|
|
You head towards the Dining Facility.
Dining Facility
Contents:
Clara
Vendotron 3000
Obvious exits:
Atrium
You arrive from the Central Atrium.
Clara is, as she was a few moments ago, at a small table against one wall, a cup of tea at one hand, and a set of folders spread out before her. Whatever it is in the folders, she's scribbling notes in the margins.
Niko pads over to the vending machine, and attempts to get a blue can o' joy.
Upon receiving a red can o' death, he shrugs philosophically. He's young.
He's immortal. He's... hungry. Food would be good. And there's more of the
black and green stuff, with flecks of yellow. Joy!
Clara is interrupted in her work by one of the Sectassian delegates wives, and manages a polite, noncommittal smile for the woman along with a pleasantry and a vague answer to some question. Finally, the woman drifts on, leaving the doctor to lean back in her seat and hide a snicker behind her mug.
Niko, of course, saw said Sectassian wife, and promptly tried to look
inconspicuous. Of course, a 6'4" Security goon in paint-smeared clothing
isn't that, but maybe the red can o' death scares her away, as Niko escapes
relatively unscathed. Padding over to that table against the wall, he asks
cheerfully, "-She- isn't going to spawn, is she? I mean, sure, the world
needs another Sectassian and all, but..."
Clara glances up from her mug, eyes dancing as she shakes her head. "Good
gracious, I -hope- not," she replies, waving at the opposing seat. "If she
is, I may let Jones handle his first obstetrics case. No, she was asking me
about my invitation to glorified nannyhood."
Niko, juggling food and can so that they don't end up on the folders, manages to find blank spaces and then seats. "Invitation to glorified nannyhood?" he repeats blankly. "That sounds like something Anya would like," he ventures.
Clara rolls her eyes, still more amused than dismayed as she gathers up a few of the folders and stacks them neatly. "Not this case of it. I have ever so politely been invited to accompany the entire Sectassian brood on a field trip to one of the moon bases as an 'AF representative and attendant'." She pauses for a moment, rubbing at her forehead and leaning back with a suspicious glance at Niko's plate before shaking her head. Naaah.
Niko's plate holds no vermicelli, but instead a combination of black beans and
spinach and what one hopes are bits of corn. (How many ears in a niblet?)
He's not eating it, however, instead quite occupied making several acking
sounds. "I'm very sorry," he says finally. "That's -awful-. Those kids are
terrors. Did you hear about the time they all stuffed themselves into an
InfoBooth?" He pauses a beat, then adds, "Bring cleaning supplies, if they're
going to be startled."
Clara lifts a hand dismissively, although she does flicker a slightly worried glance at a Florenzian delegate who indeed is eating vermacelli, then shakes it off in another sip of her tea and grins. "Naah. I need to talk to the boss about it, but if I can, I'd like to get out of it. I get lovely sedatives for shuttle rides, and I'd rather have all my wits about me to deal with that brood. Handling them with pox at 0500 was bad enough."
Niko pops the tab of the evil red can, saying pleasantly, "Go for getting out of it--as long as he doesn't stick me with it. But I don't think he'd be that cruel." He shakes his head at the mention of pox at 0500, mumbling something about eliminating mention of birth control from religions.
Clara snickers lightly, making an absent notation on the paperwork in the
folder before her, the only one left open. "Some of us are smart enough to
just know when to ignore millenium old orders to avoid such measures. Maybe I
ought to have a long, heart to heart talk with his wives. Old fashioned
kaffeklatch." She frowns at one phrase for a moment, then underlines it.
"How's your better half today?"
Niko pauses a beat, resisting the urge to answer 'not pregnant'. He was perhaps
a bit disconcerted by that particular segue. "Fine, I suppose--haven't been
able to see her much today. Schedule weirdness." He pokes at a particularly
offensive bean. "She works too hard--like everybody here." After a moment, he
peers up at you and asks, "Can I ask you for some advice, though? Women being
an entirely different species and all." That last is in a lightly jesting
tone.
"Oh, entirely. We even have our own rulebooks," Clara agrees with perfect
aplomb, then glances up with a teasing grin before leaning back in her chair
to assume a friendly listening posture. "Ask away, Niko. You can always talk
to me."
Niko fumbles in his pocket for a piece of paper. "It's this. It still needs a lot of work," he cautions, "And I'm not sure how much sense it makes, but... well, do you think she'd like it? You know... speaking as a woman" He offers the paper, with an odd mixture of nervousness and eagerness. Very -ness'd.
