6504/Surprise! You're Going Out to Eat Tonight

Surprise! You're Going Out to Eat Tonight
Date of Scene:	02 May 2019
Location:	Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse
Synopsis:	Three people find themselves at the Bar and Grill at the Edge of the Multiverse.
Cast of Characters:	Inga, Rean Schwarzer, Staren

---

Inga has posed:
Ah, this restaurant. She'd been many times, though absolutely never on purpose. She walks through the entrance looking vaguely surprised, then slightly annoyed, fading quickly to comfortable ambivalence.

The petite, white haired woman leans on her walking stick as she ambles toward a nearby table and takes a seat, a cup of tea soon arriving to keep her company. She's dressed in a long dress of blue wool over an underdress of white linen, the sleeves rolled up and an apron tied around her middle that is slightly smeared with an herbal smelling paste. Her long hair is tightly braided over one shoulder. "I suppose I was hungry..." she grumbles to herself, looking at the menu and wondering why she even bothers. There should be pictures or something!

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
A black-haired teenager walks through the resturant's doors, looking rather bewildered. This definitely wasn't where he was trying to go.
"...Oh." he mutters, glancing around. Still, he was pretty hungry anyway, and a random resturant worked. He walks further inside, draping his red blazer over the back of a nearby chair. The menu has a lot more food on it than he was expecting, and he actually can't pick anything. There's an elderly woman sitting at the table to his left, and so he leans over and asks,
"Have you eaten here before? This menu is huge, and I can't decide..."

Staren has posed:
MOMENTS AGO:
    Staren wakes up. The gel is draining out of the pod, leaving him dry before he climbs out, steps onto a rug on the faux stone floor of his ship and gets dressed from a nearby locker.

    Then the hunger hits.

    Nanomachines brought nutrients to his blood, but his body's stomach was left empty while he wasn't in it. Staren looks at the door to the aft of the ship, concentrates on that hunger, and steps through.

NOW:
    Staren steps into the Bar and Grill, glancing around with a smile and striding into the eating area just a touch eagerly. And he sees a familiar face! "Inga!" He steps up to the table next to her. "Haven't seen you in awhile!" He looks from her expression to the menu. It takes him a moment to get it. "You know, you could get some kind of reading device like Toph had... or perhaps ask for a menu with pictures? They should have one..."

    And hey, there's a new guy! Staren looks him over briefly, then flags down a waiter. Waitress? Server. It can be hard to tell with some of the species working here. "I'll have a sweet iced tea and double quarter pounder with cheese and the special sauce. And an order of fish and chips for the new guy." If Inga doesn't say anything specific, he adds "And a menu with pictures."

    Then Staren takes a seat across from them, then leans forward with his hands folded on the table. "So, how've you been? And new guy, are you new to the Multiverse too or just never been to the Bar & Grill before?"

Inga has posed:
It is a very good thing she cannot read minds because she's been mistaken for an old woman /far/ too often lately. What does she need to do, wear pigtails? Honestly.

Inga looks over toward the young man that just arrived and smiles to him over her tea. "I've never had anything here that isn't to my liking--the seafood is generally quite good if you can overlook wondering exactly where it comes from," she answers.

"By the look on your face," she continues, "you didn't mean to end up here. That happens. I don't think I've ever actually come here on purpose. Suppose they have to get clientelle somehow," she offers with a shrug.

Indeed, the woman does not appear to be old once you see her face clearly. Nearly flawless pale skin, not a wrinkle in sight unless she's furrowing her brow, which is quite often to be fair. Keen, hazel eyes, dark lashes and pink lips--she's not old, and actually rather pretty.

Blinking, she turns and looks toward Staren, smiling. "Staren, nice to see you. We did say we needed to catch up, hmm?" she greets. She waves a hand dismissively at the menu. "It's alright, I'll just be getting the fish. And one to go," she adds to the server. She already has tea. The server looks slightly confused to see the teapot and cup, because he doesn't remember bringing it.

