15909/The morning after crash

The morning after crash
Date of Scene:	22 December 2023
Location:	The Coffee Bean - Manhattan
Synopsis:	Jacen met Mon-El and Skye at a coffee shop after he'd worked a long shift at a nearby hospital.
Cast of Characters:	Jacen Masters, Mon-El, Quake

---

Jacen Masters has posed:
Jacen walks into the coffee shop. Still mostly a new face in the city, the emergency trauma bag on his hip tells most people what they need to know. Paramedic.

If the pouch isn't enough to sell the story, he has matching baggage under his eyes and moves like maybe he is walking in something thicker than air. He nods to the counter help and once they are free he request,"Coffee black please. Y'all startin' ta get way too much o' my money in here."

That doesn't say 'I am important', but to the contrary it sounds like 'I spend too much time in here.'

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar had just returned to Earth from a long jaunt in other parts of the galaxy. Just in time for that one big holiday tradition they typically had every year, too. The one with the red and white and green. Out of all the different corners of the galaxy, this one was one of the nicer ones, he has to admit.

    He makes his way into the quiet little campus coffee shop this particular holiday morning. Not too busy, as many of the ESU students have already headed to their respective hometowns for the holidays. But it seems there is at least one customer here, apparently a paramedic. Hard work, that.

    As such, Lar approaches the counter. "I'll pay it forward." he volunteers, and begins to offer one of those plastic rectangular card things that Terrans use to pay for...stuff.

Jacen Masters has posed:
Turning towards the new arrival, he looks at the card in his hand. It takes half a second for the man to figure out what is happening. Some might protest, politely beg out, but he just nods, reaching up to touch the brim of his hat,"Much obliged friend. Thank ya."

The para bag is the only indication, well that and the lanyard on his neck indicating one of the local hospitals. Otherwise, he looks for all the world like a displaced relic of history. A cowboy in New York. Who in the world left the highway into the city in?

Mon-El has posed:
    Honestly, Lar isn't really thinking about that. With the amount of strange things he has seen in his life...well, seeing a "cowboy" in New York isn't anywhere near close to the top of weirdest things ever seen. Besides, he's probably even weirder than that himself. Even if it isn't immediately apparent at the moment.

    "Hey, no problem." he replies to the thanks, smiling. He sticks out a hand to offer a shake. "Lar Gand." he says, by way of introduction.

Jacen Masters has posed:
Making sure his hands are clean, because he does deal with things. He brushes one off on his jeans anyway and then shakes the hand offered,"Jacen Masters. It's nice ta meecha."

He thanks the server that brings his cup of liquid life. He takes a sip of it and sighs softly,"Might be able ta get back ta my place'n one piece with a few o' these."

Mon-El has posed:
    "A pleasure to meet you as well, Jacen." Lar reciprocates, sitting down on one of the comfy chairs near the window and inviting Jacen to do the same. "Long night, huh?" he remarks casually. "I'll get you as many as you need."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Invited to sit, Jacen follows after,"Always get straight coffee. They refill ya's long's you're here." he admits,"It's not that'm cheap really, jus' don' really care f'r th' more foofoo things some folks like'n their coffee."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar smiles. "I wouldn't call that being cheap, just efficient."

    "Not a sweets person, huh?" he remarks regarding 'foofoo' things. "I mean, that's what I'm assuming you meant."

Jacen Masters has posed:
He chuckles and adds,"I call't survival." A drink of his cofee and he nods approvingly. A shake of his head and he admits,"Oh I reckon I like sweets well 'nough, jus' not'n m' coffee. I don' eat a lot because well, stayed'n trainin' f'r somethin' since I w's 10. Kinda don' got a lot o' sweet tooth, just a time ta time thing."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Oh yeah?" Lar's brows go up a little bit. "What were you training for, if I may ask?"

Jacen Masters has posed:
Another drink and he replies,"In late elementary, middle school, n' high school I wrestled. In late middle school, high school'n after that I wrestled, played football'n rode'n th' rodeo. Always gotta stay'n shape'r live ta regret it."