Clara skims the letter quietly, ignoring the half in Hellenic as it's Greek to her. "You need an extra 'L' in the second word in the second stanza," she murmurs, obviously still reading. Eyes skip back up to the top, expression growing sappier by the moment. "Oh, -Niko-. It's gorgeous." She utters a happy sigh, then beams up at you. "You're going to have a puddle of delegate on the floor if you give this to her, you know. She'll simply melt."
Niko grins, expression for a moment like a promoted puppy with a new ball. "You
really think so? It's really important that she like it, see. It's..." He
mutters something in Hellenic, then shakes his head. "I don't know the right
words. But it's -important-."
"She'll like it," Clara assures emphatically, scanning the words once more
before handing it back. "I don't know a woman alive who wouldn't for that
matter. That..." She shakes her head, at loss for words herself for a moment.
"Flowers and candy pale in light of it. Then again, the right words from a
man are always more...have more...impact."
Niko looks quite thrilled as he takes the paper and folds it neatly in quarters, tucking the quartered--but not drawn--paper back in that pocket. "Great. Wonderful, thank you." He sets to nibbling on his food once more, adding thoughtfully, "Flowers'd be a nice touch, too, though. She liked that. Good distraction," he adds, with a grin that holds a trace of wickedness.
"Peach colored roses. Or white. With a single red one," Clara suggests with all
the air of feminine wisdom. She tilts her head slightly, one brow quirking
over the slightest of grins. "A good distractions? What'd you do that you
need to distract her attention from?"
Niko scrabbles for his poor, end-chewed pencil and that paper, to jot down the
feminine wisdom. "Oh, it was a while ago," he says airily. "Right after the
trip to Hellas. I knew she'd make a fuss about it when I went to work." And
of course she would, as at that point he was trying to go back without
clearance.
Clara's brows furrow slightly in obvious surprise. "Ela? She's still upset
about you trying to get back to work too soon?" She shakes her head,
shrugging in noncomprehension. "Well, I guess that's her prerogotive. But
that..." she waves a hand at the paper-bearing pocket, "should easily
distract. Utterly gorgeous."
Niko shakes his head. "No, she's not, not any more," he says quickly. "She's really good about understanding about my schedule being odd and all." He pats that pocket lightly, then, looking decidedly pleased. "We'll see," he murmurs mostly to himself, before looking up with a rather sheepish grin. "Thanks."
Clara nods approvingly. She really didn't understand being upset about
something for so long. "You're most welcome. Goodness, I should be thanking
you. Reading something like that brightened my night entirely, and even
better since I know it's for someone like her."
Niko polishes off his meal fairly quickly, then actually--aiee--sips from the red can. He's involved enough in whatever he's thinking that he doesn't even make horrible death-noises at the taste. The world will soon end. "Well, then," he says, with a bright grin, "You're welcome. Glad to help." He rests his chin in a cupped hand, really looking fairly pleased with the world at large. "Just need to figure out how to give it to her, and we'll be set."
Clara is very nice and doesn't smirk or look smug or make comments about
destiny. Well, at least not out loud. Her hands wrap about her mug for warmth
as she tilts her head solemnly. "At sunset, out by that lake just outside the
city. Maybe even take camping equipment and stay out there over night. Have a
campfire, toast marshmallows. That sort of thing."
Niko gnaws thoughtfully on his upper lip as he considers that. "I could probably get away for that, sure--though," he admits, with a hint of chagrin, "I'm maybe a little gunshy about camping. I don't know about her schedule, though. And it might annoy her if I asked the higher-ups in the delegation."
Clara gestures reasonably, shaking her head. "Now, can it hurt to at least
check with her? Would she make you tell her where you were taking her? I know
if I were in her shoes, I'd just trust you. Besides," she adds, a grin
quirking. "So long as you don't try to get Riley to leave the Complex, all
hell shouldn't descend for once. I think disaster is keyed to his ident code
or something."
Niko shakes his head, expression caught somewhere between sheepishness and
uncertainty, with a dash of hopefulness thrown in for good measure. "It
wouldn't hurt, no. If I tell her it's a surprise or something, she wouldn't
push it--unless I mentioned skating or something," he quips, with a muffled
snicker. "And," he adds, tone definitely humorous, now. "I think I can manage
to leave Riley behind for this, yeah."
Clara can't help but laugh now, climbing to her feet with her empty tea mug. "I
doubt he could help the sun go down, yes, even as wonderful as he is. Need
anything while I'm up?"
Niko asks plaintively, "Could you maybe try to get the evil machine to give you a blue can? It might give you one, if you don't tell it it's for me. It doesn't like me, see." Maybe because he shot it. That'd do it.
