[location: inside luthor plaza] screams from the haters got a nice ring to it

[luthoran]

The city will never be home, but at least now he is starting to gain some sense of control. Between the unexpected temporary population boom, the various incarnations of vampire panic, and now the recently ended language glitch it was easy for the average person to be constantly reminded of how far from home they had been transported. Maybe

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[ location: lex's office ]

[cheerioless]

All things considered Quinn was fairly content in Taxon, after all she had her own apartment, she had a great job and she didn't have to worry about being what her father wanted her to be. She did miss a few things from home, like the glee club (more than she would ever admit), but she was determined to regain her status and at least try to keep going on - and trying to forget most things from home

[ location: lex's office ]

[luthoran]

When Lex arrives in his office he expects to see Quinn poised and ready for their usual morning routine before he leaves for lunch. What he sees is not something that would have ever crossed his mind as an alternative. He likes Quinn largely because he sees a lot of himself in her. She's ambitious, knows when to play nice and when to be assertive, and has more guts than anyone he's seen in quite a while - especially for someone so young

[ location: lex's office ]

[cheerioless]

Quinn jumps slightly when she hears Lex's voice and turns to look at him. The last thing she wants to talk about is why she was on the verge of tears, especially with Lex. She likes him, but she'd prefer to keep the news of her disappearing pregnancy a secret. Enough people know about it, and she'd rather not have to deal with the stares like the ones she got back home.

"I'm fine," she lies, forcing a smile. "Allergies," she shrugs, hoping the excuse will be good enough, but seriously doubting it. "I made blueberry muffins," she adds, indicating to a basket of them as an effort to change the conversation.

Come on Fabray, she tells herself. You're better then this. Don't let them see you cry, remember?

[ location: lex's office ]

[luthoran]

He doesn't believe the allergy excuse for a minute, but if that's what helps Quinn then he isn't going to push the issue further. This is the kind of thing that needs to be on her own terms. Of course he wants his employees to remain productive, but part of that is ensuring that they stay with the company. The last thing Lex wants for Quinn is for her to quit due to work pressure building on top of whatever was bothering her.

Instead he gives her a polite smile and walks toward the basket. "Thank you. My mother would have told me that this would spoil my upcoming meal, but a little snack can't hurt right?" His smile turns somewhat conspiratorial and he withdraws a single muffin, placing it on a napkin. He splits the muffin in half and returns to Quinn, offering her the half with the napkin.

[Location: B'Elanna's Office]

[aklingonside]

B'Elanna, for her part, had never attempted to delude herself into thinking that the city was home. It wasn't even close.

Unfortunately, her attempts to avoid getting comfortable - even slightly comfortable - had left her drifting rather aimlessly for the duration of her imprisonment. It had been Kirk's disappearance, not the language glitch, that had finally spurred her into action. She couldn't solve this problem on her own. She needed resources and she needed allies. Her new position gave her that and, hopefully, gave her the structure that she'd been lacking previously.

Currently, the engineer was sitting at a computer - in her new office, which was located a short distance from her new laboratory - and taking stock of the equipment that she currently had. Between Luthercorp, the Delta Flyer and the hatches, she'd have everything she needed. Hopefully.

For the first time since arriving in Taxon, she wasn't wearing her Starfleet uniform.

[Location: B'Elanna's Office]

[luthoran]

"Good morning," Lex says pleasantly as he enters her office. It isn't large, none of the offices on the lower levels are, but it's comfortable and with more than enough space to work.

He stands in the door frame with hands in pockets, ready to leave if she is busy. Lex can technically go wherever he wants, but he doesn't want to be a nuisance for people who are trying to do their jobs. "May I come in?"

[Location: B'Elanna's Office]

[aklingonside]

"Good morning," she replied, cordially. The office was more than enough for B'Elanna. She was used to working in the engine room on Voyager, which was as crowded as it was large.

"It's your office," she pointed out, before remembering that she was addressing the person that she now worked for. She had never been particularly good with authority figures - it had taken both Chakotay and Janeway a long time to earn her trust - but he'd given her a chance. She owed him enough to try.

"Of course you can. I'm just doing a bit of inventory."

