Log:The Off Duty Guardsman

2015/03/29 Grimm Malcolm 1

Evening in the Alien District. High tech gadget stores, movie theaters and arcades, Holoscreen billboards. This part of the entertainment section of the district is alive with light and color, and finds itself smack between the college campus and all the downtown night clubs. Some of the night clubs bleed into this section of the district as well. While most of the stuff is touristy, there are some actual aliens and fae that mingle with the human consumers, but they're so few that they are vastly outnumbered and stand out from crowd.

What also may stand out from the colorful crowd is a dark spot that makes up one Gabrielle Grimm, off from night classes and strolling the street in search of entertainment and drinks.

As it happens, Malcolm Gibbs is strolling along the streets of the Alien District too. He may be searching for a guy with a Mark III Org-Crystal Power Coupling for a 2041 hovercycle. Or Malcolm could be fresh off of his shift at Starguard and... Searching for a guy with a Mk. III Org-Crystal power coupling.

What? Malcolm has a very specific idea of what fun is.

Speaking of fun, Malcolm may have just wandered into Grimm's Shadow Sensory range.

He would, if she were using it. But doctor's orders. She's dampened down all of her powers to fully recover, especially when a follow up visit ended with a scolding about straining her body while it was still recovering. So Gabrielle wanders along the street idly, staring at the shop windows and signs and advertisements. And...part of it's nice. She'd forgotten what it felt like without all the sensory overload. So much so that she feels blind now by comparison.

The ability to sense the magical and strange, however, was something many of her family members had the knack for. Part of the family line, somewhere. And that is the sense that starts tingling as Gabrielle slows to stares at a newly refurbished club that looks brand new with a glowing sign that reads "Omnia" with trance-like beats pouring out from behind closed doors. There's a velvet rope line of people waiting to go in, and a bouncer at front. The magical aura radiating from it distracts her so much that she finds Malcolm by bumping right into his chest and practically bouncing off with a stumble.

"Hurf," opines Malcolm as he's collided with by a surprisingly familiar feeling someone. Blinking owlishly down at Gabrielle, Malcolm inquires, "Gabrielle?"

After a pause, Malcolm quickly adds, "Are you okay? I didn't hurt you, did I? I should've been paying more attention to where I was going."

Grimm recovers from her stumble and blushes as she looks down to straighten out her clothes. "Hey, sorry, I didn't see--you!" The apology starts off like a polite and formal one to a stranger, but then takes up a cheerful note as she suddenly looks up and recognizes a happy sight. She hops up a little on her tip toes to throw her arms around Malcolm's neck. "I'm fine, Handsome. You didn't hurt me one bit." To emphasize there are no hard feelings on her part, she grins and gives him a hug, turning her head to rest it against his chest as she does. "Not your fault at all. I've been totally bumping into things all week. I was totally distracted by something weird."

Malcolm's throat is caught in an entangle!

He wraps his own arms gently around Grimm's waist and holds her close as she rests her head against his chest. Shifting his weight a little bit, Malcolm smiles cheerily whilst he has Gabrielle in his arms. "Something weird? In this part of the Alien District?"

If he were some sort of mage that relied on incantations, and Gabrielle had any sort of natural super strength, he may be in trouble. She feels lighter than she used to. At least she can look at that as a benefit of her captivity? But even the thought of it makes her just want to be held and safe. "Yeah," she murmurs with a soft grin as she closes her eyes. "Imagine that. But I mean, magically weird. Which I don't usually associate with this town." She opens her eyes to glance up at the club sign. "I don't see too many magical stores in this area. That's more in the artist's quarter and Nicholston."

Malcolm listens quietly, nodding when appropriate, as he casts a sidelong glance toward the club. Quirking an eyebrow, he regards Omnia seriously before he looks back at Gabrielle. Apparently deciding he can get his power coupling another time, Malcolm playfully inquires, "Would you care to go a-clubbin' tonight then, my dear Gabrielle?"

Grimm chuckles and looks at at Malcolm, grinning at the idea of getting into fun -and- trouble. "Sounds fun to me, my dear Malcolm," she says with a mischievous gleam in her eye.

"Let's just try not to get into a fight this time around, agreed?" inquires Malcolm. He winks at Grimm, leaning in to plant a quick, sweet little kiss on her cheek. Straightening up, Malcolm gestures toward the club with one hand, his other arm still lightly wrapped around Gabrielle's waist.

Grimm smiles at the kiss before asking innocently, "When did we ever get into a fight before?" Still that hint of mischief in her voice. Maybe there's actually too many for her to really count. She cozies up to Malcolm's side as he wraps an arm around her waist, sliding an arm around him in turn as they walk towards the club doors. The few people who were waiting outside have already been let in, and the bouncer opens the door for them.

Inside, it's dark, but still illuminated with laser light shows, recessed lighting, and lit panels along the ground and walls. The colors lean towards the purples, pinks, and blues one associates with nebulas. The club is expansive and built with circular, modern designs that lend themselves more to a scifi spaceship then a club. Some of the bartenders at one round bar are actual aliens, and some of the alcohols on the shelf are glowing. The place is very clean and high end looking. Lining the sides of the club are boothes and plush couches, seating, and private bottle service rooms, and a balcony above for a second floor seating.

