Brony and Pegasister |
Summary: | After getting hit on by some alien bartenders, Jack and Stargirl beat a hasty retreat and grab some food. |
Date: | July 22, 2014 |
Related: | None |
NPCs: | A few aliens |
Scene Runner: | Jack Flag |
Social/Plot: | Social |
It turns out Jimmy the Slugg isn't half so bad, other than trying to pull one over all the time and 'fix' things in his favor. The Guardians get the location of the prison planet from him, jump into space, do some flying around and find out that the prison planet is heavily guarded. A few plans are discussed, but all rely on getting security access to sneak in as far as they can. As luck (unluck) would have it, Jimmy knows a guy.
So, a nearby star system, Quantil, has a few mining outfits on their larger planets. The 5th planet there, Eismos, is known for gambling and the like. It, similar to Earth's Moon, has one side always facing the sun, the other always in the dark. Between the hot and cold, a giant gas smorgisborg of minerals lines the ring where day meets night. There is a city on the dark side, due to surface tempratures being bearable on the dark side just inside the outskirts of that big cloud. It sort of seems like Alaska in winter, at just the right latitude the sun is mostly below the horizon but its perpetually dusk with just enough light to mostly see around.
There, they have found the Surly Monk (or close enough in translation to sour religous person who drinks alcohol a lot). Vance has went off with Jimmy to met the purple, cyrstal-like alien who has the codes and inside information on the planet. This leaves Jack and Stargirl to their own device, just at the entrance to the dive.
The dive is set up on a raised tier, the city is built more ziggurut like (one mega structure versus individual buildings). Yet from that teir, there are stair leading down, to the bar, much like a pyramid chamber. It is all artificial light inside, smokey, lots of colorful drinks and a ton of varied aliens forms. The room itself is multi teired, some seating in the floor around floor level tables, others raised slightly in booths around the outside. One side has a band playing with digital instruments, one looks like a sax though. The bar is a semi-circle along oneside.
Jack turns to Stargirl, "Ya, I miss Earth." Like as cool as it is, its weird to him just the same.
As soon as Stargirl has left the terra firma of planet Earth she has been a bundle of questions…with some long periods of silence as she absorbs the vastness of space. Landing on the moon she looks pretty much the tourist, staring, pointing and pretty much looking like target #1 for any con-man on the lookout for a easy target. She hasn't given up the comfort of her costume yet, or given out any personal information so far. At the entrance she pauses, gawping a moment before quickly shutting her mouth at her companions words "Play it cool..got it." she takes them as a warning…she isn't on earth anymore, so technically she's the alien and not all these other ones.
There was probably some talk on lasers being real and different than regular bullets, which most of them could probably shrug off to some extent (durability, tk, forcefields, etc. etc.). Lasers having various energy wavelengths that could make them more 'deadly' depending on frequencies and some such. Jack Flag, completely alien as well with Stargirl and sticking out like sore thumb, is more at home at least. Having scene it all too much as far as he's concerned. Maybe picking up on some sort of contemporary culture type talk and deciding to head to the bar, turns to Stargirl, "So, pokemon or MLP - I mean, magic horns and friendship power, serious business right?" As if it could be a real fight, forget they break and blast stuff all the time as it is themselves.
At the bar, an alien and his comrade take note of Stargirl and Flag Boy. The one is blue, with overly large elf/goblin like pointy ears, and green lines that might be tribal tattoos or some natural pigmentation of the skin. He has four arms and wears a holster with a few blasters in it, probably enough for each hand. The one next to him is a massive gorilla like fluff ball, dark puprle. So fluffy no eyes are scene, but when it opens its mouth to talk, there are literally hundreds of sharp looking teeth and where a nose might be above the mouth is a rhinoserous (sp) like horn. Lanky, four arm blue guy points at them and they have a quiet conversation for the moment about the newcomers.
Stargirl is doing her best not to stare at this or that strange looking alien…I mean in her she is probably the wierd looking one. The question kind of catches her off guard, it's not one she would expect from a grown man that regularly shakes down alien slugs for information. "What am I eight?" she asks after a moment "Ponies of course." never mind that MLP is also supposed to be a show for little kids too "Oh my god!" she says her tone bordering on excited amusement "You are a total brony!" her outburst nets her a few looks as they cross to the bar "I totally dig Rainbow Dash." of course she would, the attitude and boundless energy. At the looks she simmers down a bit and completly deflates when the big purple people eater smiles at them "Yeah..MLP is okay." she says in a much calmer voice as she goes back to trying to play it cool.
