02 - Public / Video

[domesheriff]

[Linda comes onto the network today actually dressed casually rather than in her patrol uniform; she's wearing a red T-shirt under a gray sweater jacket over jeans and boots. her hair is pulled back in a braid, and the ever-present engagement ring is on her hand. today of all days, she wants to be wearing it. because despite the dome and her relocation, she's still counted the days, and she knows that if none of that had happened, this would be it--this would be her wedding day. and having realized that, it's a thought she can't get out of her head]

Hey, is anybody free today? [her tone is casual, but there's something a little anxious in the way she's standing. she has her hands in front of her and is unthinkingly playing with the ring as well] I'm off, and I don't want to spend the day sitting around alone. I'll take you to lunch--my treat. Or...I don't know, a walk in the gardens, or even some games in the arcade? Maybe a drink at Pugsy's tonight. Sound good to anybody?

[she smiles, but it doesn't reach her eyes. still, despite the feelings she's fighting, she's determined not to spend today moping. she's going to distract herself with new friends and fun instead]

Comments

[most_feared]

[One of the most blatantly irritating things about Kay is that he, apparently, is not at all dissuaded by this.] We'd probably have to get rid of the dome but that's probably doable. We've run into stuff like that before back home. [As if it's nothing.]

You should try their pie. It's pretty good. [He points at it with his fork. Because here is the appropriate place in which one comments on how spectacular their pie is.]

[domesheriff]

[it's probably a good thing that Linda isn't eating that pie yet because she definitely would have dropped her fork in shock. as it is, only her jaw falls, and she gapes at Kay, her expression uncomprehending. for a long moment, she doesn't say anything at all. and then she finally asks, quietly, as if it's some mystical secret:] You...know what it could be?

[most_feared]

Not sure. I'd have to figure out what type it was and how it worked. But yeah, it happens back home. Someone swoops in, sets up a giant containment area. We gotta find a way through it. [He sounds irritated at the whole memory of it all happening.]

[domesheriff]

[she's still too astonished for words at first and just shakes her head, but then it strikes her that he basically just asked for information if he's going to be able to do anything]

We--don't know. I can tell you a little about how it works, but that's all. [and a dismaying thought strikes her, her expression crumpling] ...and we only have minutes before the missile hits.

[most_feared]

That happens a lot, too. [Again, said far too easily. But then, he decides, he should probably explain himself so she doesn't think he's jerking her around.]

My organization polices alien activity on the planet Earth, and in doing such we're often put in situations where timed cease fires and threats to planetary safety are an issue. A few minutes to save a town is a pretty common thing when I'm from. Every week there's some sort of interstellar threat that could put thousands of lives at risk, and often with that there's the tick down of a bomb or a demand for money in a certain amount of time or the promise of war if certain terms aren't met by a deadline.

Right now, a missile heading for your town seems pretty big. But when you look at it like that, you look at the resources you have, you can think to yourself "I have this." [He gestures off-handedly, still confident.]

[domesheriff]

[she's not at all sure what to think--or whether to dare to hope] Alien activity? [in her mind, this solidifies the idea that Kay is from the future]

[but at his explanation, she's still frowning. it still sounds too optimistic] I guess so... [she hesitates, looking at him for a moment. but, she reasons, what does she have to lose by trying, even if it's likely hopeless?] Then...if you're really willing, I can tell you everything I know about the dome. If you still think you can help, we could plan what we're going to do.

[most_feared]

[She would probably be baffled to find out that he's from a few years previous to her.] I'm completely willing to help. That's the biggest reason to do the work I do. With everything we run into, I know how to better take care of some problems later.

[domesheriff]

[she would definitely be baffled, but at least she's taking that as read for the moment and therefore isn't asking. she still looks slightly disbelieving, but she nods, deciding to take him at his word] Okay. [and, after a pause:] Thank you, sir.

[she takes a deep breath] The dome. Like I said, it goes 10 feet in all directions around town, and not even sound passes through it. It appeared instantly, severing anything at that point--power, phone, gas lines, whatever. Including anybody unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. [her expression is grim] The first time you touch it, you get like...an electric shock, like there's some kind of charge, but only once. It doesn't seem to be harmful to people, but if you touch it with anything with batteries? They explode.

[she frowns, straining to think of anything else she can share with him, but she soon shakes her head] I think that's everything we know. There were some scientists outside the dome running tests at first, but they didn't tell us anything about what they discovered. [there's bitterness in her tone] We were just...cut off.

[most_feared]

Does it feel solid or is it a condensed energy shield? There are actually force fields in the cells here. We could let you have a look at the different ones we have and that can be a very base level of up front comparison.

[He's already forming a plan for investigating as many possibilities as he can here, since there would be so little time to create options there.]

...Though honestly I'm not real sure that a payload that big would even put a dent in it if it cut through buildings and it's already stood up to extreme temperatures.

[domesheriff]

It's solid. [not that she knows what a "condensed energy shield" would feel like, but she knows touching the dome is like feeling a wall. at his suggestion, she nods] Okay, that sounds like a good idea. I could stay after my next shift. [since she doesn't want to imply she'll be doing this on work time. she's sounding a little hopeful now, though--not that she expects to run into anything exactly like the dome, but she's glad that there might be something useful she can do here that could help Chester's Mill]

[but at that statement, her eyes widen] Wait. You don't think a missile is going to be enough to get rid of the dome? [after all, missiles make short work of buildings, too. she's not sure what makes him sound so certain]

[most_feared]

There's a better chance of it than you think. To a lot of alien technology a missile's pretty drop in the hat when it comes to shields. But we'll see what we got here, let you make some grounds for comparison, read up a little, and work from there.

Really it's good pie. You should try it. [He pointed at it again.] It'll help you take your mind off things, too. Sometimes you gotta get out of your head to handle a problem. You keep looking at yourself stuck in it, and you start feelin' hopeless.

[domesheriff]

[disbelief and hope mingle in her tone now] So Chester's Mill might be all right. Everyone I left back there...! [her eyes are wide as she lets that thought trail off, the conclusion obvious but hard for her to comprehend after so long of believing the opposite] Yes, let's do that! [for a second, she looks like she might stand to go back to the station now. but she catches herself and hastily adds:] Um, please. Sir.

[and at his second attempt at prompting, she looks down at the pie as though she forgot it was there--which is, in fact, the truth. still numb with surprise, she hesitantly nods at his words] It...yeah. It's why I'm here. I didn't think...there was any hope. [but she doesn't want to follow that train of thought, and so she follows his instructions instead, picking up her fork and taking a bite of pie, chewing automatically as her mind races with a million thoughts]

[most_feared]

It sounds like a lot of people could be helped by this.

But this is the one place you can afford to be patient, come up with back-up plans. [He folds his arms in front of him.] You got time. You can't rush back just yet. You got some time to work out a lot of options.

[domesheriff]

[she nods earnestly, her words full of emphasis:] The whole town.

[at his repeated encouragement to take this slow, however, she's quiet briefly, chewing her pie. and then, with a sigh, she nods] I know. Being able to do anything for them...it's more than I thought I could do when I came here. [and, her chin set in determination, she adds:] I won't let them down.

[even if that means waiting. she takes another bite of pie, as though to show him that she really means to follow through with his advice]