Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

This is the one part of his job that he hated.

Starched suit. A weird hat. White Gloves. He never understood what the point of the white gloves were. Not to mention all the civilians! To top it all off, the bars usually didn't serve beer.

Curses. Lots of them. Mentally of course, he was there to represent the Military and to do it well. The troops were having a cookout tonight and here he was, stuck nibbling on fish eggs and snails when he could be going all carnivore on some hamburgers and chips. And a cigar, he could use a cigar right about now. Yes, General Xavier Talon was quite the redneck.

A redneck stuck smack dab in a white collar event. More curses. He fingered his ceremonial ivory revolver handle. The darn thing had never been fired. He got bored sometimes as a general. He longed for his days as an enlisted man, good-ole times, back when Slugs were always squishable and his soldiers weren't shooting lasers out of their eyes. That happened yesterday, the kid just started going bezerk and fried his drill instructor.

Scotch. Maybe they had some Scotch. The idea brightened his mood so and he headed over towards the bar.

Day 3-Evening- Burg- Josh

"Well enough, considering what most people are like. My building has a backup generator so at least the lights work. No riots in the area and so far everybody's supplies are holding out."

He took a slice of ham off one of the toothpicks with his teeth and was silent for a moment as he chewed.

"That won't last forever though. I hope things can get turned around before this turns into one of those "Post-Apocalyptic" games that have been coming out recently."

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

Tamara chuckled and twirled her glass meditatively.

"Indeed," she commented, taking Malcom's choke in stride. "I doubt any two of our powerful officials can agree on their personal ideals. But, like any other man with influence, Mr. Lawrence, I'm sure you have a unique idea of how to handle the situation. If you had all power, what would you do to solve this problem?"

Tamara looked hard at the host. What had made him react so to her position as a government official? She was pretty sure he was hiding something now.

Arida
Day 3: Near the Convent

Xandria waited until his breath evened out and she was sure he was asleep. Gently, she searched her cardigan for the lighter she had picked up the day before, then tentatively flicked it on where she could see her legs and feet. Her surprise made her jump, and she barely stifled a scream. The boy stirred, but didn't wake. It took Xandria a few more minutes to muster the courage to find the lighter and try again. Finally, she did.

"Oh dear Lord...I'm a mutant...."

Xandria slowly opened her eyes. A little bird twittered at her from a branch, then flew off into the darkness. She leaned forward a little and groaned. Her back and neck hurt from sleeping against the rough old tree, but at least it had given them some shelter. The rain had stopped, she noted, and the sky was beginning to turn slightly pink. Xandria guessed it was around five or six in the morning. The little boy was still asleep in her lap, his head resting against her chest and one hand lightly grasping a lock of her hair.

Finally, Xandria looked down. There were her feet (both of them!). She wiggled her toes, her blue nails looking like black splotches in the early morning light. She must have lost her shoes somewhere in the mud last night. Xandria reached down and touched them, rubbing her ankles and making sure they were there. Had she dreamed that they were gone? No, her lighter was still out, she'd obviously taken it out. Perhaps she was half dreaming. She shook her head and slipped the lighter back into her pocket, then picked up the boy and started walking again. She was freezing, and she could only imagine he was, too.

The sky was rapidly getting brighter and her legs no longer screamed in pain each time she took a step, so Xandria's progress was quicker and more direct. Before long, she found the wall. Continuing to follow it, she found the little door. It was unlocked, thankfully, and Xandria took of straight for the kitchen.

"Sister Sophia?" Xandria asked, pushing the door open. Several of the nuns all rushed over.

"Och, child, we were afraid we'd lost ye," one said as Sophia took the little boy from Xandria and another led her to a seat. "We heard what happened. Coffee?"

Xandria nodded, grateful for a hot drink. Sophia was busy getting the wet clothing off of her charge and bundling him up in towels. Soon, he was sitting beside Xandria drinking hot chocolate and eating a bowl of oatmeal.

"So," Sister Sophia said, sitting down opposite Xandria, "What happened?"

"Well..." Xandria hesitated. Where to begin, and what to say? How did it all happen?