"What," protests Jack, to being a brony probably, "Just cause there's nothing else on sometimes …" That totally explains it, and when the calm voice returns after the purple people eater smile, Jack calms his own voice, "Besides, Apple Jack all the way." Cause team American and country! Not that Jack listens to country or has any such accent, being fro Arizona and all. "But Rainbow Dash is pretty spunky, got admit that I suppose." Joking mostly on his cave, its all good.
The purple fang fluffy stands up to his proper 7' height, a slight thud felt from anyone nearby. Then it opens its mouth and speaks again, a low pitch, just above subsonic, almost musical in a roaring sort of way - but soft enough that its not for the whole restaurant. The four-armed blue goblin thing nods, and looks at the humans, "My friend says, if we need two more for a game of Squits, these two look like they know what they're doing." He has a weird accent that can't be placed, because he's alien, but maybe Romanian meets Russian meets French.
"Nope, you're a total brony…don't worry your secret is safe with me." Stargirl gives him a sly grin, that doesn't las that long under the towering shadow of the alien bartenders. "Oh thanks for the invite." Stargirl says to the bartender acting as interperter, "But I think I will sit this game out." having no clue what Squits is, she is at least street smart enough not to agree to get into a game "What are we drinking Jack?" having never been to an alien bar so has no clue what is even safe to drink for humans.
A chuckle at the secret being kept, of course Jack was forthcoming with the question as if at random, then clarified by knowing their names even. "Ya, I don't know if I have time for a game of Squits." He doesn't know what that is either. But between Stargirl and the bartender, he ponders, "Have any Crulian Brandy?" He nods, looking to Stargirl to see if she takes one, then goes to get it. Its a green liquid poured into a brandy sifter that looks large, like the old potpourri jars.
The purple guy and his four-armed friend don't seem quite done, the four-armed goblin pats his friend, encouraging him to sit down for the moment. "Game ain't that long, are you saying you're too good for us," he asks, typical cantina stuff, some rabble rouser, rousing the rabble.
"I'll have what he is having." while Stargirl may be familiar, in name only, with earth brandy, alien brandy is another thing, but she isn't going to back out of having it now. She watches for a moment as the bartender pours the drinks and brings them over, setting the large glasses on the bartop "Better than you? Hardly, two hard working…" there is a bit of a beat "guys like yourself, no one better. 'Eh Jack." she lifts her drink to take a sip, she's find for a moment and than her eyes get all wide as she starts to cough "Smooth." she gasps between coughs.
Taking the drink, Jack swallows some too. Not quite the cough, but his face suggests its stronger than even he might be used to. "Good, right?" Then he looks over at the four armed goblin and the purple people eater, nodding, "Ya, no offense at all, I'm sure you're both great upstading fellas."
The goblin chuckles, standing and moving sort of around near Stargirl, "Ya, something like that, just, my friend here ain't no guy." The purple people eater looks at Jack then, making a trilling growl sound at a very low, deep pitch. If one could see under that fluff, there could be batting of eyes even.
At the point of taking another drink, Jack looses some of it unceremoniously, and tries to smile, "Ya, that so." Maybe he shouldn't be smiling at her, that might not be helping.
Stargirl looks again at the purple fuzzy creature and then at the goblin "Of course not, I was using 'guy' in the universal sense…you know, we are all a buncha happy guys." she gestures at the purple creature a moment and then looks at what is now a her "How could anyone mistake her for a guy." she pshaws "Not with, uhm…hair as lovely as that." she leans an elbow on the bar "You must tell me what conditioner you use." girl talk, maybe that will help.
"Sure, ya, universal," grins the goblin guy just a little, "You're quite the universal girl are you?" He reaches for the drink he'd been working on, a tall, thin glass with purple liquid in it.
Jack almost loses more drink he was tring to drink, "Er, ya, galaxy-lag," probably something like jet lag when one hopes from star to star, "Her beauty is becoming more and more apparent to me." He sort of forces a grin on there.
The purple fluff doesn't seem to mind, emitting some words in her language for Stargirl. The bartender translates, "Mostly natural, with some Glithyan mud to bring out the highlights." Then looks at Jack, "And you're cute, she says, not me."
The purple fluff unfurls an arm tentacle from the fluff to ruffle Jack's hair.
