Apr 01 08:42:14 105 PA

From Chronicles

The current game time is: Wed Apr 01 08:42:14 105 PA.

Atticus is sitting at a booth in the corner - looking up as he finishes ordering to a waitress nearby. She drops off some fixings for tea, leaving Atticus to work on his tea preparation. He's clad in simple enough clothes - comfortable boots, dark jeans and a simple dark blue tunic. A heavy cloak is folded over the back of the booth and he doesn't seem shy about carrying weapons - a heavy old-style revolver is worn low on his left hip in a cross-draw position and a long knife - probably close to a foot long - is worn over his left shoulder to be drawn over his body. The hilt is gleaming silver, the blade tied securely into the leather sheath that ties in with the gunbelt he wears. The tea preparation seems complex enough - the elf stirs the tea just so three times, tapping the spoon and adding three squeezes of lemon, eight droplets of milk and two packets of sugar, stirring it again carefully.

The relatively tall woman, clad in a simple black trench coat, still covered with sleet, arrives at the front desk of the Silver Fork. She looks around, then points the maitre'd towards the one elf named Atticus. As she advances into the restaurant, a loud beeping noise is heard, and she beings arguing with the guard at the door, rather loudly, something about "..stupid fucking rules.." She then opens her coat wide - and exposes an arsenal of weapons. Two energy pistols in shoulder holsters, two in hip holsters, two in thigh holsters, and two more in calf holsters - and oh, don't forget about the .45 tucked into her belt. She sheds the weapons to the guard with a distinct threat about "..not fucking them up.." and heads into the restaurant. Another loud audible alarm goes off, and the woman waves her arms at the guard again, who gestures for her to turn around. Instead of turning around, she simply pulls out a tenth weapon, a heavy energy pistol from the small of her back. And then a vibro-sword from her back. And finally a vibro-knife tucked into her boot. "Anything else, or do I have to get naked for you, too?" she asks, then without waiting for an answer, stomps into the restaurant, her gorgeous face lighting up at catching sight of Atticus once again. One could almost think that she batted her eyelashes at him, but hey, probably not. She approaches the table, and with anger, asks, "How did they let you in here with that damn knife?" Again, not waiting for an answer, she smiles sweetly and takes a seat. No one could have missed the skimpy outfit that she was wearing beneath the trench coat.

"I forgot. And I suspect pretty soon they'll be coming for them," Atticus says easily without looking up. Finally lifting his tea for a small measured sip, putting it down again as he looks up to give the new arrival a long speculative look. "Can I help you miss?" he asks politely as she takes a seat, wrapping his hands around his tea quietly.

"Yes, I hope so.. how may I address you?" Lucy asks sweetly. Continuing on before an answer can be given, she says, "I understand that you run a detective agency - and a, how shall I put it? A semi-mercenary group? Adventurers, perhaps?"

A smile and he replies, "Atticus is fine, unless you speak Elven - in which case Vandalil is fine as well." A pause to sip, "Well, I do run an investigations firm - Si Sera," Atticus points out, settling back into his seat to take another long sip from his tea. "With a couple of other people - small, we just started out. And the VCF is the outfit that another friend put together, I'm the - what did he call it, the executive officer, the XO? I was told it means second in command. Can I get you anything, miss? And what should I call you?"

The woman blushes slightly, and says, looking directly into Atticus' eyes, almost with a slight challenge to them - but not quite - "I am Lucy. Lucy McDermott. But everyone just calls me Lucy." She considers his offer of food and drink for a moment, her eyes going wide at the possibilities, then says simply, "I would accept a coffee, Atticus. That would be delightful." She looks down, somewhat coyly at the table, and says, "Pardon my manners, I am new to town, and rather shy. I am to understand, however, that your agency - Si Sera - does more than just investigate? Adventures into Dregstown, and similar, perhaps?"

"Well. We help people - that's the important part," Atticus offers, waving over a waitress and directing her to fill a coffee cup and drop it off in front of Lucy with milk and sugar, a spoon. "So I figure sometimes that's going to involve going into Deregstown or outside the city too. I basically figure we'll go wherever there's people that need our help, that need help figuring out a mystery, finding a love one, that sort of thing."

