2/18/99

Clara arrives from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.

Clara has arrived.

Niko skids his chair to a stop as you enter--he was scooting it across the room to get back to his place after getting some forms. Yeah. That's it. Of course, he's -holding- forms, so that might actually be the case. "Hi, Clara," he says, manner determinedly affable. "Need something?"

Clara comes in from the hallway, once again in full uniform and lab coat, hair pinned up neatly, and a good sized file folder. At the greeting, she pulls up a smile back and heads towards Niko's desk. "Not really. I just thought you might want a checkup, then maybe get back on to full duty."

Niko casts a look towards Kaycen that practically screams 'I told you so', though the older man just chuckles and murmurs something about patience. "Sure, that'd be great," he says, turning his attention back to Clara. "I can knock off for a bit--slow day and all."

Clara glances over at Kaycen questioningly, as if looking for his approval as well, and nods. "If you can manage it? It shouldn't take more than a few moments of your time, really. I'll try not to keep you too long. Did you want to run through it here, or back in Medbay? The latter's likely better, but it's your choice."

Kaycen nods amiably to Clara. "There was an incident earlier today," he explains. "Nick was... displeased that he wasn't allowed to handle it. Turned out well in the end, though."

Niko flickers a glance to Kathlyn, then says, with a faint smile, "Medbay might be better, yes." He studiously ignores any mention of his displeasure.

Clara smothers any grin she might have, and nods pleasantly at Kaycen before giving Kathlyn an apologetic shrug. "Good enough to me. I'll be waiting for you over there. Just holler when you're ready, yes?"

Niko ruffles through his paperwork, glances at a monitor, and receives a nod from Kaycen. "Actually, I'm set, now, I think, if that suits."

Clara nods again, shifting the folder of paperwork under one arm. "Excellent," she says simply, and turns about to head towards Medbay.

Clara heads towards the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.

Clara has left.

Niko heads after Clara, ignoring Kathlyn's comments about keeping up the swimming.

You head towards the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.

Second Floor Elevator Lounge

Despite being one of the major hubs of activity in the Complex, few people linger here. While there are usually people present, usually they are on their way to someplace else. The lobby is nice enough, with broad tapestries hung on richly paneled walls, and floors of veined black marble; but it is simply too busy for most people to stop and chat in. The occasional tasteful potted plant lurks in the corners, and large mirrors are hung near the elevators for passing lobbyists to check their appearances before descending to the main level. Corridors lead to the northeast and southwest.

Contents:

Clara

Obvious exits:

Elevator General Housing Library Security Maintenance Medical

You arrive from the Security Central.

Clara heads towards the Medical Bay.

Clara has left.

You head towards the Medical Bay.

Medical Bay

Even the circulation of air can't quite keep the antiseptic smell from this room. Immaculately clean, the tiles of the floor are the same pristine white as the walls. Gadgets and gizmos abound. The highest medical technology available for all the races that might conceivably come to the station are present. A pair of beds near the door provide places for emergent cases, their bioscan devices ready for monitoring. Doors lead to rooms for surgery, short-term care, and long-term care. (OOC note: To set your room doing, try 'I'm <doing>'.)

Contents:

Niko, standing by the door.

Clara, standing by the door.

Obvious Exits:

Short Term Care Chief's Office Elevator Lounge

You arrive from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.

Clara heads towards one of the bioscan areas, tapping at it lightly. "Hop up here and pull off your jacket, will you? Like I said, this won't take but a few minutes, and you'll be free to go," she repeats, setting the folder down on a nearby counter.

Niko trails after Clara, unfastening the jacket, then pulling it off after he perches on the bioscan bed. Underneath, he's wearing that hunter-green shirt of which he's so fond, but it's now got rather a lot of paint on it, including a small-child handprint on the chest.

Clara pulls a somewhat larger version of the imager she used earlier out of a cabinet and turns back with a benign smile. "You've gained just about enough weight," she notes, peering down at the bed's readout. "Keep at it, though. You could use another ten pounds," she adds, clicking on the unit.

