Welcome.

[Qinna Connolly]

Heaving both a large duffel bag big enough to haul a body in and a huge sigh, Qinna tried for the third time to enter the key pin that the soldier whom dropped her off had given her. She'd already doubted it's accuracy when she knew for sure she'd put it in right the second time; but now the third time was a dead ringer. The key pin the man had scribbled down was incorrect. It only made sense that the Mars Soldiers didn't have the right number; if this was her lab, she'd have changed the original pin without saying anything, too. Nothing bugged her more than some dummy interrupting her work wanting something completely unrelated. Little did Qinna know, however, that a faint alarm was going off down the flight of stairs below, in the lab she was bound to like a kidnap victim onto a chair.

"Shit!" she hissed, trying to keep her voice down and not arouse attention by soldier or shopper alike. "Come ON." Once again, she hit in the code - only this time, she tried the numbers backwards - then inverted, and then in not any particular order - all had failed. "This is not happening..." Qinna leaned back on the wall behind her, heaving another sigh as the quite heavy bag slumped soundlessly onto the floor. She shut her eyes, and didn't even notice that the door was opening...

[Aydin Sage]

"And how's number six responding to this formula?"

"Dead, Doctor."

A heavy sigh fell passed Andyn's lips as wrote the word "dead" on the information sheet in front of him. He straightened and set the clipboard he had been holding on a nearby table. The young scientist stood up from his chair and made his way to the rat cages, to stand beside his assistant for that day. "So, thats . . . " he started, as he took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes, before replacing them. "One, two and six that have died; three, four, five and seven have showed no change; eight and ten have worsened conditions; and you're saying nine is showing minor recovery changes?" he asked, as he looked over each of the rats before him. His assistant didn't respond verbally, but simply nodded as, Aydin continued to look over the subjects. "Alright, keep an extra close watch on nine. We'll see how he does over the next couple of days with the same amount of dosage." He ran his fingers back through his hair with another sigh, and then turned to his assistant again. "We'll need some more replacement rats. You wouldn't mind getting rid of the dead ones and going out to get some new ones, would you?"

"I wouldn't mind, Doctor," she replied politely.

He had constantly told those that worked with him that they didn't need to call him doctor, but they all insisted or just seemed to ignore his request that they not. He had finally given up asking them to stop, seeing as they wouldn't no matter what he said. "Would you also--" he was then cut off by the security alarm sounding through the lab. Aydin frowned, as he glanced up at the ceiling. It wasn't usual for the alarm to go off, first of all, because hardly anyone even noticed the door to the lab up in the mall. It looked like little more than a janitor's closet, and secondly it took at least three failed attempts at the code to sound the alarm. He briefly wondered if the government might be trying to gain access to his lab, but he quickly brushed that thought away. It was only on rare occasions that he heard from the government or the military about disclosing his research.

Aydin glanced towards his assistant, who seemed to be on the verge of panic. The corners of his lips quirked up slightly, not able to help but smile at how startled she was. "Don't worry, you can stay down here and take a break. I'll go see what's going on." He started out of the main lab, becoming more and more concerned as he thought. Who would be trying to gain access to his lab? As he thought, his pace quickened with out him even realizing it. He turned and went up the stairs, skipping every other step as he went. He hesitated for a moment when he reached the door to the mall, but then opened it, unsure of who he would see.

At first, he saw no one. Aydin glanced around, a somewhat confused expression crossing his face, until he saw the girl slumped against a wall beside the door. He frowned, still in confusion. He had never seen the girl before, from what he could remember. "Excuse me," he started, looking down at her. "Were you the one trying to get into my lab?"

[Qinna Connolly]

Qinna's eyes flicked open at the sound of a voice talking to her, as her head moved to allow her to see whoever it was. Her green orbs fell on the guy before her; young, cute - he couldn't be the one, could he? Perhaps he was the assistant - yes, that made the most sense. Surely, only she was the only young scientist that could possibly be on mars. The rest of them must all be old - like most of the scientists on earth were.

