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Ash Holloway Location: Mechanics (K) Skills: N/A

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The quick and fleeting introduction to Rivets was responded to with a notable drawl of Ash's native Virginia Mountain accent as a respectful, "Ma'am," was presented. Admittedly, she was not the kind of person who Ash would have thought of might have the moniker of "Rivets", but of all the ideas that he had to get used to over the course of the last few years, this looked like an easier mount to summit than most. For the moment, Ash assumed a neutral speak when spoken to mentality. There were ropes; he had to learn them. And it looked for the time being that he would be learning them with another newcomer for the week. It was safe to say that they hadn't spoken much during their time in Quarantine. It seemed that Hunter, the man in question, sought to alleviate that very situation in his own forward manner, referring to him as a Private.

Following Hunter's comment and its accompanying grin, Ash regarded the younger man with raised eyebrow. It looked like he was appraising Hunter, and while he said nothing to him, Ash gave a slow nod, the expression on his face reading that he was another step closer to coming to an unvoiced conclusion. Utilizing a different train of logic but maintaining his silence, Ash was taken a little off guard by being referred to as "Sparrow's", unless he totally missed something along the way. A moment's consideration had him thinking that it certainly wasn't a bad thing being known as Sparrow's, possibly the fastest indicator as to his identity in this place among the locals. Lord knows people must have given her crap about leaving the safety of Camp Mexico Beach in search of a guy (that would be him) who was in all likelihood missing or dead already. It was miraculous that they were reunited. Storybook, really. And when the movie version of it came out, Ash wanted the guy from Aliens to play him.

Otherwise, Ash paid no mind to the running commentary from the locals as they spoke among themselves and to Hunter. The guy was military once, and though many aspects of this were lost in the changes of the new world, this settlement was run in its administration by the guidelines therefrom. He knew how this worked just as well as Ash did. So while he paid the commentary no mind, he did make note of the semi-formal manner with which they were being dealt. Not everyone was former military; everyone still seemed to fall in line.

Morning announcements came as an interesting change of pace for Ash. The man who ran this place had every appearance of a kindly older fellow, open to conversation with gentle voice and deliberate phrasing. But Ash knew who he was from his training days. The General was not the kind of guy to be messed with. The grandfatherly way in which he took to the morning announcements was a settling thing, much like how he spoke to Ash during his entrance interview. He listened carefully to the announcements, taking note of the projected temperature and promise of fresh tuna. This place was well put together, no doubt.

After PA clicked off, Ash found his attention directed toward Rivets, who took the moment to address he and Hunter both with a brief outline of what was expected of them. So they were being handed off to Mizrahi. For his own reasons, Ash wanted to get to know the man a little. This might be fortuitous. He gave a respectful "Yes, ma'am," to the broader edicts of his duties, and a similar, "Thank you, ma'am," when informed that he would be allowed time to clean up before visiting the gravesites.

Mizrahi was a man of few words, but those few words (along with the unveiling of the Ladies' Washroom) had an impact. Ash did appreciate the look of sympathy from the man. At least he knew that this wasn't something the guy was taking enjoyment from. Lord knew that Ash wasn't exactly thrilled about it either. Still, this was their first job of the day. He nodded to Mizrahi, this time more of an acquiescent gesture. He was the man in charge of them right now. This was how they paid their dues. And thinking back on the past many months, he had done far worse for food and safety. Ash could clean up a bathroom.

And that's just what Ash intended to do. But first, providence held in store for him a bit of storytime, courtesy of his cleaning buddy for the week, Hunter. He heard a brief description of how one might see to the cleaning of a room, and in such a fashion that he honestly began to question if Hunter believed that Ash had never cleaned a room before in his life. As the proposed battle plan continued unabated, even going so far as to describe single-digit numbers of persons utilizing the bathroom in question, Ash began to think back to his time as a cadet at the Virginia Military Academy. Four years of it, dealing with every sort of menial task presented by the military instructors and for of those years, the upperclassmen, too. Not the least of which was hammering through dormitory bathrooms utilized by hundreds on a regular basis, and a couple thousand sporadically besides. Sarcastically, he thought (but did not speak aloud), "No, in fact I would have no idea how to handle a cleaning detail and bring a room to inspection quality without Hunter's rapt and avid tutelage. God bless this man and his heretofore unrivaled wisdom of the custodial ages." His expression might have said all of that, anyway. But what piqued Ash's interest most about it was that part of Hunter's rant sounded just a hair too much like a threat for his tastes. This might be a more interesting week than Ash had given it credit for.

"You're trying too hard," was the one thing that he did say out loud. Determined in pursuit of doing a proper job, Ash took to the cleaning supplies and did as he was trained to do in these circumstances: He started at the top and worked his way down - beginning with the light fixtures and ceiling around them.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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"We're still pushing air past our teeth, Mugsy," commented Thalia in response to Alexander's prediction about the day. "The day's already better for us than most." Perspective was a bitch sometimes. Coincidentally, so was Thalia. Sometimes. The one-winged Angel was still a bit reserved about this whole setup, though this didn't seem too bad so far. And though she wasn't going to admit it to save her life at that moment, it was a comfort that she was going to be working with Alexander and not someone she didn't know or just met recently. She wasn't being thrown to the wolves, socially speaking. Perhaps that was what the settlement leaders had in mind all along, considering Thalia's tendency to withdraw and observe during unfamiliar situations. They probably had their own observations about her, psychologically speaking, and Thana likely mentioned a few things as well. It was a smart and, dare she say it, compassionate move on their part. Or it was all just a huge coincidence and she was overthinking it. Either way, Thalia approved - so much as she approved of anything.

Thalia did cock an eyebrow up and look from Sandra to Alexander. Some snow cougar was working fast, making an advance on the poor guy. Well, whatever floated his proverbial boat. She tried not to smirk or pass judgement, but it was hard. Sadly, she had not the time to come up with a subtle yet jarring quip as the morning announcements began. Most of it she didn't give a rat's hindparts about, but the mention of sushi brought her into full and open attention. It had been years since she had actual sushi, not just fish, raw or otherwise, she had speared in a river for her supper. Boston. More than five years ago. Thalia had given up hope, but here it was thrust upon her again like opportunity knocking once again. "Sashimi, norimaki, ...hand rolls..." Oh, if they somehow had wasabi she was going to have an episode of some kind.

Quickly, Thalia straightened up and remembered that she was here to work, not to pillage for fish. Which now might become her new phrase to describe trolling for easy female companionship, if she felt like hometeaming it that day. "Pillage for Fish". Yeah. Okay, back on the clock. Thalia followed Gunny and Alexander, paying careful attention to their surroundings and listening to what was said. Cleaning and organizing. Fine, bring it on. She needed to exercise her new prosthetic in an array of mundane tasks anyway, this would suffice. Then sushi.

No, graveyard first. That was important. She needed to give her respects to friends and fallen warriors. People she cared about. Far more important.

When a call for questions came up from Gunny and Alexander responded to the negative, Thalia almost felt bad for having one. It had nothing to do with their job, but directness was a quality she possessed whether she liked it or not. "Yeah um, unrelated, but can you tell me where my brother's at today, please? I was supposed to find him for something." She suddenly remembered, quickly adding, "Sir." Otherwise, she was totally ready and almost eager to get to work.

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Alexander Polawski Location: Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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Alexander couldn't argue with Thana's somewhat cynical perspective. Compared to most other people in the world - and ol' Mugsy surely hoped that there were more good people alive out there - they were on a three-week luxury cruise in the Carribbean, all expenses paid beforehand. Thana was just wired like that Alexander figured, didn't make her a worse person than anyone else though. Alexander himself saw it differently, thankful for the hopefully watchful eye of God above him.

Besides Thana asking Gunny about her brother's whereabouts, there was nothing that was going to stop the amputee-duo from getting straight to work. Even with his prostethic leg still new to him, things were going as smoothly as he could have hoped for. Back and forth he went, carrying miscellaneous junk from the room out to the bins in the hall. While most of it went without much notice from the old veteran, the electronics bits and bobs he payed more attention to as he sorted them out. He hadn't dabbled in the glories of electronic fiddling for years at this point really, so he couldn't help but mutter to himself the names and uses of the various electronics he found in-between whatever conversation he was holding with Thalia. Mostly he did what he was told to do, clear and simple. Cleaning and tidying up, just how he liked it.

"Remind me how you got into the electronics again, dear. You're a hand's on type of lady, still surprises me to this day that we've got that in common. Not that I'm complaining, I miss talking to a fellow buzz-brain." Alexander asked Thalia in a casual manner, at the moment coming back from the hall to find another corned fill with spiderwebs that needed brooming. The new leg had done its job rather well all things considered, that Tesla deserved another thanks when he met him. He stood with his back to Thalia as he tangled the cobweb up with the broom, calmly enjoying his time doing something constructive for once and waiting for Thalia's answer. It had been long since he had conversed about such mundane topics such as one's background, well except for Manny, it was a common subject for them now. Thalia not so much, even for their friendship.

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Nigel Cooper Location: Hydroponic Gardens (T) Skills: N/A

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After having spent as much time as he had done either by himself or in the company of such complimentary plebs such as Hank and Wayne, it was unusual feeling for Nigel to hear Thana's thoughts on him. He, handy and useful? Nigel couldn't help but give her a brief smile back before returning to the task at hand. He'd spent too much time around people who didn't understand or made fun of him, so for now this was a nice change of pace. Except the humidity. By Neptune's wet beard it was nearly worse than the swamp.

Thankfully the last sheet was soon raised and wrapped up by Nigel, letting in a gentle breeze through the netting which Nigel hadn't noticed before. The former farm boy held up his hand and gently felt the netting, still convinced that he'd view this as a Great Wonder. These people really had it figured out. "Oh yeah, I get it. Either you'd get a leak or contaminated water. Worse than it can be purified anyhow." Nigel voiced his thoughts on the water issue, though raised his brow like Thana had done to him at the mention of Newnan. Thana was quick to fill him in on the basics however, which Nigel clearly hadn't known of before. It had been too many years since he'd been a substitute for a geography class. "It sounded bad then. Was that were the other group came from, if I may ask?"

Nigel didn't anticipate a conclusive answer to his questioning, after all what right did he have to ask about the others? Therefore he didn't wait long after being handed the list of things they needed to start bringing them in. "Sure, no problem. I'll be right back." Nigel would head out and get the wheelbarrow, wheel it over to the shed and begin filling it with all they needed. He recognized a bunch of the items, more the tools and soil and less the chemicals. It had been years since he'd done any farm work, and even then he hadn't done much himself. Back and forth Nigel wheeled, at one time noticing a golfcart driving past him with Nikki and Amelia in it. While he didn't know them too well, Nigel raised his hand and attempted to give them a wave, however unlikely it would be that they noticed him too. His sweaty face must have reflected the sun like a lighthouse though.

