thecapitol | (no subject)

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(no subject)

Who| Gaila and anyone who comes across her
What| Discovering the Capitol and her room
Where| District 11 suite and around the Capitol shops
When| After her arrival
Warnings/Notes| Mentions of death, eunuchs and harems.

She had died. That much she was certain of. The feeling of heat and the silence of space was unforgettable. This certainly wasn't the afterlife that she'd been promised as well.

It was definitely better than the darkness of space though. She'd even had a personal stylist to dress her. Thankfully they seemed too happy to comply with her requests about as little fabric as possible. This was all still an out of body experience. Nothing seemed real. So, just as whenever Gaila felt out of sorts she did what she did best and went shopping.

It was odd seeing people of colours that weren't just human colours; welcome but odd.

Seven pairs of shoes, a cute hat and a small mountain of underwear later she was feeling somewhat better about the unfairness of this whole situation. Gaila had no remorse about passing it off to an Avox - creepy silent people - with express orders to take it back to her room. They were just like the harem guards back on Orion. Though she did have to wonder if they were eunuchs as well. Strolling back to the tribute centre and into the the suite that had been assigned to her and the other tributes of her district, she had no issue with kicking off her shoes at the door and flopping onto one of the couches. Her feet hurt from too much walking. She needed someone to rub them for her.

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Under normal circumstances - or as normal as they could get for SG-1 - telling an alien species from a human should be relatively simple. Straightforward. Even the Goa'uld revealed the alien quality about them sooner than later, but now that Daniel wandered the Capitol's markets, he was finding it surprisingly difficult.

Take the woman right next to him. Very green skin, which only made her hair seem even more fiery. The only clue might be the manner of dress; She was dressed stylishly, if very subdued in colors and flamboyance to the rest of the crowd, but made up for it with showing double the amount of skin. Daniel's eyes wandered to the rest of the crowd, and sure enough, he'd spotted a few people who also had tinted skin: one blazing blue and the other a lime green.

He looked at the wares. There wasn't any point to buying them, not with what was coming for the Tributes. He didn't see what the point was in the Capitol giving them funds at all, other than a good show. Still, he was pretty hungry, and he wasn't about to pass the chance to try something local.

The problem was that just this booth alone stretched on and on, and so did its menu. "When in Rome..." He muttered. Daniel glanced at the green woman. "What sort of thing would you recommend here for a newcomer?"

Edited 2013-03-08 12:52 (UTC)

Gaila glanced over at him surprised that he was talking to her. Most humans here only stared at her.

"Not a clue, just rolled in, but I couldn't tell you anyway sweetie, I photosynthesise." The Orion replied with a shrug of her green shoulders, accent a surprising mix of California Valley Girl and broad American. After all she had been given American citizenship after her escape from her homeplanet and a ridiculous amounts of tests about useless knowledge. She'd been lucky that pheromones made it easier to influencing the examiner to giving her a straight pass. However immoral it might have been it beat the hell out of studying for the damn things.

"You might wanna ask someone who lives here." She added, raking a hand through her red curls.

What? Like a plant? She had to be the least plant-like looking being he had ever seen. He had never come across a plant that had that kind of accent or was so generously, um, curved. Maybe it was just all in how she created energy. Daniel's surprise had quickly head on down to interest. They ran into more humans or offshoots of humans than alien-alien when they went through the Gate; while the woman was not nearly as alien as those bugs they'd met two missions ago, maybe it was all internal or cultural. Daniel found he was dying to know.

"You're an alien?" Daniel asked, face lighting up. Well, maybe not entirely; alien generally implied a being more removed from the other group it was being compared to or observed from within. She looked very...green.

"I think I might." And he held his hand out politely. "Daniel Jackson; I wish it were under better circumstances"

"Lieutenant Gaila of Orion." She offered in answer, folding her arms over her ample chest rather than shaking the hand offered to her and raising an eyebrow at him. Obviously this guy wasn't from Federation territory. Not if he was using ancient terminology like 'aliens'. But he still looked human.

Urgh, this was giving her a headache, all she'd wanted was some sweetass shoes.

"Also, obviously you're human and therefore assume you're the centre of the universe, but some of us don't care for that word. We're lifeforms just like anyone else and all that shit about probing and cornfields is total bull." Gaila never quite had been one to willing keep quiet about matters that bothered her. Despite sharing a significant amount of DNA with a shrinking violet she most certainly wasn't one herself. "I for one happen to ask people before probing them." She added, only partially sarcastically.

