Xavier strolls into the cafe, a plastic three-ring folder is
pinched under one arm. He stifles a yawn as he steps up to the
queue for a sandwich, blandly waiting his turn without looking up
at the menu.

Mostly none the worse for wear from an earlier incident at /this
very same restaurant!/, a coffeestained young lady is standing in
line behind Xavier, fiddling with a small device as she waits.
Every once in a while, it lets out a soft, despairing beep, and
she looks up nervously to see if anyone's looking. But now the
device emits a muzzy-sounding, "I don't think we're in Kansas
anymore, Toto."

Xavier lifts an eyebrow and turns to see the source of the voice.
Once he finds it, his gaze lifts up to the woman bearing the
cybertoto. His raised eyebrows and expression are enough of a
question in and of themselves.

Daisy looks a little sheepish. "Sorry. I dropped her a little
while ago. She's acting a bit funny." Australian accent, light
voice. Jutting her lower lip forward to puff a stray lock of hair
from her eyes, she readjusts a wire, and reaches inside the device
again. This time, its words are, "You were getting hotter, but now
you're getting colder."

"It gives advice on how to repair it, too?" Xavier asks, a bemused
smirk on his face. He takes a step forward in the line, without
turning away from facing Daisy.

It takes Daisy a second to realise the line's progressing, and she
steps forward too, eyes still on her little robot. "Sure. I set
triggers at different contact points inside - if I touch one
that's not broken, that's what it tells me." A beat. "By the way,
this is Alice."

"Pleased to meet you, Alice," Xavier tells the machine. "My name
is Xavier Tressham."

Daisy gets this look of intense concentration on her face, and she
squints, looking up at the sky, apparently connecting one last
thing. "Would you repeat that? I think she's set." A beat, and the
girl laughs. "Oh, and I'm Daisy. Cole. I mean, Daisy Cole."

Xavier smiles, this time genuinely, and offers his hand to the
woman. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Cole. Are you a new arrival,
or have we just never met?"

-Xavier-
        This gentleman has the slim, tall stature of a native
Martian. His rangy arms and legs and spindly fingers bring him
even closer to the stereotype found in Earth's media, but
curiously, he wears it well. He is undeniably a Martian, but rises
above the awkward frame, seeming instead regal and wise. Slow,
deliberate movements and an undeniable ease in his surroundings
make him radiate calm and goodwill.
        His plain and open face hosts a generous smile and kind
grey eyes. Salt-and-pepper hair, still more pepper than salt,
denote his age and together with the conservative grey suit he
wears produce a grandfatherly air. To complete the theme, his
gravelly voice, usually slow and thoughtful, soothes ears and
hearts and minds.
        It is not surprising that this man is a psychologist or a
city councilman; his image and voice are recognizable as the
kindly Doctor Tressham, paternal voice of reason to the City
Council.

Wrestling Alice around so the little robot's held under one arm,
Daisy returns the handshake, then brings her hand back up to tuck
her hair behind her ear. "Pleased to meet you, too." Then she
grins. "The first, actually. Only got here a few days ago; still
settling in." Belatedly, Alice says, "Hello, Xavier Tressham."

Xavier dips his head. "So what brings you out to a frozen,
asphixiating desert, Miss Cole?" he asks before stepping backwards
again, and again without looking back.

That gets a blink, it's finally noticed. Nice work, if you can get
it. Daisy here is such an incredible klutz, if she tried doing
that she'd send the whole line going like a row of dominos.
Holding Alice in both hands now, in front of her, Daisy's
attention returns to the present moment and she grins. "Well,
Flanagan needed a roboticist, and I needed to get away from Earth.
Seemed like the perfect pairing."

"Indeed," Xavier says, nodding. "We have a great influx of skilled
labor. How has finding a place to live been, might I ask? I
understand it can be dificult."

"Not -too- bad," grins Daisy. "My other option was finding a place
closer to Newell Tech, but the boys at the research center didn't
want me commuting, so they helped me out. Oh, I don't know how
people can complain about the weather outside, here - the people
are so nice!" Enthusiastic girl, this one is.

Xavier chuckles. "Commuting?" he repeats, and shakes his head. "No
one commutes in Waycross. I imagine they didn't want you that
close to the Wasteland. Noble of them, in a deceptive sort of
way."

"Well, I mean, it was kind of a joke," offers Daisy, embarrassed.
"Newell would've been glad to have employed me while I worked on
my doctorate, but Flanagan really -needed- me. And where I can
keep up with my projects and my professors at Newell over the
network, I can't exactly do repair work long-distance."

Xavier smiles good-naturedly, and raises his finger. "I have to
order," he says as the first person in line moves away. "If you
don't mind, however, I would like your company at my table. I'd
like to hear how you find Waycross. To see it through your eyes."

Oh, she looks delighted. Daisy nods cheerfully and shifts her
robot again, so it's under her other arm. "I wouldn't mind at
all!"

"Lovely," Xavier says, and turns to order, which appears to be a
formality as the cashier punches the order before he's even done
speaking. The man turns and gestures Daisy forward to make her own
order.

Daisy steps forward, again uncertain, and smiles. "Coffee with a
lid, this time, I think? Um, light and sweet. And hazelnut if
you've got it." It appears they have! After paying, she's sure to
speak -before- picking it up this time. "Cheers."

