taxonomites | Entries tagged with { inara serra

myveryownriot.livejournal.com

There's a great deal of static, interspersed with the sound of swearing and then a precariously tilted look at a wall and the edge of a bunk, before the image finally rights itself and clears to reveal Jayne's way-to-close-to-the-screen face.

"Testing, testing."

Once he seems satisfied it's working (though how he knows is anybody's guess), he backs up slightly and peers very seriously at the tablet, like he's got something real important to say, and wants to be sure it doesn't get lost to a malfunctioning machine.

"Uh, so. Where's the whores?"

gotcouplings.livejournal.com

Kaylee's positively beaming, sitting in the dining area on Serenity and looking mighty pleased with herself for finally getting the gorram tablet to work like she wanted. A small victory, maybe, but coupled with the fact that she's got some nice new clothes tucked down in her room now (minus the new blouse she's got on under the normal grime-layered coveralls), she's all smiles and excitement.

She gives a friendly wave to anyone watching on the other side of the tablet. "For anybody I haven't met so far, 'M Kaylee. From what I've heard, there're some of ya who remember me from not too long ago, and I gotta say I'm sorry I don't remember at least some of that. Don't mean there ain't room for relearnin'."

With another grin, she reaches forward to end the transmission, though it takes her a few moments of fumbling.

So much for good, clean impressions.

serene-grace.livejournal.com

[Seated gracefully, her hands in her lap, Inara addresses her tablet as though she were talking to a client on the Cortex. Her voice is modulated, her smile absolutely charming. She's dressed in full Companion finery for this, taking a real step in coming out of her hibernation... and if there's one thing she knows people truly enjoy and form social bonds through, it's a party. So, here goes, Taxon.]

I think this is transmitting openly, so let me start first by saying hello, Taxon. My name is Inara Serra and I'm a resident of the currently-grounded Firefly-class ship Serenity.

The culture in which I grew up was Anglo-Sino, that is partly rooted in English-speaking cultures formerly from the United States of America, and partly Chinese. The planet Sihnon which I called home for most of my life was largely culturally Chinese.

In less than a month, according to the calendars we have here, it will be Chinese New Year. I thought I would endeavor to gauge interest in celebrating this holiday.

notanemptymotto.livejournal.com

Despite the odd weather changes that had come over the usually unclouded Taxon skies, Helen Magnus continued with her plans to have a party on All Hallows Eve. Normally, Helen wouldn't even consider such things, but given that most of her residents would be expecting one? She didn't mind having one for the occasion. On the morning of Halloween she left a message over the tablets in text format giving the location and the optional part. Costumes were completely optional. Not everyone wanted to dress up, after all.

Helen spent the rest of the day in the large kitchen preparing various dishes as well. It felt nice to be out of the office or lab and take a day to enjoy herself and the company of others. She hoped Ashley would understand. And once the festivities started, she could most likely slip back to work without anyone noticing. Hopefully Henry would get her message about closing off most the Sanctuary so the guests wouldn't be lost. If any showed up at all, that was.

As evening fell, though it was hard to tell due to the weather, Helen had the EM shield placed down and opened the gates of the Sanctuary. All of the food was already placed out in the foyer with only a few of the hallways open. Mainly those directed towards the kitchen or the restrooms and the living room located downstairs.

Welcome to the party, Taxon. It'll be a ghoulish night.

[ooc; posting this early since I won't be on a lot until later on Halloween night ♥ Just work this post like how Cordy's part post was ya'll. Also if you lovelies that live in the Sanctuary could pop over to Helen's journal and post here, it'll be marvelous~!]

skyfrome.livejournal.com

Here is Mal, thankfully not smashing things in a rage this time around, but instead absorbed in a much more sedate activity. Said activity involves the kitchen table on board Serenity, and a frankly bizarre array of ingredients spread out across it, with a mixing jug in the middle. He appears to be doing something ungodly involving high protein milk bars, oatmeal, sarsparilla, root beer, chocolate milk and... bourbon. An educated viewer might recognize some of these as the formula for making Mudder's Milk, the local drink of Canton. An uneducated viewer might just think he has malfunctioning taste buds.

