10434/Alpha Flight: Situation Normal

Alpha Flight: Situation Normal
Date of Scene:	14 December 2019
Location:	Cdr.'s Office (Mackenzie King Station)
Synopsis:	Carol and Caitlin plan for a trip to Disneyland, and more importantly: a trip to space!
Cast of Characters:	Captain Marvel (Danvers), Fairchild

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Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol commutes quite a bit, given the many metaphorical hats she wears. But this is her office with the most impressive view, no doubt. The Commander's Office aboard Mackenzie King Station affords a commanding view of the entire Earth down below, although for some reason she sits with her desk facing away from it. Something about guests, maybe?

Right now, she's leaning on one elbow, clad in her uniform and staring down at a tablet computer. The latest reports from Gamma Flight, the organisation's training division. It was interesting to hear about the young heroes-in-training and what they were up to, but whoever was writing these reports had a thing to learn about writing an interesting read.

When the buzzer to the door goes off, she breathes a sigh of relief: "Come in."

Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin enters the office when bid. "Bad time?" she checks with Carol, then enters the rest of the way. She's dressed similarly to Carol in a close-fitting red track suit, but there is no visible military rank on her uniform. And she's wearing a labcoat instead of a military jacket, with 'Dr. Fairchild' on the left breast.

"I've got the labs section update, if you're ready for it. I broke it into manageable chunks," she assures Carol, and flashes a smile. Her hair's done up hastily in a bun and held in place with two pens and what looks like some kind of shop tool. Maybe an electrical probe? The subtle blue tint to her round glasses reflects the lights in the commander's office.

"You want the whole rundown, or should I hit the high points for now?" she offers, and clasps her hands loosely in front of her before coming to a halt in front of Carol's desk.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Just the high points," Carol asks wearily, switching off the datapad before flipping it face-down and sliding it out of the way across the desk, "I'm not about to pretend I'm half the genius you are, Caitlin. If it doesn't fly, chances are it's outside my wheelhouse."

She leans back in the chair for a moment, reaching a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose in a futile effort to ward off a sleepless headache. She lifts her eyes to look at Caitlin, a faint smile crossing her features that seems to push whatever monotony had been getting her down off and to the side. She gestures one gloved hand to the chair opposite her.

"Come on, sit down. Take a load off."

Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin eases carefully into the seat. Once it doesn't collapse she crosses her legs and fiddles with her bracelet. A flick of fingers casts the image to Carol's wall monitor.

"Okay. First, we've got a request from Hayabusa Industries of Japan for some of our space-based laser systems. They're interested in using them for precision mining applications. I think we can sort out the atmospheric kinks easy enough," she advises Carol. "But it's military technology they're asking for. It would need to have a full security detail and two of our technicians assigned to it round the clock. They offered us a pretty reasonable rate, but that was before I factored in the adjusted costs of personnel." She puts a dollar amount on the screen. "I figured four security guards, two techs, and then adjusted for our lost productivity." A second amount in red pops up. "Do you want me to accept their offer or submit a counter-offer first?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol considers Caitlin's proposal for a moment, drumming a finger against her jaw thoughtfully before asking, "What do you think? Opening the station to commercial traffic was your baby, after all."

The blonde rises from her seat, stepping over to the refrigerator and looking around inside it. She only keeps water and a few bottles of soda and fruit juice by the look of it, nothing like alcohol - even for guests. She fishes out a bottle of water for herself and then gestures to the interior with an expectant 'want something?' look to Caitlin.

"If you're on board with it," she adds, pulling the top off her bottle, "I am, too. You can stamp my approval on it then bump it up the chain to Department H for the O.K."

Fairchild has posed:
"Ooh, soda please," Caitlin tells Carol, gratefully. She accepts the canister and sips it carefully. "I'll come up with a counteroffer that's reasonable and see if we can negotiate something better for everyone. I just needed your permission to send out military tech."

