Peresphone

OOC: Feel free to post your Persephone activities here

James / GM

The Eavesdown Docks teemed with people of every conceivable origin. In the midst of the colors, sounds and smells a man and woman appeared that almost seemed to make time stand still. The woman shone with beauty and sophistication. The man on whose arm she alighted, was more dazzling by far. Like a radiant beam of sunlight erupting from a overcast sky, they clearly did not belong in the mob that filtered through the streets outside the spaceport.

"I would love a bite to eat, and to find good dressmaker, but first I need to find the local Blue Sun office. Would you know the way, Mr. Vincent, I mean Damiel?" Poppy replied with a lovely smile.

-Poppy

Damiel glanced a little sharply over at her. "Blue Sun, is it?" he asked benignly. "The House has had dealings with members of that organization across the 'Verse. Naturally, we know where the HQ is located." He smiled faintly at her. "I can take you there, yes. Though, fair warning: there are some members of the company that Companions aren't allowed to interact with, and some of them reside on Persephone. If I see one of these black-marked individuals, you will have to excuse me for departing as hurriedly and politely as possible."

Poppy didn't quite take his meaning. Her knowledge of how Guild Law worked was rather limited. "Oh, by no means. I would never consider working with the black market. All my dealing are within the corporation. I've worked for them ever since the war. Pioneer Provisions and Oufitters, supplying every need for the outbound settler. I've been a Certified Nutritionist with them for years. You know, grain stock, supplements and fertilizer. Lately I've been on a partial-leave while I work on the hours for my Captain's license. They still like me to check in when I make land fall. It should only take a few minutes.

How long have you been on Persephone? What's it like here?" She said with great eagerness.

-Poppy

Damiel had to laugh. It sounded gentle, though it came through loud enough to remain soft even through the hubbub of the crowded area. "Ah, no, not black market," he assured her. "Black marks from the Companions mean no Companion will ever have anything to do with you again, usually just for business. But given the nature of offenses that happen to cause those black marks, it's usually also a personal warning to the rest of the Guild."

He sobered for a moment. "Companions choose their own contracts. They sit down and settle up the particulars and payment before they officially take it. Like what I'm doing with your Captain tomorrow over breakfast. If there's anything he doesn't want me to do, he needs to put it out there for negotiations. The same with my duties and expectations."

He smiled over at her. "As for Persephone, the planet and I have a long history. My father and mother lived here for quite some time before they moved to Beaumonde. I was born here. Father was a doctor, mother was a Companion - retired by then. They moved to Beaumonde after certain high-class elements that often dealt with my father took offense to him marrying a Companion." He sighed softly. "It's one thing to have us on your arm as a status symbol, but quite another to marry one. Apparently. Most people aren't in favor of it due to social ideas about what a Companion does." He shrugged broad shoulders. "But Beaumonde was nice. It's where I grew up. Persephone..."

He hesitated. "I came to live with my godmother, also a Companion, when I was about twelve. Mother had seen potential in me, and so when she needed me sent away, the House was the nearest and best place for it. It's where all her friends and family were. When the war broke out, my godmother and I went to Sihnon and the Houses there. It's way more traditional in the Core." He glanced around. "Out here, it's sort of... borderline. Not quite the wilderness, but not quite as civilized. It's a great place to be if you want to do business quietly, or if you want to make a lot of contacts. The Alliance may have a presence here, but Persephone hasn't forgotten that it was originally on the side of the Browncoats."

He smiled over at her again. "There's trouble to be found here. In spades. Even a Companion such as myself can find it dogging his footsteps, even with the threat of black marks against the ones who do the dogging. Some entities are so powerful, they really could care less what a group of..." He squints in bemused thought. "How was it put? A group of glorified whores, that was it. What they think." He chuckled and shook his head. "But it's the truth. And they're not the only ones who feel that way. We're lovely to have around for political reasons, but you just don't marry a prostitute. Which is hardly what we are."

Poppy smiled at his rather frank description of himself and his profession. Indeed she had heard many similar comments even in her father's house. She wasn't sure if she should be embarrassed to be walking with a companion. It would look horrible back home. But he seemed like a nice man and she was somewhere she had never been and it was good to have a male escort.