He shrugs and he continues,"I stay'n shape mostly now ta be able ta do th' job'n if I wanna ride again I can. I retired fr'm th' rodeo world though. Enjoyed it, but wasn' much left f'r me ta do anymore'n I took up trainin' f'r Emergency Fire'n Rescue. Gotta stay'n shape f'r all that."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar nods. "I see." But his interest seems to be piqued when Jacen mentions 'riding rodeo'.

    "What's the 'rodeo'?" he asks. No, he isn't teasing. He genuinely doesn't know. He chuckles a little bit sheepishly. "Sorry, uh...you might've already guessed I'm not exactly from around here."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Indicating a refill to a passing server, Jacen offers a thanks to her and looks to Lar again,"Rodeo. Mos' fun you c'n have with y'r clothes on." he assures the other man.

"There's a lotta things you c'n do. Calf ropin', team ropin', bull doggin' all require th' horse'n rider ta chase a runnin' calf either catchin' it with a rope'r draggin' it to th' ground by hand."

He moves on,"Bare back'r saddle bronc ridin's basically tryin' ta hang on with one hand while a horse does its damndest ta throw ya off. Bull ridin' th' same's that, though th' horses tend ta leave ya be. Bulls take it personal..." He raises his shirt to show a scar on his side,"...sometimes they d'cide ta give ya somethin' ta remember'm by."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar listens intently while Jacen explains, looking pensive for a moment before nodding.

    "Ohhh, I get it. Yeah...riding animals that don't want to be ridden. Most sufficiently developed civilizations have some iteration of that somewhere or in some corner of their culture and/or history. Doesn't surprise me that you Terrans have one too."

Jacen Masters has posed:
He takes a drink of his coffee and nods,"Yeah they don' tend ta wanna be there. Some of them anyway. They're well kept'n fed. Nobody deliberately cause them pain."

He looks at his side and then lets the shirt down,"As you c'n see, they don' care ta give th' same considration."

He shakes his head and admits,"Us terrans gotta tendency ta do less th' intelligent'n then go 'long an' then do something even less smart after that."

Mon-El has posed:
    "That's good. Not everyone treats them well." he remarks.

    Lar chuckles. "Oh trust me, Terrans aren't the only ones doing 'less than smart' things out there. At least most of it doesn't have much in the way of extremely far-reaching consequences. You know, since you don't have control of multiple planets or anything. Yet, anyway."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Sipping his coffee, Jacen nods while listening,"We're a unique form o' seld destruction with plenty'a room f'r improvement f'r sure." he agrees. He is thoughtful and quiet for a second and then asks,"So where'd you come from'n how'd ya manage ta land on this rock?"

Mon-El has posed:
    "Oh I don't know if I'd go so far as to call it self destruction. It's not as extreme as some..." Lar answers.

,    Well, the first answer is easy. "Originally, Daxam." The second answer is...complicated. "When you say 'this rock' I'm assuming you mean the present time, and present reality?" You know, just to clarify.

Jacen Masters has posed:
"I've done m' share o' things that hurt me even if that wasn' my first intention." Jacen admits,"I mean nobdy gets on th' bull with th' intent of seein' how bad they c'n get hurt. It's 'bout pride, adrenaline, money' women."

He nods as he listens to where the other man is from,"Gotta say I dunno where that is, but I don' know a lotta things." He motions his hand around,"Earth. This rock. Th' here'n now sure."

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar nods. "Yeah, I get it...it's pretty common." Especially the women part. Most of every species has to mate somehow.

    "I guess I could tell you what sector it's in, but probably wouldn't mean anything to you." he says with a slight shrug. "But I'll tell you that it's a Kryptonian colony world."

    He looks pensive, trying to answer the question of how he got here, to this particular Earth, in a way that made sense.

