"Yes patents are a thing they just got a little more... complicated after the exodus." He frowns a bit, remembering the shitfest that the political situation was back then.

"Nowadays instead of a government licensed patenting office, you need to convince influential people to recognize your efforts and make them sign a few papers for it to be valid through the entire fleet. Simply because there is not a thing called government these days, just factions fighting over power and status just like mobs and mafias... from a politicians point of view."

He clearly is not pleased with the current status quo.

"If you need help with that I will happily help."

"Patents and projects aside. Enlighten us Arkady. Your exaltation. What did you do? You didnt meet him, did you?" Lyla inquires from Arkady, raising a curious but cautious brow.

She fiddles with her glass for a while, just enjoying the athmosphere.

"I didn't meet him."

Arkady takes another weird looking sigarette off his pocket and lights it up with the last one. It smells a bit like burning oil.

"And I don't really even know what I did to be honest. We were tasked to capture an abyssal frigate, but our intel was shit, and instead of just one Bataan class we were against two upgraded frigates with railguns and shit."

He takes another long drag from his cigarette and blows out a thick cloud of bitter smoke. His expression looks saddened, even tough he tries to hide it with a casual voice.

"They tore Paddy Wagon to pieces in seconds... I was the ole survivor and somehow managed to board the frigate, sabotage the engines and I was making my way towards the bridge when I ran into the first mate of that ship. During my battle with her I was exalted."

He looks at Lyla and a faint smile drags across his face.

"Was it luck? Maybe. Did my action attract this gift? Who knows. All I know that Sol gave me the strenght to show the finger to the dead and avenge my comrades, And I swear on my mother, I not done yet. Not many have this gift and I plan to give the living a fighting chance with it. Being exalted is a great boon, but a big enough gun designed by a divine craftsman in the hands of anyone makes a difference too."

There's a peculiar moment of contemplation on Daniel's face as Arkady mentions not seeing Sol upon Exaltation. That was to be expected... Now that Sol Invictus was no more. But he was still uncertain why Ignis Divine had never shown himself to him even when he was still alive.

He elects to say nothing about the subject, though. But he did have his views on other aspects of Exaltation.

"Luck is always a factor in Exaltation due to the finite amount of Exaltations available at any given time - but luck alone is never enough to earn one. Exaltations seek out hosts worthy of them, for better or worse; for us Solars, that means people capable of dreaming big and possessing the mindset to make those dreams into reality. We are movers and shakers gifted with the power to make our mark on Creation on a different scale, but the drive and aptitude for wielding that power is something we hold find within. The Exaltation is a divine toolset that makes what was impossible possible, but the people we were, are and will be define how those tools get used. That's why we must both realize the imperative to put our power to use and to remember being more powerful doesn't make us any better."

He reaches for the vodka bottle and takes another swig.

"I'm sorry for the tragedy that sparked your Exaltation, Arkady. Carry that hatred but don't let it consume you and you'll do great. We could certainly use some new tech to even the odds between mortals and the thralls of the Neverborn."

Lyla smiles and raises her glass as a salute to their speeches before taking a long sip.

"Daniel exalted while fighting zombie bears. Its about overcoming something thought to be nearly impossible even if you didnt feel it to be so at the moment. That being said: you fared amazingly, Arky. Glad to have you on board."

Uh oh, too many sips and too quickly, a small blush lurks to her ears.

Good thing that Arkady didn't go all gloomy when asked about his Exaltation.

"It's not surprising that most Exaltations include violence in some way, but there have been non-violent ones too right? I wonder if I could get one if I asked the God of Exaltation nicely?"

He smiles and then continues as he types the air with his fingers, as if he was writing.
"Good and Wise God of Exaltation, I seek the power to aid those above me and shield those below me. I ask this so I can make the citizens of this fleet look upon each other not as neighbors or rivals, but as brothers and friends.
-Kendal Raines"
He finishes as like he pressed Enter and looks at the others. "I just hope there are enough Exaltations to go around for the task at hand."

Arkady listens to Daniel's lesson with thought and nod at times. Even though he is a young turk, he had a certain respect for his elders. Not necessarily a merit of age alone, but the knowledge learned during that time between them. A head start of sorts, And Arkady is the kind to learn from the mistakes of others, the effect known as experience.