Niko nods affably to that."I'll keep it up, sure. S'a good way to start the morning." He pauses a beat, then inquires, "So I'm okay for full duty, now?"

Clara doesn't answer for a moment, but runs the wide beam of light from your shoulders to waist as she examines the readout. "Vitals good, muscle mass...well, it's -better-," she admits, frowning slightly. With a sigh, she clicks off the instrument and smiles. "Yes, you can go back on full duty. Just...be careful, okay?"

Niko shakes his head. "Being careful doesn't matter a heck of a lot," he says mildly, reaching for his jacket. "Luck's what does the trick, most of the time. But I will, sure. How's Riley?"

Clara flips open the folder to make a few notations, nodding amiably. "He's fine. Off the monitors completely finally and onto the rehabilitation stage. You think you had to regain weight? Whew. But he's fine. You should go visit him when you can."

Niko nods amiably to that. "When there is time, sure." He pauses a beat in the midst of pulling on his jacket, then, lifting a hand to his ear. "He allowed to be wandering about?"

Clara's head snaps up from the chart, brow furrowed at the question. "Depends on how far he's wandering. He has his radio back on?" she asks, slightly alarmed.

Niko shakes his head. "Not that I know of--that was Kaycen. Riley just left the Complex, via the atrium."

"No..." Clara murmurs, suddenly unaccountably saddened as she closes her eyes for an instant. Straigtening abruptly, her mouth thins in a line. "Let me comm him, see what's up. If...would you mind helping me if he's gone too far?"

Niko's brows lift, but he shakes his head. "Not at all, no." He finishes up with the jacket-fixing, sliding down from the bioscan bed.

Clara says "Riley? Clara here...I hear you've decided to go for a walk?" into her communit.

Clara's communit crackles to life and announces "... advice." in Riley's voice.

Clara says "My advice? Uh, Riley, I didn't mean go off out wear yourself out. How're you doing?" into her communit.

Clara's communit crackles to life and says "... fine. Just... scenery's... No worries." in Riley's voice.

Clara says "Okay...that's not a bad thing. Is everything okay? I mean...do you need company? Either Niko or I can join you if you like. Or would you rather be alone?" into her communit.

Clara's communit crackles to life and blares "... you'd... seemed... to do." in Riley's voice.

You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.

Clara leans against the counter for a moment in thought, then sighs. "I think he's okay," she explains. "He's just sitting outside for a while. I guess...maybe it's just best to leave him alone for now," she adds, somewhat uncertain.

Clara says "No, no you're fine. I was just worried about you is all. Enjoy yourself. Holler if you need anything." into her communit.

Clara's communit crackles to life and announces "... will..." in Riley's voice.

Niko looks just a bit confused, but nods. "Whatever you think is best."

Clara folds her arms, still thinking obviously. "You still on duty, Niko?"

Niko peers at his chrono. "I'm on lunch break now, actually. Was going to head back to Security, though. Why?"

Clara shakes her head marginally. "Nothing, then. I was going to suggest maybe you might want to head out and go poke at him, see if he's okay. But if you're on duty, it's not a big deal. Lunch is currently a priority for you."

Niko's brows lift a bit. "I don't really see that wanting to be alone for a bit is an unreasonable request," he ventures. "Is something wrong?"

"It's not," Clara says quickly, pulling up that same benign smile. "There's nothing wrong with it. I'm just being an overworried doctor. Nothing's wrong. Anyway, you're back on full duty. I've got it in your chart, and I'll do the paperwork. Just don't break anything, 'kay?"

Kyara arrives from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.

Kyara has arrived.

Niko looks singularly unconvinced. "Mmhmm. Not promising anything, but I'll try. Thanks, Clara."

Clara's smile quirks a bit back towards the older, more friendly one before she reins back in. "Sure thing, Niko. No promises," she agrees, then lifts her brows as Kyara comes in. "Afternoon, Kya."

Kyara ambles in oh-so-casually, offering a wave. "Afternoon it is indeed. How're you doing, Clara?" Her voice is perfectly bland. "Hey there, Niko."

Niko mutters something under his breath about women being a different species as he heads for the door. "Hi, Kya. Oh... Clara? Where is he? Just in case I get the urge to go hunt him down or something."

