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The situation: The Complex has been
taken over by the Fourth Fleet of the AF, which went AWOL and is now a group of frighteningly well trained rebels. All of Security and any other AF military personnel in the Complex have faded into the woodwork and reconvened on the 'fifth floor' to plan how to repel the invasion without harming anyone. The decision was made to use a chemical that will render unconscious anyone who isn't of the Stilvani race, for whom it acts as a powerful aphrodisiac. We rejoin our crew in the final planning stages and for the liberation!Editor's note: I had to leave in some of the OOC chatter. It was too tempting. My sides literally hurt from laughing by the end of the night.
From beyond, Niko shakes his head. "Don't need any, thanks. There's lots of us, and we all need to stay alert. And I'm not the only one who likes the stuff in the blue cans." His gaze drifts back to the various readouts. "Besides, this is exciting." He doesn't actually sound sarcastic, his tone is just mild.
From beyond, Kyara nods, her expression perfectly calm. "I can tell. You look very excited."
From beyond, Riley returns to his plastic box, on which various gadgets have been placed. He returns to tinkering idly.
From beyond, Niko smiles faintly at that. "The overall situation, I meant," he murmurs, gaze flicking between numbers. Brows lowering, he moves to adjust one set. "Not this in particular. I'll look excited later, when there's time."
From beyond, Kyara nods, hugging her knees to her chest. She smiles wanly. "Later, you'll be back to work, and you won't have time." She casts a curious glance toward the gadget-tinkering.
From beyond, Niko nods slowly at that. He glances up for a moment, expression troubled. "No," he murmurs. "Of course not. No time."
From beyond, Riley tugs his legs up to sit cross-legged on the box and return to his project of the night before. "Niko," he murmurs, "Huge favor?"
From beyond, Kyara winces, muttering a phrase in Stilvani. From the tone, it's probably a curse- she's gone and done it again.
From beyond, Niko glances up. "Sure, boss. Though I'm going to need to get someone else over here if it involves going anywhere."
From beyond, Riley shakes his head slightly, "It doesn't. I need you to, and yes this sounds odd, tug out your tangler and shoot it in my general direction. Preferably -over- my head on the off chance this does not work."
From beyond, Kyara blinks at Riley. "That does not sound odd." It sounds crazy, but she doesn't say that.
From beyond, Niko blinks twice, but nods. He takes out his tangler and checks the power level, then dials it down to the lowest tangler setting. After a glance to the panels, he gets to his feet. "If you turn green, Riley, by all that's holy..." He shakes his head, then. "Ready?"
From beyond, Riley does not look up from the various bits of electronic gadgetry, but nods crisply, "As I'll ever be. Give it a shot."
From beyond, Kyara's mouth quirks. "He's already green."
From beyond, Niko politely raspberries Kyara, then, after the folks around Riley have scattered--just in case--he lifts his tangler and fires off a quick shot, perhaps half a meter above Riley's head.
From beyond, Thankfully whatever it is Riley has done works, and the tangler bolt hits the air with a crackle of ozone and is dispersed around a sphere, burning out to impotence. Riley does not look pleased, not yet. All he does is say quietly, "Try it on plasma."
From beyond, Niko's brows lift fractionally at the crackling, but he doesn't comment, instead adjusting the setting on his tangler and firing, again at that same spot above Riley's head. And, gee, doesn't he look so thrilled to be doing this. See, -this- is why we should still have Denner or Guido. -They'd- be happy to shoot Riley...
From beyond, And the second shot echoes the results of the first, and -now- Riley looks pleased, grinning rather broadly. "-Bingo-, thanks Nick." He solders the connection together he had been merely holding in place. "Knew it'd come in handy one of these days. Don't get me wrong, I know why they banned the things, but still... Just this once... Better than folks getting shot."
From beyond, Kyara's eyes widen. "Banned what things? What is that, exactly?"
From beyond, Niko murmurs a quiet "You're welcome," re-adjusting his tangler before re-holstering it and perching in front of the pharmasynths. After tabbing in a command or two, he glances back over. "Getting shot is bad, yes," he agrees. He glances at Kyara's question, apparently glad someone asked. He wasn't going to, see.
From beyond, Riley explains quietly as he powers down the device and looks rather relieved, "Ka'laxx personal shield. Which is why the Ka'laxx are such nightmares to fight. They have ship sized ones as well. S'just one heckuva problem, the Ka'laxx have warriors gengineered to use the things. We, uh, don't. Hence why they're not technically legal, and nobody really wants to bother to try and re-create them even if they were. But, well, to retake Security...We're going to need an edge, and if it takes more than four to five minutes whoever went in'd be dead anyway, so the risk is negligible."
You walk towards the Gradually-Larger Tunnel.
Clara has been standing beyond the edge in a relative shadow for several moments, fairly pale after watching all sorts of lovely ammunition going Riley's way, and even paler at the sight of the shield. "Are you sure it's worth it?" she says, quietly moving forward around a few sleeping bags.
Kyara breathes softly, "Oh wow..." At Clara's entrance, the Stilvani's mouth shuts, her expression recomposed into perfect bland calm.
Niko glances briefly towards Clara, offering a faint smile, then turns back to Riley. "If they're gengineered to use these... well, how can we?" His gaze is flicking back and forth between the pharmasynths, making him look a bit disjointed. He's okay, though.
Oh dear, see now Clara's shown up and Riley looks rather decidedly sheepish. "Hey, what's a couple of years between friends. Not to mention when it's decidedly unlikely one would live to a natural end anyhow. Besides, I've got a few years to spare what with my background. It's a lot better than dying -now-, eh?" He shakes his head at Niko, "We can't. Well not for long. See, it uses the person as sort of an antenna. Effectively burns off lifespan. Use it for six weeks straight, well you'd probably die of old age. That, and its secrecy, generally mean it usually only gets used by assassins or fanatics."
Okay, that gets Riley a long look from Niko. See, he's twenty-two, so he's still immortal, but he still doesn't like the explanation. He doesn't comment, though, instead shaking his head. And then a glance to the closer pharmasynth shows that it needs an adjustment, which takes his attention for the next few moments. That done, he doesn't look back at the others.
Clara's arms are folded about herself as if she were cold, but she simply nods agreement at the various points. Doesn't mean she has to be happy about it though. She heads over to the pair of pharmasynths, dropping down to sit by one of them and take over its monitoring with a half smile at Niko. "The effects on full humans are particularly dramatic," she adds quietly.
Kyara nods thoughtfully. "It seems a fair trade-off."
Riley sets about sliding the electronics into their plasticized case, although he snaps off a part, slipping it into a pocket. "Hey, if it can be avoided, it can be avoided. Still though, good to have backup plans. Plans within plans within plans to quote a quote of a quote."
Niko shakes his head to Clara. "I can handle them both. It's okay." With a flickered glance to Riley, he murmurs, "The best-laid plans of mice and men... yeah. I guess." He still doesn't like it, though.
Kyara glances up at Clara. "On full humans? What about the other species?" She glances around at the assorted SecOffs.
Clara climbs to her feet again with a nod at Niko, but heads towards the water supply for the final five gallons. "Depends on the metabolism and relative life span," she supplies back to Kyara, still somewhat resolute.