"It wasn't anything like this one, that's for sure." Nigel answered Thana's question, putting down a bag of soil from the wheelbarrow and wiping his forehead of sweat. "It was a small farm, mostly dealt in smalltime livestock and wheat. Never spent much time helping though. Mom was a vet and dad didn't want me in the way. Well, except in the shop I guess. Spent many hours of my life making horseshoes and such." Nigel regretted not learning more about farming from his time home, but reminded himself of what he had said about not being in the way. And besides he learned enough by drifting in the woods as he did. "May I return the same question to you, or how you fit in here in the gardens. You have the knowledge of this after all, that much I can see."

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Amelia Payne Location: Supply (R) -> Pier (D) Skills: N/A

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„Thank you! These will help a lot.” Amelia said with a smile as she received the sunglasses from Nikki. At first she was a bit curious why, but then figured it must be because at this place the sun was pretty strong. She thought that was the reason, but never the less she was really thankful to the girl for the gesture of good will! She hurried followed Nikki and got into the cart as well, putting the sunglasses on. At least now the sun wouldn't be hindering her eyes and blinding her.

The field trip more or less with Cheers was a nice and a good way for Amelia to again get familiar with the layout of the camp. With them having to visit most places of importance and take their requests for the day. After all best way to memorize a city’s locations was by visiting them and the camp while big, wasn’t a whole giant city. What’s more things were pretty sensible located as things went. She was only slightly sad that she didn’t get to spot Riley when they were at the Church. Apparently her friends that were now working there were too busy. Eventually they trip ended by the Pier. Amelia was really happy the golf cart was not getting onto it.

“Alright, right behind you.” Amelia said and quickly started to get off the cart, only to realize the girl already had a good deal distance! Thus she hurried over after the girl at top speed as well. She wasn’t missing this chance to get to explore and see the pier under official supervision. That way no chance of her getting into trouble!

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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„Hmm?” Lisa made a questioning sound as she heard the question from the older man and looked at him with curiosity in her eyes. This was interesting, not quite what she expected to be asked, but then again not a unexpected question to appear. It made sense if he had prior work in the field especially before the apocalypse deal and Lisa had to admit she wasn’t really didn’t have the medical look. She chuckled.” Well not too long… though long is a relative term nowdays. I’ve been in the camp since last year. Somewhere between Halloween and Thanksgiving. Don’t quite know the exact date back then.” Was her reply as she led the way forward.” As for your second question, a few months… well I’m now getting completely transferred to this place. I’ve been helping out her as part in my Supply Duties for a few months. I’m not a doctor, I mostly clean the equipment and help out with the pharmaceuticals however I’m needed. Though I do take additional specialized lessons all the time. Turned out I actually do like working here a lot.”

“Well not a problem with me. So feel free to chat me up as much as you want.” She gave him a friendly smile.” I enjoy conversations. Others don’t, but as I just said, not one of those types.” Leading the way into the basement where she had spend the majority of her time at Medical for the duration of her work here, she spotted that it wasn’t a nice situation this time around.” Well, seems we are tossing you into the deep end this time around.” She commented, noting the honestly big amount of work in need to be done. Cleaning, sterilizing and so much more.” For now I will be here to help you out. You probably have done this in the past, but an extra pair of hands to help you out wouldn’t be amiss no? Besides, things a new rundown of the procedures never hurt anyone and better be save than sorry.”

Taking into account the different things in need of doing, she decided that as the first day on the job and possible not having done this for years now, it would likely be the best to start the old guy with the less delicate work.” What do you think of starting with the plaster?” Lisa asked and looked at Manny.

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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The facility was nice, though clearly still had some areas where accommodations had to be made in order to fit the needs here. It made sense, it is rare that what is available will be perfect for the needs at hand. Even his old dentistry wasn't perfect when he had bought it. Some walls got removed, others added, a few new water fixtures. All sorts of odds and ends were needed to set up the place. So much time, blood, sweat, tears, and a rather hefty loan. And now? He was here helping the people here make some progress in this small world.

The basement where Manny had to clean was something... challenging. The basement was a mess, very used and seemed like a lot had been done since the last cleaning. There was a lot to do, and it would take him the better part of his work day to do it. "Damn..." He spoke to no one in particular. The cleaning didn't bug him too much, but the basement it self was a bit more stressful. Though it wasn't as confined as the cell he had been trapped in while at Eden, it was an isolated space with no openings or exits other then the basement door itself. He tried to hide the unease on his face, but he had little luck there. It was open enough though he figured he could tough through it. And so far, he did. It wasn't easy, and he had to remind himself regularly that this is NOT Eden. This was a new place, a safe place. Even if the basement gave an unfriendly impression with the horrible mess.

Following things up with Lisa helped though. Talking, casual conversations, and the like helped a lot to get through these kinds of things. She had been here a decent amount of time, and for medical history, seemed pretty limited. Made sense but it was nice to see that there were people interested in taking up the trade. "Glad to have the company." To Manny's surprise, there was a fellow survivor who was into conversation! Where he had grown to treat the fellow members of team Eden as family, it was clear he was the only one who was really into casual conversations. "Before all of this started, what were you hoping to get into? Was it medical like you are now?" He assumed not but he was interested none the less. "Or was it something else?" He knew as well as anyone life takes turns that make it so original plans don't always work out. At the rate he was going before in his youth, he wasn't expected to be able to do more then get into trouble. Now? He was a dentist, a field medic, and afraid of basements. Go figure how fast can change huh? He gave a nod towards taking care of plaster to start, it was a simple task that should take him too long to do. And he would go about the room doing whatever tasks were available to do until he had to leave.

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Hunter Monroe Location:Mechanics (K) Skills:N/A

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[Fail, 5, option 1]
Hunter wasn't sure what to think of the former army officer. Hunter's past experiences with officers was useless here. He nodded to his joke comment that got him some backlash from Rivets. Almost like he was deciding he was deciding what to think of him. But to make things even more confusing, the man knew how to clean?! An officer who could take care of himself?! it was mind boggling to Hunter. Even started cleaning things Hunter didn't think of cleaning. So props to the army officer. He did find the man's comment about trying to hard to be a bit... Annoying. He stopped what he was doing once he registered the comment and prepared to reply back. But decided against it. He either wouldn't care, or he wouldn't believe him. Or think it was all deserved. None of those options seemed good to the soldier boy, so he left Ash to do his share of cleaning, Hunter still working at it as best as he could despite his headache, and did little to hide the fact he was surprised about Ash's ability to take care of himself and the situation better then most officers he had met.

While cleaning Hunter did take note of a few things. There was a cleaning log that he paid little mind to. Last thing he needed was a grudge against whoever was fucking up on cleaning detail. The next thing, as they cleaned the smell... the smell started to get worse. Sure, his time stuck in a sewer for what he was sure was a week sucked, but by god this was something new. Sure it was old enough to be dry and stuck to the walls, but it was still fresh enough that the smell was something.... horrible. It was manageable. But still. What the actual fuck had gone on in here to warrant this kind of mess?! Hunter could tough through it. Considering his health at it's current state that was a great thing, or maybe his sense of smell was diminished after that time. He wondered if every building's bathroom was as bad at this one's? If so he would need to push for a rather drastic diet change. Because fucking hell this was bad.

Toughing through it, getting some cleaning done, time went on. And things went well overall. Hunter debated on small talk with the former captain, being both army, and having some sense of being able to take care of himself and chores, made him wonder what kind of life the man lived. Even considered asking him if he had any interesting stories on how he got this far. But he decided against it. He figured Ash didn't like him all that much, which was fair. He made a poor impression. Or he would answer, and ask in return. Hunter didn't have a lot of pleasant stories to tell about making it this far. Thinking about it, he figured that the same was probably true for most people. So unless prompted otherwise, he would just go on with his work and finish it up so he could keep at his rather busy schedule of a day.

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Ash Holloway Location: Mechanics (K) Skills: N/A

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Cleaning supplies... This was a time that Ash genuinely wished that this place had a pressurized waterhose and some industrial cleaner. Bleach. Degreaser. Things with activated enzymes and that may or may not be flammable. His mind darted back to his time stationed in Central and South America and his work with limited resources. The battles to keep things clean and/or sterile were near constant. He remembered one of the best cleaners he could improvise primitively involved alcohol and citrus rind, two things he might be able to put together here, though he was almost certain that these people had already thought of that. Maybe ask first, as he had an opportunity, before merely assuming they didn't already have something like that set up. Write it down for later on, as it had zero bearing on what was going on that day.

Curiosity did get the better of him as he looked to the clipboard. It was a regularly cleaned room, supposedly. Ash could only assume that it was, looking at a series of names and dates backing up that theory, though the hard and fast, on the ground evidence inferred a different story altogether. This place was disgusting. Maybe if it was outdoors, where the breeze could catch the funk of concentrated human leavings and move it away, or at least give it room to diffuse, it wouldn't be so bad. But here he was, amid the tile and porcelain of a fallen civilization, on cleanup. It would have been quite metaphorical if it wasn't beginning to singe his nostril hairs short. If this room was actually cleaned out a couple of days ago, he wanted to know the name of the slackass who signed off that this was handled, and if that wasn't the issue, who the hell did this to the bathroom afterwards? He could solve one of those immediately. The last name on the list: Checkbook. "Hmm," came the only comment he chose to make for the revelation.

In any case, this train of thought was likewise not productive. "Fix the problem, not the blame," he reminded himself. If it had to be addressed later, it would be addressed later. That wasn't his job. Cleaning it up was. So on he continued, despite the smell of it seeming to concentrate and build. Once or twice, he even swore it grew a malevolent intelligence and sought him out personally. Though he clung to his personal work ethic, even dipping into the oath he swore as an officer to an army that only truly existed as a creed anymore, it did not stop his physiological reaction to the unrelenting filth. More than once, his stomach tried to assert itself, threatening to empty its contents just in case that might fix the problem. Suffice it to say, Ash was not happy. He blinked away the moisture building in his eyes and stoically steeled himself to the task at hand, forsaking unnecessary conversation in the hopes of getting the job over with quickly and thoroughly. That, and he really didn't feel like opening his mouth in this room any more than he had to, lest the dankness taint him further.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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"Thanks," Thalia said to Gunny's back as he left the room. Maybe he heard it. As far as she knew, an expression of gratitude wouldn't have mattered to the man even if he did catch it. Gunny reminded her of her uncle, a little. It was the quiet way that he communicated only that which was necessary for the moment, and otherwise stared at people in an unnerving way. Hell, Thalia grew up with that, from the age of ten onward. No problems there. But she still felt the need to thank the man. Best foot forward, or something like that.

So Joaquin took lunch at noon. Checking her slip of paper from earlier, Thalia saw that the their mealtimes overlapped by a half hour. She'd get a chance to confront the slippery, iambic pentameter speaking jackass in a few hours, and then she'd get her answers. Barring anything else, it would give her a few minutes with her half-sibling. It would be nice to catch up a little more. Again, that was hours away. Thalia had bitch work to do, so she figured that she'd better got to it. Sorting crap. Yay. It could be worse - a whole lot worse - and she was in there with someone she was more or less comfortable around. There were harder things one might do to get food and shelter. She'd done a lot of them, too. Junk sorting. How quaint. It was like scavenging, except she was keeping everything, not just what was useful to her, personally. She could do this. Ignoring the fact that she was in a basement with limited exits (behind walls or not it ran contrary to her general survival strategy), Thalia started sorting.