Clara reaches down to flip closed Niko's chart and scoop it up, politely ignoring the crack about women and answering, "He just said he was outside, taking my advice. I'm going to assume that means he's out by the lake or in the ravine," she adds. "If you do...tell him I said hello, okay?" She turns back to Kya with a faintly puzzled smile. With so much carefulness in the air, it's hard not to. "I'm fine. How're you?"

Niko nods amiably, whistling a fragment of a certain song about a tiny man in a tiny coat. Yeah. That's Riley. "Afternoon, folks."

[Travelspam deleted.]

You walk towards the Ravine.

Ravine

The path eventually leads into a small, narrow, steep-sided canyon. Perhaps, sometime in the distant, murky past, water carved out this canyon. Now, though, only the barest trickle of a creek is in the bottom; the rocks peeking out of the water provide an easy way to keep feet dry. The ravine broadens, just before it ends in sheer rock, providing a place to place a tent, provided one's tent pegs are sturdy.

Contents:

Riley

Obvious exits:

LAkeside

You walk here from the Lakeside.

Niko's singing announces his arrival before he actually makes it into the ravine. Naturally, it's The Present Tense Tureen, in a strong baritone, and he breaks it off as he spots you. He's got a large sack in one hand. "Hiya, Riley."

Riley is sitting on the tent holdable expanse of rock, his back to a boulder. He's just half-sprawled here, nothing evil or terrible. He waves back amiably, "Heya' Nick, how goes it?"

Niko settles down on a spot relatively rock-free, putting down the sack as well. "Pretty well. Clara just seemed a bit worried, so I figured I'd come and hassle you. Hungry?"

"She's the one who told me to take a hike." Riley pauses and then chuckles, "Put like that it sounds really terrible, eh?" He shakes his head, "I just wasn't about to pass up my first shot to leave the building in ages." He blinks and checks his comm-unit, "It is lunchtime isn't it, time flies..."

Niko's head bobs in a brief nod as he starts to unpack the food. It's just sandwiches and some fruit, as well as cans of the various-colored sodas. Yes, Niko bent the Jihad enough to purchase the stuff in the red cans. "Easy to forget stuff like eating when you've got a bit of freedom again, eh?"

Riley blinks a few times at the unpacking of food, and the inclusion of soda in red cans. "Nick you're a saint." He shrugs, "Just hadn't really realized the time. There's nothing like random sleep schedules to entirely re-write your sense of time, eh?"

Niko smiles faintly at his canonization but doesn't comment, instead nodding an agreement. "Yup. Takes a while to get back to normal, too. But you can't let stuff like that keep you from taking care of yourself. Set alarms or something." He grins, shoving over a soda and some of the food. "Eat, before I turn into gigia."

Riley nearly chokes on a snicker, leaning forward to snag the soda and go about opening it. "Now -there's- a mental image." He hmms thoughtfully, "Alarms, now that's a thought. It's amazing what never occurs to me. I guess I was too busy being thrilled with real clothes and no wires or tubes for a change. Although I did type in a reminder to have Tara decapitated."

Niko nods a firm agreement to one of your statements, with a mumble about the evil of monitors and IVs. "Tara?" he inquires, with a blink. "What'd she do this time?"

Riley sets the soda aside on a flat patch of rock to carefully unwrap a sandwich. "Well, she did it ages back. Switched off the hot water in my place. But I'd forgotten about it, see. So when I attempted to take a shower last night...Well, I thought of many things to inflict upon her."

Niko blinks twice, then acks quietly. "That's just -evil-. You got it switched back, right? If not, I can go mention it to Arthur or whoever."

Riley munches quietly a moment, shaking his head. "I sent a message. They haven't fixed it as of this morning. Fastest couple of showers I think I've ever taken."

Niko shakes his head at that. "If you want to use my place, the hot water was working and all the last time I checked--though admittedly it's been a while. Unless being used therapeutically or something, cold showers are evil."

You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.

