Live and Let Liv. (open)

[Anonymous]

"You broke my sim?"

Alesku glared at the skinny Pilot standing in front of him, limbs akimbo, face contorted into an apologetic moue that had to be at least half-parodic.  Of course it was parodic.  It was Sulo.  Alesku had mentored him for all of seven months--some of the most excruciating of his life--and had given up after one too many bad jokes and half-assed attempts at flirtation.

"Honest to jinkins, Mac, I didn't mean it."  Liv grinned up at him.

Alesku raised his eyebrows in return (kid always thought he was so clever), then waved him off and turned to place one hand on the training room control panel.  "Pull up specs on the D8."  Scanning, scanning... "Pattern progress?"  There had been an error with the thing's behavioral loop.  He paused to sift mentally through code, found the source of the error, and shunted it back into place.  Dropping his hand from the control panel, he wiped it across his pants, and watched static flare and crackle into nothingness.

"You should have known better, Sulo.  You can't key in topographical changes without cutting to base code.  Get to me next time, or at least an engineer.  If you don't know what you're doing, don't do it.  It's really not a difficult principle to master."

Liv shrugged expressively and tugged at his forelock.  There was something off about him, that was it.  Avoidant, immature, aggressive--charming, when he wanted to be, but something was wrong.  "I just wanted to go surfing," he said, shrugging in an elaborate parody of nonchalance.

"You--"  It shouldn't have surprised him.  "It's a training sim.  You can't disable the inimical factor because you want--you know this.  I didn't think you'd pull this shit once you were a Pilot, Sulo.  Come on."

The kid was hardly worth his time, but there was something about him--maybe the fact that he was, all else aside, smart enough to be interesting.  Alesku ran a hand through his hair, then down over his chin, thumb smoothing the bristles of his short beard.  They stopped in the break room, and Livos, as usual, headed straight for the coffee machine.

"Cup of tea, thanks."  Alesku took a seat on one of the couches and drew up one leg, rubbing an ache out of his calf.  He had torn through it while he was a candidate, and sometimes, after long exertion, it acted up.  And it had been quite a day, work with Calliope and a quick survey of the Network, then his triweekly run.  Later, he'd take a look at the new electrostatic body armor a tech had been working on for him.

Liv handed him his cup of tea and hovered a little too close, one hand on his hip.

"I know, Pilot Macario, you're gonna say I should have enough of the training sims by now.  I should do more with my fucking Dragon, innit?"  There was something mocking, just a shade, in his voice.  His eyebrows went up as though someone had flipped a switch, and he backed off, blowing on his coffee, to take a seat on the couch opposite.  "Well, fuck me, and I mean that.  Can cut the sexual tension with a spoon.  I know you like me, Macky Alee.  I kicked the shit out of your Arachnid yesterday, I thought it was very respectable, in fact."

Nothing worse than having your own words thrown back at you.  "I realize it's a difficult concept to grasp, Livos, but some people really don't like you."

"You love me."  He turned to a newcomer who'd just passed through the door.  "And you."

[Anonymous]

Soren had been asked earlier that day to take a break from all of her paperwork and brush up a bit on her combat skills.  She could have easily gone and done some simple exercises in her room, but even she knew that wouldn't cut it.  After checking the schedule, twice, she booked one of the simulators and went to work.  It wasn't odd to see higher level pilots coming down to this level to work with the simulators, just to keep their reflexes and trained abilities strong, but she still felt odd being back here.

How long ago had she graduated from candidacy?  More than just a couple of years...but she still felt the edge of uneasiness coming back.  Candidates didn't have it easy by any means...and she hadn't exactly chosen to join the ranks of pilots, that had happened when the government found out about her abilities.  Not that she wasn't grateful or anything...hell, it moved her up in the caste system and put her in a seat of great authority.  Her mother had told her to make them proud the day she had left.  Her older brother had disappeared somewhere in Aedolis the moment he was of age, and that left only her to uphold the "family name."

