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

[hornedomen]

Pretzel?

[Even the name was strange. He shook his head.] I never heard of it before, too. Is it good? What's it taste like?

[lucency]

It's very good. [ she motions for him to follow her, keeps her eye out for a pretzel vendor, wherever one may be. ] It's - bread, more or less. Salted, if you want, and then you can dip it in cheese.

[ but seriously what could be better. ]

[hornedomen]

So it's salty bread? What makes it different from just regular bread then?

[It did not sound delicious, but Belle seemed to like it. He followed her, curious to see how pretzels would taste.]

[lucency]

Well - the way it's made. I don't have the recipe myself, but - you'll see.

[ pretzel stand spotted! this is so important. ]

[hornedomen]

[He approached the pretzel stand. Once he saw the pretzels, he was beginning to see what made them different from bread.]

Oh, they're all curled up! And there's lots of different things on them, too. Which one do you like the most?

[lucency]

Personally, I like them plain, with some salt and cheese. [ she smiles, rocks forward on the balls of her feet and smiles. ] But, you can have whatever you'd like.

[hornedomen]

[He hummed thoughtfully. There were many choices here. Why stop at just one? He ordered a plain one and one with a sugar glaze. He was rather hungry.

He bit into the plain one first. At his age, he was still too young to appreciate such a subtle taste. It was not bad, but it tasted like any other bread to him. Next, he ate the glazed one.]

I like this one more, it's sweet. [He did seem fond of sweet foods.]

[lucency]

[ what a good kid. belle approves - because she can approve of anything that involves good food, honestly. she grins. ] Good.

[hornedomen]

Aren't you going to get one, Belle?

[He did not mind sharing, but he already took a bite out of both of them.] Would you like some of mine? I can break off the part I didn't eat.

[lucency]

I - ah - I think I've had enough, for the time being.

[ it's all good! she can't eat from every kiosk, okay. ]

[hornedomen]

[Well, if she was sure. He ate both pretzels at the same time, taking a bite of one pretzel and then the other.]

Are you having fun here? There's not a lot to do. [At least, not a lot for people his age.] I think they'll let you play games here though, right?

[lucency]

[ she tries not to laugh. really. she does. and she manages! he's young; of course he wouldn't find it exciting. it's a little loud, for her tastes, but exciting nonetheless! ]

You can! [ she confirms. ] I don't think they're really appropriate for your age, though.

[hornedomen]

[He looked confused which, in addition to his cheeks puffed full of food, made him look a little silly. He spoke only when his mouth was not full.]

I don't understand why. They only say I'm too young. Is the whole city like this? Are there no children here?

[lucency]

I think there are children here, but - it's not exactly ideal for you to be betting money. [ or drinking. or any of the other various things that happen in neo vegas. ]

[hornedomen]

So it really is just because there's money? Don't they have games that don't use money?

[lucency]

As far as I know - no. [ she's not going to explain the more adult-and-or-romantic notions to him just yet. ] Gambling seems to be its biggest source of entertainment.

[hornedomen]

It must be hard for the children living here. They should make games for them, too. How else can they have fun? There's nothing to climb or swim in around here.

[He looked serious while he chewed on the last pieces of pretzels. He was thinking.]

We'll be here for a few more days. If I see anyone my age, we can play our own games.

[lucency]

Well, there's a hotel. Hotels usually have pools. [ she says it like a suggestion, because really. why're they gonna make a kid come here when there's nothing really geared for them. ] For swimming.

[hornedomen]

They do? I guess that's better.

[The water in those pools smelled strange. He preferred natural pools compared to the concrete ones.]

They're not usually that big, so it needs games to make it more fun. Do you like swimming? We should swim together.

[lucency]

[ belle laughs. ]

Later, maybe. We're - ah - we're supposed to be doing a job.

[hornedomen]

[He scratched under his horn.]

I know, I meant after that. They can't keep talking all the time.

[lucency]

Of course not. [ and really, what's the harm in it? ] I'd love to.

Did you want to play out the swimming or handwave it?

[hornedomen]

I'm glad. Let's go tomorrow, or maybe the day after that, after they finish the conferences.

handwaving's fine with me, unless you want to play it!

[lucency]

[ she reaches down, squeezes his shoulder. ]

It's a deal.

There's not much time to continue cr so LET'S PLAY IT!

[hornedomen]

[The next day:]

Belle?

[The conferences were over for the day. He probably should have suggested a place to meet, but shouting was just as good, right?]

Hueeh!