trickking: (This man could power a fucking city)
Emperor Lotor ([personal profile] trickking) wrote in [community profile] nexus_crossings2018-06-08 01:01 am

+1 Space Cat-Elf

There was a great deal of aggravation attached to this. This whole 'I was just trying to walk across the hall and get to the map room and instead I've ended up in the middle of an alien planet' thing. That was obnoxious.

Also, being unable to contact help. Reaching past obnoxious into the land of Frankly Very Concerning. Thank goodness there was no laser fire, explosions or Giant Angry Not-Dead Sendak about the immediate area or this would definitely have to be upgraded to Real Bad Time.

As it is, things are currently mired in Concerning, though one might never guess what level of Concern Lotor was hitting, his expression as he stood in the plaza nothing short of deeply unimpressed. If there was any fear to be had, it was quite expertly concealed, the former renegade spending a few moments examining the area in general, inspecting the computers with an apparent sense of idle ease, before finally moving to hail a passerby.

"Excuse me, if I may have a moment of your time? I'd like to know how to leave."
auspex_caelo: (Taking heed)

[personal profile] auspex_caelo 2018-06-09 12:48 pm (UTC)(link)
The gods only know what sort of elf this man is, but any kind is worth keeping a careful watch on. He has the attention of a nearby human wearing some rather old-fashioned armor, though in deference to the weather he's not bothering with a cloak. Rather than a helmet there's a red hood draped around his shoulders, and he carries no obvious weapon but a short knife at his belt. He was already watching the newcomer quietly, and doesn't seem surprised to be approached- although the way that question is phrased makes him look thoughtful.

"Generally one returns the way they came, or else acquires a device called a PINpoint. The difficulty of the latter is that they do require you to have appropriate, ah, co-ordinates for your destination already. They are better for returning here than escaping in the first instance."
auspex_caelo: (Explaining)

[personal profile] auspex_caelo 2018-06-10 12:25 pm (UTC)(link)
"Provided your co-ordinates re of a form the device recognizes, and no magic seeks to block your return." He regrets the simplicity of it, right now, since he's not sure whether he wants this particular man coming and going, but everything he's said is freely available information and one may as well be seen as helpful.

Still, his answer to the latter question is simply to nod and beckon the elf to follow him. All the better to buy time while he asks, "Where is it you arrived from, if I may ask? You seem less disoriented than many new arrivals."
auspex_caelo: (Taking heed)

[personal profile] auspex_caelo 2018-06-11 09:25 pm (UTC)(link)
Stratos has a great deal of sympathy for anyone who panics on finding themselves on a plane where they don't belong, but he does admire anyone who can keep a cool head under those circumstances. It's possible that this man, like many people from Earth, doesn't know enough about interplanar travel to be afraid, but since he really does look elvish Stratos expects he knows a thing or two. His bearing suggests he's just that confident in his own ability to handle matters.

They're each taking note of the other's ignorance: there's no sign the newcomer recognizes the Imperial uniform, nor any attempt to question or confront Stratos. He's also terribly polite for a foreign elf, which says a great deal about either his attitude or his cunning. Stratos is more inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt after he introduces himself, since it's looking less and less likely this man has anything to do with the enemies of his Empire.

"No need to apologize. I am Stratos Caelus." He pauses his steps as he speaks, bowing his head politely to the other man. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance. I must confess, I almost took you for one of the elves of my own realm, but your Empire is quite unfamiliar to me."
auspex_caelo: (Smile)

[personal profile] auspex_caelo 2018-06-13 12:22 am (UTC)(link)
"Certainly, if you'll indulge my questions in return." He smiles slightly. "Exchanging knowledge of far-flung realms is one of the great pleasures of this place, for those of us with an interest in scholarship."

He's guiding Lotor across the plaza to a row of freestanding vending machines without any visible power source. One of them has rows of small gadgets stocked behind its front window. It also has a small crow clinging desperately to the main panel, hanging practically upside down as it tries to work its beak inside the coin slot. It cocks an eye up at the approaching men, and the next thing it's darted out of sight in a flash of inky feathers.