"Uhh... let's see." Caitlin waves the screen along through a few more projections. "Boring stuff, boring stuff, boring stuff... Dr. Pattenson is requesting another research extension," she tells Carol. "This will be his third," she reminds the Station Commander. "He's doing some genetic research with waterbears for long-term terraforming. It's really neat, really fascinating work, but... I can't see a good commercial application for it," she admits, with a humble candor. "I hate to tell him 'no'. But he's gone through all of his auxiliary funding. We're going to have to dip into the general fund to supplement his work if you want to keep him going on the project."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Is he the one with the hair?" Carol asks, lifting a hand and making explodey fingers around her head to indicate wild, flyaway hair, "I like him. Look, if we're only doing research for commercial applications what's the point? We might as well just focus on mixing up new food additives and growing GMOs. Take it out of the general fund and let me see if I can move something around in the staff officer budget. God knows Lieutenant Callamette doesn't need to go on an EVA every day."

The soda can is passed to Caitlin and Carol moves back around behind the desk to slump down in the chair again. She takes a long gulping swallow of the water bottle, breathes a sigh of relief, and sets it down for the moment.

"Maybe tell him to tighten his pursestrings a little bit. I appreciate his enthusiasm but I can't keep throwing money at him."

A pause, and then she adds, "Maybe throw that in as part of the deal with Hayabusa. They can fluff our research budget a little bit, maybe see if they've got any techs on staff we can bring up on a secondment. Save some money on lab staff."

Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin brightens at the alternative suggestion. "That's a /great/ idea," she assures Carol. A note is added via her virtual keyboard, and appended to an already meticulously arranged 'to do' list. "Ok. I'll see what I can arrange. Maybe we can trim some fat from inside his lab as well-- he's already not using his assistants, so maybe pulling some staff will light a fire under him."

"Uh, let's see." She flickers through the screens. "Boring stuff, boring stuff, boring stuff... Ah, here's the last one. Doc Chevapravat wants to expand the lab with a better-stocked trauma and surgical center. He also wants to add a 'wellness station' for the civilians, on the Promenade," she tells Carol. "We've got the space to spare right now for both. If we keep growing at this rate of expansion, though, we're going to see those Promenade spaces hit higher lease values. /If/," she emphasizes. "And knowing Doc, he will not be happy if we make him pack up a project and move it."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Putting him on there just bumps up the value of the space he isn't occupying," Carol assures with a wave of her hand, "We're not trying to build the biggest money-making machine in orbit. This is meant to be a habitat, and sometimes that means forsaking profit for the sake of liability. A promenade stocked with stores isn't going to do anyone any good if all the civvies are moving back down planetside. We want to encourage them to stay up here."

That sorted, Carol claps both her hands together excitedly and fires a grin at Caitlin across the desk.

"Now, my diligent assistant director," she begins, "We talk about shore leave. What do you think about Disneyland? I've always wanted to go and now that Diana's spending all her time in Gotham making eyes at Bruce Wayne, I find myself at a loss. Does the schedule look like we can pull ourselves away for a couple days?"

Fairchild has posed:
"Uh..." Caitlin's line of professional thought is thoroughly derailed! It takes her a few seconds to jar it back into assembly. "Yeah, I mean-- I've never been to Disneyland. Or Disneyworld. Or any... theme park, ever, come to think of it," she frowns.

"But everything on my end's running just fine," she says with a shrug, and smiles at Carol.

"The power plant's running steady, the labs are all ticking along just fine. I don't think anyone's gonna burn down in the space of a three-day weekend," she advises Carol.

"Who all did you want to invite? Diana's probably busy doing, um..." Her ears pink. "Stuff with Mr. Wayne."

"Oh! That reminds me-- I have an interview with Wayne Tech. Someone heard about the neural interface work we've been doing for AI structures. I don't know if it'll go anywhere, but it'd be an interesting step for me. Moving away from pure engineering work."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Good god," Carol sighs, shaking her head, "That billionaire is going to abscond with all of you if I'm not careful!"

Despite her words, however, Carol can't help but smile at the news. Wayne Tech was a big deal and she knew it, and it'd be a very big feather in Catilin's professional cap.