    "Uhm...okay. Hmm...well, the first time I came here was back when Krypton was destroyed, and the fallout from that rendered my home uninhabitable. My umm....family sent me away to escape the destruction, but I got separated from them and ended up here. Unfortunately here was about the worst place I could have gone, given even the slightest amount of lead would have been the death of me. Luckily K--uh, I mean...Superman...found me and sent me to the Phantom Zone for a thousand years before I could kick the bucket. And luckily in the 31st century lead poisoning's been cured. So I lived there for a while, before another uh...mishap sent myself and my team back here, to the 21st century. Make sense? Sorry, I know it's weird and complicated."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Raising his coffee cup a little in salute to the common thread. He takes a drink of the steaming liquid. Listening, he carefully measure the words the com along next. He nods here and there. Kryptonian mention at least seems to get recognition.

Things shift a little more into the confusion state as he starts talking about destroyed planets, Phantom Zones, and centuries. At least he knows who Superman is by the look on his face.

Pushing his hat back a little bit he admits,"Dammit man. Y'all done had 'bout as rough a go as I think I've ever heard. So ya really ain't fr'm 'round here." A low whistle,"Lost folks'n dyin' planets. What's a Phantom Zone?"

Mon-El has posed:
    "Extra-dimensional Kryptonian prison for high-profile convicted criminals...." Lar tells him, and a distant look crosses his expression for a moment. He shakes his head.

    "It's a total void. Nothing there except everyone trapped there, stuck in a sort of stasis, except you're not unconscious, exactly. No time passes, either. It's like...you can't live, but you also can't die. Special kind of torture, tends to push the sanity, especially after the first uh, few hundred years I guess depending on the person. Terrible, I know, but it was the only way." he sighs. "Just glad it's over."

Jacen Masters has posed:
A brow raise and he mutters,"Soun's like a livin' Hell f'r sure. I reckon I mighta been wantin' ta try m' luck against lead allergy." he muses. Easy for him to say.

"So ya spent time there b'cause o' th' allergy an' were exposed ta all them prisoner types. That's prolly a nightmare all it's own." Passing waitress, more coffe. He does at least seem to be waking up with the liquid fuel up.

Mon-El has posed:
    Lar shakes his head. "Easy for a Terran to say," he laughs. "You guys can breathe that stuff for months and not even notice. Me? I wouldn't have even lasted another day."

    "Yeah...suffice it to say when I was finally released I um...wasn't all right in the head. Fortunately, the people who got me out were the type who would rather help than hurt if possible."

Jacen Masters has posed:
"Good point." Jacen replies in regards to the breathing,"Hadn' thought 'bout how much's just floatin' in th' air." he admits,"Prolly wouldna lasted long at all b'fore."

"I cain' imagine you'd be'n th' best state o' mind after that no. Ya kinda gotta adapt ta your surroundin's an' all that. Sometimes ta survive somethin' bad ya gotta be somethin' worse. A good thing ya got picked up by good folks."

Quake has posed:
Another day, another dollar. Sort of.

Skye had taken the long way around home, Via another section of greater New York. Coffee shops were the same anywhere. And with her tablet, she could work wherever she wanted to.

And today she didn't feel like going home.

Standing at the cash register, she orders an extra large coffee, with two creams added. While she waits for that, she looks about the establishment. Fairly dead. Except the two men sitting over *there*.

Mon-El has posed:
    "Yeah I wouldn't be alive if it hadn't been for them." Lar nods, when Jacen mentions it was good he was rescued by the right people. "Well, either that or I'd still be trapped in the Phantom Zone."

    When Skye enters and orders a large coffee at the register, he looks over at her momentarily, and waves amicably when she notices them. "Hey there," he greets. "Join us?"

Jacen Masters has posed:
"Defin'tly soun's like a special level o' Hell." Jacen reiterates,"Glad ya got outa there f'r sure. I dunno." He shakes his head and takes a drink of his coffee.

