Bring Your Kid To Work

[63rd_shockwave]

"..."

Sarah's got a companion as she wanders around the base one sunday-a small, bright-eyed boy sitting on her shoulders, who wastes no time in asking about everything.

"Hey, mom, what's that for?" He asks, pointing at a kirby-esque bit of machinery gathering dust in the back of the hangar.

"Neutron Polarizer, it lets you reverse the polarity of the neutron flux." she replies, perfectly deadpan.
"You just made that up!"
"Nope."

Jacob pouts briefly, before pointing over at someone else.
"Hey, mom, who's that? Are they an alien too? Or a demon?"
"...Man, you couldn't have just asked to go to the park, could you..."


2.[Locked to a certain NPC]

Eventually, the appointed time comes, and Sarah and Jacob arrive at the chosen place. Children and their parents are playing in the park, people are walking their dogs, and some college students are playing disc golf. Percival stands some feet away from Sarah, by the side of the road. Seraphina waits in the driver's seat of his car, the engine running.

Sarah motions for Jacob to take his things and go to the car, but he does not move until she gently pushes him on the back. He gets in the car, and soon Seraphina's driving away.

Sarah watches her go, and sighs.
"Man, do we really gotta do this..."

Comments

1

[jianai]

Hello.

[Wave.]

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

Mom, that lady's got horns! [Jacob immediately points at Ren.]

Yeah, she's a demon or something. It's rude to point, honey.

But what if she steals someone's sooooooooul?

She wouldn't do that, you have to get a license and there's a lot of paperwork.

[jianai]

Don't be afraid, I'm not stealing souls and I'm not a demon either.

[Nor a lady but no need to confuse the kid further.]

I'm Ren Ubuntu. What's your name?

[Ren looks up and gives Sarah's son a friendly smile.]

[63rd_shockwave]

See, I told you. Nobody ever fills out the paperwork. [Sarah looks up at her son, who, for his part, just pays attention to Ren.]



My name's Jacob, miss! How'd you get those fancy horns?

1

[actuallyselfish]

"Hey-Ya!" A mechanic in stained blue overalls shouts, waving a socket wrench in greeting.

"How you doing, Sarah? And that little squirt at your side's Jacob, right?"

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

I'm not a squirt!

Yeah, he is. [Sarah picks Jacob up off her shoulders and sets him down, where he pouts briefly.]
Jacob, this is Dido. Dido, Jacob.

Hey, Miss Dido, what do you do? Are you a superhero?

Re: 1

[actuallyselfish]

"Not quite, Dido said quietly. "I'm a..."

Mechanic? Grease-monkey? Mecha-Engineer? But she also pilots a super robot, so that'd make her a...

"...Techwarrior!" Dido proclaims. "I protect the planet with that beast over there–!"

She points at ShelLancer. "–and make sure everyone else's machines get repaired! I don't have superpowers like your mom, though."

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

Techwarrior...you just made that up!

Nah, that's totally a real military rank.

Fine...Hey, do you know any stories about my mom? She doesn't talk about being a superhero much...

1

[empress_without_a_throne]

I'd say "alien" is more appropriate for me than "demon"... though your mom disagrees with me on that.

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

Well you just don't seem like the alien type, is all. Maybe some kind of a space elf, though...

What's your name, miss space lady?

[empress_without_a_throne]

Mizuki. Mizuki Onodera.

Your mom helped fight against some of my "relatives" in the past... but it's okay and there's no bad blood between us. They were bad people and got what they deserved.

[63rd_shockwave]

Well...

Woah...Hey, do you know any other stories?

2

[srwu_npc2]

"Sarah..."

Percival finally speaks up.

"Even if it is painful, regardless of our feelings - yes, we must."

Re: 2

[63rd_shockwave]

We could just...not do this, you know. There's nobody here but us, if we just told everyone we fought, they'd have to believe us...

...You know I don't want to hurt you, and...You know how Jacob's gonna feel if something bad happens to us. Either of us.

[srwu_npc2]

"Yes, I know. But there are times when personal feelings must be put aside."

Percival puts his hand on the hilt of his sheathed sword.

"I will not allow you to act against the Knights of Guiding Hand. Now, Sarah... prepare yourself!"

1

[keep_your_dignity]

[The giant pile of armor turns around, directing its immobile faceplate at the kid on his mother's shoulders]

THE HELL.

YOU CLEARLY HAVE AN OPEN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT A BASE FILLED WITH CLASSIFIED MATERIAL ENTAILS, DANIELS.

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

Ah! It moved! [Jacob jumps back with a yelp. Which gets him off his mom's shoulders, but he sticks the landing.]

Well you let me look at everything, so it can't be that classified. Jacob, this is...

...

[keep_your_dignity]

THAT'S NOT ON ME. FOR SOME REASON SOMEONE UPSTAIRS DECIDED YOU'RE TRUSTED PERSONNEL, FUCK ME IF I KNOW WHY. BUT TRUSTED OR NOT, CHILDREN AND THEIR TENDENCY TO BLAB DON'T MIX WITH BASE FILLED WITH CLASSIFIED MATERIAL.

AH, FUCK IT. WITH HOW THIS PLACE IS RUN, THE COMMANDER WOULD PROBABLY JUST START PLAYING WITH THE DAMNED SQUIRT IF I TRIED TO COMPLAIN. AND THEN PEOPLE CRY WHEN PEOPLE LIKE PLISKEN MAKE OFF WITH HALF OF WHAT WE KNOW.

[It's honestly kind of surprising that you'd be around the bases for any length and not hear about Kagura. An eight foot tall suit of robotic armor with an iron (har har) sergeant demeanour is the kind of thing that usually calls attention]

MAJOR KAGURA. GRAVEYARD EXECUTOR. [Probably not the most sterling recommendation, given Graveyard's general reputation of being a bunch of shady nuts]

1

[tiger_ken]

Ninja, actually. Or, should be. It's a bit complicated. My parents actually fought to save the world around the same time your mother did.

1)

[mistaken_for_monster]

[Interestingly enough the thing Jacob pointed out was a familiar plant monster. One Volya was currently trying to deal with at this moment.]

You want me to kiss it better? Really?

[This earned a small whine from Interitus as it raised a vine that looked wilted. Volya sighs tiredly.]

What am I even....

Re: 1)

[63rd_shockwave]

[The pair stops dead in their tracks, jacob pointing at Inertius. There is a slight hint of worry in his voice.]

...Mom, what's that?

The third biggest cabbage in america, son.

[mistaken_for_monster]

!!

[Wait a second... that voice... oooh no...]

Jacob-

[No time to think! Volya dives behind one of Interitus' hands. Said hand is lifted in confusion, revealing the hiding russian.]

Wh- what are you doing?! You're supposed to be hiding me!

"Thhbbtthhhht"

But-

"Thhbbtthhhht"

That's your answer to everything!

1

[abugslife]

[Hetepheres is busy overseeing while several members of her entourage are doing mainenance on Scaraber and reporting to her. Well, not anymore.]

Oh? So this is the famed Jacob Daniels, in the flesh. He really exists.

Re: 1

[63rd_shockwave]

You're really tall!

[abugslife]

Indeed. As a Gebian general, my towering height is a notable trait. Very perceptive.