I'm the best at space!

[aboutpower]

Who: Buffy, Spike, and YOU. YES, YOU.
What: Day in the life fun in spaaaaace!
When: Today, all day, in port!
Warnings: TBD.

((This day in the life will have Spike and Buffy together to run into/interact with, and some other threads to run into them separately! Tag in anywhere, multiple threads encouraged, up for anything! :D))

Comments

Ask, and ye shall receive. :)

[betrayalswager]

[How fortunate for the managers of this restaurant that the majority shareholder is none other than Ambassador Achilles de Flandres, corporate powerbroker and one of the most influential men in this sector of space. More fortunate still that this restaurant has an upper level with a lavish penthouse set aside for Achilles himself. And that he happens to be in said penthouse when a panicked Iskoort begs his attention, saying that two strange aliens are causing an awful commotion on the ground level.]

[Achilles briefly plays with the idea of having the Orff haul the aliens away, but he reconsiders when he sees they are human. His curiosity piqued, Achilles waves away the Iskoort manager's servile fawning, telling him he'll take care of it.]

[So when Spike throws that ugly Hork-Bajir through the window, an echoing gong sounds, reverberating throughout the restaurant. Most of the patrons have fled in the chaos, but the ones who didn't stop in their tracks, knowing what it means. Even the Hork-Bajir hesitate.]

[And then the Ambassador makes his entrance, stepping out from a doorway concealed in the mouth of some alien carving. The upper jaw opens to allow this - before it wasn't even visible that there was a door at all. Tilting his head, Achilles surveys the carnage calmly.]

My, oh my. What an unexpected surprise. It looks like we have a pair of guests from Terra Firma today. [He smirks.]

ILU <3

[aboutpower]

[Buffy seemed to find enough trouble on her own, but when she was with Spike, that likelihood pretty much tripled. He had that special charm about him that made people and, in this case, aliens, want to bash his face in. She'd rolled her eyes and made sure to complain to Spike about bringing this rather large group to their metaphorical doorstep. But she wasn't gonna let him fight alone.

The fight itself wasn't very difficult. It was only the number of them that made it go on as long as it did. Spike seemed to be enjoying it far too much, as he tended to do, and Buffy would be lying if she said she hated it.

Hearing the gong and seeing the remaining aliens-left-standing back off, Buffy stood in a guarded position, her hands up in fists. When Achilles made his dramatic appearance, she knew he was an important man here. She hadn't even met him or spoken to him on the barge, so she assumed he was from this world and not from theirs. Buffy kept herself ready for the fight to continue, but eased off on making it obvious. She lowers her fists and raises an eyebrow at the man.]

Terra-huh? [Buffy glances at Spike and around them once more. Making sure this wasn't just some distraction so that they could get jumped from behind. Once the coast was decided disturbingly clear, she looks at Achilles again.] Who are you supposed to be?

[breakmychest]

[Spike had been enjoying the fight. He so rarely got to let loose like this on the barge. And fighting next to Buffy was always a treat. She moved so nicely. Perfect end to their not-quite-a-date.

So when everyone backed off at the sound of the gong, Spike was a little disappointed and tempted to move forward on the fight. But he doesn't. He wants to figure out what's going on first.

He immediately dislikes the man. The way he makes his dramatic entrance just shouts "waiting for his moment," and though Spike can respect that normally, his moment would have made a lot more sense before the fight started. Of course, Spike wouldn't have appreciated that either. Maybe after would have been best. Let him finish off the aliens and get that catharsis that comes after having won a fight.

Also, he seems like some sort of authority figure, and Spike doesn't usually get along with those.]

Earth. Terra Firma's Earth. [Spike has enough literary background to know that, at least. He looks up at the man, definitely still on guard, and waits to hear his answer to Buffy's question.]

[betrayalswager]

[Surveying the condition of the combatants, it was clear the battle had been a completely one-sided one. Secretly, Achilles is pleased with this. His kind are often a minority here on OS19 - they just don't normally have the strength to compete with the larger, more tenacious races - and seeing a pair of humans lay waste to Hork-Bajir gives him a smug little thrill.]

[Of course, they are not ordinary humans. But then, neither is he.]