Riley glances up at Niko with a wry grin, murmuring, "Gae aft awry..." He finishes setting the gadget together, excepting of course that removed piece. He also rummages in a pocket for a small square of chocolate left over from several days previous and munches on it, despite a vaguely guilty look. "Any guesstimates on time left til the liquid's done?"
Kyara pales slightly- Stilvani metabolism is rather faster than other species.
Clara returns finally with the last oversized water bottle and sets it beside the others, nodding. "Maybe an hour...maybe two." She glances at the drums and crouches down to silently measure. "We've got about eighteen here right now. It's moving out quicker than I expected."
>>OOC: Riley snickers and quotes, "Oh sure, passion sounds good." Having Jess around is dangerous.
>>OOC: Clara snickers a lot and sings 'Can you feel the love that's hiding in your underpants,' but then cuts off before the game rating gets changed.
>>OOC: Niko snickers. We're this giddy, and we're not even on a sugar overdose. ;)
Riley considers that a moment, and then signals to Shan and his various companions. After a brief discussion with him they move to begin checking the seals and carrying them off. Riley does not yet leave his big plastic box, instead doublechecking his notes. "By the time they get those loaded, the last should be done."
Niko looks after Shan and the others for a moment, then turns back to the pharmasynths. "Guess the graph didn't matter," he murmurs, mostly to himself. "Good."
<OOC> Kris just boggles at the amazing ability of children to walk up and *thwap* ya with odd questions, like 'how can we make the cat have babies?'.
<OOC> Leila rolls!!
<OOC> Jess almost joins Passion in falling off the coffee table. *snicker*
<OOC> Clara chokes and dies laughing! Uh, very carefully?
<OOC> Aliana falls over giggling.
<OOC> Jess says "Is it a female cat? ;)"
<OOC> Leila snickers, "Isn't one of your cats fixed though?"
<OOC> Kris snickernods. "The one he's talking about is female. The other used to be male."
<OOC> Aliana wants to know how you answered
<OOC> Kris says "Thankfully, he saved me by adding 'She's got to go outside to have babies, right?' (It's a totally indoor cat.) And I just said 'yes' to that."
<OOC> Leila snickers and suggests keeping an eye on the door. ;)
Clara regards the beginnings of preparations, mouth forming a thin line for a long moment as she leans down to regard the synth units, then looks up at Niko curiously. "Graph?"
Kyara, too, gives Niko a curious look.
Niko nods, shifting slightly towards the second pharmasynth and bringing up a graph on the display. "Output over time... mililiters per second. It seems odd, that's all. Not like this one." He gestures towards the first unit.
Various quiet preperations begin, and the level begins to crowd again, as folks are called in from other tunnels to prepare for the event nearly at hand. Riley ends up with several folks nearby and gives low-voiced instructions.
Kyara peers at the units. "So that's what you were talking about," she murmurs to herself.
Well, she murmurs it quietly. Not to herself. That wouldn't make sense.
Clara can't help but smile slightly and punches up another reading, this one displaying in Edrilac. "That's because it's an Edreeni machine. When they make things, they make them well," she adds with complete seriousness, not even looking at Riley. "Ours is a standard Fleet one."
Niko ahs quietly, looking just a bit sheepish. "Oh. Edreeni. Yeah, that could cause a difference or two, yeah." He adds a murmured apology.
Kyara tilts her head curiously. "Good engineers, are they?"
Clara grins full out at Niko now, reaching over to squeeze his arm briefly before climbing to her feet. "Hey, no one expect you to keep track of all the various types of field medical equipment. At least not by today. Maybe tomorrow." She shrugs affably at Kyara. "Good craftsman," she corrects, then heads off to start readying medical supplies to be carried.
Kyara ahs softly, giving Riley a curious look as she nods.
Niko grins faintly at that "Tomorrow, hm?" he murmurs to the machine. "I'll stay up all night studying, then. Yeah. That's it."
Riley clambers down from his carton, rummaging in a pack for a battered jacket in AFN officer black that he shrugs on. There's a faint flash of silver at the collar. He pads over to the synth-unit, sprawling to a seat. "Okay, everybody know where they are?"
Niko doesn't ask why Riley's got that jacket, but instead just nods. "I do, yes," he says, with a gesture downwards and vaguely Grand-Hallwards.
Kyara looks up at Riley quietly, shaking her head. "You said earlier... I don't remember the exact words, but it amounted to a 'maybe'."
Clara continues strapping instruments and hypos to their appropriate places on her belt, then finally straps the battered field medkit to her right thigh, nodding over at the others. "Grand Hall," she supplies as well. "Do you want medical backup after Security's retaken?"
Okay, he -really- doesn't want to ask this, but Riley does anyhow, "Where would you rather be, Security or the Grand Hall?" This is asked of Kya of course. He considers Clara's question, "Probably best, although hopefully this'll be a bloodless coup. Tanglers and the shield and all. Still though, if we can have Kramer, say. We can send him back to you asap nine will give you ten."
Kyara frowns slightly, shaking her head. "It's not a matter of where I'd rather be. It's a matter of where I'd be most useful. /That/ is where I'd rather be."
Clara inclines her head at the suggestion, catching Kramer's eye across the hall and makes a peremptory gesture down and holding up two fingers before pointing at the equipment being assembled. Evidently that's all the man needs, and he goes to ready to join that team. Herself, she'd rather be raiding security, but already knows strategically why she isn't. "Kya, why don't you come with us? We'll need help trussing the rebels that're out cold," she suggests, glancing at Riley.
Riley nods to Kyara, "Great Hall then. We need as many folks there as possible. The bulk of their force is there." He nods to Clara.
Kyara nods amiably to Riley. Getting to her feet, she gives Clara a long, slightly suspicious look.
Niko's head bobs in acknowledgement of Riley's words.
Riley glances to the machine, one hand to his radio possessing ear, "That's all we have left to wait on."
>>OOC: Clara fast forwards time a bit for the machines?
>>OOC: Riley says "Fine vif me. :)"
>>OOC: Niko asks for -just- a minute... last-minute buildingfoo.
>>OOC: Riley snickers, "And ice cream."
>>OOC: Niko snickers. Yes.
>>OOC: Kyara ooohs, Ice cream. Fantastic idea.
>>OOC: Niko says "This stuff is dangerous."
>>OOC: Clara already had ice cream, but can wait. :)
<OOC> Aliana says "Pause for Ice cream only if you share ;)"
>>OOC: Niko also -thinks- the building is finished, but doesn't vouch for the building and commands and such. *grin* It might still kerplooie or something.
>>OOC: Riley snickers, "Chocolate supreme drumsticks."
>>OOC: Kyara drooools.
<OOC> Leila offers a drumstick. :)
<OOC> Clara shares hot fudge sundae from DQ. :)
<OOC> Aliana oooohhs, 'I /love/ drumsticks'
>>OOC: Riley says "White chocolate ice cream on top of fudge, under chocolate, with poured chocolate topping and chocolate chips. And a chocolate lined cone."