There is a nod from Stargirl as she takes another sip of the liquid fire in her glass, there is less coughing but not by much "Oh quite so," she gestures to the star on her chest, and wishes now she would have put on some other clothing "Stars, the universe." she glances at Jack for a moment "We had a pretty long flight, lots of hyperdrive…galaxy lag." she nods as if that explained it all "It's very nice, it suits you well. Is that something just anyone can use or will it make my own hair melt?" she isn't sure if that is a safe question but she goes for it anyway. A giggle escapes her when the purple bartender makes a pass at Jack.
The four-armed guy shakes his head to Stargirl, "What, you wouldn't need anything else, your hair is lovely the way it is. I imagine you're pretty beat, I have a place not far from her." Completely forgetting formalities, coming off more like its the 70s in forwardness, perhaps why Vance likes space?
The purple fuzz does respond though, first to Stargirl and then to Jack. The guy translates just the same, "She says it will bring out your natural sheen, whatever that is." Then he rolls his eyes and looks to Jack, "She's wondering which star you were born under, because *cough uncomfortable* if you're any indication, it must be hot …" It was said quietly, as if he didn't want to, but she's his friend, so he sort of had to.
Jack Flag is still lost after the cute compliment. "Uh, ya, it was totally blue." Then a quiet comment to Stargirl, "Red, white and blue." But then he looks at his nonexistent watch, "Ya, I'm late for that thing I had …" The fluff wraps that tentacle at his wrist, suggesting she doesn't think he's late for anything.
It isn't until the four-armed alien mentions having a place near by that Stargirl realizes she is being picked up…or at least the bartender is trying at least. It takes an extreme act of will not to look…well paniced to put it nicely, "Oh do you. And I bet it is a very lovely place too, with a great view of well whatever the great views are." she takes a step away from the extra fron Labryinth and glances at Jack with an expression that says *What do we do…is that a code for Danger Will Robinson, (the red, white and blue remark)* "Ya know my friend here is right." she jerks a thumb back at Jack "We are going to be /so/ late. So we will just be paying our tab and hitting the road." she grins and nods,
Red, white and blue was for America and a joke cause they didn't come from a blue star. Though he gets up the same, and nods. "Ya, a shame, really, cause purple is like my third favorite color too." Though purple people eater trills, disappointed, sad even, as if she gets that reaction a lot, a second hand compliment as a way to say 'no thanks.'
"Suit yourself," says the four-armed guy then, "It has quite the view of all our moons." There are no moons for this planet, so its more bad innuendo on his part it would seem. He starts to converse with the fluff again, bartender talk probably. Jack squares away the tab with some space credits. And quietly says to Stargirl, "I don't know if we can just blend in, they'll totally know we ditched them if they see us walking around here."
Just walk away, don't look back, don't make eye contact with anyone. "Not looking like this obviously." Stargirl gestures down to herself, and she doesn't mean her clothing but the fact that she is human, not that there is anything she can do about that, "What now? You familiar with this place. Any other places to hang while we wait?" she is moving quickly toward the exit, ignoring any strange looks she gets from the other bar patrons "And we aren't telling your buddy about this either."
Nodding, Jack grins, "Not at all, especially about the ponies." A slight chuckle, he's not even sure Vance would know that reference. "I'd say the actual gambling halls, but they're not going to be much better. I thought I saw a diner on the way over here, I can radio Vance, leave him a message where we are, grab a bite to eat?" Then he pulls up a little, "Or, my place isn't far from here, little miss tall dark and handsome?" The last bit is all joke and he's grinning at it, failing to come up with any better cheesy pick up line.
"Gambling hall?" Stargirl shakes her head "No thanks, with my luck I will have some Chutulu looking alien trying to win me in a game of…well whatever passes for craps in this sector." hey an appropiate spacey sounding word to end with. Were it not for his word choice, she is neither tall or dark and really handsome probably isn't an appropiate drescriptor either, she might have thought he was being serious "Diner it is. Though I doubt I'll be able to get a burger and fries here…maybe I can get this thing." she pokes at the red clunkly belt around her waist "To give me some appropiate clothes.
Taking out whatever communicators they have, he radio's in and leaves the message for Vance. Probably some space smart device, he can leave a text even, so he does. He grins and comments as he types, "Chutulu ain't so bad, right, I mean aside from all the tentacles and slime and insanity, sort of cute." Jack finishes the message and then nods about the diner, "Who knows, might get lucky. If there was a burger joint here, I bet Vance would know where it is." Just a way of acknowledging the guy seems to have luck with finding decent food probably. Then he is looking at the belt, "What, it makes clothes or something, or you got a holo projector in their. Can it whip up something for me?"