[He nods at Spike's words.] Exactly. A long way from here, to say the least. [The smile he offers at that is a sly one, as if he just made a joke only the three of them are in on.] You must be new here not to recognize me.

[He steps through the wreckage, heedless of the fallen aliens around him. One Hork-Bajir is sprawled in his path - instead of moving around it, he steps over it, crushing its hand under his finely-tailored boots. The beaten alien grunts in pain.]

Ambassador Achilles de Flandres, current representative of the Company here on OS19. [He makes a sort of bow to the woman, taking her hand in his for a moment, before straightening and turning to the man for a handshake.] Let me welcome you to my restaurant here, Sirocco. It seems the locals chose a different sort of welcome.

[aboutpower]

[Buffy notoriously doesn't get along with authority figures either. So she watches skeptically, a clearly unimpressed look on her face. He's smooth. Almost too smooth. The way he speaks and presents himself screams politician, but there's something else to it. The way everything stopped and the tension and slight fear in the air from the locals pointed to something more to what he was presenting himself to be. How he steps on the downed alien's hand just further fuels that suspicion. She doesn't like it. But there's no fear in her. Not even caution anymore.

Buffy allows him to take her hand, but she isn't exactly welcoming the contact either. She crosses her arms across her chest once he turns to Spike.]

Okay, ambassador. Not that I'm complaining, but. Do you usually make with the big dramatic entrance? Or are we just special?

[breakmychest]

[Spike glances down at the man's hand disdainfully and doesn't take it, keeping his hands tucked firmly under his own elbows. He does not like the man, and every minute they keep talking just strengthens that opinion.]

Personally, I think I preferred their welcome.

[It probably isn't wise to be this deliberately insulting to a strange figure of authority on a strange planet, but Spike's never really been known for his intelligent decisions.]

Milbury is henceforth crowned KING OF THE RIDICULOUSLY LATE TAGS.

[betrayalswager]

[Achilles doesn't miss a beat when Spike pointedly tucks his hands under his elbows, and he nods as if in patient acknowledgment, but for a second something glitters in his eyes. Something out of place in his otherwise oil-slick politician's facade. Something dangerous.]

I do hope you'll forgive my manner of entrance. [His smile is apologetic, but his eyes tell a different story. They say And if you don't, too bad.] This restaurant's usual patrons have dull attention spans. A visible entrance is often the only way to get their attention. [He nods to the carnage around them.] Of course, in this case my intervention hardly seems necessary.

I must confess, I am surprised to see kinsmen here. OS-19 attracts many races, but rarely humans, as I'm sure you've seen. If you don't already have pressing engagements, I'd like to invite you to my penthouse suite to speak in more comfortable surroundings. Perhaps I can offer you some knowledge about this station you may be lacking.

IT'S OKAY. :D <3

[aboutpower]

This is all.. Really nice. We beat up your customers, destroy some decorative statues, and you're inviting us up for conversation? [Buffy makes a pointed glance at Spike. A nonverbal way of saying that something isn't right. There's something even more unsettling than the obvious that is gnawing at her nerves. She takes a step forward to Achilles, a physical way of showing mild defiance and the taking of ground like territory.]

It's funny, cause, it sounds like we can say no and be on our way. [Head-tilt.] But you're not planning on giving us a choice, are you?

[breakmychest]

[He gives a slight nod. Message received and agreed with. He steps up next to her, shoulder bumping up subtly against hers, a sign that he's got her back, in case it wasn't obvious.]

We've got a choice. He saw what we did to his friends. It's not like we couldn't do the same to him.

[betrayalswager]

[He spreads his hands, indicating that he's unarmed. And smiles a disarming smile. To the credulous, it would appear genuine. It's utterly false, of course.]

Your friend is absolutely correct. I have no intention of forcing you. But I would hazard a guess that you are newcomers here, unfamiliar with the locals and possibly without any idea of what this station's purpose is or why most of OS19's denizens will be hostile toward you.

[Slowly, with almost elaborately slow movement, Achilles turns so that he's no longer facing them.] I have information that could be useful to you. But you will not be forced to hear it, no. The choice is yours.