<> <> <> <> <> (But really, when _isn't_ it dim in TC? ^_~) ( Friday evenings. ) <> * Vera arrives and takes up space next to the wall. (I wonder if Vera's been going all over the base and holding up walls.) (They need the extra support.) (Wandering wall support.) (Should be a d20 rogue/fighter style PrC.) * Katherine isn't there yet! * Ian has been there for a little while, and is pondering over his notebook. * Rochelle comes walking in, thinking. She heads down and takes a seat right next to the stage. * Thren has been sitting in the very back row, splayed over a pair of seats and staring, almost vacantly, at the ceiling. * Fitzroy strolls on in and takes a front-row seat, so he can enjoy the show. <> "Get some rest?" Got enough. * Rochelle blinks. "Yeah." * Ian nods. "Very welcome rest." "Good. Your little friend went back, to tell them to come here first. And to ask for a few things." * Rochelle picks at her nails. "Like what?" <> "Random supplies. Ammo. Spare exosuits, if they had any. Things lying around." * Katherine steps into the room with a very flat emotionless look. At least, until she looks around. Then she exhales with relief. "Whew." Okay. * Rochelle looks back to Hettie. "I think I know where I fit." <> "Oh?" < * Ian catches the stone. "Hmm?" * Ian peers at it. * Vera lights up a cigarette. * Rochelle catches it without really thinking. Yeah. I'm going with Kat. "Just a stone, Ian. Toss it back." <> "Good." * Ian juggles it for a few seconds, and then tosses it back to Hettie. * Katherine looks over at Thren, since he's over in the back row. "They're not here yet, huh." * Thren simply shakes his head 'no'. * Katherine nods a little and says, "You ready?" Beat. "Well, I guess it's not that big an issue for you." <> "They should be here shortly." * Rochelle idly turns the stone in her hand as she looks at it. * Thren says, in a too-quiet voice, "The last time I saw my mother was shortly after Father's death." * Katherine mms faintly, looking back forward and nodding with a quiet reply. "Right." She stretches one arm behind her head. "Guess this will just be a great day for everybody." A slight sigh. "Time to get ready." She starts walking towards Hettie. <> "Word from the perimeter, sir," <> "Skimmers detected outside the city limits. Just barely came in radar range, they turned away." <> "Almost here, then. Hello, Kat." * Thren sits up, then stands up. * Ian cracks his knuckles. * Katherine opens her mouth to speak but gets cut off by guard, glances back at him, and then rubs her temple as she continues up. "Yeah, guess they are." * Katherine looks over/down to Rochelle. "You figure what you're doin' yet, Roch?" * Rochelle keeps the stone in the palm of her hand as she scratches at her nailpolish. "Goin' with you." * Katherine chuckles. "Great." Beat. "Zak'll freak." He'll come with. * Katherine rubs her head. "Yeah. He already asked." * Rochelle shrugs. Color her unsurprised. * Katherine looks around at everyone else idly. "Figured that'd be why he'd freak. Lil sis fighting next to him." Chuckle. "Much as he can fight, anyway." <> He does okay. * Rochelle nods. * Katherine looks over to Vera. "Yeah?" Beat. "Guess we'll find out. Less of a fighter, back..." she trails off, then goes, "Yeah. God, why didn't they just appear here? Saves the worrying time." (Calc, did I set you up to do automatic billing or something?) * Katherine rubs her non-TSM-jack temple again as she goes towards the stage. (Yeah, you did. ^_^; Is that bad?) (No, but I didn't remember it, so it explains my receipts showing up mysteriously paid.) (Ah, okay. Yeah, that's it. ^_^ You checked the autobill box on the CC payment form.) * Thren wrings his hands a bit, then sits back down and bites his lip. "I'm not sure I can do this." * Ian steps over towards Thren, looking concerned. "It's going to be okay, Thren. We're all backing you up, whatever ends up happening." * Katherine smiles thinly and pushes herself up onstage. "Any big changes in the past few, Hettie?" * Thren