2022-03-09: A New Sponsor
- Log: 2022-03-09: A New Sponsor
- Cast: Qivi, Sayla Mass
- Where: Freedom City, Huffman Island
- OOC - IC Date: 9 March, 0096
- Summary: Finding herself disillusioned with the Black Knights, Qivi suddenly finds herself granted an opportunity.
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Huffman Island, despite having been contested ground almost since it surfaced in 0046, is actually not that bad a place to live or visit. It's big on industry and trade, with a few places of note for tourism. There's even a protected secondary island on the south side (protected because rare seabirds have pretty much taken it over as a breeding ground since Second Impact and it's now an international nature preserve).
One of those places is Freedom City. On the western (OCU) side, Freedom City is a large city of almost a million people with the highest standard of living on the island. If you want luxury hotels, gorgeous boutiques, fancy casinos or wonderful views, you can find it here. It's particularly pretty at night, especially near the canals. It's also near the OCU-Britannian border, so there's a fair bit of illicit trade, though most of it is out of the sight of polite people.
It also has less fancy places of course, and the cafe Qivi has picked is at the edge of 'expensive, for tourists' and 'the place locals go'. It's less expensive than the real tourist traps but still close-ish to the lit-up downtown district, even though it's midafternoon. It's casual, as you might expect, but well-appointed.
Qivi feels intensely out of place, because though she lived in Freedom City, this isn't her side of town. She showed up out of intense curiosity and because she does occasionally make contacts in Freedom City (and Rupidis, the equivalent city over on the Britannian side; less fancy, more industrial, even larger than Freedom City). She didn't recognize the name, but that's not always unhead of in her line of business.
She is dressed casual. Honestly, she looks like she parked a motorcycle outside, judging by the style of leather jacket she's got on, but worn open, over a grey shirt and jeans. No helmet, though, so maybe she didn't. Qivi's jacket has a patch on her shoulder to identify her: a bull's head, snorting smoke, with a ring of seven gems around it that go through the spectrum from red to purple.
If she has backup with her, they're good at blending in. There's enough people around that it's steady business, but not so much that Qivi couldn't steal an entire table.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
On the other hand, Freedom City is not one of Sayla Mass' usual haunts. Huffman had made significant recoveries, and it wasn't a prime area for aid, much like the OC. But that doesn't mean she never had business there.She walks through the streets of Freedom City with the confidence of someone who has been through war and has a hidden sidearm ready to draw at a moments notice.
When she arrives, she sees Qivi- she had a lot to go on with her being the Arena Champ, at walks quietly towards her table. Sayla's outfit is relaxed, for her. A Black flats, black, slightly flared trousers and a short sleeve button up blouse with the top button open and aviator sunglasses. She's got a moderately sized handbag with her, and a black documents folder. She's making no real attempt to hide who she is. That works in her favour often. She doesn't pull up a seat, but she does stop at the table.
"Miss Qivi?" Her tone is polite, professional. "Sayla Mass. I'm your 2:15. May I sit down?"
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Huffman Island is certainly a time bomb - nobody really believes that the OCU and Britannia will never have a flare-up skirmish again - but it's fine right now. It's been a while since the Second Huffman conflict, both the OCU and Britannia fund their sides because it's a mineral resource (and to show up the other side); it's doing okay for itself.
Qivi is not unheard of locally. She's not a local Freedom City arena battler; her home field is Rupidis, but she's made appearances occasionally at the Freedom City arena too. And since Sayla knows that much, the patch on her jacket is unmistakable, given it's the same one that's on her wanzer.
She looks up as Sayla approaches and actually, visibly does a double take at the identity of her visitor. She knows that name. Of course she does. Qivi half-rises, hand on the table.
"What are *you* doing here?" Qivi's other hand slides into her own jacket. It is unclear if she's armed (she is) but she's not going to draw on Sayla - she just can't figure out why she's here. (Well, because of the meeting. But why there's a meeting remains a mystery.)
Qivi sits back down a moment later. "Sit away," she says, before clarifying: "Yes. Uh. Sorry. Wasn't expecting someone like you."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla doesn't seem to flinch- almost like she has a good idea of Qivi's intent. Or she is simply 'Sayla Fucking Mass' and she doesn't care. She gives a smile, and sits down. She even waves for menus, if they're not there already. She's so damn casual about it. That's the point.
