revivalproject | ( open ) arrival

Entry tags:

( open ) arrival

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!))

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[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?

[ 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.

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.

He really hasn’t had enough time to personalize the space. He’s been worried about other things in any case, namely looking around and determining what, if anything, can be done to get electricity working and water running again. There is a handful of flowers perched on a broken vase but that’s about it.

“Considering the current circumstances, I suppose I can’t complain,” he tilts his head to invite Julian further into the room, getting to his feet. “I wish I’d gotten something more useful than this, but I suppose it is what I had on me at the time of my arrival here.”

He spots the flowers and a small smile sneaks unbidden onto his lips. Always attempting to go for aesthetically pleasing, regardless of conditions. How very like him.

Julian walks further into the room at the invitation to stand beside his friend.

"It seems like there are at least plans in place to get things up and running--it would be exceedingly difficult to ask that anyone around here write classics-level literature for our entertainment or music that would bridge space and time like you have there," he tries to reassure to some degree. Yes, having entertainment of any sort is likely to become more valuable with time if they remain here.

If they do stay here for any longer period of time, then there will be more things decorating the room eventually, as Garak explores the other buildings and collects things that he finds pleasing to the eye. For now, the little flowers are the single personal touch livening up the room.

"I've noticed. Many of the people here seem intent on working together to get electricity running again. Few though they are, there's a sense of unity that you likely find very reminiscent of your Starfleet," he points out, an air of teasing to his tone. He looks back to the PADD when Julian mentions the importance of culture and lets out a hum.

"Maybe so. I only wish the inspiration was more Cardassian than Human, alas it seems I am stuck with mostly strange music I don't quite understand. At least this--" he gestures vaguely, to mean the opera playing in the background. "Is more impressive. Your dancing songs are quite varied, however. Too varied, if I may say so. How can you dance to some of those truly is beyond me."

"Oh, you can't fool me into thinking that if everyone here were Cardassian they wouldn't be doing the same thing. We all need to pull together in situations like this." Sometimes he thinks he'd like to meet and speak to more Cardassians just to get a more varied outlook on the race as a whole. Garak likes to make them seem much more cutthroat as a people, but Julian suspects there's more overlap with Federation ideals than he's letting on.

Julian laughs at Garak's grumbling. "Of course you do. It will do you some good to listen to different types of music and read more Earth literature," he teases. "Perhaps you may even learn to appreciate it with such a limited stash to choose from."

There's an urge to roll his eyes at that, particularly given what he's recently lived through. Who knows how each one man thinks on his own, but Cardassians in general have somehow managed to do exactly what Garak expected of them while disappointing him with those same actions. It's complicated.

"And you, my dear doctor, can resume reading some of our finest classics. Maybe you'll gain a finer appreciation for Cardassian works. If you wish to learn more about us, then you should start there."

"Oh, I wouldn't want to take your padd from you," he tries to gently deflect. He's continuing to tease of course--he will want to have something to read eventually and if it means they can have some semblance of normalcy with conversations about Cardassian literature, he will gladly take the opportunity.

"Nonsense, my dear," he answers almost immediately with a lilt to his tone, all sweet, kind smiles at Julian. "I'm sure I can stand to part with it for a few days, if not longer. Or you can simply come by my modest little corner whenever you are overcome by the need for truly superb literature."

He laughs at their game.

"Well, how can I refuse such a generous offer?" He had to concede defeat on this. Not to mention he wouldn't mind having something to do in the evenings since the padd is backlit when it gets dark.

"Are you looking for me to stop by more often?" he teases.

"I was hoping you wouldn't," he retorts with a pleased smile. It's a victory of sorts, and he's always happy about those.

He holds his hands behind his back with an evasive expression. "Would it bother you if that was what I was doing?"

"Not at all," he replies airily. "I thoroughly enjoy our time together after all." He's not sure exactly what Garak is getting at but he'll play along.

There's a slow pause there, then Garak tilts his head slightly. "Then please take it as an invitation to come by anytime you like. I greatly enjoy your company, as well."

There's something in that pause that Julian isn't exactly sure how to read. Like what Julian had just said was unexpected and Garak was taken aback by it. Interesting.

"I'd like to extend the same invitation to you, although there's nothing as entertaining in my quarters." No, he'd been attempting to use the dust and a stick to write things down--he needs something proper to write with.

It's not that it was unexpected, necessarily. He simply wonders sometimes, whether Julian fully understands the scope of his words. He always did strike Garak as a little naïve at times, even if the years have favored him greatly in that regard.

Well, in many regards. He keeps that little thought to himself for now.

"There is you," he points out, eyebrows raised. "But you're right, different forms of entertainment are scarce around here. I have a feeling this little device might become quite popular in time, should people learn of its existence."

His eyebrows raise in mild surprise. Garak has rarely been so...straightforward.

He knows Garak sees him as someone different than others on the station--sure perhaps initially as the most naive one, but Garak is not one to waste his time doing things he doesn't somewhat enjoy. But he won't come right out and say he enjoys it--he'll just keep doing it. Their lunches, his tailoring business, reading Earth literature...

It's jarring to hear him state it so plainly aloud.

He recovers quickly. "I suppose then once we have the basics and necessities up and running, perhaps finding a way to ensure others are entertained is another priority, else morale will go downhill quickly. And I'd rather not lose that padd, all things considered."

There is a time for everything, he has come to learn. Granted, he does prefer being vague and ambiguous most of the time, if only to confuse people, but right now it's also very entertaining to see the look on Julian's face when he's this direct and straightforward. Not such a bad idea to do it once in a while, if only to get that boggled reaction coming from him. It should keep him on his toes too.

"This place is very rundown, even with the best and brightest working on it things will be... difficult," he starts. "Morale is going to be low at times, we won't be able to avoid it entirely. I do see your point, but I can't let this device go around, leaving it in the hands of strangers. Maybe, should we have electricity again, we can find a way to share the information on it. Films shown on larger screens, or music played aloud for everyone to hear."

"I agree with you completely for once," he teases. Yes, he'll have to make sure he monitors everyone's psychological well being as well as physical. It could make all the difference while they're stuck here.

"In the meantime, it seems like our kidnappers are attempting to appease us with fulfilling requests. I think at the very least playing cards may be something reasonable to request, in addition to tools."

[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?

"Is that so?" Garak's brow raises, admittedly surprised by that piece of information. "Not any request, though, I take it? Otherwise I'm sure the town wouldn't be in such a state."

[ 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.

[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.

[ Garak's smile widens. He does so appreciate it when people seem friendly. Granted, he enjoys a good argument as much as the next Cardassian, but this is an easier, more traditional way of making allies. Something that can only be beneficial in a place like this. ]

Ah, but not always. Sometimes people turn against one another for a multitude of reasons. Given our current predicament, I can only imagine petty reasons for anyone to refuse to work together, but pettiness is unfortunately a common ailment in many a universe out there.

[ Elim Garak, you so can't talk about being petty, but anyway. ]

What is that you're working on?

[their smile fades for a moment while they blink and appear a little lost. it takes them a pronounced few seconds to look down and seemingly figure out what the man might be asking about, and while they do, they mumble aimlessly under their breath.]

Petty.. Pretty. Pretty petty...

[ah, and then something clicks and they're all caught up again. with hideously dirt-stained fingers, they pick up their sewing project and hold it proudly in front of themself: just two mismatched pieces of fabric stitched neatly along one edge, with the needle now dangling precariously from the strand of thread they'd been using.]

Sewing. It's for us.

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