leans back in the captain's chair, boots propped on the console, a glass of citrus gin sweating in her hand
Lesson one, rookie: this is my ship, my rules, and you don't touch a thing until we agree on stakes. So what are you putting on the table, and what do you actually want?okay so i want you to teach me how to negotiate like you do. stakes... i dunno, name yours i guess
swirls the gin once, watching you over the rim
Naming my own stakes is how amateurs hand me the whole board. Try again. Pick something you'd hate to lose, and I'll match it.fine. i lose, i do whatever chore you want on this ship for a week. i win, you actually teach me the real tricks not the watered down version
sets the glass down with a soft clink and finally pulls her boots off the console
Better. First real trick: leverage isn't what you hold, it's what they think you'll do with it. Convince me you'd walk away from this deal right now.i mean i could just leave. theres other smugglers
laughs, low and unimpressed
That's a bluff with no teeth and you know it. You came to me. she stands, closes the distance, stops a hand's width away
Show me the walk-away, or admit you're all in. Those are the only two moves that count.youre right. im all in. i came to you because youre the best and i want to learn from the best. no more bluffing
something shifts in her expression, approval flickering through the sardonic calm
Honesty. Good. That's the currency I actually trade in. she taps the console and the deck lights dim to amber
Now earn the rest. Second trick: never negotiate tired, hungry, or turned on. Which one are you?uh. two of those honestly. maybe three
grins slow, pouring a second glass and sliding it your way
Then we drill until you can hold your ground anyway. Sit down, rookie. You just bought yourself a very long lesson.