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Tara arrives from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.
Tara has arrived.
Greer arrives from the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.
Greer has arrived.
She's wearing a jumper dress of bright red corduroy, its skirt bobbling
with the movement of her knees. The pocket on its front panel is empty and
held shut by a brass button. A short-sleeved T-shirt beneath the straps of
the dress matches her white knee socks, and black patent leather buckled
shoes somehow seem to remain impeccably clean and shiny. For a human girl
merely 6 years, 8 months, and 22 days old, this young lady has a rather quiet
air about her. Her motions are tiny and efficient, and her sweet childish
soprano is soft enough to be easily lost to background noise. Straight blonde
hair of purest sunny gold is gathered by a bow at the back of her head to
form a long ponytail, her bangs clipped neatly over her eyebrows. Her eyes of
cornflower blue, flat and expressionless, are perched over a button nose,
dimpled cheeks, and a Cupid's bow mouth. All in all, she's just too cute for
words.
Niko sets aside the com headset, and makes the start of a rude gesture towards
it, abbreviated when he catches Anya watching him with a raised brow. "Well,
they're -annoying-," he mumbles. He starts up the paperwork, then pauses at
the newcomers. "Valentine, hello there." He can't help but grin at the child
as well. She's too cute, after all.
Tara grins, glancing toward the girl as she leans on the reception desk. "Hey there, Niko. Er, Commander, I guess it should be when you're on duty, neh? Got a few minutes for me to fall at your feet and beg?"
Greer is an explorer. Magellan reborn. She tries to duck around the desk to look around, gazing around her with large curious eyes.
Niko lifts his shoulders in a brief smile. "Hey, 'Niko' works, too. It's not
like I actually stand on formality. Formality would kick me if I did that.
She's bigger than I am." He watches the kid for a moment, but doesn't impede
any intrepid exploration, instead turning back to you. "How can I help you? I
just had somebody beg, but it's been a while since I had a good grovel." Yes,
he's kidding.
Tara snickers quietly, gesturing toward the kiddo, who's found her way to a
desk. A desk with drawers. Oooh neat! "Ah, Lieutenant Mayes was kind enough
to assign me some single-person type quarters when I got back. Can't be
living in the Underground, y'know. But now that Greer's going to be staying,
I'm going to be needing something a little bigger... Greer, don't. That's
impolite unless you get paid to snoop."
Niko rummages in a drawer of his own and comes up with a chocolate bar, which is offered towards Greer. He doesn't have kids. He sees nothing wrong with chocolate bribery. "Larger quarters, okay," he says amiably. "That's easy enough." He snags a keyboard and starts to peck at the keys.
Niko does so one-handed, of course. The other hand has the choklit.
Greer glances over her shoulder, and doesn't -quite- pounce on the chocolate.
She takes it very politely, offering a "Thank you, Mister Niko." before
scurrying a few feet away to unwrap it. "Smooth, Niko," Tara snickers. "Very
smooth." She does give him a look of gratitude. "I do appreciate that.
Sleeping on the floor's a pain. Oh... Greer, this is Commander Casymed. Or
Mr. Casymed, as the case may be." Commander's a bit of a mouthful. She adds,
a bit quieter, "Niko, my daughter, Greer."
Niko offers a half-salute towards the child, "Pleased to meet you, Greer. We'll have you set up in just a--" There's a pause. "Daughter, huh?" Yes, it took that long to register. "Well, there's something new. Kids are wonderful."
Tara turns a lovely shade of crimson. "Yes, my daughter." Then her expression turns amused. "Surprised? And yes, I do think she's wonderful. But then I'm a little biased." And doesn't seem a whit embarrassed about -that-. Greer gives a wave, nodding to Niko, though her mouth is too full to answer. She eats very neatly, hands and face remaining remarkably clean.
"Just a bit surprised, yes," Niko replies, gaze going back to the terminal screen, though he's got a crooked little smile. "Okay, room. You're going to be in H9, same floor. Not too far from where you are now, matter of fact."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Tara nods, smiling her thanks. "I appreciate that. Makes moving that much easier." She glances toward Greer before lowering her voice slightly. "Er, Niko, you wouldn't happen to know how I could get her, um, official? I doubt she shows up in any records. I know she's not in mine."