In any case, once he's done mixing the suspect concoction, he raises the jug to his mouth and takes a deep glug, before promptly spitting a large quantity of it back out again, and wiping his lips with quite evident revulsion.

"Well, if that ain't just the most disgustin' thing I ever had in my mouth."

serene-grace.livejournal.com

She had closed her eyes so briefly, lighting the incense and placing it in the little wooden holder before the Buddha, and inclined her head. Distantly, even here in the shrine, Inara could hear the distant rush of water from the waterfall that gave the New Melbourne Training House its stunning view.

Then she couldn't. And in the moment she couldn't, the surface beneath her knees shifted from a plush meditation cushion to something more metallic. Inara opens her eyes and gasps. The shrine is gone, along with the cushion and the sound of water, and instead, she finds herself in a metallic chamber. "Wode tian," she murmurs, looking around herself defensively, rising to her feet, expecting someone to come in through the door any moment--

No one comes.

It's odd, and distinctly anti-climactic. "Who's there?" she calls out, lifting her voice in a manner that she had hoped would sound vaguely imperious, but instead has an edge of fear to it. "What do you want? Where am I?"

Inara's foot nudges something quite solid, and she pulls her skirts out of the way to see what just bumped her slipper. At her feet is a communications pad, or tablet of some sort: she drops to a crouch and picks it up to examine. There's a map of some sort, with a blinking indicator flashing, but she's not entirely sure what it means. Her brow wrinkles and she descends the steps from the platform to examine the room she's in.

"My name is Inara Serra, and I'm a Companion, registered with the Guild. They will miss me, I assure you--" she begins, and then it occurs to her that perhaps her association with Serenity's crew has been discovered. Perhaps the government has realized that she aided the Tam siblings -- or Mal, who could possibly predict what he'd gotten up to in her absence?

"-- I can't assist you with whatever you've decided you need from me until you show yourself," she pointed out, her voice finally beginning to sound level. Her hands are cold with shock and worry, and her heart's just pounding, but outwardly, she has some semblance of calm.

A calm that dissipates into a startled yelp and a slightly less than graceful recoil when the door she approached actually opens for her. Inara smooths the wrinkles from her dress -- frowning deeply as she notices the new silver bracelet on her wrist. Her fingers pluck at it, failing to budge it an inch: some sort of tracking device, then, she thinks, and picks up her pace, heading out into an utterly nondescript corridor. "What is this place?" she wonders aloud.

Current Mood: confused

hearts-of-gold.livejournal.com

Inara's day started well enough. She had gotten plenty of sleep, she had eaten well, nobody had transformed into a malevolent goddess, nobody was shot or captured or bitten or any number of the other bizarre things that had happened so far in her time here.

She stretched drowsily, her nightgown hitching around her hips as she turned as a matter of training and habit into the warmth on the other side of the bed. Not yet quite awake, her instincts and everything she'd learned in close to two decades of schooling, apprenticeship and active work maneuvered her without her having to give it any thought - let your client awaken to your affection and attention, give them a reason that they engaged your services overnight rather than having you leave at the end of the allotted time or the evening.

She tucked against the shoulder next to her, rubbing her hand lightly over the person's chest, and she almost pressed her lips to skin before she woke up just a little more and went absolutely still.

There was someone in her bed.

There was a strange young man in her bed.

Her eyes went wide and she sat up abruptly, holding blankets around herself.

"Who are you? How did you get here? This is my...you can't be in here!" She sputtered, too startled for dignity and elegance.

hearts-of-gold.livejournal.com

Sometimes, even professional prostitutes with training in reading people could be naive.

Inara prepared to go out and hesitated at the exit to the shuttle, waiting for the doors to fully open and extend. "I'm going out to see that Vala woman and to find out what happened while I was occupied by that awful Adria person...Simon, look after River because I'm afraid that she'll get into my things and ruin them. Mal, stop shooting at walls and moping and do something productive with yourself," she called back into the cavernous cargo bay of the ship, loudly enough that her voice would carry.

And then she pondered this with a small frown. That was oddly...specific, compared to her usual casual I'm going out! It must be her anxiety talking. She certainly wasn't looking forward to finding out what she'd done in particular, but it was important that she did and apologize for it.