Riley settles back against the boulder, "That's okay, I appreciate it though. I don't want to go invading anybody's space though, eh? Too many years with sibs and then on ships not to know how nice it is to have space and all. Hopefully they'll get to my note soon. Maybe I'll wander by and pester Arthur."

Niko hesitates a beat, then says carefully, "I'm not actually there all that much anymore, Riley, so it's fine. But whatever you'd prefer."

Riley pauses in mid-sanidwich bite, and then finishes chewing it before asking with a grin, "Staying up at Ela's place then?"

Niko's head bobs in a brief nod, though he takes a massive bite of his sandwich to make responding verbally impossible for a few moments. "Yeah," he says finally. "Yeah, I am." With a quick little grin, he adds, "Fourth floor quarters really do have a lot more amenities." Like, well, Ela, for one, but he's not going to say -that-.

"That's terrific, Nick." Riley pulls his legs up to sit cross-legged, "Things are working out then?"

Niko nods quickly at that, though he manages to keep his stupid grin off his face--well, mostly. "Things are working out very well. Heck, she managed not to strangle me while I was recuperating. I think that says a lot."

Riley nods amiably as he manages to finish off the last of the sandwich half. Carefully he folds the waxed paper. "Not strangling is a really good start. See, cause if you're strangled, it makes the rest of the steps awfully tricky. That's great news."

Niko snickers at your middle statement. "Uh, yes, just a bit. Kind of difficult to have a meaningful relationship from beyond, after all. And it -is- great news," he adds, with a quick grin. "She's wonderful. She really is."

Riley grins at that, there's nothing sappily in love people like more than others in the same condition. Misery loves company, the same theory and all. "I guess I can't make fun of fourth floor fluffies as much anymore, eh? Now that you've gone off and proven they can't -all- be evil. Yeesh, Nick, how evil can you be? Punching holes in my nicely bigoted world view?"

Niko laughs at that, with a shake of his head. "I'm truly sorry, Riley," he says, with vast insincerity. "Maybe I could ask Ela if she'll pretend to be evil, should you two actually happen to be in the same room for more than a few moments at a time? Would that help?"

Riley seems to consider this at length, "That would help. Just have her insult me a bit, and I'll feel right at home."

Niko nods agreeably enough. "I'll ask. I can't promise anything, though, because..." There's a pause, and the mental drumroll in his head is almost audible before he adds, with a glint of mischief, "She -isn't- actually evil. It'll all be a ruse, to keep your world-view intact."

Riley sighs melodramaticaly, "Why couldn't she just be evil? Wouldn't that make everything easier?" He pauses, "No, then she might sacrifice you to a volcano god or something, and I'd be rather put out about that."

Niko pauses a beat as he considers who, at least to his knowledge, is usually sacrificed to a volcano. No, he doesn't quite qualify. "I would object, too," he says, with a snicker. "If it's any consolation, she's only -just- come here. Maybe the evil is something that will grow in time?"

Riley nods amiably, retaking up his can. "That does help, maybe she can develop evil in time. Just be careful not to let her haul you to the dark side as well. Unless she's going to cook, at which point feel free."

Niko nods agreeably enough to that. "She's a great cook," he adds, with a grin. "Figured it'd be nice if we could all get together sometime for a meal or something. She's said that she'll cook, or you could make chili or something. Heck, I could even try to coax some fish out of the lake, for psarosoupa Kakavia."

Riley chuckles quietly, "I'm going to vote for the latter, but only if I get to watch. I want to -witness- someone actually pulling a fish out of that lake."

Niko nods agreeably to that. "Sure. My fishing methods are generally a little more... well, normal than Denner's. There's a creek a bit farther from the Complex that might be good for fish, too--or so I've heard."

Riley snickers softly, "-Anybody's- methods have to be normal than Denners. Last I heard he was working on a bizarre something or another to swim around and -chase- the fish." He nods, "Creek sounds good. Not being in a boat and all."

Niko blinks. "Chase the fish?" he echoes. "Uh, maybe when a bear does it... no. I'll stick with my normal methods, thanks. Whichever you'd like to do sounds good, though. I can work either way; brought some of my fishing gear back from Hellas."

