( open ) arrival

[tailorspy]

Who: Garak and YOU!
What: Arrival and exploring the city
When: First few days after his arrival
Where: Some random abandoned buildings and shops, the hotel
Warnings: None expected


I ▹ INFORMATION

[ One thing Garak has learned can be more valuable than virtually anything is information. The bright orb waiting for him upon arrival was useful, but incredibly lacking in many aspects, and Garak finds himself needing more to know what he's dealing with.

Yes, he realizes that a dying species likely had other things to worry about than just how much information they left readily available for others to come, but that doesn't mean some isn't laying around somewhere. He takes to exploring each and every building, pushing through the overgrown plants to step inside, climbing up stairs where he can manage, poking his head into different rooms as he passes them.

He'll approach any computer screen he finds, and he'll promptly open the nearest control panel to try and see what the circuitry looks like, and if there's any chance to get power running through it again. When that fails, he heads back outside and walks towards the outskirts of the city, trying to find whatever path the power might have once followed, hoping to find some sort of energy central.

The same goes for the plumbing system. At least plenty of people seem invested in getting power back up again, but Garak has a feeling they will all be in dire need of a decent bath sooner or later, and things will get rather unbearable if they don't get the plumbing working again.

If he finds anyone else exploring anywhere he happens to go, he'll smile at them, tilting his head all too politely. ] Greetings. May I ask what you're looking for? Perhaps it's the same as I, and we can help each other.

II ▹ CULTURE

[ Garak has found himself a place to sleep in at the rundown hotel. It's far from perfect, and he fully plans on finding something better eventually, but for the moment it has a door, a mostly intact window, and a whole ceiling. The bathroom has a tub that could be filled with water for a bath if need be, and having pushed the bed frame aside, Garak has gathered a few old blankets and sheets to serve as a small bed by a darker, warmer corner of the room.

He's not sleeping currently, however. Door open, he's sitting on those blankets, legs crossed, hunched over what looks like some kind of electronic device in his hands. He runs his fingers over the screen with a frown on his face, tapping and clicking like he's looking for something...

And then music just starts playing. Garak groans, eyes practically rolling back on his head. ] Oh, useless.

((ooc: Garak is new and can be found pretty much all over town, wherever you'd like to run into him I'm game! Feel free to write your own adventure, or friend/ping me @ extreminator if you'd like to plan something out!))

Comments

[frontierbashir]

[Julian is in another room down the hall, laying down plans in his mind as to how to get the medical facilities up and running when he hears music playing down the hall. Music. And not just any music--it sounds like old Earth music in Standard.

He stands up and goes down the hall, following the music and when he gets to the source and peeks into the room it's coming out of...

Oh Julian wishes so desperately he had a way of taking a holovid once he realizes it's Garak of all people that has Earth music playing from the device sitting in his hands.

Julian leans against the door jamb with a shit eating grin.]

Is that what you arrived with? Is that a padd with Earth music?

[tailorspy]

[ Garak looks up at the voice, eyes widening briefly before letting out a sigh. But of course Julian would catch him right in the act, as they say. Well, at least he's not easy to embarrass, even if he does seem a bit at a loss for just a second there. ]

If you are here just to mock me, then please do spare me, it's enough that this thing ridicules me all on its own.

[ He sighs and fumbles a little with the PADD, changing from the previous song to some soothing opera. It's still human, but it is more tolerable, at least in his opinion. ]

And to answer your question, no, it doesn't just contain Earth music. It also has literature and films. There are a few files of Cardassian music and literature as well, however they're fewer in quantity.

[frontierbashir]

Julian of course can't help but laugh as he steps away from the door further into the hotel room. He looks around to see if Garak has any personal touches to his room yet. It's not difficult to determine why he set his...not a bed so much as a nest--in the location he has.

"Other than despairing at how there's even less excuse to read more Earth literature, how have you been faring?" he asks on a more serious note.

Information

[pileofspirits]

[the figure is seated on the ground, busying away with some little project balanced in their lap, when Garak finds them. they're dressed in an absolute maze of layered fabric--rags and sheets and maybe whole pieces of clothing--all tangled together in a makeshift cloak. it makes anything else about them difficult to make out, until they actually turn enough to look at the stranger over their shoulder.

dark eyes peer up around the edge of their hood at the other man, and they pause in what they're working on: sewing the edges of two ragged pieces of cloth together with a line of neat little stitches.]

--Help each other. [they repeat the words barely a moment after the other man is finished speaking them. then they try again, altering the tone a little.] Help each other?

[tailorspy]

[ Garak waits until the stranger turns to look at him, then he's all smiles, canting his head in something close to a greeting. His eyes drift immediately to what the stranger is working on, but he doesn't ask about it for now, even if his interest is evidently piqued. ]

Certainly, my dear. We are all attempting to accomplish something here, are we not? Namely, trying to make life here a little more tolerable. I've learned that at times combining our efforts will take us much further than doing things on our own.

