Mercenaries at the door

[mitochondriaaya]

Sometimes a man simply had to check in on his girls. They'd run a mission in Canada and the college was ENTIRELY on the way back after all...and the team wanted to see the girls too and...

...and Nevada couldn't really shake their last letter from his head. The girls were living with some unvetted young men and that could prove problematic. The helicopter set down in on the school pad (usually used for medivac units) and Nevada swung to the ground, waving off one of the school aides coming out to greet him,

He had an address. And a mission.

And after a quick run, well, a door to knock on. The pair of mercs that had followed him chuckled at the politeness but hey, it never hurt right?

Comments

[sliceitwithwind]

"I've been expecting them." Braig said simply, "So has Pierce. We've tried talking to Dilan about it, but really if it doesn't have to do with science or something immediate he tends to dismiss it."

[mitochondriaaya]

"What do you foresee with the girls living here, possibly long term?" Nevada asked easily.

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig shrugged, "Honestly? They're good roommates. Chances are that they'll help Dilan learn more about making friends and being a good one...they've been watching My Little Pony with him. I'll keep renting them the house after we finish our doctorates if they want it."

[mitochondriaaya]

"They are very dedicated young women and we will raze the campus if they are betrayed or killed." He said it simply, easily, like commenting on the weather. "That said...My Little Pony?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"That's fair." Braig said without so much as the flicker of an eyelash. "My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. He takes notes on it. Dilan is...different. He's a genius, he really is, but he's also got a very...loose grasp on morality and social acceptability. It's an ongoing project."

[mitochondriaaya]

He thought about that for a moment then chuckled again, "Well, it will give them a chance to catch up on media they missed." Or something like that anyway. "How are they taking to the situation here?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"They seem fine with it?" Braig said, "I don't want to speak for them, however. We do tend to have dinner together when everyone is home. They have two bedrooms, a bathroom, and a mini-kitchen upstairs."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I'll be speaking with them as well but your feelings on the matter are important as well," especially if this went long term. "What do you do, Braig? Aside from pursuing an esoteric doctorate."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Mostly the doctorate." Braig said cheerfully, "I'm independently wealthy. So my time is spent between working on my doctorate and trying to help Dilan become somewhat integrated into society."

[mitochondriaaya]

"And what do you intend to do with your doctorate once you achieve it?" he asked, curious. "I'm not entirely sure what the applications of of what the girls have described to me would be." The non-military applications anyway!

[sliceitwithwind]

Braig shrugged, "Get another doctorate, probably. Oxford, maybe. Something more academic, less life-or-death."

[mitochondriaaya]

"A life of academia?" he asked, arching a brow. "Somehow I don't see Oxford sanctioning experiments that delve into other dimensions. Will you alter your work then?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"A life of helping keep Dilan and society from killing each other." Braig corrected steadily, "Everything else is secondary. He could go into medicine or military equally easily, my life's work is to make sure that whatever he does, doesn't explode in everyone's face."

[mitochondriaaya]

"That I can accept," he chuckled. "Where would you prefer Dilan went?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Honestly he's better suited towards military applications. His ideas on cute are...you've seen Alien Dogs of Hell? Yes. He designed the dog. I want to find a place with morality that I can handle that would use him for good."

[mitochondriaaya]

"No, I haven't," he admitted. "It may be in my queue." For when he took vacations. The girls insisted.

"Military outfits that would invest in the stranger sciences rarely adhere to the morality of the standard man. What woudl you be looking for?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Fair enough." Braig said with a wry smile, "People who are more interested in justice than in money."

[mitochondriaaya]

"Have you started researching military groups?" He asked simply. "If not the girls will be a good resource."

[sliceitwithwind]

"A little bit." Braig said, "I don't want to bother the girls until they've had a year here or so, even if it's something they know well they really don't need one more thing on top of, well. KAOS."

[mitochondriaaya]

Braig got more points in the good column because of statements like that really. Still. "Speaking as an alumni to someone still here after an initial degree, an hour speaking of familiar things can be just as good for a person as a day away from this campus." Simple as that.

"Speaking of I'd like to take you all to dinner when the girls come back."

[sliceitwithwind]

"Sure. There are a couple of restaurants around here that can feed everyone." Braig said, "I can grab the list...I'll also mention it to the girls, but make sure they know we're in no hurry."

[mitochondriaaya]

"I," Nevada noted. "Have a copter. We are not limited to the nearest town. Anyplace within an hour with high grade food for everyone?"

[sliceitwithwind]

"Hmmm." Braig leaned back, "Price range?" He lived with two dirt-poor college students and the girls. He, however, could afford anything he wanted to pay for...but that didn't mean he was going to fight someone who wanted to buy him dinner. You don't stay rich by throwing money away.

[mitochondriaaya]

"Irrelevant given the latest mission," Nevada shrugged. He'd be curious to see how the boys took that really. Not in a money sense but in a 'what would they come up with without an upward limit?' sense! "And you know the dietary needs of your household." He assumed. He could feed a mixed crew without thinking but these were KAOS kids. Their dietary needs may differ from mercenary needs.

[sliceitwithwind]

"Okay. Certru is the best place in the state, but you're looking at twenty dollars or more a plate, and Dilan requires at least two of 'em. Danter's has the biggest plates for the best price, around fifteen a plate but even Dilan only needs one; but the quality of the food is sharply lowered. Hir de Loue, for all it sounds fancy, is a buffet that can feed everyone for around ten a person but it's buffet food."