Spanner nods dutifully. "Sure thing, Commander," he responds, clearly uncomfortable calling you anything less formal." He follows you to the Orb...

Quote from: Mr. Kent;748442Jolene:
Gordy whiles away the hours with you reminiscing until the meeting time approaches. He has no significant other, since you asked--farmwork keeps him busy. He's staying in Q-Town tonight, and in the morning he'll head to Clio to seek a subsidy.

"It takes a lot to keep the hydroponics up and running," he sighs. "The generator power is getting' so expensive, it's come down to us asking for financial aid." He shakes his head. He can't stay long, but bids you adieu and prepares to leave.

OOC: During the conversation I express sympathy about the power situation, and milk a little bit more out if this is a common state for other farmers elsewhere on Qetesh. After he leaves I'll make a compad note to check the rest of the domes on the Qetesh for similar energy needs. Also check the viability of the prototype battery to solve their hydroponic energy needs, possibly with accessible solar generation.

I'll give him any bureaucratic advice that I can before he heads off to Clio, as I just researched it and have the skill, maybe it will keep him well. I also ask when he returns, and make the warm gesture for a meal and a friendly face after long distance travel. I'll try to not give him any false hopes, as I still need to stay sharp for work, so I try to keep it platonic.

Waves to Blinov after he enters, to catch his eye and flag which table she's at. {I will let him approach on his own time. Perhaps he has some catching up to do with acquaintances, and I could use a moment myself.} Busies herself with a sweet tea and absently let's her eye travel among the patrons, in and outside.

Quote from: Mr. Kent;748442You arrive at Dolly Q's close to the meeting time, and see by a young farmer about to leave Jolene's table. He nods courteously.

Dolly Q herself beams widely as you enter. "Hello," she coos, recognizing you from before. She waves genially, ruffling her gray feathers, and her round gray eyes twinkle in her otherwise humanlike face. She is unlike any Qotah you've ever heard of, gentle and approachable, seemingly pacifistic to a fault. She speaks little of her former flock, apparently considering her employees and customers as her new family.

"Hey Dolly, how's your Q*Bert 4D score holding up?" asks Blinov, nodding at the vintage holographic arcade table sparking-as-new in the corner of the diner. "Better stay sharp, I see some young hawks rising up the virtual scoreboard on Shaddai."

After the small talk [you can insert, Mr. Kent] he heads over to Jojo's table to order a bucket of fries and get the info-update.

Once Spanner and Alexsandr arrive at the Golden Orb he tries to find a table that has a good view of the whole room and sits down.  He orders some food and a beer.  He tries to casually observe any of the NME personnel that are there and he is specifically trying to observe the NME woman in the suit.  He will try to hide his observation behind eating and conversation with Spanner.

Jolene:
According to the latest Qeteshi Energy Survey (compiled by the Qeteshi governor's agriculture expert), most of the generators supplying power to the farms are deteriorating Mandate tech, which has grown inefficient over the years. Q-Town region farms consume a lot of energy, but large Jessup plantations' costs are through the roof (er, dome)! It is clear to you that Qeteshi energy-use is a concern that has steadily increased over the years for the dozen domes on the planet.

Newsun-Matsuri has recently seized on this need, offering to partner with the Qeteshi government for energy solutions. Solar energy might be a viable solution, but Qetesh is only legally allowed to obtain solar-power through NME, and the corporation definitely neglects that line of business in order to sell their big industrial power systems.

The Titan Protectorate, while constantly expanding their military force on the core worlds, is loath to intervene with business matters, even with planetary governments involved, so long as said matters do not interfere with Protectorate security measures. Thus, NME seems to have a bit of an energy monopoly on this planet, possibly others.

As its getting quite late, Dolly's diner is very empty. Even though the place is open until midnight, the hard-working farmfolk are likely off to bed by now. As Gordy leaves, so do the gang of farmhands from outside. They had entered boisterously, ordered small meals, then jumped back in their trucks and sped off to their simple homes for a good night's rest.

Blinov:
Dolly Q flexes her fingers. "Ooh! I'd better practice then--thanks for the heads-up, Blinov!" After you order your fries, Dolly hastily fixes them up and brings them out.

Aleksandr:
The table in the farthest corner supplies a nice wide view of the bar, and of course the double doors into the lobby are still wide open, granting a good view of the main lobby staircase.

"Swank," Spanner says, looking at the Orb's decor in awe.

You see Montour and Baldwin retire upstairs with several other NME workers. The suit woman tries to entice the golden-eyed man (?) to spend more time with her, but he is utterly aloof, and walks upstairs. Distraught, the woman frowns (does she even have another expression?) then heads for the bar. She orders something cold, and continues to fan herself.

"Do you happen to have a Comm-Pad?" Alexsandr asks Spanner.

"Compad? Oh! Yeah...just a sec..." The young man digs furiously into his backpack. It takes him a bit to find it, but when he does he slides it gently across the table.

(OOC: Spanner basically has zero readied items, besides his backpak )

"Thanks," Alexsandr says with a smile.

He then does a search on Ran Iijima and tries to find any current images of her.  Once he's done with his search he deletes it from the Comm-Pad.  

================================

OOC:  Assuming he finds an image of her, is the woman at the bar Ran Iijima?

"So Jojo," mumbles Blinov between ketchup slathered fries. "Based on our info so far, what do you think our next move is? I'm having trouble seeing how any of this is going to turn into profit rather than pain, and I've got concert tickets to pay for."

Aleksandr:
Upon a thorough image search of NME public news, you can verify that this is indeed the roving supervisor, Ran Iijima. She has the exact same expression in her photo as she does sitting at the bar right before you.

[I really like these portraits Mr. Kent.]

[Thank you! I have several prepped and on hand but this one I had to whip up special today]

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;748891"So Jojo," mumbles Blinov between ketchup slathered fries. "Based on our info so far, what do you think our next move is? I'm having trouble seeing how any of this is going to turn into profit rather than pain, and I've got concert tickets to pay for."

Jolene pulls her gaze from the emptying parking lot to Blinov and looks at him with a tired expressionless face, then returns to gazing at the lot. "I honestly don't know. NME has this world buttered like a biscuit with its stranglehold on energy needs. Small time generation is under their license, and ignored instead for their big time generators. And Titan don't care as long as things look nice and quiet like."

"Just saw an old friend today, and if he's any indication the little farmer doesn't stand a chance in the face of Clio bankers, NME energy neglect, and Titan Protectorate pacifying." Stirs the ice in her sweet tea absently, staring at the dissipating cars like it means something deeper. "Even if we can peek at what they think the future holds, it won't add up to a hill of beans for my home world. And to sell direct is to meddle with the big boys' interests, who can't deal with the coming built-in unrest, but sure as heck can sweep us away from making things better."

"I always dreamed of an honest livin' in a time of peace. But dreams don't put food on the table -- or tickets for that matter." Her eyes look uncomfortably older than her years as she returns her resigned gaze to Blinov. "Alexsandr may bring better options yet. But just in case, have you ever survived a still run?"

Quote from: Opaopajr;749005But just in case, have you ever survived a still run?"

Blinov raises an eyebrow and lowers his voice. "Whoa, hey, where are you going with this?"

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;749052Blinov raises an eyebrow and lowers his voice. "Whoa, hey, where are you going with this?"

"You know when you sense a'trouble brewin? Let's just say NME and friends can only hold so many cards in hand before someone flips the table." Jolene punctuates that with a sip of her tea. {If they runnin off from payin the good doctor it's either they won't cuz they can, meanin they're too big to care, or they don't cuz they can't, meanin there's even bigger trouble than 'em.}