Jack gets a look "You've been in space far to long if you consider that cute." Stargirl keeps her eyes open for trouble…and this so called diner as they move through the alien city "All I know is that it absorbs cosmic energy and converts it to another form of energy that I can use to boost my physical abilities." she says it in a low tone, not wanting to risk that bit being overheard "Not sure how the clothing thing works. When I want to not be in the costume anymore I'm not and when I need to wear it, there it is. Usually it defaults to whatever I was wearing when I last switched. Making it do something different is kinda hit and miss." she gives a shrug "Maybe, if you were wearing it and it was attuned to you.
"Fine fine, just your clothes," grins Jack, faking being insulted that he doesn't get a change of clothes out of the deal. "So, is it like a big reveal, or am I supposed to turn away because its a blinding flash - you chaning to regular every day Stargril attire?" A smile cocked on the right corner of his mouth as he considers that, then a thought crosses his mind, and he holds up a hand, "Wait, you're not like a dude when normal and Stargirl is what you transform into?" Cause he might have to scrub some of his thoughts if that is the case, go figure, guys.
"Don't blame me. I didn't invent the thing." Stargirl gives it another poke "I just inherited it. Hopefully since there is a lot more cosmic energy in space than on earth I can push its limits with better success." how hopeful and how much she can push remains to be seen "I'll find a little aliens room when we get to the diner, just in case." a laugh comes at the question "What? You afraid that under all this I am some hairy guy named Dwayne with the physique of a middle aged truck driver?
Her laugh is met with one of his, Jack nods, "Actually ya." He moves along, so they can put the cantina behind them and find that diner he saw on the way in. "I mean, you, this, its cute. And I'm not judging, but what if I was some hairy guy named Dwayne with a nice rotund belly and enough belly button hair to knit a sweater?" He even chuckles, "Like I said, I'm not judging, so maybe I don't want to know."
She gives a shake of her head indicating that no, she isn't a dude in disguise "But wouldn't that have given that bartender back there a good scare." she sizes him up breifly "Well you would have fit in at the bar back there a little better." she points at something that could be an eatery, but having never been on an alien planet before she isn't sure "Is that it?
"Thanks, I appreciate that," he grins at her suggesting he would of fit in better looking like Dwayne. "Ya, nice little joint, bet they have something like pies there." Though not like actual pie so much as desert oriented at least. It has a few larger windows facing the concourse of the gambling/mining city and it looks like people are eating in there. Jack will take a step forward and hold the door even, gentlemen like, as they're greated by a bird like female alien that hovers close to their shoulder hight. No arms, but hands at the ends of wings, she sizes them up and tries to greet them. The first couple of languages she tries are a miss, then she does get it, "Just the two of you?"
She looks skeptical at the place, those aren't the words she would have chosen for it, but as fas as she knows it could be haute cuisine for alien stuff "I doubt you will find an apple anywhere near that place. Stargirl proceeds Jack into the place giving a bit of a start at the bird woman. She may stop doing that one of these days, but not this one "Yes, a booth if you have it please." it doesn't hurt to be polite, even to aliens.
"Right this way kids," she says, though no telling if she's really older. Jack follows Stargirl, and comments, "Starfruit - if you don't know what it is, starfruit, cause it sounds better. Even you think it was living once, starfruit." At least that works for him, in considering what they might end up eating here. To the birdlady, "Any carbonated sugar water, I'll have it." As close to a soda as he can get at least. "And the, uh, facilities?" So Stargirl can make the switcharoo probably. She nods to both, pointing off to where they are.
"Make that two carbonated sugar waters, thanks." she tells the birdlady as she begins to walk away. A look is given around the place "A lot better than that bar." she looks in the direction of the facilities, two doors with some alien language on them, that she can't read "Be right back." as she wanders over she looks between the two not sure which is for males and which is for females. She chooses poorly. Going through one of the doors, there is a muffled shout from the other side and she quickly emerges with a red face, "Wrong door." she then goes into the right one this time.
The birdlady retreives the equivilant of space soda, Jack grins at the wrong door, something of an affirmation she's not really Dwayne even in that. Then he takes a moment to talk with the birdlady as if to figure out something edible by earth standards. Some sort of colorful martian fries and some meat patty on green breed, he doesn't assume to order for Stargirl, only trying to find what he wants so he looks sophistacated at least in being able to order some decent space food on this outing.