"These are PINpoints," Stratos explains with a gesture. The devices for sale have a variety of different styles, but they all look like basic things with a keypad and a small screen. "This is the swiftest way to acquire one, though it does require some coin."
chiron_survivor: (that's good news isn't it?)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-10 02:25 am (UTC)(link)
Sitting at one of the computers is a young woman who is watching a video about honeybees and taking some notes in a small notebook. She startles a little at the 'excuse me', but by the time Lotor finishes asking his question, he has her full attention.

"Oh... um. Well, that depends." She smiles at him hopefully. "Do you remember the path you took to get here? Usually, if you retrace your steps, you'll walk back through the portal that brought you here."

If not, she's going to have some disappointing news for him.
chiron_survivor: (oh!)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-10 02:46 am (UTC)(link)
It's impossible to know if he's being sincere or merely putting on a brave front, but he doesn't seem put off by the idea, so she keeps her smile, relaxing a little in her seat.

At least until he asks his next question.

"Oh!" She frets a little with the pen in her hand, scribbling out a small doodle in the corner of her notebook. "It's not a planet, it's called the Nexus. A kind of, um... interdimensional crossroads." She sits up a little. "There are pamphlets, if you haven't already gotten one. And, um, an informational video... I can queue it up for you, if you like."
chiron_survivor: (reporting for duty)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-10 01:10 pm (UTC)(link)
"Nice to meet you, Lotor. My name's Adia." Unlike her nervous fidgeting over having to explain the Nexus to a newcomer, she seems quite comfortable in the presence of an alien. (Or maybe an elf? One can't be too sure with those pointy ears.) There's no sign of recognition when he introduces himself, however.

Turning back to the monitor, she puts the bee video on pause and opens another tab in the browser. For an advanced interdimensonal hub, this particular terminal seems woefully out-of-date, but she navigates it easily enough. "My friend S-- ah, I mean, Captain America, he made a video for people who are new to the Nexus. People come here all the time, usually accidentally, so, um... it seemed like a good idea..."

A couple of clicks of the mouse later, and a video begins playing. Adia scoots her chair back so that Lotor can get a good view of the screen without crowding over her shoulder. When it's over, she looks up at him again curiously. "Was that helpful? Um... where are you from? Where were you right before you ended up here?"
chiron_survivor: (not sure about that)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-11 01:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Um... I think it's his military rank? Or was, anyway..." She ducks her gaze sheepishly while the video plays. The truth is, she doesn't know much about Steve's alter ego. The conversations they have usually revolve around his domestic life. "He's a superhero on his world, so it's a kind of honorary title now."

She looks up at him again when he explains his point of origin, her expression brightening. So he is an alien. Unless he's an elf that happened to be in space...

"That's a good point. I was on my ship when I somehow ended up here, and it didn't trip any alarms, either." She shrugs thoughtfully. "I don't think portals here work the same way. The only thing I've noticed is that they tend to stabilize if they're used frequently, but other than that, there isn't a lot of rhyme or reason to them. Is that a common thing where you're from? Rifts opening?"
chiron_survivor: (reporting for duty)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-11 01:56 pm (UTC)(link)
"Um... America's military?" She doesn't sound terribly sure about that, despite the country being right in his title. She smiles apologetically, folding her hands into her lap. "I'm, um... well, most of the humans around here are from a planet called Earth, but I'm not. Well, not originally. I'm not as familiar with Earth history as I'd like to be. I know that he's saved the world a couple times. He's a great guy, I'm sure if you ask him, he'll explain it much better than I can."

It sounds as though rifts in space are a dangerous thing where Lotor comes from. His confusion makes all the more sense -- although who wouldn't be confused on their first visit to the Nexus? "It's probably a different phenomenon, then. Honestly, this place... it has its own rules, and even those rules can be broken on a moment's notice." At least no one's getting atomized. Yikes.

Once Captain America's video loops back to the beginning, she closes the tab, then returns her attention to Lotor. She has a number of questions, too, as he's the first alien of his kind that she's met, but she's reluctant to ask anything, not wanting to accidentally offend him. "Are you, um... is there an Earth, where you're from? Or humans?"
chiron_survivor: (ha ha that's funny)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-12 03:49 pm (UTC)(link)
Adia doesn't find the naming convention nearly as silly, but she tends to take other people's titles at face value. "I think he's supposed to be a symbol for the people he serves. The colors he wears are the same as the American flag. But, um, yes, it'd be good to ask him instead." And maybe she should ask him, too, when she gets the chance. She's a little embarrassed that she doesn't know more about what Steve does for a living.