Alexander's question struck her as odd. In the many months they were on the outside, hadn't they had this conversation? It seemed weird that they wouldn't have. Than again, that was all about what you could do to help each other, not how they came across the ability to do so. Survival on the day-to-day. Why not? Conversation it was. "Hands on. That's funny theah, Mugs," she said sardonically, glancing to her metal limb. "I wanted to work for my uncle's company as more than a corp-sec agent. Went to school for it in Boston. Electronics major, Criminal Justice minor. Suffolk University," she noted at the end. It was a decent school once upon a time; while it didn't have the clout and recognition of MIT, it was a place that moneyed people tried to get into, and spoke a little of her background. "Go Rams," she finished dryly.

It was at about this time that Thalia heard a cracking sound from just above her. The box she was pulling down wasn't the issue, she had gotten pretty good at hauling close with her left and propping it up with her artificial right. Damn near a workable system, even. But the act of slipping a box toward her that was just barely in her reach put too much pressure on the shelving, causing the whole damn thing to come collapsing down in an avalanche of junk. Instinct took over, and while Thalia wasn't able to fully get out of the way she could shield herself from the brunt of the falling objects - but not all of them. Something brass colored and shiny slipped into her vision for a quarter second, maybe, before she felt a sharp pain strike her cheek. Thalia let out a wordless grunt of pain and impatience, "Nnnaah!" and reflexively slapped her hand to her face. It felt warm and wet. Holy shit, she was actually bleeding. It wasn't bad, but it did surprise the hell out of her. "Really?" she inquired of no one in particular. "Fucking really?" A heavy sigh later, "Gimmie a minute, heah. Hate fucking bowling..." She actually didn't. It just seemed like the thing to say right then.

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Amelia Payne Location: Pier (D) Skills: N/A

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As they got to Major, Amelia was very quiet. The woman was a bit of a scary one in her eyes. She wasn't an evil outlaw criminal type of scary, but more the you can't read her military serious face kind of scary. Her general attitude was enough to put Amelia a bit on edge. Admittedly it was also a good attitude to have, she could respect the woman a lot. She just hoped to never get on her bad side.” Hello, Major.” Amelia greeted Major as Nikki introduced their reason for being here. She studied the pier, taking in all the details she could as they were going to meet Chase. So the green cards were the access cards indeed!

She also studied the people fishing here. Everyone seemed to have a job at this camp. It was nice order to have in this world. Made the mind feel at ease. She was still worried in general and kept a close eye on the surroundings just in case. Old habbits die hard, so does paranoia even be it a lesser one. As the bell rang, she was kind of curious, listening to Nikki's explanation. Blinking her eyes, Amelia nodded.” I do. Do the whole of Supply get the same lunch time or are we in internal shifts for it?” She replied honestly and then asked. Amelia was pretty certain if she remembered their schedules correctly her lunch time didn't coincide with Riley's. So she was going to stick to Nikki, especially since the girl was quite friendly and Amelia liked to think they will get along just fine.

“Thank you... Eh?” Amelia smiled and said words of gratitude to Nikki as the girl held the gate for her. Then she was a bit startled as Nikki started calling Chase, but the woman wasn't responding. The confusion was replaced by even more confusion as Nikki said the reason!” Can't we like... poke her or...?” She asked.

What followed was a honestly very enlighting time on the pier as Nikki was on a rant about bubblegum. It was actually interesting to listen to! However she couldn't help peering at Chase and tossing questioning looks at Nikki as if asking if they should just be spending so much time waiting here and if they weren't going to get into trouble for it. Finally after another bell the woman snapped out of whatever thoughts she was in and recognized their presence to much of Amelia's relief.” Hey... hello. Everything okey with the readings?” Amelia greeted Chase after Nikki started waving that clipboard.

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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Lisa had a good time working with Manny. He seemed like a good guy, had this older calming feel to him if nothing else. Often it was easier to talk with someone who was older than yourself. In any case, having someone to chat with while working certainly made time flow faster and gave the menial task a more enjoyable feel. Not that she didn't like working here, it was just that sometime when you were alone, here, underground, it was just getting boring.

“Nothing.” She gave a one word reply as her attention was focused on cleaning one especially stubborn to remove patch of plaster. God darn there was quite a bit of it! What were these guys doing!?” Well... I had nothing I wanted to become back then. I had found a certain stability with my life as it was. I was a housekeeper... more or less a live in maid. I had stable work, stable income, a free roof over my head and it was enough for me. I had nothing I wanted or needed at that point.” Lisa finished her explanation.” Who knew that I had such a draw towards pharmaceuticals and chemistry.” She chuckled in somewhat good mood.” What about you?”

After the bell rang, Mary arrived soon after as expected. She commented on the plaster as Lisa nodded.” Working on it. Going to be finished soon.” Lisa gave a matter of fact reply as she returned to cleaning the rest of the plaster now that she had dealt with the very stubborn spot. She was just about to ask why the hell was there so much plaster, but she lost her chance. Maybe later. As such she focused all her attention to finish up the rest of the plaster as fast as possible, before it hardened. Would be a bad thing to have happen on her first official day otherwise.

Soon enough the second Bell rang, indicating the second lunch had started.” Okey time to take stock. Lunch's in half an hour, we better make sure we've dealt with the critical cleaning before then.” She studied the place, plaster should be one at this point, but it never hurt to double triple check before heading for lunch. It was a professional mental issue, she needed to make sure that she had finished her job properly. A left over from her days as a housekeeper.

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Ash Holloway Location: Mechanics (K) Skills: N/A

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Ash took the time he had in the relative quiet to fully understand and appreciate the fuller, myriad definitions - literal, colloquial, and metaphorical - of the term "shit work". He appreciated the conversational hiatus between himself and Hunter. They didn't have a lot to say to each other as it was, and unnecessary talk meant that he would have to have his mouth open more than he absolutely had to in this place. To Ash's thinking, this was was better all around.

As sweltering and disgusting as it might be in that bathroom, there was at least an end in sight. Accomplish the job, be done with it. Move on to the next. Probably a men's bathroom that was just as awful. Still, it was worth it. Do a good job, and consistently, maybe get moved to a better one. It's how it was in the Army, and this was a settlement run by former military. It stood to reason. Or to put it differently, Ash had his fingers crossed. It didn't help his morale that the ambient funk that permeated the air seemed to taint the very sweat coming from his pores, making every bit trickling down his skin seem like fat, septic drops.

The pair was relieved from their position by the simple utterances and hand motions of Mizrahi. Ash was grateful, though he was a little curious about the reason why as it wasn't time for their lunch break yet. Nonetheless, he followed where he was led. When he saw the table with bottles of water, patio umbrella, and (best of all) the waterhose, he looked to the taller Mizrahi and gave him a frank, direct, "Thank you." Ash procured a bottle of water immediately and took a long, slow sip for himself, then set it down and pulled his shirt over his head and peeled it off of himself. The marks of his journey so far stood out, the freshest of these being a scar left on his torso from a firefight. Ash had taken a bullet, but they got Tatiana and her baby boy back. Fair enough deal as any, these days. He pat his face with a more or less clean part of the shirt, and looked to the hose. Then to Hunter with a raised eyebrow. Then back to the hose.

"If you want to go first, I'll spray your ass down," he offered Hunter. Ash even took a step toward the hose when he heard something strangely familiar echo between the buildings of Camp Mexico Beach. Someone was yelling with his accent. A little deeper of Virginia mountain inflection than what Ash presented unless liquor was involved, but there it was regardless. "Impossible," he said, turning around in the direction of the voice. Apparently, it was not impossible. "...GUY!" he finally yelled, taking a few stunned steps in his direction with his arms stretched out to his sides. As Guy got closer, Ash exclaimed, "Oh, you shifty son of a bitch! It's damn good to see ya, man!" The color of his own accent deepened to match that of the man approaching - quite possibly the only two left in the world with that selfsame native inflection.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Administration (A) -> Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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Stupid mistakes. Like the one that cost her an arm, or part of one due to a botched stabbing attempt at a Zed and a shield that somehow refused to function when it was crucial. As she pressed the heel of her hand to the fresh laceration, Thalia's eyes went back to the offending piece of plastic and metal that did her this new injury, be it relatively minor. "Bowling trophy. That's embarrassing as shit." Far be it for her to ruin a shirt, now that manufactured clothing was a finite commodity anymore, Thalia stuck to blotting the blood away from her face with her hand, and then wiping it onto a suitable scrap of something or another that was destined for the trash, anyway. After a couple of minutes it was good enough for her to continue working without having to worry about streaks of crimson running down the side of her face.

Nobody really cared about dirt. Dirt didn't hurt anybody. And sweat was just the price of doing a hard job. But blood? Blood would draw attention, and she wasn't an amazingly huge fan of unnecessary attention. The mark on her face would attract that quite enough without adding more to it, as would the heavy, metal arm. If she was lucky, it would leave a scar that she might tell people about later: "Yah, it was rough. Friggin' Zeds crawling around, making life wicked pissah. Lost my hand to one of 'em. Got shot a few times. Dropped a couple pints of O-Positive in knife fights. But worse? Took me a bowling trophy to the face. Ah, it was hell..."

The bleeding did stop, and Thalia did get back to work, trying to ignore the new source of stinging on her cheek. Things did go rather smoothly past that. Sorting, tidying, bagging; while it didn't have the glamour of fire-hardening pointy sticks or foraging for edible bark, it was easy enough work with far less of a risk factor than to which she was accustomed. Getting involved in her work made for a faster transition of hours, which was indicated to Thalia by the reappearance of their taskmaster, Gunny. She wordlessly waved away the idea of going to Medical for something as minor as this and simply kept to her job as efficiently as she could with only one functional hand.

The mention of lunch was a personal pick-me-up, though. As was the fact that they only had to wait a little longer for it. Thalia wasn't particularly peckish right then, but she was promised sushi, and that was all she needed to want to get down there ASAP. "So what'ah you thinking, Mugsy? Tuna casserole, or sushi?" They hadn't spoken much over the course of their work so far. While that was just fine and frigging dandy with Thalia, she didn't want Alexander to feel like she was giving him a cold shoulder. "Yah, 'cause I'm getting a plateful of raw, blood-red, saltwatah pescado atún." She didn't seem to be aware of the sudden dip between Boston and regional Spanish, or if she was, she didn't care too much.

It didn't seem like much time at all until, just as Gunny had mentioned, the next bell rang. Thalia stuck around with Alexander in case he wasn't up to moving in any quick hurry (if in fact he was taking lunch at that time and didn't have something else better to do), but in time appropriate to events Thalia found herself back at Mess. Her perceptive eyes latched onto the target of her desires as her body continued ever closer toward it as the line got a little shorter and shorter, until she was face to face with the gatekeeper of her destiny. "Sushi. Um, please." Yes, people used the word "please" here, even if she did say the whole thing with a bit of a rasp. When she got the plate, Thalia couldn't help but smile. Of course, it did raise a question for her, which she spit out without much tact, "Jeez, did they squeeze the roe themselves?" She gave a little giggle, imagining whose job it might be to wring out egg-bearing fish like a dishtowel, complete with squishy, spurting sounds and the occasional metallic ping of roe hitting a steel bowl with force. "I mean, thank you." Manners. Yes indeedy, manners. One day, Thalia might remember that she was taught them as a child.

