nexus_crossings | +1 Cylon to the Nexus

+1 Cylon to the Nexus

There is a man standing near the vending machines in the Plaza, dressed in a well-tailored, peacock blue suit. He looks like he could get you an excellent rate on your second mortgage, but you'd be wise to double-check the fine print before you sign anything. As he fixes himself a cup of coffee, he glances periodically at the people who pass by, his expression perfectly neutral. Although the more astute might pick up on the way he tugs at the cuffs of his sleeves impatiently, as if wishing he were somewhere else.

Finally, he sighs. "Okay. Listen up. Adia asked me to come here because she thought it'd be good for me to make some friends, so if you see her, you can tell her that we chatted and save yourself the actual trouble. All right? I'm sure we're all very busy people."

He takes a sip from his to-go cup and grimaces. "On second thought, can anyone tell me where I can get a decent coffee around here? I can't believe she's been drinking this stuff for the past three years.."

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Shark plays it cool, looking back at the vending machine and pondering his options. Eventually tapping in the keys to deliver a specific treat. Only when the machine is whirring and depositing his selection does Shark look towards Caspar again, running his tongue over his top teeth behind his lips. Then he smiles, showing off those sharp chompers.

"Yeah. She's a client."

Of what? Of what, Shark? It's important to play things close to the vest when you're dealing with suspicious guys, sure. But is this going to make Adia look or sound bad if he goes the wrong direction? Hopefully there's a plan already forming in that big ol' head of his.

"You a friend? Always looking to expand my clientele base."

In the time he takes to make his purchase, Caspar has already tossed the worthless cup of coffee. He spares a glance at the selection in the vending machine, but is unimpressed. He doesn't have much of a taste for candy or chips. Or... whatever category Funyuns fall into. Ew.

The sight of Shark's pointy white teeth gets a small eyebrow raise. Seems incongruous with the rest of his bobblehead appearance. But when the alien informs him that Adia is a client of his, that gets his full attention. Adia never said anything about hiring someone's services in the Nexus. The poor girl couldn't even afford a decent cup of coffee.

This smells like a scam.

"Is that so?" Side-stepping the question, he crosses his arms over his chest, affixing Shark with a suspicious look. "And what is it that you do, exactly?"

Shark is quick to flip out a business card and offer it between two black-gloved fingers. It's the same cobalt colour made out of an oddly metallic material that Adia had been given once upon a time. And with a starburst Protostar logo in one corner and letters in the same bright blue that flip and change their alphabet before finding one that the holder can read. Litigation and Prosecution Specialist Lawyer.

"Lawyer. She had to look me up once for some legal advice and I let her keep me on speed dial in case anything else ever comes up. How about you, buddy? Needing any input for a litigation? Suing someone? Since you're with Adia, I might even give you a discount."

Shark finally retrieves the snack from the vending machine and starts to unwrap it. Looks to be a packet of some kind of nut. Not any type Earth's ever had, though.

"How'd you meet her? Old pal of hers?"

He unfolds his arms, slowly, and takes the offered card. Though he doesn't show it, he briefly admires the tech that allows the text to change to a readable language, Mostly he frowns at the job title printed on that little rectangle while Shark rattles off an explanation of his services.

Why would Adia need legal advice? In the Nexus, of all places? Is she in trouble? No, she would have told him. Was she in trouble? She told him plenty about the past three years but it's a lot of time to cover.

His gaze flicks back to Shark. He tucks the card into an inside pocket of his jacket before re-folding his arms across his chest. He doesn't like any of this. "I'm good," he replies, looking Shark up and down with renewed suspicion. The question of how they met is returned with a twitch of his jaw. "We met on her ship. But we're more than pals. She's my girlfriend."

Shark's eyebrows go up and he smiles even wider. It's a VERY phony smile. Practiced and belied entirely by the glint in the eyes behind those dark glasses.

"Oh shit! Are you the famous Caspar?" His voice his so much BRIGHTER. Chirpier. Canned customer service voice. "Because last I heard, that guy GHOSTED! Completely left a nice girl out to dry! Left her all KINDS of fucked up after the fact because she lost someone she cared a whole fucking lot about! I mean, you can't be him, right? Because man, what kind of scumsucker goes BACK to a girl after he did her dirty like that?! I mean, she's so NICE. Of COURSE she's gonna take someone back if they say the right things or make the right faces or maybe cry a little to show how SORRY they are!

"I mean, I'M a bastard, but what kinda guy is THAT? A real fucker, if you ask me!"

The words hit him like a physical force. He loses the suspicious frown, his eyes widening almost comically as his face pales, his jaw trembling with the effort of keeping it shut. It doesn't matter that it's some strange alien he doesn't know chirping out insults from a fake, pointy smile. It doesn't matter who's saying them.

Because it's the absolute truth.

He swallows. Keeps Shark's gaze, although he doesn't bother to hide his shame. "That's right," he replies. "I'm a monster. I had the heart of the most perfect girl in the universe in my hands and I broke it. Twice. And even after that, she took me back. She forgave me." His voice catches and he has to stop to take a breath. "So, I'll tell you what kind of monster goes back. One that's not going to ruin the only good thing he has. That he's ever had. If I spend the rest of my life making it up to her, it won't be enough. But I'll damn well try."