"The portal on my ship vanished, so I haven't had much experience with them, but there are people here who create portals. They might know more." As for the subject of reality, she's back to fidgeting with her pen, her gaze drifting over the Plaza at large. "Well... that depends what you mean by 'stable'. There are lots of people who live and work in the Nexus, but buildings can sometimes move around... a store will pop up out of nowhere, for example, or a landmark might change position. There's an anti-violence field, but it fails on occasion... and there's a lot of magic. Stuff that can play fast and loose with the laws of nature and physics." She laughs nervously, as if apologizing on behalf of the weirdness of the Nexus. "It bumps up against my training as a scientist all the time, trust me. But you get used to it."

She looks up at Lotor again when he speaks, her curious smile returning. "How funny that your universe has an Earth, too. It was a myth in my universe for a very long time." She's not the least bit offended by being indirectly labeled 'primitive', assuming that Lotor's people are highly advanced as opposed to arrogant. His assessment of humans makes her giggle, more naturally this time. "Thanks, we try our best. What, um, species are you, then? What do you prefer to be called?"
chiron_survivor: (not sure about that)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-12 08:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"I only used it once," Adia explains. "It probably destabilized." Good thing, too. The last thing the Nexus needed at the time was spillover from a vicious human-Cylon war. "I got myself a PINpoint. Do you see those vending machines over there? One of them has PINpoints. They're like miniature teleportation devices, and you can send texts, too."

She puts down the pen and pulls out of her pocket what looks like a smartphone except that the Contact List includes places as well as names. "See? You can save where you've been and teleport back there. There are lots of different kinds, too, so it's easy to find one that blends in with your world's level of technology."

As for the anti-violence field, her uncertain look returns. "Ideally, it prevents anyone from being injured by anyone else. Weapons don't work, and you can't hit someone, either. The field is strongest in the Plaza. It can be spotty elsewhere, like in the Wilds. Unless you meant, um... well, I don't know the mechanics of it. Powerful enough magic can disrupt it. Once in a while someone tries to take over the Nexus, but it never ends well."

At least she can definitively answer questions about her origin. "Leonis. It was one of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol." She blinks when he refers to himself as a hybrid. Two kinds of alien in one! "Yes, I'd like that, thank you. I haven't met either of your kind before."
chiron_survivor: (thoughtful but hopeful)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-13 06:13 pm (UTC)(link)
"A little." Of this she sounds confident -- of what she knows, she knows well. "It works in a similar way to my ship's jump drive. Teleporting takes a great deal of processing power, though, so the fact that it's in such a small device is really impressive."

The fact that he keeps his hands to himself does not go unnoticed. So polite! She smiles up at him. "You know, I can go back to my research whenever. Would you like to head over to the vending machines so you can see your options? There's a coffee machine, too. Or, um... another machine has cold drinks, if you'd prefer that."

She pockets her PINpoint, her gaze only leaving him for a moment. "A throne room? Are you royalty? Or, um, in the military?" There's a definite regality to the way he caries himself; she doubts he's in the throne room polishing the floor or taking dictation.

When he mentions the constellation, she grins. "Yes. Well, sort of. The name comes from the same meaning." She's had enough time to get used to these sorts of coincidences, so she doesn't comment further. Instead, she looks over the two holographic images, noting their similarities and differences, then up at Lotor again. He seems to have inherited the Altean build, which is a good look for him. "Is it -- uh, I mean." She blushes a little, wanting to ask her question delicately. "How common are hybrids between the two?"
chiron_survivor: (Default)

[personal profile] chiron_survivor 2018-06-14 02:28 pm (UTC)(link)
He seems amenable to heading over there together, so she logs out of the computer and begins putting her things back into her messenger bag, pausing when he asks about coffee. "Paladins?" she repeats. It's a word she's heard before, but only in the context of fantasy. (Well, and her friend's world, which might as well be a fantasy, what with all the magic it contains.)

