back from his communications device as if it had turned into a poisonous spider.]

[video]

[0000]

[ have a long, super intense stare right into the camera, his helmet surface blank. and then: ]

For real.

[video]

[biffail]

[He edges away as far as he can without actually leaving his device or putting it down, biting his lip nervously.]

So...uh...t-then you kill people?

[video]

[0000]

[ what an amusing fellow. kind of reminds him of goliaths. very slow in their thought processes. ]

Just as rakks can fly
and psychos will eat people,
assassins will kill.

[video]

[biffail]

[This one is slow, only without the large bumbling body structure. Despite the fact that he was now talking to an assassin who could very well be paid to kill him eventually, Larry just had to ask.]

What's a rakk?

[video]

[0000]

[ right, he's not on pandora any more, and these people aren't familiar with the wildlife. gesturing loosely with one hand (which looks like it only has three fingers and a thumb?): ]

Huge, flying creatures.
Carnivorous and vicious.
Very annoying.

[video]

[biffail]

[He does a double take at the hand; did this assassin lose a finger? Maybe...while doing his job?!]

...Oh.

A-Anyway, you're gonna kill people even up here? In space?

[video]

[0000]

[ that actually makes him think for a moment, helmeted head canted downwards briefly before he turns back towards the camera, projecting &&. ]

Not for no reason.
I don't work for free, unless
there is a challenge.

[video]

[biffail]

...um, what was that supposed to mean? Those two "and" signs...

[He raises a hand tentatively like a schoolboy. Larry does not know that they are called ampersands, and he's sure he has never encountered a smiley like that before.]

[video]

[0000]

A comparison.
Weighing the different options,
choosing what's better.

[ this is actually a little bit amusing. like dealing with a really dumb skag. maybe he'll keep entertaining himself with this guy for now. ]

[video]

[biffail]

Ohhhhh. I thought it was a new smiley or something.

And options mean...to kill or not to kill?

[video]

[0000]

Yes.

[ :) ]

[video]

[biffail]

Y'know, this is really what I think, but the not killing part sounds waaaaay better.

[video]

[0000]

[ pause. pause pause.

嘆く ]

Yes, maybe to you.
But I can't stand such boredom.
So unbearable.

[video]

[biffail]

...what's that symbol now?

And, uh...you could always find another hobby?

[video]

[0000]

[ this really long, somewhat awkward pause, and then: ]

... hobby?

[ as if this is a rather foreign concept to him. ]

[video]

[biffail]

Yeah, a hobby! Something you do with your spare time. Like...making things, or reading, or playing a musical instrument.

[He feels...awkward explaining what a hobby is.]

[video]

[0000]

A hobby ...

[ arms crossed at the chest, finger tapping at his elbow for a moment, thoughtful headtilt. ]

These do not sound fun.
I seek challenge and thrill.
Any suggestions?

[video]

[biffail]

Oh, so you want a challenging hobby? You could go bungee jumping, or do thrill rides at an amusement park, or...just try to do something you've never done before.