"Ohhh thank god, I thought I was going to have to go back," she rushed, swinging the bag over her shoulder. "I've got a lot more things coming, but those are coming tomorrow on a freight craft from Earth. I'm sorry I'm late, the ship hit some turbulence going through Earth's ozone, and," she paused, muscling her way past him to fly down the stairs, "You can tell Dr Sage that I'll have to find an apartment in the dome somewhere with some grant money. I'll pay it back when I can find some part time, or something."

Qinna stopped at the door that lead into the lab, expecting the young assistant to follow her and get the door - especially with the large duffel bag half filled with clothes and half filled with her beakers, syringes, and various other things...

[Aydin Sage]

"Ohhh thank god, I thought I was going to have to go back."

Aydin blinked, even more confusion overwhelming him. He watched her as she picked up her bag. When she spoke again, he just stared at her, trying to sort out all of this in his mind. Who was this girl and why did it look like she was planning on moving into his lab? He moved obediently as she muscled her way by him, still numbed by confusion. He quickly closed his mouth when he noticed that it had been hanging slightly open. His brow frowning, Aydin closed the door and started to follow her. He needed to get some things sorted out before he was too lost to be found again. "Wait, excuse m--" he wasn't able to interject what he wanted to say before she was speaking again, this something about somewhere to live and grant money. This time he didn't try to say something as he continued to try and sort things out in his mind.

He quickly walked passed her, mostly out of habit, and opened the door for her, although he still had no idea why she was even coming into his lab. Finally, he cleared his throat before speaking, determined to clear up what was going on. "Um . . Miss?" he started. "I'm Dr. Sage. I'd be happy to loan you some money for an apartment, but what, exactly . . . I mean, I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you? And what's going on? Why are you here?" he asked. She was young, probably a couple years younger than him, so he would first assume that maybe she was a new assistant, but he hadn't hired any new assistants and hadn't been planning on it. He had enough help as it was.

"I wasn't aware that I hired any new assistants . . or that I was getting a visit from anyone."

[Qinna Connolly]

"Oh, Dr Sage must not have told you," she continued, walking briskly into the lab, towards the table in the kitchen. "No no, you're too young to be Sage; I don't think he'd appreciate you pretending you're him too, young one. Come on, get me some coffee, quick-like." she spoke, a sullen look in her matching green eyes as she waved her free hand at him.

She heaved the duffel bag onto the table, and pulled open the flap. After a moment of glancing around, she began unloading her test tubes and vials. "You. When is Dr Sage due back? I really can't start anything without talking to him first. He got the letter last week, honestly you'd think he'd BE here..." she rattled on, sliding over to the counter nearby with a well-wrapped microscope.

[Aydin Sage]

Aydin followed her into the kitchen, his confusion not at all clearing up with what she was saying. She didn't seem to believe that he was, who he said he was: himself. At her ordering him to get her some coffee he straightened slightly. Aydin had no problem serving people, actually he was quite fond of it, but it was still slightly irking that she was just strutting into his lab and demanding things, especially when he had no idea what was going on and she didn't even believe that he was, in fact, Dr. Sage. He sighed inwardly and forced those negative thoughts away the best he could. He was a patient person, and would eventually get things straightened out. Aydin moved to the cupboard and pulled out a mug, before pouring some hot coffee into it. Luckily, his assistant had turned on the coffee maker because she had wanted some for herself not long before. He graciously set down the mug on the table in front of her.

"You. When is Dr. Sage due back? I really can't start anything without talking to him first. He got the letter last week, honestly you'd think he'd BE here . . ."