He follows Mon-El's gaze and considers the woman he calls out to. He gives her a once over and gets a drink of his coffee. He unfastens the orange bag around his waist and sets it on the table so he can move to make more room for the new arrival if she decides to join them.

Quake has posed:
At first Skye tenses up. And then..

"What the hell." She picked up her coffee - complete with a happy face drawn on, and finds herself at the table. "Don't mind if I do. Name's Skye."

She picks the seat that has the most view of the cafe. Just casually. It would seem.

"Quiet day. What did I interrupt?"

Mon-El has posed:
    "Lar," he says, in answer to Skye's introduction. "Good to meet you, Skye."

    He chuckles a little at the question of what had been interrupted. "Nothing too much, we were just discussing how terrible the Phantom Zone is. Extra-dimensional void of a Kryptonian prison filled with nothing but convicted criminals."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Jacen reaches up, touching the front brim of his hat,"Jacen Master. Nice ta meecha Skye." he tells her.

He takes a drink of his coffee and nods,"Yeah. Listenin' ta him talkin' 'bout a place worse th'n Hell an' a fate soun's like it's worse th'n death in a lotta ways."

Quake has posed:
*snort*

"Prison? Aren't they all the same?" Skye seems to have an opinion on that. And it isn't good. She repeats the two names to reinforce them in her brain. "The only thing about prisons, that they all have to fit, is to make the prisoners feel like shit on a stick would be better treated."

Mon-El has posed:
    "Trust me, that one's a fair bit worse than many of those that I've seen." Lar sighs. "I guess it doesn't -sound- that bad when you talk about it...at least, I used to wonder why people acted like it was torture. But hopefully none of you will ever have to find out the hard way..."

    He shakes his head, exhaling audibly. "Anyway, enough about that." It wasn't exactly the most pleasant topic to dwell upon. "You guys have anything special planned for that uh...holiday? You know, the big planet-wide one." At least, he thinks it's planet wide...?

Jacen Masters has posed:
Settling his hat on his head and reaching for his coffee, Jacen admits,"Soun's bad 'nuff." No sense chasing that furthur though.

Resting his hand on the trauma pack he admits,"My family's a long way fr'm here. I won't see them this year so I'll be on duty. Y'all do us a favor out there'n don' get y'rselves wadded up'n th' traffic an' stuff. I'm sure there'll be plenty that do. People seem ta always be in a hurry ta get to th' party or they're too partied out ta drive home safely."

Quake has posed:
Skye snorts again. "Does feeding my cats count?"

She takes a sip of her coffee (still hot!) and shrugs. "The people I have considered my family aren't anywhere near me these days. Probably will look over the net and see what is happening."

She makes it sound so innocuous, skirting the web. Everybody does that - right?

Wrong.

Not the way Skye does it.

"Probably throw in extra hours of work too."

Mon-El has posed:
    Huh, well that was a little sad. "Well, maybe I'll see if any of my--uh, people would be okay with inviting you two to join, if you don't have anyone else to spend it with." Lar offers.

    He smirks a little when Jacen mentions traffic accidents. "Oh, don't worry about me. Even if I did, I definitely wouldn't be the one needing a paramedic. And besides that, most Terran medics wouldn't know what to do with me, anyway. But I'll do my best to keep other people out of trouble." he adds with a wink.

Jacen Masters has posed:
Jacen sips his coffee and tells Lar,"I 'priciate th' offer, but I already agreed ta 24 hour, 12 up an' 12 down shift. I'm also back up for search and rescue if it comes up. Thank you though. Glad you won't be a casualty'n a pile up."

He moves his coffee cup towards Skye and raises it a little,"Workin' keeps th' world turnin'." he suggests to her and then takes a last drink, setting the cup down, not indicating a refill for now,"I keep tellin' m'self that don' make me sad 'r lonely. I ain' convinced m'self yet."

Mon-El has posed:
    "I hope you get around to seeing your family at least sometime." Lar remarks, starting to take out a napkin and write his phone number on it. "Anyone who has family they can actually spend good time with should count themselves fortunate." Because he's definitely not one of those people.