[pileofspirits]

[the heads of pins stand out as a colorful line of dots against the pale rags of their sleeve, where they're stabbed in and waiting in a nice little row. the whole project is temporarily forgotten though, as this stranger completely distracts the being's attention. it takes them a moment, but they match his smile.]

Are we... not? Are we not? [they like the phrase, their smile quirking a little.] Our efforts are always combined. Right here. Already.

Culture

[kallig]

[The hotel is far from his favorite place. The greenhouse, somewhere near a reliable source of food, or anywhere there isn't people is preferable. Still, the old rundown hotel is by far the safest place, should things go rather spectacularly sideways.

As Altair expects they will, because they always do. He knows enough about his own luck to know that life likes to take a turn down the unexpected. Dead ancestors, starting a cult, Zash, Thanaton, ghosts... And now a dead world after watching an entire planet being consumed. He's more or less prepared for the worst, and knows there is a certain safety in numbers- even if he abhors crowds of any kind.

What he wasn't expecting was hearing music.

The Sith follows the sound, stopping outside the door. His head tilts, just listening for a moment- expression hard to gauge thanks to the veil he wears- one would be forgiven if one thought him blind.]

What an unusual song.

[Nothing like he's ever heard in a cantina, or anywhere else, really. Admittedly he doesn't usually listen much to music- or even visit cantinas all that often. Still. It sounds... Foreign to him. And Altair is curious by nature.]

Pretty, though.

[tailorspy]

[ Garak looks up at the voice. He'd heard someone approaching so he doesn't startle much when he sees them, and he lifts his eyebrows, lips pursed thinly. ]

Unusual, indeed. But most Earth music is rather odd by my standards. And, perhaps, by yours as well.

[ There's a bit of a frown there. Garak's not as quick to agree with the latter, but not because he thinks otherwise-- he just likes being contrary sometimes. ]

That, I wouldn't know about. I think it takes a different sort of... taste to appreciate it.

[kallig]

I've never heard of a place merely called Earth- so I suppose that would make it strange by my standards, yes.

[Curious though. Altair's always been drawn to unusual things, new things, to things he wishes to know more about, to any opportunity to learn. His curiosity has always been with him, though the freedom to indulge in it is something of a more recent development.]

May I? [He gestures into the room- not about to just invite himself in. He values privacy himself, and the stranger may very well wish to be left alone. An open door is not always an invitation, after all.]

Culture

[complicatedliar]

[It's so nice to be able to hear better than humans. It means he catches the sound of that music much further off than he would have while trapped in Proles. Given that it's the first music he's heard while here, he lets curiosity be his guide.

He politely stops in the doorway of the room, at least, seeing that it's occupied. Or not so much stops as lounges against the doorframe.]

That's music I didn't expect to hear here. How... interesting.

[He cocks his head slightly, peering at the person with the device.]

And I don't believe I've ever met any of your people before.

[He was expecting a human. It's nice to see a not-human. Humans get... very snippy sometimes.]

[tailorspy]

[ Garak turns slowly, not surprised by the new visitor. His hearing might not be as acute as a human's, but on the hotel he's gotten used to having people around practically at all times.

It's a little like being on the station, really, although there he had a proper door in his room. The Defiant felt quite a lot more crowded most times. ]

I didn't expect to hear it, either. Our hosts have... a strange sense of humor, I suspect.

[ He smiles and greets the man with a tilt of his head, lowering the volume so they can speak. ]

Not unless you've heard of Cardassians before. That's the name of my species, and I am Garak.

[complicatedliar]

An old-fashioned taste in alien music, at least. [ He wrinkles his nose. ] Humans already think so much of themselves.

[ That's a new one. But there are many universal backwaters he hasn't yet been to. ]

Not familiar, I'm afraid. [ He points his hand back at himself. ] Asgardian. Loki.

A few days after the music thread.

[frontierbashir]

Julian hasn't gone so far as to ask Garak if he's cold or not.

All Julian knows is that he's been fairly comfortable at night, which likely means it's cool for an exotherm like Garak. And of course, they're not certain what kind of climate this place has for long term. It could be pleasantly warm like this for the planet's entire orbit or it could get dreadfully cold or unbearably hot (though the latter Garak likely wouldn't mind).

All the same, he brings his gift over to Garak's room, knocking on the door jamb prior to entering.

"For you," he says, proffering the fleece. Certainly not the prettiest cloth Garak's ever likely dealt with but hard to argue that it at least feels like it would be warm.

[tailorspy]

Julian hasn't asked, and Garak hasn't made a comment on it either. They all have so much to worry about, he doesn't need Julian worrying about his well-being too simply because he feels cold at night. But he does, and he worries it may get worse still. Resources are limited too, so Garak can't always gather the materials necessary to keep himself warm during the night, not without taking from others. If it grows any colder, then he might run into some serious difficulties.

So he is surprised to look up to the door and find Julian there, holding a thick roll of fabric for him. His eyebrows raise, and he smiles as he takes the roll from him.

"What a generous gesture," his lips curl, his fingers stroking the fabric. The quality is dubious but a blanket made from this will no doubt be very warm, and at the moment usefulness trumps aesthetics. "How have you come across this?"