<OOC> Jess is greedy and doesn't share. ;)
<OOC> Aliana says "stoppit stoppit stoppit ;)"
>>OOC: Clara hops in the car to drive to Georgia.
<OOC> Kris has only vanilla ice cream in the freezer. I'm jealous. :)
>>OOC: Niko woo hoos. Typing while eating Drumsticks, however...
>>OOC: Riley snickers, "Ain't easy."
>>OOC: Kyara softly thwaps Riley's player with a Nerf bat for making her drool even more. :)
>>OOC: Niko says "How did you get them to make a bat out of an aroused cucumber?? ;)"
>>OOC: Clara thinks that there's something seriously wrong with cucumbers and ice cream. ;)
>>OOC: Kyara snickers and eeewwws.
>>OOC: Niko is done the building, BTW. Whenever we want to go. The ice-cream cone will fit in my mouth, now. It just makes me snicker is all.
>>OOC: Riley snickers, "Makes me snicker too. It's amusing. Itty bitty lady with a unicorn horn ice cream cone."
<OOC> Aliana just gets this image of Jess with the point of a drumstick hanging out her mouth.'
<OOC> Jess says "Hey, it's the only way I can type while eating these things. ;)"
<OOC> Aliana giggles.
Clara pulls on her own jacket, tugging an extra armband from the pocket and sliding it up over the Complex patch to have the bright red medical cross on each arm. She rejoins the others to examine the output level, then reaches off to shut down one machine, nodding at Niko to do the same with the other. "We're ready."
Riley nods, climbing to his feet and offering Clara a hand up. "To the history books then?"
Niko is starting to feel very pathetic, that he doesn't have anything designating himself as AF. His sweatshirt, after all, is not especially military, especially as it's horribly filthy. He doesn't say anything, though, instead moving to shut down the second machine. "I only want to be a footnote," he murmurs.
Kyara unties her jacket from around her waist, tossing it aside. "Weapon? Probably unnecessary, but..."
Clara takes the hand and pulls herself up, nodding. "This'll be one the cadets get in strategy class next year, for sure," she agrees with a faint smile.
Riley tugs his tangler from inside his jacket, offering it to Kyara. "Good luck folks, see you on the flip side."
Kyara blinks, taking the weapon automatically. "Thanks. Yeah, you too."
Niko offers Riley a faint smile. "See you soon. Luck." He adds a quiet phrase in Hellenic, dark eyes resting on his brother.
Riley heads down with the first group, a massive tangler rifle dangling down his back. There's a quick salute and then he slides down after the others.
Niko glances towards the others, with a faint smile. "Ready, people?"
Kyara nods slightly with a quiet, "Ready."
Clara lifts a hand, then drops it to point at the ladder. "Move out, folks. Radios only until the Chief gives the all clear from this point on." She grins at Niko. "Let's go take 'em, tiger."
[travelspam through tunnels to the Cavern deleted]
Arching Cavern
For those wondering what the domed ceiling in the Grand Hall looks like from the other side, this is the place to come. Why anybody would -want- to know that, however, is a mystery. This cavern is oddly-shaped, as the ceiling is a bare meter higher than the highest point of the arch. Crossing the diameter, then, is likely not the best way to traverse this area. The circumference might be the way to go. Wires and pipes are abundant, hinting at devices for security and plumbing and other such necessities. Looking closer, one may see that the dome is not, however, one piece, but actually several sections, any one of which may be removed without disturbing one of the others.
Clara stoops to peer at one of the pipes, then peers up at Niko questioningly as she rests a hand on it.
Shan and company are already arrayed here, feeding the various canisters of fluid into the modified piping system. Shan breaks away to murmur to Niko quietly.
Niko nods first to Clara, then, after he hears what the older SecOff has to say, to Shan. A few other AF folks bring the last of the aphrodisiac, so that it may be fed into the pipes. Other SecOffs have started to gather around one particular panel. This, apparently, is the one that will be moved.
Kyara watches the Stilvani SecOffs be very, very careful.
Clara returns the nod, eyeing the quiet exchange with trepidation before she starts a quiet prowl to make sure the chemical is being handled properly. After a final check, she makes her way towards those surrounding the panel, still turned to watch the progress.
A small monitor on a very long cord indeed is passed from Secoff to Secoff til it's handed by Shan to Niko.
Kyara quietly joins the group gathered around the panel, her lips moving silently.
Niko takes the monitor with a nod of thanks, slipping the headphones over his ears and starting to twitch the tiny little joysticks with his fingers. After a moment, satisfied, he glances towards those manning the sprinklers, head raising and lowering in a nod broad enough to be seen across various distances.
The various individuals manning the spigots twist the small devices, starting the chemical spraying down soundlessly into the room below.
Clara starts to move to send Kya to the back of the group, then changes her mind for some reason and returns to watching the handling of the aphrodisiac. At Niko's nod, she looks away towards him and pulls a small darter from her belt, waiting for the signal.
Niko glances around at those nearby. He taps at his chrono and holds up both hands, fingers splayed, mouthing, 'keep track'. No, that's not that the signal will be given in ten, but that he'd like to know when that long passes.
GRAND> The bad guys are all standing up or sitting on desks, the hostages are all on the floor. So it's unsurprising they start to feel the chemical's effects first, some staggering, others slumping to sit on the floor.
Those folks designated to move the panel shift carefully, all waiting intently for the signal.
Kyara luckily did not see Clara's abortive move- she's already suspicious enough of the doctor's motives for asking her along.
Clara turns her wrist slightly, eyeing the time and holding up an additional finger over her head as each minute passes. Longest ten minutes of a lifetime.
GRAND> Whiskers twitch as Briga smells something strange. "Excuse me" She states in a loud growl, "Please stop that terrible odor."
GRAND> Obviously however it does reach the delegates a moment later. Some of them simply pass out, others are hit more slowly with the drug's effects. As the bad guys begin passing out, a vague stir of sound from those capable of comment occurs.
GRAND> We won't even mention the poor Stilvani delegation.
GRAND> All except the few bound Stilvani delegates. They just look uncomfortable.
Niko's gaze flicks between his small monitor and Clara's fingers. He gestures that the folks to lift the panel should make ready.
GRAND> Briga begins to sneeze...tiny itty bitty mouse sneezes. Her tail twitches in increasing irritation.
<MIB> Kris says "Funny, I thought it was the Stilvani delegates that were bursting..."
GRAND> The bad guys are all now on the floor, a few tried pulling open the doors and were distressed to find them locked tight. Most of the hostages are out cold as well. One or two still fight the drug's effects.
<MIB> Leila chokes a lot.
<MIB> Jess heh.
<MIB> Kris :)
<MIB> Clara snickers.
Niko's head bobs once in a brief nod, gaze now intent on the monitor. He doesn't yet give the gesture to move the panel, though--looks like he's counting something. One would assume that he may be waiting long enough for the chemical to disperse enough that folks heading into the hall don't suffer from its effects as well.
Seeming utterly relaxed, Clara continues to watch the time. Eight minutes...nine minutes. Finally she looks up to meet Niko's eyes and lift her brows in question, then nods at his reaction. The darter is pulled in close to her chest as she moves closer to the panel.