But that day was not today. She found Thana, for the first time since arriving here without Ash, and beelined over to her. Without asking or waiting for an invite, Thalia took a seat near to her and crammed a piece of tuna and rice into her mouth. Chewing with as much obvious happy as she might muster, Thalia opened conversation around her bite, "Hey, girl! Long time no see." She nodded, at first, for sarcastic emphasis considering her understandable preoccupation with Army Guy lately. But then she stopped, possessed by what might be building into a genuine foodgasm. "Oh my Gahd that's some good stuff." She gripped the side of the table, closed her eyes, and added, "Don't touch me for a sec. I'm having a moment." After swallowing her bite, Thalia breathed heavily, shuddered a little, and smiled at Thana. "Hooo, I needed that. Ahkay, where were we? Yeah - how you been, girl?"

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Alexander Polawski Location: Administration (A) -> Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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He was being funny, just what Alexander had planned on being absolutely. Alexander could taste the sarcasm in Thalia's voice on his hands-on comment, not what he had intended when he first asked but hey, when life gives you lemons. At least Thalia wasn't the girl to go soft on the less of her hand, made Alexander feel less badly about it too. "Rams, huh? You know I think we beat you a few times back in my day. Rams ain't got nothing on the Maroons." Alexander said jokingly back to his cleaning companion, finishing the cobweb-removal he was in the process of and turning around to Thalia. "But it makes sense to me. You chose wisely, at least I hope we both did."

Before he could fill-in some proper response about his own reasons for studying electronics or asking about her uncle's company, the world came crashing down on Thalia. Well it was more of a shelf with plenty of stuff weighing on it, but still. Alexander watched as a bowling trophy fall and hurt her, making his way over to her. "Shit Thalia, you okay?" He asked her, more as an instinctive response rather than fear for her life. To the old veteran she looked fine, save from a cut cheek and some blood, nothing too bad. "I won't tell anyone if you won't tell on me. No one's asked why you guys call me Mugsy, but when the time comes…"

The remainder of the first shift went as peacefully as they could have hoped for, Gunny showing up at one point and telling them the next toll of the bell would signal their time for lunch. Great, Alexander's stomach was starting to growl ever so slightly. At the question of what he'd prefer, Alexander had to give Thalia a good and long look of thought. "Tough one there…Let's be a little crazy and try the sushi, why not? I heard so many kids talk about it, probably time I tried some myself."

Alexander followed after Thalia as the bell called for them to eat, though at a slow pace after their first shift of work. It hadn't been terribly tiring really, but Alexander was still adjusting to the new leg. In time however he got to the mess-hall, got in line and recieved a plate of sushi. "What else did you think they did? Order them from the local convinience store?" Alexander told Thalia, surprised to see her nearly storm of to someone's table, until he noticed it was Thana. He smiled, following after Thalia and sitting down with her as well. "I think Thalia's having a…what are you kids calling it, a food orgasm?" The old veteran smiled and chuckled at Thalia, letting her do some talking for once as he looked down at his plate. "So…how do you eat this?" He asked just as one of the other survivors joined the table, the one from the smaller groups who people called "Sportacus".

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Nigel Cooper Location: Hydroponic Gardens (T) -> Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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So the group and Thana had already been connected in some way from before it seemed. Nigel had pieced together some parts of what was a bunch of puzzle pieces, a mural of past events he could never become more than a distant observer of. Nigel nodded along as Thana gave him the rough details, recognizing Holloway as the Ash/Ashton character. So much he hadn't taken part of, so many rivers these people had sailed down. It was a wonder they had gotten this far, though he was glad they had.

"That's an impressive resumé then, more than I can brag about. Sounds like you did a lot of good back then, before all of this. Makes you wonder how they are over there now, if things are any different." Nigel mused at Thana's background, wiping another stream of sweat from his burning-hot face. Clearly Florida had been the working-grounds of Apollo before he decided to drag the Sun across the sky. Cook showed up for a moment, Nigel greating her back with a wave and heavy-breathing smile. The waterbottle he'd gotten from Thana helped a lot, him drinking some much needed water as she spoke with Cook about the honey. Honey? These guys had everything.

"Sounds good. Never seen myself as a bee-keeper, but good to know where to keep out of." Nigel said lightly, picking up the wheelbarrow again and wheeling off to get more of the stuff they needed. It was a good first shift of work, much warmer and less bloody than a certain clean-up duty down in a basement. Nigel returned to Thana once the first right of the bell was heard, giving her a waiting look as she explained when they would have lunch. "Oh good, think I need some shade and more water after this."

Soon the second bell did indeed ring as their first shift was over. As Nigel returned to Thana and Atlas showed up for some unknown reason, Nigel finally got the chance to tell his part of the story. The story that neither Hank nor Wayne had ever bothered to ask, instead mocking him for his passions. Walking alongside Thana, he finally got to explain. "My university friends, as cliché as it sounds. Almost didn't happen. Went to study agricultural science, but a friend got me to attend a history lecture. Got hooked right then and there, the reenactment came later. I guess swinging swords and teaching Roman history appealed more than taking over the family far. No offense."

Nigel was slow to follow Than once they got to the Mess Hall, though he picked up Thana's invitation to sit with her. "Thank you, didn't want to sit alone. Just give me a moment, need a breather." Nigel told her, staying behind as he still decided on what to eat and catching his breath. Hard work took its toll on the man who hadn't done much for the past week cooped up in Quarantine, though surely it would get better day by day. When he finally decided on what he wanted - Sushi, because why fix it if it ain't broke, Nigel found Thana already sitting with two of her companions. Thalia he had spoken with before, but the older man was still relatively unknown for him. Well since he had already said yes, Nigel made his way over to the table and gave a polite nod to both of the newcomers. "Thalia, thank you for…what happened to your cheek?" Nigel asked her, sitting down alongside them before realizing he was being rude to the older man. "Sorry, Alexander was it? Don't think we spoke much earlier. Nigel, glad to meet you. I've been working with Thana today, hope you don't mind me joining you?"

"Likewise, Nigel. No please, do sit down. I'm not the superior of this table after all. Thana?"

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Medical (B) Skills: N/A

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Manny was clearly struggling. Though he was toughing through it, he still let it get to him more then he would like to admit. Though he had been cleaning pretty regularly still despite this, it seemed parts of the conversation between him and Lisa he missed all together. Damn, he was struggling more then he thought. She either didn't notice, or didn't mind. He was thankful for that, and promised himself to keep at this for now, and make sure to not fuck up like that again. Thankfully enough of the conversation stuck with the old doctor that he was able to keep up in conversation. It seemed that she had a life that she enjoyed in some ways at least before all of this went down. That was great to see, it was good to see a positive outlook in youth.

When the question came to what Manny was looking to get into, he assumed she meant if Manny was considering medical all his life. "Well, my plan wasn't to become a doctor until I was in my 20's. Before then? I thought I was going to rule the streets of Jacksonville. Me and my little gang of assholes." He said with the biggest smile on his face. "Oh the days of being young and stupid. Though to be fair, met some of my closest friends through those days." Despite how rough they were with each other, other kids, other people, and overall being general assholes, they were loyal to each other. And accepted Manny as he became more open about himself. "Though that plan went strait down the toilet. So I became a doctor, helped my old friends how I could, and still gave spite to my father. Overall, a win." Even if the steps there weren't pleasant.

When the comment about the plaster came up from Mary after the brief alarm noise, it suddenly clicked to Manny was he had missed. Then in that same moment, he wasn't distracted by his conversations and fears anymore. When Mary left, Manny turned to Lisa to apologize. "Um... sorry. That was my bad. Not... Yeah that was my bad. Thanks for.... that yeah thanks..." He was afraid to admit it, but he was embarrassed about it. "I won't let that happen again..." Manny did what he could for the final cleanups before lunch. His age and fear slowed him a little, but he worked hard and did what he could in a short time and did his damned best to get everything taken care of. "Don't get old Lisa. It sucks, and your favorite foods will never taste the same. Plus, most of those senior citizen discounts are a lie." He said with a little smile to try and brighten the mood after his mess up. While also trying to hide the fact he wasn't enjoying his time in the basement, and how embarrassed he was about forgetting the plaster.

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Hunter Monroe Location:Mechanics (K) Skills:N/A

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The longer Hunter got to know these people, the more strange he found them. And the more questions his developing mind had about them. At the very least, the cleaning went well. Even if Ash seemed to struggle with it more then Hunter. Even though Hunter was tempted to toy with the former army captain, he held off. He seemed better to tolerate then most officers he had met, so he didn't want to push that relationship too far until he knew how good his sense of humor was. At the very least, he could clean for himself, and he could probably care for himself. Hunter had some respect for the man just from that. Soon enough though, the man that Thana, or Sparrow as some called her, came in to let them know to stop. Cool, no more shit covered walls. At least for now.

Seeing the great light of the sun as they walked outside was amazing, even if it was ungodly hot outside. And what waited for them? The most amazing of holy treasures, fresh fucking Water. "Oh thank god..." He said out loud before rushing over and taking a sip. After a couple sips, he stopped. His lack of human interaction showing again. "Thank you..." He said to Mizrahi. Years ago, before all of the stuff with corpses coming back to life, he was a lot better about his manners. But between a lack of human interaction, and what human interactions he did have being... less then pleasant. His manners were rusty. What really got Hunter? Was the Captain surprising Hunter again. When he offered to hose off Hunter, the soldier boy turned and saw the scars that he had. They were... similar... to the ones Hunter had. That was an uncomfortable thought in Hunter's mind. He seemed so... Happy... As if the scars meant nothing to him. Or if the reasoning behind the scars meant nothing. Or maybe less then what he got out of them.

It made Hunter look down at his own hands for a moment. His hands were scarred up to hell, some burns, plenty of cuts. Some more noticeable then others, the ones that stuck out most to Hunter... The ones where his hands were cut up against the vent where he killed Don... And the ripped up blister scars from improper patch work afterwards, and aggressive usage of his hands in the days that followed. He looked back at Ash, with questions clearly flowing through his mind. Maybe this was the man to ask? He was Army, like him, and had ones he cared for, and cared for him. Maybe he was the one to answer them? Before Hunter could answer or acknowledge Ash's comment, and before Hunter could ask his question, some guy came up and things went nuts from there. And yet again to Hunter's surprise, more people knew each other?! "what the fuck..." He said lightly under his breath in clear confusion.

