The Copper Bell Hotel Casino (grand opening "ceremony")

[notmuch_23 2300]

"The twenty-four ounce top sirloin," Aveline says, "Osiria knows how to cook those to taste better than most ribeyes I've had. Pork blade steak is pretty damn tasty too."

The top sirloin cut of beef makes a pretty good steak, but is not nearly as expensive as a t-bone, ribeye,or especially a filet mignon.

"If yer askin' bout liquor or tobacco, I've never smoked, and the only spirits I ever tasted were right from our still before I spit them out; don't get high from your own supply."

Mal may be a little more familiar with these brands and lines of whiskey than Aveline is, especially since like the rest of the theme of this place, they're more affordable for the average person to indulge in.

[danzilla3 5018]

"Well, I'll certainly take your advice regarding the steak," Mal said, picking up the menu, "Now let's see what you've got here..."

The Copper Bell's selection of whiskey nicely straddled the line between price and quality; with even the more expensive liquors being within the price range of a normal person looking to splurge. Alcohol from all corners of Lagrimosa had found their way onto the menu in front of him. Perhaps he would come back here another time to take a deep accounting of the hotel's stock. At least, if things went well tonight.

Upon the waiters return, Mal ordered a twenty-four ounce top sirloin, as well as a favorite bourbon originating from Doughton. Once Aveline had put in anything she wanted, he would open up conversation. 

"So I think you mentioned it before, but you and your brother aren't from Val originally?"

[Walk Among The Abyss 332]

The man sitting at the slots machine looked…average. The top of his shiny, bald head down to his toes was average. There was little description to give about the man. His current attire spoke of a middle-aged husband who wore the same five outfits over the span of ten years. His green drab vest lined with pockets up and down was the brightest and noticeable thing about him.

“Ah yes, yes. Good good. Very nice, “murmuring to himself as he pulled the lever down and watched the symbols race before his eyes. The coins he was winning were insignificant. He was winning though. Am I though? I never win. Only lose. Other ramblings hopped in.

Where did this money come from? It didn’t matter. Drift had money and had stumbled upon the casino.

How long have I been here? That too did not matter. Time to him was a distant, unimpressive illusion that bored him.

Quickly he popped a pill from his hand and resumed his lever actions. Pull, lose. Pull, lose. Pull, lose. “This is not going as expected now.”

[notmuch_23 2300]

Aveline also ordered a twenty-four ounce top sirloin, medium rare, and an orange cream pop. Aveline must admit that Thurgood buying part of the Damn Good Soda Company was a great business move, even if the CEO made a blunder expanding too fast; she even heard that Tyler's mom is seeking to retire, and is selling her 15% share. Aveline already made a nice offer.

"No, we're not," Aveline replies, "we were born on Earth, to a couple of drunks that knew waaay too much about firearms and combat to have not taken part."

---

Meanwhile, in the casino section of the same floor, one of the unique things the Copper Bell Casino has are almost purely electromechanical slot machines. There are many of the slock, newer electronic ones, but some gamblers love the experience of putting real coins into a slot, feeling the coil spring stretch as they pull the handle, hear the catches as each reel stops, and perhaps most importantly, hear the coins they win hit the metal tray. Of course, the designs have been updated to deter cheaters using certain devices to get more than they won from the machines, like light wands to fool the photogate that counts coins before they hit the tray. The "almost" part of almost purely electromechanical slots are electronics that help thwart cheating. The final photogate is only one of five counting mechanisms for coin payouts. Thurgood ain't stupid.

But a floor waitress approaches the balding, plain man, wearing a coppery-red polo and black slacks, holding a tray and a tablet computer. "Would you like something to drink, sir?" she asks.

 

[Walk Among The Abyss 332]

Drift tilted his, slowly twisting it to the waitress.

“You see, I’ve been sitting here for what seems like ages and I’ve lost some and gained some but, “he smiled, staring at the waitress, “I’m not sure where I found this money.” Putting what old, ancient coins he had won or lost into one of his vest pockets, he turned the chair around to face the waitress.

“I fear I’m no good at slots. Any suggestion on where at inside here I could sit and eat?” A broad a bright smile continued through his questions to the waitress.

[notmuch_23 2300]

What Drift refers to as "old, ancient coins" really are brand fucking new.

The waitress gives him a weird look. "Sir, those are slot tokens. If you want to convert them to Terr- Fra- no... what's this continent called now... Lagrimosian coin, you'll need to do so at one of the cashier windows. As for places to eat, there's the buffet one floor down, the bar towards the center of the casino floor, the mall food court on the fifth basement floor, or the bar right across from the subway station."

[danzilla3 5018]

"You're not the first person from Earth I've met. From what I've heard, they know quite a bit about guns and war there."