He sighed, as he removed his glasses and with the thumb and pointer finger of his free hand he rubbed his eyes. Aydin then slipped his glasses into his pocket and seated himself at the table, this time determined to clear things up. Though seeing at how effective his already attempted efforts had been, he wondered how effective they would be now. "Miss, as I've already said. I am Dr. Sage, though I would prefer that you address me as Aydin," he said in a very calm voice. Would she believe him this time? Who knew? But now he had to move onto the next matter. "I don't ever remember receiving a letter about . . whatever this is." He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, who this woman was, or what she was doing in his lab.

"Now, before you start unpacking, if you would please be kind enough to give me your name, and explain who you are and what you're doing here, I would greatly appreciate it." He was trying to remain as calm as possible and keep his voice as kind sounding as possible with all the confusion and the bit of frustration he was feeling at that moment.

[Qinna Connolly]

"Well, maybe you should check his mail a little more-" she began, then trailed off to a silence as what he said finally struck what little concentration was not focused on what she was doing - getting her lab unpacked. It usually took quite a lot to break into her focus; tonight, it was likely much, much easier.

"Miss, as I've already said. I am Dr. Sage, though I would prefer that you address me as Aydin. I don't ever remember receiving a letter about . . whatever this is. Now, before you start unpacking, if you would please be kind enough to give me your name, and explain who you are and what you're doing her, I would greatly appreciate it."

Qinna's face took on a very typical anime expression; she closed her eyes with an awkward, sheepish grin. Only thing that would have completed the expression would be a sweat-drop rolling down her face. "-often..." she finished off. "Doctorrrr!" she continued, swirling around him much more slowly, with an air of retraction. "Do forgive me, Doctor, you're much younger than I expected. I'm Doctor Qinna Connolly."

Her hand graced his, shaking it much more vigorously than she usually would. "They mailed you the notification last week; surely you read it?"

[Aydin Sage]

((Sorry for the wait))

"Well, maybe you should check his mail a little more--"

Aydin watched her calmly, his eyebrow forming a delicate arch. He could see as the sudden realization hit her, how her demeanor suddenly changed. It was almost . . funny, and he would have probably laughed if he had not been trying so hard to keep his irritation at bay. Aydin wasn't one to become annoyed easily, in fact, most people found it quite difficult to ever get on his nerves. For some reason though, her barging into his lab when he had no clue who she was or what she was doing there along with her attitude towards him, set him off a little. Fortunately, Aydin had obtained a very tight control and hold on every emotion he had, due to years of practice. He could usually hide any trace of anger, sadness, or annoyance from his face and voice. That's what he was doing now, as he continued to remind himself that there was no reason to be annoyed with this person, and it was a negative emotion that would only bring an outcome of that same negativity.

The young scientist blinked as her lips formed a large sheepish grin and she addressed him by his title. Interesting how after finally realizing who he was, her attitude suddenly changed. As she introduced herself he let the corners of his mouth curl up slightly, but then his eyes widened slightly as she suddenly started energetically shaking his hand. His emerald eyes turned upwards, as he was still sitting down, to meet her own. "Its a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Qinna Connolly," he said pleasantly, using her whole name that she had given. "Is that what you want me to address you as, or would you prefer something else?" he asked, curiously.

His nose wrinkled slightly as he thought about her previous question pertaining to the letter that that would have notified him of her arrival. After a few moments of thinking he gave a slight shake of his head, making the dark fringes of his hair brush against his cheeks. "I don't ever remember reading it." He then stood up, his hand coming to rest on his chin as he thought about it again, but still could recall nothing. "Hmm . . shall we go check that I actually received the letter . . . or I suppose you could just explain the situation to me." He flashed a grin in her direction. "I'm still in the dark about all this."

[Qinna Connolly]

Qinna managed a faint smile as he bidded her the choice of name. Obviously, he really didn't read that letter. Otherwise, he'd realize that he could call her anything he wanted, and she could do naught but complain.

