Meet The New Neighbors!

[sinanju]

Who: Chloe Sullivan
Where: The dining hall
When: Dinner time, Wednesday, June 16th
Invited: ALL PLAY!
Status: Incomplete

Comments

[Faith]

[fikgirl]

Faith noticed Cassie's slight tell-tale stiffening, but experience and practice - both that came from her Slayer training and just traveling with the Immortal - kept Faith's attention rooted to Cassie and not craning her head around to see where the other Immortal was. Fortunately, she didn't have long to wait; body language was a dead 'gimme' when you know who - and what - you were dealing with and what to look for.

Faith hadn't decided whether the woman's forward approach was a sign of good faith or an attempt at lulling Cassandra into a false sense of security. The presentation of the basket and introduction to Chloe was something that Faith filed away for future consideration.

Xander too, she noticed, gave the woman a quick once over. Not the sort of once over a person expected a young, healthy, not-quite thirty something male to give an attractive woman either. His look was appraising, weighing and for a brief moment seeing Xander Harris so on guard and assessing gave Faith a pang. Sometimes she still thought of him as the "lightest" of all "The Scoobies," despite how much experience, loss and violence had chipped away at him. The carefree man-boy was long gone, but Xander still remained less jaded than she did.

A firm squeeze to her elbow stopped Faith from making the bawdry, risqué wise crack that was right on the tip of her tongue. She rolled her eyes at Xander and he released her, knowing that the warning had been received.

"Yeah, thanks for that," Faith echoed. She gave a smile, not exactly friendly, but neither one that screamed sarcasm or hostility either. "I'm sure we'll put it to use when we get some digs." Rocking on her heels, Faith gave a look around the mess hall. The food smelled good. The people looked good and not all in a sexual way. She liked her traveling companions, they were good people and good friends, but Faith had never been averse to meeting someone new.

"Hope you don't mind, doc, but I'm just gonna grab some grub and a table?" Then she was gone to do precisely that, flirting her way through the food line with more than a few invitations to join this marine or that airman at Moe's, before Faith emerged with enough food to feed a small army. Or a growing teenage boy. Or a Slayer's metabolism.

Armed with food, Faith felt the eyes on her. A few of the more bold men who'd already introduced themselves while she was served met her eyes and beckoned her over. Faith gave them her 'Mona Lisa leave 'em begging for more,' smile and made her own way to a table with the fewest occupants. She recognized Hair Gone Wild and Bald Guy as those who'd been there at her arrival, though they hadn't attended the meeting with Dr. Weir. Civilians and having influence in high places; definitely the men to talk to.

"Hey boys, mind if I join you?" The question was rhetorical. Faith set her tray down and followed right after it.

[Aiyanna]

[cbeckett_md]

Of course Aiyanna was persistent, Cassandra was possibly a threat to her stability and frankly she wanted to know. She was too old to try for the more subtle routes. She handed the basket to Chloe, and not Cassandra, so that Cassandra could still reach her weapons if warranted.

Aiyanna simply smiled to the rest of the group, "I hope you all like them, and I am sure your new digs will be just as exciting as everyone else's. I do hope you like military green."

Aiyanna's attention finally came to rest solely on Cassandra, "Welcome... I know you find me a bit forward, but I am sure you can agree that we are both too old for dancing around bushes." Well Cassandra holds herself like someone who has seen a bit. "Those of us in the community that are here decided some time back that some games were better left back on Earth. We are rather hoping you agree. Of course I stopped playing a long time ago, but it's been good finding others willing to agree. The colony needs us more then the game." Aiyanna shrugged her shoulders slightly, "Whether you agree or not, know that I won't play... not unless forced anyway."

[Cassandra]

[sinanju]

Not just persistent, Cassandra decided. Blunt too.

Which was good in its way, but could be detrimental sometimes--as, for instance, when you walked up to someone in standing in line with a number of strangers and began referencing things which were--as far as Cassandra knew--a secret. She might assume that Xander, Faith and Chloe were aware of Cassandra's status (though that was a big assumption in itself), but what of others standing line with them?

