Owner	Pose
Mantis	The Marketplace. Ever a place of hustle and bustle, beings rushing everywhere, harkers trying to be heard above one another to draw people to their booths. The sheet number of people moving through the place is enormous.     In the midst of this mob is a green figure who has an air of serenity about her. She moves easily through the crowd, never actually brushing up against another entity. Somehow, she avoids them. It's nothing mystical but it might seem so were someone watching close enough.     Mantis has a large backpack on with a variety of weapons sticking out the top. Her crew are somewhere in the crowd in that same situation. Except Hzt. He had a smaller bag and was picking up ammunition instead of weapons themselves. Due to the entire size issue.     Mantis pauses at a weapons stall, looking over the variety of blasters on display with a critical eye. After all, if she's going to help with another revolution, they should be armed with the best.
Loki	The likes of Beldar-Eki haven't been seen in these parts for several cycles. The great gaping maw of Knowhere has floated through its orbit in space several times, the market having fluctuated through a myriad of collapses and rises that have seen the fortunes of many made then shattered. Yet when he arrives in system it's always something of a crap-shoot. The chances of him being met at the docks by warm faces with happy greetings is as likely as him being met with the barrels of several guns.     It's positively exhilarating.     So when the incognito scion of Asgard emerges from the maw of his wasp-like courier vessel, he looks around at all the unsmiling faces even as he descends the ramp, then he stops and sort of looks askance at them, one eyebrow quirking as his arms spread open as if seeking a hug and that roguish smile touches his features...     He's overjoyed when the men bust out with the warm cheers, "Beldar! You dirty old dog!"
Mantis	With a few new additions to the bag, Mantis decides there isn't room for one more energy blaster. Time to take the load back to her ship and see what everyone else came up with. Then plan for an invasion. Because a tiny crew and an itty bitty ship against an empire? Sounds like fun.     She turns to head toward the docking bays when she hears the roar and commotion ahead. Her antennae shift that direction, seeking the mood of that crowd before she can even get close. She doesn't need to be walking into a conflict. That makes her almost giggle. She's armed for it if she does. Not the most positive of things and she would like to save the energy cells until they hatch their plan.     As she walks closer, she sees the silhouette of a very familiar ship. That has har pausing and tilting her head to the side. Been some time since she ran into Beldar-Eki. Should have known a crowd like that was inspired by his presence. She comes up to the back of the group of men and literally peeks around one's shoulder, trying to spot the man in question.
Loki	The antennae are really too darn cute, but wouldn't be enough to pick Mantis out of a crowd on this planet. But with the eyes attached to them and the sort of serene outlook that shines from them, well he can't help but recognize her. Even at three beings deep in the crowd.     He steps forwards, "Thanagarian Brandy, gents. In the hold, help yourselves." He waves the men forwards even as a large three-legged creature bounds up the ramp towards the storage area in back. Beldar slaps the creature on the shoulder and hops the last step off the gantry. A few more aliens thump up the ramp towards the vehicle and then he lifts his voice, "Mantis, good to see you too!"     But at the annoucement of the Champion of the Grandmaster's Arena, those pirates and traders suddenly /leap/ out of the way from around her as if she were made out of angry bees. Or some other kind of stinging insect. The crowd thins rapidly, with half beating feet though taking a moment to slap Beldar on his back, the others are positively looting his ship's hold of that brandy and then making their way off.     He strolls up to her and smiles, resting his hands on her upper arms, "How have you been, darling?"
Mantis	As the crowd parts like the Red Sea in stories from Earth, Mantis is left standing there. She's not very tall and almost frail looking. The guns sticking up out of the bag over her shoulder might be a little unusual. That isn't what made the men run though. It was simply her reputation as a fighter, the one who escaped the Arena. Certainly, the Grandmaster had recovered almost immediately and continued his ways, manning the combat with "prisoners with jobs" since he hated the S-Word. But at least a few of them had been taken from that place before they died on the sands of that evil place.     Her smile is friendly as she focuses on the taller man, looking up at him as her antennae shift to focus entirely on him instead of the area at large. "This one is well. This one is surprised to see you. It is a large galaxy. It is fortuitous to meet." She slips an arm around his waist and stands on tiptoe to give a quick peck on his cheek. "How do you fare?"
