9494/Treasures of Far Stars

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Treasures of Far Stars
Date of Scene: 06 January 2022
Location: Recreation Lounge: Triskelion
Synopsis: Lara and Michael discuss xenoarchaeology, and the alien spy and soldier offers her to join offworld survival training in future.
Cast of Characters: Michael Erickson, Lara Croft




Michael Erickson has posed:
    The nights grow stranger and stranger, but some constants are assured: like the man who wears the name of 'Michael Erickson' like a Halloween disguise. He looks like a human man, frowns like a human man - but, of course, he is not. And, sitting in the corner of an L-shaped sectional in the dimmer part of the lounge area meant for just such purposes, reads quietly from a data tablet with one leg crossed over the other. Humanity draining from his face, leaving him with the mask worn over a raptor's semblance of a man, an eagle wearing human skin.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara, meanwhile, is very much a human--moreso than some other Earthlings in S.H.I.E.L.D. She doesn't often come to the rec room at Triskelion, but at least people don't stare at her, here. There's FAR more interesting things to look at. This gives her some manner of freedom to approach the inhuman on her own terms. "Hello," she says as she nears Michael.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    At the sound of a human voice, the man's mask snaps back into place - and, looking up from his reading, he offers Lara a smile. "Ah, Agent Croft," he says, giving the woman a nod. "It has been some time since I've seen you about." A pleasant baritone voice, unaccented English. Manhattan, he's supposed to be 'from'. "What can I do for you?"

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara pauses, considering the way that was phrased. Reaching up, she runs loops her fingers around her braid and slides it through them. It falls where it was supposed to along her back. She gestures to the seat next to him. "May I join you?" she begins.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    Ah, pleasantries. His brows lift, and then he gestures as well. "Please," offers Michael with a nod. "Is there something on your mind?"

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara moves to sit next to him. "You might say that," she says. "I don't want to be offensive, but I am aware that you're not from around here." She isn't sure exactly who'll be listening, so she chooses her words very carefully.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    The room is quiet, and he's familiar with her clearance - he gets sufficient knowledge to know who he can talk to, at least. One way or another. "You could say that, yes," he replies with a nod. A faint smile crawls up one corner of his mouth. "Since we're alone, please. Be blunt."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara hesitates again. She narrows her eyes slightly. "In an organization of spies, where anyone might have left their phone lying around JUST to hear secrets in the break room, you want me to speak openly." She shakes her head. "No," she says. "I've just read up on where you're from," she continues.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He laughs; reaching into his jacket, he withdraws a small device no larger than a micro-sized remote control, made of some sort of pearlescent metal. Controls swirl over its surface, glyphic and made apparently of soft green light. "I would know," replies the alien. "But we can have a walk, if you'd like."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara looks at the clearly alien device for a moment, then smiles at Michael briefly. "Let's," she says, attempting to be nonchalant. She stands, adjusting her jacket a bit, letting Michael lead the way. After all, she is imposing on his day.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He rises, then, and tucks the device away into his jacket. "I don't really fear being overheard here," Michael explains. "If you've read my file, you know I've been doing this for a very long time compared to most." A wink, then, the human act so very keen - and then he leads her out of the room and through the halls, out into the courtyard.

    Once there, out in the open, he goes to sit on a particular bench, picking past several to sit there. "Spoofed the pickup here," he explains. "I like to sit and listen to the news without worrying I'll get a grilling later. Please, sit down. We can speak freely."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara sits on the bench. She looks around. "At least the sun's out," she acknowledges. She tightens her suit jacket a bit tighter. New York winters are not exactly kind to a girl from Surrey. "Are you familiar with my particular hobbies, Agent Erickson?" she asks.

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Quite," he replies with a chuckle. "Aggressive archaeology, I've come to think of them." He, too, seems rather gathered under the cold - but he's attempting to put on a brave face for company.