It wasn't much of a walk to the hotel, Serenity tended to stay around the Sanctuary for all that they flew it around the city on occasion. It was a good thing that the hatches could produce replacement parts and more importantly fuel. Once she arrived she looked around the interior for Vala or, failing that, the coffee lounge that she'd spoken of.

valaunbound

Vala is dumping her things in Jack's cabin. He doesn't know about this yet, he's out blowing things up. It'll be a nice surprise for him! She'd spend more time putting her own personal stamp on the place, but she has an agenda, that can come later if he'll still have her after what she's about to do. An agenda that she hopes won't be necessary, but she's pretty much resigned to the fact that it will be.

She opens up the tablet and 'accidentally' cc's Jack in on the private message to ~~Adria~~ Inara, making sure the background image is not ambiguous in any way. It's definitely his cabin. Also he knows that the message doesn't match with her feelings towards Inara. Two reasons to bring him running.

"I think we should talk Inara. We didn't really get chance to talk at the time, and I'd rather get some closure on this whole nasty affair. I mean obviously, if you don't mind that is. Perhaps we could meet somewhere, start over? I'd like to be friends."

Current Mood: devious

hearts-of-gold.livejournal.com

Inara wakes up gradually, and as she becomes more conscious a few things become obvious more or less right away.

First, she is not in her shuttle. She's in a fairly featureless room, sitting in--

Make that confined in a large chair of some kind.

Secondly, she is sore. She feels as though she has been through a very vigorous fight, and was not exactly on the winning side.

Third, her clothes are...odd. She's in some sort of clingy black outfit and her hair is up.

"Hello?" She calls out, and her voice is hoarse. As if she'd done a lot of shouting recently. She tugs at the restraints that are holding her in the chair and they prove to be quite firmly secured, but after some wriggling she feels her tablet in her pocket. She shifts and wriggles some more until buttons are pressed more or less at random by the arm of the chair, and is now broadcasting a visual feed. Even if the only visual supplied is the black fabric of her pocket it should still pick up her voice, though.

"Hello?" She tries again. "This is Inara Serra of Serenity's crew...I seem to be...captured? Is anyone there?"

[OOC: There we go, glitch end! Huzzah! You may all go about your business now >D Unless you want to get in on the big last confrontation with Adria which is still being planned out, in which case go here!]

hearts-of-gold.livejournal.com

Things were not going as planned.

What people had been saying was true - the devotion of these people who milled around speaking nothing in particular was not enough to give her the power that she needed, and other converts had been scarce. Nonexistent, even. And somehow, she was fairly certain that it was her mother's fault.

"This ship is insufficient. These people are insufficient. I require more than this, mother!" She snapped at Vala, whose arms were tied behind her and around one of the posts on the shuttle's large bed in its single room. Adria paced the available limited space like a caged tiger, her hands balled up into fists. It was nothing new, she'd been going on like this more or less without end for days now.

"Well, I'm not going to stand for it," she said decidedly, finally. "It's time to start destroying the infidels and the unbelievers. I gave people plenty of time to come around to my point of view. If they're still choosing not to at this point then they are choosing to die."

lapsedsaint

John appears on the screen, holding Annika. She has an obviously broken arm, the result of some over eager swinging and the evils of gravity. "There wouldn't happen to be a doctor around who could maybe come and give us a hand. We've had a bit of an accident and, well, there are broken bones involved.

I'd rather not take her to the hospital to be seen by one of these... others. I'd rather it be one of us."

He looks down at Annika and kissed the top of her head. "it'll be okay, sweetheart. I promise."

[ooc: Follows from here.]

valaunbound

Vala can't hang around to argue with Jack or Daniel about the craziness of her plan any longer. She's already not turned up to see Adria when she was expecting her, and if she leaves it much longer, who knows what stage Adria's plans will be at and it'll be too late to change her mind.

Besides, as of yet, nobody's come up with a better plan, they know how to disable her powers, but Adria's no fool and she'd be expecting an anti-Prior device. Plus there's the small issue of getting anywhere near her with it. She's pretty sure she's safe though, Adria wouldn't seriously harm her own mother. The same can't be said for Daniel, she's sure.