When it became clear that Ash was too busy with his new lover, Hunter decided he didn't want to spend lunch time smelling like shit. Sure he probably smelled worse when he came in, but that wasn't the point. Hunter took his own shirt off, and was half tempted to go for the pants too, but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing so he could get the smell of shit off his legs, or if it was a good thing to keep his pants on. He opted to keep the pants. Taking his shirt off left him with his own scars to show, but they didn't show as well as his skeletal structure was more visible then the scars on his torso. Hunter hosed himself off as fast as he could while still getting cleaned. He stood there with the hose, very tempted to hose down the Army Captain in his moment of distraction. Anyone paying attention could notice what he was tempted to do. The stare he gave Ash, the evil grin, and his grip on the hose, the only question left was if he would actually go through with it. Though he held off again. He still had no idea if this guy could take a joke. His reaction to his AMAZING private comment was... Non existent. Shame. It would have been funny. He turned off the hose for now. If Ash asked, he would hose him down and help him get cleaned. If he decided he would rather hug it out with the other dude and decided that getting the smell off by pawning it off on someone else, all for it.

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Ash Holloway Location: Mechanics (K) -> Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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Ash took a moment to look down at himself when Guy made mention of the sour nature of his aura. He nodded and shrugged, giving a look that clearly broadcast that he understood. If Rivets's bathroom was local legend, then it stood to reason that they'd stick the new guy with it. And considering Ash's background, they probably wanted to see if he had any humility to him. Or it was just the luck of the draw. "Not going to lie, it's not my first choice for detail. It's a job that needs doing, though." It was a sort of philosophy of his, and one of the reasons that he maintained specific duties even while in charge of the Newnan settlement. "I wish we could just hose everything down and squeegee the place out, though. Take a fraction of the time." It looked like a lightbulb went off. Oh, this was something to ask about. Ever the Engineer, he supposed. The novelty of this meeting washed back over him, and he reiterated, "Damn it's good to see you, Guy."

After Guy introduced himself to Hunter. Ash took that occasion to move closer to the hose. If the Army taught him one thing, it was how to clean up quickly. He looped the hose over the top of the patio umbrella and turned it back on, using it like a shower he could lean into rather than stand under to more effectively wash the day off of himself. So his pants might get a little damp in the process. He could live with that. While he was cleaning up, Ash caught another slice of conversation from Guy, this time about who came in with him, and his face darkened a little. There were so many who he couldn't save that day, when Newnan fell.

"Not many. Jack and Tati, little Jamie, Amelia, and Riley." The part about the conditions under which they had found Tati might come out later, when and if she felt like talking about it. He sighed a little, debating whether to bring up the next part but knowing that it would come out anyway, "Doc Froggy came in just after we did, on his own. Something happened to him out there, Guy. He got turned away. Hell, Beatrice ...left of her own accord. She was with another group that met up with us the day we got bused in." He nodded his head, still cleaning himself up, and continued, "They found another Gonzalez, Guy. Old man Caesar's neice, um, Alicia's cousin. Small world. Well hell, there's a ton to catch up on. We're going to have to find some time to talk." The discussion was good for him, but they did have a timetable and rules did have to be followed here. "Hey, one thing though - I don't know exactly how thing work here yet, so... calling me 'Boss' might not be appropriate, you know, now." Still, it was good to hear that Medic came in with him. And yes, As was very happy to see Thana. If only Guy knew.

Listening to Guy encourage him along to lunch sounded like the best offer he'd had all day. "Yeah, hey, yeah... just a sec on that and I'm with you." His moment was next spent finishing his shirt and squeezing it out thoroughly. A little time in the sun and breeze, about the time it would take to get to the Mess Hall, might help a tiny bit to dry it further. Might. It vaguely occurred to Ash that Guy reference the fish that "we" just brought in. So he was a fisherman now? He gave a quiet laugh, and said aloud, "Way to adapt, Guy." Nodding again, Ash turned the water off and replaced the hose.

Suddenly remembering something, Ash looked back around to Hunter. "I apologize," he started. He didn't particularly like the man and Lord knew he didn't leave the best impression on Ash, but he did just do the younger man a disservice. "I offered you a hand, then got caught in a conversation. Guy's a man I knew back Before, and was one of my best people for a long while After. I thought he might be dead. Anyway, I'm sorry. Get you next time."

His shirt halfway dry and his body less offensive, Ash got to jogging in the direction of Mess to catch up to the others. He kept the shirt in one hand, so as to better get airflow around it until he neared the building in question. Guy and Mizrahi had entered before him, so he wasted no time in pulling his damp shirt back over his head, shimmying into it, squaring his posture, and walking into the Mess Hall.

While he was in line, Ash looked around the room trying to find anyone familiar, anyone he might know, or if he was being truthful with himself he was looking specifically for Thana. Maybe Guy and Mizrahi would want to sit at her table and maybe they wouldn't, but Ash's priority was with her. A small grin found him when he spotted her. She seemed to already have a crowd around. Including the reenactor, the angry Gonzalez girl, and the older veteran. And someone he wasn't sure he'd met yet, at least officially. Looked like he was going to socialize a bit, so long as he could do it alongside Thana. It seemed like the two that he followed into this place were sitting elsewhere, so he bid them a quick farewell and the hopes of catching up with Guy later on.

For him today, it was the Tuna Casserole. He might have considered the sushi, but after cleaning that bathroom he really wanted some comfort food. Ash took his tray and walked steadily over to Thana's table, stopping only to politely ask, "Does anyone mind if I join you?" If he was lucky, he might even get a seat next to or across from the lady who had his affection.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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Everybody was being so polite. Asking questions of one another and exchanging pleasantries, offering variations of "How do you do?" and "Lovely weather we're having!" or something to that effect for all that Thalia could tell. She was awash in people seemingly going about their lives, and conversations that weren't too dissimilar to ones she had during her company lunch hour back before dead people ate the living. But she had sushi, actual, honest to God sushi, coupled with company that she didn't mind. Those two things seemed miraculous. Then Thana had to go and mention that they didn't have the appropriate flatware to eat sushi, and to treat it like finger food. Thalia get out a little snorting laugh while she was trying to eat. It was funny, really; she'd been doing it like that anyway. Chopsticks, hadn't crossed her mind in the least. Nor had forks. Did she even get a napkin? Eh, it was probably around somewhere.

Of course, part of being around people meant socializing, sort of. The initial response from Thana was something that she literally asked for, be it a little generic an answer. She never got to know Thana the lady who had a day job; Thalia knew about Thana the post-apocalyptic survivor who led their group into battle the first day they met and kept them all together for a year beyond. Once upon a time, Thalia had a day job. Office, too. Rank within a corporate entity - not a very high one, but she had direct reports. She could remember how. But this air conditioning? Still not used to it. Okay, Thana asked how she was settling in into the new job. She looked to the woman and raised an eyebrow, the one hanging over the cut on her cheek, and answered, "Settling just peachy, Navy." There was a tone to her voice that suggested restraint.

Nigel picked up salutations next, it seemed, kicking thing off by thanking her for something. Or beginning to, though she had no earthly concept as to what he might thank her about. His train of thought seemed to have been waylaid by the fresh wound on Thalia's cheek, anyway. It seemed to have been waylaid yet again by Alexander's presence, so she took the opportunity to shove another piece of sushi into her face. Spicy tuna this time. Ah, the yums. When his game of conversational hacky sack came to an end, Thalia answered around a mouthful of rice and fish with a direct, "Gaht my ass kicked by a bowling trophy." She declined to comment further. There was fish to eat. Bigger conversation could wait for a little bit.

Somehow, Thalia felt a change in the air around her. But was it that, or was it some sort of pregnant pause in the general topic of the table that was making her very conscious of herself? Her eyes slid to Alexander, trying to see if he was getting "back on the clock", so to speak, then over to Thana for the same reason. She couldn't read the Navy girl's face, but something seemed off suddenly. Hard to pin down. Even a mid-sentence stop on Thana's part. It was a subtle change that came over Thalia, one that showed in small details only. A sense of tension building and a vague, sensory look that one got when they were concentrating on all of their senses at once. If Thalia had her knife with her, she might have reached for it.

Then she heard the voice. Mr. Iambic Pentameter himself was making an appearance. It was about time anyway, she she really wanted to see him. There was a thing to puzzle out. But she couldn't just leap headlong into this, oh no. Her dear brother had a thing for drama, even if she didn't. This might take some strategy to get to the meat of the subject. Thalia waited until the appropriately nicknamed Shakespeare was finished speaking and was seated in front of her, smiling at at her. She swallowed her bite, dabbed the corner of her mouth with her one remaining thumb, and took a deep breath. "Good news about your heart, Joaquin." She spoke to him in quiet, clear, even tones, her hazel eyes locked with his. Thalia tilted her head slightly to one side, and she continued coldly, "Tell me a story. You know the one I want to hear, hermano. What happens next?" She began pinging the fingers of her metal arm closed, like she was cracking artificial knuckles. A few pieces of subtle drama to keep things interesting for the her brother yet not so much as to muddy the waters with whatever the hell was going on with him.

Another approach followed by another request to join the table. Thalia shifted her eyes over just enough to see that it was Thana's Army guy. Well, there went casual conversation with her for this lunch break. She had her own thing going now anyway, to which she immediately returned, prompting Shakespeare with a monosyllabic, "Nnn?"

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Amelia Payne Location: Pier (D) -> Supply (R) Skills: N/A

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Amelia studied the very focused on her work woman. She supposed it was normal if one liked their job to be hard to notice things happening around them. Amelia herself was a bit like this often when she read books, granted nowhere near the same serious level, but she did tend to not notice lesser distractions if she had a book... or was with Riley. Both things were very good at keeping her attention.

Thoughts of certain things and people aside, her attention focused on Nikki and then Chase again.” Stratocumulus?” She asked with quite a bit of pure curiosity, unfamiliar with the term, but with the other woman pointing out the clouds in the sky, it was obvious she was referring to those. That said, she had no idea what was special about it however. Curious it was indeed, but she didn't have a chance of asking about it, because then Nikki got very energetic again and Amelia found herself literally being pulled away from Chase and towards the direction where the golf cart was.”... Okey?” Amelia said in a bit of confusion, tossing a look at the cloud again.

“Is it bad to learn that though?” She asked, fixing the scarf she had on her head a bit to a different position. She wished it was growing faster and at least have short boyish haircut... heck she'd even agree on a crewcut or even a bit shorter.” I think it'd be useful... Surviving out there is hard enough, anything helps.” Though her opinion was well influenced by the fact hearing new things was good and well.. she already had some knowledge of survival. Might not have been a cloud reader, but she knew the value of being able to read the weather at least. In any case, she kept following after Nikki. IT didn't appear as a bad job and the company was nice.

Back at the main supply building, she took half the paper that Nikki handed her and followed her back into the building. Listening to the explanation, she looked clip board she'd use.” So... it's sorting. Okey, can do that.” She smiled and started writing down the things as they came from her list of things she had, stopping after a couple of lines, showing it to her colleague.” Just to confirm, it's like this right?” She asked, waiting for a confirmation, so she can dive into the rest of the stack of paper and hopefully indeed finish prior to lunch!

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Lisa Mason Location: Medical (B) ->Mess Hall(C) Skills: N/A

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Lisa listened to Manni's recount of his life and his plans of what he wanted in his life. She looked at him with curious expression and a grin.” Seems like you've lived a rich life at the very least.” She nodded at him as she resumed her work, still smiling.” Honestly not sure how I'd have fared in such a life, I personally got along with my family, so there wasn't a need for spiting, but I understand families are different. In any case, thanks for telling me.” She nodded.” I will keep quiet about it also. So it's safe with me unless you tell someone else.” She explained to him.” Though, between us, did ya ever get into a big fight with other gangs?”

