EVENT: SPACE PIRATES ▒ OXYGEN GARDENS

[ataraxites]

CHARACTERS: Ensemble production!
LOCATION: Oxygen Gardens
WARNINGS: Camping.
SUMMARY: Hanging out in camp, discussing pirates, etc.
NOTES: Open to all!

Camping may not be an expected activity on a spaceship, but the gardens are large and have clear, grassy areas for people to gather together. You can help set up tents, inventory supplies or guard the perimeter — just keep an eye out for any strange faces trying to sneak in...

Comments

flips ducks

[gilding]

[Maybe it's Sark's facial resemblance to Whale, or just the way the man had so easily fallen to sharing his work with Gold (not going out and doing any work for him, not yet, but Gold was sure a day would come), but there is something that always makes him want to nettle at the man, at least a little. Not enough to push him away entirely - he was beginning to prove his use - but certainly enough that Sark's approach has him raising his eyebrows, like he has no possible idea why Sark would ever want to be looking for him.]

I'll assume you have some reason you're about to share with me. [Which wasn't just a matter of Sark or this ship, really - people always had a reason, when they were looking for Gold. Usually to ask him to do something, but that one isn't quite so predictable on this ship.] Unless you were simply starved for conversation.

what did my ducks ever do to you koke

[certainproclivity]

[Meanwhile, it's Sark finding him just enough like Sloane to take the nettling with little more than a simper.] Well, you are one of the few people worth my time, but sadly I'm not quite that starved just yet. Not when our new friends are so eager to speak up. [He folds his hands behind his back.] I met with one of the pirates. Now, I'm not certain what he's told me has any truth to it, but I do have the means to find out. I'm telling you this, because there's roughly six people on this ship who need to know what I'm doing and fewer still that need to know why I'm doing it. [Because he will never let Neal and Keller in that deep. Not when they've possibly been compromised by the ship, itself. Taking control by knowing where the threats are and how to defeat them and how to sell that information is just for him, Gold, the Irenes, Lauren, and Bela. He can't trust any of them, either, but he can hope their interests all line up enough, so long as everyone gets what they want from this.]

[gilding]

[Well, that was certainly enough to perk Gold's interest. But then again, it wasn't like the pirates were the quiet, considering sort. They'd been yammering all over the network, from what he'd seen - and he'd preferred to simply watch, rather than chasing a conversation himself. Still, the manner of Sark's phrasing has him pause, a tilt of his head that's a little more steel-edged than the implied disinterest of a moment ago.]

Need is a very strong word, Mr. Sark. Is it yours or mine?

[It played close to desperation, played close to debts. Not to say that want didn't do much the same, but even with Sark obviously content to take a forward position on any information gathering (and getting his hands dirty in the pursuit of that), Gold was not willing to have the balance tip too much.]

[certainproclivity]

I wouldn't be so bold as to put words in your mouth, sir. [Lightly, because errant word choice can be detrimental to a good deal. And Sark's the type to stake his reputation over his life- reputation means more to him and arguably less at the same time- and that says a great deal over the thought he puts into his words.

Oh, no. That was intentional. And he appreciates that Gold caught it.] We all have some goal in mind, and it certainly doesn't line up with the goals of the greater majority of the ship. I'm only seeing to it that everyone who has the sense to use what we're given gets precisely what they want out of this.

[And that everyone else pays for it.]

[gilding]

How generous of you. [Too generous, and Gold's tone is loaded with a quietly scathing suspicion.] Unless, of course, what you want out of this going to try and come back and bite myself and these roughly six, when the time comes.

[It's a requisite scepticism borne from years of experience, but the thing is, though, that Gold doesn't really suspect that as an issue. There was marrying your plans up with another's - and waiting for the moment they tried to get one over on you; there was having someone conduct work for you - usually for some reward. But with Sark it seemed like reward was there in the machinations already. Less like a dog looking for a master and more like a snake finding a nest.