"I'd invite Diana but, yeah, 'busy' like you said. I don't know if Jess would be caught dead in a theme park - besides, that many days in a car with her? You'd end up dying your hair black and listening to Bauhaus. I prefer you cheerful and enthusiastic."

She laughs, though there's a grain of truth to the joke.

"What about just us? I can't remember the last time we did something just the pair of us."

Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin laughs and blushes at the compliment. "Well, fortunately my hair doesn't take dye well," she assures Carol. "I went through a phase where I wanted to be bl--" she glances at Carol's hair. "I wanted a different hair color. First time I washed it, all the dye rinsed right out. Something about the protein structures in my hair. I can barely get hair straightener to work reliably."

That line of thought's waved off. "Sorry. Rambling. Yes, that'd be wonderful! We haven't been able to just ... hang out, you know? It's all work stuff or /other/ work stuff or stuffing food in our faces during a ten-minute lunch. A theme park trip sounds great!"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Maybe a wig?" Carol suggests with a smile, bringing her hands up to frame her own face as a means to emphasize the point, "But no, I like it red. It's such a - I don't know, a fun color. It makes you pop."

She shrugs her shoulders a little at her own bit of rambling, nodding her head at the suggestion: "Yeah, we'll make a long weekend out of it. It'll be nice to relax before I leave."

A pause, as she remembers she hadn't mentioned that yet, "I've got a mission coming up. Just a sort of cosmic ride-by the Department is sending me on. There's some weird buzz coming in from some of the extrasolar cultures. They're not sure what it is but figured I could go and take a bit of a closer look. I'll be heading out of system for a little while."

Fairchild has posed:
"D'you want me to go with you?" Caitlin offers. "I mean, I don't know how urgent of a priority it would be. If you want a second set of eyes, I can requisition some interstellar transport and watch your back. If you just want to do a fast in-and-out, though, I'd understand. Mobility's not exactly one of my superpowers once I get my feet off the ground," she says, wryly. "I'm basically a dumb ballistic missile until I land."

"Worst case, though, I can cover for you here for a few days," she suggests, tentatively. "That way when you get back we can justify both taking a few days off. I'm sure Commander Cole can handle running things for a long weekend."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Do you want to come?" Carol asks, raising her eyebrows and tilting her head to one side, "I didn't ask because I figured you had a lot going on here. Friends and work and what have you. My life is kind of bare bones - it makes it easy to just pack off and disappear into the black for a while."

But her brows furrows, and she plants both elbows on the desk to steeple her fingers and lean forward. She looks Caitlin over carefully, weighing something up in her mind before adding.

"I think you should come. If anyone's going to appreciate it the most, it'd be you. Maybe I'll get a bit of a crew together. We can make a real mission of it. It'd be nice to have people with me on the ship. I was just going to watch videos and ... " A pause, and she clears her throat, "Read up on my spoken Kree. I'm a bit rusty."

Fairchild has posed:
"That sounds great!" Carol's momentary discomfiture sails right over Caitlin's head. "Oh we'll get a crew together, do it properly. Going into deep space alone is no fun at all, even if it's a break from the grind. And I need to keep my hero chops in order," she reminds Carol. "I like doing lab work, but my experiments can be on hold for a bit. And we've got good people on staff. They really don't need a lot of supervision."

She makes a face. "And honestly, I hit a dead end with my little side project, so I could use a little break to get my brain right," she confesses. "I feel like I've real close to a breakthrough on my other thing-- the AI project-- and sometimes it helps to just get away from the lab for a few days and let stuff percolate. Yanno?"

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
"Sounds like a deal, then," Carol says, clapping both her hands together, "I'm going to bring Rogue along. I feel like she's feeling a little out of sorts at that mansion. She's not exactly comfortable with space either, but I figure she might like to get out and see things. I did ask her to come with me once but then opening up the Station kind of got in the way."

