(no subject)

[kree_soldieress]

WHO: Lauri-Ell and You
WHERE: All Around
WHAT: A Day In The Life of a Security Woman
WHEN: Mid April
WARNINGS: small possibility of a structural collapse and getting trapped under it.

1. Queen of Fitness | Civics Center Fitness Rooms

Dawn. Lauri-Ell returns from her patrol routine to the specific place she always to be found in the early morning. The former soldier had been taking care to restore the fitness focused areas of the Civics Center in the past months, and the space definitely showed it now. The time on Coruscant had been helpful in fitting her place better to her tastes. Now instead of worked stone weights for training, she had a few sets of heavy, plasticized dumbbells for people to work with. Nothing compared to the massive wooden log, almost three feet thick and five feet in diameter that she had worked into a shape meant for lifting the edge and flipping for core training, but they were useful anyway. And while there weren't workout machines, she had managed to weave ropes into grids for agility training, long ropes for resistance, and she'd even started the process of building an obstacle course. There were plenty of options for fitness.

The pinnacle of her creation, though, was a room she had taken over off to one side of the main space. The whole floor had been covered with sand hauled all the way from the beach, carefully run through a mesh sieve to keep the larger particles out of. The whole place had been worked down into a nice, relatively soft area for sparring, and there was even a few bags of sand hang from the ceiling for punching. Now if only she could figure out how to make proper mats instead for her sparring space.

Anyone entering would be met with Lauri-Ell there, smiling widely and waving at them.

"Welcome. Do you wish to work out? Spar? I would love to provide assistance."

Billy had said she should find something she wanted to do, wanted to be. And protecting others in every way she can come up with had won out.


2. A Glownie In Need Is A Glownie Indeed | Area of Pink 4

Part of life for Lauri-Ell had always been patrolling Temba. Part of it had come from the fact that, when she had arrived, she had her future Emperor and his Prince-Consort to protect. The rest of it came down to the fact that she was a genetically engineered soldier, and she really just didn't know what to do with herself if she wasn't walking patrols. Which was what she was doing, fully clad in her Accuser armor, the Universal Weapon in hand, and one of the Agrii Security Point guns hanging from a strap at her side. Surely she was kitted out for battle.

What she was not expecting was the distressed noise she heard while walking toward the hangar, or how the noise grew louder and more distressed noises buried under some rubble of the less stable buildings in the area. And that's when she realized what she was hearing.

"A glownie!" the woman gasped, shocked and moving toward the rubble to try and get to where the source was. "I will save you little beast!"


3. Exploring The Ghost of the Past | Pink 25 - Transport Station

Lauri-Ell loved plants, there was no denying that. There was beauty in the fragility of a flower, there was strength in the twisting of a vine, and there was wonder in the wash of green. But here, this place, it was wrong. Lauri-Ell's patrols often led her through this part of the city, eyes watching out for dangerous creatures encroaching in. Today, though, the silence and overgrowth was too much. Too like what she had seen in that New York City where her sister had hidden her during the war. Like the beautiful structure of glass and metal that housed plants where a Cotati had taken a captive little girl named Kit.

It was wrong here. It hurt her to see.

With a sigh Lauri-Ell moved further into the overgrowth, working her way through it. She wanted to see what this structure was, and the plants did not seem to want to let her through.

"I am not your enemy," she told the plants around her. "I wish merely to explore and see what this place was. What it could be. Please, i do not wish to damage you."

They weren't likely to listen.

Comments

[hooliganstatus]

Aeon blinked a little at the argumentative tone, mildly surprised. "I didn't mean-"

Then they rounded the corner, and the sight of the waterfall and the pool took her breath away. She had been in water, of course, but they had all been man-made aquifers, pools, and - in some memorable occasions - supply systems. There had also been the giant reservoir where Trevor had built his underwater lab... but she didn't want to think about that for long, not when she was faced with something that was its polar opposite in every way.

"This is .... beautiful."