Orion? As in a planet somewhere within the Hunter? His eyes almost started to follow the path of her arms, and luckily for him, Daniel averted that action once he saw where that course would have taken her. He kept his eyes firmly on her face. Daniel, after a moment, awkwardly dropped his hand.

He winced a little. Not one of his better starts. It was clear that he had some bad habits of his own to get over, anthropologist or not.

"Um, yes, I guess you could say that. Humans are a very... young species. Sorry about that" Or so the Nox and Tollan had said, in that kind of indulging way, the one that meant well, but the one that also meant humans were like bumbling toddlers compared to them. There was a saving grace at least. It seemed he hadn't completely offended her within two seconds, or she had a sense of humor. Or both. Daniel's mouth quirked, the beginning of a small smile. "Hey, that goes a long way. And do they say yes often?"

"Tell me about it." She sighed with a roll of her eyes, arms eventually uncrossing and on hand going to her hip instead. At least he was aware of his misgivings and hadn't fainted. She hated it when they fainted. It got so dull after a while.

Gaila couldn't help the smile that twitched at the corners of her lips. "A lady never tells. It'd fuck with my kiss and don't tell policy."

So really, this was the other side of the table. Although the Nox and Tollan had been a little more polite about it. Sort of. At least they hadn't said it like they were complaining about a horrible cup of coffee to a coworker.

Daniel blinked, surprised. You didn't expect such a foul mouth to come from that face, though there was a certain irony to combining "lady" and propriety with the rest of what she said. "Then I won't endanger you policy anymore then, promise."

He seemed to fidget, as if he were sitting on something - a question- he was dying to ask. Okay, pleasantries were more or less out of the way. He couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I'd like to know something about your people, if you wouldn't mind. Cultures are kind of my thing," Daniel hastily added.

Gaila always had taken great delight in swearing in Terran Standard. It sounded so enjoyably base and frank. And they had so few to choose from! That and there was even a scale in Terran of how rude a curse was. It was frightful fun to play with.

She twisted her face. Ew. "You aren't a sociologist, right? 'Cause I really don't like sociologists. Or psychologists. They're kind of dicks." She crinkled her nose, especially when they talked about Orion society. Gaila turned and made to walk away. "C'mon then. I might as well shop while I tell you about Orion." She called to him.

Gaila's face twisted like she'd just swallowed something sour. Daniel winced a little. He didn't really run in their circles, and he wasn't sure what to make of psychologists especially, but calling them dicks was a bit much.

"Archaeologist, actually. I'm an anthropologist," Daniel replied, wondering if that was going to help any or just dig himself in deeper. He followed after her, looking over at the wares with interest. "I don't think it's very fair to call an entire area of study or the people who specialize in it dicks. Individuals are asses, sure, but you're over generalizing, stereotyping a whole group.

Gaila threw her head back and laughed.

"Wow!" She said after a moment, looking at him. "Really? 'Cause that's pretty much the exact reason I don't like them. They stereotype anyone from my culture." The Orion flicked her hair over her shoulder. "On the planet that I come from there are a caste called slavegirls. I was one of the few that manage to escape. We're entertainers in most senses of the word. The word 'victim' pops up a lot. I don't care for it."

She paused to peer at a vendor's wares for a moment before moving on. "So d'you dig up dinosaurs? All I know about archaeologists is Jurassic Park."

A long suffering look crossed Daniel's face. "Paleontologists dig up dinosaurs, not archaeologists."

It would be nice if someone got it right. In fact, he didn't think it was rocket science to tell the difference between Paleontology and Archaeology, but apparently a lot of people had difficulty. Daniel had just picked up something to study when Gaila moved on. He hurriedly put it down and caught up with her.

A slave girl? Daniel tried to hide the frown. Slavery was something that happened across a number of cultures back on Earth and certainly thanks to the Goa'uld. Just because it happened, there was precedence, didn't mean Daniel had to like it. He decided to keep his own opinion to himself, keep on the academic side of things.

"If you escaped from your "defined" role as a slavegirl, wouldn't that imply you were being oppressed by the major cultural institution though?"

Edited 2013-03-23 09:16 (UTC)

"You'd think so, sweetie, wouldn't you?" Gaila agreed with a hum.

Every child in the Federation knew that Orions were a slavekeeping race. That the slaveclass of women grew up and were sold and bought as their masters pleased and that the Orions were right from commerce. Orion women were the most alluring and beautiful of the known alien species and could attract any human male they so pleased. Or any male from most species. That and they were green. Every child in the Federation knew that.