"You can call me anything you like..." she replied, stepping off towards his office. While on the shuttle over, after what seemed like days of questioning, she'd been given a map of the lab to study - thus, she'd've known her way around. "Let's do both, hmm?" she replied, slipping her way into his office. She plucked up the large stack of mail upon his desk, and began riffling her way through it. Most were bills and letters, but one stuck out - the typical brown envelope with the government seal on it. How did he miss it? It'd been there for a week, at least.

"This, is the letter." she spoke, eying him with a serious glance that said 'duh'. "You open them, and read them. That is what one does with mail." she tore it open, and despite she'd broken about 4 privacy laws, tugged out the thicker-than-she'd expected letter, and pulled on a poker-face as her eyes nearly gave her shock away - they'd sent him a copy of her entire legal case, and an order to keep his mouth shut, or they'd issue a euthanasia warrant.

Quickly, she stuffed the letter down her lab coat pocket. "Right. Basicly, they didn't want to double a grant for biology, when there's a lab over the stars. Enemy planet or otherwise, they decided to make my practice under yours - with one stipulation; you can order me to do anything, but not How. On other words, you're my boss, you just can't tell me to not do what I'm doing after you tell me to do it. Capiche?"

[Aydin Sage]

"You can call me anything you like . . ."

His nose wrinkled slightly in response but for the moment he decided to give no other reaction. He hadn't really asked her what she wanted to be called because of some sort of "rule" or "rank", actually, he usually tried to treat everyone equally and he wanted to know their opinions most of the time. Aydin knew that certain people preferred to be called certain things and made a point in specifically asking what they wanted to be called. He would have to press if she really didn't have a preference later. His brow frowned slightly as she made her way towards his office and he was quick to follow. He leaned against the door frame as he watched her patiently, though it was somewhat irking that she cared nothing for his privacy. He shrugged inwardly, as he attempted to brush the thoughts away. She began looking through his male until she came onto the brown envelope. He had no problem with what she first said, but when she glanced at him as if he were an idiot, he felt another twinge of annoyance--or perhaps it was the annoyance that he had already been feeling get a little bit bigger. He returned the glance and managed a half hearted, somewhat sarcastic smile.

"You open them, and read them. That is what one does with mail."

He grimaced inwardly, but made sure not to let any trace of the expression actually appear on his face. Aydin watched as she opened the letter and then scanned over it, before putting it into her pocket. He wondered if she was even going to give him the chance to look at his own mail, but not wanting to raise up any more contentious feelings, he decided not to bother with it. If she said that's what the letter said, that he decided to assume that she was telling the truth. It was always better to trust in people and give them the benefit of the doubt--even when they were a bit of an irritation. He released a sigh and scratched the back of his head as she finished explaining. "Capiche," he replied in a rather flat tone.

He glanced at the discarded brown envelope, and looked over the government seal. As he looked at it the corners of his mouth quirked up. How could he have missed it. The answer was simple. He hadn't missed it. Of course he had seen it. He remembered now, but he hadn't opened it, due to the big insignia that was stamped on it. Was it important, apparently it was, but being one to avoid cooperating with the government as much as he could with out causing too much trouble, Aydin usually discarded most of the mail that was sent by the government. Whenever he opened letters from the government, they were usually useless anyways. But of course, with his luck, the ones that were important were the ones that he chose not to open. Again he sighed as he tossed the envelope into the trashcan that sat by the door.

"All right then," he started as he thought out, what exactly he was going to do with her. Aydin really didn't need any more help with his research. One assistant was enough, and he had three assistants that rotated days through out the week. What could he possibly do with another scientist? "You can unpack and keep all of your things in lab three--its mostly used for storage. I guess, I'll stay tonight and clean it out for you." He motioned for her to follow him towards lab three. As he walked through the hall he talked, glancing back at her every now and again. "You can use any of the labs or equipment that you would like, I would just prefer that if you plan on using the Green Lab you tell me before hand. Its the most important lab we have here, since it supplies all of the oxygen for the whole lab and part of the Mall upstairs, so be very careful when experimenting with the plants in there." He stopped in front of Lab Three and opened the door.

