Lt. Robin Hopper: Hustlin’
Robin Hopper
((Merchant District, Habitat Ring – Amity Outpost))
The Grand Mezzanine was beautiful, and spacious, and wonderfully bright – a stark contrast to the cloistered, shadowed, and utilitarian Merchant District… and yet, while it was hardly the ‘gleaming gem’ of Amity Outpost, it had a certain character to it that almost made Robin feel “at home”. The only thing missing was the distinct odour of iron dust that, even years after the last iron mine on Theta VII converted to geothermal energy conduction, still collected in the corners of alleyways and shopfronts down main boulevard.
With her – unusually light – workload for the day finished, she’d decided to take advantage of the fact she was officially on Shore Leave and take a stroll down the district’s streets, looking more closely at what its denizens had to offer. She’d already become acquainted with the Terrible Targ during their impromptu ‘pub crawl’ during the last round of shore leave, but many of the other shops she’d only heard of in passing. Wearing a cropped black leather jacket and knee-high black boots thrown on over her skant, she walked confidently and comfortably sipping a (half-strength) raktajino as one of the station’s trains whooshed past overhead.
She had just stopped in front of a particularly–interesting storefront, displaying a variety of… musical instruments? oO Is that what a har-lo looks like? Oo …when she noticed a pair of silhouettes mirrored in the glass on either side of her.
She turned around to find herself looking back-and-forth between a wily-looking Orion woman and a frumpy bumpkin. She smiled. oO Ooo – am I about to get ‘shaken down’?! Oo
Hopper: ::Pleasantly:: Hiya!
She took another quick sip of her raktajino.
Olivia: Hello there sweetheart! How have you been?
Hopper: ::Eyebrows raised, looking up and to the side in thought:: Mmm… I ‘spose I can’t complain. ::Back to them:: Just enjoying the sights.
Bob: I see that you’re taking a stroll through the market as we are. Isn’t it the perfect day for such things?
Hopper: ::Chuckling:: That’s a funny thing to say… There aren’t exactly ‘bad days’ here, are there, given that everything is climate controlled?
She noted a slight shift in their attitude after hearing her response. Perhaps they felt like she was being evasive or disagreeable, so she decided to make it clear she wasn’t brushing them off.
Hopper: Oh, don’t stress – you guys are doing fine. ::Smiling reassuringly:: Let’s hear your hustle.
Olivia: Response.
Bob: Have you ever considered your own yacht? Think about it - freedom whenever you like!
Olivia: Response.
Robin leaned back against the storefront behind her, crossing her legs, and thought about it for a moment.
Hopper: Hmm… Is that the most practical way to explore the stars? A yacht? Sounds a little ‘fancy’.
Bob/Olivia: Response
Hopper: Oh, don’t get me wrong, I appreciate a beautiful ship – and I’m not against enjoying a little luxury from time-to-time – but do you have any other sorts of vessels? Something more, um, practical?
Bob/Olivia: Response
Hopper: ::Shrugging:: I don’t have anything else going on. ::Slipping her arm through Olivia’s:: Why don’t you show me?
Bob/Olivia: Response
TBC