((OOC: Mountie, Lia, if you want to have Allee and company burst in now, that would work well. ))

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

"All power..." Malcom swirled what was left of his drink as he pondered the question. "I would try and keep the peace, though at the same time try to understand what was going on. Not sure if turning everything over to military jurisdiction would be the wisest move." with this, Lawrence glanced back at McArthur who was currently waylaying a fellow diplomat at the snack counter.

"Ultimately I would try and look at all possible angles without immediately jumping to the worse conclusion." Malcom smiled as he finished.

As the host was finishing his martini, Jennings approached. After whispering something into Lawrence's ear and nodding in the direction of the refreshment bar, the butler moved on.

"I'm afraid I must cut our visit short, Dr. Lightwood. Jennings has just informed me that an old family friend is here." as Malcom set his empty glass down, he bowed slightly to Tamara. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Doctor."

With that, Lawrence made his way over to the tall, graying gentleman that was eyeing the cheese trays on the refreshment counter. Don't ruin this one too, Lawrence...

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

Tamara watched Malcom go, her eyes squinting slightly as she tried to analyze every part of his seen and unseen features. She was pretty sure she had him pinned. Someone to remember, for sure. Political alliances would come in handy. At least he seemed sympathetic to her cause; she knew that would be hard to come by elsewhere.

Idly, she wandered over toward the snacks and exchanged her half empty glass for another full one. A lone general, or someone else rather highly starched and decorated, seemed to be wandering and giving most everyone the evil eye. Her date now nowhere to be found, Dr. Lightwood decided that this poor man could do with some cheering up.

"Evening, general," Tamara smiled. "How are you fairing?"

Day 3
Quadrant 9
9:42 qn

previous post

Dr. Lightwood stepped between the doors to Dr. Steele's office, silently making her way across the room until she was standing a bit behind Arthur. She raised her eyebrows and looked at Steele.

"Welcome to Quadrant 9, Arthur."

Day 3
Quadrant 9
9:43 qn

Dr. Steele's grey eyes slid up to meet the woman's face. "Ah, Dr. Lightwood." He nodded to her and looked back at Arthur.
"Dr. Arthur Ford, this is Dr. Tamara Lightwood, Head of our Medical Department. She will conduct you about the facility and assist in answering any more questions you may have. She will also brief you on the details of your position here." He unfolded himself from his chair and stood up with a smile. "It has been a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Ford, and I look forward to collaborating with you on this mighty project at Quadrant Nine."

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor, evening

"Which one would you recommend, Malcom? The Italian or Spanish cheese sticks?" the older gentleman asked with a wry grin as he turned to face Lawrence.

"Personally, I'd go with the Italian unless you're wanting to go through three drinks in under ten minutes." Malcom chuckled before stretching out his right hand in greeting. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Cunningham. How's life been treating you?"

Cunningham shook the younger mans hand before snatching one of the Italian sticks. "Life. Life has been... fair. I'm still employed with our government in their Military Weapons division, so the checks keep coming in at least." he paused to take a bite of cheese before continuing. "Seems like you're still doing well for yourself, Lawrence."

"Yes, everything continues go as it always has. Well, mostly...." Lawrence's train of thought was momentarily interrupted as he watched Selena glide by on her way to the kitchen.

"Mmm, I see." Cunningham said with a smile before taking a sip of his drink. "I don't suppose you would be interest in a job as my assistant, by any chance? I could use a sharp mind like yours in my division. The old hats keep sending down interns to "assist" me, but those little college quiks can't even tell a plasma stabilizer from a grounding hook."

Lawrence laughed at the older gentleman's obvious annoyance with the military. "If I was working with you, I don't think I'd mind it too much. McArthur has already tried to rope me into working for him."

"Good heavens, he's already approached you?! The man has no tact... Granted, I'm rather torn to even call him a man."

"Yes, he has. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one that dislikes him." Malcom replied before taking a bite of a cheese square. "I'll see what I can do about getting an assistant position, then."

"If you talk to McArthur, just tell him I want you on my team and if he doesn't comply, I'll erase all his hard drives." Cunningham said with a wink.