"Well yeah... I don't believe I'm better, just more capable at certain things. I don't really talk about deep shit like this... I..I mean, that's something I don't have previous experience for too much. At the paddy wagon that kinda talk was by those who didn't have better things to do, Or did but avoided it."

He puts the "cigarette" on his lips, only to realize it had gone out. He dumps it in the ashtray to make room in his only hand for rhe long island ice tea.

"Don't say sorry if you haven't done anything wrong, and you haven't. You weren't there, and we all knew the risk. That's why we lived like it was the last day every day, cause it might be. Saying sorry when it's not needed makes it lose it's meaning... but anyway, thanks for sparing the thought.

he takes a sip of his drink and an expression of surprise made its way on his face. It was sweet. Really sweet. He takes a large gulp of the stuff and lets out a content sigh.

"What the shit? Zombie bears? That's pretty fucking badass!!"

He looks at Daniel in awe and turns back towards Lyla

"Thanks. It means a lot for me to accepted... well... at least tolerated, but I'll make my self usefull. I just do what I have to." he answers with a smile.

Kendal's speech just amde him confused, and he waves his hand and points his finger as he tries to grasp a point how that might actually work, or not, but he clearly can't grasp his thoughts.

"Wha... What the-? It doesn't work like that! Or well... It might but... ah shit."

The numbing effect of alcohol finally got to him, and he's left to ponder, while continuing his drink.

Daniel takes his own long island iced tea and sips it. He was finally starting to get buzzed as well.

"To be more precise, I didn't Exalt while fighting zombie bears. I Exalted fighting the Nephwrack that had created those bears. But yeah, looks like you've got your head on straight Arkady. If you need help for something important don't hesitate to call."

He sips again from his drink, gaining a thoughtful frown.

"Anyway, I've been told I should talk about work less so I suppose we should find something lighter to talk about."

He doesn't actually have a clue as to what that something might be, but at least he's trying.

A flat and confused expression spreads on Lylas face when Daniel mentions the possibilty of another subject.

”Eh. Isnt everything we talk about related to work somewhat since Last Refuge is our workplace..?” she chuckles and shrugs. ”You guys dance ever? Favorite songs?”

She glances toward the jukebox playing  something generic currently.

As Lyla is confused, Kendal is amused in equal measure because the greatest struggle of one of the most influential and inspiring men in the fleet is small talk.

He turns to Daniel. "I take it that you don't partake in casual small talk much these days? You do have something to do in your free time right? assuming you have any."

He scratches the back of his head when Lyla mentions dancing and turns to her. "Does waltz count?"
With his luck the moment he starts dancing, one of his subordinates would arrive and then have proof that Kendal is capable of having fun... unacceptable.

Daniel regards Kendal matter-of-factly.

"Never really did. Even when working the soup kitchen I tended to either leave the talking to the more sociable volunteers or to dive deep enough to make a real change or cause a confrontation. As for free time..."

He takes a sip. A long sip. A gulp... more like a guzzle. Possibly because he doesn't know how to approach the subject of free time and his severe lack of it as well as recharging activities to fill it with.

Then he coughs faintly.

"I'm kind of with your brother on this one. Never did much dancing beside the traditional stuff."

Lyla chuckles at their responses and shakes her head.

"How painful. Dancing is essential...and classics work on any lady anytime. I couldnt even imagine you two dancing any other way. Actually I think my brain just hurt to imagine you partying down," she almost laughs.

Her gaze wanders to the drink as she mixes it, a wistful smile decorating her lips.

"It was nice spending time like this. When there is no need for fronts. We should do this other time as well. Especially after my lil brother breaks through and applies for Exaltation succesfully."

A teasing grin there. Her tone of voice conveys that she wasnt completely joking.

"I can't say I've ever danced really. just jumped around." Arkady adds in thought. "Yeeah drinking in company is a lot more fun than drinking alone... So I'd better enjoy whilst I can!"

He takes a long sip off his drink and keeps an eye on the door every now and then.

"Oh yeah, I'm not in a hurry coz I like booze Blyat. I'm in a hurry coz I probably should be in quarantine at sanctuary. The battle orderlies are gonna come in and kick my ass pretty soon I suppose. Totally worth it though, HA oi pizec..."

"I cant remember a time when I'd have patiently waited at the Sanctuary for the official papers."

With a sigh she gets up from her barstool and finishes what was left of her drink.