Cassandra was peripherally aware of at least one man turning his head away to hide a smirk. He was no doubt amused by what he believed was Dr. Whiteeagle blatantly hitting on Cassandra and speaking of being too old to beat around the bush and mentioning "the community" here. God only knew what he made of that. Visions of a lesbian cabal engaged in secret orgies?

Or had Cassandra misread things? Perhaps the immortals here--and Dr. Whiteeagle had answered one question Cassandra had--had come out? It seemed unlikely, but Cassandra had experienced unlikelier things.

"Thank you for the gifts," Cassandra said. She weighed her next words carefully, but Dr. Whiteeagle had already opened the door. Let the eavesdroppers make of it what they would.

"'Live and let live' is my preference as well," Cassandra said. "I'll be very happy to leave the game-playing behind if that's truly possible. It's no way to live."

[Aiyanna]

[cbeckett_md]

The thing about Aiyanna is that she could care less what most people thought of her. She, if no one else, had come to the conclusion that eventually the word would leak out. They couldn't stay hidden forever in a community like this. It's why Immortals tended more towards the big cities, where they could get lost in the crowd. There was no getting lost in the crowd and Aiyanna knew that eventually her own lack of aging would make someone notice. She had been coming to the end of this particular personality before everything hit the fan. She had already had people begin to ask her beauty secrets and that was always a sure sign that it was almost time for a change.

As it was she could eek a little longer out of things here, because these people hadn't worked with her for long. Eventually someone would want to know how old she was and since this identity was pushing 40 and Aiyanna had died when she was about 22, well it would start people wondering. It's why Aiyanna tried very hard not to get too close to her co-workers... but even that couldn't last forever.

Aiyanna smiled at Cassandra's words, "Good, we should get along well then. I happen to agree with you." Aiyanna paused a moment and then shrugged her shoulders, "Anyway, time for me to get back to work. It was nice meeting you."

Besides, if Aiyanna had approached Cassandra like she had Methos, then people would still have the lesbian idea in their heads.

[Chloe]

[sinanju]

"Is it just me," Chloe asked Cassandra after Dr. Whiteeagle had walked away, "or was that a little strange?"

Cassandra laughed. "A bit, I suppose," she said. "Still, I've experienced worse introductions."

Chloe didn't have to wonder about that. She'd seen how that idiot immortal back in Faith and Xander's home universe had behaved. He couldn't have picked a worse time to start a fight--the middle of a Zombie Apocalypse! But when he'd produced a sword from nowhere (Chloe still found it hard to believe he could hide that thing under the jacket he'd been wearing) and attacked Cassandra she'd had no choice but to fight.

(Bad mistake, buddy,) Chloe remembered thinking. He'd obviously underestimated Cassandra. Even to Chloe's untrained eye Cassandra's superior skill was quickly evident. She'd very quickly disarmed and then impaled him. It looked to be over--until Cassandra exchanged a few inaudible words with him, sighed, drew back her sword--and took his head. Chloe had been shocked by that.

Ami never said so, but Chloe was convinced that seeing Cassandra kill the man in cold blood had had a lot more to do with her decision to stay with the SGC two hops later than the reasons she admitted to. Not that they weren't good reasons, but.... She wondered sometimes if it hadn't been part of Daniel's motive as well. He was far less shocked and horrified by violence than Ami, but not inured to it either.

The Quickening had been an amazing spectacle. It left Cassandra standing on shaky legs, breathing hard and looking like she'd just climbed down off the rack--or out of a lover's bed. Maybe both. If that kind of fight to the death at the drop of a hat was common among immortals, well--no wonder Dr. Whiteeagle had wanted to make her position known as quickly and unmistakably as possible.

"I guess so," Chloe said.

Cassandra smiled. "They're not all as bad as that," she said, reading Chloe's mind again.

Then Cassandra looked across the room. "Looks like Faith found some old friends already. Let's get some food and join them."

[Xander]

[fikgirl]

"I hope not," Xander chimed in, eyes trailing the departing Dr. Whiteeagle, and not because she had a nice ass. Not that she didn't have a nice ass, it was an ass worth appreciating, and a part of Xander's brain did just that, however, mostly he was just puzzling out her behavior. "Because that was just a little more walk on the weird than I'm used to."