knits his brow, not responding to Ian for the moment. "I know they're coming. I can feel her, even from here." <> "Most of the people opted to go along with you. All of them did, really, but some have to stay behind to keep the line of retreat clear. Or so I guess, anyhow." <> * Katherine chuckles. "Doesn't that make it less of a 'distraction' and more of a 'main strike'?" "That makes it a pretty good distraction, don't you think?" * Katherine rolls her eyes. "Well, yeah. Let's just hope ATC doesn't let anyone by." (Yay rochtheme) <> * Katherine rubs her face. "How many 24s does that mean I'm, uh, commanding?" <> "They're in the building, sir." <> "Then get them in here." * Thren starts pacing. He looks pale. <> "About a hundred and fifty. Mostly suitless." * Vera smokes another cig. She looks impatient. * Katherine shakes her head and stands. "Wow. Guess that makes me a Conflag." She puts her arms behind her back in a slight stretch. * Thren turns to look at the door. ( Well conflagurations Kat!!! ) (Conflagurations! You are the hero!) <> * Rochelle stands and looks that way, right when they enter. Her eyes go wide, just a tiny bit, but then she settles back into the good ol' Roch expression. * Vera smokes! She looks unimpressed. * Ian stares shamelessly! (We love you, Ian. The insane one is almost the most normal.) (Exactly!) (Wak.) * Fitzroy checks out the new arrivals and nods approvingly at their suits. <> * Katherine just stands there and crosses her arms under her breasts, trying to do her best 'impassive'. Her ears twitch. ( AFK a bit ) (You and your breasts. Could have just said arms folded.) (Probably just showing off since Chako still doesn't have any.) <> (HA. Maybe.) <> "Some fuckin' setup to save the world." * Katherine snorts. Slightly. (No fuzzy dice or wetbar, but we're on a budget. ¬_¬) (Snerk.) (A nanostring budget, perhaps.) <> * Rochelle watches the family reunions. She had her own just a little while ago! (Some mystic force keeps Ian and Vernon far far away from each other! Oh noes!) (Ha.) ("WAK." "Hippo." *fzzzzzzzz*) (Yeah, this will be either far less 'interesting', or Kat's going to wake up three days later with a splitting headache.) <> "No hi for your mother?" * Thren nods a few times and whispers something back, though some of the tension does drain out of his face just a little bit. <> * Katherine frowns down at Chako and snaps back, "Krissy's my mother, Chako. S'why you gave me her last name." She glances to the other people. * Rochelle looks at all the faces. Wow, 'net faces. In person! She peers at whichever one's closest to her in particular, whoever that is. * Thren turns to Katherine and actually pokes her in the shoulder with one finger. "You would think that, right before you possibly march off to your death, that you could at least put this behind you for five whole seconds." He then turns to Chako with a ragged (emphasis on ragged) smile. "Hello, Chako." (I'd actually gone up to the stage, so that poke thing might be hard.) "Fuckin' semantics. We're at war, if you didn't notice." <> "Hi, Thren. Nice to see you. I assume you're the reason she's not gone off and gotten herself killed yet.>> (Is it an uncrossable distance? Are there guards? Do I need to collect gold and diamonds from alligators and swing on vines? c.c) (... yes.) (Ha.) (Watch out for the scorpion!) (Somebody get this freaking duck away from me.) * Katherine rolls her eyes. "I can do that just fine on my own, thank you." <> * Rochelle looks at Tim. Wow, his locks actually are long and flowing. * Thren asides, rather too dramatically, "Rochelle is probably more to blame." What'd I do? * Rochelle tears her attention from Tim and to the talky people. "Ra-who?" (Ah! No responding until you swing from a vine.) <> (Awww. *jumps and swings!