[Nexus] ISF HQ

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

"If I ever drank before, I don't remember it," Sunny says, and hugs Carl tightly, feeling tipsy on top of the general giddiness she feels from being in love for the first time. "You smell nice."

[UncleWolf]

Rec Room

Vasquez chuckles and closes the brandy. "Alright, when someone starts saying things about how another smells, that's when I cut people off." She says jokingly. Carl gives her a kiss. "Thanks."

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

"But he does!" Sunny protests, giggling, and kissing Carl back.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Vasquez gives a bit of a sigh and pulls Sunny's drink away. "Okay, now it's definitely too much. Why don't you two go somewhere private now? I know you've gotten so much better, but I doubt anyone wants to see you two make out in public."

"Sure we do!" Dizzy shouts from the couch, her voice muffled by a pillow as Fred rubs her back.

[happyturtle]

Rec Center

Sunny pulls away from Carl enough to look at him, still holding onto one hand. "I'm sorry. Did I do something wrong?"

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Carl gives her a gentle smile. "No, not at all. She was just joking." Vasquez nods. "You two just take a seat a spare couch and have some fun. None of us will bother you. Isn't that right, Dizzy?"

"Hey! What did I d-oomph!" She shouts and struggles when Fred presses her head into the pillow. "She won't."

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

Sunny stands up, sways a little, and heads towards a spare couch with Carl.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Room

Carl smiles and goes to the couch with her. Once there, he'll deactivate the boots to sit on her lap and be close to her.

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

Though they went to her head very quickly, Sunny only had enough to drink to make her rather tipsy. Not enough to make her sick or pass out.

She snuggles close with Carl, feeling like she's found a safe place again, with friends who will protect her.

I just hope none of them will hurt me the way Quinn did.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Room

Carl holds her until they both fall asleep. Once they door, Dizzy gives them a bit of a smirk. "D'aww-mmph!"

Fred can't help but give a smile as he pushes her head into the pillow again.

Once they're asleep, Vasquez turns to Anatolij. "That talk I mentioned earlier? We're having it now." She says, sounding a bit too calm.

[Morty]

Rec Room

Anatolij tenses a little. It won't be pleasant, he can feel it.
Alright. Speak up.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Room

"First, and most importantly, you let a civilian get involved in our internal affairs. Second, you let Reinholdt get involved. I don't give a damn if he helped you or not, or if he had a reason to be there. You never let him join you. We only worked with him willingly once. During the Ebonapocalypse, because he knew where one of the bombs was. And we were too late to stop it." She says this calmly, but she's obviously furious.

[Morty]

Rec Room

Anatolij sighs and rests his head on his hands.
Look, Reinholdt saved my life once. Letting him tag along was the least I could do.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Room

Vasquez scowls and looks into his eyes. "If we let our prior connections interfere with our job, then we can't do it effectively, understand? It gets in the way of us making tough choices like we need to. If it does get in the way, we could end up killing people we mean to protect. What if Reinholdt had been helping Ted and was just playing you? Do not let this happen again."

[Morty]

Rec Room

Anatolij looks straight back into her eyes. I couldn't just tell him "alright, you saved me from becoming a zombie but I can't let you come with us". He pauses. But you're right. It won't happen again. We're even, Reinholdt and I.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

She looks into his eyes again before nodding. "Good. If it happens again, with anyone without a better reason than that you owe them, you're through with us, understand?"

[Morty]

Rec Center

Anatolij doesn't blink. Perfectly.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

She nods and backs off a bit. "Also, never mention that name around Sunny or Carl. Period."

[Morty]

Rec Center

I rather gathered that, yes. He nods. He was very unpleasantly surprised to find out just what Reinholdt had done.

[happyturtle]

Rec Center

Sunny wakes up, conveniently too late to overhear any of the discussion, and having slept off most of the alcohol. She thinks back to how it had felt. Really nice - she could see why her sister liked it. But it was too strange not being completely in control of her own mind and body. She didn't think she'd do it often.