As if one would ever be used to watching centuries old people challenge each other with swords, Xander thought. Then again, is it so weird from watching young women kill vampires? Funny, that last thought pretty much echoed his initial thoughts regarding Cassandra and the stupid, now dead, Immortal from his world.

"Not that I have to tell you, but I'd still sleep with one eye open," Xander cautioned Cassandra quietly as they made their way to where Faith was already working her magical wiles. "It could be a trap. Meant to lull you into a false sense of security."

[Cassandra]

[sinanju]

"To quote the illustrious Prince Humperdinck," Cassandra said with a grin at Xander, "'I always think everything is a trap. That's why I'm still alive.'"

She glanced in the direction Dr. Whiteeagle had gone. "We'll see how it goes. Fortunately, she can't sneak up on me--nor I on her. That helps."

[Darien]

[starborn_scribe]

"Hey boys, mind if I join you?" Unsurprisingly, the brunette didn't wait for an answer. She eased herself on to the plastic chair with feline grace.

Although Darien managed to keep his eyes from drifting south of her face, he did gulp. Lehane was the single hottest woman Darien had ever laid eyes on. Considering he'd been fortunate enough to know quite a few gorgeous women -- among them Teyla, Claire, Alex, and Allianora -- that was saying something.

Judging from the way Bobby jerked his head up, he hadn't been able to resist gazing upon Lehane's cleavage. His recovery was typical Hobbes. "Oh, no, of course not, Ms. Lehane. Faith? Can I call you Faith?" He thrust his hand toward her. "Robert Hobbes, at your service. Or you can call me Bobby. Whichever, really."

Darien jumped in before his friend could babble further. "Or Hobbesy, or, more appropriately, Doofus."

"Hey!"

Darien shot a grin at said doofus. "I'm Darien Fawkes--"

"Or, more appropriately, the Jolly-Haired Giant."

Darien pretended he hadn't heard Bobby's interjection. "Welcome to the Gamma colony. Sorry for all the military stuff before. Needed to be sure you're friendly, ya know?"

[Chloe]

[sinanju]

Chloe and Cassandra moved through the serving line. Corporal Fitzgerald was right--the main dishes were fish. One kind of fish fried in what Chloe was told was a local vegetable oil, the other baked in tomato sauce. Chloe took a little of both to try. The rest of it was mostly familiar earth vegetables with a couple of local additions. And bread. Drinks consisted of (filtered) water, big urns of coffee or tea, and fruit juices, mostly local.

Chloe and Cassandra exchanged a wordless conversation with a glance and took seats at the table Xander and Faith were sharing with a couple of familar faces. That this left no room for Corporal Fitzgerald and his roaming eyes was not an accident. He hovered for a moment, then targeted another table and moved off.

"Hi," Chloe said to the two strangers. "I'm Chloe Sullivan. This is Cassandra Sugarbaker. Hope you don't mind us joining you."

[Xander]

[fikgirl]

"And the Man with the great Monocular vision is Xander Harris," Xander introduced himself as he caught up with the ladies. He slid into a seat beside Faith, more to take measure of the two men from earlier whose names eluded him at the moment. "No need to consider me competition for the attention of this bevy of beautiful ladies, I'm just their whipping boy."

Of course, if competition had been called for, Xander would have been the one feeling it. Not so much from Bald Guy, but Hair Guy - he has to use more product than Angel - definitely was the sort to trigger the testosterone posturing. If testosterone posturing was needed. If Xander hadn't already sampled the wares, well most of the wares, not that the women in question were possessions or objects and -

"Shut up, you are not," Faith intoned fortunately derailing Xander's line of thought, the back of her hand delivering a light blow to his upper arm.

Xander clutched his arm and feigned pain, giving the men a look, "See what I mean?"

[Lan]

[tweets]

Ron was still sleeping, but the symbiote wasn't as mentally exhaused as his host. He had passed the physical with Jennifer easily enough, then decided to indulge in his one guilty sin.

People watching.

A symbiote lives many, many centuries, but to fit in with the current populace, Lan indulged in people watching as a way of learning.

He could imitate Ron well enough, although his language skills seemed a little stilted... tired to the listeners.

