ORP: Hot Coffee, and Desert Sands

Farrah allowed a wide smile to consume her face, as Sheppard commented, “Are we all being recruited for the Avengers Initiative?”

"I honestly thought I was when I first got the call," she admitted with a shrug, "Though I'd be more of an Agent of Shield.  I don't really have super powers...that I'm aware of..." she trailed off with a smirk, before laughing.  Farrah was a bit of a 'nerd' by American standards.  She enjoyed reading comic books, watching science fiction, and generally tuning out from reality for a bit, every once in awhile.  It had actually helped her while overseas.  Many of the soldiers she worked with, found it calming to talk about something other than guns and why they were missing a leg currently.  There was one case where talking about Spiderman made a man put down a grenade .  She was still proud of that one.

Upon rejecting her coffee, Sheppard suggested, “Perhaps you should have went with one of the flavored coffees. Starbucks' ‘plain’ coffees can be quite distasteful.”

"Nah - I prefer black coffee.  I should bribe my brother to send me some beans.  I used to grind my own," she smiled, glancing down into the black vortex that was her brew.  She was simply used to a bit of flavor in the bitterness.  Perhaps she just wasn't a fan of the type of beans Starbucks used - or maybe American coffee were just different.  She had never heard of such a tale - but she also had never breached their borders before.

"I doubt you'll find better company than this lot," Logan commented, "better looking, and more humble than your average American! We even manage to smell nice."

"Calling yourself humble - then saying you're pretty and smell nice.  I honestly don't know how to respond to that," she smiled, studying him slightly as she spoke.  Blackwood was an interesting man.  She honestly wanted to be put on the same team as him, just to be able to push his buttons and test his limits.  He seemed like he would be fun to play with on a mental level.

 “Are both of you excited for the new gig we seem to have gotten?” Sheppard asked, as Farrah watched a new-comer into the place.  The face seemed familiar.  A name with an A...Azalea?  Yet another Homeworld member.  This was just getting weird.


"I've honestly never had a job quite like this before...so I'm intrigued to see how it goes," she admitted, with a slight shrug, holding her coffee again for the warmth.  Bringing it to her lips, she sipped it again - simply wanting to give it another chance.  Perhaps it just didn't like her because she was British and should be drinking tea.  Farrah was honestly afraid of trying corporate-tea, having heard horror stories about what Americans classified as the brew.

After ordering a drink that sounded too complicated to still be classified as coffee, the A-name woman wandered over to their table.  Farrah's eyes slid to Sheppard as the woman greeted her - an odd almost ice about her.  Leaning back in her seat, she simply watched as they interacting - taking yet another sip of her "coffee".  No - it wasn't any better.  


"Pleased to meet ya," she smiled with a nod.

The interactions were getting increasingly more uncomfortable as the young woman stumbled over herself while talking to Sheppard, "It's even more of a honor to serve with you Colonel. Great to see you again! Sorry I didn't recognize you. NOT that you gotten older! You look the same as always. I mean..." 

"Shhh..." Farrah held a finger to her own lips, "Take a deep breath and try again, love."


<Tag: Sheppard, Blackwood, Andre>  

Downtown; Starbucks
Washington D.C.

"I think that you'll like this job, Doctor." Ayden smiled at the female doctor sitting across from her. She too had been uneasy when she received her first Stargate assignment, but now, years later, it was still a job she looked forward to going to every day. There had been good men and women lost in the line of duty, but the knowledge gained from many trips through the gate and the situations encountered almost made up for it. Even though she did prefer to work with a full military team, she had the highest respect for the good doctor sitting across from her - Ayden had read her files and she knew she was quite competent. 

Ayden didn't have a problem with 'fresh blood' and she didn't have a problem with Azalea. She was actually quite amused at the young woman's response to her. Ayden figured that by now, Andre would know that Ayden actually held her in very high esteem, thinking she was one of the best of the cadets that she had ever trained. She was hard on the younger woman because she wanted her to be the best she could be. Azalea stumbling over her own words caused a flicker of amusement to shine in Ayden's eyes as she took a sip of her coffee and she leaned back in her chair, her gaze going to the other individuals at the table as they spoke.

Ayden watched and listened intently to Blackwood and Byrne, both of which had a different approach when it came to dealing with the bumbling Lieutenant. Ayden remained quietly, her blue eyes dropping to Logan's arm when she saw it brush against Farrah's and she raised a brow - well, if there was one thing Logan was, it was persistent. It was obvious that he was very into Farrah as it was. As the Colonel placed her coffee down on the table in front of her, she looked back to Azalea. Now it was time to decide if she should continue to make her former cadet nervous, or put her at ease.