Clara wrinkles her nose to show her utter distaste and mutters something about
destiny being ignored as she wanders away to get a refill on her tea as well
as an English muffin, then moves to discuss the matter with the vending
machine. It nearly purrs at her and deposits a blue can, which she returns to
the table with and sets in front of you. "As ordered. Scary stuff that it
is," she adds with a wink.
Niko, with a great display of maturity, raspberries the vending machine as he pops open his soda. "Thanks, Clara. You're the best. It seems to take this perverse delight in giving me anything -but- the blue cans, most of the time."
Clara shrugs, trying to look innocent as she annoints a muffin half with blackberry jam. "I guess it just likes me or something. Then again, the inanimate is always perverse...sort of." She laughs, pausing in her jam usage. "Which is a whole 'nother realm of philosophy. Scary stuff."
The Vendotron spits out a red can at Niko. Take that.
Niko starts to say something about stupid machines, when a red can zips towards
him. "Ayack!" he proclaims, or something along those lines. "Ow," he adds,
casting a glare towards the machine as he picks up the can. "See? It -really-
doesn't like me."
Clara bursts into laughter after letting out a yelp of her own in surprise.
"Now you -stop- that," she calls over at the Vendotron. "This is my friend,
and if you bean him with a soda, I'm the one who has to patch him up," she
scolds, grinning. "There. I told it."
Niko hefts the can as if to throw it at the vending machine, then shakes his head. "Not worth it," he mutters, mostly good-natured. See, he doesn't actually -like- the vending machine. "And thank you. I'm sure I wouldn't appreciate having to be patched up. That's generally less than pleasant."
The Vendotron bides its time. The infidel will know fear...time is best bided.
Clara inclines her head, trying her best not to laugh. "Generally, yes. And
imagine the headache you'd have if I had to use the regenerator on your
skull," she adds innocently before taking a thoughtful bite of muffin while
stirring sugar into her tea.
That was not kind. From his expression, Niko does imagine it, and doesn't enjoy
the imaginings. "Ow," he says fervently, following the tradition of a long
line of blue-eyed guys. (No, Niko's eyes aren't blue. So?) "That would be
bad. My nose was bad enough, I swear..."
Clara waggles her brows wickedly, essaying an evil laugh. "The secret code of
doctors: torture your patients until they fear you," she drawls, then grins.
"Okay, maybe not. If it came to that, I'd knock you out, Niko. Don't worry
about that. Just try not to break your noggin?"
Niko nods emphatically. "That's right up there with avoiding sexually aroused vegetables, you betcha." And, disturbingly enough, that statement is made quite seriously. "Even if you knocked me out, it would still hurt."
Clara does nod seriously now while finishing off half the muffin and starting
to attack the other half with jam. "It would indeed. I'd have to keep you on
painkillers for several days if you would even want to function. So don't
fight with the Vendotron? Find someone else to argue with? I'll argue with
you if you want? I can't -reach- high enough to thump you on the head," she
explains, obviously joking.
Niko rubs lightly at the back of his head, as if already experiencing
sympathetic pain, then rests his hands on the table in a short, abrupt
gesture that speaks of his impatience with himself. "Nah," he says lightly.
"You don't insult Mom. Though I still want to know -where- that thing learned
those words in Hellenic."
Clara lifts a hand from stirring her tea. "Aaah, but for that you'd have to
discuss it with the monster's creator. Find the Frankenstein who gave life to
that thing, and you'll find the human that projected his or her own
perversity into the inanimate."
Niko wrinkles his nose fractionally. "That," he murmurs, "Could get ugly." He
shakes his head, then, draining about a quarter of his soda. "Bad idea. I'll
stick to the machine, and learn to duck faster. It can't throw hard enough to
crack my skull, anyway." Or so he believes.
"Uh-huh. Come see me when the thing beans you hard enough to knock you silly," Clara suggests, amused. She finishes another section of her muffin before tilting her head, eyes curious. "Those scratches causing you any pain?"
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Niko snorts softly at the first statement, casting a brief glance towards the
vending machine, then shakes his head. "Nah," he says, rubbing lightly at one
of the scratches. "This is nothing. Starting to itch, no big deal. I just
wish," he adds, with a grin, "That the kidlet's claws had been just a bit
less sharp."
Clara pauses in lifting her cup for a moment, baffled, then has to set the cup back down as she bursts into laughter. "Gotcha a good one, huh? Well, no one ever said knight in shining armor-hood was entirely free from peril."
Niko nods, mumbling under his breath, "Too perilous." He grins, then,
apparently still rather amused by the incident. "Hey, it's a picture for the
board. And there are worse ways to acquire peril."