*) <> * Thren points a finger at Rochelle. "Ah, Rochelle. They were roommates, briefly." He's so helpful! * Fitzroy says "Hi" when she sits down. * Rochelle waves at Chako, since that's who Thren's talking to, and she's Rochelle. It works out. * Fitzroy just listens to what's going on, otherwise. * Ian keeps on staring at the suits. Shiny! * Katherine says with a snarky tone, "And now that you've met Roch, can we do the rest of the introductions now so we can get to the important arguing?" <> "Hi. (+") ( Back ) <> "Fine. Hi, Roch. Who are the fuckin' rest of your ragtag band of saviors?" * Rochelle says, in a very casual tone, "You were right, Kat. She is really nice." * Thren grimaces, but only slightly. <> * Katherine smirks. "Model of human compassion, Roch." She points around the room. "That's Thren, that's Ian Salvolino, Roy's our tech, and Vera over there is the detective." (I hope I spelled Ian's name right off memory. c.c;) (No first "l.") (Fooey.) (And I am, as Kat said, Kat's roommate. That's it.) * Vera nods to Roy and holds out her cigarettes, open side towards him. ( Erm.. Charlie. ) (Snicker.) * Ian waves. "Author, gunner, slightly mad." ( * Vera nods to Moogle's character and holds out her cigarettes, open side towards him. ) ( There. Fixed. ^^ ) (heh) <> * Vera nods back to Charlie and smokes. They're hittin' it off gewd. (Maybe Vera should get him a hat.) <> "Don't think we've avoided the goddamn discussion. It's just postponed." <> "So the Walking Psychic Asshole told me you had a kind of plan going?" (Well, she doesn't like Anders. That's a plus.) (See? You do have something in common.) (Chako does *not* love mambo.) (The people that like Anders? Are clearly all insane.) (Hooray! Let's shove him in a locker later together. It can be bonding.) (Or fight with faux phalluses.) (*cracks up at RFM*) (...SO MUCH HAT!) (^_^) * Katherine mutters, "Teriffic." (Or, more appropriately, "Disasteriffic.") * Rochelle idly scratches at the back of her neck. <> "Well, I had thought ..." <> "Well, we need to get in to the City Hall... I mean, I do, and they're going to help me." <> * Thren glances at Hettie out of the corner of his eye with a slightly confused expression. (She was expecting something perhaps a little more Arthurian?) * Katherine glances over to Hettie, then speaks up, a bit more confidently than Hettie's managing. "Yeah. Thren, Vera, Ian, Roy, and Hettie slip into City Hall and deal with the portal-generator-which-will-also-destroy-the-universe, Roch, I, and most everyone else is going to draw off forces to the southeast, and you get to smack around the bulk of the aliens here." Yeah, She wants to try and shut down the portal thing without destroying the universe, basicly. (Wait. Ian's coming into City Hall?) (DId he change his mind?) (He was as of last time.) (Change from what?) (I thought he... bah, whatever.) <> "Why is it the universe ends up in danger so goddamn much?" <> "Accurate, at least. What's what?" * Rochelle looks past the stage, a rather blank look on her face. Yeah, this is the person you want to count on to draw fire. <> * Thren blinks, then looks at the map. "I... think I figured it out. The blue stones are us," he says, pointing at one and biting his lip. "The violet ones are the controlled. And the red stone is the portal generator." (The white zone is for the loading and unloading of ammunition only...) * Rochelle blinks, snapping out of it. "Mad?" she asks. * Katherine sighs slightly at Hettie's behavior and says, "Roch... you wanna help her off?" Small smirk. "The famous ones must be getting to her." <> * Rochelle nods. She walks over to the stage, offering a hand to Hettie. * Katherine then looks back to Chako and points southwesterly. "That's where I figure the gangers and I would get to work, and sweep around to the north. A liberation deal, really." * Thren diverts his gaze to Hettie for a moment. <> * Rochelle leans in and whispers something to Hettie. <> * Thren frowns, then steps up closer to Hettie, trying to get a good look at her face. "No... it's not being starstruck or anything. Something's wrong." * Vera gets off her perch on the wall. "She getting taken over by one of those things?" * Ian blinks, and