So she's slipped away, on her own, without telling anyone and is now standing near the Sanctuary and opening up her tablet. Notably, she's not wearing SG-1 uniform, but she might still be armed... possibly. Her leather coat serves more purpose than just looking sexy.

"Adria." She says in her best attempt at stern Mom mode, "I think we should have that talk now."

Current Mood: anxious

lapsedsaint

John has finally hit is annoyed point. Even with Charlie's help, his searches have been futile. So now, he's resorting to the network.

"Have any of you seen a church around this place? For the life of me, I have yet to find one and it's starting to piss me off."

hearts-of-gold.livejournal.com

The visual comes on, sent to as many people as possible, and Inara's looking a bit...different-ey. Her hair is swept up into a refined, almost regal style and her expression is far harder than usual. Something in her eyes suggests that she is both very focused and very displeased about something, but when she speaks it's with a smile.

A not at all reassuring smile that seems like a thin veneer over superior disdain.

"I am not familiar with my surroundings. I can only assume that I have been captured by the enemies of the true path of Origin. This will prove to have been a mistake." She ponders her tablet for a while, tilting her head with detached curiosity.

"In the meantime, I sense many new souls in this place, unfamiliar ones. I would like to extend the opportunity to them to come to the power and the glory of Origin. The power and the greatness of the Ori cannot be denied, and those who accept the one truth of Origin into their lives and their hearts will be richly rewarded with that truth. Blessed are those who walk in unison, and hallowed are the Ori. Those who follow the path of righteousness shall be raised up high..."

Her expression hardens further, her lip curling briefly. "And those who reject the path to enlightenment must be destroyed."

[OOC: Glitch start! For the next two weeks Inara has been possessed by Adria from Stargate SG-1, a half-human, half-godlike-creature imbued with phenomenally powerful psychic powers like telekinesis, mind reading, mind control, summoning fire and magical healing. And she has an agenda. Also, she's Vala's daughter! More details here, and I hope this'll be a lot of fun. Questions, plans, anything, don't hesitate to ask! :D ]

skyfrome.livejournal.com

Mal isn't entirely sure why this is a good plan. In fact he's fairly certain it isn't, because his plans aren't exactly renowned for their ability to run smooth. In fact they're more renowned for things exploding and people getting shot.

That said, he's bored and in need of some companionship (ha ha) and a conversation with Inara might be pleasant and hopefully not end in explosions and shootings. Hopefully. Only trouble is, he doesn't have a real purpose for a visit, a fact which may put him at some disadvantage. Why was going to see Inara always like playing an elaborate game of chess?

After having traversed the length of the ship a couple of times (unnecessarily) he finds himself poking his head around the entrance to her shuttle.

"Permission to cross the threshold?"

diedwithit.livejournal.com

So he's thought about it. And he can bet that after knocking Dean around the way he did the other night, the boy's blabbed about it to whoever might've seen that short transmission. What's there to lose, really? There may be vigilantes and the foolish, but the fact that he didn't kill and drain Dean in itself is a statement that he's not a threat. That, and three months have passed without a problem.

Cian turns on the tablet, which shows him sitting in his comfortable desk chair, leaning back semi-casually. At ease, but businesslike. He eyes the screen.

"I don't doubt that most of you have seen the state Dean Winchester was in last night, and I certainly don't doubt that he informed you of who put him there." Both hands lazily coming into frame, he gestures lightly at himself.

"But I can promise you, it was only self-defence. I'd like to avoid having to deal with a... misunderstanding such as that again, so listen. My name is Cian, and yes, I am a vampire. Creature of the night, drinker of blood, blah, blah. But put your stakes away. I don't drink from humans, and I haven't done for the last eight hundred years.

"I can't say I blame the Winchester boy for attacking first and surely intending to ask questions later had I stuck around, but still. You lot live in relative peace and quiet, and I expect the same."

He takes a breath, then as an afterthought adds, "And if that's not enough to change any minds, for the love of God, don't come after me. You won't die a hero, just an idiot. Ta."

needtoruleit.livejournal.com

Billy has finally got a handle on Taxon, and he's making his grand debut.

