Character Resort

I assume we're at the beach bar.

Jean and Rachel's standoff was interrupted by the sudden passage of a kitchen knife right between their faces. Were they to turn and look in the direction the knife had come from, they would have seen a smiling Ryan holding two more in one hand and waving with the other. "Let's try to keep things cordial, shall we?" he yelled. "Look, Rachel, if it helps, I've met Tamiel back at the Cantina. A few things: One, Tamiel doesn't look anything like that. Two, he's not nearly that subtle - he seemed more interested in pushing people to revenge in the name of justice than in getting himself shot to prove a point." More quietly, he muttered, "and third, not even he's that arrogant."

edited 24th Oct '11 7:03:08 PM by KyleJacobs

[Bar / Lobby]

"Yes. Hello." P'jwakh said to Vincent suspiciously, moving back slightly from the physical contact.

"We come in peace! Live long and prosper!" Ivin said, giving the Vulcan salute back, "I'm Ivin, an exalted ambassador of the Vencaran National Collective." Ivin bowed slightly at this proclamation.

P'jwakh tried to ignore Ivin's antics, and said "And I am Vice Imperator P'jwakh from the Hxaon Imperium. And you are?"

Ninja'd, and have to go, so can't quickly whip up a new reply.

edited 24th Oct '11 6:03:21 PM by KillerClowns

They know Earth pop culture? Well, at least that one does. Interesting.

"I'm Vincent Sunyo," said Vincent. "Tenth-level DARPA Gramaryist at the National Laysarium."

He glanced over at the shuttle. "Nice ship. Unfortunately, my species doesn't have anything near that level yet; the furthest we've gotten from our planet is the dark side of our moon. But I'm a guy who's interested in space, so I like science fiction. Books, movies, video games, whatever. Some of it's cheesy, but hey." He grinned and shrugged. "I like cheesy. And some of it's genuinely good, so it all balances out."

[Bar / Lobby]

"So you're a fan of Earth culture as well? Nice to meet you!" Ivin said, shaking Vincent's hand rapidly.

"Thank you, but actually that's a Terran shuttle, they're the ones who like that blocky, polygonal design for some reason. Efficient, yes. But no class." P'jwakh said.

Thinking a moment more, P'jwakh said, "Wait. You said you haven't gotten past your moon, yet you know about Terran culture, apparently, and you don't appear to be human. Care to explain?"

edited 24th Oct '11 6:21:35 PM by Sonzai

"In my universe," said Vincent, "humans and my species - chimeras - coexist. It's not always been that way; chimeras used to hide from humans for several reasons. We got kind of forced together after an alien invasion. Long story short, chimeras revealed themselves to help fight off the aliens, and our species had to learn to live together if we weren't going to make each other go extinct."

He held up a hand. "Now, I know what you're thinking. Why would we make any difference if the humans were outclassed? Chimeras can actually use various types of magic, and there are some things you just can't plan for, like your top admiral suddenly going insane and disconnecting all the point defense turrets. It's hard to counter magic if you don't know it's coming."

Helpful people, offering to help her find her brother and offering her a map. Wow. That was not something she was used to. This place was very, very strange.

She looked over the resort map. She had just been in the bar, she supposed, and now she was out at the beach. As she sipped her float, she realized that this place was huge. And it wasn't as if her brother would be in any particular room — past any door there could be another nightmare dimension waiting there. She had learned how to navigate those a long, long time ago, but she wasn't about to throw this new person into one.

"No, that's all right," said Claude. "I was just wondering if you had seen him."

A snout poked in through the front doors. It sniffed around a bit, sampling the air for a couple seconds, before withdrawing. After a brief pause, the emerald-scaled head it was attached to pushed through, inches above the barrel of a semi-automatic carbine. Flinching briefly at the light, the creature narrowed its eyes and scanned the entrance lobby for threats. Satisfied that the thing dressed in a frilly maid’s outfit wasn’t a legitimate target, it stepped inside. Streaks of brown and black pigment were mixed in with the natural green of its scales, as was the leather field vest it wore over its torso. The legs of its outfit were split below the knee and tied back around the thighs to accommodate the creature’s digitigrade legs.

It propped the door open with a foot, its angular head still on a swivel, and made a motion with its supporting hand back out the door before relaxing its stance and slinging the weapon over its shoulder. Its toe claws tapped against the marble floor impatiently. As if following its lead, another figure stepped inside. He was dressed similarly, weathered and dirt-spattered. He was also armed, having a revolver rifle across his back and a pistol at his hip.

