audio.

[ex_break829]

Man. Man. You guys are just, ahahah, just a riot. The guy tied to his bed, the guy trapped in his room, that one weird couple having a blow-out — like, hello, you know we can all see that, right? [ he gives a sigh-chuckle. ] Ahh, bandits.

Aaaanyway, just wanted to check in with everyone, say hi, introduce myself. It's Handsome Jack — yes, the Handsome is legally part of my name, yes, you can just call me Jack, though I will also respond to "sir" and occasionally, "daddy". Some of you have already met me: I'd do shout outs but I've mostlyyy, uh, forgotten all your names? Sorry, kids. Thanks for helping me kill those ugly titty monsters. There's always a job for you at Hyperion.

One last thing, promise I'll make it quick. Space travel. If you know shit about building something that can leave atmo, see me after class. If you know anything about what galaxy and sector we're in, raise your hand. If you're riding out in the desert on one'a these divine spirit quests and you think "boy, that old hunk of scrap looks like it could be useful in constructing a rocket!"? Gimme a call. There could be something in it for you.

Okay kids, that's all for now. Remember to check bloodflow to your partner's bound hands every hour so they don't lose 'em. Jack out.

Comments

[ex_break829]

Screw going home. There are still better options. Build a space shuttle, colonize some other planet, find life somewhere else. Buuuut that's all a ways off. Even just getting objects to leave atmosphere can be tough on some planets, and we are really starting from scratch here.

[64th]

[ maybe he's right. maybe. but between home and Hadriel, Hadriel is the better choice. there was the hotel, too, which she also doesn't think is any better than what they've already got. so maybe he's not right. maybe this is the best it gets. ]

Colonize another planet? Is it really that easy?

[ex_break829]

Nothing's easy. We do it anyway.

[ A little shrug, jaw firmed. He's grown up with all this infrastructure already in place for generations, but how hard could it be to recreate it, right? ]

[64th]

You just do whatever you want, don't you?

[ex_break829]

[ Well, that gets a slow smile. ]

I've found that tends to be the best way to get what I want. Permission, forgiveness, yada yada.

[ He leans forward, hand on his chin. ]

How about you, Cashmere, what's your story?

[64th]

[ a unintentionally loaded question, though he doesn't strike her as the kind of guy who thinks children fighting to the death is tragic. she speaks casually, like this is Totally Normal. ]

I trained as a fighter for most of my childhood, won a competition when i was 18, and was set to live the rest of my life in as much peace as I could imagine with all my winnings. Things got a little out of hand at home, and the next thing I knew, I ended up in some unfamiliar hotel-prison with people from other worlds. As soon as I got used to that, I woke up here.

[ex_break829]

[ Jack gives a 'wow' whistle from beneath his teeth. ]

Sounds like you've had a pretty action-packed life. With a few uh, setbacks. Sucks you never got to just enjoy being on top.

[64th]

There were a couple good years in there after I won. [ maybe "good" isn't the right word, and neither is "years" but there were moments when not everything was terrible? ] This place isn't all bad, but I do miss my house.

What about you? What did you do before?

[ex_break829]

[ Casually, like it's nbd: ]

Worked my way to the top of a crappy little company, turned it into a powerhouse, became a trillionaire.

[ Died, got turned into a sentient AI, lived in some dude's head... he keeps leaving that bit out of his stories for some reason. ]

[64th]

A trillionaire? [ she raises an eyebrow at him. ] Not bad for a crappy little company. Though I don't suppose it does you much good here. Unless you use some of that business skills to negotiate with the gods.

[ex_break829]

I was hoping maybe my management experience would help get people working together, but I'm starting to see that's as likely to happen as my money showing up.

[ So he's at least accepted he's without that resource. ]

[64th]

Hmm. Well, how lucky are you? Luck isn't a bad substitute for skill.

[ex_break829]

I've been lucky. But if it's a finite quality then I've used it the hell up just showing up here.