three, four, the corpse soldier

[breqintopieces]

who: Breq and OPEN
what: Various: Monster dive-bombing, Prijata gifts, Guardwork, and more.
when: June
where: Around the Quarantine.
warnings: M for Monster fighting, probably. Warnings will be added as necessary.



i. TDM prompt: death from above

[By all accounts, it's a normal, bustling day in the Quarantine. Nothing particularly daunting is looming, it's nowhere especially near the walls of the Quarantine, the street is full of pedestrians going about their business.

Maybe it's something about the shadows passing overhead that clues her in. Maybe she just happened to look up at the right time. Maybe the alert from the Perimeter Guard, that the migrating pterodactyl-like birds have been diving in and attempting to attack or carry off people.

Whatever the reason is, the moment one of the creatures gives out a cry and starts to dive, Breq is dashing forward.]

Get down!

[If the hapless person isn't fast enough about that, the tackle that Breq's going for might just do the trick.]

ii. Prijata gifting

[If Breq has talked to your character in any degree of depth since her arrival, there is a good chance she's coming around to see them. To a house, a job, a favored cafe, somewhere convenient and common for them to be found at. It's rude not to present a gift in person, after all.

As she approaches, she takes pains to be sure she's adopted a pleasant smile, and the box in her hands (decorated simply, tied shut with a ribbon) is held neatly in both hands. As soon as she comes into conversational range, she nods in greeting.]

Hello. [She lifts the box slightly.] Sorry to interrupt. Do you have a moment?

iii. Perimeter Guard/Surveyors general

[Now that she's recovered from the injuries that had her in the hospital, Breq has been making herself a regular sight in the Perimeter Guard barracks. She's not living there-- the trip to work may be longer this way but it gives her reasons to know the city-- but from the hours she spends here, the other Perimeter Guards might be forgiven for assuming that she might stay here after all. Whether she's writing up notes from her latest surveying trip, making her way to or from one of the missions, or simply taking the time to train her strength back up, it's easy to find Breq in the barracks.

Right now, she's sitting on a bench in the side of the training areas, her equipment laid out next to her, including a bag and water bottle. She's dressed in preparation for a match in light easy-to-move-in clothing, but although she looks up every so often toward the mats where people are pairing off, it's not the focus of her attention. Rather, her head is bent over the flove in her lap and the thread and needle she's using to deftly patch up a torn seam.]

iv. wildcard

[If there's something else you'd like to do with Breq, from Prijata or just in general, feel free to go for it! Or if you'd like to arrange for me to write up a starter, you can contact me via PM or at needslineface

Comments

[dancingmd]

Much better!

[Beaming at Breq, she picks up her gift basket from the concierge's counter and holds it out for Breq. Seeing as she doesn't know Breq all too well, the contents of the basket are fairly generic - coffees and teas and little snacks and goodies - but all of good quality. The personal touch comes in the small bouquet of flowers in the middle, all grown on her balcony garden.]

I wanted to thank you, for taking care of me.

[breqintopieces]

[Breq takes the basket with another brief nod, and looks over the contents. The flowers in particular have her lingering, even leaning close enough to inhale their fragrance. Even living in the Quarantine, on a planet, fresh flowers are a nice indulgence.]

It was no trouble. It's left no lingering effects?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly is pleased to see Breq seems to enjoy the flowers. She wasn't entirely sure what to put in the basket in the first place, so she hopes Breq likes at least some of it!]

None! I feel as good as new!

[breqintopieces]

Good.

[Breq nods again, making sure that her expression reflects the sentiment. After another moment of examination, she lowers the basket to her side.]

I would invite you up, but communal housing isn't particularly good for sharing tea. I think there's a few shops nearby, though.

[It's only polite to offer that, after all! But the communal space doesn't even have the chipped ceramic sets that she'd used before being brought here-- it's not the kind of place where making tea is very important.]

[dancingmd]

I'd like that! I wasn't entirely sure if you'd like tea... and if there's anything you don't like to eat in there, it's okay to tell me.

[She smiles.]

Then I'll know what to get better next time.

[breqintopieces]

I'm not picky. As for tea... it's the social offering of choice where I'm from. Everyone learns their way around it.

[Hoisting the basket in her hands, Breq gestures back toward the stairs she'd just come down.] Excuse me, and I'll put these away. [And without further ado, she'll do just that. It doesn't take her long to make her way back, since she didn't bother to do more than set the basket down and find a safe place to put the flowers. Well, and to bring some of the snacks that Beverly included in the basket.]

The closest one is this way. Unless you know of somewhere specific.

[She tilts her head-- it's entirely possible. Beverly and Lucretia may have their own apartment, but in Breq's understanding, most people spend at least a month or two in the communal housing spaces when they arrive.]

