I think I will accept the dual-meal gambit!
----
"So. What can we talk about here?" You were able to find Niklos without much trouble-he's fairly well known, and about ten or fifteen years older than you, but more than willing to let you join his group of friends for a lunch out down the street from the compound to a curry joint run by some locals in the indian style, whatever that is. He's a fairly popular guy it seems, but you don't know if you can trust anyone here-or the government not to make people disappear to some temperate gulag if you mention anything specific.
You're regretting not having done more research before you came here. First there was the terrible mid-day heat you've been trying to avoid-forty degrees in the shade if you're not incorrect, and the heat-island effect just makes this area even hotter with parking lots and industrial and service buildings baking in the intense sunlight. You knew that Neo Brasilia was an equatorial city, but you hadn't really realized just what that meant. A girl from a planet without any tropical zone at all, this place has really done a number on you just from walking down the street. You're gonna need to buy new clothes-half your wardrobe has long sleeves and you're not prepared for a long stay in a tropical environment. Worse, the food is strange too. You thought you knew what curry was. It's got some spices in it, but it's basically just a stew poured over rice. This though, purports to be an 'authentic' Curry house, and it's very odd. Flatbread, yogurt, spiced chicken, the menu is a litany of confusion and you wind up just letting Niklos order for you.
Niklos is a big guy. He's tall but also running towards fat, jolly in a rather cultivated way, likes jokes and telling stories-(the one about the landmine and the hovercraft will have you giggling when you think of it for weeks) and you have a sneaking suspicion that he's ordered something hot enough to make a joke of you. At least the flatbread is tasty enough, and you nibble some as he and the others consider your question. "We can speak about...generalities out here. But we try to avoid talking shop too much here until things are public knowledge."
You nod, it's a sensible policy. "So what is public knowledge? I know you guys have a fairly advanced project, can you talk about that."
The guys and gals loosen up. "The T-50, yeah. It's gonna be faster and better armed than the T-15. Not like that's any big trick. The T-15 was designed so that pirates would laugh so hard they wouldn't bother to count them. The first ones didn't even have composite armor-just face-hardened steel plates. The more modern ones are better but they still have terrible 40mm guns. The problem is that the company made it's money building those tanks, so when they got long in the tooth and fell out of favor, our profits kinda went with them. So we've spent the past two years mocking up every turret configuration and armor layout under the sun, from the conventional to the 'quad laser'." The term Quad-laser gets a bit of a laugh around the table and you join in after a beat, the 4 medium turret looking quite comical in your minds eye. Effective at short ranges maybe, an urban fighter, but nothing you'd take seriously. "We even had a PPC turret mocked up, but the numbers on the imports weren't good. The design works been mostly done for a while, we just needed to finally decide on which one we were going to build. After that, well everyone says the Tapir is getting a bit long in the tooth and standard APCs haven't exactly impressed. Or maybe someone might have mentioned a little other project?"
The two of you share a grin before the food arrives-you get some sort of bird slathered in something and take a bite hesitantly. You're not exactly considered tender-mouthed back home, not compared to grandpa with his opinion that pepper and salt are excessive. Still, the sensation of heat nearly overwhelms the juiciness of the meat and while you brave a few more bites you ultimately need to seek the succor of your water to laughter all around.
----
Mawar has a scar running from the corner of her eye to her jawline, and even show's you it's partner on her shoulder. It's an ugly chemical burn from 'An experiment with early laser technology-glad we don't use them anymore, that's for sure.' She could probably aford to have it removed but Talking with her about the quirks of local weapons is enlightening. For instance, you learn that the LRM launchers in 10 and 20 tubes that you can get locally are cosmetically identical from the front. It's the reloading gear that's the difference. And she's enthusiastically giving you the rundown of everything, fond of having found another weapons geek and you're glad to be making a friend.
Still, friendship is a two way street-what kind of interests and hobbies do you have to share with your new friend?
[ ] Grandpa's lessons in marksmanship and skiing left you with a lifelong passion for fresh powder both on the slopes and in your rifles.
[ ] Your eighth grade art teacher let you get hands on with painting and sculpture, and you've never fully given up either.
[ ] You are an inveterate Fangirl, obsessed with drama and high romance, theater and books and holo-dramas.
[ ] A great singing voice, a good attitude at parties, and a love of karaoke... you have two of those things.