"Wow..." Gabrielle breathes as she looks around. Yes, there's the colors of the displays already. But there's also the strange magical colors she's seeing all around them. "There's like little dust motes of color from the magic in here," she murmurs as she raises a hand to try and touch some of the color only she can see. Which probably makes her look like she's one of the candy flipping kids that are sure to be found at a venue like this.

Malcolm seems duly impressed by the interior of the club, offering an appreciative whistle as he runs a hand over one of the lights built into the wall. Turning his head to track Grimm's hand as she reaches for the mystical motes floating about, Malcolm inquires, "What kind of magic?"

Grimm's brow wrinkles slightly. "I...I don't think I've seen anything like this before," she murmurs.

There sounds like there's a quarrel at a side bar, which is off to the left and away from the large central bar. "C'mon, give me another drink! What else am I to do while I wait for her to see me?" says the familiar, but slurred, voice of Guardsman Hoki.

A non-plussed alien bartender dries a glass with a towel. "I think you've had enough." That answer makes Guardsman Hoki slam her hands on the bartop.

"Huh. New magic," comments Malcolm, "Color me impressed."

And then comes Hoki's voice. Malcolm looks over Grimm's shoulder at the drunken Guardsman. Immediately Malcolm plants his face into his palm and lets out a long, tired sigh. Lightly hip-bumping Grimm in the general direction of Hoki, Malcolm intones, "Don't look now, but it's our favorite angry alien with no concept of a shade of grey."

Grimm can take a hint, or a bump. She follows Malcolm's lead and glances towards Guardsman Hoki. "Oh, wow. I didn't expect Tayina to be into a place like this. I guess she's really let her hair down?" That may be too much to hope for. "Wonder what she's doing here."

The bartender's mandibles click sharply. "Guardsman Hoki, you have been warned about that behavior. Violence is forbidden in Omnia. You're cut off."

"You...you can't cut me off!" Guardsman Hoki points a wavering finger at the bartender. "I am the Law, you Drek!"

"Not here you're not, 'Guardsman'," the Bartender snaps smugly at her.

"Oh man, she's trying to be Judge Dredd again," comments Malcolm. He can't help but take a few moments to admire the conviction in her voice at declaring herself to be /THE/ Law. Malcolm finally sighs and gestures with a hand, "Can I buy you a drink whilst you find out why Hoki's floundering at a bar like this?"

Grimm nods and gives Malcolm's waist a squeeze. "Sure thing, Handsome. How about you get me something that glows? Those look awesome," she grins, leans up, and kisses his cheek. "Meanwhile, I'll go do some recon," she winks.

Malcolm grins at Grimm and gives her a big hug before she sidles off for recon. The tall man makes his way off toward another section of bar and orders a round of the glowiest liquor they have. Plus a luminous virgin daquiri since Grimm's still not 21 - at least he got her a glow drink, right?

Equipped with liquor and light, Malcolm winds his way over toward Grimm and Hoki. "Sup?" he inquires when he's in earshot of the duo.

Foiled! Next time, maybe Gabrielle will have to come back with her power of making people thinking her ID says 24 instead of 20.

By the time he gets over to Gabrielle and Guardsman Hoki, Hoki is drunkenly pouring her heart out to Gabrielle. "...just want off this miserable, burdak planet and a ticket home!" Gabrielle turns her head towards Malcolm, which means Hoki can't see her expression as Gabrielle gives Malcolm an awkward, gritted smile to indicate maybe things aren't going so great.

Setting down the daquiri in front of Grimm, Malcolm seats himself on Hoki's other side. He totally did not intend to make this a devil/angel scenario. Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, Malcolm's other hand sets down a medium sized tumbler of something blue that casts unnatural pink light in all directions in front of Hoki.

"I'll have you know, Guardsman, that this world is most certainly not made of burlap."

"Thanks, Handsome," Gabrielle smiles as she pulls her drink closer to her.

"Not...burlap!  BurDAK!" Guardsman Hoki hiccups in irritation. She looks to Gabrielle. "You understand what I mean, don't you?"

Gabrielle lifts her drink and pulls the napkin underneath out and dabs at her nose. "She means backwater," Gabrielle translates. Since when did she speak...whatever language it is that Guardsman Hoki is speaking?

"Must be the slurring," comments Malcolm. He shrugs helplessly at Gabrielle and Hoki alike, smiling cheerily as he leans back in his seat. Malcolm may actually be leaning out into the aisle behind the bar stools, assuming the stools are mere stools as Jon Taffer would reccommend. "So what's got you down, Guardsman?"

Guardsman Hoki says hopelessly with angry, wide drunken gestures. "My leads on Shamareeth have gone cold. He may not be here anymore. Or maybe you were right and he led me on a wild hunt here to get trapped! My home is a so far away your people can barely fathom it. You primatives can barely leave your own solar system, let alone your own galaxy! This is why you should join The Republic and file a request to be Uplifted! Instead of being some happy with being so primative!" she states as she turns to Malcolm and pokes his chest with narrowed eyes.

A kind, musical voice responds, "It's not nearly so bad, once you get to know it, Guardsman Hoki."

An woman glides towards the trio as the bartender cleans another glass with his second pair of hands. He gives a polite nod. Guardsman Hoki stammers, "A-a-ambass...dur...Ambassador!" It takes her a few times.