"Could you possibly use extra help, Atticus? I'm not so much into the finding part of detection as I am the 'let's go get it' part of detectiving, I admit. However, I have a strong work ethic, and as you may have observed, know how to take care of myself and others should an investigation turn.. violent." She spills a measured dose of cream and sugar into her coffee before tasting it and delivering the verdict, "Delicious." She then comments, "I have a small side job, but I could use regular employment."

Atticus considers, looking thoughtful. "I might have some work available - I'll have to temper this and say maybe. Right now, I don't have a real office to work out of - we're fixing that - and right now I only have one case that may or may not pay anything. So right now it's a 'the folks with me get paid when we get money' sort of thing. And it's a bit of a co-op - kind of, so I couldn't hire you without talking to other folks first. What sort of abilities do you have? What skills?"

"Oh, I'm embarassed to say," Lucy says, though it is relatively clear that she's not so shy as she puts on. "I'm good at finding contraband, weapons, I can pilot practically anything from a hovercycle to a tank. I'm good with computers, and, well, as have probably seen, combat in general." She looks down at her coffee and says, "I don't know if it bothers you or not, but I'm psychic as well, though in no way a master. OH! And I'm good at making street contacts. Very good," Lucy adds.

Atticus nods, looking thoughtful again. "Alright. Fair enough," he says as he puts down his cup. "One moment - pardon me," he says before he just ... turns invisible. Phasing out, essentially invisible for several seconds. When he returns to visibility his eyes are intent for several more seconds before he smiles. "Sorry about that. I had to check a couple of things. You sound pretty darn useful, Miss Lucy. Why my agency over say, a mercenary outfit or somewhere in the Dregs - say working for a gang or something like that?" page Do you want the answers now?

"Who says that I don't have work out somewhere in the Dregs, Atticus?" Lucy asks with a gleam in her eye. "As for mercenaries, they're too, how can I put this politely," she pauses,"..stupid. They blow things up without any mind to what it is that they're doing. I have no compunction about shooting someone, but I like to know why I'm doing it, beforehand. Certainly can can understand?"

Atticus nods, "I can understand that," he says as his food arrives - an omelet it seems, stuffed with sausage and onions, garlic, topped with cheese, hashbrowns fried crisp on one side. He takes another slow sip from his tea before he eyes his plate. "Well, I'm all about helping people. I can't promise I'd have work right away - and I'd have to talk to the others before I could offer anyone a job as a full time employee. But based on your skill-set I think we could easily find something for you to do, down the line. But I should point out - not that I don't think you are - that I'm one of the good guys. I only shoot people if I have to. If I kill someone or they die I get sick. I hate it. I want to help people, build them up, not blow stuff up." He gestures to the plate, "WOuld you like some?"

Lucy smiles sweetly, but declines. "Thank you, but the coffee is fine," she says, taking another sip. "I am not necessarily interested in full-time employment, Atticus, but I have heard about your various expeditions, and would like to be a part of those."

"OK. Well, I'm sure we could find something," he says as he digs into his food politely - adding some ketchup to both items, using his fork and knife to dig into the food. "And it's a bit weird, hearing people talk about the stuff I do like it's ... I don't know," he says with a wide smile.

"I inquired with the VCF that you mentioned, but my personality was not compatible with.. Dr. Kelley, is it? I have tried to change my ways since then, and heard about your organization." Lucy pauses, then proceeds, "I am interested in adventure, Atticus. I would very much like to assist you in your travels, even if it means helping people, which is not.. commonly.. what I do. But I assure you that I do not go around blowing people away without good reason."

Atticus nods, "I do work with local law enforcement, and the government - primarily with my work with the VCF but I have at least one friend that's an active police officer," he points out after a few bites. "So yes, obeying the law and listening to instructions would be important. But I can understand the desire for adventure - I had it myself eighty years ago, so I can appreciate that burning need to see new things, adventure, test yourself and experience tense situations."

"And, hopefully, make a few credits doing it?" Lucy asks. "I would have no problem obeying the law while working with your organization," she woman specifies. "I am recently from Chi-Town, and would welcome the open laws of Kingsdale. Compared to Chi-Town, there are no laws. And by the way, Atticus," she switches to flawless Dragonese ", I am quite fluent in elfin, Mr. Vandalil."

