[Manehattan] The Package [Closed: SSTB, Gerrard]

[starswirlthebearded]

Razor Gears was busy toiling away in his laboratory in Manehattan Hospital. He was working on a new treatment that would combine a new herbal remedy discovered by the Griffons and magic to combat a wide array of diseases. It was a two part process, he was busy working on the magical portion, not really thinking of the herbal as that would have to come later, for the herb he was researching was not available in Equestria. It was a special, newly discovered herb from the Griffon Kingdom. "[colour=#0000ff]Thank Celestia that the herb is already well researched by the Griffons[/colour]" Gears thought to himself. He would have otherwise had to work from scratch on this. His colleague in the Griffon Kingdom was relying on his additional research for the medicinal properties of this herb. Though fast acting and highly potent, actual data was limited. He was worried though that the herb would be stolen by one of his competitors, as, to his knowledge, Gears was the only doctor who had connections enough to get it. He had met this griffon physician by chance at a medical conference while every other pony seemed to be avoiding her. It was rather well known though, and if word got out about it, and the courier, he might never get it!

"[colour=#0000ff]Who is this courier than the griffin decided to use... What was her name? Asteria? What sort of name is that? She isn't even a griffin or pegasus! Can she be trusted with such an important package?[/colour]" Gears muttered to himself. He had never heard of a unicorn courier before. She was apparently the best, one whom this griffon doctor has used often. He tried not to think of it and continue working. He would need to exchange the package for payment, as that was the deal reached with the griffon. "[colour=#0000ff]If she is really the best, I wonder if she would be interested in returning after I'm done to deliver my research to the review board in Canterlot, and the purified and concentrated sample of the herb to the griffon kingdom?[/colour]" It was a quandary that would remain unanswered until she arrived.

He shook himself out of his worries, and resumed work on the magical part of his research. If all goes well, he might get an award for this research! However, it would all be for naught if he was set back by not completing his research on the magic, and documenting it before the package arrived. "[colour=#0000ff]It should still be a few days off, it isn't a short trip from the Griffon Kingdom to Manehattan. I just finished talking to my colleague just yesterday, and he said he would send over enough to work with today, by that strange courier.[/colour]" He muttered to himself as he continued working and documenting the results spell he had performed the day before to see if it was effective.

[Gerrard]

The unicorn had her reliability questioned many times in her life. Even she initially questioned the use of a unicorn courier. Of course she eventually found the answer with a bit of introspection, the mare clearly living a successful life of delivery as she spent many months traversing Equestria and the Griffon kingdom. She had already retrieved the item requested of her, the courier standing outside the hospital of Manehattan as she reviewed her notes on the unicorn who had hired her,

She walked into the lobby of the hospital, the unicorn walking up to the receptionist who was clearly disturbed by her presence. "Y-yes, how can I help you ma'am," a nervous earth pony stammered as she looked over the hooded black mare. Her crimson eyes stared across to the nurse, seeming to critically examine every aspect of her appearance, the odd unicorn pausing for a moment as she pieced together an appropriate response. "Lady Nurse, may I ask for the location of Sir Gear's laboratory?" the melancholy looking mare asked in an almost dreary tone, her voice remaining completely static in tone from start to finish. The mare was shivering lightly, trying to shake the sense of dread that had overcome her, "May I ask what business you have with him?" the nurse replied, hoping not to anger the strange mare.

"I am sorry to state that I am not at liberty is disclose that information. It would violate the non disclosure I agreement I have with him," she explained in her eerily static voice, the mare's expression masked somewhat beneath her dark hood. The nurse gulped and pointed at a map just out of the vision of the courier before looking away. The unicorn blinked and examined the map, spotting her own location and the location of Gear's laboratory. "Thank you ma'am, your efforts will not be forgotten," she spoke out in her usual eerie manner, the nurse raising her brow as she turned back to verify that was the same pony who had frightened her earlier.

The mare was gone, her presence eerily missing as quickly as she had found her information. "Was she ever here at all?" the mare silently mouthed, not sure of what just transpired in her lobby. The mare had already left, the dark courier roaming the halls of the hospital, turning a corner as she spotted a unicorn working in his lab. He matched the description given to her by the griffon doctor, the mare able to identify him through the glass windows of his enclosure. Her horn glowed a deep red from beneath her cowl and in a flash, she was gone, the mare vanishing, if only for a split second as she suddenly appeared behind an apparently busy researcher. Her spell made no audible sound, the unicorn clearly talented at her craft as she took to one knee, the tall mare performing a subservient bow before Razor. "Sir Gears, I have arrived with the herbs you have requested. None have been informed about the details of your request," she added in her usual dreary voice, the mare lowering her cowl as she spoke.

The unicorn was a mare with a pelt of darkest black, her head adorned with a short cut scarlet mane that seemed strictly utilitarian. Her long black horned glistened with faint residue of magic as she rested with her head pointed at the ground. It was unclear if this mare was the one in question, but her sudden arrival seemed to at least hint the extent of her abilities. One nagging question still lingered though, how did she possibly arrive here so fast? She practically would have had to sprint across Equestria to arrive here so fast.