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara considers the phrase, then says, "I suppose that's a fair assessment." She crosses one leg over the other, trying to keep her resolve as well. "It's a personal obsession of mine, the collecting. I've got a bit of a quest going to complete my father's work--in Siberia of all places--but I've had some encounters with lost civilizations on Earth and recently took my first steps on another world. It was only the moon, but it got me thinking that there must be ancient artifacts shrouded in lore on other worlds. I don't know if your people have magic or not, but someone must have experimented with the kinds of superstitions we get into here, at least."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "The moon is a good step," Michael points out, chuckling faintly at her assertion of it being 'only' a location to be. "I believe one of your first travelers had something to say to that." He pauses to shiver under his jacket, frowning up at the leaden sky. "...we do have sorcery, yes," he replies then with a nod. "The Empire spans a galaxy, and there is quite a lot of magic there. It is strongly controlled, however. There have been...happenings, in history. Planets destroyed, star systems consumed by monstrosities. The military has units of the mystically aware tasked to deal with such things."

Lara Croft has posed:
    "I see," Lara says, making herself nod. She tries to think of what to say, then says, "I'm afraid my history classes didn't cover any of that." Obviously! "However, I'm not sure I'll be able to rest until I either have the Shi'ar equivalent of the Spear of Destiny in my collection or am thoroughly dissuaded from doing so."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Well, I teach that," he replies, chuckling once more. "Galactic history, as it were - to a point. We were all taught a great deal of the Empire's history, but it /is/ millennia of expansion to track. I'm not a dedicated scholar." Michael looks back to her, then, and smirks. "I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. The Shi'ar equivalent would be the M'kraan, which is a jewel large enough to contain a city and is a nexus of realities. Dislodge it and you might well collapse a hole in the universe. But! I can teach you about other things. Hell, I encountered a centuries-old Badoon gas processor in the upper atmosphere of Jupiter the other month."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara has clearly not been thinking large enough. Maybe she's too human for that. She is quiet for a few moments before remembering to blink. She asks, "Is it still there?"

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "No." Michael gives her an apologetic smile. "Fusion reactor was giving out, I had to destroy it. I have footage for you, though, if you'd like to see. Plenty of holographs." A beat. "How are you about combat anymore, Agent? Still happy to kick down doors and fight grave robbers? That sort of thing?"

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara considers. "Fusion reactors can't explode, so I imagine there was more going on than I realize, there." She actively avoids the question about combat, changing the subject as she says, "Is there anything that's more...portable? Less the size of my whole manor or larger? Say, something one might display in a room, not through a window."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Not explosion, no," he says with a chuckle. "But there were other issues." Erickson moves on. "If you're looking for an opportunity to snatch away the relics of my people, I cannot currently help you - I am, by dint of my betrayal of the Empire to help humanity when my people came here last year, persona non grata. /However/, now that I know you're looking for relics from off world, I can absolutely put an ear out for you, as they say. There's a whole galaxy here, too, after all. I've been working on exploring the outlying systems to see what knowledge that I can gather."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara smiles in a manner inversely proportional to the weather. "That's better than I had before," she acknowledges. She stands. "I don't mean to be rude, but with that concluded, I believe I'm going to go back inside. It's colder than I'm used to, and I didn't grab my coat before we came out here."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    He gets up as well, brushing at his jacket. "I hate the cold, too," Michael replies. "But I asked about the combat because I've been cleared to start an offworld action group - survival training, among other things, on other worlds, other environments. You'd be welcome to join the training program once it's done, if only so that we might be able to cart you off to other planets to explore said mysteries without dying."

Lara Croft has posed:
    Lara considers carefully for a moment. She looks off into the wispy clouds and hugs herself. A shiver passes through her. "I killed with surprising ease," she says. "I had to, but I don't like it. I find it preferable to avoid direct confrontation."

Michael Erickson has posed:
    "Nothing wrong with that," he replies with a smile. "Best use of a reconnaissance unit is not to be seen in the first place. Come sit in on the training, Agent. We'll train you how to do a dig in double gravity. It will be fun." That said, he gestures to the main tower once more. "Please, after you."