Kyara merely waits, utterly still, her eyes fastened on Niko.
SECURITY> Lots of chaos occurs, Riley uses the shield and the tangler rifle to much effect, there's a lot of really cool stuff that then occurs. Flashes of light, commando rolls, great lines, amazing dialogue, and all you're getting is the sum-up. Don't you feel cheated? The end result is that Riley and the two folks who dropped down after his initial intrusion with rifle blazing, retake Security with no lives lost and only minor property damage. Wave a flag. Yay. ;)
Niko casts a sudden, quick look at Clara, then turns back to the monitor.
GRAND> Ear tufts flick this way and that as Bri tries to pick up sound...but then the sneezes start anew.
GRAND> Elasia is a little more traditional, she just zones a while, attempting to figure out what the heck is going on and then passes out like most of the rest.
Clara lifts a brow at the look from Niko, then turns away for a moment, glancing upwards expressionlessly before turning back to wait with evident complacence.
GRAND> Briga never pretended to be traditional...must be the effect of the tail.
GRAND> Elasia needs a tail. She'd have more fun.
Niko holds a hand to his radio, then grins suddenly, similar expressions of relief crossing the faces of the other SecOffs who have the nifty radios. Word spreads fairly quickly, through veryvery quiet whispering--Security is re-taken, the fans are on in the hall.
GRAND> The massive air fans begin whirring at full force, a faint background sound.
Kyara decides to ask for a Security radio for her birthday, but her expression brightens slightly.
GRAND> Then she would be Zaeltan not human.
Can someone already relaxed relax more? Clara seems to at the expressions, relief flashing over her features before she returns to waiting.
GRAND> Elasia's lack of tail is part of who she is.
GRAND> Briga finally lies still...well her tail twitches...and she does sneeze occasionally.
Niko, after a few moments, sets aside the monitor and headphones, tucking them carefully away. He edges closer to Clara, murmuring something to her, then nods to the folks moving the panel.
Niko whispers "No casualties, either side. Kramer'll meet us there."
Folks involved in the operation carefully remove one of the panels from the dome.
GRAND> Odd sounds come from the ceiling, then one of the panels of the dome is removed, leaving an opening.
A couple of Secoffs show up with the riot gear and looking pleased.
The ropes used in moving the panels are dropped down the opening, so that folks may shimmy, climb, rappel, and otherwise move downwards.
GRAND> Ropes drop from the aforementioned hole. They're long enough to reach nearly to the ground.
Clara exhales a slow breath and nods once, letting a little more relief show. She glances sidelong up at Niko, nodding at one of the ropes with an encouraging half smile, then pockets the darter and moves to one herself as part of the first group down.
Kyara follows Clara. Big surprise.
Niko does not need any encouragement to move to one of the ropes, after a quick word with Shan. He lowers himself deftly.
Briga is lying with the other delegates...tail twitching in her irritation.
The bad guys are conveniently out cold, the fans have banished the fumes. Dang, isn't it great when a plan works? The Stilvani wouldn't agree though.
Clara comes down one of the ropes in the initial invasion force, legs wrapped around it and letting herself down quickly hand over hand. The darter is brought back out of the pocket as she jumps the last two meters to the floor, wary despite the seeming mass of unconsciousness. Well, mostly. Fortunately a few of the hypos in her belt are sedatives for the Stilvani.
SecOffs swarm down the ropes, most of them moving to take the bad guys into custody. And, in fact, Niko is one of the, after casting a brief, rather longing look towards one of the delegates in particular.
Kyara swarms with the rest, glancing around quickly as she moves away from said ropes.
Clara pulls a scanner from her belt and starts to step around the unconscious rebels, letting the various SecOffs deal with them as she begins to examine the delegates one by one. As she gets to one in particular, she glances up at Niko with a quick nod and half smile, then moves on, sedating a Stilvani that happens to be uncomfortably next in line.
Briga is now still, unconscious...nope, her tail and her ear tufts twitching angrily.
Niko, as he's been glancing occasionally in that particular direction, catches the look from Clara and looks markedly relieved.
Kyara treads over to prod at a downed, bound terrorist with the toe of one boot, her expression still strangely calm.
Slowly but surely, the rebels are all subdued. After a brief radio communication between SecOffs, the doors to the Grand Hall are unbolted, but not opened just yet.
A gasp comes from Clara as she comes across a convulsing diplomat and drops to her side, running the scanner and finally lifting her voice through the odd quiet. "I'm gonna need help over here!"
Kyara heads over to Clara swiftly, remembering the kindly Kramer went with the other team.
Briga finally speaks up, recognizing the voice "If someone would kindly release me, I could help.'
Security types start moving through the diplomats now that the bad guys are secure, releasing... well, all but the Stilvani. They're kind of loathe to do that until they're sure the sedatives have kicked in.
Clara doesn't have the capability to release Briga, and is a little preoccupied unfortunately, but gives Kyara a grateful glance as she snaps open her med kit. "Hold her down. Don't let her hurt herself, and make sure she can breathe.
Niko, after a glance about the room, signals to Kaycen. The pair move to the door, Niko speaking quietly to the older man. And, as they open the doors, Kramer, if folks want him to be outside, can be let in.
Briga is released, if only to shut her up....and she immediately pounces, almost kitten-like after the secOfficer.
Kyara nods, dropping to her knees at the diplomat's head. At some point during her run across the hall, her weapon was tucked into the back of her waistband, so her hands are free to press down firmly on the woman's shoulders. "Gotcha."
Elasia is very quietly unconscious. She's almost polite about it.
Niko heads towards the Central Atrium.
And Kramer is indeed at the front of the line, a much larger tagging rifle in his hands and looking about as comically threatening as he gets. Surveying he scene, he shoulders the tagger and starts on what Clara was doing...examining the various diplomats.
ATRIUM> Niko takes one side of the doors to the dining hall, with Kaycen on the other. The older man kicks open the doors, so they can get their own shot at 'guns blazing'. Woo hoo.
Clara rapidly preps a hypo, then slaps it to the woman's neck, heaving a sigh as the convulsions slow. "Anaphylactic shock. I should've expected it," she mutters ruefully.
The SecOfficer successfully ignores and eludes Bri's attempts on his lace...and she settles down...and keeps going down...Oops, delayed reaction?
Kyara's eyes flick up to Clara's face for a brief second. "I've no idea what that means, but I'll take your word for it. Can't blame yourself though."
Clara runs the scanner over the woman again and half grins at the readout. "It means she was allergic to the drug. She'll be fine now. Thanks, Kya...couldn't have saved her without you," she murmurs, then clicks her case shut and moves on to check Briga.
Niko arrives from the Central Atrium.
Briga has curled into a small ball of fur...and is sleeping soundly.
Kyara snorts softly, getting to her feet again, just in time to give Niko an inquisitive look.
Niko and Kaycen come traipsing in, both looking very pleased with themselves. As each of them has a badguy over the shoulder, said pleasure is entirely justified. The badguys get dropped neatly with the others, and Niko lifts a hand to his ear.
Your communit chimes the all-clear. Security has released the lockdown, once again opening up the Complex.