The two of them exchanged a look. “Oh, we’re here again.” said the man to his saurian friend. He cracked a grin, heaving an explosive sigh before taking a look around. “Maybe not. Still, it seems similar enough in all the important ways.” The creature gave a curt nod, saying nothing. It canted its head over to the reception desk, and the man nodded. He walked over and checked them both in.

[Bar / Lobby]

"Wow! You guys have magic in your universe? That's pretty cool - it's all boring 'ol laws of physics over here." Ivin said.

"Interesting story." P'jwakh said, "We have also fought off an alien invasion, but it was a terrible war across numerous star systems, and I rather doubt that we were fighting the same enemies, especially since our Terrans sound rather boring by comparison, having no other sentient species on their planets. I can see how it could be a powerful strategic advantage, however..."

"Hey, if you have magic, could you show us some?" Ivin said, clearly interested in any potential entertainment.

"Regarding the invasion," said Vincent, "I'm surprised there weren't any more. The fleet seemed fairly strong, so it looked like there would be more of them. But either there weren't any more or we humiliated them to the point where they didn't want to face us again. Neither of those seem likely to me, so maybe their superiors decided whatever we had wasn't worth the effort."

He turned to Ivin. "Magic follows some laws - my job is actually researching it - but it can seem it doesn't. Vanar." Vincent promptly burst into flames. Very little heat radiated from him, though, and he continued talking as if nothing had happened. "For example, this is actually very complex. I need to constantly draw in caloric from the outside in order to feed the fire, while keeping the input low enough that I don't actually catch on fire and preventing any heat from possibly roasting you." He held out a hand, and the fire curled into a small ball in his palm. "This has the same basic principle, but on a smaller scale."

The fire went out, and Vincent slouched over, putting his hands on his knees and gasping. "Don't worry," he said, "that just took a lot out of me. I'll be fine."

[Bar / Lobby]

"Cool! I wish I had something to show as well, the closest we have to that are just holograms..." Ivin said, lost in thought, "or maybe in virtual realities..."

"Interesting. Would you like to get something to drink or eat?" P'jwakh said, "I believe I heard that they were on the house."

The man grabbed the key from the attendant receptionist and gave a nod to the creature that had come with him. They began to walk up to their room when a burst of flame flared up near the bar, catching both their attention instantly. It took the man a moment, but he seemed to recognize someone. By the look on the creature’s face, it had seemed to as well. He nudged it with an elbow, nodding his head towards the silver-scaled chimera speaking with two other guests in the lobby. It gave the man a brief look, then a grateful nod, and walked up behind him, trying to keep an even pace.

Vincent felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned to see who it was, he felt something else. He felt a scaled snout pressing against his mouth.

Vincent practically jumped out of his scales and landed sprawled on the floor. "Kesilo?!" he blurted, temporarily slipping into Menyic in his shock. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself and looked up. "Um, hi, Saliha," he mumbled. Awkwaaaaard. "But I'm not Xavier. I'm Vi-"

Kat popped up, interrupting. "And we've already got budding interspecies romance!" he laughed. He zoomed in really close on Vincent's face. "So tell us, what do you think of this, Vincent?"

"Shut up, Kat," muttered Vincent.

"What's this? Is Vincent Sunyo getting defensive on me? You didn't tell me you were a lover boy!"

"Shut up, Kat," snapped Vincent, pushing himself to his feet. "She thought I was Xavier, and that's all I'm going to say about that."

"Suuuuuure," drawled Kat, smiling.

@Kyle: No, Rachel and Jean hadn't moved from the beach, but it makes sense that Ryan would have wandered that way to see what the commotion was.

[Beach]

Rachel examined Ryan warily. "You know Tamiel? Well, probably not very well. Firstly: he goes through human bodies like I go through socks. Black. White. Asian. Arab. Tall. Short. Whatever it takes to get the job done. Second, he's the spirit of fanatacism. Fanatics love revenge, yeah, but they also have no problem blowing themselves the hell up, as my uncle could attest if Asayu hadn't killed him. Bastard. Third, you'd be amazed how arrogant Tamiel can be.