Clara rolls her eyes, sipping at her tea with amusement. "That board has got to
the the hilarity point of the entire Complex. Either that or you Security
people just get into funnier situations."
Niko nods a rather amused acknowledgement, mumbling something about an
attractive force between pudding and Security uniforms. "Somebody has to do
the bizarre chores, after all. Might as well be us. It saves us," he adds,
with a hint of melodrama, "From the tedium that could ordinarily be found in
such a job."
Clara placidly reaches to a napkin dispenser in the middle of the table and pulls out a napkin to wad up and toss at you. "And the rest of us have such dismayingly boring jobs," she adds with a smirk. "Does that mean you want to take on the glorified nannying of the Sectassian horde?"
Niko catches the napkin with a grin, starting to feign a horrible death. (He's been hanging around Kathlyn too long. Hopefully, Shan isn't lurking somewhere to suggest public making-out.) At the statement about glorified nannying, however, he pauses in mid-death to squawk a protest. "By all that's holy, no!" He muffles a snicker, though he's obviously quite serious about how little he'd enjoy that task. "They'd eat me for breakfast."
"I sure hope Ela's awake to bring you back to life," Clara comments casually at the death-scene, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs, then laughing. "Naah, Sectassians don't count humans as foodstuff. For this we give many thanks, considering how many there are of them."
Niko shakes his head, dropping the napkin on his plate. "No, no, I meant -metaphorical- dining. Figurative feasting. That sort of thing. Though, yes, I'm very glad they don't eat people." Soylent green is peeeeeople!
Clara chuckles quietly, draining the last of her tea before setting the mug down to scoot back and forth lightly on the table. "You and me both. I had the most awful time with the Uquoridian delegation when one of their number passed on. Let's just say they had to change their dinner reservations," she explains, looking somewhat green. No, not soylent green, whatever that may be.
Niko blinks. And then he blinks again. "That's... economical." He shakes his head. "Different planet, different customs. I'm just glad they're not mine."
Clara nods emphatically, still toying with her mug before pushing a few stray
curls back. "You and me both." She stifles a yawn, then picks up her pen to
twirl absently. "Actually, speaking of customs...if I asked her nicely, do
you think Ela might be willing to teach me to cook?" she asks somewhat
sheepishly.
Niko considers that for a moment, then nods. "Sure, I don't see why not. She
-likes- cooking, after all. And I don't think she's got that 'secret recipe'
thing that Gigia does. Wouldn't hurt to ask."
Clara nods vaguely, watching the spinning pen. "I'll ask her, then. See, I
can't. At -all-. I burn toast even. I figure any sort of domestic knowledge
like that is better than none." She chuckles quietly, shrugging. "Besides,
everyone gets tired of take out eventually."
Niko nods firmly at that. "I have to say, I like Ela's cooking much better than
this stuff. Of course, she's also an incredible cook, so that's not all that
surprising. Like Gigia's cooking, almost."
Clara half grins affably, rolling her eyes. "That's testament enough that the
way to a man's heart is through his stomach."
Niko looks decidedly innocent. "Hey, I'd love Ela just as much if she couldn't
cook. It's just a really handy bonus, that's all."
Clara just grins and finally closes her remaing open folder and adds it to the
stack. "I know you would, Niko. I'm just giving you a hard time. And yes, it
would be. The best I've been able to manage for Riley is snagging gyros from
the vendor in the Pavilion. I need to get Niles to part with his fudge
recipe, is what I need."
Niko casts a look at his chrono, and blinks, then inquires, looking back up,
"Niles? And I think you're required to give me a hard time. You and every
other woman in the Complex." Of course, he sounds more amused than anything
else.
"Mmm. Niles is...Niles?" Clara tries to explain, looking briefly uncertain of
how to explain. "Officially he's my grandparent's butler, but he's really in
charge. He pretty much raised me," she adds, the fondness in her voice
unmistakable. "And we give you a hard time just because you need it," she
adds, rubbing briefly at her forehead before glancing at her chrono as well.
"Egads."
Niko starts to gather up his dishes. "Sounds like a good guy," he says
cheerfully. "And it also sounds like I'm not the only one thinking it's
getting late. Ela had -better- be back from that evil meeting by now, or I'll
storm the room and carry her off to b--uh, safety." Yeah. Safety. That's it.
Cough. Blush.
Clara is even tired enough not to blush just as much at that, climbing to her
feet and gathering up her own folders and dishes. "Hopefully that safety
involves many warm blankets and a few fluffy pillows, then. It's -late-," she
explains, as if this weren't obvious. "If she's still awake, tell her I said
hello, yes?"