Clara glances up from running the scanner over Briga at the noise, face clearing slightly into a faint smile. "Does this mean we can go camping now?"
Kyara blinks at Clara, and a chuckle escapes her.
Niko catches Clara's words, and laughs very quietly. "Maybe tomorrow." Casting a look about the room, he nods fractionally, then finally goes to the place where he's wanted to be for quite some time: that spot of floor directly to one side of the politely unconscious Ela.
Elasia is indeed really quite polite, she's not moved, even when released. She's a little rumpled, which is yes abnormal for Ela while in the Grand Hall. But other than that, just as polite and diplomatic as she can be. Post must love her.
Clara stifles a small snicker, then winces as she catches sight of Briga's tail and moves the scanner over that as well. "Saints protect us if this things broken," she mutters. "Regenerate while she's still out." She glances up at Niko, then away. Advice on how to care for Ela can wait.
Her tail has indeed been sorely abused...trod on no doubt...and is dirty.
Niko bends down to take Ela's hand in his, gaze resting on her face for a moment before flicking around the room once more. His other hand is cupped over his ear, apparently so he can hear the radio despite the quiet buzzing of conversation.
Kramer heads over, pulling sonic unit out of his medical bag as he moves towards Clara and grinning. "If it's clean and pretty, she may never notice?"
This gets a wry look from Clara, although she does start the cleaner over the fur. "I may have to wake a few of 'em up and let -them- deal with her when she comes to."
Aliana arrives from the Central Atrium.
Aliana looks over the variety of bodies carefully.
Niko nods at something from his radio and, after bending down to give Ela a kiss on the cheek (aww), gets to his feet and heads over to Clara. "We're going to go snag antigravs to get them out of here," he says, with a gesture towards the badguys. "Any diplomats need to be taken to medbay? They have priority and all, of course."
Aliana pads to Clara's side, 'How may I help?"
Tara arrives from the Central Atrium.
Clara fluffs Briga's tail lightly now that it's clean, then rises to nod and gesture at half a dozen diplomats. "That one, that one..." etcetera. "Kramer'll go up with them and get them checked into Medbay. No serious injuries, though, thank goodness."
Briga purrs in her sleep.
Kyara brightens considerably upon spotting Tara. The smuggler in turn looks pretty darn pleased herself, and crosses the room to fall into quiet, excited conversation with the Stilvani.
Niko's head bobs in a brief nod, gaze following each gesture to the indicated diplomats. "Check. We'll send folks down for them as soon as possible. Can we steal Kramer so he can start getting set up and all?"
Aliana smiles as she sees Kyara's expression then looks back to Clara.
Clara waves Kramer over to join Niko, although the gesture is unnecessary. As always, Kramer is always a step ahead of orders. She grins down at Aliana somewhat wearily. "Good to see you, Ali. Help Kramer load the wounded up for transfer?"
Niko flashes a grin to Kramer, then heads out of the hall with a group of SecOffs, apparently to snag the aforementioned antigrav units.
Niko heads towards the Central Atrium.
Aliana nods as she quickly steps over to help Kramer. As she waits for the anti-gravs her gaze moves over the various people...Her expression is carefully controlled.
SECURITY> Riley is slumped into a chair slightly off to one side, adjusting one of the industrial sized anti-grav units for use. He waves to Niko as the younger SecOff enters, "See, it all works out, eh?"
Tara glares a few times as she listens to Kya, and Clara receives a brief disdainful look at one point, but other than that she seems quite pleased with what she hears. Murmuring, she takes her leave, hurrying out to check on the second thing that's been on her mind- her ship.
Tara heads towards the Central Atrium.
Clara catches the look from Tara as she turns back to start checking on more diplomats, and looks frankly puzzled and slightly insulted by it, but lets it go and returns to work.
SECURITY> Niko steps briskly into the room, followed by a doublehandful of secoffs. He's still got adrenaline and endorphins and such like mad, and, as such, looks decidedly cheerful. "Sure does," he agrees. "Huh, you weren't kidding about the wall, were you?" He moves over to the opposite side of the antigrav unit, then, and inquires, pitching his voice a little more quietly, "Are you okay, then?"
Kyara rejoins Clara, her expression bland. "How's it going?"
Aliana catches the look as well, turning to watch Tara leave thoughtfully....Her attention is pulled back to talk softly to Kramer...and she nods slightly at his response.
"Fine," Clara replies, not looking up from her scanner's readout as she's crouched over an unconscious diplomat. "Wanna tell me why you're consorting with Valentine and what you told her that made her give me that look?"
SECURITY> Riley glances at the wall as it's mentioned, looking a bit sheepish at the blistered paint. "We can let Addie paint it?" He suggests cheerfully. He nods to the latter question, "Yeah, fine. Although if you could toss me one of the chocolate bars from Anya's desk, I'd be forever grateful."
Kyara is a bit taken aback. "Consorting? She's my friend..." She shrugs at that last, eyes intent on Clara. "Told her I thought maybe you wanted me along with this group because of the higher safety margin."
SECURITY> Niko nods amiably, moving to snag the aforementioned chocolate from Anya's desk and offer it. "Addie won't mind that at all," he murmurs. "She can paint more penguins." After a pause, he adds, gently but firmly, "There's plenty of us who aren't still bouncing back from plasma injury, not to mention that evil shield. Why don't you sit tight and let the rest of us finish up, eh?"
Aliana is rather subdued as she pads after Kramer...He is also checking on various delegates.
Clara glances up with a completely blank look. "Item one. Your -friend- is a dishonorably discharged officer with a vendetta against your guardian. Remember that. Item two. I asked for you on my team because I wanted people I knew and could depend on. I apologize if that didn't meet with your excitement factor, Private," she explains, moving onto another diplomat.
SECURITY> Riley takes the offered candy bar with a murmur of profound thanks. He nods gesturing with a nod to the anti-grav unit he's tinkering with. "I'll try and get this one into service like the others. I can do that from here and let y'all do the running around and all."
SECURITY> Niko's head bobs in a brief nod, as SecOffs start carting the working antigrav units out to the hall, and, presumably, downstairs from that. "Sounds like a plan. We'll keep you posted over radios and all. Need anything before I head back down?"
Kyara follows Clara calmly. "Item one. I'll remember you said that." She doesn't look like she believes it though. "Item two. If that's so, I apologize, but 'excitement' isn't a factor. What's good for the mission is. Major."
As the first of the anti-gravs begin to arrive, Ali assists Kramer lift the delegates carefully onto them...then rolls them into a row by the door. She seems rather engrossed in her work.
SECURITY> Riley shakes his head as he leans back into the unit after inhaling a couple bites of chocolate, "Nope, I'm just a radio away. I'm set."
Clara doesn't even turn back to look, voice dropping a bit to a more quiet tone as she murmurs something soothing to a diplomat just starting to wake, then finally does rise to peer down at Kyara. "Are you implying that I would have other than the best interests of the mission in mind?" she asks, one brow lifted.
It's like some sort of bizarre bucket brigade, as SecOffs start shuttling full antigrav units back out to the atrium, and to places beyond, returning with empty ones. Talk about efficiency!