Niko's brows lift slowly. "None at all?" he queries slowly. "Uh. Well, was she
born on an Alliance world?"
Tara mhmms. "Scully's Planet. But the doctor was... less than reputable, shall
we say? We were all hiding out at the time."
Niko considers that for a moment, brows furrowed in thought. "I know there are
provisions for people born on non-Alliance worlds, but I'm not sure about
those who were."
Tara grins wryly, surreptitiously watching Greer, who balls up the candy
wrapping and tosses it neatly into the nearest disposal, then hops onto a
chair, spinning it around in delight. "Yeah, I'm good at coming up with
unique problems."
Niko watches as well, with one of those smiles suitable for grownups who like
kids watching a cute kid. "Well, I can do some poking around and see if I can
come up with something. There are loopholes and such sometimes, if not
something that's actually helpful."
Tara grins, both at the words and the reaction to Greer. "I do appreciate that. Personally, I don't mind having her a relative unknown- I do have enemies- but unregistered kids have a hard time getting into school, y'know?" Catching the smile, Greer beams. Grownups are so cute when they get like that.
Niko returns the smile, but manages to stop that gesture towards the drawer
with the chocolate bars. Her cuteness... is making me weak! "Figured it'd be
something like school," he agrees. With a thoughtful look, he queries, "How'd
G'ben end up in school? Was he in the records?"
"Who's G'ben?" Greer pipes up curiously. Tara grimaces faintly at her question.
"I'll tell you later, hon." She smiles proudly though as she turns back to
Niko. "Oh, sure. He was a local kid- a bit of footprint comparison and they
tracked down his identity. That was way back when I got custody. Then Clara
and, I think, the Chief vouched for him after I was gone, and got him into
the school with the diplomats' kids."
Niko nods once more, expression thoughtful. "Okay, do you have anything official at all for her? Medical records--immunizations? Any form of religious records? Those sorts of things would help."
Tara glances toward Medbay, then gestures in that direction. "Clara's got all
her medical records. Heck, she's -made- half of 'em. And- I doubt this one's
a surprise- I've never been the religious type. And I really should get Greer
a real passport one of these days."
"But could you do that without having her in the official records?" There's a
pause from Niko. "Without, er, going through certain channels down a couple
flights of stairs." He's -trying- to be oblique about any references to the
Underground. Might not work. "Medical records would help, though, especially
earlier ones, from before she got here."
Tara chuckles, understanding completely. "Exactly. I can't. Which is another reason I gotta get her registered. Oh, the passport she's got now will get her on and off planet, but it won't stand up to -that- much scrutiny. Unfortunately, I was in a hurry." She gestures toward Medbay again. "Give Clara a yell? She could probably jet the info over."
Niko shakes his head. "Might as well wait and see whether it'd be useful or
not, first, and that would involve some poking around in the library."
Reticence to contact Clara? You betcha.
Tara's eyebrows rise, and she misses the sight of one of the SecOffs glancing
toward Niko as he lets Greer play with his handcuffs. "Ah, we don't need to
go to that much trouble, certainly. Hmmmm." She shakes her head sheepishly.
"I did my best for the last six years to keep her unknown, and now it's
turning around to bite me."
Niko lifts his shoulders in a brief shrug. "It's no trouble, really--well, no,
that's a lie. Not -much- trouble, anyway. I don't know quite enough legalese
to go poking around some of the more involved stuff, but I could take a
lookover some of the basics, at least." See? Isn't he helpful? If only he'd
get his hair cut regularly.
Tara stifles a look of surprise, starting to grin. "I... that'd be extremely
nice of you, Niko."
"I'm a nice guy," Niko says, with a boyish grin. "Ask anybody. They'll tell
you." Tim suggests innocently, "Ask his wife."
Tara glances toward Tim, arching an eyebrow in amusement. "Perhaps I'll get the opportunity to do just that sometime." She nods to Niko. "Oh, I've known that for a while. I believe you were designated 'too nice' at one point. But this is above and beyond the call of... Ah. The knight in shining armor. Yes."