[location: wikus' desk]

[willkeeptrying]

Despite his initial concerns, things in Taxon seemed to be panning out quite well, Wikus thought as he steadily made his way through the day's work. An easy enough conclusion to come to when the alternative was...unpleasant to say the least, but even so. He had a job, he didn't seem to be getting any worse as far as the Prawn Thing went, and nobody was trying to lock him up and poke him with things. Yes, he was who-knows-how-far away from his family and, well...everyone he knew, but things could certainly be far worse, and he was confident that eventually he would find his way back. That was the way these things always ended, or so he told himself and, for now, it was enough. A change of clothes gained from the Hatches and a few weeks of relative peace and he both looked and felt much closer to his old self, rather than the cringing, sickly heap he'd arrived as

[location: wikus' desk]

[luthoran]

Lex isn't going to lie to himself. Part of the reason why he had hired Wikus was precisely because of the hand. It wasn't due to the fact that he felt sorry for Wikus, because he didn't. The arm in itself was fascinating and here under his own roof Lex could keep an eye on it should anything out of the ordinary occur. It had been a while since he was able to contemplate a piece of an alien puzzle with regards to a person (rather than Taxon itself, which was another mystery all its own). In a way, Wikus' presence helped give Lex a sense of constancy.

The arm wasn't the only thing that remained constant about Wikus. The man was exceedingly good at a job most would not bother with due to its dullness. He made it a point to regularly thank Wikus for a job well done, though their conversations never extended much further than that. Lex had much to do and conversing about the tediousness of paperwork wasn't on the top of his list.

He approaches Wikus' desk and holds out a fist with a small smile. "Good morning, Mr. Van der Merve."

[location: wikus' desk]

[willkeeptrying]

Wikus sounds nothing if not cheerful, clearly pleased to be there. Even if he does end up bungling what he was doing and dropping the folder he was looking through in his eagerness to return the greeting. He'll...pick it up later. "Mr. Luthor! Hello!" The bump is quickly returned now that his hand is (prematurely) empty, and he fully intends to play it off as if it were intentional. "I hope your morning is also good. And, ah, what brings you to my little corner? Not that I am complaining, because, ah..." Per usual, once in the familiar setting and without anything more at stake than maybe a lunch stored in the refrigerator, normal habits take hold and he finds himself tripping over his words in the presence of Authority, devolving into unimportant chatter that practically begs to be taken out of its misery.

[location: wikus' desk]

[luthoran]

"Mr. Van der Merve," Lex says again with a patient smile, placing a hand on his shoulder for a moment. Lex generally doesn't initiate physical contact unless he wants something, and right now it isn't that unreasonable to hope for a little less chatter.

He removes the hand and glances at Wikus' desk. "Just seeing how you were doing. We have a lot of new projects going on and I hoped you weren't feeling weighed down."

[location: Lex's office]

[likealexander]

Adrian is punctual for their lunch meeting, as of course he would be. He's dressed in one of the shirt and trouser outfits that Lex so graciously gifted to him, with a lab coat over top that he removes and hangs up when he enters Lex's office.

"Another day with no explosions, toxic spills, or unexpected mutations before lunch," he announces with mild amusement. It's up to Lex to interpret whether Adrian feels that's good news or bad news.

[location: Lex's office]

[luthoran]

"I was hoping for signs of that mutation at the very least," Lex says with absolutely no expression as he crosses to a side table in his office. On it lies a platter of sandwiches and fruit and next to it lies the basket of muffins from Quinn.

Once there he picks up two plates, holding one out in offering. "After you."

[location: Lex's office]

[likealexander]

"Mutations can be touchy things, maybe we'll see something tomorrow." Or, you know, once Adrian really kicks off his genetics research.

He takes a plate with nod of thanks and gets himself a sandwich and some fruit, and after a moment's contemplation, a muffin as well. The occasional egg or dairy product won't be the end of the world.

"How is everyone settling in?"

[location: Lex's office]

[luthoran]

"I wasn't entirely serious with the mutation comment," Lex says. Perhaps if you bothered putting a little more inflection into your voice people would understand you better, Lex.

He fixes his own plate after Adrian finishes, grabbing his half of a muffin that he had split earlier. "I haven't heard any complaints, and everyone seems to be finding their footing relatively quickly. It's encouraging." He moves to sit on one of the couches in his office, placing the plate on the table in front of it.