[kree_soldieress]

"Yes," Lauri-Ell agreed, nodding briefly at the area. This was a beautiful place. But more than that, it was soothing and warm.

"There are some small side areas that are more private. I cannot determine if they are natural or not.

[hooliganstatus]

"I see. Are those where you like to go?" She was already starting to strip off her jacket, without any signs of self-consciousness.

[kree_soldieress]

"It seems that there are many residents of this place who are more mindful of bare forms than Kree are," Lauri-Ell offered with a shrug. "It would be considered polite I believe."

Still, if Aeon is willing to do so here, so is Lauri-Ell. She has no hesitation in starting to remove her own shirt.

[hooliganstatus]

"I did notice that," she said with a smirk, remembering Eddie's reaction to seeing her. "I can't imagine why. We all have more or less the same bodies. There's no shame in that."

Indeed, she's letting her gaze sweep over Lauri-Ell as they both undress. There's no overtone, no lasciviousness in her voice as she acknowledges what she sees. "You're beautiful."

[kree_soldieress]

It might not be something that others could believe, but there Lauri-Ell was anyway, frozen for a moment by the words. Two words, three if you undo the contraction, that Lauri-Ell had never had offered to her before.

Her cheeks darken to a deeper shade of blue.

"I thank you for your words," she said, her voice a touch shyer than they had been before.

After that she resumed her undressing so she could slip into the waters.

[hooliganstatus]

Once they had both slipped below the surface, Aeon found a place to perch where the rocks made a seat, and leaned her head back to look up into the dark.

"Mmmmmm. You were right. This is very nice. ... You sounded like no one's called you beautiful before. That's a shame. Do people here not like giving compliments?"

[kree_soldieress]

It was very nice, and Lauri-Ell found her own protrusion of rocks to settle on. She just looked at Aeon, not caring to seek the ceiling.

"I have never had those words directed at me. I..."

She bites her lip, looking away.

"It is possible they have. Humans seem to have a way of saying things wrapped in other things I cannot get the knack of. Nothing is said plainly. Kree do not have time for such things. We speak plainly."

[hooliganstatus]

Aeon hummed thoughtfully as her eyes adjusted to the dim light. A stalactite came into view, and she watched as water dripped lazily down to fall into the pool.

"Splish," she said under her breath as it hit the water, smiling, then looked back up at Lauri-Ell.

"I understand. That's kind of a pity, though. It can be fun to play with words. If you do it right, you can have a few different conversations at once. One of the things you learn, being a spy where I'm from." She winked. "I can teach you some of them so you can understand people here a bit better."

[kree_soldieress]

Playing with words confuses meaning though. Lauri-Ell was often confused, or she thought she was clearly missing things. But hte offer is valuable.

"I would like to learn. I wish to better interact with people."

[hooliganstatus]

"Okay." She sat up a little straighter in the water and smirked: in an instant, they were two girls sharing secrets: Aeon's tone was serious but tinged with something playful on the edges. "The key is context. For example: if you have to sneak through a hospital to get something classified, but you have to call someone to give them an update, you can use hospital terms in place of what you really mean. If you say I'm heading to the operating theater it can mean that you're on the way to where the classified thing is kept. The patient is ready for the extraction can mean you have the item in hand. And, of course, once you leave? Operation successful. Anyone around you will think you're talking about an actual patient getting ready for a medical procedure, but you and the person you're communicating with know that you're using code."

[kree_soldieress]

Ah, this makes sense. A very interesting form of talking about a tactical engagement. How interesting.

"Our military extractions are never spoken of in such terms. I suppose it may come from the fact that, against shapeshifters, we never wished to be seen as the ones hiding things."

A Kree should always seem Kree, and they were a straightforward people. Most of hte time.

[hooliganstatus]

"That does make sense," Aeon agreed, understanding immediately and giving Lauri-Ell a small smile as she scooped up some water and let it fall down one arm.

"If you're used to going up against people who can seem like whatever they want, code could just make you seem more like one of them. No wonder you're so straightforward."