Niko gestures briefly towards Greer, looking a little sheepish. "She's cute. I can't resist cute things. If Ela and I get around to having a kid, I hope he or she turns out to be ugly, or I'll end up doing whatever the kid wants." He grins. He's joking. Mostly. Maybe. "I ditched the armor, though," he adds absently. "Too heavy. Rollerskating in armor is just not possible."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Tara snickers. "It's different, when they're your own. The cuteness factor is
offset by temper tantrums, the terrible twos, and waking up every two hours
every night for six months straight. You two oughta get around to that, you
know. Never know what might happen." Her mouth quirks in amusement. "But at
least you wouldn't break when you fell down."
"I've ditched falling down, too," Niko replies, with a grin. "I've seen some
pretty disturbing temper tantrums, though--my nephew is a master at kicking
and screaming and turning a really -frightening- shade of red." With a bit of
a shrug, he adds, "We will, probably, eventually. Just has to be the right
time, once Ela gets a promotion or two."
Greer looks innocent, and just exudes cuteness. It's a Pavlov thing- somebody looks at her, the cuteness rays start. Even when she's handcuffing the nice blushing NPC SecOff to his chair, giggling. Tara doesn't seem to notice- she's snickering too hard. "It's all an act, I promise you. He'll grow out of it someday." She pauses, noting, "Diplomats don't get promotions too often."
Niko's brows incline at the handcuffing. Too bad Kathlyn isn't here. She'd have
all -kinds- of comments. "I know," he replies. He manages not to shrug, but
the suggestion of the gesture is there. "Still should probably happen before
we have any kids, though."
Yep, the ex-convict's kid likes playing cops and robbers, and today she's the
'cop'. She starts reading the SecOff his rights. Tara's blissfully oblivious.
"Maybe, Niko," she says gently. "Ah, it'll happen someday, probably when
you're least expecting it."
Niko is somewhat less than oblivious to the handcuffing, but is obviously
entertained. Good thing Greer's cute. "Can't open the brig for you, kiddo,"
he calls, with a grin. "Sorry." Turning back to you, he adds, "Maybe. We'll
see. Busy as we both are, it's probably a good thing we don't have kids,
anyway."
Greer glances over her shoulder with a gleeful grin. "That's okay. He can't get
out of the handcuffs, can he? The prisoner is secure." Tara glances toward
her daughter just as the child holds up the poor SecOff's keys. The look of
surprise on his face is comical. "Greer!" Tara's trying really hard not to
laugh. "Might want to let him loose. He's probably got work to do."
Snickering, she turns back to Niko. "You do have a point there, admittedly,
though with the profusion of nannies around here that may or may not be a
minor point."
Niko wrinkles his nose just a bit at the mention of nannies. "I'm sure they're
wonderful people, really, but I'd rather rear my own kid myself. Well, my
hypothetical kid."
Tara nods approvingly. "It really -is- satisfying, Niko," she smiles. "I'd just
hate to see you and Mrs. Casymed putting it off til it's too late." Greer's
still giggling as she searches out the correct key- "No, the blue... yes,
that one," the SecOff is very helpful, and sighs in relief as he's released.
Greer hands over the keys, smiling cutely.
Niko shakes his head. "Plenty of time for that, though," he says amiably,
rummaging in said desk drawer for some more chocolate. The kid's too cute. He
offers it to Greer, saying, with a grin, "Maybe we should recruit you, huh?
Bet you'd make a good SecOff."
"Uh uh." Greer cheerfully bounds over to accept the chocolate. "I'm going to be a doctor, like Doctor Clara. But maybe I can do both?"
"Oh great," Tara mutters, amused. "I can see it now- arrested by my own kid."
Niko asides to Tara, "It'd be good incentive for staying on the right side of
the law, though, eh? Arresting a family member is hard. You wouldn't want to
do that to her, would you?" He grins at Greer, then, albeit with just a hint
of wryness. "Doctor Clara's a very good doctor, yes. If anybody could be
both, I'll bet you could."