Asayu had followed Ryan, seeing nothing better to do. "You know, Rach," she said, "you could have just called security if this guy was getting annoying. Have them drag him out."

Rachel considered it. "I still might, if he doesn't let go of my hand."

Asayu added, "speaking of which, Ryan, don't bother with the knife. Won't make you any friends."

edited 24th Oct '11 7:47:19 PM by KillerClowns

Ryan's grin dropped, and he put the knives back in his pockets. "Ah... so maybe pissing him off back in the Cantina wasn't the best idea. Remind me to check whether I'm dealing with a shapeshifting abomination before I publicly tear apart their arguments and humiliate them, next time," he said, in a voice that could have been taken as either sarcastic or serious. It was actually a bit of both - Ryan was confident that if it came down to a battle of words, he'd be able to hold his own, but was starting to worry that Tamiel might be able to get back at him in a considerably more painful way.

edited 24th Oct '11 7:34:38 PM by KyleJacobs

Saliha stepped back, shocked at her mistake, her face showing clear dismay. “Oh! I’m so sorry-!” She then looked to Vincent’s friend and blinked in confusion at the device he had pointed at both of them. It didn’t look like a weapon…

“Oh, shit-” the man in the lobby burst into laughter, doubling over.

In response, Jean smirked and made Rachel pull the trigger. The weapon clicked uselessly. “You forgot about this place. No violence can be committed here.” He released his grip on Rachel’s hands and took back his weapon, press-checking it to confirm that, yes, there was indeed a round loaded in the chamber. His smirk widened, and he gave a sidelong glance at Ryan. “An awful shame you appeared. I had a whole demonstration planned out, but I suppose it wasn’t to be. Awful shame. It even had a bit of Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.” He slipped the 9mm handgun back into its holster under his arm, sadly shaking his head.

edited 24th Oct '11 7:41:43 PM by Gault

Bar/Lobby

Every sense she had was focused during the split-second she stepped through the portal, but there was nothing she could identify. As far as she could tell, she had done nothing more than walk through a rather aesthetically unappealing doorway. But where she had emerged... that was a different story.

It wasn't the Cosmic Cantina. That much was obvious from the first instant. But it wasn't Qlljnr 3 either. The lighting was far too bright - her inner eyelids flicked shut - for any qrtxian world. The smell was... different, a blend of blue and white and other colors, but underneath it was something more, something alien.

Or it could just be psychosomatic. This was the first time she had knowingly entered another reality, after all.

Qrlil took a moment to simply let it all sink in, not focusing on any details. She gave a quiet, satisfied sigh. Whatever the circumstances that had caused it, this moment deserved to be savored.

One of the... staff? ... was coming up to meet her. Qrlil inclined her head briefly.

"Hello. I am Qrlil, ambassador. Is this the 'Sonjomi Resort'?"

For those who need it, Qrlil's physical description from Cantina - the only thing that's changed is that she's now wearing different robes (these ones have a pale blue and red pattern).

Also, I'm leaving it up to Sonzai whether to write out the 'maid-bot's' interaction with Qrlil or not.

"Don't worry about it," said Vincent. He brushed himself off, attempting to look nonchalant about the whole thing, but instead looked like someone who was trying too hard to look nonchalant about the whole thing. "It could have been worse."

"Worse?" giggled Kat. "I'd loooove to see how this could be worse. Sex right out in the parking lot? What abo-"

"Shut it," snarled Vincent, jabbing a finger at him. Kat's voice went silent; his mouth was moving, but no sound came out. However, he didn't care, and continued to inaudibly extrapolate on their relationship.

"That's Kat," said Vincent to Saliha. "And he can be a jackass. Ignore him and the camera."

"Tamiel is body snatching, not shape shifting" Asayu corrected. "But details. So, Rachel, what do you say we let this jackass mope and find somebody interesting to deal with?"

Rachel held up her hand to stop Asayu and said, "not quite yet. I think he might be genuine. Whether that means a genuine moron of the sort Tamiel would love to meet, or somebody actually worth listening to, I don't know. But he said he had a job for me, and I think I'll hear him out." Her eyes narrowing, she cautioned Jean, "but it had better be good, or I'm out of here."

edited 24th Oct '11 7:58:35 PM by KillerClowns

Jean smiled, once more the gentleman. “A wise decision. Please, forgive a botched first impression.” He straightened himself up and brushed off the front of his suit. He had only to adjust his tie before once again looking and sounding like the very definition of understated professionalism. “Right then. Straight to brass tacks? Simply put, I’m offering you the chance to change things. Don’t tell me that doesn’t appeal to you. You have the possibility to be a part of an organization that exerts influence on the global geopolitical scale, and I’m not talking about the United Nations.”