What a load of crap.  She was sure that the moment she left, her mother had forgotten about her completely and went off to another brothel and another spa and another live-action movie sequence.  With all of that to entertain her, she didn't need children.  In fact, they probably weighed her down while they were growing up.

A free spirit through and through.  A model citizen of Aedolis no less.

So, with nothing else left, Soren had thrown herself into the training regiment with a vengence.  She worked hard and earned her place as a Pilot Noble.  It helped that the government used her for her ability.  It gave her more opportunities than most to prove herself useful and relevant.  

It also left very little free time, unlike a lot of the other pilots she found herself working constantly.  Whether it was to help interrogate, or join her fellow Seekers in trying to weed out those stupid enough to try an uprising in the middle of a bunch of psychics.  Always on her toes, always working...

It was getting a bit old...

Her simulation ended, Soren walked towards the break room, ready to accept some nutrition into her system.  Opening the door she caught a few words of the argument going on between one of the higher pilots and a newbie before brushing past.

Only, she would have brushed past and ignored them had the one pilot not addressed her.

"Excuse me?" she ventured, her blue-violet eyes staring at him incredulously as she rested a bare arm on her hip, blonde hair a bit unkempt from her training session.  He must be very new.  She recognized the other pilot, even though she didn't know his name, but this kid was definitely a new face.

"I'm not sure I'd be capable of loving someone who's decided to force that opinion on me."  She smiled at the older pilot, "Newbie giving you trouble, huh?"

[Anonymous]

"The opinion forces itself, darlin'."  Liv pouted and posed, one hand behind his head, blinking in absurd coquetry.  He didn't try to hide his stare at the Pilot Noble.  "You'll see."  

His former mentor ignored him.

"I'm used to it," was all Alesku said.  He swung his sore leg to the floor and stood up in polite greeting.  Danahugh didn't get out much, but she logged into his sims at quite a respectable rate.  Most Pilots didn't take training sims seriously, or, like Livos, chose to use them as vacation time.  This year he'd work on a new Tartarus model, just for spite.  Well; not spite.  It was quite reasonable to work on new kinds of terrain.  

He tossed off a crisp, if casual, salute.  "Pilot Royal Alesku Macario, and this--"

"--is Liv."  He hadn't moved before, but he got up now, set his coffee down on the table, and made a sweeping obeisance.  "Never mind the title.  Rising through the ranks."  He waggled his eyebrows, straightening up.  "If you know what I mean."  Once it become clear that no one wanted to hear it, he sat down again and sipped at his coffee, staring out at both of them in a parody of petulance, dusting off his pants with his free hand.

Alesku shook his head.  "So how are you?  Running sims?"  He cast her a sympathetic look.  He could respect someone who took as much care with her training as he'd seen Danahugh did.  "I think there's some coffee on, if you'd like."

[Anonymous]

She ran a hand through her hair, the blue streaks separating briefly before falling back into straight fly-away clumps, slightly damp with sweat from her training.  It had been longer at one point, but it was a pain in the ass to take care of, especially with her schedule.  Now all it took was a quick brush-through, a tiny bit of gel, and out the door.  It was also easier to keep out of her eyes and eliminated those annoying fly-aways that tickled but could never be found.

Yes...short hair was far superior...

And she wasn't exactly high-maintenance, that was for sure.  There was too much to do in a day than take hours to get ready.

"Mmmm...." she nodded as Pilot Macario mentioned the coffee, "Sounds delicious."  Stepping past the two men, Soren grabbed a cup for herself, along with a piece of fruit, and headed back to sit in a chair facing them.  The light sheen of sweat glistened along her porcelain skin seemed to draw in the coolness of the air around them, and she found herself quickly returning to a normal temperature.  In fact, she was beginning to feel a bit chilly, and the hot cup of coffee in her hand was perfect.

"Liv, huh?" she asked after taking a sip of her beverage, "Not worth the title, I see" she chuckled, the small smile lighting up her entire face.  It had been a while since she'd actually interacted with others, it was a nice change.  "I'm Pilot Noble Danahugh," she added in response, mostly for Liv's benefit as Alesku most certainly knew her name, "Soren's fine, though.  Gets kinda tongue-twisty when you try to use the full titles all the time."