"I know sort of how you feel, I used to date a Minister of Parliament many years ago. Apparently I was pretty enough to run around with, but I was not of a high enough social caste for his taste. Wish he had told me that in the beginning." Her smile faded for a moment as painful memories of the affair came back into her mind. "But that was a long way from here. I'm from Bernadette. My family originally settled there when the spaceark Prometheus landed. It had just been terraformed. And the Brandes clan has been there ever since. I'm the first in my family to even attend school offworld. My father wasn't too pleased about it, he got free tuition as Vice Chancellor of the Univeristy of Bernadette, but I really wanted to get away. Now here I am out in the Black. The colonies are so adorable. They're like taking a step back in an ancient holovid. This is the most modern world I've seen since I left the core."

She paused for a moment, looking at the man she was walking with. "I hope I am not being to nosy, I have never had the chance to meet a Companion before. Which is odd in that I've now traveled with brigands, thieves and former Browncoats, but I find myself most nervous with you. I suppose its because I'm not sure what to expect from a talking to a companion. You look so glamorous, but companions were a rather taboo subject back home. I hope that doesn't make you feel uncomfortable."

-Poppy

"No, very little makes me uncomfortable," Damiel assured Poppy with a pat of her hand where it sat on her arm. "Part of why I want as many of your crew-mates to come with the Captain tomorrow morning is to see what really happens within a Companion House." He grinned a little mischievously. "It's not a giant orgy, contrary to popular belief. Every single Registered Companion is allowed to enter the Guild at age twelve, at the youngest. They are taught to read and write if they don't already know the basics, but that puts them at the bottom of things overall. If they have the drive to better themselves enough, nothing is an impediment." He smiles as he quite obviously remembers his own instruction. "We get the same education as you might find in a very fine private institution. Maths, sciences, the arts - all of it. When we're old enough, we learn about psychology as well. We do physical sports and activities, even learn self-defense from various masters of the martial arts. By the time we're old enough to learn love-play, which is the thing everyone seems to focus on with Companions, those who haven't met the strict guidelines and markers in place are not allowed to continue any farther. Sometimes, the young women and men decide it's not for them and leave. Those who stay learn the art of sexual intercourse, but also the art of love-making. Not every person who requests us wants that part of our duties. It's why we have our tea ceremony while ironing out the contract at the beginning. We each know what to expect for the duration of the contract."

He shrugged up a shoulder at her nonchalantly. "A Companion is just that - a companion. We're meant to be the people who can keep secrets and be friends to others, as well as making someone feel as if they were the only person in the world that mattered. That's our greatest duty in life. People pay good money to feel and have, for however long it might be, someone who is their best friend, confidante, and lover all in one." He looks away again. "It's unconditional love, I suppose. For a time. As honest as it can be, and given from the heart. So when something happens between the client and the Companion to break that..." He trails off for a moment. "That's when we offer the Black Mark in our books," he finished with a simple nod.

Guard Bradshaw led Mark and Morgan over to a small shuttle bedecked in the brown and white livery of Maczarek Security. He saluted the Sergeant who was flying the thing and the three of them all got into the smallish seating area at the back of the vehicle. It was rather like a limo; right down to the complimentary champagne.

As they entered, they came face to face with a short red-haired woman. It was fair to say that she was particularly well-endowed, although the large diamond ring on one hand made it clear that she was well and truly "spoken for". Her face had a small amount of make-up on and some blue stud earrings, being framed by the short natural red hair. A glance at her stomach demonstrated something else too - she was expecting a child (her fifth actually).

Mark and Morgan felt a faint twinge of recognition. Like they'd seen this woman in an advert.

"Ma'am", Guard Bradshaw said, "This is Captain Mark Ho Chang and Ms Morgan Doyle. Captain Chang, Ms Doyle, this is Major Lady Miriam Koizumi".

- Lady Miriam Koizumi

Silent Hunter wrote:Guard Bradshaw led Mark and Morgan over to a small shuttle bedecked in the brown and white livery of Maczarek Security. He saluted the Sergeant who was flying the thing and the three of them all got into the smallish seating area at the back of the vehicle. It was rather like a limo; right down to the complimentary champagne.

As they entered, they came face to face with a short red-haired woman. It was fair to say that she was particularly well-endowed, although the large diamond ring on one hand made it clear that she was well and truly "spoken for". Her face had a small amount of make-up on and some blue stud earrings, being framed by the short natural red hair. A glance at her stomach demonstrated something else too - she was expecting a child (her fifth actually).

Mark and Morgan felt a faint twinge of recognition. Like they'd seen this woman in an advert.

"Ma'am", Guard Bradshaw said, "This is Captain Mark Ho Chang and Ms Morgan Doyle. Captain Chang, Ms Doyle, this is Major Lady Miriam Koizumi".