SECURITY> Niko's head bobs in a brief nod. "Check We'll give you a buzz if anything happens." He looks about the room with a faint grin. "No casualties. Doesn't usually happen, when we're getting into the history books because of a coup. I'm not going to complain, though." Grin widening, he heads off with the last of the antigrav units, lifting a hand.
Aliana falls into the pattern, once she has worked out the stiffness for her earlier brilliance. The work allows her to glance around, her gaze falling curiously over the faces of the SecOffs.
Kyara sighs, looking tired. "No. I'm saying that you care a lot about people, including the 'kiddo', and that that could have effected what you said upstairs without you even realizing it." She braces herself as if against attack during the last few words.
Niko pads in with the last of the antigrav units, suggesting to the various folks working with them, "The folks from the, uh... Alliance People's Front?... whatever it is, get 'em to the brig, once we've got the last of the diplomats Clara pointed out up to medbay."
Elasia, being one of the diplomats not suffering from any untoward reaction, is not in any of the groups immediately scheduled for shuttling out.
Clara tilts her head, arms folding as she looks out over the various bad guys being shuttled away. "There are times I find insubordination amusing. Most of the time. This is not one," she muses, then looks back down with a half smile. "I was considering the mission, not you," she adds, then heads off to start helping shift diplomats to the stretchers as half of Medbay invades at the same time.
Aliana nods to Niko as she glances at the few remaining delegates that need to be shuttled out immediately and she continues assisting Kramer.
Kyara gazes after Clara, her expression neutral, and finally nods to herself, murmuring, "Good." She turns to stride over to Niko. "Anything else for me to do or can I go give this tangler back to Riley?"
Niko doesn't really catch a lot of what's happening between Clara and Kyara, but his attention is caught by the latter's question. "We're still shuttling folks up to the brig. If you could lend a hand with that, it'd be appreciated. Riley's still in Security; you can hand off the tangler to him when you get a chance."
After a glance at his chrono, he suggests, "Not until you're done down here, though. Don't want someone dealing with these folks without a weapon. They're not likely to wake up for a bit yet, though." That said, he puts actions to words, starting to help with the brigand brigade as well.
Briga is just sleeping...her nice clean tail wrapped around her.
Aliana peers at the people she is helping to lift onto the carts...at this point she doesn't know if they are delegates or rogues, they are one and the same to her. Let the people upstairs sort them out. She does ask though, 'What happened to 'em?'
Gas them all and let Security sort them out?
Kyara nods with a murmured, "Aye," putting his words to action. Hearing Ali's question, she chuckles slightly, glancing toward Niko. "Nobody's ever gonna believe this..."
Clara helps strap electrodes to the woman who'd gone into shock, then waves a pair of nurses over to take the woman to Medbay, then smirks as she moves on to someone else as she hears Ali's question. "All you need is love, doo doo doo doo doo..." she sings as she works.
Niko, moving a particularly heavy badguy to an antigrav unit, is quite matter-of-fact as he says, "We sent out a fine mist of a Stilvani aphrodisiac--the one used by Denner on Riley--from the sprinkler systems. It knocked everybody out." He flashes a grin over to Clara.
Even Kya snickers as she hears the song, and she gives the Stilvani diplomats still present a sympathetic grin.
Aliana glances at Kramer, who is busy and isn't looking at her. Ali looks at Clara in askance, confusion filling her face before she hears Niko's words...her eyes widening, "Oh!" She tries to hold her breath, but that doesn't last long.
"All you need it love, love. Love is all you need," Clara finishes the chorus cheerfully, finally moving on to the remaining bad guys to check them over.
Niko casts a reassuring grin towards Aliana as he heads for another badguy. "It's dispersed by now. No worries. You're not going to fall over or..." He muffles a snicker. "Well, anything else."
Aliana can't help but return Niko's grin...who could resist that grin. She just shakes her head, not really wanting to think about the anything else right now.
Niko is irresistible, yup.
Elasia would have to agree.
Kathlyn mutters, as she helps with the rest of the SecOffs, "I can just see the headlines, now. 'Stilvani Sex Drug Saves Complex'."
Aliana comments, 'Just think what it might do for the relations between delegates.'
Shan chokes on a snicker at Kathlyn's remark. "Well, it should at last prove the Ka'laxx's claim that the Alliance is a den of iniquity."
Clara restrains herself from swooning over Niko, indeed, and dissolves into laughter at Kathlyn as she runs a scanner over one man. "Rebels Get a Rise Out of Chemical Weaponry," she murmurs, eyes on her scanner. "Isn't it, Shan? Heck, I thought it was, and all..."
Niko literally chokes at Clara's response, pausing a moment to lean against the anti-grav unit into which he just unloaded a badguy, snickering helplessly. "Ohhh, we'll have to see if we can get the evil journalists to -use- that one."
Shan drops his end of a bad guy laughing at -that- headline. Sheepishly he lifts again.
Clara is simply doing her best to look completely innocent. It's not working. "Careful, careful gentlemen. Be nice to the bad guys. We can't abuse them...well, not too much," she decides with studied thoughtfulness, eyes dancing.
Aliana darts a glance at Clara, not sure if she is serious or not at the last remark...then the bad guy she happens to be lifting is given a rather thoughtful look, 'Who are these people?'
The numbers of badguys are dwindling, as the Security folk are efficient, and would rather prefer that the bad guys are gone before they start to wake.
Clara finally steps back from the various examinations, reholstering her scanner and folding her arms, half grinning. "The agony of deFleet," she replies to Aliana seriously.
Niko eyes Clara. "Twenty-one," He informs her, with a grin. "That one was horribly painful, almost counted for two." He adds, for Aliana, "Fourth Fleet. Not happy campers."
Aliana takes it seriously by the way she nods. "Oh"...then another "Oh" as Niko explains and she smiles before murmuring, 'Thank you.'
Clara gives Niko a wide eyed and almost vacuous smile before snickering and noting, "Hey, if we can't be, why should they?" before turning to lean down and comfort another waking diplomat.
The last of the badguys are hauled out and upstairs to the brig.
Kyara glances toward Niko before she heads upstairs. "Staying here?"
Aliana leans back against one of the chair backs as she plays idly with her necklace.
Now the denizens of Medbay fan out amidst the various snoozing diplomats to check on them and stay with them until waking starts to occur, at which time the various diplomats will be escorted to their quarters.
Niko flickers a quick glance to Ela, then nods to Kyara. "Yes, unless I hear Riley needs me somewhere else."
Briga is amongst those to wake up...peering about herself in a rather confused manner. Immediately her attention turns to her tail and it is carefully inspected.
Clara crosses over to Niko, hands in her pockets as she tilts her head towards Ela. "You can take her home now if you want. I can get you a portable antigrav if you can't carry her? Or do you have orders to patrol?"
Kyara nods and heads out.
Niko shakes his head. "No specific orders, no." He manages not to look offended at the suggestion that he wouldn't be able to carry Ela, instead saying, "There's quite a lot of diplomats who still need to come out of it. You have enough medical personnel to handle it?"
SECURITY> Riley is still tinkering with that anti-grav unit, now seated on the floor, although it's kind of less than useful now. He offers a vague wave up to Kyara as she enters.