The room wasn't completely full of storage, but it did have quite a few boxes piled up as well as other equipment lining the shelves and counters. "I'm sorry for having been better prepared for your arrival. If I had known you were coming, I would have cleaned the lab out sooner."

[Qinna Connolly]

"My things should arrive tomorrow," she explained, stalking off towards lab three. "On a freight shuttle. I've got a lot of things." Qinna began riffling through boxes, unaware that the letter she'd crammed into her lab coat pocket had fallen out. "And don't bother; I'll just clear it all out myself. Is there anywhere I can order some desks, and tables? I'll need a counter and a glass security door; can't have the animals getting out. I'll have to install climate control, and possibly split the room into a few littler rooms."

On the letter that so conveniently fell before Aydin, was a typical Earth-greeting.

Dear Dr Sage; in light of your recent biological efforts, we have approved and are sending you an assistant Doctor. She, nor you, have any option in this, the Mars Government has been spoken to. You're given full 24 hour govern over her, with the only exception being how she carries out her orders - simply because of your obvious displeasures. Work needs to be done. The following is a copy of her psychiatric and legal case; be assured she is fully capable, but these documents are for your eyes and mind alone. Any violation of this or the research order will result in a warrant for your euthanasia via Renegade. Thank you for your attention; Sincerely, World Dictator and President."

The three sheets behind were obviously medical and legal, explaining (almost slanderously) about the death of her husband, her own diagnosis, pregnancy, and time working at the bionic and animal research labs as the euthanasist for the animals deemed 'useless for cures'. It with no uncertain words labeled her an obsessive-compulsive thief, outlining her break-and-enter of the facility to steal a cure for her Brain Cancer. Of course, it left out the fact that all the people working there GOT brain cancer, but it made sure to outline her legal case and governmental removal of her baby, and the fact that they'd decided her energies would be best spent on her passion; biology, in the pursuit of cures to disease, just like him.

Of course, if Qinna knew this level of information was on that sheet, she would have burned it, just like she would have done the papers that took her baby away. But, she had no clue, and had no idea it'd fallen from her pocket as she began to move the boxes...

[Aydin Sage]

Aydin gave a small nod when she mentioned when her things would arrive and how much she would have. "That's fine," he said, almost absently as he watched the letter--his letter--that she had taken, fall from her pocket to the floor. Automatically he reached down to get it, first thinking of politely handing it back to her--something that he would have normally done--but thanks to the curiosity and slight irritation that Qinna had inspired, he stopped himself and straightened as he unfolded the letter. His green eyes began to scan over the text that was written on the letter, while only half listening to what she was saying about cleaning up herself, and tables, and . . . well, whatever else she was rambling on about. When he finished with the letter, he was unable to suppress a soft snort at the threat that the government had just sent him, before he turned the page. Of course, that's not what it was meant to look like, the penalty of euthanasia if he didn't obey the orders, but that's what it was. He shook his head inwardly, the letter leaving an unpleasant taste in his mouth.

When he saw what was written before him on the next page, his eyes widened slightly. It was her complete record. He scanned over it, startled that the government would send him such in depth information on someone. He wondered if it was even right or moral to be looking at it. After all it was Qinna's life, and she had obviously, not wanted him to look at the letter when she had shoved it in her pocket. But, like most humans, he couldn't pull his eyes away from it even at the thought of reading into someone's life so much as being wrong. Not only were they her records, but it explained highly personal details. He could understand why she wouldn't want some stranger that she had just met to see, especially if he was going to be her boss. His brows knitted together as he finished reading the last bits, before folding it neatly closed again. As he finished the last crease with his thumb and middle finger he walked up beside Qinna.