leans over to look at Hettie. * Fitzroy peers at Hettie from his seat. Nope. * Rochelle takes off her baseball cap and puts it on Hettie's head. "She's missing this." <> "Just an old tired lady, is all." * Thren just... blinks, but after a moment seems satisfied enough with that explanation. "It happens to the best of us," he adds. * Vera nods as though she understands. "Oh. Right, right. Baseball cap. Hey, I've been meaning to ask, how well outfitted are yor guys here?" * Katherine looks away from the map with a slight bit of curiosity, and then looks to Vera and her question. (In response, Chako Alpha Strike-s Vera.) <> "Guns, mostly. Bullet-based." <> "We have plenty of ammunition, but only two or three working exos." * Vera nods. * Vera resumes her post on the wall! She lights up another cigarette. * Katherine adds, a bit defensively, "And everyone here's a 24, who's probably been fighting for months, if not years." Then she looks down to Hettie. "Are you counting mine in that, anyway?" <> "We brought three cases of twenty light particle weapons, some fucking lame exos we had laying around the place, about two hundred thousand of those fuckin' anti-Stupid Big Alien Fucker haloes, and a couple guys who haven't succumbed yet." Don't suppose you brought a few high-yeild explosives and a flamethrower? "Yeah, but I'm wearin' em." * Ian whistles. "Nice!" <> * Vera says nothing more. I don't think you necessarily need to concern yourself with the armament of the Europa Team. "Weapons and exos are for you guys, whatever." <> "We're heading in this way, then?" Who said I was asking about their armament? (...I'm so smart. "Why is Roch asking me about Chako instead of Kat?" Answer? She can ask me without actually saying anything.) (Imagine that! XD) (Snicker. And here Thren was refusing to talk to Kat.) (It's the soothing presence of his mother.) * Rochelle idly runs her fingers along the alien-stopping halo around her head. * Katherine nods. "Yeah. And try not to blow up City Hall." Small smirk. "Sorry to ruin all your fun." <> "Fuckin' great. Don't kill people, don't blow shit up, but make sure to save the goddamn world. I'm going to get a drink. We're starting our op in two hours, so you all better be ready." <> "I'll see you in a few minutes, young lady." <> (Ha.) (Impressive!) * Katherine frowns and snarks back, "Don't young lady me, 'dad'." * Thren puts his fingers to his temples. "Could you both STOP, already?" <> * Rochelle looks at Thren after Chako leaves. "They don't know how." * Vera smokes. "I can see the family resemblence. * Katherine exhales noisily. "Look, I was trying, alright?" * Ian winces, and says nothing. * Thren sighs, then turns and glances at his mother. * Katherine hops down off the stage. "On the bright side, at least she didn't argue the plan." * Katherine adds, in a lower tone, "Or bitch about the suit. Just waiting for that one." I should grab a suit and get used to it before we go. * Rochelle pauses, then adds, "And let Zak know I'm coming." * Ian nods. "So should I, probably." <> (All right. Wrap it up!) * Thren knits his brow and watches her go, then pauses and turns around. "Excuse me for a bit. I..." He pauses. "She deserves to know. About Kataki." * Rochelle nods at Thren. * Vera stretches. <> "After that, I need a rest myself. I'll be ready to go when it's time." * Katherine nods slightly too. "Uh. Good luck with that, Thren. Really." She looks to Roch and Ian. "If they're speed suits, might need to show you the trick to not breaking your legs." How long will that be? "Two hours, like she said." * Vera blinks. "Oh. Right." * Ian nods. "I'd definitely appreciate that." * Thren gives everyone a nod, then makes his way out. * Rochelle nods. She walks on out. * Vera rubs her head, frowning. "I'll just... go lie down until then." She stalks out. * Ian heads off to look at exos! * Katherine siighs noisily again and just stands there. "Well, thank god everyone's leaving. Means I can just sit and wait." (*buzzer sound*) <>