This means that he's played around with the hatches, got his lab coat and goggles, and is setting up his tablet in front of him so that he can broadcast like he does at home. He's picked at the tablet, even tried to take it apart, but it didn't really like that much, so Billy stopped trying to break it open and instead started working on getting some internet function. At the moment, he's got the tablet recording on the visual function, mistakenly thinking it's the internet and that he's talking to his normal blog viewers back home. It's not quite the same, and he has to sit closer because the tablet is a lot different than a webcam, but it's something, at least. Looking pleased with his efforts, he clears his throat and starts to speak.

"Hey, viewers. Dr. Horrible here, coming to you from this weird place called Taxon. I've got no idea how I got here, which totally sucks, because as you all know, I've got a job to do. Figures I'd be kidnapped on the one day I'm about to prove myself to Bad Horse. I mean, come on, out of all the times I could've been taken somewhere, they take me when it's important. And to a place that doesn't even have..."

He stops there, and adjusts his goggles, looking vaguely irritated. He's checked the map a thousand times, and there's no Penny. There's the laundry place from back home, but no Penny. Sigh. He continues on.

"Anyway, so I'm in this weird place, but that's not going to stop me from working on my Freeze Ray. There's these hatch things here that give me the pieces, so I guess it's not all bad. Except Captain Hammer is here. Again, that figures. I've been-- planning his demise. And that means I can't run into him, so I've been strategically avoiding him while I develop my plans."

Pause for a firm nod. He's not hiding, he's just planning. Right.

"I've got things to do, so this is just a broadcast to all those viewers out there that I'm still alive and well, and that Captain Hammer had better watch out. Signing off."

And he clicks off the visual function.

[[ooc: Billy doesn't quite realize that people can recognize him with his goggles and lab coat on. He thinks he's being sneaky and covering up his true identity. So feel free to burst his bubble, though he'll probably deny it to the end.]]

machinesgoping.livejournal.com

Topher had sat down in the little lounge area of his suite to play a few video games, intending to use them to pass the time until Echo was brought up for programming. He was proud of this new little idea of his, and he’d probably explain it to Ivy when she came in.

Unfortunately, the couch he sat on vanished, as did the rest of the room. Luckily he still had his PS3 system? Topher got up from where he was now sitting on the ground.

“Well. That was unexpected.”

After going around twice, he stopped to look at the tablet. He picked it up and examined it. Now, Topher knew a great deal about technology, especially cutting-edge stuff, but as far as he was concerned, this was still fictional.

“Dude. This is awesome. Where am I? Heeeh-lloooo? Alien kidnapping overlords? Can I come out of here?”

As he said this, he noticed a way out. Pocketing the tablet for further examination later, he picked up the video game console, slung the controllers over his shoulder, used the other hand to pick up the small TV, and walked awkwardly towards the door.

“I sure hope there’s somewhere I can plug these in.”

aesthetic_mojo

The time had come. Charlotte left John in charge of setting up the bar, giving him only the one request that he have a decent selection of beer, and did the work of dialing up the food. She knew she was going way over board. For all she knew no one might show up, even though she'd gotten a bit of a response to her invite. How could people resist, though. Food, drink, Dean's music, kittens? Okay, and an ex-vampire, but that wasn't his fault.

Pushing that thought away, she continued laying out the food and the carefully crafted warding spells that would protect it from the kittens. They had been given run of most of the patio, but not the yard, and not the food area. That meant they'd still be popping in and out of people's laps, but at least they wouldn't do it to plates.

When everything was ready, Charlotte ran up to change into skinny jeans, a crisp white button down and a ridiculously shiny pair of cowboy boots. Not unlike Dawn, not that she knew it, Charlotte was having too much fun with the fashion options the replicators afforded. Properly armored for the event, she headed back to the patio to wait for their first guests.

OOC: This is an open event, folks, anyone should feel free to tag in, even if they just discover the party. Start a new thread with a label if you want or just tag in on another thread. Feel free to hop around, too. IT'S A PARTY, PEOPLE! Also, this will go on as long as people are interested, so backtag all ya like. We know people will be in and out all weekend. Have fun, drink all the booze.