He had moved to the mess hall, and found a plate of food that he enjoyed, then decided to join the new comers. "Would you mind if I joined you all?"

[Faith]

[fikgirl]

Faith looked up, senses ever-hyper and aware, and noticed Captain Boone peripherally before he reached the table. Three things immediately sprang to the forefront of her mind: one, that he wasn't from around these parts; two, that there was that niggling something off about him; three, he knew Xander from some other world. The last, Faith wasn't quite sure what to make of so she filed it away for later. The first two there hadn't been time to hash over with her companions yet, which meant she would just be watchful and observant.

It's always in the details, Faith thought.

Her open smile and welcoming body language, revealed nothing of her thoughts. She licked her lips, then pointedly and deliberately sucked a finger clean. "Gonna be a tight squeeze, but if everyone's willing to be friendly, I don't have a problem with it. Or," Faith paused for emphasis, her smile turning slightly toward the suggestive, "I could sit in someone's lap if we needed to make room."

[Bobby]

[starborn_scribe]

Bobby grinned a hello at everyone. Then Lehane casually mentioned sitting in someone's lap. God, that sounded good. "If it comes to that, I hereby volunteer."

"That's Hobbes," Darien drawled. "So selfless." He extended a hand to Lehane's companions. "Darien Fawkes."

After Fawkes' round of handshakes was over it was Bobby's turn. "Bobby Hobbes. Welcome to Gamma." Everyone settled in, and some took a bite of breakfast. "What brings you folks to our neck of the woods?" Since the newcomers had passed Weir's and the General's scrutiny, it was a simple, open question.

[Chloe]

[sinanju]

"The vagaries of fate, I suppose," Chloe said. "We've been traveling with no particular destination in mind for a while now, and we had to end up somewhere."

While Cassandra, Jon, Ami and Daniel had originally had a destination in mind, that plan had pretty much gone by the wayside after they'd consulted with Rodney McKay in the world where Ami, Jon and Daniel ultimately decided to take up permanent residence. Rodney had made it plain to them that they had essentially no chance of randomly jumping back to their starting timeline. Mathematically it just wasn't ever going to happen.

"Why not?" Cassandra had asked, more out of pique than anything else. Rodney had a way of getting under the skin of even the most unflappable. Like Cassandra.

"Broadening the bands," Rodney snapped back just as quickly.

"What?" Chloe had asked.

After sighing and looking heavenward for the strength to deal with the cretins who surrounded him, Rodney had explained. "Look, the whole concept of parallel timelines is based on the idea that every time a decision is made, the timeline diverges. In one timeline you decide yes, in another you decide no. In a third, you dither for a while. That's three timelines right there."

"Yes," Cassandra'd said. "And?"

"And that's just you. Meanwhile other people are also making decisions, and the timeline is branching, millions--maybe billions--of times a second. There are an effectively infinite number of timelines--and that branching continues even after you leave the timeline.

"You can't return to 'your' timeline because it isn't a single timeline any more. It's millions--billions--of virtually identical timelines, so similar that you might never be able to pin down the differences."

"But wouldn't that make it easier--?"

"No, because every other timeline is diverging constantly as well. There are...well, more timelines than you can possibly imagine already, and all them are multiplying exponentially, all the time."

It had been a sobering analysis. Small wonder Jon, Ami and Daniel had decided to give up the search and stay in a timeline that was at least close enough to suit them. Cassandra, Chloe, Xander and Faith had continued on--they weren't ready to settle down just yet. They weren't looking for anyplace in particular any longer, but they were still traveling. Chloe, at least, was a born tourist.

Chloe looked at Bobby and Darien and decided to 'fess up. "What do you know about alternate timelines?" she asked by way of introduction, then began telling them what they'd learned from Rodney McKay....

[Lan]

[tweets]

Lan squeezed in quietly, listening to the others talk, while he ate. These newcomers were interesting people, he'd decided. He looked down at the plate of food. Humans, he decided, were very good at choosing unusual things to go together. Roast Beef, yes very good. Yorkshire Pudding? A Pudding with savoury food.

He never would understand it.

He kept silent, though, as he listened to those around him.