Loki	A return peck is given in response as he then slips his arm around her waist as well so they can proceed on a stroll with their step even, though he lightly pushes one of those blasters lightly to the side when it threatens to poke him in the side of the head. He strolls along, with the green woman on his arm and with a manner that might speak to him thinking that the floating decaying Celestial's head of Knowhere is his oyster. A gross gross oyster.     "Passingly well, some matters prey on my mind." He looks at her sidelong, "But is that not always the way?" He flares his off hand slightly, as if brushing past his own words and the sentiment that had spawned them. "I did want to stop by and offer a few words."     For a moment he pauses in his stride and then looks around the area, eyes flitting hither and yon. His lips purse but then he looks back to her, "Perhaps it's best we should adjourn to your ship?" But he perhaps catches a look upon her features that urges him to say, "I promise I have nothing untoward in mind, I just thought it best we should speak with some measure of privacy."
Mantis	That earns a hint of a smile. History is the cause of that look he got. Her words answer his question without addressing her belief in his lack of ulterior motives. "The Hoff is three berths down."     She takes thte lead a bit more without moving out of that circle of his arm, her own arm around his lower back and resting on his opposite side. The other hand holds the strap of the backpack in front of her shoulder, helping to support the weight. "You often have things weighing on your mind. Did you have another concern about the rules of your game?" she asks curiously as they work their way. It isn't very long for them to reach the landing dock where her ship rests, the pulsing red light moving across the display at the front of the vessel. The lower deck is down, allowing for them to walk easily into the ship itself.     Once inside, she reaches over to push a button and the ramp rises. She continues her path further in and motions him to follow. The door will seal and lock by the time they reach the next small room. There, she sets down her bag and starts taking out the weapons one by one.
Loki	"About that," Beldar walks in, his rakish almost elvish features shifting to the hint of someone rueful as he looks over the place once again. He steps forwards, however, to help her divest herself of that plethora of firepower, then he'll walk over towards the display port of the vessel... before he turns back to face her.     "When we first met, I spoke to you of that game. The sentiment. The rules?" He asks this of her, knowing well the answer but not seeking it and more to simply conjure forth those memories. "Well, I'm afraid one particular game has ended and in two days time the 14th Klelaxian Armada are going to show up here looking for answers and Beldar-Eki."     He scrunches up one eye, pointed ears colouring slightly with the rush of blood that might signal embarrassment. "I'm afraid he won't be here to be arrested and executed, as the case may be." Which in and of itself might not surprise her. Pirates and outlaws across the universe have aliases, and take them up and abandon them all of the time.
Mantis	"An entire Armada? You have been busy since last we spoke," Mantis says with a hint of amusement as she sets aside the last of the weapons. All in a nice little row. When Hzt shows up, they can allot the energy cells to each of the weapons' cartridges and then they will be set. She turns around and leans with her bottom against the edge of that table, picking up that there is something more going on here. She's not sure what. His powers are formidable and she can't really read through them with her own abilities. Yet at times, he lets a little hint of something come through.     "This one does not blame you for the choice to be absent upon their arrival. This one believes that is the wisest course of action." Being a pirate herself, she gets it. She's not had to abandon her identity but she's certainly chosen retreat over conflict when it was the better strategy. "Do you require assistance for a change of identities or...?"
Loki	"Nooo," Beldar-Eki spreads his hands to the sides as if smoothing out some sort of fine tablecloth, his fingers splaying apart as if he were seeking to conjure the words from out of the air. He points at her, "I usually can handle that well myself,"     He gets a slight wry half-smile as he looks to the side, "Normally I would do that entirely. Beldar would disappear and I'd wander off and let something else grab my attention. I'd divest myself of all the trappings, and enjoy building a new life of some sort, usually after I'm struck by some kind of inspiration."     He rounds back to her and scrunches up one eye, "But I find myself moderately reluctant to do so. However, that raises all other sorts of... difficulties."