Tara's nose wrinkles, but she answers smoothly enough. "You're right, I
wouldn't." "Of course I can," Greer notes around a mouthful of chocolate.
"You have to be smart to be a doctor, and everybody says I am. Pity they
don't have an apprenticeship program here."
Niko leans lightly against the side of his desk. "Definitely a pity," he agrees amiably to the child, after casting a sidelong grin towards Tlara. "Clara'd be a fun person to apprentice with, that's for sure."
Greer nods enthusiastically. "She keeps -ice cream- in her office. Chocolate.
And she answers questions, and lets me play with machines." Tara's torn
between pride and laughter, and it shows.
"Oooh, ice cream." Niko is not patronizing. He's definitely interested. "Why
didn't she tell -me- that? Huh. I'll have to ask, next time I'm over in
medbay."
Tara grins, teasing, "Ah, so now I know what to bribe you with." She winks.
Greer tilts her head thoughtfully, taking the question seriously. "Maybe
cause you're not a cute little girl?"
Niko shakes his head at Tara, looking amused. "Nah, I'm not bribeable for ice cream. Other stuff, though, yeah. I just like ice cream." He does manage not to laugh at Greer's response. "Y'know," he replies thoughtfully, "I'll bet you're right. I'm most definitely not a cute little girl."
Tara's mouth quirks. "That's right, perk my curiosity." Greer nods mournfully, looking up at him. "It's okay. You're okay anyhow." Just not ice cream-able.
Niko offers Tara an innocent look. "Ela's brownies," he supplies. "They're
amazing, 'specially right out of the oven. Mmm." Greer gets an amiable grin
and half a bow. He's been hanging around with Riley too much. "Glad you think
so, kiddo. That's some consolation."
Tara grins. "One more reason to meet the woman then, if they're that good."
Greer peers at him for a moment, then imitates the gesture. "Good! You
shouldn't be sad just cause you're not cute." Give her a decade and ask her
about that opinion again.
"They really -are- that good," Niko assures Tara. At Greer's words, his grin all but splits his face. "Do me a favor, kiddo? Can I get you to tell Doctor Clara that I'm not cute, sometime? I'd really appreciate it."
Greer considers this, then nods. "That's a fair trade for chocolate, yes. Why?"
Niko leans closer, as if he's about to confide in the child. "She said I'm cute," he stagewhispers. "But we know better, right?"
Greer nods, her eyes widening. "But she's a grownup girl. She's -supposed- to
think you're cute."
Niko's formidable brows raise just a bit. "But I'm not," he replies equably. "Little girls are cute, but men aren't allowed to be. It's in the rules."
Tara has to look away, her shoulders shaking in silent laughter. "I'll bet
Elasia does not agree with that." Comprehension comes over Greer's face. "I
thought grownups didn't -have- rules."
Niko casts a rather amused look towards Tara. "Ela's biased." Turning back to
the kidlet, he shakes his head solemnly. "Matter of fact, I've got more rules
now than I did when I was your age. Lots more."
You faintly hear a chime mark the hour.
Greer shudders. "How do you keep track of them all?" "She'd -better- be biased,
Niko."
Niko admits to Greer, with a vaguely sheepish look, "It was really tough at
first, but you get used to it eventually." Tara gets a quiet snicker. "Well,
yes. But she still is."
Tara snickers, amused at the sheepish Nick. "You poor thing. I bet you wouldn't
want to be a kid...?" At the same time, Greer says, "I bet you'd rather be a
kid again, then, wouldn't you?"
Oh, dear. How to answer this one? Got to keep everybody happy. "Well," Niko says, "There are advantages to both. And it's not like I -can- be a kid again, after all." Maybe Ela's diplomacy has rubbed off on him? Maybe?
Greer giggles at her mother. "Yeah. It does not work that way usually. Except you act kidlike." Tara's eyebrows rise at that comment.
Niko's eyebrows rise as well. "Did they tell you about the disc gun?" he stagewhispers, gesturing to the rest of the SecOffs. "Because if that's it, I have to tell you that my brother started it. I'm just defending myself."