Atticus offers a surprised smile as he hears the Dragonese, taking a few more bites and dabbing at his mouth. "Mmmmm. It's been some time since I've seen a human speak my language - not bad, your accent is really good," he says. A bright smile. "I haven't ever been to Chi-Town," he notes as he points to his ears, "I doubt it would really work out for me. Dimensional being, magic, psychic ability - I would be a three-point walking violation."

Lucy laughs, a light, tinkling laugh of small bells. It appears as if she's about to clear something up, but then she closes her eyes for a brief period of time and proceeds with something else. "Chi-Town is an interesting place. It is where I received a good part of my training. I had to escape from there, which is a story for another time, but I then joined an all-female mercenary outfit called Bitch'n Babes. By the time of my nineteenth birthday, I was the leader of the organization. Then, last year, I had.. an unfortunate accident, and ended up here in Kingsdale. I couldn't find gainful employment, so I made some for myself, which is also a story for another time. At the moment, as I said, I am simply seeking to supplement my income by assisting your organization in appropriate times of need - adventuring, if you will."

Atticus nods, listening to the story as he takes a few more bites, finishing his tea and waving over a refill for him and Lucy from the waitress. Again he dabs at his mouth. "Sounds like you've been pretty busy," he notes from where he's sitting with Lucy at a booth in the corner. Settling back as the waitress refills mugs. "What caused you to end up here - you said an accident?" he asks. "I showed up a bit outside Kingsdale back before it was started - around fifty years ago, victim of a rift."

"I am from a very small village to the southwest of Chi-Town." Oddly, her eyes almost seem to brighten up as she says, "I doesn't exist any more."

Hayate enters via the main doors, nodding cheerfully at the guards to confirm he has no weapons on him. He doesn't need them.. not here. He walks in and makes himself at home at a table more or less near Renos and Lucy, not paying them one whit of attention. He orders his food.. a massive ammoutn and settles in for it to arrive.

Atticus nods to what Lucy has to say, looking interested as he takes another bite. "So you're happy it's gone - you must not have had a good upbringing there. I'm sorry to hear that. I still miss my family - I was lucky I guess in that I spent fifty years or so training largely away from them before I was shoved here."

"Yes, I understand that I am very young, yet," says Lucy, "but I still have a long way to go. Hopefully not all of it will be spent here in Kingsdale, though I detest the southwest even more than I do the Tolkeen area. I fought on the southeast front for the Coaltion. It seemed like the right thing to do at the time, especially since that was where I received most of my preliminary training." Her voice becomes quieter as she says, "Sometimes I wonder if it still wasn't the right thing to do."

Lucy sips again at her coffee and daintily places it down on the table in front of her, scrutinizing it for a moment. "Well, it all depends on your opinion of D-Bees, Mr. Vandalil. I have a rather.. unique vision of D-Bees, myself. One that if you will not be offended, I would rather not share. And your vision of magic and psionics, I suppose. As you now know, I possess a certain amount of magic and psionics within me, which gives me another.. unique perspective on the issue."

Atticus nods, looking thoughtful as he replies to Lucy. "And that's unique - the magic and psychic part, I mean. I haven't seen anyone else with a blend of that before. So that's curious. Most people that have magic and psionics focus on that - they don't also have the, what do you call it, the proclivity for weapons and vehicle skills that you have. And no concern about your beliefs - they are your beliefs alone," he adds.

Hayate smiles as the waiters bring his out, setting out enough plates and trays of food to cover the table he's at. Immediatly, he digs in listening still to the two behind him. He's rather curious of the Coalition mentioned...h oping it will be mentioned again.

Ah, the Dandy with the Broken Heart! Having just recently fixated on a single woman - revealing the depths of his soul and almost immediatly being slapped down for it - Ordo Malleus has gone to put his affairs in order. The first stop? Why, Monsieur -Attic's- place of course. Alas, the fellow wasn't home (or wasn't answering the door), but a neighbor had mentioned something about the Happy Days Inn. And so, searching for his NEMESIS still, Ordo.. Walks into the resturaunt. Pausing to unbuckle his pommel and holster before handing them to the bodyguard at front. And quietly whispering for information.. Oh look, Hayate! It's that crazy love sick guy.