She took another sip, shifting in her chair to cross her legs before leaning back against the seat, resting the cup on her lifted knee.  Her tight-fitting black slacks absorbed the heat from the glass and disappeared underneath her knee-high black boots.

"Yeah, running sims." she answered Alesku's other question, "They're good, as per usual." she added, "Always willing to work you to death until you get them just right." She took another sip before leaning forward, "What about you two?  I would think that after leaving the candidacy you'd want to stay as far from this place as possible."  She addressed Liv, hoping to better get a glimpse of this new pilot.  Always good to know people, especially in her line of work.  Not that she had any doubts about hit...he was Alesku's trainee after all and he was in the same boat as she.  She had more faith in her co-workers than to question their own work.  Liv was probably just immature and nothing else.  Of course...if he said anything and she sensed his lie....well...that would be a different situation.  She'd have to pull Alesku aside and discuss possibilities.

Sometimes it sucked being able to detect lies...it meant she was always working whether she wanted to or not.

[Anonymous]

Liv sat back and eyed Soren up carefully.   Alesku could tell, by the flicker of his gaze, that he was planning something lewd.  Had he still been his Candidate, he would have said something about it, but as it was he forbore.  It didn't matter.  His business if he wanted to waste his time attentionmongering, really.  At her question, however, he turned a look on Sulo.

He knew, quite clearly, why he stayed in the ATC more often than some Pilots.  Reason one: his surprising dedication to physical fitness, the ostensible reason for all the training sims.  Reason two:  he liked to reprogram the older sims for fun.  Reason three: what Liv had once, in his typically infuriating manner, called 'Treason three'--when Alesku had asked him, when he'd been a Stage Five--he wanted to avoid the other Pilots.

"Fucking with Lesky's sims," Liv was saying, leaning back to get a three-quarter view of Danhugh.  His eyebrows bobbed up and down.  "He doesn't update some and it is simply grand, the things you can do, incidentally, Mack, didja see my record in Transom?"

"I'm going to have them update security on the older sims, actually."  Alesku turned aside and blew on his tea, ignoring Liv's response, which was rather patently crestfallen.  He looked at Soren, instead.  She was far less irritating.  In fact he didn't try to find his former Candidate irritating.  He didn't try to find anyone irritating, and wanted to think the best of people, but sometimes it could be difficult.  He fought down a sigh.  Soren, at least, was undemanding of attention and stuck to her work.  Maybe he ought to do the same.  But he couldn't help but feel that his new positions demanded he take on the responsibility of Candidates.  The more he took, after all, the fewer were left unaccountable to anyone trustworthy.  And  the tinge of treason about the place (the Gospels, but not only the Gospels) made it so that he felt uneasy drifting back from the public sphere.

In any case, he had made his decision several weeks ago, when he had agreed to undergo the testing to become a Seeker; and so the thing was done.  

"I'm here checking up on my Candidates, in any case," Alesku explained.  He caught what felt like a psychic probe from Soren to Liv, and didn't let his surprise show on his face.  Instead he carefully dabbed tea from his beard.  "I recently accepted two, and I'm beginning to feel the strain of my duties."

"Grand ol' mentor," Liv said, leaning over and giving him a grin.  "He kept me for all of half a year, didn't you, Macky?  Not that I mind, I know I was a Difficult Subject."

Livos had been a Stage Five when he had let him go.  He simply hadn't needed more mentoring.  Alesku had performed the crucial service of getting him out of Stage Four, rather than sending him to TRIM.  You might think he'd be grateful.  But he said nothing, as nothing needed be said.

[Anonymous]

Soren shook her head, masking a slight chuckle as she watched the reaction between Alesku and his former candidate Liv.  Just from this first meeting she could tell that he had, more than likely, been quite a handful.  She also foresaw him getting himself into trouble in the future.  He seemed like a person who didn't think before he acted, didn't recognize that some of his banter could, in theory, put him on a potential threat list.  Not that she thought it would actually happen...however likely it seemed, it was merely a first impression.