She still has a sleeping halfling in her lap, which would be kind of embarrasing, if Dizzy and Fred weren't snuggled together on another sofa. She gently strokes Carl's hair and looks around.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

By then, Dizzy and Fred are asleep, the latter with his head on her shoulder as they snore, and Carl wakes up slowly, nuzzling against her before he remembers where they are. He sits up a bit and smiles. "Feeling okay?" Vasquez gives Anatolij a nod before going to take a seat.

[happyturtle]

Rec Center

"Mhm," Sunny says, scooting out from under him. Because snuggling in public just doesn't feel right. Is anyone else from Mortal Coil here besides the sleeping pair and Vazquez and Anatolij?

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Geoff is there as well, reading a vehicular mechanics book, lost in his little space. But, after a moment, Sue walks in, shivering and shaking. Vasquez looks at him sadly and gives him a hug. "Horus again?" He nods and she hands him a stiff drink. Sunny may overhear her.

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

Sunny doesn't hear, but she sees him come in, and gets up to talk to him. "Hi Sue. I'm glad you're back."

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Sue accepts Vasquez's hug, and he suddenly seems small and weak. The ugly man gives Sunny a crooked smile and rubs the top of her head. "Hey Kiddo, it's good to see you here."

[happyturtle]

Rec Center

"I'll be here a lot now. Me and Carl are dating," Sunny says. "And me and Geoff are making hoverboots for everyone." She grabs a bottle of water, not wanting to have any more alcohol.

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Sue grins. "Glad to know. If you ever need a favor, just ask, and ye'll receive." He tells her before shuddering when he hears the hoverboots, muttering something about heights.

[happyturtle]

Rec Room

"I don't like the idea of flying either," Sunny admits. "But the boots will slow you down if you fall."

[UncleWolf]

Rec Center

Sue's smile returns, but it's a bit lopsided, as if he still doesn't like the idea. "Thanks Sunny. I'm sure plenty of people will like them. Even if I don't. May come in handy."

[happyturtle]

Offices

Lieutenant 1st Class Alice Delisle of the ISF sat down in her office, sniffing suspiciously. It didn't seem possible that the stink bomb left by Gordon could have been cleared out completely by now, but apparently it had. Magic, she supposed.

The officer was in her early forties, her brown hair showing streaks of gray, and a bit of crows foot at the eyes. Though she'd been assigned to Mortal Coil, she wasn't one of them. She was a desk jockey, and though she'd been through basic training years ago, and kept up whatever firearms training was required of her, she'd never aspired to be more than a support officer - and a very efficient one at that.

The twenty three members of Mortal Coil were her responsibility now, and it had been made very clear to her by Vasquez that she was to make sure that none of her men ever had to deal with red tape or bureaucracy or brass of any kind outside the company. If any of the Coil needed something through bureaucratic channels, Delisle was to see to it that they got it. Full stop.

Delisle had never broken so many regulations in her entire career as she had in the months since being attached to Coil. She couldn't have done it for a unit much larger than this - regulations existed for a reason - but she'd come to see it an an interesting and rather invigorating challenge.

And so she'd started doing more. Instead of waiting for them to come to her with problems, she started trying to find and solve them first. Like now. Stonethrower's bank account was almost empty again. And she knew it hadn't been him spending the money, since he'd been ... elsewhere.

Time to meddle.

Rec Room

Alice Delisle walks into the Rec Room, looking rather out of place in her formal uniform. She noted that there was a civilian in the room. Interesting. The Coil didn't often socialize outside their ranks.

She went to the kettle first, and made herself a nice cup of tea, with milk and sugar, and then took a seat among Vasquez, Stonethrower, and the others. "Enjoying your drinks?" she says, addressed to the group in general.

Spoiler

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(couldn't find a proper military uniform, so use your imagination )