- Lady Miriam Koizumi

" Pleased to meet you Ma'am "

Mark was sizing up the lady and had noticed that she was expecting a child, he remembered those ambulance flights over ariel with the women in travail in the back and how he would be given priority clearance for a fast burn into St Lucies , he would get them there in good time and in one piece , His mind returns to the present
The shuttle was smallish for his large muscular frame, the engineer must have been 5' 8" since his 6' 4" height was a wee bit tight in the passenger cabin, the shuttle was nicely appointed though and the lambskin leather seating was comfy, he had to remember to order the leather for the bridge seats on the Atlantis
Now it was pay attention and let Morgan take point on this one

Mark Ho Chang

Morgan wasn't fazed by the small seating area - at 5'2", the passenger cabin was more than big enough for her. She was, however, thrown a little bit by the introduction of "Lady" Miriam Koizumi. Morgan knew that Persephone's nobles were very touchy about their titles and the protocols involved in addressing them, but she did not know exactly how one was supposed to address a woman who was both a Major and a Lady. She decided to follow Mark's lead.

"Nice to meet you, Ma'am," she said immediately after Mark.

Morgan O'Doyle

"Please", the woman said, "Call me Lady Miriam".

Lady Miriam, dressed in her Maczarek Security uniform with three Alliance decorations on the left breast (OK, one was the War Service medal) sat back in her seat as the twin engines of the shuttle whirred into life to start the three hundred mile journey to the city of Gatwick, home to the headquarters of Maczarek Security.

Once they had taken off, Miriam's hands moved towards a small refrigerator besides her.

"Can I interest either of you two in a drink?" she asked in a hostess manner.

- Major Lady

"No thank you," Morgan replied politely. The longer she sat in the shuttle, the more bizarre the circumstances appeared to be. She noticed the Alliance decorations on Lady Miriam's uniform, though due to their position over her well-endowed chest she felt uncomfortable looking too closely. Her eyes swept over the luxurious interior of the shuttle, wondering how much this thing had cost. They definitely had the money to spend on the Atlantis...the real questions were, did they still want the crew without Captain Lindemann, and if so, would they be working for the Alliance?

Morgan O'Doyle

Poppy was most intrigued as to the world of Companions Damiel was opening up to her. "It sounds very noble, but what about those that cannot afford Companion rates? There are many that could benefit positively from the interaction you are talking about, not just the wealthy and powerful."

Ahead a few blocks Poppy could make out the bold blue sign that was clearly a Blue Sun corporate building.
-Poppy

Silent Hunter wrote:"Please", the woman said, "Call me Lady Miriam".

Lady Miriam, dressed in her Maczarek Security uniform with three Alliance decorations on the left breast (OK, one was the War Service medal) sat back in her seat as the twin engines of the shuttle whirred into life to start the three hundred mile journey to the city of Gatwick, home to the headquarters of Maczarek Security.

Once they had taken off, Miriam's hands moved towards a small refrigerator besides her.

"Can I interest either of you two in a drink?" she asked in a hostess manner.

- Major Lady

Mark knew to enjoy the hospitality , He speaks in a polite voice

" Why sure Lady Miriam, Scotch if you have it "

Mark had learned to appreciate the finer liqueurs from Gunther and scotch was one of his favorites , he watched as the shuttle took off, those Alliance decoration pins had Mark's attention, were they about to become Alliance contractors, or was she part of the Alliance at one time, left them and is now a high ranking official with Maczarek Security , And if him and Morgan felt that they should join their group , would the Atlantis be funded in such a way as to always be in tip top shape and ready to respond to their beconing call , Mark liked the idea of his ship always looked after no matter where they docked, It would make Ryan and Brandon's jobs easier
The shuttle flew over Mark's beloved Atlantis

Mark Ho Chang

OOC: Should we create a new topic for the shuttle, so our posts aren't mixed up with those who are actually planetside?

OOC: I think sub threads on Persephone would be a good idea. Likely a Persephone-Blue Sun Office and a Perespone-Maczarek Security although we will likely end up with a mall and restaurant thread eventually, although those would make sense under Persephone-Eavesdown Docks or something.

-Kevin

OOC: I certainly agree there.

IC: Miriam nodded at the two decisions. Personally, she preferred to keep her mind sharp before a negotiation and anyway, she was with child.

She opened the refrigerator and poured out a Scotch for Mark, handing it to him. She then poured herself out a tonic water and sipped it with considerable grace. She didn't have companion training, but being at pretty much the same time a debutante, a children's TV presenter and a lingerie model helped with these sorts of things.

"So", she said, "Did you receive our draft contract? I've also got a brochure if you're interested".

- Mimi Koizumi