Daycycle 105 [ August 28 - September 03]

[computerized]

daycycle 105

[Aug 28 - Sept 3]

Early Morning [0800 - 0900] — All Troubleshooters Report for Duty
Felicity Smoak and Natasha Romanoff, have been selected for today’s mission. Details are below:

‘In order to help us improve our combat simulators, you will need to run through any combat situation you encounter at least three times. On the second pass through, engage the combat at a greater range than originally. On the third pass through, attempt it at a much closer range. You will provide tactical notes to our staff afterwards. If the simulators catch fire, or fail to respond to override commands... note that too. The eggheads were supposed to have fixed that.’

Please debrief the computer on the status of your mission by the end of the Daycycle here.

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Morning & Afternoon [0900 - 1600] — Service Firm Positions
All Troubleshooters not assigned a mission should report to their Service Firm for their daily duties, unless specifically assigned a different shift.

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Evening [1600 - 2200] — Citizen Improvement
All Alpha citizens are encouraged to better themselves through Alpha’s wide variety of educational, entertainment and cultural opportunities offered each evening. Attending these sanctioned events are not mandatory, but is highly encouraged by The Computer. Citizens choosing not to take advantage of these opportunities, have a growing number of other options available to them in how to spend their hard earned credits and free time.

Tonight’s event will be at 1700 in Hangar 15, Armed Forces Sector and will be hosted by the Alpha Complex Dogeball Association. Join us for a game of Alpha Dodgeball! All clearance levels above INFRARED welcome.

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Alpha Curfew Restrictions
All Alpha citizens should be in their quarters within the Wagon Wheel by 2200, unless they’ve been given permission from a GREEN or higher clearance level citizen. Sleeping Aid gas is dispelled each night in the Wagon Wheel at 2200 to assist citizens in getting a productive sleeping period.

Confession Booths
There are hundreds of confession booths available around Alpha Complex if a citizen would like to communicate directly with the computer. Please use these confession booths to report mission statuses, report treason or terrorist acts, unregistered mutants, confess your trespasses against Alpha Complex, request propaganda or speak with Your Friend, The Computer, at any time.

Comments

[smoak]

She nods a few times when he poses the question. "I actually ... well- I remember spending a lot of time with people who know how to handle a gun, back home." Felicity's never been able to talk about her memories as if they weren't real. It just doesn't feel right otherwise. "But I never had to learn. I was always protected somehow. But today- today felt like I'd learned how to protect myself."

It would have been a completely fine choice of words on any other day. But today, they made everything start to hurt again, and Felicity pinches her eyes closed for a minute, her forehead just barely wrinkling with pain.

Despite being at the happiest they've ever been in their lives, she and Oliver weren't together anymore. He'd always been the one to protect her, at least when it came to people with guns. Now she really did feel like she had to protect herself.

One way of doing that, she tells herself, is to stop always thinking about him.

When Felicity opens her eyes again, she extends her right hand across the sofa for a handshake. "My last name is Smoak," she says. "Felicity Smoak ... if you didn't remember from this morning's announcements." There's a look of resolve on her face — whatever was hurting her before, she was determined to keep it from also ruining the remaining six minutes of her day.

[duelo]

Her expression changes suddenly and Derek would have to be an idiot not to see the pain in it. Whatever's wrong, it has to do with something from home; either a person she's run into here like he has Stiles, or the fact that she's recently started accepting her glitches as memories and, like Derek, she doesn't like what that means for her. His own brow creases a little with concern, but he doesn't ask. It's none of his business if she doesn't want it to be and if she wanted it to be, then she'd be saying so right now.

But then she's shaking it off and holding out a hand. Derek takes it and shakes her hand, giving her a little smile.

"Well, Felicity Smoak, I didn't remember, but now I won't forget," he promises. "I'm Derek Hale. It's nice to meet you without the hot coffee." He tacks on that last bit in an attempt to bring back the smile he's found that he's probably a little too interested in for his own damn good.

If his glitches are anything to go by, it's only a matter of time before he finds out that she's a homicidal maniac. Awesome.

"Can I walk you back to your room?" he offers, eyes flicking up to the broken vidscreen and then, failing that, the dusty analog clock on the wall a few feet to its right, before he looks back at her. "We should probably get going if we want time to actually get into our beds before that gas knocks us on our asses, right?"

