The Melting Pot

[Luno Palono]

Perfect. Now time to truly come clean! Luno moved back to his chair and slumped down in it, drooping his head and throwing his arms over the sides. Well, not entirely clean. We are almost there, Ufie! Tell her the truth about the age of the clones, but nothing else. Once we ensure that we can get out of here, we won't be able to work with her. But, I have a feeling, we may be able to arrange something with this 'Kliff' fellow.

Ufie turned to Tala, rubbing his head nervously. "Doctor Palono has a confession to make, Miss Tala. He instructed me to lie about the ages of the clones. The truth of the matter is, we are not as well informed as we should be. We have no idea how old the clones are, only that they are there. He was worried if he told you the truth, that truth, that would make you less likely to take the job. He was embarrassed at his lack of intelligence and he shamefully asks your forgiveness for the lies he told. He mistakenly was under the impression that if he told you they were young, that would make you more likely to take the job, since they would be less capable of fighting back. He is...uncertain...of how most mercenaries work and tends to believe stereotypes. Namely, mercenaries will do anything for money."

You're lucky, Luno thought to Ufie, not moving from the chair where his head was hung in shame, I wouldn't let you get away with all that under normal circumstances.

 

[Outlander]

"Not all mercenaries." Tala replied coldly. "Now then, I don't like you doctor. I don't like your ethics or your principles. I know there are things you're hiding from me, and that makes me angry." She turned back to the screen, unsure if she should say what else she was thinking. "But, I am the leader of a group of free men and women. If anyone else wants to take the job, I'm not going to stop them."

 

[Unbound]

"Besides the ethics and salary, what do you know about the mission, doctor?" Rook was a brave man. Sometimes it looked like he was crazy, but he always wanted to know, what the danger was. "Anything about security? Or about what number of clones are we talking about?" He wasn't going to take this job. Rook wasn' a kidnapper, but he tried to show the missions flaws to the others.

 

[Hiro]

Kliff listened closesly. Now, this is a hard situation he put himself in. First off, Rikva blew over a lot better than he expected. For all the things he put her through, Kliff somewhat expected his heart to be crushed. And now there was a potential job no one morally wants to accept but him.
To decline is a waste of possible money. Money he may need later on. And then, accepting right here would put himself on Tala's bad side. Tala helps pay the bills for him too, so it's a little divided on what he should do. Asking the salary implies he is interested. So he silently voiced in his visor, sending the words What's the pay? to the droid.

 

[Luno Palono]

Ufie seemed startled as he received the message from Kliff, looking around curiously. Perfect. Excellent work, Ufie. The half-breed doesn't seem nearly as hostile. We may get out of this yet. Release the further details of the mission that the man requested, I see no harm in it. Luno stayed in the same position; his eyes half-closed, his head leaning forward sadly in the chair, his arms flopping over the sides.

Ufie backed up several steps so that he stood in front of Luno, glancing back at the doctor nervously. "The security is fairly minimal. A slightly advanced security system as well as perhaps a few security droids, but nothing major. Still, unfortunately, beyond our skillset." He motioned back towards Luno. "Only two clones would be the targets." Ufie glanced nervously around the room again. "Doctor Palono, remind me what you designated as the payment."

Why are you asking me this? Ugh. No matter. I hadn't really thought to much about what the payment would be. I don't know the going rates for these kinds of missions. Let's say...ten thousand credits, plus we'll cover any other costs. Within reason, of course.

"As for payment," Ufie said quickly, "10,000 credits. Any severe mission costs will also be covered by us."

 

[Hiro]

Kliff couldn't help but whistle. Despite what Tala thinks, "That's a fair bit of money." No better way to say it. Not too much, but it is a fair amount for the job. He sent another message. Where is it?

 

[Luno Palono]

"Well I hardly think that's any of your business!" Ufie suddenly said, in response to the message. Instantly regretting it, the droid put its hand on its head.

Luno glanced up at Ufie, confused. What was that all about?

The droid looked around, shaking its head nervously. "I apologize, Doctor Palono, I'm not entirely sure what came over me. Perhaps I am malfunctioning from some heat damage I took earlier."

Right. Let's use this as an out. Luno slowly stood up, glancing down at Ufie. Tell them I need to take you back to "The Lab" for repairs. If anyone is interested in the job, they can contact us there.

Ufie continued looking around nervously. "Doctor Palono has decided to take me back to our ship to run a diagnostic. If anyone is interested in speaking further with him, they can do it there. The ship is a short way east of this city, on the outskirts." Unless anyone tries to stop him, Luno will then march toward the door, his head still hanging slightly and his arms floppy, with Ufie on his heels.

 

[Hiro]

"That was weird." Kliff noted after mild awkward silence. He didn't quite care if he really got the mission, but if he did at least that'd be a little more creds on the way. The way the droid responded, though. Seemed like there wasn't a real mission.