On the Crosspath

[RedEclipse]

James, who'd been visibly fading after a rough day, suddenly perked up and genuinely cracked up at the joke, chiming in "So what's the percentage boost to the composite if we use Corsair cannibal skull dust?" Christian kept it going "Hmm, I've held iridium plates in my hands and know what that material's like, but Donnie, you're going dark on me. Definitely a few Corsair skulls in this specimen alone. Every time I look at this thing, I get this pit in my stomach - makes me wanna eat my neighbor or down a ton of synth paste" he laughed too. "Although, I can see this is actually an alloy of something else…" and right then a muffled sound came from his terminal. Christian rolled his eyes and said "Damn. Should've left this thing on the ship." He pulled the terminal out of his pocket and dropped it on the table and pushed the button to answer the call., Hologram of Jack Anderson, co-captain of Hyperion, popped up above the table. He smiled, sizing up the companions with an appraising look. Christian nodded at him "I'm guessing you need me there and can't take a single step without me?" Jack broke into a grin "Sir, perceptive as always. Hate to pull you away from dinner, but the receiving party wants to go over the estimate with you after the last meeting with the Nomads…" Christian nodded calmly, "Be there soon." and cut the connection, slipping the terminal back into his pocket.

He looked at his friends expectantly "Well, I'm glad that besides catching up the old-fashioned way we got all the business stuff sorted. Don't hold it against me, the schedule's brutal." He glanced at James "Before you pass out on me, I'm gonna need you on Hyperion. You're looking way more alive now. Deal with Jack and the Livadia bureaucracy bullshit and the best suite on Hyperion is all yours." Christian let out a big yawn, James got a little heated… "I'd rather rot in hell than take your luxury suites, no better than a prison cell. But then again, you've got consistently hot water, which is a system-wide rarity." Christian reached out his hand and James used him as leverage to stand up "Easy there, big guy!" Christian yelped and they nearly fell over laughing like a couple of idiots. "Yeah well, if Hyperion's got as much muscle as you do, Vega's got this in the bag." Christian was nearly crying from laughing "Buddy, you're clearly wasted already, like the rest of us honestly. Next time we gotta eat more before we drink. And if you wanna keep measuring like in the school, do it in the bathroom, considering where Vega is versus where Hyperion is." Christian looked at Donagan "C'mon, old man. Walk us to the launch pad. Maybe we'll grab another drink on the way…"