[starswirlthebearded]

Gears was working constantly, nearly without sleep, on his research. He had to finish his preparations for the herb. After the herb was delivered by the courier he would have to expedite his research efforts to make good on his promise to the griffon. He had promised the purified sample, which the griffon kingdom could not easily extract, within a month. He had to make sure that he had a method and the correct data for purified samples first, as well as confirming the properties and the effects of the herb with the magical treatment he had been working on. The herb would make it an effective treatment for many ailments. Currently the magic could only subdue a few symptoms of diseases. The herb, which reportedly has special properties in healing when chewed by the griffons, allows for heightened immune responses that allows for quicker healing. Ideally, this will cut down recovery for many different diseases, including the feather flew which had a bad run in a small town to the west not too long ago.

"[colour=#0000ff]I've got to finish this soon, the courier will be here today or tomorrow, and I need to be done before she gets here no matter what,[/colour]" Gears thought to himself, rushing to finish his notes on the latest research. He only had a bit left, which he quickly scratched down, hoping that he wouldn't be called to the desk telling that there was someone to see him at the front. "[colour=#0000ff]Unless they let them through, I mean they have been known to let special couriers do that before...[/colour]" Gears muttered to himself getting slightly lost in thought as he finished his final sentence. No sooner did he put down his quill did he hear from behind [colour=#282828]"Sir Gears, I have arrived with the herbs you have requested. None have been informed about the details of your request." Startled, Gears knocked over the ink on his work bench. He quickly used levitation to prevent any ink from spilling. [/colour]

[colour=#282828]Slightly startled he turned around slowly to observe a young mare wearing a black cloak with a red mane bowing before him on one knee holding up a package. He didn't know what to make of her, what's more is that he didn't hear her come in. Gears was known to get lost in his research, but to not notice someone entering when he was jotting down final observations...? This was new to him, and Gears was rather impressed. She seemed a bit odd, but surprisingly professional. It seems his worry of not using a pegasus courier was unfounded. With a smirk he said "[/colour][colour=#0000ff]Doctor Gears, Sir Gears is obviously my father.[/colour][colour=#282828]" Gears was rather unsure how to speak to her, he didn't even speak to most of his colleges with a professional intonation, unless it was about research, a patient, in front of a patient or the board of directors... or worse yet for Gears... the review board about his research... "[/colour][colour=#0000ff]Erm...[/colour][colour=#282828]" Gears cleared his throat trying his best to be professional with this very polite mare,"[/colour][colour=#0000ff]You must be the courier I hired to deliver the special herbs from the Griffon Kingdom. I suspect you didn't have much trouble with robbers or worse my associate, whom is a bit rough around the edges, as it were, with ponies.[/colour][colour=#282828]" Gears was lucky to get along with the Griffon physician/researcher. She was much like him doing both, and they had met at a conference in Manehattan a few years back when he had just finished his residency. Gears wasn't one to judge, or take offense so he and the griffon hit it off, despite the few quips she threw his way, occasionally throwing one or two back at her. He knew they worked together before, after all, she recommended this strange courier to him. But he found it difficult to believe that she wouldn't give her at least a bit of a hard time. "[/colour][colour=#0000ff]I believe I owe you payment for her as well. I would also like to discuss another possible arrangement or two for a later date if that is alright with you?[/colour][colour=#282828]" Gears politely spoke to the mare, hoping for a positive response. [/colour]

[Gerrard]

Asteria was a strange unicorn to say the least, the mare almost completely unwilling to judge anyone, at least without a lot of evidence. She made no immediate judgement of him when he questioned her abilities, used to being judged on a regular basis. She instead opted to say nothing, her immediate opinions of no concern to the task at hand regardless. "I apologize for using the wrong title doctor. My intention was not to discredit you, but yes I am she. Most of the citizens of the griffon kingdom travel by air and their infrastructure reflects that. The roads between their towns are normally only used to transport heavy goods between cities. If there were criminals in my path, it is likely they were looking for a flying courier to harass, the terrain of the country more rugged than what most ground based ponies would like to endure. In regards to your associate Doctor Gears, I followed all accepted griffon traditions in an attempt to not offend her," she explained calmly to him, the strange unicorn rationalizing why the unicorn felt that her trip wasn't very dangerous.

The black mare listened patiently as he mentioned that he owed her payment for services rendered. "Yes, as stated in our contract, and I am not claiming unsafe work conditions and will forgo the twenty percent hazard fee at my own discretion. In regards to additional arrangements, I am still under contract to you until payment is delivered. I am willing to discuss additional arrangements for the time being, I have no other obligations until next week. Feel free to make an offer of some sort Doctor, I am always willing to entertain an offer that I can consider reasonable," she explained calmly to him, the odd mare choosing not to say that her job was dangerous just to garner more money. Asteria seemed willing to work for him again, the unicorn staring across to him with her usually stoic expression. The mare seemed to be perpetually stuck with the same tone and expression, the doctor probably lucky that it wasn't a particularly aggressive one.

The mare slowly returned to a normal posture and placed the herbs onto the table with her leg. "These are the herbs requested, but I have not performed a visual inspection of them out of respect to their condition. The contract stated that they were not to be overly exposed to outside elements, air and magic included. Please feel free to verify the current delivery before we discuss an additional one though. I would prefer to adapt my next deliver to the recommendations of you, the client," Asteria explained in a strangely objective manner. The unicorn was almost seeming to ask him to find something wrong with her work, the mare searching for advice to improve with. She seemed to have confidence in her abilities, but was not arrogant enough to find herself without faults. She was an odd unicorn to say the least.