Mantis	Now she's at a loss. If he doesn't require assistance, why has he sought her out? Is it merely another question of consience in his game? Unless it is something more simple and difficult than that.     "Do you wish this one to destroy the armada?" It's a simple question asked in a way that one might take as sarcasm. Only, that isn't really her way. Mantis is serious. If he wants her to destroy the armada, she's willing to entertain that possibility it seems. Her mind is already going through possibilities. The easiest is to get taken to their ship, likely as a prisoner. Then take them apart from the inside.     "Why are you reluctant to change identities? Or disappear?" Maybe that will give her more insight.
Loki	"Well it is one thing for Beldar-Eki to leave and change identities," He touches a hand to his chest and uncurls it towards her as if offering her something in his hand. But then that same hand and waves it to the side, "And another thing for me to do so." Which hardly makes sense since he's Beldar-Eki... isn't he?     He then takes a deep breath and cocks an eyebrow at her, "Before I go on I'd perhaps like to ask you that you hear me out, and perhaps hold any ensuing... violence, until after I'm done speaking. I promise I won't abuse the privilege." Which might be a curious thing to ask, but if there is one thing this man seems comfortable with it's his command over words.     "You see, I have not always been known as Beldar-Eki." Which she may have guessed rather well. He then seems to get a faint glow around his silhouette, a rush of a line of energy that sluices over his body and leaves the smuggler Beldar-Eki no longer standing there, and instead a rather human looking man without the ears nor quite the sharp features but still recognizable as the man somewhat. Only his garb is more greens and blacks, and his hair is no longer cropped and instead is just brushed back though still a tinged blonde-crimson.
Mantis	That gets a tilt of the head. Her antennae twitch. "The Armada does not seek out Beldar-Eki." She got there through a few mental leaps and bounds. She understands aliases, the need for false names. Smugglers and pirates have to use such things at times. But this means that his other person--His real persona?--is the one being sought by the Klelaxians. That could indeed complicate things.     As his form shimmers, her expression darkens a bit. Such a thing is unfamiliar. She's seen cloaking devices, ones that change appearances. They don't shift the way he just did. It was more like he actually changed shape. Shapeshifters did exist, of course. Only, none of them looked so humanoid. She looks over the new form. Something seems familiar but perhaps that is since he is close to the Beldar face he'd worn.     Still she reclines there comfortably. Yet, something in her has shifted a bit. Now, she isn't quite so sure about her companion. "So who are you then?"
Loki	Despite his reputation, the man before her... technically, did not lie. He made her aware of the multiplicity of his being, and the truths were there. Just not the... entirety of truth.     But then he speaks and his tone of voice is more refined, more controlled, "I am Loki. Of Asgard." He touches a hand to the center of his chest and offers a shallow bow, but his smile is that one she'd seen on Beldar's face, that slightly mischievous curl of lips as if they were both sharing a joke that the world was not privy to.     He gestures to the side, "And the Klelaxians are so much dross." He rests his hands at the small of his back, one hand grasping the wrist of the other. "I do intend to leave my past as Beldar behind..."     There's a moment as he tilts his head the other way, "But if there is a chance you are not too furious, I would not leave you behind if I had my druthers."
Mantis	Loki. Of Asgard.     That name she does know. He has a reputation on Earth. He led an invasion of aliens against the city of New York. He is the God of Mischief in the Norse pantheon.     The last part fit him well. Everything she had seen of him so far fit that mode. The games, the rules. Things that he did for his own amusement that others might not understand. Oddly, she didn't find herself angry with him. One did not get angry with a tiger for hunting prey. What he did was his nature. His being. He couldn't change that.     The confusing thing was his reasons for not disappearing. "This one is not furious nor angry. This one does not understand though. Why would this one matter in your plans?" Simple, direct. She isn't one to play omissions or games. She says what she thinks, more often than not.
Loki	"Always good to have a wild card in your hand." The Asgardian tells her as he casually pushes around some of the few pieces of bricabrac in her cabin. He then turns to her, eyebrow quirked as he jams his hands deep into the pockets of his coat. "But that would be disingenuous of me." He steps towards her and tilts his head the other way as if from this angle matters might make more sense.     "Just normally I am fairly at ease with my departure from certain paths that I tread upon." He takes up one of the blasters she has set to the side and flips the breach open to consider it, leaning down to exhale a puff of breath and clear out the barrel, then he snaps it shut and says off-handedly, "I hope you got a good deal on these, by the bye."     But then he folds his arms over his chest and claps his hands upon his upper arms, as if it were cold and he eyes her again even as she reclines there so at ease with herself. "I believe I just found myself exhibiting the curious characteristic of not wanting to abandon the facade because then I would lose contact with you. Which is strange. For me."     A wave of his hand, "Take that as you will."