“Ehh... it's just a thing in life.” She shrugged and looked at him when he started going on about getting older and why one better didn't become older! Not that they had much of a choice... aside dying, but she grinned at him.” Not much of a choice, but growing older is better than the alternative... and it also allows me to see more of the world and life and possibly find a partner! Besides if my favorite food starts tasting different, I will find a new favorite food!” The woman proclaimed with very confident expression and a joking grin.

“On a side note... it appears we've finished with cleaning this room.” Lisa stated, tossing a look at the still going machine. The centrifuge was doing it's job, reminding her that Mary would likely appear later, possibly while they were away. Didn't matter much to her right now, since the work was done! The rest of the rooms should nicely fit into the schedule post lunch. Luckily for them the speakers also went off, indicating it was 12:00 and it was time for their lunch. “ Okey, time to take the cleaning tools over to their storage room and then we can head up for our meals, Manni.” Lisa informed him, pleased that they did finish this room after all.

Moving the cleaning utilities to their holding place for the meal time, she afterwards headed for the main floor of the building. They had to go through the procedure to leave as well. Thus she led the way to leave the Medical, going through the procedures to sign for the lunch break in the schedules at the entrance then started walking down the street towards the Mess Hall.” Wonder what's for lunch today.” She mused, leading the way inside. Luckily Medical and Mess Hall was pretty close to each other. Once inside she pondered for a moment, doing a quick sweep of the place with her eyes, confirming people here.” So, see anyone you want to sit with or ya sitting with me?” She asked with a smile, starting to slowly heading to pick herself some food.

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Alexander Polawski Location: Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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If there was one thing the mess hall wasn't, it was quiet. Conversations were filling the whole room, and not in hushed whispers either. People were laughing, joking, arguing and whatnot, much to Alexander's safety. He felt safe in that enviroment, helped by Thalia's and Thana's presence at the table, his girls. Alexander was glad to have them, Thalia as a safe retreat he could rely on due to their time together and Thana as a trusted superior. The Roman guy, Nigel he introduced himself as, he was unsure of where he had. So far he seemed like a polite man, apparently having had a conversation with Angel already. So far Alexander didn't mind his presence.

Thalia was amusing to look at in the very least, though he wouldn't be far off himself after Thana kindly explained to him how to eat the sushi. "Thank the Lord we don't have chopsticks then, 'cause I never figured out how to use them. Good thing we have clean fingers." Alexander responded to Thana, grabbing a piece of sushi and putting it carefully into his mouth. Nigel the Roman did the same thing, clearly finding the sight of Thalia assulting the fish-rolls with such ferocity intimidating, but her answer of the bowling trophy too good not to smile at. "What she said, Mr. Caesar. Those things are death traps, you know? Especially the old ones, solid metal. Could kill ya." Alexander elaborated further, stuffing another sushi roll into his mouth while Nigel chuckled a little, looking as if he tried to tread lightly. "…not going to argue with that. Just makes me wonder one of life's fundamental questions in the style of Platon; Out of all places in the world, why would a bowling trophy find its way to a military camp?" The Roman actor asked back, more easily picking up the sushi and eating. Clearly this man had eaten sushi before. Did all young people eat sushi back in the day?

"Never be surprised what Uncle Sam has in store. Haven't changed one bit." Was Alexander's cryptic answer to Nigel, before nodding to what Thalia had said. "Work's going well, feels good to do something again. Leg's working out like a charm." The old veteran confessed with a smile, looking at Thana with the ususal old man's look of "I'm doing fine, don't worry about me." Alexander caught Nigel's curious look, though he couldn't blame the man. Mugsy himself was curious about the sweaty, shaven-head man and why he'd been working with Thana today. "This taste…yeah, this taste like noouk mom. Haven't tasted this in years."

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Nigel Cooper Location: Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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Nigel had a few questions for the old veteran seated with Thana and Thalia, though they would have to wait as the one-armed Amazon was approached by a CMB member. Had Nigel seen him before, and if he had he couldn't remember it now. While he didn't catch his name at first, he noted one of the two following him, Mizrahi who Nigel thought he was set to help with his English. So far the neo-Roman hadn't gotten to introduce himself, making himself a note to get a quick hello in once he had time. Turning his sushi-filled mouth's attention back to Thalia and the man, Thalia calling him Joaqiun, Nigel couldn't help but find his theatrical entry onto the stage as amusing as the story of the bowling trophy.

"There is a tide in the affairs of men which, which taken at the floud leads on to fortune; Omitted, all the voyage of their lives are bound in shallows and in miseries." Nigel casually recited after Joaquin and seated himself opposite of Thalia, grabbing another sushi-roll and shoving it into his mouth as before. His hand was slow to lower from his mouth, however, as he noted the confused look on Alexander's face. The old man, his face weathered, worn with a lifetime of widsom and expereince, either didn't get the reference or thought Nigel "Hadrian" was acting all funny. Not in a good way. Swallowing the sushi, Nigel set to clarify his lesson. "Shakespear, Julius Caesar? Watched a school production of it when I was still a teacher."

Nigel hoped the answer would satisfy Alexander's inquiry, almost relieved that they were getting another lunch guest at their table - Ash, the real military man of the newcomers. When asked if his presence was welcomed, Nigel looked up at him alongside the old veteran, both of whom shook their heads. "No please, by all means, amicus." "I don't mind, best to become aquainted since we're already here. So, Nigel, you acted or something then? I remember you said something playing with swords when we first got here." The old man asked Nigel, his face both in honest curiosity and disciplined restraint, though Nigel didn't like how he phrased his question. Nigel's own face turned from less enthusiastic, a sterner look washing over it, his voice held back like the good old teacher he was.

"Not acting, reenacting. There's a big difference in playing with swords and actually swinging them. Also I was a teacher of history, not theatre" the neo-Roman clearly took some offense at Alexander's words, not easily hidded from the old veteran who probably saw this. The old man put down the last sushi-roll he was about to eat and put his hands up defensively. "Hey just askin', I didn't know. The only reenactment I ever saw was the retirees back in Chicago doing Civil War battles out in the park. Shakespeare caught me off guard, only that." Nigel took Alexander's answer with a grain of salt, but allowed himself to accept it nonetheless in the company of others. Even for his passion, he was still the weird guy with the sword, he had to admit - reluctantly. "Okay, no hard feelings…so, what about yourself? The same as Ashton, was it?"

The old veteran's face strained itself suddenly, although disciplined in some form, though Alexander did answer after a long time of chewing the very last sushi-roll and looking at Thalia - already talking with Joaquin - and Thana. "It was a very, very long time ago…long before any of you were born, before I finally got to taste sushi and the…" Alexander began to answer back, though the latter choice of food he failed at uttering as he coughed heavily. The old man looked okay though, holding his hand up to gesture he wasn't dying and only having eaten it wrongly. Nigel was about to get up and help the poor old man when he was gestured down again, but the neo-Roman did eye Ash's plate of seafood and pointed at it. "And the tuna casserrole?"

Alexander finally ceased his coughing and took a deep breath of fresh air, nodding wearily to Nigel in his excellent assement of his choice of words. "Tuna Casserole. Damn this sushi. It was good, but next time I'll take the Tuna Casserrole."

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Emanuel "Manny" Newman Location: Medical (B) --> Mess Hall (c) Skills: N/A

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Manny found talking to Lisa rather entertaining. She seemed interested in whatever stories came up, and had plenty of her own. "When you start getting old, you start building a nice resume on history." He did appreciate how she would keep what he told her private unless he decided to share it as well. "Don't worry too much about it. Anyone that knows me likely wont believe they are true stories." He said with a joking grin. "Truth be told though, it is a life that will most people don't fare well in. I surely wouldn't have if I didn't get out when I had the chance." The conversation was simple. And Manny hadn't given out any details he wished to keep private. Sure the next question he could have shared some more personal details, but he figured a fun story would be better. "A big fight with other gangs? Rarely. Most gangs weren't more then 4-6 people. Plus, in my youth I was a couple inches taller, and was a hell of a lot stronger. And it showed. Few people were brave enough to deal with "Emanuel, the Spanish Bear"." He said laughing. "I found the name silly, but Joshua used it, and no one talked back to Joshua." He said with a very serious face. Could still be him telling his story, but looking at his face along it was impossible to tell.

He broke the face eventually though. "But no, not many fights. Mostly it was just chasing each other off so we could harass small shops for free shit." He did find her comments about getting old interesting. "It is Absolutely a choice. Keep the mentality of a young and strong youth, take care of yourself. Then you wont get old. With that though, the alternative isn't much of an option. You're right on that front." He left out the part that once you get really up there, keeping that mentality becomes harder and harder. But no reason to share that logic. "Thanks for showing me the ropes in here. It has been quite a while since I have had to do work like this. And it's showing I am rusty beyond what I thought I was. So thank you." He figured going into his fear of tight spaces wasn't worth it.

Manny assisted when cleaning and putting away the tools, and making sure everything in that regard was taken care of. Mary had her blood samples at work still as they were getting ready to leave. He wondered what they were for? It puzzled him for what it might be for, but he didn't think too much into it. Blood checks were not uncommon, and he figured that was still the case. Didn't mean he wasn't curious though.

The mess hall by the time they got there was interesting, a bit packed around the people he would usually sit by. To summarize ti pretty well, he saw the young Hunter trying to squeeze his thin frame between a few people. Wonder if it was to get near someone he knew? Either way, he figured it was good for him to be social and fix his reputation considering how his last week has gone. Especially last night. "If you don't mind, I may sit with you today. Seems the people I normally sit around are packed pretty tightly together today. Not sure I could find a seat." He spoke with a smile on his face, it was a nice problem to have when Everyone was getting along so well that seating was a challenge. Manny got himself some food, then would sit wherever Lisa found herself going.

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Hunter Monroe Location:Mechanics (K) --. Messhall (C) Skills:N/A

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Did everyone know everyone?! It was insane to Hunter how many people seemed to know each other despite the unlikely chances. It made him wonder if any of those odds were in his favor? Or maybe they weren't since all of these people kept finding people they knew. The new guy was named.... Guy? Weird name but whatever. The tall guy had apparently been stuck on this bathroom job for a long time, and it never seemed to get better. That only increased what Hunter thought about "What the hell goes on in there to cause this kind of madness!? "I vote we call it a lost cause, and scuttle the room. I'm sure this place has what we need for napalm? Even if not much?" He presented it as a serious idea to try and pitch into the conversation. But he figured there was no way anyone would actually think he would go through with an idea like that. Though cutting ties to the bathroom did seem like a good idea. How much traffic could a place like this see that this building couldn't get away with a single bathroom? Hunter also found it off how Guy kept referring to the Ash as Boss. It was weird. Everything here was weird to the former soldier boy. But he introduced himself nicely so Hunter would do the same back. "Hunter. Nice to meet you. And thanks." He seemed nice enough though, so Hunter decided he was likeable.