"Ha ha, very well. I'll go see about it now. Always a pleasure to see you again, Mr. Cunningham."

"Aye, always a pleasure to see you again as well, Lawrence." Cunningham said as the owner of Lawrence Manor made his way through the crowd to speak with the overly important McArthur.

Arida
Day 3: The Convent

Laney yawned and blinked in the sunlight. Stretching, she sat up and looked around her. Riah was back and awake, sitting across the room from her and staring off into space. "Hey," said Laney. "What time is it?"

Riah looked up, startled. "Somewhere around six or seven, I suppose." She leaned forward and looked intensely at Laney. "I've been thinking, Lane. This supernova, what if it gave certain people special powers. Like mutating or changing depending on what they were doing when it happened."

Laney looked stunned. Was that even possible? Mutating? "That's crazy, Riah."

She shrugged. "You hungry? I think the nuns are making breakfast if we can find the kitchen."

"Sure. You go ahead, I'll just be a second." Laney needed a minute. She ran a hand over her face and through her tangled hair. What if there were superpowers now? Her eyes widened. Vanishing. She had been thinking about disappearing when the nova happened. She bit her lip and stood up. Breakfast first. This could wait.

Day 2
Arida, The Convent
Allee groaned as she sat up, strings of brown hair falling into her face. She reached up and undid what remained of her disheveled bun. Every muscle in her body ached. That was what running from gang members did to you, she supposed.

She pulled off the covers and padded through the halls of the Convent, memories of last night flashing through her mind. She'd managed to outrun the gang member. Barely. It had taken every ounce of energy she had, which explained the aching muscles. By the time she'd gotten back to the Convent that night, she'd collapsed in a puddle on her bed, not bothering to change out of her clothes. Exhaustion had claimed her quickly, and the next thing she knew, it was morning.

She ran a hand through her hair as she stepped into the kitchen. "Morning," she muttered, her eyes scanning the room.

Day 2: Arida
The Convent

"Morning," Xandria said, glad for the distraction. She smiled limply at Allee, then took another bite. "Glad to see you're safe and in one piece. I guess everyone else got here safely, right? Everything is ok?"

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

General X preferred to be left alone, especially at parties such as this. So when his bubble was popped by the young lady standing in front of him, he wasn’t very happy. However, he was obliged to respond, it was proper courtesy, was it not? Then again, he wasn’t in a very good mood and so his reply seemed very practiced and monotone-ish.

“As well as can be expected... and you?”

That was all the effort was giving, for now.

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

((OOC: Tamara is about 40, Joe. ))

"Fair enough," Tamara replied. "Interesting people. And by interesting, perhaps, more interesting to watch than speak with."

She smiled slightly and took a sip of her drink.

"I'm Doctor Tamara Lightwood."

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

Xavier didn't necessarily agree with the Doctor, the large majority of the people at this party were rather a bore to look at, let alone to converse with. Most of them were simple minded civilians and the ones who weren’t appeared to be geeks and techno-nerds, typical Pencil Pushers.

Regardless, he was inclined to nod his head and act like he dittoed every word that Tamara said. X downed another shot glass. “General Xavier Talon, pleased to meet you”

((OCC: Mhmm. That makes General X aproximatly fourteen years older than the Doc, also he's and elderly military man, all the older military guys I've ever met refer to almost any woman as a "Young Lady" hence it fits the character. ))

Burg: Day 3
Lawrence Manor

((OOC: True, but if he calls her that, she might turn him into a toad or something. ))

"Tis a pleasure to meet you," Tamara said, inclining her head slightly. "It is an honor to meet someone who is so devoted to protecting his country and his people. How have the recent...changes in society been affecting your forces? I hope it has not been too negative."

Day 3
Quadrant 9
9:45 qn

Dr. Lightwood barely moved at all as the two men stood and Dr. Steele gave Dr. Ford a few final words of...welcome. She smiled briskly as Steele finished.

"Now, if you will accompany me, Dr. Ford, I'll give you a small tour of the facilities and brief you a bit on our facility and where exactly you will be working." Tamara gestured toward the door, then pushed it open. "After you."