Greer's eyes widen. "Disc gun? What disc gun?" She giggles. "You have a very
naughty brother then. Nooooo, you got chocolate. Lots of it. That's a kid
thing."
Niko does a very foolhardy thing, and removes said gun from the desk, offering it butt-first to the kidlet. "This disc gun." He casts an amused look towards the office where Riley may or may not be, for all he knows, then nods. "Very naughty brother, yes. But he's fun, and he doesn't torture me very much."
"Oh dear," is Tara's soft amused murmur. Like any kid, Greer reaches for the toy eagerly, eyes lighting up. She aims it carefully at the opposite wall, but doesn't fire. "Do these things ri... rico... bounce?"
Your communit crackles to life and says "Niko dear? I just thought I'd let you know dear, I've locked and bolted the door, and it's going to remain shut until you get than annual physical." Gee, she sounds so -cheerful-. "Oh, and did I mention I was baking brownies tonight?" in Elasia's voice.
"Ricochet," Niko supplies. "No, I don't--ack!" That would be an altogether
distressed sound, and his reaction to the words from his comm. "Uh. I don't
think so. Could you ladies excuse me a moment?"
You say "Uh, hi, Ela. Uh. What?" Yeah, he's a little surprised. "I think that's
kind of an extreme reaction. You haven't even heard my side of the story,
after all." into the communit.
Tara nods, looking vastly amused as she drifts a few steps away to watch Greer
cheer and fire madly at the wall.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "What, I don't see that it's
extreme. It's -efficent-. This way you can't weild cuteness rays at me." in
Elasia's voice.
You say "But... but -Ela-. I have a very good reason for not wanting to do it.
Really. Clara's not doing hers, she hasn't done one in -ages-." into the
communit.
Niko takes a moment from his comm, still looking rather distressed, to rummage
for another cartridge of foam discs. That gets him an annoyed look from one
of the other SecOffs.
Somewhere, in the distance, Julie cackles.
Your communit crackles to life and says "If she jumped off a building, would
you?" There's a pause, "Actually, I shouldn't ask that, considering. But the
point's there." in Elasia's voice.
You say "Clara'd never jump off a building." And Niko would, of course. He
probably already has. "Come on, Ela, just let me in when I come upstairs?"
Yes, he's trying to see if cuteness rays will work over the comm. "Please?"
into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Uh, uh, no way. Not until you get the exam. MmmmMMMMMmmmm," Yes, she's making disturbing noises. "The butterscotch sauce goes well with these brownies." in Elasia's voice.
"Wheeee!" That would be Greer's comment upon obtaining more ammo. She's having
a ball. But Niko's comment earns him a faintly concerned look from Tara. She
does decide, however, not to ask about 'sauce'.
Niko takes a deep breath, and regards his comm unit for a long moment, then
snags his keyboard, typing in some sort of query. As the machine churns, he
reaches for the comm-unit again.
You say "All right, that's just cruel. But if that's the way you want it..."
into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "No exam, no brownies." in
Elasia's voice.
You say "And no you, too. Yeah. You said that." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Yes, because I love you Niko, and
I worry terribly, and when you're being self-destructive I've learned I have
to be firm or get nowhere." in Elasia's voice.
You say "Yeah, but Clara's being -more- self-destructive. It's been a long time
for her. Too bad you can't threaten -her- with no brownies. As soon as she
gets hers done, I'll do mine. Not before then. Sorry, Ela. I love you, but I
can't back down on this." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Your pride is too important. I
see. *click*" in Elasia's voice.
Greer, seeing that the foam discs do no harm, starts aiming at each SecOff in
turn.
Niko stares at the comm for a moment or two, then shakes his head, jaw setting for a moment. "I didn't mean it like that," he mumbles. He eyes his chrono, then gets to his feet. "Quitting time," he says, with a wry little smile. "If there's nothing else I can do for you ladies, I'll be on my way."
Tara uh ohs softly. "Go, shoo, you've got better things to do, from the sounds
of it, than hanging around here chatting with us. Greer, give the gun back."
Which the child does immediately, beaming at poor Niko. "Thank you very much
for letting me play with your toys!" Nodding approvingly, Tara gives him an
encouraging smile. "Good luck.'