Staren has posed:
    The catman agrees, "The seafood here is great, I just feel like a burger today. Hmm, catchup..." He looks to Inga and tries to remember the last time they talked.

    N'Raha helping her move things from Harry's apartment. Oh, right. His smile fades, his ears splay and he looks down at the table for a moment, then back at her, putting the smile back on. "Sssooooo, what have you been up to... lately? With me just the... usual I guess, helping people in different worlds. There's that new place with superheroes that's gonna turn into an inter-universal incident any day now, and Lilian's world with the weird monsters, and the new Mitakihara..."

Inga has posed:
Inga watches Staren's expression change and she doesn't need to be a mind reader or a Seer to know what he's just reminded himself of. She looks away and sips her tea. Either someone told him, or he'd put the pieces together himself. No one has ever mentioned it. Raha is the only person she's really talked about it with. She purses her lips slightly, wondering if she should say something...then just shakes her head slightly, allowing the conversation to move on.

"All that seems..exciting. New place with superheroes?" she asks, to begin. She's not clued into any of those things, she doesn't think.

"I've just been...doing the usual, I suppose. I help Raha when things pop up in Eorzea, and there's the business in the North with the ghosts. Complicated situation, that."

Staren has posed:
    "Ah, well..." Staren starts to reach into his pocket to pull out a tablet with reports on Brockton Bay, but immediately catches himself. He just sort of lamely drops the hand to his side, the other still on the table. "Brockton Bay. It's a place where people just started developing... supernatural abilities one day, and the government and society have tried to cope by enforcing a sort of code. Heroes don't kill, and as long as a villain doesn't kill they /might/ not get sent to the super-power-proof-jail that noone ever comes back from. Unless they're someone just born with a power they can't control, then they get tossed right in and noone cares."

    Staren drums his fingers on the table. "As you can imagine, the Concord takes a dim view of such practice, and with how elites from the rest of the Multiverse aren't all used to holding back -- and indeed might deem it too dangerous for others to allow an opponent in a fight to continue living -- and the villains who are no doubt itching to go out into places not used to them, the whole thing is an inter-dimensional incident waiting to happen."

    Staren frowns as he speaks, then his ears perk up again and he looks mildly curious, tilting his head to one side slightly. "Ghosts, you say?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Rean nods. "Yeah...I was trying to get back to school, but the portal dropped me here instead." He shrugs. "I was thinking about having dinner once I got back anyway, so I guess it all worked out." The old lady isn't actually old at all, and just has light hair like one of his classmates. Oops. Her complexion is really nice. She takes good care of herself, it seems.

Somebody else walks in, a man with brown hair and...cat ears? And a tail, too! The man greets the white haired lady, and joins the two of them at the table.

"Uh...Thanks." Rean says, pouring a cup of tea for himself and trying not to stare at the guy's ears.

Rean furrowed his brows. The Multiverse? Did he mean the other worlds? "Both." He says, taking a sip of tea. "The portal at my school popped up about a week ago, and I thought I'd poke my head in to see where it takes me." He probably should've told the others where he was going before jumping in, but it was a bit too late now. "Anyway, my name's Rean. And you two are?"

The conversation drifted to all sorts of places, and people the both of them knew. One of the worlds was having some problem with people with supernatural abilities, and their rather agressive manner of handling them. Rean glanced down at his tea. It sounded like a world he'd be better off staying away from if possible. however, a name came up that caught his attention.

"The Concord?" Rean asks.

Inga has posed:
Inga listens, blinking. "Yes, that sounds...annoyingly complicated," she replies. Inga comes from...simpler, more brutal times, morally. It's still an adjustment. She doesn't understand the whole 'heroes don't kill people' thing. Totally foreign concept.