Lucy nods forward slowly and holds it for a moment in recognition before sitting up straight again. "Yes," she sighs, as if somewhat disappointed, "I do carry magic and psychic energy with me, and I do use it - but again, primarily for combat. I have been somewhat disillusioned by the primary use of psionics and magic, no offense intended, Mr. Vandalil. And yes," she agrees, "I do have a somewhat unique skill set - mostly acquired during my time with Bitch'n Babes and my time with the Coalition."

"Well, I think if you turn your attentions towards good - you were talking about changing your attitude again, you may see life turn around maybe?" Atticus suggests from where he's finishing an omelet and hashbrowns. "You certainly seem like you carry some pain inside you. And I don't want to pry - it's your business certainly. But maybe if I do find work for you - maybe doing the good will help you be able to exorcise that." he suggests.

Hayate digs into his food, glancing up at Ordo as he arrives, the little asian man rolling his emerald eyes. He returns to his massive breakfast with a gusto that Ogres might envy, and the food rapidly dissapears.

Having been given proper directions by the bodyguard, Ordo glances across the resturaunt to the table of 'Attic'. A vague frown appearing across his features, but! He squares his shoulders, and marches in anyways. Pausing, along the way, to watch Hayate eat. Dear sweet mother terra! Isn't that the voyuer...? No matter! He has business to attend too! Straight away, the Fop pushes his way towards Atticus table, calling as he goes: "Monsieur Atticus...!" The man who stole his Caliopa! That fiend.

"Yes, perhaps," Lucy says, though not sounding at all certain that her feelings would change. She lifts another sip of coffee to her lips, holding the handle by thumb, forefinger, and middle-finger alone. At this point, she's managed to reach roughly the halfway point of the cup. "You are and elf, Mr. Vandalil? May I call you Atticus without being rude? I so hate the sound of my native tongue." The words roll simply off of her mouth.

"I am an elf, indeed. From a beautiful, beautiful land. I was studying to be a wizard, you see, and .." Atticus replies, his lips quirking as he pauses and glances over at Ordo. He has time to take a sip from his tea. "Please, Atticus is fine, there's no need for mister," he adds before turning to regard Ordo as he approaches. "Ordo, right?" he offers. "How can I help you?"

Hayate raises his head from his plate intime to see Ordo's gaze move from his eating habits to Atticus. He notes the tone in Ordo's voice and he watches.. does not move.. but simply watches, waiting for the time to act, should one arise. Very unusual for a juicer..

"Madam, forgive the interruption..." Offers the Fop to Lucy, sketching a rather quaint little bow, before turning his full attention back to Atticus. What?! No flirting?! No subtle overtunes?! Quick, someone get a doctor! "Yes. Ordo Malleus. I am..." He pauses, and allows a rather bittersweet smile. ".. a friend of your fiance, the lady Caliopa." The two had gotten into a poking match! You'd think Atticus would remember better. "I had hoped to beg of you a brief and inconsequential favor, sir. If it is not too much trouble..."

Atticus lifts his eyebrows, sparing a grin at Lucy before he lifts his tea for a sip, taking in Ordo's words. "I remember you from the hospital," he adds after a moment. "What can I do for you, Mister Malleus? I can't make any promises, of course, until I know what you need. But what sort of favor are you thinking of?" he asks.

Lucy, perhaps trying to show off to get her job, or perhaps just because she feels like it, comments, "I can break him in two, if you like."

Hayate speaks up then, not keen on seening anyone broken in two. "No.. no you won't either.. He is asking a simple request, nothing that requires the intervention of a bodyguard." The asian man says easily adressing Lucy.

Ordo starts to speak, and then stops, glancing at Lucy with a rather sour frown. The Abomination briefly pulsing, having tasted -freedom- but a short few hours ago.. but no. With a quiet sigh, the Dandy's attention is back to Atticus as he reaches into his cloak and pulls out - three letters. Holding them out. "Would you mind delivering these? I fear I do not have the proper addresses, nor do I trust the mail system. They are very critical letters, to me at least."