Which really just left Gold more interested in who the other people were.]

[certainproclivity]

Now whose words are those? [This is a terribly dangerous game he's playing, but he's faced down dangerous men before and come out their partner. He has confidence, even if he's tripped over himself as many times as he's succeeded. That's the brilliant part of his conditioning. If you fail and live, you come back from it, show you won't do it again, or you die.

And Sark doesn't like the idea of dying.]

I'm a man of my word, Mr. Gold, which means very little until I can prove it. Sadly, the only proof I have right now is good faith, which I'm aware doesn't spend.

[He shrugs.] I'm also aware it's not much, but it's not in my best interests to betray anyone.

[Except Neal Caffrey, but he's never given Caffrey his word on anything and he never will.]

[gilding]

[It's not a situation Gold particularly likes to be in. Making arrangements when he has very little idea of what he wants out of them. People come to him and they ask for something, they don't offer. But none of it is a situation he likes - this ship and everything happening on board it. Sark says it wouldn't be in his best interests to betray anyone and Gold believes it, because it's not in his best interests to turn down a chance at gaining more information.]

Then it seems you'll need to take your best interests and see if you can confirm your pirate's honesty. [And he has some idea of the means Sark might use to determine that, considering his own dealings with pirates.] We'll find out how well good faith stands up.

[If Sark wanted to gauge his interest before he went ahead, that should be enough for him - without it becoming anything agreed upon enough to bring in the idea of debts.]

[certainproclivity]

Indeed. [Sark doesn't smile, but his face twists into something might pass as a amusement for a man accustomed to guarding his emotions. He wouldn't have expected anything less out of this arrangement.] Luckily, I have an associate who is very good at confirming my hunches.

[It's not that he can't torture- it's just that Lauren's better at it. And he likes watching her. Everyone wins, really.]

[gilding]

[Gold raises his eyebrows slightly. Part of him is tempted to tell Sark to run along and get on with it, then, but he still finds himself curious as to who else is in this nest the man is building.]

I'll make the guess this associate is also in your collection of needs to know.

[And not just a tool, that is.]

[certainproclivity]

[Lauren's building herself a steady reputation, but he also warned her to be wary of Gold and so she won't be trying to trick him should the two meet. It's only with that regard that he doesn't lie and downplay Lauren's involvement.]

I'd go as far as to say she's my partner.

[What he doesn't give is her name. It'll come out, eventually. For now, he's fine with being coy.]

[gilding]

[Whether Sark means in the sense of business or romantic, it doesn't change Gold's quiet amusement at the answer. He's something of an expert in both, after all.]

Should I warn you of the dangers that can come from a partnership, or her?

[certainproclivity]

Sadly, I've already learned firsthand the dangers of partnering up with her. The lack of trust is surprisingly thrilling, actually.

[He might be acting factitious, but it's the truth- he and Lauren trust each other about as far as they could toss one another. The fact that he knows Lauren would sell him out to the first person who'd pay her for it is something he's prepared to deal with. All's fair in love and war, after all. And he loves her. More than he will sit here admit, but love got him nowhere before. It would get him nowhere now.]

[gilding]

[Thrilling. Not that many things could manage to surprise Gold anymore, not about people, but that didn't stop him from thinking some were just weird. And he doesn't really want to get into a discussion about what Sark finds thrilling.]

You're certainly selling the reliability of your work. [Raised eyebrows, dry tone, and then he looks away.] Maybe you should quit while you're ahead.

[Stop talking and go do something.]

[certainproclivity]

[Sark gets the implied order and just nods, smirking for no reason other than because he can and because even if he is a dog, he enjoys giving the impression he's evolved past the instincts.

Plus he's not going to apologize for his confidence- Cole called it cockiness and that's true. His reputation, barring setbacks and mishandled orders, is absolutely pristine. Of course, he's going to brag a bit. But there's a time and a place.]