Out of Nowhere - Part 2

Casually he walked over and stood over next to the stall as well. He lifted his coffee bit as if to inspect it before speaking "I suppose this passes as coffee down here. Although up in the plaza it definitely is better, for what it's worth. If there's one thing the Ferengi can improve on, it's coffee."

Ragnar shifted slightly, relaxed enough to look like he had not moved for Zedd’s benefit, though his eyes stayed on him over the rim of the cup. He took a sip and let the added burn settle under the oily bitterness. The alcohol helped mask some of it, but the truth was, Ragnar did not mind the taste. There was something honest about bad coffee. It did not pretend to be anything else, and he could appreciate that. “True,” he said, lowering the cup. “But up in the plaza it costs three times as much.” He studied Zedd openly then, as if judging what particular flavour of trouble the taller man was likely to be.

"Is that what you come down here for then? Cheap coffee? I mean, there's a lot of deals on parts and the like but this is hardly the decent place for a hangout. But if coffee that doesn't' cost much or anything at all is what gets you going, I have an offer for you. If you're who I think you are anyways..." The veiled offer was an opportunity to see if the other man would give a hint as to who he was or at least what his business in the shadow markets intended to be at the moment.

For a moment, Ragnar just watched him. Then he looked down into the cup, considered the contents with faint suspicion, and drained the rest in two steady swallows. The added burn followed the bitterness down, warm enough to settle under his ribs, before he set the empty cup aside on the edge of the stall and turned more fully towards Zedd. “Depends on the offer,” he said, the edge of something dry almost reaching his mouth. “And on who you think I am.” He let his eyes move over the other man again, slower this time, taking in the leather, the tools, the easy way he had stepped close without quite crowding. “People get both wrong down here.”

In truth Zedd wasn't much in the mood for continued games of dancing around words and the like. Either the man was the person he'd heard about, or he wasn't . He'd come out with it and if the other man wasn't willing to confirm, he'd go on his way. "I've heard of someone hanging around, weapons expert and the like. I need someone to lead combat teams for my ship. We need a garrison to defend the ship and if need be, conduct boardings. Does that sound like a job you're interested in and can handle? Otherwise I'll buy you another coffee for your time and be on my way."

Ragnar looked at him for a moment, then gave a quiet huff of laughter as he shook his head, almost bemused despite himself. “Combat teams,” he repeated, as if saying it might make it more solid. “In other words...permanent gun for hire.” There was no real insult in it, just blunt assessment, and maybe a trace of recognition he did not bother hiding. It was not as if he had been doing anything so different since coming to the quadrant, he just had not been the team lead before. He shifted his weight, one hand resting near the empty cup, and studied Zedd with a little more focus. “Yeah. That’s my skillset. But...I’ve got some rules. I don’t hurt kids. And I don’t let people I work with do it either. If that’s a problem, fine, walk on.” He let that sit there for a moment before his mouth twitched faintly. “If not...we can talk pay and berth.”

In his years of being a pirate prior, Zedd had learned many things, including following his own code of ethics. No slaves, and you didn't intentionally hurt children. Ever. Those were two things absolutely off limits to him. Any sort of trafficking of people on his part was hard no. "Well it sounds like we have business to discuss then. I need a gunslinger such as yourself, for what I'm asking I can start you out at three percent. As far as a berth, we don't have the room for much in the way of individual quarters aside from senior leadership so I'll have to put you with a room mate, only the common area is shared. Unless you had something else in mind?" He decided he'd get straight to the point and open the conversation to see what the other man was thinking.