"Don't worry about cleaning all of this out yourself. I'm happy to help. Plus, you don't even know where everything is going to go." Aydin wasn't even sure where everything was going to go, but he would figure it out. He casually slid the letter that he had just read to sit on top of a closed box, near Qinna, so that she would notice, before turning to pick up one of the larger boxes. "As for tables, there are plenty of tables in here," he said, nodding towards the north wall, where there were quite a few tables folded and leaned up against it. "But if you need more and anything else, feel free to order whatever you like using lab funding." Of course, most of the lab funding came from him, since it was his lab and he technically wasn't employed by anyone. He had done just that to get out of the government telling him what to do. Unfortunately, it seemed that they could still stick their nose into his business.

"As for what you'll be working on when you get settled in," he said as he started towards the exit to lab three, to place the box. "For now, you can choose whatever sparks your interest." Aydin walked out of the room and set the box down in the hallway, deciding that he would sort all that was in the boxes later. For now, he just needed to clear out the lab for her. His first impression of her had been annoyance, but he still needed to help, and felt even more obliged to after reading about her life. He released a soft sigh as he turned to go back into the lab for another box. "Oh yeah," he started as he remembered something. "You were saying something about needed a grant for an apartment. It would be best to get that sorted out as soon as possible so you have somewhere to live. You wouldn't want to sleep down here. It gets very cold at night." The Lab got cold in the day, and freezing at night, even more so than the rest of Mars because it was underground--the only underground building there was. Aydin was still amazed that it had actually been built. So amazed that he had spent a fortune buying the basement and turning it into a Biology Lab.

[Qinna Connolly]

Qinna's attention piqued at the sense of a presence behind her, eying the various boxes around. She could possibly look inside each, and figure out where they belonged. Sure, that'd take longer; but then she could start right away with going upstairs into the mall to buy at least a few cages and stands. The rest she'd have to custom order from their manufacturer. The war with Earth had been very rough, and the governments still didn't trust nor like the other; but the people therein, the citizens, still seemed to have as strong ties as before. It just went to show you that war was purely political. She herself never really trusted the earth government after the many things they'd done to her; but through the peace agreement that had come into place, she was still left with trust for the every day citizen.

As he walked up beside her, she eyes the paper in his hand. A glimmer of shock flew into her eye as he walked away with a box, his words retaining in her mind, but only for later use. How did he get that? Her hand flew to her lab coat pocket as a mild panic set in to her mind. He had the letter; had he read it? She followed him at a speedy pace, her hands on her hips. All sorts of things to say flooded her mind; accusatory, angry, defensive - but it all seemed to bleed away. Obviously, he'd read it - the new fold told her that. And yet, he was still willing to have her around. He wasn't angry, nor was he scared.

Qinna sighed. Maybe this time, someone would actually believe her.

"I worked in the euthanasia table of the viral research facility on Earth," she began, letting her hands fall and cross over her chest. "We were trying to find the cures for the cancers deemed 'incurable'. Over time, we were all exposed to the chemicals that were supposed to be okay for human contact - things that we never knew had dire long term effects from dormancy, and....All of us, we were diagnosed with brain cancer. My husband was the first; and died when I was close to full term."

Qinna turned her back, hanging her head in half-shame, half pain. "Before he died, he developed a prototype that had yet to be tested. We were waiting for one of the monkeys to have late-stage brain cancer to test it. I too had brain cancer, so knowing I'd never last long enough to provide for her, and with trade-ups scanning the contents of the mind and copying it, that wasn't a solution...So, I stole it, and used it. It all happened so fast; the cure, the water breaking, me driving myself to the hospital..."

Qinna paused, bringing a hand up to her eyes to brush away the tears. "I held her for not even thirty seconds before they broke in and took her away. That HOUR I was in detention, then shackled up on a ship. I got here this morning, not even 2 weeks away from that day."

The memory haunted her so deeply. "I'm sorry; I need to go..." she rushed, and dashed out the lab door...

(Just have him follow her to the Vodka topic a few forums away, lol.)