Pillsbury + 1 year:

[Warrl]

(If a few weeks of separation would have taken the edge off and changed Ari's attitude from lust to admiration... they could have given her a long paid vacation. Or a temporary reassignment.)

Much more fun this way- c'mon, you really didn't expect a SIMPLE solution, did you?

A simple, boring solution? Of course not.

[Just Old Al]

A simple, boring solution? Of course not.

More the point, they wanted her fired. Period. NOT on from Al's point of view. Loyalty rewarded with dismissal is not acceptable.

Also, no guarantees the vacation would have worked for a permanent solution - as you can imagine, there is not a lot of research on this subject. However, sphinxes being a dominance-based matriarchy the solution was simple - just risky. Al loses in the pecking order, Daisy picks up from there and the problem gets very neatly shorted out...not counting a couple of cracked ribs and some serious contusions.

SImple is not always sure.

[Dave]

Al loses in the pecking order, Daisy picks up from there and the problem gets very neatly shorted out...not counting a couple of cracked ribs and some serious contusions.

SImple is not always sure.

Doesn't seem all that much worse than a lot of the social dynamics of a typical business office and/or "meat market" dating-scene bar, and it's actually fairly mild compared to a lot of what's being portrayed on "reality" TV shows these days.

To say nothing of the current Presidential-primary debates...

[jwhouk]

Amazing. A bit, throw-away character that was supposed to be a "Big Bad" in the first draft of an original story... and now?

Arania = Boba Fett.

[Just Old Al]

"meat market" dating-scene bar

Except in this case the meat market was QUITE real...and dinner was fighting back. Can you say pork ribs...raw?

Amazing. A bit, throw-away character that was supposed to be a "Big Bad" in the first draft of an original story... and now?

Witness Nicodemus - and Al himself, for that matter. The characters do what the characters want to do - and that's the magic of it.

[Sgt. Howard]

"meat market" dating-scene bar

Except in this case the meat market was QUITE real...and dinner was fighting back. Can you say pork ribs...raw?

Amazing. A bit, throw-away character that was supposed to be a "Big Bad" in the first draft of an original story... and now?

Witness Nicodemus - and Al himself, for that matter. The characters do what the characters want to do - and that's the magic of it.

She really wanted LONG pork... regarding her going from 'throwaway' to 'main player'... I take NO responsibility whatsoever for anything my characters do... I simply document their action and try not to intervene...

[jwhouk]

---

Arania woke up with a start. She'd had that same dream again - flying around Minneapolis, soaring through the air with white wings outspread.

She landed outside the old apartment, went in a side door - and found herself falling. The hole had no end, and her wings had suddenly disappeared, and she kept falling...

Right before she woke up, she heard a voice: "YOU are a manifestation of chaos!" It sounded so familiar... and then the ground suddenly came screaming towards her, and...

She was sweating. She never kept the thermostat in the apartment turned up that high - heat wasn't included, and her electric bill was already a bit high from the late thaw that year - so it wasn't from that.

Her heart was pounding. That voice... she had heard that voice before. She KNEW that voice.

She took a deep breath. Looking at the clock, she realized she needed to get moving, or she'd miss the Blue Line down to AHI.

[jwhouk]

---

Arania trudged across the parking lot to the entrance to AHI Building 2. Thankfully, it only took about 20 minutes from door to door, so she had yet to be late - despite not having a car.

Yet. That was looking to be the next big purchase of hers - if, of course, Mister Richer hadn't decided to fire her after that little... well, she wasn't sure what exactly it was. All she remembered was going into this red... haze...

She swiped her ID and entered her code - it worked, which was a good sign. Relaxing a bit, she went into the key locker room to get her equipment for the day - keys, two-way radio, radiation badge...

On a whim, she slipped one earpiece of her ancient iPod in, and cued up "Sorry" from Purpose. It was a little thing she liked to do on occasion - and she found it helped a lot with her focus on the day at hand.

She walked out onto the shop floor - just as Mr. Richer was pulling his Aston Martin into the shop. She put her head down, and walked over to the small office by the containment area entry that she had set up as her Base of Operations.

"Ari!" Richer was calling out to her. Damn. She froze in her tracks. "Ari, I need to speak with you for a moment, before you head in?"

She blew out a breath. Great, he's going to fire me, and I'm going to have to go grovelling back to my job at that damn Super Wal-Mart... unless maybe Mori can get me in at Target...

"Ari, there's going to be a couple of... visitors... to the plant today," he explained, his overcoat folded neatly over his briefcase. "We're going to be discussing our government contract here, and..."

"...You don't want a scene like last time?" She replied, a bit frustrated. "Look, Mister Richer..."

"Allan. You don't need to be formal."

"...Allan, I can't apologize enough for what happened, and if you just want me to stay in the booth until they leave, I'm fine with that." Please don't fire me, please don't fire me, PLEASE don't fire me, she thought.