What got Hunter really off Guard was Ash's apology to him. After going through a rather lengthy conversation with the guy named Guy, he turned towards Hunter and apologized for not hosing him off. Hunter was visibly confused, and wasn't really sure how to react at first. SO he let him continue talking. When he was done talking, Hunter froze for a moment not really sure how to respond. Then after a moment spoke. "Yeah uh... No problem. Shit happens." He figured it must have taken a lot for Ash to say that. Despite Hunter's best attempts at humor, it was very likely he still didn't like Hunter. Which made sense, but that wasn't the point in the soldier boy's head. Soon enough though the interaction came for lunch. Hunter got some of his clothes back on and made his way over to get food.

While on his way to get food, Hunter decided he needed to take care of a lot of things. Even though most of the last night was a blur, he remembered people being upset, and he knew there was probably a decent chance that a lot of that was his fault as people got upset with him enough while he was sober. But most vividly he could still remember Nigel present a lot through the night. To add onto the list of things he needed to worry about, Izibell would probably need to go out. She most likely hadn't been an indoor dog for quite some years. And being pretty sure she was a service dog before, probably wasn't too much one at that. She would probably want some outside time. So he would have to hurry on that as well. Once inside the mess hall Hunter rushed to grab some sushi. He had never really had any before so it seemed nice to try. He did a quick thank you to the cooking staff, and made his way over to get things in motion. Sitting as close as he could to Nigel he sat and ate his food in silence. There were actually a lot of the new people here now that he looked at it. Even Ash again. Weird how all of these people gravitated towards each other. Maybe it had something to do with being stuck in isolation together for a week.

After he ate his food like it would vanish if he didn't eat it soon he was able to pay a little attention to the conversation. Mostly, the old guy who started choking, but kept insisting he was fine. He was eventually but damn. What a scare. Alexander he was pretty sure the name was. And if memory served, he said he was also army while in the showers. When the commotion died down he took a moment to get Nigel's attention. He kept his voice down as to try and keep the number of people not apart of the conversation to a minimal, but with how close everyone sat it would be hard to avoid. "Hey so... Sorry about last night. Think I did something stupid. Sorry." He wasn't really sure what else to add, and he didn't dare ask how badly he fucked up the night before. So he wasn't sure 100% what he was apologizing for. "I'll go and take better care next time. Thanks for... putting up with that crap." He worked on finishing his food, keeping as little eye contact with other people as he did. While also going through it as fast as he could. He still had a lot to do while on lunch break. He also had to remember everyone he needed to apologize too. There was a surprising lack of Nikki from the night before, he wondered if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

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Ash Holloway Location: Mess Hall (C) Skills: Perception

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Ash wasn't sure why he hadn't seen it at first, but Thana had indeed saved him a seat. Sadly aware of his present, less polished appearance, it still did not prevent him from accepting the place next to her. And it seemed that she could take one look at his damp, smudged form and know exactly how he had been spending his day. If it was offensive, he would understand and take a seat elsewhere. This was part of the reason why he gave a little smile when she nudged his shoulder. "Hey," he responded, leaning into her shoulder a little as well. A tiny piece of contentment was reached in that second, and regardless of the fact that there were many other people around them. He was even a little amused at the way that she not only knew what job he had pulled, but discussed it with him in brief as if they were already in the middle of an unspoken conversation about it, complete with the knowing look of a lady with experience in the matter. "It can always get worse," he declared, otherwise nodding his agreement with Thana's statement. "One of those constants of life. Besides, still not the worst job I've had before." Flashes of his training days, and early assignments as a young Lieutenant doing seemingly unending civil engineering work, some of which involved primitive septic systems, haunted his thoughts. His eyes looked skeptically to the tuna casserole on his plate. Yes, he was still going to eat it. And yes, he was going to need a second or two first.

His attention expanded somewhat as he heard his name mentioned. Not the abbreviated version of his name, Ash, that most people used when referring to him in casual conversation, but his full first name, Ashton. Fork in hand, his eyes darted in the direction of the man he thought might be addressing him. Nigel. The Romanesque individual, to use the term loosely as he was not personally representative of architecture, persay. But it seemed like he was talking about him, not to him. Benign conversation that merely used him as a reference to the military, which made sense. He was a career soldier, once upon a time. But did one ever really stop? Ash gave a nod to Nigel, noting that his name was invoked but not wishing to interrupt his conversation with Alexander. It looked like the older man's respiratory distress was doing a good enough job of that for him. Ash tensed for a second, waiting to see if the moderate amount of emergency medical training he received would need to be applied, though it seemed to work itself out. This allowed him to settle back into enjoying his meal with Thana, for however long they had.

To that end, a table-wide address caught his attention next, this one from his work partner for the week, Hunter. It was an apology for the previous night at the party, apparently. Ash wasn't around to fully see what had transpire. His eyes were elsewhere, naturally. He even looked to Thana during the course of the apology, then back to Hunter. He wanted to say something reassuring to the guy, but at the same time, didn't. The younger man seemed like a mess in progress, some of which was his fault and some of which wasn't. The apocalypse did things to everyone. "We all do stupid things, time to time," he started with lowered voice. Lord knew he had a fair share of poor decisions under his belt, spanning a lifetime. "I can fill a day talking about mine. It's what you do after. Ask me about it sometime." They still had half a day's work ahead of them and they were stuck with each other for the week, at least. If he wanted storytime, he could have it.

Ash couldn't help but get a little defensive about her calling out his food choice. Oh, he understood the reasons, in hindsight. And admittedly he didn't think that far ahead, putting two and two together. Hot tuna casserole and the far less than desirable work he was doing. "Hey, comfort food," was the only explanation that he might provide, though the conciliatory expression demonstrated a clear understanding of her intent. It was too late now, anyway. If it was his destiny to see his meal again, in a much less attractive form, then it would be. Feeling very Zen-like, Ash continued with his meal.

The continuation of lunch was a more hurried affair than breakfast, it looked like. That made sense. Breakfast was getting the day going, then he assumed that supper might be wrapping the day up, but the midday meal (and he considered himself very lucky that there was enough food to go around that they had three decent meals a day) was in the middle of work. More than ever, people needed to do their jobs to keep the world, or their piece of it, running well enough to allow for those three squares. And their safety. Not to mention their health and sanitation needs. So it didn't surprise him that Thana had somewhere to be not too long after he showed up. He was grateful for the time they had, and he knew that they would have more later. He got a tiny smile at the kiss on his cheek prior to Thana leaving. This was something that he could get used to. He reached his arm up to give her a little squeeze around her waist, but hesitated for a couple of reasons. First, he recognized that pulling her in close while he was in a state of aromatic disrepair might not be the nest idea. Additionally, his position would have him placing an arm near to where one of her injuries lay. Accidentally putting pressure there would be, in a word, bad. "Dinner, then. It's a date." They'd have better room for conversation then, too. It was nice having those few moments with her in the middle of the day nonetheless. Ash risked a look behind him, watching her bus her dishes and leave. The limp notwithstanding, he did appreciate the view.

Looking back forward, he was intrigued to see Thalia sliding underneath the table, apparently in an effort to escape her brother while he was in rapt conversation with Nigel. They were in some sort of discussion when he initially approached the table, but he didn't ask into it. Whatever went on with that family was probably not something he needed to get in the middle of anyway. An eyebrow raised on Ash's face though, wondering exactly what the hell she was trying to accomplish even as her eyes locked with his, slowly disappearing from sight.

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Thalia Carmichael Location: Mess Hall (C) -> Administration (A) Skills: Stealth, Intelligence

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Mention of that bowling trophy seemed to dominate the table's conversation for a while. More than she was really comfortable with, as being the center of attention was generally not one of her life goals. Thalia had to admit that it was unusual enough of an occurrence to warrant a few words, so she bore the weight of the discourse and kept filling her mouth with sushi. Damn, but that was a good idea. Soy or not, wasabi or not, this was a good idea. The thought that this place might make her weak crept into her thoughts; an internal piece of worry that outwardly paused her, a bite half-chewed still waiting to be swallowed. No, it couldn't. She had been through far too much and survived things that would have killed others outright, to be defeated by air conditioning and regular meals. But the thought did concern her a little.

What got her mind back into the present was Alexander's unexpected use of the name, "Mr. Caesar". Though pronounced with an American accent, that was how some people in (what used to be) the corporate headquarters for MSS, the company she used to work for, referred to her uncle. It was an interesting custom of the southeastern U.S., referring to people in positions of respect by a title and then their first name, depending on circumstance. And her uncle Caesar was the boss. But Thalia knew that the old man was dead. Amid a list of others in La Familia Gonzalez, she searched for him for a long while, and was too late. Maybe if she found him sooner, he might have made it. Her cousin Alicia, too. They were the survivors. How Thalia made it this log and they didn't was fully beyond her realm of imagining.

And yet, the damn bowling trophy was still on the lips of her friends and acquaintances, or bowling in general. She glanced over to Thana, now finding out that the trophy might belong to the guy who told them to sort out that basement room in the first place. Her addition to the conversation based upon this revelation was a simple, "Hnn,", mostly just to acknowledge without sharing her feelings on whomever owned the damn thing in the first place. The gash on her face seemed to throb once, as if it knew it was being talked about. Though bowling lane in the church? That was dedication, and use of resources. It said a lot. In any case, Thalia silently agreed with Alexander about the nature of older trophies, giving him a small gesture with her metal hand though not pausing her meal to do so. In fact, it wasn't until Nigel spoke his question that she made any meaningful contribution to the discussion at all, and around a bite of raw fish, at that. "It didn't find its way onto a military camp. The military camp found its way around it." Thalia recalled that Thana had mentioned Mexico Beach used to be a vacation/retirement spot, specifically Gunny's. Still chewing, she continued, "This was someone's home, once." Tactically, it had to have perfect initial conditions, supported by skilled individuals and people who could recognize it and pull together fast enough. She shrugged, and kept eating. "Whatever. To hell with that trophy."

The entrance of Navy's boyfriend led to the extreme likelihood that any heart-to-heart with her would have to be put off for again. Fine. Thalia wasn't the most patient person in the world but she could be in certain instances, important ones, mostly involving waiting for a tactical advantage or in the pursuit of her continued survival. This was, admittedly, neither. But the theory was sound. And naturally, the way that her brother was acting was another nail in the coffin of social discourse with Thana, even to the point of seeing her friend set her head down on the table. The Middle English vomit from her dear half-sibling aside, Thalia nonetheless sat, staring at Joaquin and hanging on his words, trying to make heads or tails of it. Finally, there was a piece of paper handed over to her. She accepted it with a measured, cautious, "Thank you," though it was a little cold in its application. She took in a breath and let it out. This was the reason that she stayed in CMB? It was a guilty thought. Of course he was. He was family. A very different kind of family, but beneath the flashy attire and flowery Anglophile speech, he was no one to mess with. Thalia read the paper before jamming it in a pocket, finally understanding what it said but completely without any grasp as to what it could possibly mean. Her expression showed as much.



