Things Belloq likes

[archeologue]

Who: Belloq and OPEN (Spam or prose welcome)
What: Three starters. Belloq artifacts and wine.
When: Today. Morning, afternoon, and evening respectively.
Where: The Museum, the Ruins, and Pugsy's
Notes & Warnings: None. Will change if necessary.

Comments

Museum

[archeologue]

[Belloq sits in a basement office in the museum, pouring over old survey maps, locations that have not yet been excavated but were deemed probable areas of indigenous habitation. After that display of the skeleton spawner’s power, there were many parties interested in acquiring one. The Orion Syndicate would pay him well if he could deliver one intact, operational (and safely powered down). Dictators and imperialists all over the galaxy desired an artifact that, if placed among their enemies and activated, could wipe out swathes of opposition without wasting their own troops.

He just needs to find another one, like the one that had wreaked havoc on the village, and he would be rich beyond the dreams of Croesus.]

[ratkicker]

[She had already been here for several days when Jade realized that she had not been to the Museum yet. If she was to help with excavation and exploring ruins, she mostly likely would have to work with scientists and researchers stationed there and attend meetings somewhere among the hundreds of rooms. Or whatever. It had been years since she last was able to visit a museum, mostly due to the lack of funds and little free time away from the lighthouse shelter.

She took a few quick looks throughout the upper floors before asking one of the workers about where the rest of the research team were, name dropping Belloq in case they were tight on security. Surprisingly, they easily showed her the way to the staircase leading to the basement, pointing out which office door to knock on, and soon left her.

It certainly was easier than asking the right person and finding a secret passage at the Akuda Bar.

Jade didn't take long in finding the right door and knock on it a few times.]

[archeologue]

Come in.

[Belloq calls out without looking up from his survey maps. He's an archaeologist; searching for promising places to excavate is part of his job. He doesn't need to hide it. His ends may be illegal, but the means are perfectly above board.]

[ratkicker]

[Jade unassumingly opened the door and quietly walked in. Belloq was busy at his desk, but she headed over there anyway.]

Hey, just wanted to meet up with you before we went on a mission together. [She stopped right in front of his desk and crossed her arms, finding a relaxed standing pose.] You working on something right now?

[archeologue]

[He looks up when she approaches his desk and pushes the maps aside.]

Nothing that cannot be interrupted. Have a seat. [He gestures politely to a chair on the other side of his desk.]

Tell me a little about your background, if you please. I'm always interested in the people I'll be working with.

[And interested in how much he can trust them and with what.]

[ratkicker]

[Jade grabs the back of the chair, slides it closer, and sits down.]

So, back home, I'm a freelance photographer. The last big thing I worked on was documenting all the wildlife; the rarer the animal, the more credits I got. [She leans back.] It's been a lot of crawling into small places and finding hidden passages for me. Abandoned ruins won't be that different to me.

[It's probably not a good idea to go around telling strangers that she had just finished a mission for a rebel group that involved breaking into military complexes and photographing government secrets while sneaking past guards.

That might put her in danger.]

[archeologue]

Excellent. Then you don't mind getting a bit dirty.

What you'll be doing on site is photographing the artifacts before they've been removed from their place of discovery. It's a documentation both of precisely where they were found, in case of error in the written records, and a visual inventory to catch out any thefts. If we have a photograph of an artifact and the museum does not possess said artifact, then we know to contact security and have an accurate image of what was stolen.

[And conversely, if he can smuggle things out of the dig site without a picture being taken of it, it will be as if it had never existed. No one will suspect any thefts and Belloq can say that he takes exacting security precautions.]

[ratkicker]

[She takes mental note of what is expected of her at this job. It looks pretty reasonable for a research group to take careful documentation of everything they find, only this time, her subjects will be completely still.]

Sounds alright. When do I start?

[archeologue]

You can start tomorrow, if that's not too soon for you. I have a dig site at the local ruins; you can't miss it.

What are your rates? I must warn you that we can't afford to pay very much. With the quarantine in place, funding for scientific discovery isn't what it used to be.

[ratkicker]

[She thinks over it for a few moments. It probably won't be as expensive as her rates for photographing moving subjects, but Belloq looks like someone who can afford to spend a little bit extra for quality.]

I'd start with two hundred emeralds for most artifacts, if they're complete enough. For the ones that are broken or kind of big, I'll have to charge a bit more to make sure it's properly documented.

[archeologue]

Agreed.

[He nods and holds out a hand to shake to seal the deal.]

And who knows? After we know each other a little better, I may find further work for you as well. Not so official as this, more...odds and ends.

[ratkicker]

[Jade accepts and shakes.]

I think I'll see how this works out first. But doing other things sounds like fun. [And it means more money for her.]