"Mmm, some people put out the call for help with their world. Some very...complicated problems they needed more people willing to assist with. We crossed into a place wher the underworld and the realm of the living overlap. There's someone causing trouble we're meant to track down and deal with," she explains vaguely.

Inga looks back to Rean and extends her hand. "Welcome to the Multiverse, Rean. I am Inga Freyjasdottir, wisewoman," she introduces, then gestures to Staren. "This is Staren. We are old friends. He's with the Concord, yes. Which I'll leave him to explain," she adds.

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods knowingly at the mention of deadlands/shadowlands or the like. He's had to deal with quite a lot of that sort of thing...

    Staren smiles as he's introduced, and leans over the table with hand extended to shake. "Staren Wiremu, Hand of the Concord! Always nice to meet new people."

    The waiter comes by and sets down food. Staren looks at his burger hungrily but no, exposition is even more important than food! He does gesture vaguely at the fish and chips ordered for Raen, "Try it."

    "The Concord..." Staren sits back in his chair. "Well... This sector of the Multiverse, which we call Sector Zero, has three factions that hold most of the power, due to aligned governments working together and sharing resources and people like us with useful skills and abilities who've pledged alignment to their ideals. Everyone has their own view of things, but the Concord is... well basically, we believe that people with the means to accomplish great things shouldn't be held back. Among our number are both those interested primarily in self-improvement, as well as those who seek power that they may better help others. But we agree that, if you can save or improve lives and it's your desire to do so, that you shouldn't have to answer to people worried more about about 'tradition' or 'but the artifact of useful power belongs in a museum' or 'but giving everyone free stuff is illegal there' or 'but what will happen to their society and culture if they don't have to toil away in mud farms just to survive anymore'. Not that any real negative consequences don't matter, but we trust that our elites and those working with them can handle such problems."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Nice to meet you both! " Rean says, shaking Staren and Inga's hands.

He took a few bites of the fish as Staren explained the Concord. IT sounded nice, at least. Self improvement and learning how to better helpo people was something he was all for. "What about the other two?"

Inga has posed:
Inga is with the Watch, but she doesn't volunteer as much. She has no real strong feelings about any of the groups at the moment. "There's the paladins," she comments quietly. "I couldn't tell you too much about them. All about...law, keeping order," she offers, looking a little distance suddenly. Harry had been recruited to the paladins. It isn't exactly something she's keen to think about right now.

Staren has posed:
    Staren takes a big bite of the burger and starts chewing, but Ren's question is pretty quick so he's left awkwardly chewing for a few seconds before he can answer. He wipes his mouth with his sleeve and takes a sup of his drink.

    "Well... The other two are the Paladins and the Watch. The Paladins are supplied and funded by the Commonwealth, a multi-world alliance of nations that all agree that those with unusual powers shouldn't be in charge of the government. The Paladins themselves believe in the rule of law, although not necessarily the law of whatever world they're intervening in. Still, uh, you can see where they might be at odds with the Concord. 'I'll take over this country and run it well because I know what I'm doing' is okay by us, but while we'd expect someone in such a position and our other elites to handle problems that come up, the Paladins would probably prefer a system of government more set on laws that will keep the country running even if something /does/ happen to the former benevolent dictator."

    Staren scratches his chin. "Not that we all agree that benevolent dictators are the best form of government, I mean... the Concord has economists and sociologists and political scientists trying to figure /out/ the perfect form of government, same as anything else. It's not that I don't think rule of law is a good thing, but the Multiverse is constantly changing and it's hard for pretty much any legal system to keep up."

Staren has posed:
    Staren takes a sip from his iced tea. "The Watch... We may have had disagreements at times, but I think we can all agree their hearts are in the right place. Only one thing matters." Staren taps his finger on the table. "Help people now. Do not suffer tyrants."