[kree_soldieress]

Code was easily mimicked. There were so many ways for Skrull to pose as someone else. The Kree had started using DNA scans, and they had even fooled that.

But...

"No, my 'straightforwardness' comes from the fact that I was a genetically engineered soldier and only ever was that. I have not experienced much."

[hooliganstatus]

"We'll have to fix that." Aeon smiled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye. Of course she was flirting, but she was also thinking of things she could tell Lauri-Ell, things about being a Monican, about her own world. "What other things would you like to experience?"

[kree_soldieress]

Can they fix that? Lauri-Ell smiles. She doesn't mind the idea of learning things from other people. It helps her interact with people better.

"I do not know. I haven't learned a lot of what there even is to learn about."

And so someone willing to take her education under their care would be nice.

[hooliganstatus]

"Well, then. I could certainly help you with things. Maybe we should start with what you do know, so I know what I'm working with."

[kree_soldieress]

What she does know? Well, she's pensive for a moment, tilting her head to consider.

"Can you explain human television?" she asked, frowning. "It made little sense to me. I did watch it, though. There was a show where many women competed for the attentions of a detestable man."

Yes, she still had feelings about how those women deserved better.

[hooliganstatus]

"Oh, that." Aeon laughed, the sound bouncing off the walls of the cavern as she shifted positions to let the warm water work on a different group of muscles. "Television's for all kinds of things. Some people watch it for information and news, but that's never a good idea, because there's no way to verify everything the news anchors say is true. A lot of the time, television news is just propaganda."

She rolled her eyes, remembering one particularly brazen incident when Chairman Goodchild had proclaimed he had nothing to hide, then disrobed on live TV. Right. Nothing to hide that the eye could see. Not that it had been a bad view...

"But there are other programs - the one about the women, we had things like that too. Competitions with no other purpose than to amuse and frustrate the people who watched them, because they wanted things to turn out a certain way. It's not always about affection. Sometimes they compete for money, or freedom, or ... other prizes. And then there are the shows that are just stories being acted out. Some of those are fun, too, but after a while you see enough that you can predict what's going to happen."

[kree_soldieress]

These stories and use of broadcast clearly makes her uncomfortable.

"Compete for their freedom? Why are they not free already? Aeon, I worry about your world."

How could she not worry? Even Lauri-Ell's war-torn culture had allwoed for some degree of freedom

[hooliganstatus]

"I worry about it, too," she said honestly. "Some people on the Monican side of the border wall think crossing over into Bregna means freedom ... a better life. But they don't realize that Bregna's just a machine, meant to make everyone act and think the same. They don't know that what they're really looking for over there turns out to be the opposite of freedom. It's part of what I fought for: the chance to show everyone the truth."

[kree_soldieress]

"That is a beautifully noble cause for which to fight," Lauri-Ell says, his voice soft and truly full of awe. "I wish your noble quest success when you return home."

Truth, justice, and protecting those who cannot protect themselves, even from their ignorance. That's what she stands for. So hearing Aeon fought for that was very beautiful for her.

[hooliganstatus]

She'd never been called noble before, let alone beautifully noble. Whereas Lauri-Ell was unaccustomed to being complimented on her appearance, Aeon was hardly one to have been complimented on the intent behind her actions.

"I - oh. ... Thank you." Maybe it was the hot spring, but she felt warmth rise to her cheeks. "I don't think anyone's ever called it a quest before. More like a mission."

[kree_soldieress]

Ah, but a warrior should always be complimented for their cause for battle. And since Kree were warriors, that was a more inherent compliment to reach for than any talk of appearance.

As for the quest versus mission thing, Lauri-Ell smiled and shook her head.

"Did someone appoint the task to you?"

[hooliganstatus]

"Yes and no. I joined the Monican rebels when I was younger, and they trained me. Gave me objectives. ... After a while, I learned to look for what had to be done on my own. But I still followed what I was taught. A little like you, in that regard, I guess."