Other than that, she saw no threat in him.  He just needed to grow up it seemed. At the same time, Soren was almost positive that the only way this one got through the training regiment was due to his mentor.  Alesku didn't mess around, it seemed.  On his own?  Soren didn't think that Liv would have ended up anywhere but TRIM.

But then, she was jumping to conclusions.  Perhaps she was just misreading him.  After all, there were a lot of current pilots who weren't exactly the most thoughtful, nor terribly "good people" so to speak.  But they had all made it through, so...eh....once again just jumping to conclusions.  An interesting personality didn't necessarily mean stupid or that they lacked any type of talent.  

Bah, all of this inner monologuing was tiresome.

"I bet that gets annoying," she remarked to Liv's comment about the sims, her eyes flicking up towards Alesku with a smirk, "Constantly down here fixing what he breaks."  She blew lightly on her steaming cup of coffee and took a tentative sip, wincing as the heat burned the roof of her mouth, along with destroying a few taste buds.  

"Hot" she commented, blinking quickly for a few seconds before shaking her head slightly.

"Updating the security sounds like a good idea.  Wouldn't want unauthorized access, or delinquent candidates ruining the specifications of the programs and destroying the training joys for the other pilots and candidates.  Although, I'm sure many of them would thank you." Her last comment was to Liv, accompanied by a light-hearted wink and a chuckle before attempting another sip, this time more successful than the last.

"And two new candidates?  You must be dying with all the duties you have now.  I haven't taken any candidates, I find it easier to focus on the work I have to get done rather than jumping back and forth between potential pilots who may not even make it this far." she shrugged, "It seems like such a gamble to me, hardly worth it to waste precious time on a candidate that gets sent to TRIM in the end."

[Anonymous]

She had winked at Liv, which was never a good idea.  Now all of his proverbial feathers had ruffled themselves.  Alesku had to speak loudly, or the contented cooing (in fact silent, but he could feel the psychic buzz of absurd smuggery) would have drowned him out.  

"I've never thought it at all useless to 'waste time' on a Candidate," he said, a little sharply.  He paused to take a sip of tea and hoped he didn't come off too harshly.  Sometimes he did--but then, so many people just refused to behave rationally...  "I mean to say, if we did our jobs better, I very much doubt so many Candidates would wind up at TRIM."  

Alesku kept his opinion of TRIM proper quite out of the conversation.  His brother aside.  Well, his brother was just not a respectable person.  It was sad, it was something he'd felt sad about for awhile, but Neelam had floated adrift at some point.  All he wanted was psychic power, which Alesku could attest was only another burden, like all power, like Neel's scientific mind.  TRIM itself--TRIM--he did not agree with their methodology.  He considered it his duty to treat Candidates well and to hold high expectations that were also reasonable.  If they wound up at TRIM on his watch, at least he would know it was, in those cases, really necessary.  

Alesku rubbed his forehead and sighed, then took another careful sip of tea.  "I'm sorry.  I didn't mean--"

"--to leave the stick up his ass while he talked to actual humans," Liv broke in, leaning eagerly toward Danahugh.  "Not that I don't agree in principle, hey Macky?  Still, I'm not sure where using your Candidate as target practice fits in--oh-kay, okay--"  He held up a hand, grinning.  "I'll be fair, I deserved it.  So, Soren... doing anyone, I mean, anything, later tonight?"

Of course Livos would change the subject.  He hated seriousness.  Most people who were avoiding something did, Alesku thought.  He hoped Livos hadn't done something stupid, he thought, glancing at Danahugh again.  Poor woman.  He ought to get to his Candidates soon--Finaa had another extra training session in thirty minutes.  "Be quiet, Sulo.  Go and make yourself useful--I'm sure you've got better things to do than harass your superiors while they're on break."  





[[OOC: tell me if they're talking too much, I can cut down dialogue to let you reply--I just get carried away sometimes ><]]

[Anonymous]

She sighed a little at his sharpened tongue, no doubt a tone he had used many times on his candidates.  Well...she didn't give a damn when he thought really, she didn't like the idea of taking on a candidate and he was in no position to scold her for it.  Ha! If he tried she may just team up with Liv and help to destroy the sims on a regular basis.