"At ease, Lieutenant. This is an informal setting. I'm not offended that you didn't recognize me - I would have blocked off the part of my mind that had to do with me as well after the hell I put you and your fellow cadets through." The corner of her lips twitched up for a brief moment before her face relaxed once again. "We're all coworkers trying to become friends - you're not a student any longer, Andre."

< Tag: Farrah Byrne, Logan Blackwood, & Azalea "De" Andre >

1116
Downtown: Starbucks
Washington DC

Azalea smiled weakly at Logan's comment, giving a small nod, then turned to Farrah giving a smile of thanks. Right, breathing; an important thing to do that is so easily forgotten. Taking a small breath deep breath, the lieutenant took another sip, praying those moments would calm down the nerves. What a first impression to make. Now she would be so easily labeled the 'Rookie'. What she wouldn't give to erase those last two minutes and try again. Stupid first impressions. Sometimes that's the only chance you get to prove yourself before getting labeled. "Thank you Ma'am. You might have been hard on us, but at the same time, you were the best instructor we had. Not saying the others weren't good, but you taught us not just how to survive the military and the Stargate program, but life in general. I for one am grateful, and I'm not just saying that either." Great now add brown nosing on top of it. That's probably how everything sounded to the others. Another fail? What did that total up to now. The noirette took another small sip, looking back over at Blackwood and Farrah engaged in their own conversation. Part of her wished for the power of communicating with the mind to be able to tell them, don't leave me talking to Colonel Sheppard alone! Good lord did she feel like a noob in front of this older woman.

Hearing someone call out her name, Azalea wanted to jump up and yell, THANK YOU, to whomever it was. The much needed distraction from this awkward situation, or at least awkward on her head. As the female turned around, the mocha eyes rested on a familiar old friend not seen in years. "Shannon?!" Disbelief came out first as the eyes blinked before Andre jumped up, quickly embracing the old friend in a tight hug. "Oh my god, Shannon! How are you?! What brings you here?!" The lieutenant wanted to wager a guess, but had made enough failures already so was airing on the side of caution. "Where are my manners." Pulling back from the hug, Azalea stepped to the side, turning to face the others. "Shannon meet Logan Blackwood, Farrah Byrne, and you probably remember Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard from our courses at the Academy." A crimson color splashed on Azalea's cheek thinking about the decisions the two had about the said former instructor. "They all have been picked for the new job I have been assigned to." A dropped hint to see if Shannon would catch on; bait to see if she too was headed for Homeworld as well. If so, the young woman prayed they were on the same team together. It would be great to be working with a familiar face.

"Sit! Join us! Tell me what you've been up to since graduation." A mental note was made to have a girl night with just Shannon to learn about the developments of a certain male since they had last seen each other. Returning back to her seat, Azalea moved her bag, vacating a seat for the older brunette to take. Now she could sit at table and not have it be awkward anymore. Shannon was much needed balance.

< tag: Shannon "Angel" Meyers, Ayden "Ghost" Sheppard, Farrah Byrne, Logan Blackwood >

Farrah quietly watched the newcomer with mild interest, before felling a brush on her arm.  Glancing over at the ever-persistent Logan Blackwood, she sighed slightly as he asked her, "So how are you finding the states? Found a place to stay yet?"

The question nearly caught her off-guard, but she quickly recovered with a slight smile, "I find them odd," she admitted with a shrug, "I played tourist and saw all the sites of this place.  Why is there a large obelisk to commemorate Washington...but Lincoln gets a statue that actually looks like him?" she shrugged as she spoke, "And yes, yes.  I have a nice little apartment that is completely...empty.  Moving to a new country on short notice has me lacking the essentials," she narrowed her eyes in thought, "I only just bought a bottle opener yesterday."

Currently her apartment had a bed, three plates, two forks, a set of chopsticks, a spork, and a butter knife.  She also - of course - had her laptop, books, and some clothing - but the place looked as if it had been robbed.  Farrah secretly hoped that would dissuade anyone who felt the need to break in - making them think that they were too late to find anything of value...which wasn't completely untrue.  

Her eyes slid to the door - spotting a woman that was secretly a Greek religious deity, causing her brow to raise a bit.  She smiled a bit as the the woman quarreled about Starbucks lack of real coffee.   

As the woman approached, Farrah watched as the other newcomer and the Deity exchanged words.  Apparently they knew each other.  Yet another from Homeworld.

"Did they mind-control us all to come here?" she half-asked, feeling a bit uncomfortable with the possibility of this even happening.  While Washington DC wasn't the biggest place on the planet - there were enough coffee shops that seeing just one co-worker should be rare.  This many?  Probability simply said no.