(no subject)

[cbucsrule]

The notebook, it goes everywhere with him now. Mostly, it stays plastered in the back pocket of his pants but every now and then he comes up with a pyramid play so frakking crazy but so frakking simple that he knows even the newbies will get it... and the other teams, if they're guided by someone who knows their pyramid, won't be expecting it. Then he's glad for the notebook so he can draw it out in full game code. Maybe it's an unfair advantage to his team that he has the years of experience, but he'd gladly sit out and be the substitute more often than not just to see other people loving the game. His game.

With one hand guarding the pad from enemy eyes, he scribbles out the play he dreamed up earlier. It's just frakked up enough so it ought to work, especially on the grass surface they have outside. He nods, taps the notepad with the eraser end of his pencil twice, and folds it shut with a grin that's smug as frak. Then he gets up from his table, orders a glass of orange juice, a glass of juni red, and a book -- any book -- from Bar. He takes his seat again at the closest table and examines the book.

A Brief History of Time. Sounds right up his alley.

Comments

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"I don't think I know that one," says Ellen, who's just come in from running around the lake with Dogmeat and who's spotted the book. "Hi, Sam."

[cbucsrule]

Now there's a familiar voice; he looks up and grins toward her. "Hey, Ellen." With a shake of his head, he slides the book toward her. "I don't know it either, but I'll be happy to pass it along once I've read it."

Automatically, he reaches for the dog. "What a good boy. You taking good care of Ellen for me?"

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Dogmeat whufs, tail wagging cheerfully. Hooray! People are paying attention to him!

"He's been doing a pretty good job lately, which takes some of the load off my Initiates," Ellen says. "I got promoted to Paladin and we're working on the factory project. They gave me some trainees as site security. How've you been?"

[cbucsrule]

The smile on his face was already genuine, but it grows as she talks. "See? I told you you were gonna climb that corporate ladder fast." He toasts her with the juni, a definite acquired taste, but he's always liked it.

Dogmeat gets scratched around the ears. His own dogs always liked that, back when he was a kid. "I've been... the same. Still here." That probably says it all. "At least it keeps me out of trouble."

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

Ellen nods. "Three Initiates, four Scribes," she says. "The Scribes are doing most of the work- they're the scholars and scientists, they're all from non-combat orders, even the ones in the Order of the Sword. We've got several wind turbines generating electricity already and we're starting to make headway repairing the internal machinery."

She winces a little at that, but nods. "That's something, I suppose," she says. "How's the pyramid league going? I had to explain a couple of sports to a young man from a completely different world the other day and I don't think I did very well telling him about it."

[cbucsrule]

He shrugs a little more carelessly than he feels. "Slow to start. But we'll get it moving. It's hard, with everyone coming and going." No consistency, and that makes practice and scheduling difficult. Then again, it's not exactly important. More recreational, and that's good, it's all good.

Just not what he's used to, but he'll take whatever he can get.

"So the factory thing, that sounds like it's going good. You brought any more unsuspecting bar patrons back there with you to help out?" He's not offering, not this time, but he still feels like he owes her and probably always will.

[aaaaaaaagh_sky]

"Not yet," says Ellen. "So far there hasn't been a need. It'd have to be a pretty spectacular need anyway- this is a Brotherhood initiative, and I wouldn't feel right about involving the resources of other worlds beyond the information I got here on how to build those windmills. If we absolutely can't get it to work with what information we can coax out of it and what resources we can scavenge locally, then maybe I'll ask around here, but for now..." She shrugs. "For now it's just us. Probably just as well, since we had Outcasts turn up a while ago and it almost degenerated into a shooting war on the spot."

[katyafeline]

... Orange juice? Katya is traumatized. She immediately corrects his oversight, arriving at his table with a bottle of vodka and two glasses.

"It is a good book?"

[cbucsrule]

"Hey." Her accent's unmistakeable and his smug little grin widens at the sight of the vodka bottle. In the Colonies most of the vodka comes -- came -- from Gemenon. When he lived there he sure as frak helped take the stuff off shelves as fast as he could. There wasn't a whole lot else to do.

And Yekaterina did threaten something about vodka last time they talked. He toes out the chair next door and gestures to it, then to the book. "I... have no frakking idea. Just got it, asked Bar for something and she surprised me with this one. You ever heard of it?"

He assumes it's from Earth, but it isn't like he'd know. It could be from the Seven Kingdoms of the Islands of Blessed and he wouldn't have any frakking idea.

[katyafeline]

She squints at the title, then shrugs, returning to her self-appointed task of opening the vodka bottle.

"Nyet. But it does look very... scientific, no?" It's not that she hates science - far from it, things like vaccines and antibiotics are quite fascinating.

But it's never quite applied to her day-to-day life. Sort of by definition.

[cbucsrule]

Well...

"Let's take a look and see. If it's a really dry read, I'm sure a little vodka and OJ will help."