But, anyway. How to explain coffee. "It's a drink made by roasting coffee beans and then grinding them into little granules and then brewing them with hot water. It's a little bitter, but if it's brewed well it's more mellow-tasting than anything. It has a chemical called caffeine in it that's a stimulant for humans." She frowns thoughtfully. "I'm not sure what effect it would have on you. How similar is your physiology to a human's?"

It's a question she kind of regrets asking, because lo and behold, he's an emperor. Nexus is the great equalizer, but even so, she worries if she's been asking him anything too personal. The fact that the Alteans are nearly extinct speaks to a greater tragedy that she can only guess at.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she says sincerely. "About the Alteans." It reminds her of Hera, a little girl on her island who is the only living human-Cylon hybrid. She wonders for a moment if he'd like to hear about her, then dismisses the idea. He's not asking her for any sort of sympathy. "So... what's it like being an emperor? We don't have any royalty on Atlantis."
juststeverogers: (beard steve wut)

In light of certain other threads here I couldn't resist

[personal profile] juststeverogers 2018-06-11 01:33 am (UTC)(link)
The man Lotor gestures to seems to be deeply engrossed in swiping his finger across some sort of small handheld device, brow furrowed in intense concentration while he works out the text he's sending to someone or another. Look, technology and Steve Rogers have a shaky sort of relationship, okay? He has to take his time with it.

Steve looks up after only a moment and offers a small smile toward the stranger.

"Leave back to where? The plaza? Or do you mean the Nexus in general?"
juststeverogers: (Beard smile profile)

WWII propaganda mostly

[personal profile] juststeverogers 2018-06-11 01:53 am (UTC)(link)
He does a better job of it than any other hundred year old man would with the same technology. This stuff might be well outside of Steve's time, but he's learned to pick most of it up pretty alright.

"Oh. Uhm, well that sort of depends on where you came in from." Steve gives a slightly embarrassed glance around the plaza but that ostentatiously huge screen isn't within line of sight and that's probably for the best considering who Lotor's decided to hail for directions here.

"You're not from any Earth I know, so most any door I'm aware of won't do you any good. We'd have to find yours to get you back."
juststeverogers: (beard steve hand over mouth)

[personal profile] juststeverogers 2018-06-12 03:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"Oh! You're from space!!" He's as eager as whatever the Galran equivalent of a golden retriever who was just told 'walkies' is. Steve's eyes light up and he nods eagerly. "I have a friend who's based in space, though ah--I don't think it's anywhere near that. She's still around Earth even if it's not the same one as mine."

"At the risk of over simplifying things, magic usually." Steve gives a bit of a shrug there. "It really does seem to be kind of random what doors lead here and when. You're taking it pretty well though. Inter-dimensional travel a thing much where you're from?"
juststeverogers: (beard steve wut)

[personal profile] juststeverogers 2018-06-13 12:48 am (UTC)(link)
"Have they? Wow, that's impressive. I know of other races who come from other planets in my world, but humanity's only ever lived on Earth so far as I know. Are they--I mean. Are we? Friends of your peoples? Allies?"

Trust the soldier to probe into things he may or may not want to know the answers to. He doesn't seem to have any duplicitous intentions behind asking though. The same eager curiosity from before still lingers behind every word.

"Well, you'll adapt quicker than most then. The Nexus is a kind of hub in between different times, dimensions, and worlds. Come on, you can't have gone far from your door. I can help you look for it if you think you can retrace your steps."
juststeverogers: (Captain America (No helmet))

[personal profile] juststeverogers 2018-06-14 03:47 pm (UTC)(link)
"I know the feeling of being pulled outta time and space at what can only be described as 'an inopportune time' better than you'd think."

Steve's own initial trip to the Nexus had been jarring enough, and that was before he put a plane into the Arctic to snooze out half a century or more in his own world. Being out of place is pretty much Steve's entire lot in life.

"My name's Steve, by the way. Steve Rogers. I shoulda introduced myself sooner but I got distracted by the idea of space travel. Sorry." The man gives a sheepish tiny shrug of his impressive shoulders there.