What they didn't know was the truth of the matter. That Orion was really a matriarchy built on a fragile clan system and the females had pheromones. It wasn't the men in power. When the slavegirls were sold they took control of their masters and took over their clans and households just as was right and proper.

"It'd also imply that I don't really give a fuck about major cultural institutions. I'm probably not the best example of an Orion female t'talk to really." She considered for a moment.

"Well, yes," Daniel cocked his head. Gaila made it sound like it wasn't quite so simple, and Daniel couldn't resist prodding her for more. You couldn't just dangle something so coy in front of an anthropologist. "Clearly there's a more going on than just that impression though."

He stopped at a booth, picking up a slim reader. A liquid screen, thinner than mousepad, swam to life. He turned it this way and that. It was so light! What he wouldn't give to get one of these back home. With less room and weight being taken up in his bags, he could pack even more supplies for a dig.

Daniel gave her a wry look. "Somehow I got that impression, yes. But regardless, you were raised within the bounds of your culture. Even if you don't care about working within it, you know quite a bit about it. I'd like to hear anything you're willing to tell me about Orions."

Ian had seen a whole variety of aliens, but never a green one before. Especially not a green one shopping. He watched her for a minute before realising he was staring. Plus, as she wasn't wearing much, it might give people the wrong impression, as well as being rude. So he approached her and, with the science fiction he'd read in mind said "Excuse me but are you from Mars?"

Wow, everyone was a critic today.

Gaila turned, hand going to her hip and expression full of hell. Mars. Seriously. It was like he was trying to call her a greyskin and Gaila simply could not stand for that. "That has gotta be one of the worst chat up lines I've heard since I hit maturation. Orion. Martians fucking wish they were from Orion." Most males did.

He put his hands up and took a step back. "That wasn't a chat up line. I'm sorry." He wasn't entirely sure why that upset her, presumably some alien politics that he didn't get. "Are there really Martians?" he couldn't help asking.

Gaila paused and crossed her arms over her chest. "I dunno. I'm an engineer, not an xenobiologist." She answered honestly. "I've never met one if there is such a thing. I think there's colonies on the Mars."

"That would be something to see," he said wistfully. Aliens were all very well, but aliens on Mars was different. "That is if any of us manage to leave this place."

Gaila pulled a face at the odd man, what kind of weirdo willingly went to the spacefarms? "Why would you wanna go to the colonies? They're full of hicks, exconvicts and hippies. Totes removed from civilisation."

"Like Australia," he suggested. "But like Australia I'm sure they're not all that bad. And there must be some interesting scenery." He frowned, thinking about it. "But there's no atmosphere on Mars. How do people live there?"

Gaila shrugged. "I have literally like no idea. I'm an Engineer, not a atmosphere scientist."

He shrugged. "I suppose it doesn't matter." It wasn't as if he was likely to be able to see it, unless he met up with the Doctor. And possibly not even then.

Karis went out to explore a bit. She didn't care to buy anything, of course, but seeing the city was diverting enough. She didn't particularly like this place or the people, but they were promising her something entertaining. So she humored them - for a little while, anyway. A flash of green skin caught her eye and she turned her head in a single, jerking motion to stare at Gaila as she passed. Then she made a beeline for her.

"Too pretty to be an orc," she drawled as she fell into step alongside her, "So what are you?"

"Excuse you?" Gaila blinked at the bizarre woman who was suddenly walking beside her. Geeze, all she wanted to do was to buy some shoes and cute bags to stop her from thinking about her death, was that too much to ask for? Apparently so. "Rude much, sweetie?"

Probably didn't help that Karis was a zombie. No, really. A zombie.

"What? Just asking what you are. Where I'm from, green means orc, but you're no orc, am I right?"

Karis frowned and reached up to scratch her chin

"I'm Orion. An alien. I'm not from Earth." Gaila answered, throwing her red curls over her shoulder with a well timed toss of her head.

Karis paused and held up a gnarled finger, as if to cut Gaila off.

"Hold that thought, greenie, I never heard of Earth, unless you mean dirt. Never heard of a damn Orion either, though, so I guess that makes you super-special."

Gaila pursed her lips together.

"Gaila." She snapped. "My name is Gaila. And yeah, Earth is where the Federation is based out of. Everyone in the alpha quadrant galaxy knows where Earth is."

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