[smoak]

Her handshake is soft — mostly because something firm just doesn't feel right at the moment. So instead of going all the way to reach his palm, when their hands touch, her thumb can barely reach his knuckles. It honestly feels more like she's holding onto him and moving his hand a bit instead of shaking it.

"Derek Hale," she repeats, so she doesn't forget either. There's no clock to glance towards except the PDC in her pocket, but it does feel like they only have a few minutes left, so Felicity nods when he asks to walk her back.

When they get up, she takes a step towards the hallway and pauses, a little sheepish smile on her face. Her eyebrows are raised in concern when she looks up at him. "It didn't end up burning you ... did it? I'm really- I really am sorry you had to do that for me. No one should have to take a hot coffee to the chest."

[duelo]

He hates to separate again when he honestly has no idea, with as many people as there are in the Complex, whether or when he'll see her again, but it's getting late and after all the trouble he and Stiles went through trying to figure out the idiotic train system to get back to the Wagon Wheel on time, he's not trying to get hit with that sleep aid gas while he's in the common room, if they run it through the whole building. Even the abandoned warehouse would've been a better fate than that.

So he's dragging ass, but he's going as they move down the hall and he smiles a little at her question, shaking his head. "I'm fine," he promises her. Derek doesn't need her worrying anymore about the burn. Yeah it was hot and yeah it hurt like hell for the first few seconds, but he was fine a few minutes later and he's still fine, now.

"I didn't mind," he says with a little grin, nudging her shoulder with his own. "Which room is yours?" he asks as they near the part of the hall where the Specials all seemed to be grouped together, from what Derek can tell.

[smoak]

The way he smiles about it — getting burned in the chest — it’s equal parts sweet and goofy, and apparently also infectious, because soon Felicity is smiling back with a little grin of her own, especially when he nudges her shoulder.

“Right there,” she says, pointing just two doors down from the common area. “One one ohhhhhh three.” She doesn’t know it yet, but that’s actually right across the hall from Derek’s 1104.

But to get there, they have to pass 1101, and if Derek will see her eyes linger with anxiety on that first door as they pass, like she’s scared someone inside is going to come out while she’s here.

After that, it doesn’t take anymore than 15 seconds for them to be right outside her door. “This is me,” she says as she turns to face her body towards. “Thank you for … everything Derek. It was … exactly what I needed.”

[duelo]

"Right across the hall, nice," he says. And Derek means that; maybe he'll see her more often if he times it just right leaving in the morning for the morning briefings. "I'm in 1104."

He catches the sudden spike of anxiety in the air and he lifts an eyebrow. There's someone in room 1101 she's anxious about. Derek takes note, but he doesn't actually say anything about it, because it's probably none of his business. If she wants him to know, then she'll say. Until then, whether he likes it or not, he needs to stay out of it.

Derek stops, too, and he gives her a smile and a nod. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help." He points to his door behind him with one hand. "I'm right here if you need anything," he says, lifting his eyebrows to get the point across.

Taking a deep breath, he lets it out again softly. "All right, you have a good night, Felicity Smoak. I hope we run into each other again soon." And with that and a nod coupled with a wink, he finally turned to open his own room's door and disappears inside to get ready for bed.

[smoak]

She’s never met anyone from 1104 before — which, seemed odd, given the fact that it was directly across the hall from her. Plus, by now it seems like she’s literally met everyone who lives in 1101, and for no good reason.

Her eyebrows lift too, but in curiosity, when he tells her that he’s there if she needs anything. Felicity nods, her smile a little skeptical — not because she doesn’t believe him, but because she still can’t get over the fact that he wants to spend time with her. And then he winks and she can’t help but cover up a laugh.

Derek was sweet. And she’d be blind if she didn’t think he was cute.

“Happy gassing,” she calls after him, before turning around and going into her own room.

Today had been a complete roller coaster, and in any other place, she would have spent hours awake in bed, tossing and turning and thinking about it. Inside the Wagon Wheel however, she falls asleep right at 10 p.m. Maybe being gassed to sleep on a deadline has its benefits after all.