[dancingmd]

There is one place I know that's a few blocks away but it's nice and quiet. [She smiles fondly.] Lucretia and I first met there, last year during Prijata.

[breqintopieces]

[Breq gestures.] Lead the way.

And Lucretia is your girlfriend. [She pauses, slightly, on the final word, testing it out a little.] You've gotten close, in that year?

[dancingmd]

We have.

[Her lips twist into a half-smile. When she'd been sick, she'd not paid much attention to the uncertainty dancing around Breq's pronunciation of "girlfriend" but now it's unavoidable.]

I... take it that term is not familiar to you?

[breqintopieces]

[Breq's been caught out, all right. She stifles a sigh-- this is where she always makes mistakes with languages, but at least she doesn't seem to have offended Beverly with it. She gestures a yes.]

I gather it's something more than simply specifying the gender of a friend. [That last bit she says rather dryly-- she's seen the depth of connection between Beverly and Lucretia, that day when she'd helped Beverly back to her apartment.] But it isn't familiar.

[dancingmd]

[Fortunately, being a Starfleet officer, Beverly has encountered more than her fair share of language barriers and cultural differences. Something as small as this is hardly anything to get upset about. Especially given that when you really think about it, it is a rather odd term.]

Yes, that's right. We're... romantic partners.

[breqintopieces]

I see.

[Also fortunately, the response gathers no more response than a nod and a friendly smile from Breq, as the two of them make their way down the street.]

Congratulations on the anniversary.

[dancingmd]

[Anniversary. Not just of meeting Lucretia but of arriving in Riverview as well. It leaves her with mixed emotions.]

Thank you. I suppose we ought to plan a celebration of some sort but we haven't even thought about it really.

[breqintopieces]

I imagine doing so requires the time for it.

[Breq gestures a little-- one year never seems like long to her any more, after all her years of existence, but she could see herself feeling differently after a year in a place as strange as Riverview. About having found a new life here, and facing the complicated question of where to go, if the portal would ever take them.

She's saved from those wonderings as she looks at their surroundings, then gestures to a particular storefront.]

Is this the place you meant?

[dancingmd]

Yes! This is it!

[She opens the door and gestures for Breq to enter.]

After you!

[It's a sunny little place, with mismatched chairs and bookshelves lining the wall and a nice view of the river.]

[breqintopieces]

[Walking into a place like this truly reminds her that she's planetside. The greenery of Riverview makes it hard to forget, but somehow it's the chairs that really drive it home for her. Few station residents manage to accumulate so much clutter, Strigan's apartments aside.]

Is there anything you'd recommend here?

[dancingmd]

The Earl Grey is good, I think.

[breqintopieces]

['I think' isn't the most stunning recommendation, but Breq takes it anyway, nodding and stepping up to request it of the barista, then stepping aside to give Beverly the opportunity to make an order of her own. When they step aside to wait for their drinks, Breq turns to tilt her head at Beverly.]

We didn't have a chance to speak about it before, [Because Beverly was recovering from having collapsed,] but what work is it you do as a medic?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly orders the same. Earl Grey is, admittedly, more Jean-Luc's pick than hers, but drinking it feels like a little reminder of home now, so she's taken to it more than she might have normally.]

At home? I'm the chief medical officer on a starship. Here... I'm simply an attending physician at the hospital, though I often volunteer for field work with the perimeter guard as well. Keeps me on my toes.

[Also keeps a certain Starfleet captain from getting into too much trouble.]

[breqintopieces]

For the guard? We may see more of each other, then.

[But there's one part about that answer that really captures Breq's attention, and she can't hide her interest in it. Even better, she doesn't have to hide it in this city.]

What sort of starship?

[dancingmd]

A scientific and diplomatic vessel, primarily.

[breqintopieces]

[That has Breq tilting her head, glancing over at Beverly.]

An unusual combination.

[She doesn't get much further than that before their drinks are called, though, and she steps forward to retrieve her own before looking around the cafe, searching for a place they can sit.]

[dancingmd]

Is it?

[Beverly indicates her favorite spot, a nice little corner table next to the window. Perfect for people watching!]

Research and diplomacy are the main purpose of most of the vessels in our fleet so I suppose I never thought anything of it.

[breqintopieces]

[Breq nods and follows Beverly to the corner, though she carefully takes a part of it that allows her to have her back up against the wall, and a large part of the room visible to her without having to turn in her chair.]

The fleet I am familiar with was a military one.

[dancingmd]

We can and will fight if we have to...

[She drifts off for a moment, thinking of the war she knows is coming. Things will be different. Starfleet will be different. And no doubt she will be too.]

But that's not why I signed up.