Army Guy Ash and Other Army Guy Hunter found their way over. The two of them had their moment, which gave Thalia the extreme impression of high school sweetheart lunchroom antics. She declined to comment. Far be it for her to rain on anyone's parade. Her friend was happy. In fact, his entrance along with the back and forth between Joaquin and Nigel meant that attention was off of her for the moment. Hunter's apology did likewise. When Thana mentioned that she needed to get back on the clock, she knew that it was her time as well. As soon as the Thana stood up and left, Thalia began to slide down in her seat, making her way underneath the table with the hope that no one would notice while lots of other stuff was going on around them. Sadly, she could tell that it was not exactly successful. But she kept doing what she was doing; to cease at this point would draw more eyes to her. When her head was completely under the table, she reached her hand up and snatched the last piece of sushi off of her plate and crammed it in her mouth.

With as much grace as she could muster, Thalia emerged from under the table on the other side, where Thana had just been. She stared directly at Ash as she sat there next to him, reminding him with a whisper, "You still owe me that talk." before recovering her plate and rising to put it away. It was not the stealthy exit she had hoped for, and she very likely looked like half a dumbass in the process. But what was done was done.

Over the course of the next few minutes, Thalia found herself back out of the AC and in the open heat of Florida. A more polite individual might have waited for her work partner. She was interested in putting some distance between herself and the Mess Hall, hopefully to get her task for the day accomplished and see what came next. Administration, sorting... This was not the life she might have chosen. Objectively, she knew that she would have to deal with a lot of crap work before she'd be allowed to train or take on a job more suited to her abilities. Life wasn't exactly bad though. Sushi counted for a lot. And that chowder, first day? Stellar. And a big fire the night before. Family, too. Push through the bullshit first, prove she wasn't just here to use the community, and she'd have her time.

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Amelia Payne Location: Supply (R) -> Mess Hall (C) Skills: N/A

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After getting the needed confirmation she wasn't getting the nature of the paperwork wrong, Amelia turned her attention back to the task at work. Writing it all down, checking things, confirming them and then writing it neatly down. It was weirdly calming and therapeutic, like there wasn't anything else she needed to mind. Of course there were things that distracted her, concerns, the pesky little paranoia at the back of her mind that made her constantly check her side every couple of minutes and of course the missing of certain musician. The two of them were pretty much constantly together for so long, not having her about was weird and hard to get used to. Same with the rest of the Newnan crew though to a lesser extent.

Eventually Auntie showed up with a cart of stationary supplies. A brief thought ran through Amelia's mind yet again, where were they getting all this paper from? Maybe one they she'd ask about it, but for now her attention was pulled to another topic the woman mentioned. Amelia's mood fell a little at the mentioning of funeral. She felt sad again, recalling all those who didn't make it back then... at what seemed an eternity before. Some people were missed more than others and some were already fading because of the nature of the new world, but it made her sad never the less.

“I... don't need much.” She replied to Nikki when the mentioning of shopping was brought by the young woman too.” Well... maybe just a bit, something darker and simpler.” She mumbled, thinking about how one had to visit a graveyard.” Might need help... I was never good with clothing.”

In any case, it wasn't much later that the bell rang and it was food time. Luckily they seemed to have dealt with most things for the moment and there was just the distribution of the things in the cart afterwards. Nikki as true to her character so far was first to react, but Amelia hurried to follow and keep up with the overly energetic girl. It was fun to keep up with Nikki, she realized.” Right with you!” Having to keep up with someone this energetic, made her feel energetic too!

Out in the Mess Hall, she also headed to the line and lined up after Nikki. Thinking what to get for the meal, she checked up the food that was displayed and in the end she chose the casserole. It wasn't what she'd expected to eat today, but between all other things, it was the one that picked most of her attention so she chose it. Besides... noodles. By the time she picked her food, she had briefly lost sight of Nikki, only to spot her already at a table to the side and waving her over. Well someone was as usual quick, so she hurried over to the table.” Thanks. Why did you choose these seats though?” She smiled and sat down, wondering why Nikki picked this table. She didn't mind though, it suited her, a bit more out the way.” So... what does 'shopping' actually consist of? Do I just request some clothing temporary?” Amelia finally brought herself to ask.

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Lisa Mason Location:Mess Hall(C) Skills: N/A

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„Alright, no worries, I understand. It's a bit crazy the first few days before you all get used for your schedules and get used to having your meals with friends.” Lisa smiled and walked over to the food displayed. There was a decent selection here! It didn't take much for her to decide on plain sushi. She felt like eating something simple and decently light. With her plates covered with her meal she started walking over to some empty spaces where she and Manny could sit down. On the way there she spotted Nikki and Amelia and waved out to them, she didn't try to call right now, because it was already noisy in the Mess Hall with all the people here. It was a waste of effort a wave and a smile were enough.

Finding the closest empty seats she sat down and gestured for the old man to hurry up.” So, we better eat fast because time is quickly passing when it's lunch time. An hour goes away in what feels like a brief moment!” She smiled and started eating her sushi. Waiting for him to settle down, she looked about, noting the people in and about. Nikki was out of the way for some reason, curious. As for the others, well it was about as usual mess hall as she knew.” So you going to be going to the funeral?” She asked him, as she tossed a bit more sushi into her mouth.” Cause if that's so, you will need to leave early and it'd be best for me to know in advance you see... Need to make my schedule to know which parts of the day I'd have to work alone. I'm used to it, so it's not that much of an issue, but better also make sure you head off in time and not miss it. It's a bit hard to keep track in time and I'm unsure if there will be a message over the comms about it, so yeah.” Lisa explained to Manny.

“Anyways on a side note, how was your first night as a proper resident of the camp? Slept well?” She pulled up a casual chatting topic with him. The camp was nice, it was well kept and maintained after all. Clean also, people here understood the value of keeping things clean!

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Alexander Polawski Location: Mess Hall (C) -> Administration (A) Skills: N/A

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While the sushi roll had been extracted from the wrong hole in Alexander's digestive system and he could breath normally again, he still gave a couple of muffled coughs in his elbow just to cough up the last pieces of rice and fish still bothering him. The young Roman man had been in the process of standing up, as Alexander could note other members of the present lunch gathering had too, but he was fine. People cared it seemed, cared for ol' Mugsy.

Much of the following conversation around the highschool/army lunch table then evolved into subjects that Alexander had few connections with, besides Thana's culinary observations on the sushi versus the tuna casserole. "So far the basement's been cool as a spring breeze across deck while in Bermuda, but duly noted. Perhaps next time I'll try the salad." Alexander said back to Thana with a smile on his face, knowing well what she was talking about. Both touring 'Nam and spending many summers sailing the Carribean had taught Alexander that a mouthful of cold rice fared better than the army MREs one got off the supply truck. This little detour of his mind back to both younger and happier days held Alexander's attention away from the remainders of the conversation - Hunter's not-so-quiet apology for last night's behaviour, Nigel the Roman having an impromptu Shakespeare-moment with Thalia's brother and Thalia herself sliding under the table. Wait, Thalia sliding?

The old veteran as brought back to his senses by this sudden event and ringing of the bell for the unknowable time - their lunch was over. Thana too was standing up from the table and making her way out with Nigel not far behind, leaving Alexander a fair distance behind Thalia on her way back to work. Somewhat dumbstruck by seeing Thalia appear out underneath the table and leaving, Alexander did the same as the walking majority and went to dispense his tray, then following in Thalia's footsteps. "Good lunch, thanks for the chat all. See you later." He excused himself politely to the table, giving Nigel a longer look than the others as if to be sincere to the thin-skinned Roman.

Alexander tried to catch up with Thalia at a reasonable pace, no need of sprinting like a madman under a hail of machinegun fire if it could be avoided. The problem was mostly his leg. Jogging and running was something he'd yet to practice with his prostethis, so to actually catch up with his Latino friend was harder than expected. "Thalia? Give me a moment, I can't run with this leg just yet…" Alexander shouted after Thalia in an attempt to get her attention, slowing his pace as he felt his balance turn worse with every step forward it took. Nothing to worry about, just like the sushi, but ol' Mugsy was not the youth he used to be. "Quite…quite the crowd at lunch, wasn't it? Odd fella that one…" Alexander would say casually to Thalia, realizing his vauge words mid-sentence. "Nigel, I mean, that Roman teacher guy. Any idea what his deal was?"

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Nigel Cooper Location: Mess Hall (C) -> Hydroponic Gardens (T) Skills: N/A

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For Nigel the situation around the lunch table appeared to be under control. At least in regards to Alexander's coughing-fit and Thana welcoming Ash to her side at the table. Things were calm and casual, or for a lack of better words things were normal. Normal. No, that was the perfect word to describe the pleasent atmosphere which Nigel found himself sitting in, well normal all things considered. Even having Hunter make his way over to them and taking a seat beside Nigel felt anticipated at this point.

Oh wait, who could forget the presence of Joaqiun the Orater? Nigel had no choice but to be pulled into the Shakespearean monolouge, now a dialouge played at the very stage of the Globe Theatre as Joaqiun continued to recite 17th century lines with the dramatics of a Greek tragedy. Not only was Thalia the one-handed Amazon being made a prop in this production, Nigel was besieged by yet more lines from "Julius Caesar". Not only tossed these verbal catapults armaments of the sea and its allegory to their human fates, but Nigel was also called a tempest and offered yet more sparring - both in the rights of arms and tounges. Nigel couldn't help but looked up at the standing Joaquin and give him an empty look, as if the reality of the absurd scene hadn't hit him yet, before giving him an attempt at a smile. "I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed…Yes, I suppose I'm okay with my sparring."

With the business of Joaqiun - hopefully - set aside for now, Nigel wanted to return to the normality he had wished for in the interview many days ago. Several people began talking with him, Ash giving him a nod as his name had been mentioned, while Thalia corrected Nigel's line of questioning from earlier. Of course, how could his mind has misplaced such information? "Right, should have remembered that. Hopefully we can make ourselves a home here too…" He added, letting his voice drop as Thalia cursed the dreaded bowling trophy to oblivion. Nigel instead turned to Hunter and his not-so-subtle apology for yesterday. For everyone Nigel had experienced about Hunter the past week, Nigel felt the apology was a sincere one. Perhaps his handling of the drunken sod had put some sense into the young soldier? Ash of all people was the one to reassure Hunter that these things happened. Nigel couldn't help but look at Ash again, this time pulling a half smile at the soldier and nodding back at him. "He's right, mistakes are part of our nature. What makes us human are how we attempt to correct them. And to that I think you know who deserves that apology the most, okay?" Nigel said quietly to Hunter, putting his hand at his shoulder in a reassuring manner like the old teacher he was.

With time came the ringing of the bell once again, signalling their lunch was over and it was time to return to work. Thana was quick to point out the time, and Nigel didn't need to be reminded twice. The neo-Roman got up from the table and bidding the table farewel for now, following Thana to dispose of the tray and then back out to work. The walk back to the gardens was quick enough, Nigel had gotten the most out of the air-conditioned mess-hall after the hard work before, and was ready for toil the soil once again. "What's the next work on the list then? More of the same as before?"