"Whichever you'd rather. I know nothing about fishing, see. Well, other than how to snicker a lot and haul Denner back into the boat, I'm good at those bits." Riley chuckles quietly. "If they'll let you sneak out of work now that they've got you back." Oh no, he's not jealous at -all-.

Niko doesn't point out that his lunch break added quite some time ago. "I'm sure Kaycen'll cover for me. Or Kathlyn," he adds, with a snort. "Especially if I tell her when I'm going to be swimming."

Riley seems confused by that last, "When you're going to be swimming? Dare I ask why?"

Niko says drolly, "She likes to comment--or, rather, to watch what I do when she comments."

Riley does not choke on soda, but only because he'd set it aside. He snickers a lot instead, "Oh see now that's an offense worthy of Jello."

Niko inquires with a laugh, as he snags another sandwich, "Should I ask what I do with the Jello? I hope you don't mean I'm to swim in it; that'd just be weird."

Riley pauses a moment, "You mean you don't know about Kathlyn and -Jello-? Oh dear, you have missed out on one of the finer threats known to mankind. Just gesture at her with it. You'll be safe."

Niko blinks, his sandwich a few inches from his mouth. "What about Kathlyn and Jello?" he inquires. "Before I do anything... well, I want to know if I'm going to get some sort of bizarre revenge for it, later."

Riley stretches his legs back out with some care, rock not being the easiest substance in the world to relax on. "She uh, seems to find it disturbing. I can hardly blame her, it is pretty weird stuff. Something about boot camp and being encased in it."

Niko's eyes widen at that, and then he grins broadly. "I'll definitely have to take some with me to the rec hall, next time I go. It'll get weird looks, but if it keeps her from commenting on my--uh, physique, it'll be worth it."

Riley snickers softly, shaking his head. "Hey, around here, people might not even blink. What with half the place being weirder than snake shoes."

Niko nods agreeably enough to that. "Still be worth it," he says, with a grin. "Kath's evil." Of course, he says this fondly and with obvious humor; clearly, he doesn't mind -too- much.

You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.

Riley nods amiably, "Yeah, but that's her job. -Somebody- has to be evil, and she's awfully good at it, eh?"

Niko nods emphatically. "Very, -very- good at it." Pausing a beat, he snickers, then asks, "You did hear what she said the day we found out we were brothers, and ended up tearing down to Security, right?"

Riley snickers quietly, edging up a bit straighter. "Somebody explained it to me at last. I about fell over. Talk about confusing the whole situation. Anya was well stunned, so it was all worth it."

Niko nods, with a muffled snicker. "Anya wasn't the only one, for that matter, though I think I managed to confuse some folks into the bargain."

Riley trails off chuckling slowly, "Talk about a moment I'd love to have the security tape of. ANya of course managed to make sure that one got blurred a bit, the wench."

Niko starts to say something, then pauses a moment, listening. "Whoops. Time to get back And Anya's evil, yup, but she's not killed me yet, either, so I can't say too much." He starts to gather up lunch-related trash, adding, "You want to head back, too, or are you going to stick around here a bit longer?" His question is utterly casual.

Riley looks exceedingly sheepish as he checks the time, "Remind me to grovel to Anya later, sorry for keeping you." He shakes his head, "I'll probably stay here a bit longer, head in after a bit."

Niko climbs to his feet with a grin. "Nah, Kaycen was actually the one who called. I'm surprised that Anya's not strangled me because of Addie--Denner got pictures, no worries. And have fun, huh? Feel free to give me a buzz if you want more company."

Riley blinks a few times, murmuring, "Pictures, I'll have to ask about those. Yeesh, it's been ages since I've seen Addie." He waves amiably, "Will do, thanks Nick."

Niko nods his agreement. "Addie misses you," he adds. "Poor kid. She said as much when we--" He pauses a beat. "Uh, when exactly are you coming back to Security? Just to show your face, I mean--work's a ways off, yet."

"Today if I can manage to sneak in there," Riley chuckles ruefully. "Anya's threatened many things if I poke my nose in. I shall just have to try and dodge."