Aliana offers quietly, 'I can help, if it doesn't require more than holding hands.'
SECURITY> Kyara kneels down on one knee beside him, carefully offering the borrowed tangler butt-first. "S'all cleaned up downstairs." Getting this closer look, her eyes widen slightly, a bit startled.
Clara nods at Niko, pushing curls from her forehead. "Plenty, yes. Most of my staff's had nothing to do through this whole thing, safe in Medbay or their quarters. Go on and take care of her," she suggests, then smiles gratefully at Ali. "That's exactly what's needed. I'd appreciate it, yes."
SECURITY> Riley accepts the tangler with a nod of thanks tucking it into his holster, "Thanks Kya. You sound beat, why don't you head on to bed, eh?"
Aliana returns the smile as she pads over to one the waking delegates and talks softly to them. Fortunately Ali doesn't explain the method by which they were knocked out...just that they were safe now...and to relax.
Niko nods to Clara, after casting another brief look to Ela. "Let me just check in with Riley," he murmurs. Clearly, he wants nothing more than to take care of Ela, but, well, he's concerned with duty and all.
SECURITY> Kyara shakes her head, admitting, "Too wound up to sleep."
Clara nods and turns to head over to talk with Kramer, even laughing quietly as he finally turns the tagger rifle over to her with a sheepish comment before heading out, presumably to his quarters for some rest.
SECURITY> Riley nods amiably to that, gesturing to the general chaos, "Well feel free to join in with a hand around here."
Niko starts to head towards Ela, then detours over to Clara. "Is there anything in particular that I can do for her?" he asks quietly.
Aliana carefully helps the delegates to their feet...and guides them too the door, then she moves onto the next one.
Clara slings the tagger over one shoulder, looking up in surprise, then grins as she leans down to free a hypo from her medkit and hands it over. "She'll be sore as all get out when she wakes up. That's a muscle relaxant/anti-inflammatory combo. Give her that and get her to drink as much water as she can."
SECURITY> Kyara nods, pausing briefly before she stands. She mutters to Riley, "... and... of... misunderstanding..."
SECURITY> Riley's brows furrow in mild confusion. "A misunderstanding?"
Niko's head bobs in a brief nod, murmuring his thanks as he takes the hypo and tucks it into a pocket. "Hypo, lots of water. All right. Thanks, Clara. Give me a call if you need anything, hm? Theoretically, Riley's going to sleep. Theoretically."
SECURITY> Kyara nods. /Now/ she definitely looks weary. "She asked me a question. I answered honestly. Apparently the answer was insubordinate."
Clara's lips quirk up in a lopsided smirk. "I'll lay odds he's pulling malarkey. Guess I oughta go haul him off duty." She smiles up warmly and shakes her head. "It'll be fine, Niko. Just take good care of Ela, and holler if you have any questions."
Aliana glances at Ela curiously...She doubts she would be interested in talking about gyros now...but it is nice to put a name with a face.
SECURITY> Riley sighs quietly, looking over at you for a long moment before shaking his head. "Kya, Kya, Kya, what are we to do with you?"
Niko nods agreeably to Clara, with a quick grin. "Malarkey, yeah. He was taking it easy upstairs, at least." With a final nod, he heads over to Ela, bending to lift her carefully into his arms. We don't need no steenking antigrav units. And once he's got her, he doesn't really seem aware of much else. (If asked, he wouldn't think she's up to talking about gyros, either.)
SECURITY> A random SecOff suggests, obviously joking, "Burn 'er at the stake!"
Elasia is probably not up to discussing gyros, no. Being picked up however does cause her to stir somewhat. Although once she realizes there's a Niko present she zones right back out with a vague murmur, her head against his shoulder.
SECURITY> Another adds, "Build a bridge out of her!"
SECURITY> Kyara shrugs. "Unfortunately I wasn't lucky enough to be shot tonig..." She trails off, glancing toward the random guy, and back to Riley. "Couldn't lie to her or refuse to answer, now could I?"
Aliana can't help but smile at the pair, expression softening as she looks up from the current delegate.
And they really do make an adorable pair. Aww. Cradling Ela gently, Niko heads from the room.
SECURITY> Riley just rolls his eyes at the first part of that, leaning down to continue work on the unit. "Kya, see you seem to lack some basic understandings on how our world works."
Clara can't suppress an approving smile at the pair, slipping her hands into her pockets and takes a few steps back to allow them room as she makes her way to Aliana. "I'm going to run back up and get supplies, then check Security. Need anything before I go?"
Aliana holds up her hands, 'Nope...Just hand holding...then helping them to their feet once they seem able to tell up from down.'
Clara nods approvingly, smiling at the small woman. "Excellent. Most of Medbay'll be here throughout the night. If you have any questions, Jones there is my right hand," she explains, waving at a large, teddy-bearish intern with a neat beard wearing scrubs and a lab coat.
Aliana smiles over at Jones the Bear, then nods to Clara. "Sleep well.'
Clara flashes another smile at Ali, then at Jones, then heads out, rubbing at her eyes.
SECURITY> Kyara nods, muttering, "So I've noticed. How that applies to /this/ particular incident... please elucidate?"
SECURITY> "See, I'm willing to bet you were insubordinate. You very often are, yet you seem to have no understanding of where that line is and when not to cross it," Riley continues, rummaging in the guts of the device.
SECURITY> Kyara takes a step back, just waiting for something go Zzzzzzap! "I know that," she says quietly.
SECURITY> Nothing goes zzzaaap. But then Riley's probably messing with something relatively undangerous, they don't let him mess with the scary stuff. "See, and that's somewhat problematic."
[Clara goes back to the 5th floor to collect Pen, back to her quarters to shower and change and drop off Pooh, then down to Security.]
Kyara nods. "Measures to counteract have proved ineff..." She trails off as Clara enters.
Clara heads in from the lobby, looking considerably more pleased with the world. This likely has to do with the fact that her hair is still damp from a recent shower and that she's wearing clean clothing. She weaves her way through milling SecOffs towards one in particular, grinning at both Riley and Kyara. "Evening folks. Or night, I should say."
GRAND> Aliana settles back on her heels as the last of the delegates is put on their feet and shepherded home. She offers Jones a warm smile as she looks around thoughtfully. Her lips move as she murmurs something softly.
Riley looks up as Kyara trails off, spotting and beaming at Clara from his sprawled seat on the floor. The walls are a little burnt, but otherwise the place is relatively intact. "Hello love, things under control?"
Kyara gives Clara a slight, puzzled nod, even managing a weak smile. "You clean up fast."
GRAND> Aliana wanders over to Jones and murmurs softly to him, then she pads out the door with that rather subdued attitude.
Clara crouches down by Riley to poke at his shoulder lightly, but smiles at Kyara, willing to let bygones be. "It's a talent," she agrees, then lifts a brow at Riley. "I hear you're asleep," she comments.
Riley blinks up at Clara a few times, puzzled by Clara's last comment. "Um, noooo, not yet... Not that I've noticed."
Kyara is more than willing to put the incident behind her, though she too looks a bit confused at Clara's words. "He's making marvelous conversation for one asleep."