"I'm here because my people contacted you and you agreed to the meeting. However, I prefer to meet any new associates face to face." Sayla remains calm, and comfortable. "Order whatever you like, I'm paying." She places the folder on the table and the bag under the table next to her feet.
"Miss Qivi, an organization I work with has had an interest in you for some time. Indeed we were hoping to talk to you some time ago, but there were complications." She takes a pause before speaking again. "And by the time we were able to, you had disappeared from the Arena. Fortunately, your demonstration match let us find you again. So I'd like to talk to you about working with us."
She opens the folder, checking something. "Are you... currently satisfied with your current side work? If so, we can part ways and it won't be brought up elsewhere. If not, well. We may have an opportunity for you."
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Menus exist, because Qivi wanted to look at them. She hasn't actually ordered anything yet, though.
Sayla's people did in fact contact Qivi, but she hadn't realized they were Sayla's people. She's not sure what to make of it and it shows on her face, in her emotions; she is surprised, possibly anxious. Qivi does not have a great poker face; she is very easy to read, especially for people who are good at that anyway. There's a bit of something else. ...she's impressed? It's not quite admiration but it's at least positive regard. Sayla is famous, and not for being a war criminal or anything like that.
"OK," Qivi says, after a long moment. "Well, why I left the Arena's not a secret: I was winning, and I wanted to do something else." Something more significant, though she leaves that part out. "Rupidis is big, sure, and I love the arena. But I'm still young. I figured I could try my hand at other things, too."
Things like side jobs, which Sayla has already gotten to the point of. Qivi's expression tightens, her eyes narrowing slightly. While she doesn't *precisely* say what she thinks about it, the opinion is clear. "Let's say I'm listening," is what she says. "I'm still a free agent. I do what I want to."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
The waiter arrives after Qivi makes her statement about being a free agent. Sayla orders an iced coffee, and a pain au chocolate, because it's pretend fancy. True to her word, she will cover Qivi's order.
"That makes sense," Sayla responds. She's thoughtful, before proceeding to her next question. "...Well, this work won't stop you being in the Arena. But I would be requesting you don't do any work like that for anyone else. Does that make sense?"
Sayla leans back. "You've already said you want to do something more. And you don't work with a group like that unless it's out of vengeance or desire to fix something. And you don't seem the vengeful type." She pauses.
"I want to deal in good faith. I don't do blackmail. And I don't sell people out. Nobody knows what this conversation is about, and no matter how this question goes, the information I have never goes to anyone else. I can't destroy it, but it IS secure. So please, indulge me."
She slides the folder over the Qivi. It contains stills from the recent Black Knights operations. "A certain unit has been absent. So I want to know: Does what you're doing, or how you're doing it, sit well with you or not? That will determine the rest."
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Qivi keeps her mouth shut when the waiter is present. (On the conversation, anyway. She orders a latte and a cherry danish.)
She can't help her lips from quirking up in a slight smile. "You must not know me that well then," she says. Qivi is absolutely the vengeful type - but she's also the type to do it directly, and probably immediately. She doesn't hide her feelings well; she wears her emotions on her sleeve.
Qivi receives the folder. Looking around to make sure nobody other than Sayla is looking at her, she peeks inside - and her eyes widen slightly. "Where did you *get* your information?" She's not sure if she should be angry or impressed, but either way she hastily closes the folder and sets her napkin (unused) on top of it.
A certain unit has been absent...
"Well, I figured I got spotted on the train," Qivi admits, which means that if they didn't see her later, they'd figure it out. The question makes her eyes go hard again. "I figured I'd fight Britannians, given what they did," she says, quietly (even though in Freedom City you can probably get away with being anti-Britannian). "I didn't sign up to bomb a police station."
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
Sayla holds up her hand as the food comes, Qivi already handling the documents, to warn her that it's here. They go to tend to another customer shortly after, while Sayla takes a sip. "I read someone wrong every so often. Just means I need to try harder." The problem with picking up on old information. She nods. "Sometimes we have people in the right place at the right time."
...Well. That answers that. "I see." She pauses. "I work with some people who have a tendency to, when they see an injustice, tear off and punch it in the face. I try to make sure that injustice doesn't rise up again. I think my associates are more your speed than your current group. I can't guarantee only operations you'll like. But I will endeavour to make sure you don't get work you disagree with." She sighs. "Unfortunately, doing good is often harder than doing harm."