[frontierbashir]

"I took the liberty of requesting something warm for you to work with from our gracious hosts since I wasn't sure you would do so yourself," he teases gently. "I also took the liberty of scanning it and it's simple fleece, nothing untoward about it."

He takes a half a step away from Garak, pleased to see that small, almost genuine smile from him. "We've no idea at the moment what this planet's weather patterns look like yet, let alone seasonality. Better to be prepared prior to needing it."

Culture (Let's handwave the first meeting or canonize what we got on the TDM?)

[brooklyn_boy]

[If anything can summon Steve Rogers, it's old-sounding music. Even though this is beyond his original years by about thirty, he can't help but smile at the sound coming through the hall. Without really meaning to, he stops at the open door and leans against it, listening.]

Not bad. Not what I'd figure you'd like to listen to, but not bad...

making it game canon sounds good to me!

[tailorspy]

[ Garak straightens and turns at the voice, PADD forgotten momentarily. He eases into a faint smile when he recognizes the man, an eyebrow lifting as he tilts his head. ]

You're right, it's not the kind of music I listen to. It seems as though the Agrii have... a peculiar sense of humor, you might say.

[brooklyn_boy]

[ Steve laughs and crosses into the room to reach out for the player of the music. Maybe there's something he knows on there. ]

I've seen that, yeah. I am not sure if they mean to be funny or if they're really that bad with understanding what we want. But either way, there is a reason I haven't gone near that particular Monkey's paw. God knows what I would get if I asked for a mattress.

[He's tempted, though. He really, really wants one sooner rather than later.]

II

[thatsjusttypical]

[ Being in this hotel is like being back in the dorm at college or Starfleet Academy and Bones honestly isn't a fan. Who would be? Especially because the living conditions are awful. He's shuffling down the hall to his squalid room when the music starts, drawing his attention.

It's so strange to hear ancient music here, almost eerie in the ruins of this futuristic hotel. He stops at the door to the room where the music is playing, looking in on the inhabitant. Bones is surprised to find a non-human, one who seems none too pleased that this is what his padd is playing. ]

Hoping for a slow dance? [ He teases. ]

[tailorspy]

[ Garak turns to meet the source of the voice, brow raising at the comment. He glances briefly to the PADD in his hand, then tips his head. ]

Is this the sort of music humans dance to, then? I wouldn't know. I don't often indulge in your music.

[ He looks the man up and down, studying him. He doesn't recognize the face, but something about him still rings vaguely familiar. ]

[thatsjusttypical]

Yeah, a really, really long time again. [ Bones moves slowly into Garak's room, hoping he's not intruding. ] It's the kind of music my captain would use to try to charm someone.

[ It's not terrible, but it's so ancient. Bones can see Jim, vintage lover that he is, trying to set the mood with something like this. ]

Information (backtags are love)

[art_of_war]

Thrawn had been following much of the pipeworks for some time. He had started with the greenhouse (and made mental note of how to employ a greywater system to maximize efficiency there) and traced back to what appeared to be a larger mainline. No obvious cracks yet.

He had removed his white coat and carried that over his shoulder which left him only in a black tank top. Thrawn absently wondered if it might not be a better idea to make use of the planetary weather system that encouraged such profusion in plant growth and switch to a rainwater capture system when he met Garak coming from the opposite direction.

"Greetings. I am unsure of what it is I am looking for only that the greenhouse lacks water to use in their irrigation system. I have been following the pipe in order to find the reason for that lack."

[tailorspy]

Garak notes the man approaching from a distance, slowing down at first, then greeting him with a smile when it's clear he's going to speak to him.

"Then it seems our paths were fated to cross," he comments jovially, glancing back to the path he'd just come from. "I've found what seems to be a leak of sorts, where one or several of the pipes running under the ground are cracked. I think we may be able to get the water flowing again once those cracks are fixed."

Moar fun with irrigation

[tallasaking]

Tyrion Lannister was, quite fortunately, an Engineer in his past life with the Drift Fleet, so he at least knew where to look for power cable and pipes. Some people have already wandered around, looking for the power plant -- but Tyrion is wryly aware that they can't survive without more fresh water to support them, and the greenhouse ... and perhaps a bath.

So he is currently trying to find his way under the fountain itself, or at least to an access hatch, so he can find out where the water is coming from.

The oh so polite question is answered with an oh so polite reply, "I am looking for where the water comes from. If you've got an idea where that is ... well then, you are the man I want to speak with." He looked up at Garak, and you should be thankful this medieval dwarf knows what he is doing when it comes to aliens because he doesn't even blink.

yesss

[tailorspy]

"Ah," Garak tips his head, smiling. He has never met a human quite so short, and he makes the mistake of thinking he's of an entirely different species altogether. But as that is not the main topic of their conversation, he doesn't ask straight away either. "Then you and I share a common goal. I was hoping to find the source of the issue with the plumbing and irrigation system, and how to fix it."

Having noticed the man studying the ground, he asks. "Were you hoping to find access to an underground structure? Maybe we can look together."