Niko considers that for a moment. "Uh. Well. In the interest of preventing more heart damage, I guess I should warn you that your office has been... redecorated. A few times." Even though that last time, in the interest of spam, hasn't been desced in.

Riley pauses, looking -decidedly- worried. "-Redecorated-?"

Niko nods lightly. "It's... a lot brighter," he says carefully.

Riley groans softly, closing his eyes. "I'm doomed."

Niko grimaces a bit. "It's not that bad," he says quickly. "There's lots of penguins, now, at least. Even if it's kind of difficult to tell that's what some of them are."

Riley opens his eyes so that he can blink several times. "Oh my...It sounds...festive."

Niko grins brightly at that. "Oh, it's definitely festive. We had -fun-. Just... do me a favor? Let me know when you go to check it out, so I can find out whether to flee or catch you."

Riley snickers softly, shaking his head. "Doomed..." But he nods, "Yeah, I'll give you fair warning."

Niko's hand lifts briefly to his ear, and he shakes his head, murmuring, "Coming, coming--sorry. Kaycen wants to go off-shift. Perfectly reasonable. He can't do that til I get there, though. I'll catch you later, Riley. Have a good day." He rummages in the bag and drops another sandwich wherever it'll land without hitting the ground. "And eat more." Whistling that song once more, he heads for the lake.

[Travelspam to Security deleted.]

You say "Clara? Just got back from chatting with Riley--he's fine, far as I could tell. No worries. And," he adds, tone turning wryly humorous, "We ate." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and blares "You did? Oh, thank goodness. That's good to know." She sounds definitely relieved. "Niko? Thank you. I appreciate this a lot." in Clara's voice.

You say "No problem, Clara. Glad to do it. Oh.. could you maybe tell Anya it's okay for him to come in long enough to look at his office? I, uh, mentioned the redecorating to him, and it's kind of cruel to make him wait to see it." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and says "Redecorating? Oh...yeah, Kyara mentioned that. Sure, Niko. I can do that too. Just so long as he promises not to touch any paperwork yet." in Clara's voice.

You say "I'd offer to hide the paperwork, but he'd hurt me if I did that." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and says "*laugh* Yeah, he probably would. You could outrun him right now though." in Clara's voice.

You say "Ooh, good -point-. I guess you'd be a bit put out with me if I randomly said things to annoy him then fled, though." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and blares "Oh, just a little, yeah. See, I may not be able to run as fast as you, but have really, really good endurance. I'd catch up eventually. Have you been annoying him? Beyond what it's your duty to do?" in Clara's voice.

You say "*amused* I wouldn't run. I'd -hide-. I've not been annoying him, though. Not yet. Unless talking about taking him fishing counts as annoying him?" into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and says "Not only does that not count as annoying him, it's a -splendid- idea. That would be absolutely fantastic...for both of you, I think." in Clara's voice.

You say "*a little more quietly* So you could maybe help me get Anya to clear up a bit of my schedule for it? It'd just involve switching shifts around, but... well, I wouldn't want to ask, not without arming myself with more raspberries." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and blares "Sure, Niko. Of course I would do that for you. I'd do it for you even if you weren't taking Riley. You may be recovered, but it was still an ordeal. How much time are you looking to take?" in Clara's voice.

You say "Uh." There's a brief pause, possibly as Niko considers this. "Not a lot of time. I don't know that Riley's really up for an extended session of roughing it, after all. Maybe a day? I can swing double-shifts on another day, to make up for it. Thanks, Clara." Funny, he doesn't sound like he's just talking about rescheduling. "Thanks a lot." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and announces "Good thinking,' Clara agrees, sounding relieved. 'I'll speak with Anya later this afternoon. And you're welcome. You're always welcome, Niko. You're sure he's okay right now, though?" in Clara's voice.

You say "Near as I could tell. I'm not a doctor or anything, but he looked fine to me. Sounded fine." into the communit.

Your communit crackles to life and says "Okay. That's all I wanted to know. I appreciate it, Niko." in Clara's voice.

You say "No problem whatsoever, Clara. Have a nice afternoon." into the communit.


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