That'd be amusing...to watch Alesku freak out....

But it would also be very irresponsible and she barely had time to eat let alone fool around breaking things.  She'd probably be forced to help fix it too....and it wasn't as if she were a cardinal...she was a noble and that would definitely be inappropriate conduct.  Ah well....

It was getting a bit tiresome to be honest....she had risen through the ranks and now was slowly becoming tired of always doing work.  Going out for a drink or something would probably be a good idea.  She knew a lot of people, but no one that well...they were all co-workers and teammates for the most part...and it didn't help that the one person she had really connected to during her candidacy failed miserably and was shipped off to TRIM.

She didn't say anything about it, but she seriously suspected that he had purposefully failed just to get out of the system.  Why he thought that TRIM was better than life in the Citadel she didn't know....

Maybe that was why she was so averse to taking on a candidate...everyon e she saw she could only imagine them in TRIM with him.  It made it very difficult to have faith in anyone who couldn't do it on their own, who didn't have the drive to move forward towards a better life than that of a candidate....

She shook the bad memories from her head and took another sip of her steaming beverage before waving her hand to dismiss Alesku's appology.

"Voicing an opinion doesn't hurt anyone" she replied with a small smile, leaning back in her chair.  She raised her eyebrow at Liv's final comment, wondering how many girls fell for his apparent "charm"-or lack-there-of.

"Hmmm" she mused placing her finger on her lips as she swiveled her eyes into a pensive upward stare.  She purposefully tried to make it look a bit more sensual than need-be.  It was oh-so-much fun to play with the newbies.  Especially ones who seemed like desperate flirts.  Oddly enough it provided enough entertainment to keep herself content in her pilot life.

"Well...I have a date with Marshal, and I was planning on visiting Gabe afterwards...and possibly Sabela...." She brought her eyes back to Liv, "But if you're offering yourself I'm sure that they wouldn't mind if I canceled."  The sarcasm dripped from her lips with her sugarcoated voice that she reserved for tormenting people.  "Afterwards we can go see a movie and dance in field of unicorns!"

Wow...even she didn't know where that all came from.  It was as if a part of her had snapped.  Maybe it was Liv's blatant flirtatious manner that rubbed her the wrong way, or Alesku's stuffiness....

Maybe a part of her was scared that she put so much thought into her work that she might turn out to be like Alesku in a few years....


ooc: wow...lol, so Soren is slowly falling into place xD  She's getting a personality!  Albeit...slowly xD and I'm a really REALLY sorry if that post was all over the place ^^;; it took a long time to get into the groove of things....

[Anonymous]

It took Liv a moment to recover from the unexpected sarcasm.  

"I love unicorns."  He sat back, rubbing at his forehead.  Damn.  She should know there was nothing as fascinating as sarcasm.  Practically an invitation, gilded in acid.  Neither she nor Alesku had figured out, as yet, that all it really took was the cold shoulder, and he'd switch off.  

Alesku stood up with a creaky sigh.  He did not approve of banter--not that he stayed free of its maelstrom around Liv, few people did manage that one; but he sucked all the energy out of it, didn't he.  That was what came of being too tall, and too, well... too Perfectly Pilot.  Premature senescence.  Alesku stretched, touched the chip at his left temple, and ran a hand over his beard.  

"I'll see you later, Danahugh."  Alesku had the two-fingered salute of duty down to a science.

Nothing for Liv, ah well--so maybe he had figured it out.  Liv sat at attention, mimicked the salute, and then sprawled backwards across the armchair once again, one leg kicking idly at the air.  "You do need to get out more, if Marshal's the best you can do."  He struggled up onto one elbow and turned to look at the blond Pilot.  She had such pretty eyes, and she had done the flirtatious thing, in such a beautifully ironical way.  She was fucking with him.  Liv loved it.  "If you're not careful, you'll wind up drinking tea and, you know... fucking your Dragon."