Operation: Roll Out

[initiates]

Date & Time: January 31st - February 4th, Present Day Exsilium Time
Location: Neo Las Vegas, in what formerly was called Turkey.
Characters: All Transports!
Summary: Transports have been sent to Neo Las Vegas to gather information on the origin point of the United Earth and the UE AI. Conference sabotage and the rest is expected and invited!
Warnings: Gambling and alcoholic beverages quite likely! Please PM the mod account for anything else.

By day, the landscape isn't desert, precisely, so much as it is dry. Winter's settled in and found in the biting chill of the wind when it finds you standing on the street. Hovercars and taxis thrum down the cobblestone streets, cavorting and honking like a noisy crowd of inelegant, overweight geese. Men walk by on stilts half in make-up, on their way back to their stage for the next night. Walks of shame are taken proudly in this district, one of the few approved and sanctioned vacation zones in the United Earth.

Evidence of law enforcement can be found all around, but they seem altogether too pleased to be there too. Talk with any one of them about crime rates, and they're liable to laugh at the idea. Those who come to gamble know the house is rigged to win. It's not about making or breaking the bank -- people whose funds dip too low are politely escorted back to their rooms and given a set of normal playing cards -- but it is about enjoyment.

Of the flesh too, and it'd be difficult to find anyone working in Neo Las Vegas who suffers from modesty, or anyone visiting who seems unwilling to politely ask visitors and staff if they'd like to keep them company for the night. In fact, Transports may find themselves needing to turn down multiple such requests! The refusal is always taken well. These are people looking to have a good time, and that's all.

No chance taken, nothing gained, right?

At night, the city really comes alive, the lights in all the hotels and casinos turning the Neo Las Vegas Strip into a carnival of sensation. Drinks and recreational drugs are freely passed around, men and women engage in a variety of sexual and other hedonistic excesses without regret, and the beautiful interiors and ostentatious or playful exteriors of the buildings hide and reveal a rich tapestry of events, delectables, and desires waiting to be fulfilled.

Neo Las Vegas is a fun place, and it is a safe place, and it is Where the Conferences For Our Future Are Made. Playtime is on, gang.

Comments

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira stirs his drink with his index finger; ice rimes the sides of the glass.]

My conduct could be significantly better.

[He drinks.]

As for companions, I take what I can get.

[stonefaith]

So could I. Self-improvement is a war that we're all fighting, commander.

[ Bariyan's drink is pretty, and it also hits hard. He's already feeling woozy. That, of course, is a sign that he ought to knock back the last third of the drink in one go. ]

Don't say that! That makes it sound like you're settling. I'll have you know I'm the highest-quality companion a man can get, round here.

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira thinks their self-improvement paths are pretty different, but he's much more concerned with Bariyan's blood alcohol level.]

Yes, crusader; you are quite lovely. Too much so to be left alone, given your drinking habits.

[stonefaith]

[ If Bariyan had elf ears, right now they'd be perking hard enough to hurt. But he doesn't. So he just sits up straight instead, leaning across the table to grin at Koltira.

He's caught, for a moment, on what he should respond to: the compliment, or to the slight upon his alcohol tolerance. So he settles for something that could be a response to either. ]

Say that again!

[deadelfwalking]

Pardon?

[stonefaith]

[ Dammit, don't ask for clarification, that makes things so hard on Bariyan. He stalls by signaling the waiter and getting another drink -- this time he just opens the menu to an arbitrary page and points into the middle, which lands him an 'Enkoimesis'. It's a rather alarming green color.

He takes a long drink, and that helps clarifies his mind some. ]

What did you call me?

[deadelfwalking]

[You need to slow it down, brother.]

Indiscriminate in your drinking habits.

[stonefaith]

No, no no. The thing before that. [ Bariyan waves his hand. He can feel his face heating up, but he's not that drunk. Or so he thinks. ]

[deadelfwalking]

Hmmm. [Koltira sips his drink, casually.] I can't recall.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan stares. He's being had, he thinks. So he lifts his foot up, and kicks Koltira under the table.

Then he scoffs, and takes another drink. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira winces, though it's just for show. He drains his glass.]

You should not mar such a lovely face with that expression.

[stonefaith]

Heh. Heh. [ Bariyan giggles some more into his drink. That's right. Lovely. He pats his own face, as if to congratulate it. Then he turns his shit-eating grin back onto Koltira. ]

It's put to shame by yours, though.

[ He reaches out to pat Koltira's face, too. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[This time the flinch is real. Koltira glances at Bariyan's hand, and his voice is suddenly hoarse.]

No ... it's not.

[stonefaith]

There you again. [ Bariyan uses that same hand to try and grab Koltira by the chin. He frowns. ] Now, you're not going to attack me again, are you? See, I like that sort of thing, but -- I have to say -- this would be a bad place for it.

[ Or maybe a good one? Bariyan looks around. Surely bar fights are common in this world too, right? ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira scowls, even as his chin is caught. His good, slightly inebriated humor is quickly waning.]

No, Bariyan, I am not going to attack you.

[stonefaith]

Good. [ Bariyan beams, drunk enough to gloss over the rapid drop in conversation temperature. He uses his grip on Koltira's face to tilt it just slightly to the left. ] No. You've got a good face. Good nose. Good cheekbones. Good mouth....

[ Bariyan lapses into silence to stare. ]

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira squints in disbelief. He tries to pull away, grumbling.]

Crusader, you're drunk.

[stonefaith]

I am. A bit. That's the whole point of being here, isn't it?

[ He lets Koltira go, laughing. ]

Let me know if you want a kiss some time, commander. I'd be glad to oblige.

[deadelfwalking]

I do not take such things lightly.

[He starts pulling bills out of his wallet. Years ago, he would have just thrown everything on the table and walked away, and he still thinks paper money is a ridiculous, worthless system -- but he understands it well enough now. He's counting exact sums.]

And you have had enough.

[stonefaith]

[ Bariyan grumbles. He's still got a quarter of his current drink to go, and he wants more. ]

Are you my keeper?

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira pauses. He runs his fingers over the bills, his frown deepening.]

... no.

[He sets the wallet on the table.]

But I'm buying.

[stonefaith]

Hmm. Point taken.

[ Bariyan finishes his drink off, puts his head against the table for a few seconds, then looks back up and grins. ]

All right. I'm ready. I think. [ He manages to get to his feet, but the attempt makes his vision blur. ] Ooh, that stuff hits hard.

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira stands up quickly, concern evident on his face.]

Do you require assistance?

[stonefaith]

Ma-aybe.

[ Not really. With the initial headrush over, Bariyan's fine now -- but he wants assistance.

He holds both hands out, and giggles. ]

Carry me.

[deadelfwalking]

[Koltira folds his arms over his chest.]

Is it necessary?