Niko nods amiably, balancing various cans on his empty plate. "Can do, sure.
Should I mention that you'd like to accost her for cooking lessons, or leave
that to you?" He pauses a beat. "Though if she's actually awake, I don't know
that I'd ask -now-, seeing as it's late and all."
Clara heads over to deposit her dishes in whatever recepticle is appropriate,
grinning. "Go ahead and tell her if you want. It'll give her a chance to come
up with a suitable reply when I finally track her down." She tugs her keys
from her pocket and peers at one thoughtfully, then up at the ceiling. "I
suppose I'd better go on up and crash out myself. Oh-dark-hundred was a long
time ago."
Niko disposes of his own dishes and such, nodding once more to the first statement, then rather fervently to the last. "Far too long ago. Sleep is sounding good. Hope Ela's out of that meeting," he adds thoughtfully as he starts for the exit. "Armor's -heavy-, and polishing it is just a pain."
"Silly. You're supposed to leave the armor in the closet," Clara explains,
following after with her folders tucked under one arm. "Knights aren't nearly
as much fun if they're encased in steel or titianium, or whatever you make
the stuff from."
Niko starts to say something, then pauses, shaking his head and just grinning
as he bites back on that comment. "Whatever you say, Clara," he murmurs, a
low chuckle escaping him as he heads to the atrium.
You head towards the Central Atrium.
Central Atrium
Obvious exits:
Elevator Arch Out Rec Hall Dining Meeting Hall Spaceport
You arrive from the Dining Facility.
Clara arrives from the Dining Facility.
Clara has arrived.
Clara heads for the elevator, trying to stifle another yawn. "I say it's late
and sane people shouldn't be awake at this hour," she decides definitively.
"Headed upstairs?"
Niko nods as he reaches to tap the button. "Figure that's preferable to
sleeping on one of the benches, yup."
You push the button.
The elevator descends.
From the elevator, With a ping, the doors slide smoothly open.
Clara walks into the elevator.
Clara has left.
From the elevator, Clara has arrived.
You walk into the elevator.
Elevator
Contents:
Clara
Obvious exits:
Doors
The doors slide shut, soundlessly.
Clara chuckles and nods in agreement, dropping the keys into her pocket. "Far
better. You'd likely have a terrible backache in the morning if you tried
that," she agrees, tapping two of the buttons.
Clara pushes the button marked 3.
Clara pushes the button marked 4.
The elevator direction light changes to UP with a ping.
The elevator glides almost imperceptibly upward and goes "ping" as it reaches
floor #2.
The elevator glides almost imperceptibly upward and goes "ping" as it reaches
floor #3.
With a ping, the doors slide smoothly open.
Clara waves and heads out. "G'night, Niko. Give Ela my best," she offers.
Clara has left.
From outside the elevator, Clara has arrived.
The doors slide shut, soundlessly.
The elevator glides almost imperceptibly upward and goes "ping" as it reaches
floor #4.
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
With a ping, the doors slide smoothly open.
You leave the elevator.
Fourth Floor Elevator Lounge
Obvious exits:
Elevator
You unlock the door and go into room E16.
Room E16
Contents:
Elasia
Obvious exits:
Out
You come in from the Elevator Lounge.
Elasia is indeed out of that meeting, although probably not long so. She's
curled up in the bed, although still in work clothes. Her shoes have been
kicked off to the side and she's fast asleep.
Niko comes in quietly, with a font smile as he spots you. He picks his way
carefully over to the couch, so he can pull off his boots and other sundry
clothing.
Elasia stirs somewhat at the noise, blinking sleepily a few times. "'Lo, love."
Niko winces a bit. "Sorry, hon," he says quietly, making his way back to the
bed now that he's no longer wearing shoes and such. "Go back to sleep. Sorry
I'm so late."
Elasia offers a sleepy grin up at you, "Not really awake. Good to see you
though. Warmer when you're here."
Niko chuckles softly. "That's me," he murmurs. "Your own personal heater." He
considers mentioning the work clothes, then shakes his head, reaching for the
blanket. "Sleep's good, though."
Elasia is far too tired to bother with the work clothes, her eyes sink shut again. "Knight, heater, n'sweet. Best of all poss'ble worlds."
Niko manages not to snicker, though it's a struggle. He curls up against you,
lightly kissing your cheek. "Sleep well, love."
Elasia curls right up to you, obviously thrilled with the change in circumstance. She murmurs a quiet endearment before falling back to sleep.
Niko takes a bit longer to go to sleep, but gets there after a bit. It's late,
after all, and he's tired.
Back