(no subject)

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen had meant to go home and get her next set of orders, but when she walked too close to the Bar on the way out a note popped up about her tab.

"Oh. Yes, of course."

Specials

Beer

Yes, All The Beer
Seriously
Look, I'm Not Feeling Very Imaginative Right Now

I'll Give You A Discount If You Tell Me A Really Good Story Though

Some days are just going to be like that.

Comments

[themysciran_diana]

"Ellen," Diana says, approaching the other woman.

Her smile fades a little as she takes a closer read of the specials board, though it never totally vanishes.

Not even close.

"You and your world are both faring well, I hope?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh- hi, Diana," Ellen says. "Yes, we're doing all right. More or less, anyway. How have you been?"

[themysciran_diana]

"Busy."

Diana sounds a mixture of both cheerful and wry.

"But between apocalypses, so I think we're coming out ahead."





"I hope I didn't just jinx it."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"... I was about to say, that's a heck of a chance to take, a statement like that," Ellen says. "But good luck with it regardless. A little quiet time now and then is good, even if it's rare. What can I get you?"

[themysciran_diana]

Diana laughs, maybe a little ruefully.

"Mead, if you've got it? I've never quite developed a taste for beer, I'm afraid. Though provided it's not utter pig swill, I can tolerate it well enough."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I'm pretty sure they have everything here," Ellen says. "I just know the beer better than the other things, that's all. just a moment."

She does some rooting around behind the Bar and comes up with a bottle. "Honeyrun Mead 'Ragnar's Reserve'," she reads off the label. "Does that sound all right?"

[themysciran_diana]

"It sounds appropriate, at least. Thank you."

She reaches out for the bottle.

Fortunately it tastes all right, too.

"It occurs to me that it might be wise to eat something, as well."

It's not that she's worrying about the alcohol content -- superhuman endurance is pretty handy for that, plus she's an Amazon.

But it does serve as a nice reminder that somewhere it's dinner time.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"It might not be a bad idea," says Ellen. "The kitchens operate even when the bar's not working. What can I get you? They're pretty good with... well, anything, really."

Then again home's not really known for the quality of its food.

[themysciran_diana]

"Stew?"

Diana looks a little hopeful.

"If it isn't any trouble. I've been living primarily on sandwiches for -- several weeks now."

They're very portable, sandwiches. And they hold up well to being crushed. Ish.

[boston_bruiser]

"Oh, I got lots of stories. Any preference?"

That'd be Voodoo, who's just walked up and taken a seat at the bar. And trust us, he does.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Just as long as it's one I haven't heard before," Ellen says cheerfully. "Hi, Voodoo. What can I get you?"

[boston_bruiser]

"A San Miguel, if you've got it. You want the story before or after?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"After, I think. Let me see-"

There's a lot of beers on offer back here. It takes her a while to run down the San Miguel and bring it back.

"Sorry about that. It's been a while since I had to tend bar," Ellen admits. "Here you go."

[boston_bruiser]

"Thanks," Voodoo says, producing a churchkey from a pouch on his side and cracking open the bottle.

Churchkey courtesy of Bar, of course.

"So let's see...there's the time my parachute failed. There's also the time my team chased down a boatful of enemy divers in a crowded Middle Eastern harbor. And there's the time I ate a snake. Any of those strike your fancy?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Let's hear about the parachute," Ellen says. "Unless you have a good recipe for the snake. I've had to eat a lot of things that I don't always get to prepare much beyond roasting it over Brahmin chips."

[boston_bruiser]

"Not really," Voodoo says. "We just roasted it over a small fire." He takes a sip of his San Miguel.

"Okay, the time my parachute failed...this was early on in my career, 'cause I was still with Four - I think my probationary period had ended about a week or two ago, and we were doing a water drop off the coast of Puerto Rico. I was fourth in the stack - the line to get out the plane, I mean.

"So we get to the DZ, and everything's golden. No turbulence, no nothing, and the ocean's looking great. The pilot gives us the green light, and we go running off the tail ramp. We're supposed to follow proper exit procedure - chin on our chest, elbows tight to our side, hands over our reserve, body bent at the waist, all that - so I hopped out and started doing somersaults because of all the prop wash I was catching.

"So I arch my back, straighten out, count to four, and pull my ripcord. I hear it deploy, but a couple seconds later and I'm still falling. So I get into a sitting position, look up, and see that there's a problem with my parachute bag - my pilot's fired, but my main chute's stuck.

"So I reach around to my shoulder, pull my cutoff strap - we call them 'twinkies', I never did find out why - and go into freefall again. I pull the ripcord for my reserve, and that deploys. Only thing is, a couple seconds later, I go into this crazy spin. I look up and see half the panels on my parachute are collapsed - I've got half a parachute.

"I'm going about 120 miles an hour, so I don't have many options left. We dropped at around 35,000 feet, and now I was down to my last thousand or so. I can hear people yelling to each other over the radio - 'Bag lock, bag lock, bag lock!' 'Voodoo's totaled, Voodoo's totaled!' 'Pull out your guides!'.

"There're these cords on either side of the 'chute we used called guides - you pull on them, and they'll steer you where you want to go. So I grab hold of the guides and pull as hard as I can - by now I'm down to about 500 feet, so I'm really cutting it close. At the last second - I think I was down to 200 feet or so - the other half of my parachute catches air, and I have just enough time to put on my swim fins before I hit the water."

He takes another swig of the San Miguel.

"I had to buy everyone in the team a round afterward, 'cause I threw away my ripcord. It was worth it."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen whistles at that, shaking her head. "I've only ever been in an airplane once," she says. "Just the thought of having to jump out of one is pretty amazing- but to hear about it going wrong like that, and then coming out right at the last second... I think that goes a little beyond half off. Your next beer's going on my tab, okay?"

[vance_prime]

The barstool creaks ominously under the weight of the seven-months-pregnant woman who just sat down on it.

"Sorry, Ellen, I don't think I'm in much of a storytelling mood right now."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"That's okay," Ellen says. "I could tell you one if you'd rather. Or just get you a drink. Either one- what would you like?"

[vance_prime]

"I dunno... some kind of fruit juice, maybe?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Coming right up," Ellen says, and turns to rummage through the reach-in fridge behind her. She comes back with orange juice, which she pours and sets in front of Alyx. "How's this?"

[vance_prime]

"That'll do. Thanks." She downs the glass in one go.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen'll just pour another one and settle back on her heels, then.

"I guess I don't need to ask how you're doing, huh?"

[vance_prime]

"Our ship is wrecked, most of the crew is out of commission, and we've got people wanting to attack the Combine on three fronts at once," says Alyx. "And I had a close encounter with a gigantic green man who couldn't figure out which restroom to use."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Oh, you met Fawkes!" says Ellen. "I knew he'd found his way here, but we didn't get to talk about it much."