"Talk to you another time more Jolie," she wishes to her friend behind the counter."And you I hope to catch up on with time in our hands. Come by and visit, or I have to come to your office, dear brother,"Lyla turns to Kendall for a departing hug.

"Daniel, walk with me will you? I can try to help you sneak past some paparazzi."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Tue 09 Oct 2018.

As he returns the hug, his phone vibrates and he checks it. First he raises an eyebrow, followed by an oh shit! look on his face.

"Yeah I better be going as well unless I want to risk my secretary hanging me. Was good seeing you all after so long and it was good to meet you Mr. Arkady, I hope to see you all again soon."

He gives a nod to everyone, puts a business card on the table for Arkady and leaves, typing something on his phone as he walks out the door.

"Yeah, always a pleasure to be able to drop the facades or just speak without stopping to consider the butterfly effects you might create by holding your drink a particular way."

He pours his iced tea down the hatch as the group starts dispersing before getting up to say goodbye. He nods to Lyla as she offers to sneak him past the vultures.

"Thanks for the company. See you guys around. Don't die or slack off."

"Dont drink yourself to death. See you later. Same place, different time," Lyla wishes to Arkady before slipping out of the bar, through the backdoor ofcourse.

"I'm a tough cyka. I can't be killed by booze." Arkady hollers back at Lyla

"I'll stay here and wait for my ride. I think I can still destroy a bottle before sanctuary goons find me and drag me out. 'ey barkeep! Another one of them long teas!"

He waves his hand one last time to the leaving crew, and now sits alone on the counter. Something he had gotten used to. But this time he had a genuine smile on his face.

[TIME PASSES]

Having a taste for style and the will to show it off somewhat, Kendall is wearing a red slim fit long sleeve collared shirt with his sleeves rolled and a black vest. Also one of those Merovingian tie knots he likes so much. Black straight pants and matching shoes.

This time he isn't out of breath or running away from work, instead just having a jolly good time in Callsign, hopefully running into some friends to talk with.

He orders two drinks for himself, one for consumption, one for enjoyment. He scouts out if there is a better place to sit than at the bar itself. Just taking a breather from the hectic everyday life.

Between missions and other stuff to accomplish, Lyla has somehow managed to escape from her duties to the refuge of the Callsign. She had not really planned on presenting, as one can notice from her open and messy hair to her torn jeans and cropped loose hoodie. Not that she actually looked disheveled, she just looked casual. There had been one discussion between her and Jolie of how Lyla should always put in some effort when visiting her club, mostly to humor Jolie.

She lets her essence shroud drop when ordering drinks...a shot of vodka to down and something vaguely resembling GT to tag along. After that it doesn't take long for her to spot Kendall, and her smirk gets a bit wider when she heads his way.

"Do you want to fight here or take it outside?" she jests.

After absentmindedly sipping his drink, he turns to face the very familiar voice of Lyla, he puts his drink on the table with a pleased 'ahh' sigh, It was some good stuff.

"I will choose... option C, not at all." He replies with a smirk. "Good to see you too, what did I do this time to warrant such hostilities?" He asks like he had no idea as to why.

She reaches to tussle his hair instead of whooping his ass...at least for now.

"You know well enough why. I know I said last time that maybe the next time we'll see each other here is after you've applied for your exaltation but I didn't really mean it. And then you go and exalt like it had been an order," she rants.

He knows well enough that she is not really mad about it, just concerned.

"Glad to see you, happy to see you are still alive."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Fri 17 Apr 2020.

After she is done messing up his hairdo, he attempts to fix it fully expecting her to mess it up again.

"Well... it's not like I put myself in life threatening situations on purpose all the time. Anyway all in all this has been great! I am the center of attention, got much stuff to do, got a load of stuff from Battles and a bunch of advise from other exalted." He says confidently, maybe some of that little brother sass mixed in as well.

"This what I get as a thanks for trying to preserve your life through these years. You go and put yourself on their list like a bait as if life would be too easy," she sighs and takes a looooooong sip."Geez, I'm exhilarated to hear that. All the attention and all the gear so you can get yourseld killed easier."

She sighs and digs out a cigarette from a metalcase, indication of the subject actually being touchy to her.

"Well it's out of my system now. At least you have better coping mechanisms now. How are you otherwise?" she lights her cigarette, giving a passing pat to his shoulder.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:19, Sat 18 Apr 2020.