"Obviously," Clara replies with faint amusement, balancing her arms on her knees. "That's my point." She waggles her brows at Kya as well. "It's not as if none of us have had an exciting day or anything, y'know?"
Riley spots a possible point of confusion, "I told Nick I -would- sleep," he explains, "Not that I was already so."
"Mm-hmm. When?" Clara asks pointedly, eyeing the dismantled equipment with interest.
Kyara murmurs softly, looking amused, "Now I /know/ things are back to normal."
Riley gestures to the anti-grav unit, "I was working on this and waiting for the rest of y'all to get finished up. Didn't really want to crawl off to bed until things were less likely to explode. Waiting on you, love."
Clara was all set to argue with Riley, who promptly takes the wind out of her sails by being sweet. She nods lamely at Kya, grinning. "Happens quick, huh?" To Riley, she simply leans over and lowers her voice to murmur to him with a completely innocent look.
You whisper "Oh, good. Cause see, I have a clean pair of sweats and a t-shirt, a hot shower, and a freshly sonicked pooch likely sound asleep on my bed right now upstairs waiting for you. Of course, if none of that sounds interesting..." to Riley.
Kyara nods, taking a few steps away to drop into a chair, coincidentally giving the couple a bit of privacy.
Riley's eyes widen and he peers up at Clara as if she is indeed some sort of angel come down from on high. The anti-grav unit gets abandoned, as it's unneeded now anyhow and he starts to haul himself to his feet with the chair, "Hot water..."
Clara beams up at Riley as he rises and she straightens as well, but heads to Kya and rests a hand on the younger woman's shoulder, smiling down warmly. "You too, hon. It's been a long day, and rest would do you good. As for earlier...I'll let it drop if you will. Just next time, don't question my intentions in a professional setting. I really do know what I'm doing," she assures gently.
Kyara nods shortly. "Have a good night, both of you."
Riley gains his feet with a soft sigh and the creak and pop of various joints. He is however linked onto a single concept, "Hot water..."
Clara sighs slightly at the reaction, less than pleased with it, and moves over to offer herself as something to be leaned on by Riley. "Yup, hot water. Let's go, sailor."
Riley slides an arm over Clara's shoulders, trying to look as if he doesn't need something to lean on at all. It's just a cheap excuse to have his arm around Clara, really. "Talk about happy endings."
Kyara does offer a little smile, getting to her feet. "See y'all tomorrow."
Clara calls back, still trying to be positive, "Night, Kya. Get some rest," before heading out the door, providing balance. Or something like that.
[travelspam to 3rd floor snipped]
Clara turns down the hallway towards her own quarters, keying open the door upon reaching it. "I didn't know if your hot water'd been turned back on yet," she explains.
You unlock the door and go into room F20.
Riley enters from the Elevator Lounge.
As predicted, Pen is indeed in the middle of the bed. As the door opens, he looks up, tail thumping joyously. Clara gestures at the bathroom, smiling up warmly. "Shoo. Go get de-yucked."
Riley has to stop by the bed long enough to give the dog a thorough ear scritching and to murmur soft meaningless endearments to the puppy. He offers you a bright grin and nods sleepily. "Will do love, thanks." Leaning down to kiss you carefully on the forehead and hopefully not make you messy he then heads into the necessary in search of the promised water.
Clara's eyes close as she grins irrepressibly at the kiss, then sighs happily as the door to the necessary shuts. She heads over the bed to give the dog a scritch of her own, snickering. "You can't stay up here, y'know. There's barely enough room for two, and three won't do." She turns to the closet to rummage for a blanket for the dog.
Pen offers a mournful look. Now lessee, did Riley learn that from him or the other way round?
There's the sound of water running for a long while. Then it shuts off at last. There's a quiet ack, Riley must have just discovered the newly grayed hair. Eventually he emerges, wearing clean clothes and scrubbed to a soap scented polish.
Clara would bet that Riley could pull off that look long before Pen was ever even born. She shakes out a blanket and settles it on the floor in a nestish shape, patting it and grinning up. "C'mon fella. Down here, sweetie. Nice and warm." She glances up at the opening door with a warm smile. "Better?"
Riley ruffles through his drying curls with a vaguely sheepish look, "Yeah, I guess. Cleaner is certainly the way to be, yeah." He sinks down to a seat on the edge of the bed just as Pen vacates it in favor of the blanket on the floor.
Clara gives the dog a final scratch and kicks off her tennis shoes before clicking off the overhead light and coming back to sit on the bed, the room only lit by a small light in the headboard. "Hell of a day, wasn't it? I think I'm glad to be home."
Riley gives up on tormenting his hair, although it gets one look up through his bangs and a mutter about shields and knowing better now. "I'm glad to be home, too, it was truly insane." He pauses, looking over at you, "-That- was a first for me as well. This place never ceases to amaze me."
Clara lifts a hand to your hair, a wistful look crossing her face at the comment about the shields. "It's distinguishing," she comforts quietly, then does smile. "And it never will cease to. Any chance I can get you horizontal and under blankets, though? I have this insane urge to stop playing soldier and cuddle."
The tips of Riley's ears redden as he's caught out fussing over his hair. That last however garners his attention and he clambers under the covers with admirable alacrity. Okay, not as quickly as he might could, he's very tired. "Cuddling sounds like a wonderful idea. Sleeping and cuddling and turning off comm units."
Clara reaches up to click off the remaining light and edges under the blankets as well with a contented sigh, although her own comm unit stays on. Too many sick people in the Complex tonight to turn it off. "Turning off your comm is a brilliant idea," she agrees, attempting to move in close. "I wonder if I could pay off some official to keep the whole place quiet tomorrow," she murmurs thoughtfully, only half-joking.
Riley does tab off his comm, seeing as he still has on his radio and can get away with it. He shifts his arms around you as best he can, trying to take you into his arms. "Paying off officials is good," he agrees. "Quiet's not likely though."
Clara allows herself to be drawn in, assisting by settling her head on your shoulder and arms about your waist. "C'n afford the prices," she decides with a yawn she doesn't bother to stifle. "Didn't get a chance to say it earlier, but I love you, mister Admiral sir. You did an excellent job today."
Riley edges in comfortably into the embrace, relaxing in your comforting presence. "Didn't do anything, just work with wonderful perfectly amazing people. Thanks love, n'I love you too. More than anything ever."
Clara snorts vaguely, sounding rather amused although her eyes are already closing. "Just all the planning and organizing, plus keeping it all together. But now it's time to rest...no grime, no hiding, no sleeping bags. Jus' you, me, and the pooch. Why don't you sleep?" she suggests gently.
Riley is more than willing to accede to this suggestion, his eyes sag close and he relaxes all but his embrace. "Sleep's good. N'night love, rest y'well."
"Mmm. Dream sweet, dearest," Clara replies somewhat vacantly, and it's not long before she relaxes entirely, breathing evening out. It's late, it's been a very bizarre couple of days, and now it's time to go unconscious.
Riley doesn't take much longer to be out cold. And out cold means -really- out cold. He's a dead weight, unmoving, as his body claims past due debts in the cash of sleep.