    "The last time I saw my family was..." he shakes his head. "Complicated." As in, he wasn't exactly on the best of terms with them. "They aren't fans of aliens, unfortunately."

    Finally, he stands, pushing the contact info he'd just written across the table toward the other two. "Well, I'm glad I got to meet the both of you. You ever need anything, or just want to chat...don't be a stranger." he smiles, and makes his way toward the exit.

Quake has posed:
Skye grins at Jacen. "Trust me, I rarely go anywhere."

She nods at Mon-El as he leaves. "Might take you up on that."

Then she turns her full attention to Jacen. "You've got a hard job. Obviously a paramedic? And working on Christmas day? Sucks to be you." She smirks. "But, yeah, work keeps the world going round. I figure I don't have anyone who will miss me, and someone has kids. So, why not."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Waving to the departing Mon-El, Jacen takes a moment to enter the phone number into his phone,"Be safe out there." he tells the departing man.

He turns his attention to Skye and nods,"It's hard sure 'nuff. Mosta th' time it's r'wardin' though. Manage ta save a life'r bring back a life, more so. I don' hafta ask questions, jus' do what th' trainin' dictates'n get people safe."

He smirks a little and admits,"Still c'n be th' most stressful job out there, but if ya like it ya take th' good with th' bad. Prolly like 'bout any other job. Christmas, like ya said. I'm workin' so some parent gets ta spend time with their kid'n I'd rather not sit't home'n drink on Christmas."

Quake has posed:
"To tell the truth," Skye grins. "I am something of a workaholic. I can work at home, or the office, so to speak. I tend to do things that only people who have a specialised area of knowledge do."

Actually, since becoming Quake, she could argue that both her areas of work were specialised.

"Like you say, it's a good thing I love my job. Or else it would be shitty to work there."

Jacen Masters has posed:
"We work b'cause it's parta what we have ta do. We're lucky we get ta do th' things we like though. Hate ta abe stuck dealing with a 9 ta 5 I hated."

"So th' sayin' goes...if ya love what ya do you'll never work a day'n y'r life." he tells her,"Grandfather used ta tell me that anyway. Of course by then he w's retired'n able ta jus' be a medicine man'n not really need a job."

Quake has posed:
"Well, my job isn't 9-5 anyways. And to tell the truth, I would be working at it regardless. Only they pay me." Skye shrugs. "Of course every now and then I have to be on call. Sort of like you, only I don't take care of the injured."

Jacen Masters has posed:
"I dunno'f I'd be able ta work a regular 9 ta 5. Go stark ravin' crazy." he admits. A soft chuckle and he adds,"It takes a special kinda crazy ta take care of injured, traumatic or otherwise."

Quake has posed:
Skye has to laugh. "Yeah, I would say, I'm not a very 9-5 worker. Hell for the first couple of years I didn't know where my desk was. And now that I have got an office.. Geeze.. Let's just say, I probably should peek in there soon."

Jacen Masters has posed:
Laughing softly and pushing his hat back on his head a little he nods,"Ya don' really strike me's a desk jockey no. I'm impressed ya don' make y'r way to it though. If ya gotta desk prolly means ya got a lotta business on y'r hands'n ain' sufferin' f'r things ta do."

Quake has posed:
"The office means more work. People work. The desk was just because of the things that I do. It is necessary that I have.. on.. this much space?"

She makes a square about the size of a tablet in front of her.

"Mind you, I certainly don't turn bigger workspaces away. But in my job, usually they come in smaller places." Within bigger spaces! But her job is usually with very tiny keyboards.

Jacen Masters has posed:
"Office work's f'r th' birds." he admits and shakes his head.

Glancing at the nearby clock he sighs,"I better get ta home. Need ta sleep'n work through t'morrow night. Get Sunday off'n then 24 hours on Monday." He gets up and offers a polite nod,"It w's nice ta meet ya Skye. Enjoy y'r holiday."