    "The Concord has to worry about the bottom line, and looking for opportunities to gain resources or useful allies from helping people. This may require work behind the scenes so we can make a smooth transition from tyrant opressing dirt farmers to a new regime overlooking ex-peasants training for magic jobs or whatever. Because we want to make sure we can still help people tomorrow, and next year, and next millenium. And we all have our own goals that require more power, and we all agreed that's a goal we can work together on. The Paladins may get backing from the Commonwealth but they can't risk going off half-cocked, they have to make sure they can justify their actions if The People ever call it into question. And we both need to worry about bad PR and whether the people we save will STAY saved."

    Staren takes a breath. "Not the Watch. They work in the shadows, and don't answer to power or any people but those they're helping. They free people from suffering and tyranny -- or at least what they /percieve/ as suffering or tyranny -- and they don't have to look good doing it or figure out how to profit from it because that's not the kinda shop they're running. I think that's the nicest way I can put it."

    Staren glances to Inga, then back to Raen. "I've had my disagreements with August, but the worst over matters of degree. There were problems to be solved, on that we agreed, and in other circumstances I'd have agreed with his actions, but he didn't wait long enough for other solutions. However, over the past year or so we haven't had many problems. I think... I think perhaps he's growing into the role, maturing and learning from his past actions."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Rean sits there for a moment, taking all of this in. All three had different ways of handling it, but their goals all seemed to be the same- help the people of the Multiverse. Whether it was trying to find the person with the right amount of strength for the job, keeping order, or saving people regardless of the cost, they all wanted the same thing.

"I see." Rean says, finishing the last of his food. "Maybe I'll look into joining one of them at some point."

Staren has posed:
    Staren takes another bite of his burger and chews. He pulls something from his pocket -- it looks like a smartphone, but he demonstrates how it can be stretched out to tablet size, or bent like a bracelet, and then slides it across the table, followed by a pair of glasses from his bag.

    "Here. You can talk on the radio and use the multiversal internet from this as long as you're in range of a gate."

    Staren sips his tea. "So, um... do you want to talk about your own world, or who you are?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Are you sure? This looks..." Advanced? Expensive? Still, it's a gift and he takes both the phone and the glasses anyway. He fiddles with the device, stretching it out and twisting it around before settling on a bracelet shape for it. "What are the glasses for, though? Are they some sort of Orbment too?"

As for his world...He's honestly not sure where to /start/ on that topic. Zemuria is huge, and he's not really sure he can accurately describe Erebonia's culture or anything like that.

Eventually, he settles on the following:

"I attend Thors Military Academy in Trista, Erebonia. It's on the western half of the Zemurian continent."

Staren has posed:
    Staren smiles slightly when asked if he's sure. "It's fine. I've gathered the best technology from multiple worlds, and there's one where making those is nigh trivial. No matter what faction you join, or if you don't... just having another elite hero active in the Multiverse and able to contact the Syndicate is worth what little cost it is. Put them on." Once the glasses are on, Rean can see an augmented reality interface that's much less cumbersome than trying to use the device by tapping the bracelet's surface. Whether by reading eye movements or projecting a keyboard on the table or projecting UI elements in the air, there's basically every potential way to use them he can think of, and a voice in the glasses provides instruction.

    Staren rests his elbows on the table, hands lifted and clasped together. "Ah, I'm afraid there you have me at a loss. That's just names to me. Um... What do you learn to do, how do you learn to fight at this academy? Swords? Magic? Firearms? Something else? Is there a war on you expect to fight in, and what is it over?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Rean puts the glasses on, and it's like having a computer screen attached to his face. Except, he can still see through it, and it's responsive to his hands and anything else he does. "Whoa..." he whipsers, pulling up a keyboard and just gennerally messing around.

Staren's comment brings him back to reality. Right, he's from another world, and just like how he didn't get anything they were talking about earlier, Staren didn't get it either. "Uh...right. Sorry. Despite its name, our school isn't actually /that/ militarily focused. I think only around 30% of students end up in the army or something like that. There's a few classes like Military Science, and we do learn to fight, but most of our classes are the usual ones. I personally use a sword, and a few of my classmates use firearms or other weapons. My class in particular also goes on field studies across the Empire once a month, though we've only done two so far." He pauses for a moment, thinking about something that happened on their most recent one. "There's no war happening right now, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a little bit worried that might change soon."