"That would probably be a good idea. Oh, and Ari?" Her eyes widened. "Thank you for catching that error with item 24 yesterday. Never would have caught that without a second set of eyes."

Her head tilted a bit. "Uh, thank you?" He nodded to her.

"Have a good day - there's a lot to get to this morning." He headed off and up the stairs to his office.

She sighed and went off to her "booth".

[jwhouk]

---

I gave you the key when the door wasn't open, just admit it
See, I gave you faith, turned your doubt into hoping, can’t deny it
Now I’m all alone and my joys turned to moping
Tell me, where are you now that I need you?

Arania was on a roll. She'd verified three new projects, gotten the clearance from the FBI for one new contractor, and had written out a whole summary about the relic that Richer and his "Sarge" buddy had been working on.

Where are you now?
Where are you now that I need you?
Couldn't find you anywhere
When you broke down I didn't leave you

She was contemplating seeing if she could get some shooting time on the indoor testing range. Mr. Richer encouraged his employees to be handgun safety trained - something she took to immediately - and she needed to sharpen her skills on the .357 she'd been issued.

I was by your side
So where are you now that I need you?
Where are you now that I need you?

She was just about to call over to see if the range was available when she saw Allan escorting two figures down the stairs from his office.

She immediately recognized them.

"The Centurion. And The LIBRARIAN." Her eyes widened. So that's why he didn't want me to show my face... OH GODS.

Arania suddenly realized what was happening. Allan wasn't going to fire her. He was going to have the Centurion kill her. And the Librarian...

...was going to have her for Lunch.

[Just Old Al]

They descended the stairs from the overhead office, heading for the main floor.

“This is not a good idea. From what you two have told me, this is NOT a good idea. This poor young woman has made a stable transition to being what she is…”

“Al, not buying it. I don’t care what you think this time – I need to see her myself, and see what she’s turned into.” Phix’s demeanor was no-nonsense even in human form – and there was certainly no stopping her in the mood she was in.

Neil nodded, agreeing silently. With these two determined to see something through there was certainly no way Al was getting in the way – old and tricky he might be – stupid he was not. Ari for this once was going to have to deal with them – whether she wanted to or not.

As they hit the main floor and headed toward the office at the back Ari had co-opted with Al’s approval, they heard a singer’s voice coming from the door. “Damn Bieber…can’t stand that stuff, but she likes it.” Al grimaced, and they continued. The song finished and silence reigned as they walked up to the office.

Ari was completely visible through the glass wall of the old shop boss’ office. She was staring forward at them, completely unmoving even to the normal blinking and eye movements. They came to the door, and Al called, “Ari? Ari, dear, the government folks are here and would like to meet you.”

Nothing. She was unmoving, and utterly cataleptic. Al picked up her hand from the desk and left it suspended in the air – and there it remained.

“Great. What the hell did you two do to my damn security?”

“Obviously the Library’s conditioning is still working. I’m amazed she’s at all functional never mind to the level you’ve been describing, Al. Obviously she’s found a way to circumvent the conditioning to a certain extent, but not enough to handle us.”

Phix looked at her, and her voice went flat as she spoke. ”If she continues to behave and be the person you say she is, Al – and I’m not certain you’re not developing a fondness for this girl – then I will leave her alone. If she shows any tendency to become what she was then I will take action. Be aware of this.”

“Are you threatening me, sphinx?” Al’s voice was as flat as hers, and just as deadly. He didn’t take well to threats on a good day, and yes, by damn, he was fond of the girl – and more of what she could become with a break or two.

“Not threatening you – but I will not let a danger to my family exist. Understand this and we will not have a problem.”

“If she becomes a problem you can act – NOT BEFORE.” Al’s voice was low and emphatic.

Neil stepped in – this peacemaker role between these two hotheads was becoming tiring.

“Both of you, behave. Phix, as you can see, there’s nothing to fear here – the conditioning is working.

Al, you have to understand what we were dealing with here. When we get back up to the office I will explain in detail what went before – and then you will see why we aren’t as trusting as you are.

Why in Hades do you care, anyway? By all the gods I don’t understand.”

Al paused – getting this out in a coherent fashion was not going to be easy.

“I await what you have to say, so I know what you know.

However, look at what I see. I see a young woman, smart, bright, capable of so much more than what she was hired for, and open to learning and doing – and doing so on her own with no prompting from me.

I see potential – so much potential – and very little to no advantage to work from to leverage that potential.

I also see integrity, and care, and a stout heart that stood up to her boss on a protocol he put in place and was willing to defend it with the weapon she carried – even though she was likely wetting herself at the thought.

How can I not stand up for that?

I saw many like her in my career – young ones with nothing, trying to make something of themselves. Many did well, some did not, but I encouraged and mentored every last one of them I could. I am sure, Neil, that you’ve done the same a thousand fold more than I have.”

Phix and Neil went silent at those words. They understood loyalty, and honor – and now they saw Al’s reasoning.