Saliha gave a toothy grimace before hurrying over to help Vincent haul himself back on to his feet. She gave a disdainful look to Kat, still training the video camera on them, jaw flapping away in silence.

Wesley was still giving great big whoops of laughter at Vincent’s reaction from over near the entrance. They eventually turned to quiet chuckling, and he made his way over to the bar, pulling up a chair with the rest of them.

edited 24th Oct '11 8:13:15 PM by Gault

[Bar / Lobby]

"I'm assuming you know each other?" P'jwakh said about the antics between Vincent and Saliha.

Miki said the standard greeting to Qrlil, "Yes, and welcome - I hope you enjoy your stay. If you would like, there's free drinks at the bar, and a variety of activities. Don't worry, this resort is completely safe, no fighting allowed. If you would like a room, I can check you in here."

Hearing Qrlil walk in, Ivin said to P'jwakh, "Ooo, another ambassador.", and walking rather quickly over to Qrlil, Ivin proceeded to say, "Welcome! I'm Ivin, an ambassador of the Vencaran National Collective. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Ivin again bowed slightly for this introduction.

"She knew my brother," said Vincent to P'jwakh. "My twin, actually, so it's reasonable that she think I'm him. They... had a... very frank discussion on the state of her world, and he helped her a lot, apparently."

Kat removed Vincent's spell on him. "I'm thinking they helped each other quite a bit," he smirked.

"Go away, Kat."

"You're no fun," pouted Kat. He stalked over to the bar.

Vincent sighed. "By Caln, what is up with him today? Normally, he's not this bad. Why'd he get so antagonistic?"

At the bar, Kat ran the camera over every surface. "Proof that beer is the greatest thing in the universe," he said to no one in particular. "We've got access to every single possible reality, and yet the drink of choice is still beer. Beer is proof that Caln loves us and wants us to be happy."

"Thank you, I would like that," Qrlil said to Miki. She surreptitiously took another sniff, confirming her first impression. The maid was not human - either a very lifelike construct, or, more alarmingly, some kind of AI.

Doing her best to keep any response from showing, she continued. "Is there any reason to go immediately to my room? I have brought no personal possessions that need storage."

She turned at the greeting and gave an involuntary blink of surprise. The contrast between the speaker's - Ivin, right? - biological characteristics and his attire was startling, to say the least.

"Er," she said. Concentrate! "I am Qrlil, of the qrtxians."

She inclined her head and opened her mouth. He smelled a rather unpleasant pinkish color, but that was something she could easily ignore. "I have never previously encountered the vencaran, but I am pleased to make your acquaintance as well."

She looked around for a moment, seeing who else was in the entrance area. An enormous gluvpaki-like reptilian, a human in some kind of military costume, a silver-scaled winged...

Oh. Oh, dammit.

Qrlil shut her outer eyelids and tried to halt the abrupt hormonal impulses. Her backup could have easily taken care of it, but that was one option she would have to do without for the time being. And... if she was going to continue the 'self-honesty' path, she had to admit that she had been hoping a little for this.

She quickly turned back to Ivin. "My apologies, but I have just seen someone I know. May we continue this conversation at a later point?"

Rachel was curious, but still suspicious. "Fascinating. It certainly sounds good, and I do agree with... well, some of what you've said, if not how you've phrased it." She studied him.

While she did so, Asayu considered. Hadn't he mentioned he was a politician? Perfect. "Judging from your people skills," she said, with a wicked smirk, "they must keep you in the back offices. I fuck anybody who so much as sings me a nice song, and I'd still last longer in, say, politics than you." That, she hoped, would get under his skin. Hopefully dig up something interesting.

Rachel glanced at Asayu, slightly annoyed — did she have to torment everybody she met? Oh well, at least she was still wearing clothes. Then she continued, "right. Anyways... tell me what, exactly, it is you want from me. Because, for all your high words, there's no way in Hell I'll accept or refuse your offer unless you actually tell me what it is you think I can do for you."

Ryan seriously thought about breaking into "Strangers In The Night" on the spot, but decided against it.