Or maybe some juni will do the trick. He leafs through the foreword for the first time and can't help but smile and point to the page a little excitedly. "Hey, man, anything that offers up theories on the shape and size and workings of the universe has to be relevant to this place."

Now he's impressed. It's almost like Bar knows him.

"But I've always been a little bit in love with physics to start with." He leans forward like he's just divulged a huge vital secret. "Don't tell anyone. It'll destroy my dumb jock reputation."

[katyafeline]

"... Oh dear, a scientist." She sighs, like she's discovered that he's devoted to the fine art of braiding arm hair. She pours herself an extra-large glass of vodka and sets to getting it down.

[cbucsrule]

"No, no." He can laugh that off easy enough. "My dad was the scientist. I'm just a ball player. Physics was my fallback, but I'm really no scientist."

He is, however, pretty frakking skilled in the art of drinking. Just for the hell of it -- she's willing to share her vodka, she brought over two glasses -- he pushes the juni red toward her.

"Here. Try this. Tell me what you think."

[electro_kinetic]

"Wow. You must have a lot of time on your hands," comments Noriko in passing, beads in her hair clicking together as she tilts her head to check the book title.

"'Cause that sounds like about the most boring thing ever."

[cbucsrule]

What can he say? He's stuck here, so he's got nothing but time.

Even for people with bright blue hair braided into frakking oblivion and a fashion sense right out of the cyber-cafes in Caprica City, not that he ever frequented those, not even when they were still going concerns.

"Haven't read it yet, but I bet it's frakking great." Hey, he never passes up a good challenge. "You know, if you're interested in quantum physics."

The look he gives her says isn't everybody? like it's a given.

[electro_kinetic]

"Sorry if I don't take that bet. Stephen Hawking just puts me to sleep." Not that she's really ever tried to stay awake while reading it in the first place.

She gestures to the seat opposite him at the table. "You mind?" Hey, he looks different, she's stuck for the time being too, and things could be worse. His speech reminds her of Lieutenant Gaeta, not that she knows that guy real well either, but...it's a safe bet they might be from the same world. Ish.

[cbucsrule]

"No, no, knock yourself out." He nods over to the chair, then remembers his manners, stands, and offers his hand. "I'm Sam. I know we haven't met before. I would've remembered you."

He could do the whole long-form intro, but he'll save it.

"And if you know Stephen Hawking, you're a step ahead of me. I'm pretty sure he's not from the Colonies."

[electro_kinetic]

She grins, and takes his hand to shake--the fingerless gloves, which a little useless given her hands don't get cold in the metal casing anyway, do provide a softer surface for other people. "Cool. I'm Noriko--most people shorten it to Nori. Nice to meet you, Sam."

At his comment, though, she shakes her head with a series of clicks. "I don't know the guy personally, just of him. He's supposed to be a huge genius, and since he's got ALS, he speaks through a voice synthesizer."

Beat. "What Colonies?"

[cbucsrule]

"Hey, Nori." Her hands are hard beneath those gloves, like she's got something else going on there. It's none of his business, just... just something he notes, but it's not the strangest thing he's seen here and she's too frakking skinny to be a Cylon, and he's never met a half-Centurion, half-skinjob. Anyway, there's a no violence rule here even if she is, which... she isn't. They all seem to know him, all the humanoid Cylons.

When she shakes her head, the beads in her hair clack-clack-clack. She talks about the author of his book and he makes note of what she's saying -- he knows what ALS is, that sucks -- but her question isn't unexpected.

"The Twelve Colonies of Kobol. In the Cyrannus star system, that's where I'm from. Planet called Caprica. You ever heard of it?"

He takes his seat again, glances down at the book, then back to Noriko. He can guess that her answer will be a no, but he's willing to be surprised.

[a1enzo]

"Oh, I've heard of that one! That's the one by the scientist with the voice synthesizer, right?"

[cbucsrule]

"Hey, man. Enzo." He looks up, smiles at his teammate. "I... have no frakking idea, so I couldn't tell begin you. Bar just gave it to me, and I haven't even had a chance to look it over yet. Is it any good?"

The way he figures it, Bar either gave him a gem or an intentionally bad something-to-read. He won't know until he knows.

[a1enzo]

"I haven't actually read it. I probably ought to. But I hear it's a super-huge bestseller."

[cbucsrule]

All he can do is shrug. "Maybe Bar picked a good one for me. I didn't exactly specify, just asked for a book. I figured I'd get what I get, right?"

And he did.

"So how've you been? Doing anything fun or interesting?" Like this place has anything but that to offer.

[a1enzo]

"Well, I'm planning for my birthday. It's in less than a month."

Excitement!

[cbucsrule]

"A birthday. That is fun. How old are you gonna be, and what've you got planned?"

He's not sure if age is measured the same way for Enzo, but he'll find out. Somewhere along the line, he guesses he's had his birthday too. If time really does stand still back home, he'll have it out there in a couple weeks. Of course, out there making it to the end of each day is something worth celebrating. Birthdays are pretty much irrelevant.

"Have a seat, man."