Niko takes a moment to collect the spent ammo. Tucking away the gun, he shakes his head. "Yeah, got to find somewhere else to stay tonight." See, when Ela mentioned his pride, she was right. He's just not going to admit that.
Tara arches an eyebrow in surprise. "I'd offer to let you sleep on my floor, but I daresay she wouldn't take any more kindly to that."
Niko shakes his head. "Probably not," he says dryly. "I'll call Kaycen. Kayce'll help." He closes the drawer and starts for the exit, trying not to look bummed and not really succeeding. "Thanks for the offer, though.
Tara nods, reaching her hand toward her daughter, who slips over to take it in
her own. "Sure, Niko. Anytime."
Niko lifts a hand as he heads for the exit. Even the cute small child is not enough to lift his mood. Ela's got his roller skates hostage, too, so he can't even go break himself in revenge. Aww. Poor butterscotch duck.
You head towards the Second Floor Elevator Lounge.
==============================================================================
Message 6 Date Received: Fri Aug 6 21:03:38 1999
From: Elasia
To: Niko
Subject: Courier
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A courier arrives with a box containing your journal, pictures, skates, and
uniforms. A note accompanies. 'Hopefully your male pride will keep you warm
at night, sadly it will never return the love you lavish on it. Hope it keeps
you company since you seem to love it more.'
Ela is yes, mad.
Options: +delete, +forward, +reply, +replyall, +mark
[Time passes.]
You say "Clara, you busy?" Oh, he sounds extremely unthrilled. "If you are, will you let me know when you're not?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Niko? What's wrong? Are you all right?
Did you break something?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Uh, physically, no. I just wanted to know if you'd come to any
decisions about your annual." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and announces "Decision? Niko, I never changed
my mind about it. I repeat...what's wrong?" Yes, she does sound terribly
worrie.d" in Clara's voice.
You say "I really think you should get the annual, Clara." He's quiet for a long moment, then finally answers the question. "See, Ela found out that I'm refusing to go in for mine, and she said she wouldn't let me come home til I got it done. Then I... well, I guess I said something stupid, and it's not a joke any more. She's pretty angry with me." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Oh, dear...Niko, I -swear- I didn't
tell her," Clara immediately promises, sounding extremely sincere and
concerned. "Niko...oh, dear. Would you like me to talk to her? It's not a
joke, and I'm not having a physical, but...anything else I can do to help,
I'll do in a heartbeat. Whatever did you say? Or should I not ask?" in
Clara's voice.
You say "-Why- aren't you having a physical, Clara?" Yes, it's finally hitting
him personally enough to ask. "It's not that big a deal. You've said so
yourself, often enough. Or are you just not going to practice what you
preach?" into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "*pause* I have my reasons, Niko. I haven't had a physical in eight years, just random patching up when I needed it. Why won't -you- have a physical? Are you really this stubborn, Niko? Please...just let me check you over so you can go home." in Clara's voice.
You say "No." He says this flatly. "If it's been eight years, then you should
have one. I'm -worried- about you. Besides, I doubt she'd let me come back
now even if I had the annual. If it's not going to make a difference to you,
and it's not going to make a difference to her, I might as well stick to my
guns." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and blares "Niko...I'm sorry." And she really
does sound horribly contrite. "I really truly am sorry, but I can't change my
mind on this. There's nothing to worry about, I'm a -doctor-. I'd know if I
needed help. You wouldn't!" She pauses a beat. "Is she really that angry?" in
Clara's voice.
You say "Oh, so you've somehow mystically got medical instruments in your eyes,
so you can see these things. -I- get it." Yes, Niko's being just a little
snide, but he's upset. "And, yes, she's that angry. She sent me all my
stuff." into the communit.
Your communit crackles to life and says "Mystically...?" There's a long, quiet
moment, then in a somewhat more neutral tone, "I don't know what you said to
her, Niko, but if you were this pleasant, well. I won't say I understand, but
I sympathize a little more. Perhaps we should discuss this when you're a bit
calmer?" in Clara's voice.
You say "Yeah. That's a good idea. Later. *click*" into the communit.