It's not long before the young woman is leaving what she now knows is the female alien's room. She stares at the words on the door, commiting them to memory for future reference. Besides her clothes, which now follow earth standard, jeans, shortsleeve blouse and sneakers…and the ever present red belt, she looks unchanged and sans mask herself, which really only covered half her face anyway "I still stick out, but at least I am not advertising myself." she comments as she takes a seat across from Jack. Playing it safe she just orders whatever he does. That way she doesn't have to worry about whether what she is eating is poisonous or not.
Its colorful but looks sort of familiar, the food ordered. "If it helps you look good, even sticking out like that." He says grinning, at her return. "Its the belt, I think I need to get a red one now, they're all in this year, in some places." Then he shrugs, "Good thing out here, no need for the mask and stuff, not like the majority of aliens will see you again, or you're be so strange to them they can't tell us apart. Not quite the same to wanting to stick out on earth and be noticed, but it comes in hand too sometimes."
The food set before her is examined a moment "I probably shouldn't ask what all this is made of, eh?" its a rhetorical question "And I guess ketchup would be a stretch.." she looks at him a moment, crossing her arms over the edge of the table "Thanks..I think…anyways, you really can stop buttering me up. I'm out here, I'm obviously not going anywhere, not if I want to get home at least." at the we all look alike to them she glances down at her self and then back to him "Yeah, no masks." she reaches up to rub above her eye "Those things can get a bit itchy. Courtney, by the way, that's my real name." she offers, may as well get it out there, in case the prison break coming up goes all sideways "Those are some very blind aliens if they can't tell the two of us apart." her bit over she picks up what passes for a burger on this planet and takes a tentative bite.
Its probably like chicken with a weird sauce, not quite good but certainly not bad. Jack nods about the mask, "That's why I usually have a cloth one, less chaffing. Its not to butter you up, I think I'd try harder in that case, graduate on to asking what sign you are or something." Then he takes a bite too, he seems to like it, its food and hes a guy and his stomach demands. After swallowing, "Nice to meet you Courney. Mine's less original, I'm still just Jack, Jack Harrison." Its given freely, hopefully that bit about him having escaped prison with the Kobra organization wasn't big news.
"That's going to take some getting used to." the food that is, "It's almost like a cross between Indian and Mexican, but together it's weird. Like curry sauce on a chicken burito." Stargirl, nee, Courtney gives a chuckle "I think that would be more the line your astronaut friend would use the whole "I bet it hurt when you fell from heaven." she tries to imitate Vance "Or You must be tired because you have been running through my mind all day." maybe these are lines she has heard before. She is the right age to be hitting clubs and getting hit on by the men that go to them. The name may be familiar and she may even know it given her education in criminal justice, but placing the face with the name is another story and there are bound to be tons of Jack Harrison's in New York alone, let alone Metropolis and the other cities she frequents "Not the way I would want to me someone..getting eaten by a giant bug, but whatever works for you.
"Ya, that's not a skill you just pick up," grins Jack finding some alien sauce on the table for dipping color-fries into. "It takes a few practices to get it just right you know." And, of course, being meta too, but that's moot. "Curry sauce on a chicken buritto sounds amazing compared to this actually, I want to try it now." If only he was on earth, where he could try that. Then he pours tha sauce out and dips a fry into it. "So Rainbow Dash, I get the flying bit and the colors, but the hair? Is that something you reserve for weekends out back on Earth, multi-colored?"
She is quite brave enough to experiment with the condiments that are placed on the table so she just eats her fries as is. Does everything taste better deep fried..she isn't so sure anymore after taking the first bite, but she's had worse in the college cafeteria so she continues to nom on them "Good luck finding that, well anywhere. That may be something you have to concoct yourself with a couple of take out orders from the proper places." and hand goes to her blonde hair and she pulls a lock foward to take a quick look at it "I'm rainbowy on the inside." she flicks the lock of hair over her shoulder with a grin.
That gets a kick out of Jack as he chuckles, "You and me both then. Only cause I'm not country bumpkin on the inside, I'll steal that rainbowy goodness." He ponder sthe fast food run for back to earth.
A sip of the soda is taken "Hard to be a country bumpkin and a space cowboy." she comments "Well at least the drink is good, as long as I don't think about Slurm." the soda from Futurama that came from space maggots. Her glance goes around the diner again falling on something across the room "Is that a jukebox?" it even looks like an old Wurlitzer jukebox from the '50's. She jumps up from the booth "Be right back." with that she goes to check it out and whatever alien music in contains.