One letter is addressed to Madam Aimee.

One to Doctor Kelley.

The last? To Lady Caliopa herself.

"Despite our differences, sir, I know you to be man .." He pauses. ".. -elf- of good standing to have captured the Lady Caliopa's heart so easily. And I feel I can entrust you with these, for the same reason." He pauses to glance behind him at Hayate, and blink a few times, before nodding his head. ".. My gratitude, Sir."

Atticus lifts his hand to Lucy with a smile. "There's no need for violence. But I appreciate the offer, I do." he says. A sip of his tea as he listens to Ordo, tilting his head forward thoughtfully to regard the man fully. "Sure. I can do that. Are you in some danger?" he asks as he reaches for the letters. "I know where to find all three of them, actually. Why not tell them yourself, though?" he asks.

Lucy shrugs at Hayate, "It was just an offer. I made no promises." She toys with her coffee again, stirring it around with a spoon, not really paying attention to anything other than the interesting things taking place between Atticus and this new man, Ordo, apparently.

Hayate nods his head in a slight bow to Lucy. "Understood.. I thank you as well." He says leaning back in his chair, now facing the rets of the little group.

The question about danger causes Ordo to actually burst into a brief bark of laughter, which earns him a sour look from the Waiters hovering about. Ordo lifting a hand to place over his chest. "I fear, my good Atticus, that I am poisoned with that most deceitful of fate's trickeries, love. And there are some things better said in paper rather than in person.. " The hand dropped, disappearing into that cloak as the fellow continues: "Please, give my warmest regards to the Lady Caliopa and her friends? I fear I will be quite busy seeking new living quarters to pay my own proper respects." A glance again between Lucy and Hayate. Hayate, especially. ".. I say. Do you know a Master Dan? He is an orient as well.."

"Well .. alright. Sure," Atticus says, trying to follow along with what Ordo has to say. He takes the letters, settling them into his pocket carefully so as not to fold them, offering a smile. "You have my word. I will pass these along as soon as I can - Cali is at work now but I can bring the letter to her, same with the Doc and Aimee," he says. "Congratulations on the love thing. It's a wonderful feeling, opens up all sorts of new horizons."

Lucy laughs another tittering little laugh, looking slightly down her nose at the fop. "You, really? You're in love?" She leans on the last word before stirring her coffee and sipping once more. "How quaint."

Hayate shakes his head at Ordo. "Only Master I know is Master Fat... but he is long since gone." He says with sadness in his voice. He looks at Lucy, and smiles to himself, leaning abck further in his chair, balancing eaily on the chairs back legs.

"Perhaps if it is love shared, good sir." States the Dandy, with a sardonic twist to his lips. None the less, he straightens out, and sketches that careful bow to both Lucy and Atticus. And even includes Hayate, with a glance. "Thank you. I do appreciate the effort." He then straightens up, and turns to Lucy before dipping his head. "A powerful force, madam. Never underestimate the heart. And with that, I bid you all adieu."

"Good morning, Ordo. Take care now," Atticus offers, waving to the man as he smiles, shaking his head lightly as he watches the man leave. He finishes the last few bites of his food, dabbing at his mouth and shaking his head to Lucy with a full smile.

"There is a letter to Doctor Kelley and Madam Aimee in there?" Lucy asks. "I was taken to understand that Madam Aimee was shacked up with Doctor Kelley." She spits out the name of the man with clear disgust. "And you," she indicates Atticus with a brief nod of the head. "You are sleeping with this Caliopa?" It looks like she's about to say something more, but simply exhales a bit and helps herself to another sip of coffee. Hayate has disconnected.

Atticus pushes his plate away, finished. He dabs his mouth with the napkin, lifting his tea for a few, long sips from it. "There is," he agrees as he pats the letters. "I am involved with Caliopa, yes. We're seeing each other, we live together," he offers. "I like to think it's more than sleeping together, I'd think she'd agree. What's on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing, Atticus," Lucy states. "I just try to keep myself out of such.. entanglements. There always seems to be a competition between the two parties for dominance. And, since I refuse to lose, it rather.. puts men off, shall we say. Just who was that.. lightly soled.. man who delivered these letters, anyway? I've not seen him before."