Xavier leads Daisy across the room towards a corner table next to
the windows. "You say you work for Flanagan," Xavier says by way
of beginning. "How were you recruited? I doubt we send people to
career fairs on Earth."

Daisy carefully snags her bag from her old table on the way,
stuffing Alice inside it, juggling her coffee again. But she's led
the rest of the way, and takes her seat, setting the bag on the
floor and nudging it with her toe. "Be good," she says in a low
voice, addressing the robotful bag. Returning her attention to
Xavier, the girl smiles a little shyly. "Actually, when they heard
I was going to work on my doctorate at Newell Tech, they asked me
if I'd like a job here in Waycross."

"Ah, so you've been on Mars for some time?" Xavier asks, folding
his hands together halfway across the table.

Daisy shakes her head emphatically. "No, no. The robotics
community's fairly small, even between both worlds." Then she
looks embarrassed again. "They already knew who I was. And some
big mouth at Newell got all smug about it, and bragged to a bloke
at Flanagan, and that did it."

"So you came to Newell to study, but were not there long before
Flanagan's counteroffer came," Xavier summarizes, then waits for
agreement.

Daisy shakes her head again. "I got here three days ago," she
laughs. "I'm doing my doctorate work long distance. Flanagan
contacted me while I was still in Brisbane, a few hours after I'd
straightened out the paperwork for Newell. Honestly, Mr. Tressham,
news travels fast." And the robotics community -is- very
small...and she's *very* good.

"Ah, the picture becomes clear, now," Xavier says with a slow nod
and smile, his psychologist's patience showing through. "Did
Flanagan handle your housing for you?"

Finally picking up her coffee and trying a sip of it, Daisy
blisses for a second before answering. "Yes - it was part of the
offer. They made me promise not to program their robots to swear
at the City Council, though," she says, starting to laugh again.

Xavier smiles. "Some of our members would take grave offense,
yes," he admits, then takes his tray and sandwich from the server
with a word of thanks. "It seems you had the velvet carpet
treatment," he comments, and hefts his sandwich.

Ohh, gee whiz. Our members. -Our- members? This guy is on the--
oh, man. Oh, holy wow. Daisy has the grace to look rather
chagrined. "Sorry. Here I am telling Alice to behave..." She hides
her expression in her coffee, looking away for a second before she
answers, a little more composed. "I guess so. People are always
giving me things when they want me to do stuff for them, and this
time wasn't really any different."

"All hail capitalism," Xavier responds with a smirk. "Tell me,
what do you know of Martian history, now that this is your new
home?"

Daisy grins cheekily. "About as much as I know about Australian
history. Which is not all that much." She takes another sip of her
coffee, her expression turned into a wry smile. "I've never really
been one for looking at the past, unless it has to do with music
or engineering."

"You enjoy repeating history, then?" Xavier asks with another dry
smirk. "Were you raised in Australia?"

"There're other people to worry about history," says Daisy
frankly. "I worry about my robots. And there are, I can almost
totally guarantee, a good sight more people that worry about
history than that worry about robots. So I'm getting a job done
that needs doing." She sits back a little, crossing one arm over
her stomach, resting the elbow of the coffee-arm in her palm. Body
language? Defensive retreat, though her voice doesn't show it. "I
was on the road a lot as a child, but yes, I was born in Melbourne
and spent most of my life there and in Sydney."

"Do they still do radio schooling there?" Xavier asks, slightly
off topic. "I saw it in an old movie and thought it was very
intriguing. I only assume, however that the population is large
enough now that regional schools have taken over."

Daisy blinks, taken off guard. "What? Well, I know we used to joke
about it in primary, but to be honest...I don't really know. I've
never lived outside cities, but a good lot of Australia's still
undeveloped, so I wouldn't be surprised."

"Just Melbourne and Sydney, then?" Xavier asks. "And the road in
between them?"

Daisy looks blank. "Well, no. Brisbane, too. And I've been out of
the country more times than I can keep track of, and I got my
Masters at CalTech." She shakes her head, confused. "Why?"

Xavier shrugs laconically. "Just interested. They tell me there
are a great deal of similarities between Australia and Mars. Over
ninety percent of the population clustered in cities, miles of
trackless desert, a demeanor both pragmatic and aloof."

Daisy laughs a little uncertainly - she does that a lot. Mostly
when she doesn't know what she's talking about. "Does sound
familiar, yes. Listen, I- well, I didn't intend to stay this long.
Should've gone home after I spilled my first coffee, but...well, I
need to finish Alice before I go in tomorrow." She looks
apologetic once more, and she's picking up her bag. "I -would-
like to talk more, but they tell me I need to budget my time
better. Another day?"

Xavier smiles, and stands as Daisy gets up. "Of course, Miss Cole.
It has been a pleasure talking with you." The man produces a card,
one claiming he is a psychologist and not a city councilman, and
hands it to the lady. "Another time."

Taking the card, Daisy glances at it before pocketing it. Another
blink. What, is everyone on Mars a doctor? Xavier gets a fleeting
smile, honest and entertained, as she picks up her coffee and
slings her bag over her shoulder. "Absolutely. Cheers, Dr.
Tressham." And then she's making time back toward the apartment
complexes.

Xavier waves and settles down to finish his sandwich.