And with one more shaky breath, the mask slips back into place.

"And that includes keeping her safe. So while we're on the subject of monsters, why is a self-proclaimed bastard so invested in a nice girl like her?" He leans into Shark's personal space, using his five feet eight inches to his benefit for once. "It wouldn't be because you're trying to take advantage of her, would it?"

"Nah, dawg." The facade of cheerfulness falls again, back to his more conversational tone that better suits a shady fellow like him. "She and I are tight. I consider her a friend. And you know what I do for friends?

"I look out for 'em."

Shark pockets the empty snack bag and when his hand comes back out, there's a flash of silver. A switchblade drawn and opened with a twirl...which Shark proceeds to use to pick at his teeth. Gotta take care of 'em, you know? It's a great tool for getting things out from between them! ~~And intimidating punkasses.~~

"But I mean," the lawyer continues, lifting the blade from his teeth so he can talk. Runs his tongue over the spot that'd just been picked at. "A self-proclaimed bastard is doing better by Adia baby than her supposed boyfriend. Not a good look for you, I'm afraid!" He holds the blade out flat so he can use the reflection to examine his teeth.

"And you know what's an even worse look?" His gaze is back up at Caspar now, casually twirling the knife over his fingers. "Guys who get their bozack cut the fuck off cuz they keep ruining the lives of nice girls. I mean, not that I've SEEN that before! But it can't be good, right? Not growing THAT shit back any time soon."

The switchblade gets one last twirl before it clicks shut and is replaced back inside Shark's pocket.

"Almost as bad as guys who do that to nice girls and never get their just desserts. I hate seeing guys skate free on heinous shit. I mean, I'm a lawyer! Of course I do!"

The only twitch of emotion on Caspar's face appears when Shark refers to Adia as baby. Otherwise, he seems mildly amused at best, the corner of his mouth turning up into a small smirk. His past sins against his girl? He'll never forgive himself those. But how he treats her now?

That record is spotless.

But he has to give credit to the little guy, he's got a decent technique, especially the theatrical display of the switchblade. "Real tight, huh? Gotta tell you, that'd be a hell of a lot more intimidating if I had any idea who you are. Your business card doesn’t even have your name on it. For all I know, you could be some rando who gets his rocks off by threatening to cut a stranger’s dick off.”

"Shows what you know, jackass, that is my name." He jerks his goateed chin towards the business card. "Litigation and Prosecution Specialist Lawyer. Friends call me Shark. You can call me 'sir'. Maybe 'Prosecution Specialist Lawyer' if we break the ice, which will be never." Someone's already apparently decided that he just plain doesn't like Caspar!

"And hey, go ahead and ask her about me! I don't have to prove shit to you. And just for the record, biting is way more my kink than cutting, so there'll be no funny business when I eventually have to give your sack a shave. Keepin' it clean, real professional."

He'd scoff at the alien's name, but as a member of a race who almost always referred to themselves by model number, he doesn't have a lot of room to judge. That nickname, though... he tunes the rest of Shark's chatter out while he recalls Adia mentioning a friend with that very name. An alien, she told him. You'll like him, she added. He's a clone, too.

Frak. Frak.

His suspicious smirk twitches into a frown. "She didn't tell me you were green."

And then he sighs. Audibly. Because Adia is tight with this ridiculous-looking douchebag and now he's going to have to make nice with him for Adia's sake and uggghhhh.

"I'll call you whatever you want if you promise not to refer to your kinks and my anatomy in the same breath again, because gross, and also? Gross. I can't believe there's an entire planet of you out there."

Okay. So much for being nice. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs.

"You obviously care about her well-being, and I can respect that. If it makes you feel like a good friend to threaten me, fine. Knock yourself out. But I'm not going to hurt her again, so you're only wasting your breath."

"An entire planet, several satellites, moons, remote operations, settlements AND trade ships of us! With the exact same genes! No escape, chump!" Even though a lot of the clones out there aren't quite as mouthy as Shark. Smarmy and fed-up, yes. But not mouthy. That's the fun of not being one of the ones made for retail services! Who cares about customers. "And you WISH you could get with all this."

Shark rolls his eyes at Caspar's ongoing assertions, making a brief jerk-off motion with one hand. "Pleeeeease. You can tell HER that all you want, but you're not getting past me, asshole. You fucked her BIG TIME twice over and you think you're in the clear now? Just cuz she forgave you? That just shows she's way better people than WE'LL ever be. Just know that WHEN you blow it again, I'm gonna be waiting in the wings."

"My mistake. Congratulations on spreading yourself around." Caspar tugs on the cuffs of his sleeves, his face an expressionless mask, internally amazed at the ego on this little weirdo. Why would Adia even suggest that they had anything in common?

Well, at least he can say that he tried to be nice. Barely. He puts his hand in his pocket and pulls out what looks like a smartphone.

"Better make yourself comfortable, then, because you're going to be waiting in the wings for the rest of your annoying little life." He taps something on the screen and then gives the alien an unfriendly smirk. "I'll let Adia know you said hi."

And then he teleports out of the Nexus.

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+1 Cylon to the Nexus

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