Atticus grins, "That was Ordo. He's .. well, from my land I'd call him a court fop. Probably couldn't hold anything but a fencing rapier without fainting but he could use calligraphy to convince you of his undying love. I met him when he insisted he was vying against me for Cali's affections. He seems harmless, he just .. feels very very strongly, I think. And I guess I can understand the entanglements. There was a time when I first arrived to this world - about fifty years - where I did nothing but one night or four night stands."

Lucy looks at the elf once more and comments over the lip of a coffee cup, "You seem to be rather proud of the short time - for an elf, long time for a human - that you've been here. Why is that?" She continues, "I do not commonly go around announcing my time at various locations. What specialty does this hold to you?"

Atticus considers as he scratches his jaw. "It meant a turning in my life - a sort of new leaf, if you will," he adds, watching the waitress take away his plate and relaxing into his seat. "Before coming here, my life was fairly well mapped out. Become a wizard, tend to my master - teacher. Take over for him when he passed on. Take over the tower. But that all changed when I got here - I found a new path. One of intuition, emotion. Not of book learning, or magic learned from books. About emotion, hunches, intuition, fate. That sort of thing. So I consider myself almost a new man."

"I see. Born again?" Lucy asks with a hint of a laugh in her voice. "So how did you meet this Caliopa? I know how Doctor Kelley met Aimee, I understand that she's some kind of cheap whore. But how did you and Caliopa meet? It seems that you have wildly different occupations, if rumors are true."

"What were the rumors you heard?" he asks with interest. He takes another sip from his tea, settling his elbow on the table, his chin on his palm. "I suppose born again is a very good way to call it," he offers. "I don't know much about Aimee, to be honest. I know Doc Kelley is a good man. She and I - Cali and I - met here, I think. It's hard to remember, so much has happened. But we did some work with the precursor to the VCF - and that's where we really got a chance to work with each other."

"That is a nice story," Lucy says, though she sounds mildly disinterested, even though she was the one who brought up the subject. "I have heard the rumors around the taverns. Around Dregstown. Aimee is some kind of cheap thrill whore who has somehow managed to hook up with 'the great doctor Kelley'. I don't understand what people see in the man. Tell me about VCF - apparently Kelley had no need of my services."

"Well, that I don't know. As far as I know he's paternal with her - not sleeping with her. BUt it's also none of my business," Atticus admits. "There's not a lot to it. It's a group of folks - there's eight of us now." A pause and a frown, "Seven. We recently lost someone. Anyway. It's a group that has been investigating and fighting the dinosaurs outside Kingsdale and Laramie, and the robots as well." He shrugs with a slow smile. "I kind of was grandfathered in, I was there at the start and I know some about magic and psionics and I have some senses. But I'm hardly the gun hand that several of them are - with rockets and machine guns and big rifles and so on."

Lucy brightens up at the mention of rockets, machine guns, and big rifles. "Really?! Who carries these weapons? Certainly not that panty-waste Kelley. And apparently not you. Who carries the big guns?"

"Doc Kelley actually uses a rifle, pretty well too," Atticus says. "Well Kaomas .. he ... passed on recently. He used a lot of heavy weapons. So does some of the other folks I know, some of 'em not really in the VCF. Zaphod uses big weapons, so does Kesslan and so on." he offers.

"Si Sera." Atticus says with a grin. "Zaphod works with me as a core member of Si Sera. He was sort of the guy I went with when I needed someone with big weapons. But if I need more big guns for some reason," he points out, "I use other folks - like you for example, or someone else. Folks I can trust to make good decisions, follow direction, do the right thing and so on."

Lucy stands abruptly, her eyes glancing over to the guard who has started to go through her weapons. "I think I'd best go at this point, Atticus. Please contact me at Raliegh's Retreat with job information, I'll be happy to provide you with whatever papers you require. However, I really must go. Thank you for yout time." The woman hurries off, but somehow maintains a swagger in her hips as she snatches her weapons from the guard, reloads her holsters, and exits the restaurant.