Sea of Stars - IC II

[Destro_Yersul]

"Not entirely. Still, seven thirty is much less auspicious. You may have it, master Navis."

The hammer fell, Echo won the orrery, and the next lot was brought out. Porcelain, lots of it, antiques kept in good repair.

[Blarghy]

Kennoch raised his glass to Trask, and a satisfied nod to Anika. Time would tell if this prize was actually useful or just an expensive toy, but either way, it made a nice bonus to his primary objective today.

[Destro_Yersul]

The bidding on the porcelain proceeded, and Quinn stayed out of it, shooting Macharius frequent glares. Sun Lee eventually won the set, and the auction turned to another lot too large to bring to the stage. The Pelican-class gun cutter was, as the Leman Russ, represented by a small pict. It was a versatile gunship, looking a little bit like a bulkier version of the Valkyries used by the Imperial Guard, and capable of carrying troops and small vehicles. Where it beat the Valkyrie was space flight - the Pelican was capable of achieving orbit on its own, making it a more valuable asset for people who regularly plied the void. Bidding started at two hundred thousand.

Aoife shook her head, as Trask made the opening bid. "They're good," she said, "but I've got a couple already. No need for more." Alexander Kros bid two ten, though, and Quinn bid two twenty five.

[PotatoGolem]

Why not? I could use a cutter. Two thirty five.

[Destro_Yersul]

Fel smirked, and a light ripple of laughter spread through the assembled guests. It was clear enough what was happening, but the others seemed to be enjoying the show. Kros and Trask were still in, and the price climbed to two fifty. Quinn stared at Macharius, perhaps daring him to make another bid before Quinn did.

[PotatoGolem]

Macharius stayed seated. Hmm, Anika, do we need another cutter? I just can't decide...

[rax]

"Oh! I need something to transport all those crates of guns I won!" Hannabel suddenly exclaims. "Two fifty five!"

[Haval]

Macharius stayed seated. Hmm, Anika, do we need another cutter? I just can't decide...

'Well we don't have anything like that. I suppose it depends on whether you want to be prepared for any space dogfights.'

[Destro_Yersul]

Trask bid two seventy. Quinn sighed, and bid two eighty five, and waited for Macharius to respond.

[rax]

"Three hundred thousand!" Hannabel calls out gaily.

[Destro_Yersul]

Three ten came from Kros, and Three twenty five from Trask. Quinn debated for a little, and then decided not to pursue this one any further.

[rax]

"Oops! There he goes again!" Hannabel mutters wryly as Quinn withdraws. She scratches her nose for a moment, considering whether to continue bidding, then decides to throw in a last bid for the fun of it. "Three thirty five!"

[Destro_Yersul]

Trask went up to three fifty. Kros didn't seem to want to go higher than that. The auctioneer called "going once..."

[rax]

With a shrug and a grin, Hannabel lets Trask have his prize.

[Destro_Yersul]

Trask seemed very pleased with his new acquisition, smiling back at Hannabel as he won the cutter. The chairs were up next, and were one of the few items that didn't seem to have many takers. Eventually Sun Lee won them, having only paid a hundred fifty thousand for the privilege. That brought the auction to the final lot - the Nectavian Laser-Panthers. These had been brought all the way from the Traxis Sector, on the far side of the Ultima Segmentum, at great expense, as part of a group of creatures Winterscale had purchased for his menagerie. He had probably kept at least one pair for himself, but that still made these creatures one of the only breeding pairs anywhere in the Segmentum Obscurus.

Bidding started at four hundred thousand, and once again involved almost every trader still present. Sun Lee had left after winning the chairs, apparently having no interest in the panthers, and a few of the others had filtered out as well. When the initial flurry of bids died down, Hadarak Fel was leading, at four fifty.

[Leon]

++Four Fifty Seven++

The true value of such creatures would surely be lost on those just after a rare pet or showpiece Ravia mused

[Destro_Yersul]

"Running out of money?" Quinn called. "Such a small bid, you must be. Four seventy!"

[Leon]

++Five Hundred++

Hadn't planed to buy the book but better to own it than some boorish trader she thought which may impact cat fund

[Destro_Yersul]

The Monk placed a bid for five fifteen - his first in a while. Kros left, as another group of traders filtered out, anticipating the end of the auction. Among these were Macharius' friends, Morwenna and Jerot. Jonquin Saul watched them go, remaining politely seated himself, but refrained from entering any bids. The hall was getting to be increasingly empty, as more and more people decided they weren't interested in the panthers, or didn't want to get involved in the bidding war between Absalom and Quinn. Trask bid five thirty.

[Haval]

'Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't you need more then two of them to have any long term plans. If they're anything like dogs you might need some fresh blood occasionally.' Anika is mostly thinking out loud 'I suppose we could always see if Winterscale has any if there's ever a need.'

[Leon]

++Five Thirty Seven++

++will cross that bridge when it comes up, may have engineered a tunnel by then anyway++

[Destro_Yersul]

Fel increased to five forty five, and the Monk went up to five sixty. By this point, there were only a small handful of Traders left in the room. Aoife was still here, as were Quinn and Saul. Fel and the Monk made five, and apart from that the only other was Winterscale, who was smiling increasingly broadly as the hall emptied out.

[Leon]

++Five Sixty Five++

[Haval]

++Five Thirty Seven++

++will cross that bridge when it comes up, may have engineered a tunnel by then anyway++

'Well if you intend to cheat I suppose that's different.'

[Destro_Yersul]

The Monk waved a hand, signaling his intent to stop bidding. Fel wasn't quite done, though, and went to five seventy five.

[Leon]

The Monk waved a hand, signaling his intent to stop bidding. Fel wasn't quite done, though, and went to five seventy five.

++Five Eighty Five++

[Destro_Yersul]

That was enough to cause Fel to back off. And then, predictably, one last time, Quinn stepped up.

"Six hundred!" he called, looking across the room to Macharius' party rather than up at the auctioneer. With the room empty, it was easier to see the vindictive expression he was wearing. Apparently, the opportunity to mess with them one more time was too much for him to pass up.

[Leon]

++Six Fifty Five++ Said impassively as one one without the foibles of the flesh and a voice modulator can.

[Destro_Yersul]

Ravia's final bid passed without any further opposition, and as the auctioneer's gavel fell there was a general rustling about the room, as the last few remaining traders prepared to leave.

"Your winning bids may be collected from the display area," called the auctioneer, "or for those which are not portable, delivery can be arranged to your ships. Thank you once again for attending, and-"

"Ladies! Gentlemen!" Calligos stood, walking up to the podium and silencing the auctioneer with a tap on the shoulder. "I ask that you not depart just yet. I have a last minute addition to make! One more item for auction, exclusively offered to those of you with the patience or foresight to see this through to the end. One of my recent endeavours uncovered a piece of archeotech, of rare and special nature. Rather than hold onto it myself, I have decided to see which of you might care to take on the trials associated with owning such an item. Today, for you, I have procured..."

He paused for dramatic effect, sweeping the room with his gaze, as a cloth covered display easel was wrestled forth from the wings by a pair of attendants. They placed it next to the auction block, and Calligos turned, pulling the cloth away to reveal a framed pict-capture of a massive arcane device, covered in levers and dials and made altogether spidery in appearance by dozens of spindly limbs attached to its casing. These extended upwards into the darkness above the construct, vanishing into blackness somewhere near the top of the frame.

"A void abacus."

[Haval]

"A void abacus."

Anika will stand up to get a better look at the device. 'I think we know what Winterscale has been waiting for.'