The waiter arrived with Mal's selected beverage and two tumblers. Mal was no connoisseur, but he always took a moment to enjoy the scent of a freshly opened bottle of booze before he poured it. Once the liquid was in the glass however, he wasted no time taking a sip and enjoying the burn as it flowed down his throat. Even though Aveline had espoused a philosophy of not drinking from her own establishment; he would still do the polite thing, and offer her a glass before continuing. 

"I was born in Last Chance. My father was a thief, but he wanted better for me. Then my mom got sick and... well, he couldn't make enough on his own to cover the cost of treatment."

[notmuch_23 2300]

"At least your dad cared," Aveline says after refusing, again, to drink any booze.

Honestly, childhood is a very sore spot for her. Only bright spot is that it led her to teach herself how to play electric guitar.

So she just sits awkwardly waiting for mal to say something else, or the waiter to return with their steaks.

[danzilla3 5018]

"Yeah... I was lucky in some regards."

Mal took a long sip from his glass as he pushed memories of his childhood to the side, and tried to think of something else to talk about. Aveline seemed reluctant to talk about her early life, and honestly his own youth was filled with things he didn't want to discuss with a date either. Not sure how to proceed, he decided to reveal a bit more about himself; at least the parts he knew he could safely reveal.

"I guess he got his wish in some ways. I joined up with the military; managed to make my way up to Sargent before I... retired to pursue other opportunities."

Another sip of whiskey was followed by another question, "What about you? John mentioned something about a hydra?"

[notmuch_23 2300]

"Ahh, yes, they hydra..." Aveline says, "I set out from the first ever Mil Dot location with a trailer full of arms to sell in a nation up north. They were in a civil battle, too short to have been a proper war I learned later, and on the road, a portal opened up to a jungle. Some tree-person told me about a hydra. I was driving to a staging area when some douche slams into the right door of my truck. I get out to investigate, and some weird fuckin' monsters attack us. I take care of them, and drive towards the staging area. I get there, somebody else another fighter cuts some of the hydra's neck, and one lands on the trailer. Fortunately, after I get my Barrett M82 out. I snipe an eye, and eventually a heart."

Yes, it's highly abridged. aveline doesn't remember a lot of the details, what with the whirlwind of activity afterwards...

[danzilla3 5018]

"Sounds like a hell of a fight," Mal replied, "Guess it all worked out in the end though."

The waiter returned with two plates on which the pair's meal sat. Once the plate was on the table, Mal wasted no time digging into the meat; and found it tender and flavorful. Eating in silence, Mal found himself enjoying Aveline's company. He still wasn't quite sure what she thought of him; the female Singlance was a hard woman to read, but she didn't seem to be looking for an exit. Besides, he had misread her before, so maybe it was best not to read too much into things.

Once he had finished his steak, Mal set down his silverware and regarded Aveline.

"Best I've had in a while... though I admit, I've been living on fast food for awhile now."

[Walk Among The Abyss 332]

Empty eyes stared back at the waitress. “Slot tokens…” Repeating the words back, slowly, creepily, as if they were new to him. “Lag-Ri-Mos-Ian coins?” More repeating. More confusion. Drift smiled, bringing his bald head closer to his mouth.

“I find myself getting lost lately without knowledge of knowing why,” at this he chuckled. He knew why or, he felt it. It was getting better. His odd mishaps were less frequent. The randomization though, was more frequent. “Yes, yes. Thank you. I will find it.”

[notmuch_23 2300]

To be fair, Aveline doesn't know what she thinks of him either.

But the top sirloin was perfectly seasoned and cooked; guess Osiria taught the other cooks well, or the one that made these knows what they're doing.

"Yeah, this is really good," Aveline says after she swallows her last bite. "We had to learn to cook for ourselves a long time ago, so we don't eat much fast food normally. But uh, how do you make a living?" Aveline asks.

---

"The cashier stations are on the other side of the middle bar; they have the word 'Cashier' over them," the waitress replies, "and you should probably see a neurologist about your problem." then she walks away to serve other gamblers, nothing more she can do there.

[danzilla3 5018]

Ah, here was the thorny bit.

There seemed little point in outright lying to a woman like Aveline; who seemed more than savvy enough to see through any fabrication he might come up with on the fly. More than that, if this had any chance of becoming a relationship, he didn't want it to start with a lie. So he decided that he would tell as much of the truth as possible without going into extraneous detail. After all, she wasn't inquiring about every specific nuance of his job. 

"I'm a security consultant for the Hyperion Empire. I work with Prince Knight to assess potential threats to the nation and his family."

[notmuch_23 2300]

"Huh," Aveline says, "how has Hyperion been doing? We've got a store location up in Port Kyros..."

Truthfully, Aveline thought something bad happened to Hyperion; they had to gut that nice building before it was even a year old. Moving the wind turbines was the hardest part. The blades, nacelles, and tower segments are down in the storage area normally reserved for mall tenants. The current ones have enough for now though.