Salem lets out a genuine laugh when Rathien speaks. His instinct is to simply cackle and dance away from the Ildari without answering-- it's simply amazing how easy it is to fall back into their old... not pattern, exactly; it had been far too wild to ever be called that... but their old behaviors, right down to the little things like this.
"You always know just what to say to cheer me up," he says, smirking at Rathien and pointedly refusing to offer any comment on his actual statement.
Salem turns to Keshin and snaps "No!" It comes out quicker and harsher than he'd intended. He shakes his head. "Sorry. I mean... yes, I'll take suggestions. It's going to get a whole lot rougher than this little cakewalk," he says, flicking the floating image of the space station and setting it to spinning and tumbling in place over the table. "Er... probably. No way to know for sure just yet."
He turns towards the bar and pauses as he notes the new Andalite. "Huh," he mutters. So that explained the strangeness in the blond man's aura. An Andalite in morph. Probably one of Ossanlin's lieutenants.
He turns back to Keshin, "Anybody we bring in needs to be trustworthy. Verifiable by me. And I really don't like hunters these days," he says. "I doubt I'm going to be the only member of the team with a price on his head, and I can't be worrying about my own team stabbing me in the back." He sighs. "That said, if either of you has any suggestions, I'll definitely hear them out. Thaum knows we're going to need all the help we can get."
He turns and looks at the man to whom Keshin points, and narrows his eyes. He thinks he can feel something... off about the man, though he has no idea if he's sensing it or if it's just a vibe the man gives off or if it's something he's imagining altogether. The guy's already all buddy-buddy with Al, from the look of things. He narrows his eyes as he stares at Jeffrey. "I'll keep an eye on that one, then," he mutters without turning back to Keshin. "Last thing this dump needs is more chaos."
Al grins and mouths a string of completely incomprehensible gibberish in Salem's direction. Salem smiles and nods absently, then looks around the bar, frowning. "Where'd Myitt go?"
Al inhales deeply through his nose and leans on a clear section of bar. "Rrr, yeah," he says back to Jeffrey in his 'extremely masculine lumberjack at the end of a long work week' voice. "It's the smell of untold decades of crazies and drunks, of history and competitions and..." he sniffs again and screws up his face, then drops the voice. "And dinosaurs?" He frowns at the bartender. "Seriously? Or is my schnozz malfunctioning again?" When the bartender continues to stare at him, he says, "Dude, do you have a name? It'd be so much easier to talk to you if I knew your name." After another awkward few seconds, he swallows. "Um. Martini. Grey Goose. Shaken, not stirred, twist of WD-40. And I've got theirs as well," he says, nodding towards William, then Jeffrey.
He sighs and says to Jeffrey, "Honestly, they teach entire courses on having fun without bloodshed. Just like a supervillain, I assume..." He grins excitedly. "Aren't they though? The Yeerks are one of the most interesting species I've ever met, and that's saying something. I don't wanna brag, but I'm pretty well-traveled and world-wise." He mock-pretentiously polishes his fingernails on his jacket. "Sadly, since I don't identify as organic, I don't think I get to have that whole 'having my brain stolen' experience any time soon myself, so I must experience it vicariously through you."
He turns to William, "Well, that..." he gestures towards the door, "was Tara, and probably also Myitt. They're good people. I'd say they're a peach, but it'd confuse you and they'd probably punch me, so I won't say that. The blue one's Ossanlin. He's also good people, but if I had to pick a fruit, I'd have to say he's more... tangelo. He doesn't like me much, because I ran him over once. Uhhmm" he looks around. "That's Salem, my sidekick and copilot. He's an ****, but I'm slowly grooming him to be a fully functioning member of society." At that moment, he catches Salem's eye, and proudly mouths, "My new acquaintances are a ghost pirate and a supervillain!" Judging by Salem's absent nod, however, the man doesn't really get it. Hopeless.
"The pointy one's Rathien. He's definitely not good people, but I like him just fine anyway. Guy's a hell of a lot of fun, pun intended. That one's Joanne, and probably Keshin. We've got a bit of a history of saving each other's lives. It's good to see them back here. This," he says, accepting his martini from the bartender, "is Walter. Thank you Walter." At the bartender's frown, he says, "Not Walter, then. Is it Richard? Or... Brian? I'll guess it one of these days, Rumpelstiltskin!" he calls to the bartender's retreating back. He pauses expectantly, then makes an 'oh shucks' gesture with his hand. "Thought I had him," he mutters, and takes a sip of his martini.
"I think that's everyone I know," he says to William, then he grins widely and says in his 'excessively chipper camp counselor' voice, "Everyone else is just a friend I haven't made yet."