Axel King
Oct 9th, 2003, 09:48:03 AM
Axel's eyes roamed around the bar, searching for the tell-tale signs of the people with money who might be able to afford him. The bar was apparently the front for ShadowFaene, but Axel had never been the sort of person to trust anyone just for the sake of trusting them. If he'd done that, he'd have been long dead by now.
Axel found himself an empty table, and slid into it, pulling off his coat and depositing it next to him as he did so. He felt a little unprotected without it on; the coat was usually covering enough weapons to supply a small army. But, on the advice of his robotic assistant, he'd toned down his image. "If they feel threatened," the droid had told him, "They won't want to employ you." The droid had never let Axel down in the past, so he chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
However, Axel had insisted on wearing his father's sword. His cover story was that it was a sign of respect. In truth however, it was to make him feel more secure. In as closed an environment as a bar, the vibro-sword could be as deadly a weapon as a blaster. Of course, he did have a blaster as well...he might be good, but he was no Jedi. If a blaster bolt came flying towards him, he didn't stand a chance of deflecting it back. He'd just end up dead. That was something he wanted to avoid.
Axel absent-mindedly rubbed part of the giant tattoo that covered his upper body. Aside from the symbol on his back - a bird perched on the hilt of an ornate sword, which his father had used as his symbol throughout his career - each curl represented a person that Axel had killed. Their numbers reached into the hundreds. Even Axel had forgotten the exact figure...the only "person" who knew for certain was Axel's ship.
Axel's ship, nicknamed "Trinity", was more like a flying droid than a spacecraft. Axel's father had built her, and installed various droid brains to let the ship run herself. Trinity could fly, fight, navigate and perform basic repairs all by herself, thanks to a collection of remote droids slaved into her circuitry. However, this did generate problems. Trinity developed the droid version of multiple personality disorder. However, unlike the organic version, all three personalities (hence Trinity) manifested at the same time. Axel's father had thought that it was an amusing querk, so had developed the schitzophroenia further. Axel had always found the arguements between the Navigation, Tactical and Engineering personalities amusing...he found the presence of their voices comforting. It did get confusing at times, though...the ship was never sure what tense to refer to itself in, and sustained conversations took a lot of concentration. But it did mean that Trinity could look after herself, and that was a good thing.
Axel sighed, and returned to his scanning of the bar. Hopefully, he could find someone to give him a job. And hopefully, he wouldn't have to wait long. Axel didn't like waiting. It made him cranky. And, when Axel gor cranky, his tattoo got bigger.
Axel found himself an empty table, and slid into it, pulling off his coat and depositing it next to him as he did so. He felt a little unprotected without it on; the coat was usually covering enough weapons to supply a small army. But, on the advice of his robotic assistant, he'd toned down his image. "If they feel threatened," the droid had told him, "They won't want to employ you." The droid had never let Axel down in the past, so he chose to give him the benefit of the doubt.
However, Axel had insisted on wearing his father's sword. His cover story was that it was a sign of respect. In truth however, it was to make him feel more secure. In as closed an environment as a bar, the vibro-sword could be as deadly a weapon as a blaster. Of course, he did have a blaster as well...he might be good, but he was no Jedi. If a blaster bolt came flying towards him, he didn't stand a chance of deflecting it back. He'd just end up dead. That was something he wanted to avoid.
Axel absent-mindedly rubbed part of the giant tattoo that covered his upper body. Aside from the symbol on his back - a bird perched on the hilt of an ornate sword, which his father had used as his symbol throughout his career - each curl represented a person that Axel had killed. Their numbers reached into the hundreds. Even Axel had forgotten the exact figure...the only "person" who knew for certain was Axel's ship.
Axel's ship, nicknamed "Trinity", was more like a flying droid than a spacecraft. Axel's father had built her, and installed various droid brains to let the ship run herself. Trinity could fly, fight, navigate and perform basic repairs all by herself, thanks to a collection of remote droids slaved into her circuitry. However, this did generate problems. Trinity developed the droid version of multiple personality disorder. However, unlike the organic version, all three personalities (hence Trinity) manifested at the same time. Axel's father had thought that it was an amusing querk, so had developed the schitzophroenia further. Axel had always found the arguements between the Navigation, Tactical and Engineering personalities amusing...he found the presence of their voices comforting. It did get confusing at times, though...the ship was never sure what tense to refer to itself in, and sustained conversations took a lot of concentration. But it did mean that Trinity could look after herself, and that was a good thing.
Axel sighed, and returned to his scanning of the bar. Hopefully, he could find someone to give him a job. And hopefully, he wouldn't have to wait long. Axel didn't like waiting. It made him cranky. And, when Axel gor cranky, his tattoo got bigger.