Mantis	"It was an excellent deal," Mantis murmurs as he examines the weapon then sets it back down. She remains where she has been, not pushing away, not shifting her position of transfering her weight front one foot to the other. Her face is neutral, the information being analyzed through that unusual mind of hers. She doesn't always see things the same way other people do. A singularly different perspective on the world.     He doesn't want to lose contact with her. Strange. They aren't in love. Friends. Had a few good times. He had proven to be lovely company on the times they had crossed paths. So why would he be so attached? Unless it was her unusual outlook.     She didn't judge him. She took the information he provided and answered his questions honestly, not colored with concerns others might have. Even with his revelation, she didn't condemn him out of hand just becauase he was who he was. Or his actions in the past. Not everyone had a perfect history. They all had skeletons. Some literally.     "Then if you do not wish to lose contact with this one, how shall we deal with your situation?" Her path is set. She will still stand by him if that is what he wishes.
Loki	"Ah, as to that," His lips part as he stops after that last word, as if holding his voice. But then he continues, perhaps having edited his initial thought. "Well, I am inclined to stage Belkar-Eki's death and then head to Earth and see where my whims take me." He steps over towards her, standing before her just a foot away and perhaps in her personal space as some might consider, but not too too close for them.     "You will, of course, have to make a show of grieving. Cry great tears, rend your hair, tear your clothes, weep for hours on end and swear vendetta upon the Klelaxians in the proper ritual manner." His lip twitches at the last, perhaps making light and teasing, but with Loki... perhaps not. Yet his smile reaches his eyes as he lightly touches a hand to the uniform she wears, brushing fingertips across the lapel as if to remove some small touch of lint.     "I know it won't be a stretch for you, just imagine as if I had passed on. I know it is hard, since the feelings would assuredly overwhelm you, but do try, my dear. Do."
Mantis	Listening to her role, Mantis' eyes are a bit wide. Her antenna shift to a vertical position on her head. Then she loses it. She just bursts out laughing, unable to stop. It lights up her face, her entire being, as she lets out that amusement. The visual of her, trying to do anything like that, is hilarious. She has to bring up a hand to cover her mouth as she giggles uncontrollably.     Maybe not the reaction he was hoping for. Maybe it was. She has no idea since she can't really read him.     "This..." The giggles interrupt and she has to try again. "This one would not be able to keep a straight face. This one is ..." More giggles. "Not an actress of such caliber." She tilts her head to the side, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Perhaps we should just kill them all isntead? It would be simpler."
Loki	"Well then," Loki flares his hands, "Never say I did not try to take the path of least resistance." He points at her somewhat but then laces his fingers with hers, taking her hand in his as he takes that other step, placing his foot between hers. It's just enough that it lets him lean closer and for the tip of his nose to touch hers.     His smile gets that wry and amused twist at the corner of it as he squeezes her hand and then says, "And to think, so many lives saved if only you were a better actress." He clucks his tongue disparagingly but that's only a moment before his eyes hood as he eases closer, then they close as he tilts his head to the side to bring a soft kiss to her lips.
Mantis	Each time he has moved closer, she hasn't budged. Relaxed. Comfortable. Waiting. She was sure he would come. It wasn't a read on his emotions so much as a remembrance of their previous visits. With a smile still on her face, Mantis slides her arms around his waist as he closes that final foot from between them. She glances up a this face, "We will give them a chance to chnage their minds. An opportunity to save themselves. Perhaps make a show of power. Perhaps they will be wise and walk away." She doubts it. At least it gives a chance though.     As he leans for the kiss, she tilts her head to accomodate. Even as she reaches behind her on the desk. A button is pushed and the doors to the room are locked, to be sure that Korg and Hzt don't just come barging in. Again.