5bHer brow furrows as she tries to remember, "I'm not sure if you two have ever met? Well, she's a lot of fun. Trouble in every sense of the word, but you'll have a lot of fun regardless. We've got a bit of a complicated relationship."

Fairchild has posed:
"O-oh. Oh!" Caitlin's mouth forms the words a bit before they actually are emitted. She tries to nod and shake her head at the same time. The tips of her ears go bright pink.

"Yes. Yeah! Rogue, she's an Avenger, right?" Caitlin scrambles to get her wits back in order. "Yeah, of course. I've seen the press clippings. She seems nice! I'm, uh, glad you think she'll be fun to have around."

Caitlin fidgets and tugs on a loose tendril of hair near her neck. "Um... okay, I was gonna say Lady Sif, too, because she is awesome, and you are also awesome, and that would be very cool. But if there's not going to be enough room for four, I understand. And don't mind me! I'm really good at staying out from underfoot. I'll work on the engines or something while we're en route."

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol shakes her head, waving a hand at the idea of there not being enough room.

"There'll be plenty of room. Hell, we can sling up a hammock if we need to. Can I leave it with you to reach out to Sif? Honestly, it might help to bring a little of that Asgardian authority with us. A lot of people out there tend to respond to that sort of thing."

There's another brief smile from Carol, and a nod of her head, "And yeah, Rogue was an Avenger. She's not with the team for now, but she's got her bonafides in order as far as being a superhero goes. We just need to make sure we give her the space she needs. I'll look through the motorpool and see if I can drum us up something good. If not, I'll check in with Tony and see if he has anything laying around."

Fairchild has posed:
"I'm on it, boss," Caitlin says, and gives Carol a two-fingered salute. "I'll make sure things around here are on autopilot also, just so there aren't any unexpected hiccoughs. And I'll pull the Javelin from the hangar and give it a fore-to-aft inspection. I'm pretty sure the jump coils are working OK but we definitely don't want to run out of fuel outside the solar system. And I'll make sure we've got food and spare equipment on board, also just in case."

"Is there anything else we need to do to prep for the mission? Research, prep, facilities...?" She trails off, leaving it to Carol to spot anything she missed.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol rises up from behind the desk as Caitlin speaks, nodding her head as she speaks. She lifts the metal water bottle to her lips, finishing off the last of it and then putting it down atop the refrigerator to be refilled and replaced later. As the redhead trails off, however, Carol strolls over and stands behind her to rest a hand on each shoulder.

"Just make sure you bring your sense of adventure, Doctor," she says with a grin, giving her shoulders a faint squeeze before stepping away, "And a flashdrive with Star Wars. I'm going to make sure you've all watched the entire ennealogy before we get back."

Yep, it would figure Carol would know that word solely in the context of pop culture sci-fi.

Fairchild has posed:
Caitlin grins bashfully and leans her temple against Carol's forearm for a beat. "Oh golly, don't call me that. I'm one hundred percent sure that you and Sif are going to be the celebrities out in space. A PhD is only interesting to people if you're working in a lab and people start comparing CVs during a squabble."

She rises to her feet and grins at Carol. "And that's funny. Thinking I haven't seen Star Wars. I've seen every one of them, *and* read the extended universe fanfiction, *and* seen all the TV movies and miniseries. Don't impugn my nerd cred!" she challenges Carol-- but laughs and hugs her friend's shoulders, all the same.

Captain Marvel (Danvers) has posed:
Carol leans into the hug with a laugh, raising both her hands defensively, "I know, I know. I figured you had. But Rogue and Sif are another matter entirely. I figure Rogue might have seen it, but when's the last time Sif caught some entertainment that wasn't a lordly dance?"

That said, the blonde raises her eyebrows, "Read all the books? Most impressive. The Force is with you, young Fairchild, but you are not a Jedi yet."

Carol steps out of the hug, slaps Caitlin's lower back lightly with her palm and steps away, "Alright, so let's get the ball rolling. First Space Mountain, then space. I'll work out the chain of command while we're gone and e-mail it over to you."