Staren has posed:
    Staren briefly comments on the computer, "The batteries should be good for a few days... If your world uses electricity, send me the specs and I'll make you a charger, otherwise, you can get batteries here and here." He sends warpgate directions for AMATERASU moonbase and AMALGAM colony to the glasses.

    "Swords /and/ firearms? Interesting. Usually firearms obsolete swords once they're quick to fire again, unless it's more about what supernatural skills the wielder brings to a fight. Why are you worried the peace might not last? And are there any problems on your world you think could benefit from multiversal help?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"The Empire and our largest neighbor, the Calvard Republic don't exactly get along... Add that to the fact things between the Nobles and the Reformist Faction get tenser by the day. During our Last Field Study, we found out that the Provincial Army of Kreuzen Province was stocking up on tanks, likely because the Imperial Army is allied with the Reformist Faction."

Staren has posed:
    Staren tilts his head slightly, muttering 'of course the empire and the republic don't get along...'

    "Well. I guess I could ask for details on what all those things are, but it kind of seems like a waste to explain it all to me and then have to explain it all again later... again, if people from the Multiverse came to help your world, what would you see them do?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Rean shakes his head. "I don't think you can really help with this problem in particular. I'm not really sure what else otherwise. Though...There's this one really weird building on our campus, and we're trying to figure out why all of a sudden it's changing its internal structure once a month. Maybe someone out in the Mulitverse would be able to figure out what's up with it. And I wouldn't be surprised if we wound up on a Field Study outside of our world. That's actually be pretty cool, honestly."

Staren has posed:
    Staren chews another bite of burger, and swallows. His tail lashes a bit when Rean says that. "I'm sure folks would love to study and explore the building, but a problem we can't help with? What is it?"

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
Rean shrugs."The politics stuff. But things aren't so bad yet that it's immedate...I think. I'm just a student, so maybe there's something I'm overlooking."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"As for the Old Schoolhouse, if you know anybody who doesn't mind beating up monsters in the basement of a decrepit building, point them my way. "

Staren has posed:
    Staren nods a bit at the comment about politics stuff, since that /is/ somewhat beyond his expertise, then gives a short, sharp laugh. "Ha! Just tell the Syndicate you need some monsters beat up, and you'll have folks beating a path to your door! If you need any help organizing it, ask for 'Arthur Lowell' on the radio and he'll sort it all out." He smiles as he speaks, then takes a long sip of his iced tea. "Mmmmh."

    He closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, then opens them again. "Well. Anything else I can explain? Ah, I suppose I should explain the Syndicate, but it's pretty simple... It's a large organization like the factions, but it's not in opposition to them. It exists to match people -- especially adventurers and mercenaries -- with job opportunities, regardless of their affiliation."

Rean Schwarzer has posed:
"Got it." That sounded useful, and actually pretty familiar to him as well, like the task letters from the Student Council. Rean then got up, picking up the the glasses and phone. "I should probably get going." He said, putting the devices away and putting his blazer back on. "It was nice meeting you both, and I know a bit more about what's going on now. So thanks for dinner." He then looked over at the waiter, realizing something. "Um...Does this place take Mira, or is there some sort of Multiversal currency or something?" Rean said putting his hand behind his head.

Staren has posed:
    "There are Multiversal standard credits backed by all of the major banks. But this place takes pretty much everything. I'm sure someone will be contacting your world's banks to set up trade and conversion rates with Mira soon." Staren waves a hand dismissively. "I've covered your meal today."

    Staren stands up and walks around the table to extend a hand to shake, smiling. "It was nice meeting you. Seeya around."