Phix spoke again, determined to make her point though less strident than before. “Be that as it may – we have the potential for disaster here. I do not threaten, but I do make the statement – if she becomes a problem I will have to act to defend my family – and I will not apologize for it. Do I make myself clear?”

“Crystal. If that becomes the case you must do what you must do. Now the two of you go on up to my office – I’ll be there in a minute after I unlock the synapses of my security officer.”

They left, headed up the stairs and were soon out of sight. With that, Al turned Ari’s office chair away from the window and started to call her, softly, then a bit louder and then louder.

“Ari. Ari, I need to get into the back shop. Ari.”

Her eyes refocused, and the catalepsy that had taken hold of her faded.

“Mr. Richer - Al. I faded out, didn’t I?”

Oh, damn, he’s going to fire me for sure. What happened? she thought – then remembered fading out when she saw the visitors coming down the stairs.

“Ari, you’re fine. Obviously that garbage that got into the air is still having an effect on you. Relax – I needed to get into the back shop, but I think you need to take it easy for a few minutes. I’ll be back later and you can port me though.”

Still shaken, Ari turned back to the report she’d just finished – a bit of normalcy in what was turning into a bad day. Maybe not taking range time right now was a good idea.

Seeing her turn back to the computer on the desk, Al walked away, back toward his office. A few moments later the music player came back on, and her music again filled the space around the office.

[FreeFlier]

"meat market" dating-scene bar

Except in this case the meat market was QUITE real...and dinner was fighting back. Can you say pork ribs...raw?

/headtilt/ One does not understand this obsession two-legs have with burning meat. /headtilt/

Except for toasted squeakers* . . .

/noselick/ that is different. /licks chops/

And two-legs do not have the digestion of a wolf.

Amazing. A bit, throw-away character that was supposed to be a "Big Bad" in the first draft of an original story... and now?

Witness Nicodemus - and Al himself, for that matter. The characters do what the characters want to do - and that's the magic of it.

She really wanted LONG pork... regarding her going from 'throwaway' to 'main player'... I take NO responsibility whatsoever for anything my characters do... I simply document their action and try not to intervene...

Characters seem to have a habit of doing that . . . Mine certainly do! They read the script . . . then fall in love with a spear-carrier, exaggerate minor scenes into major scenes then skip the major scene that the minor one was supposed to lead into, ignore things they're supposed to know and uncover the Grand Unified Theory instead . . . and frequently their version is better than the script!

--FreeFlier

*mice

[jwhouk]

Well - this all started with an older guy walking into the Library and kissing Phix, so...

[Sgt. Howard]

Well - this all started with an older guy walking into the Library and kissing Phix, so...

Actually, your work predates mine,

[jwhouk]

True.

So, a guy walks into a coffee shop...

[Just Old Al]

No, no, no, it goes like this...

So, a golem, a human and a salamander walk into a tailor shop...

[jwhouk]

Twern't no salamanders in this story when I started.

EDIT: And for those who want to know what the rest of Ari's story is, head over here...

[Hansontoons]

True.

So, a guy walks into a coffee shop...

... carrying a bucket of sh!t. He sets the bucket in a corner, orders a coffee, and proceeds to stand around and drink coffee for several hours. Suddenly he pulls a gun and shoots the bucket, then leaves as the other patrons stare wide-eyed and slack-jawed. A couple days later he returns with a new bucket (same contents) and orders a coffee.

The proprietor stands back and says, "Hold on now, the last time you were here it did not end well. You scared half my customers and I had a nasty mess to clean up. What's your problem?"

The guy pauses, then explains: "No problem, sir. I'm training to be an Engineer. It's easy. I heard all you need to do is stand around all day drinking coffee and shooting the sh!t."

Drum roll, rimshot.

I'll be here all night, thank you!

[jwhouk]

Uh, no.

Try this, instead.

[Sgt. Howard]

True.

So, a guy walks into a coffee shop...

... carrying a bucket of sh!t. He sets the bucket in a corner, orders a coffee, and proceeds to stand around and drink coffee for several hours. Suddenly he pulls a gun and shoots the bucket, then leaves as the other patrons stare wide-eyed and slack-jawed. A couple days later he returns with a new bucket (same contents) and orders a coffee.

The proprietor stands back and says, "Hold on now, the last time you were here it did not end well. You scared half my customers and I had a nasty mess to clean up. What's your problem?"

The guy pauses, then explains: "No problem, sir. I'm training to be an Engineer. It's easy. I heard all you need to do is stand around all day drinking coffee and shooting the sh!t."

Drum roll, rimshot.

I'll be here all night, thank you!

"Bravo base this is Bravo Charley- on given co-ordinants, activate batteries 12, 13 and 14- fire for effect, fire for effect, fire for effect, over,"

[Sgt. Howard]

Actually it starts with-

"A hairlip, a hunchback and a Republican all walk into a bar..."