She calmly takes a bite of her pain au chocolate, and with the skill of an expert, gets *none of it* on her. This is what we call, in business meetings, a power move. "...There's other groups out there doing horrible things, along with the Britannians. And some of our people are trying to make up for failure of the past. But you'll be given relative autonomy."
Sayla reaches down for her bag, keeping her eyes on Qivi. She pulls something out. A playing card, face down. She slides it across to Qivi.
When flipped, it has a very stylized King of Hearts. King of Heart, actually, with the number 4711. Sayla looks across. "Does that explain things?"
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
It was more than a little reductive for Qivi to phrase it quite the way she did. It was more than just blowing up a police station. The police station was militarized, which pushes it one way in Qivi's mind; there was no question that that's the kind of action she disliked about Britannia. But there was also the previous murder of officers on duty, which pushes it another.
She ended up simply not involved, by keeping Sarangay away entirely. But it had made her think, and now that Sayla has prompted it (accidentally or not) she's angry, with herself as much as anyone else.
Qivi bites her danish almost viciously. She does not get much on her, at least. Just a dot of cherry, which she wipes away a moment later. "Well that's the problem, isn't it? That shit Britannia is doing to Japan isn't right." Qivi does not bother to hide the heat in her voice, and of all the things she's said that one carries the most.
Fortunately, as mentioned, Freedom City is OCU, staring across the border at Britannia, and of all the places in the world this is definitely one of the cities where it is understandable to have that kind of loud opinion. Nobody looks twice, especially when Qivi regains more control, and lowers her voice again. "I just wanted to fix shit - uh. Excuse me." She just remembered she was using coarse language in front of *Sayla Mass*, of all people. Her cheeks darken slightly.
"But - ugh!" She's not good at figuring it out. There's some frustration there. That, too, is aimed at herself, not Sayla.
Qivi accepts the card. She flips it over, and that draws another flash of surprise. "You work with *him*?" Of course Qivi knows who Domon is. She may not have been at Neo-Japan, but she certainly knows just about every major Gundam Fighter, and what they did. Or what some of them did, anyway.
<Pose Tracker> Sayla Mass has posed.
That burst of emotion, that reaction? That's what Sayla was looking for. The turmoil over the how, rather than the what... that comes across as obvious. She smirks, as Qivi apologises. "Do you really think I'm going to blanche at someone telling me truthfully about wanting to fix a shitty situation?" Sayla remains relaxed. Yeah... Qivi's going to fit in fine. She passed the background check...
"Fixing things is always more than the fighting. The fighting gives you the opportunity to make change, but the slow work takes time. Unfortunately there's no shortage of fast work right now."
Recognition. Sayla nods. Good. "All five of them. And on that card is a job offer, if you're willing to work with us over the other group. It sounds like you want to want change course already, though. Just use it on a secure terminal, and it will do the rest."
Sayla takes a long sip of the iced coffee, stirring the cream in with the straw. "You don't have to decide right this moment. If you decide not to, simply tear the card in half. Just keep it safe until you do." She resumes eating, at that point. She's not going to rush Qivi.
<Pose Tracker> Qivi has posed.
Qivi isn't stupid. She knows she's being checked out for appropriateness by Sayla, by this point. This is the first time she's been hired (or, well, scouted) by someone like her, and she's not entirely sure what the correct responses are, so she's firing on instinct.
Which is fine; Qivi feels honest. Unreserved. If that's what Sayla's looking for, that's what she'll find.
Qivi's first instinct is to say yes, and in fact, she opens her mouth to do just that. She's impulsive, too - but even she learns. The last time she said she'd fight with someone outside the arena, it led to - well, it led to this.
So she closes her mouth, thoughtfully. Qivi says nothing for about twenty seconds. It's long enough for the pause to get awkward, and Qivi eventually realizes this, fidgeting in her seat. She takes another bite from the cherry danish to give her another few moments, thinking furiously.
Then she swallows. "I already ended up fighting with Chibodee Crockett once, if you didn't hear. On the same side, I mean; against some piloted Death Army unit," Qivi says, after that long moment. "I wasn't in Sarangay, so you might have missed it. But anyway. The fighting is the part I know, really. I don't know the rest of it. But if I can help fix something..."
"I'm not going to sell the Black Knights out, either. I don't have much to tell, anyway, I'm not exactly in their leadership. ...give me a couple days. Then I'll get back to you." Whether that's to get her affairs in order or to give her a few days to think, Qivi doesn't say. Maybe she doesn't know, either.