TARDIN : The Adventure Begins
The Adventure Begins
<<OOC>> Maya says, "It is a pleasant spring morning. Where is Mikki and what is she doing?"
<<OOC>> Mikki is, most likely, ON THE RUN, cursing herself, her so-called Archangel, her co-workers, and at least a little the Ofanite which toasted her favorite vessel. She is also rapidly entering a certain state of being unable to deny that her Discord is driving her... to find a way to repair the wrongs she has done in the past. Ow, ow, the Selfless, it stings.
As Mikki makes her way down the side street, she notices the big posters in the window of a computer shop. They detail things like GOING-OUT-OF-BUSINESS SALE, CRAY COMPUTERS AT UNBELIEVABLE PRICES, GET YOUR 100-MB IPODS HERE, and similar.
Mikki eyes it. Mind, when on the run, it's always good to have parts. Besides, the Tech. The necessary, wonderful, shiny Tech. Neeeeeed the Tech. No Heart. Need Tech.
With only a pause to hope it's not a VapuTether, the shortish young woman heads right in.
The shop's mostly empty. Computer boxes line the shelves. An elegant woman with blonde hair in a blue dress, rather than the usual young enthusiast, sits behind the counter. She looks up. "Can I help you?"
Mikki says, "I... I need a computer. And... parts! Lots of parts. Um. You really have Crays?"
The blonde woman nods encouragingly. "We do. We have all systems, and operate both in real-time and outside time. Would you like to draw up a list for us?" She offers a pad of plain paper.
Mikki takes the paper and begins to write what she _wants_. She'll worry about what her budget will stretch for later. "Outside-time? I'm not sure I'm familiar with the term. Though I might know what it means, if it's just a jargon-clash," she adds.
The blonde woman says, "Sometimes you have to consider things from both a temporal and an extratemporal perspective. If you assume that time is a random variable rather than a fixed one, it can produce some extreme changes to continuity. And to employment, of course."
Mikki pauses. Blinks. Looks up. "Extratemporal? Continuity?" Her eyes are wide.
The blonde woman raises an aristocratic eyebrow. Her eyes are an unusual shade of blue. "We are currently in the market for an interested scientist, by the way."
Mikki says, completely earnstly, "I think I love you and want to marry you. Please tell me more about this job?"
<<OOC>> Sariel cracks up. _Awwwwwwww_.
The woman says, "Certainly. Do you take tea or coffee?"
Mikki says, "Caffiene, please."
<<OOC>> EDG says, "A true engineer's answer."
<<OOC>> EDG says, "Gets to the heart of the matter without actually answering the question. ;)"
<<OOC>> Mikki is a true Engineer! Just look at her target numbers.
<<OOC>> Sariel hee!
The woman nods. She walks across to a small urn of boiling water on one side of the room, and prepares some tea for herself and some coffee for Mikki. She's smiling soothingly as she brings Mikki's drink over. "You can call me Sapphire, by the way."
Mikki takes the coffee and says, "Yes, ma'am."
Sapphire chuckles. She takes a seat again. "Please sit down. Now, about this job -- I represent a private employer who requires a scientist with particular skills and outlook for an expert troubleshooting team."
Mikki finds an appropriate place to sit, and does so. "What skills and outlook, ma'am?"
Sapphire says, "Well. As to the outlook, we require someone who can work in a team in a supportive way, cooperating for team success rather than personal priorities, with a wide sense of responsibility towards the big picture."
Mikki . o O (This sounds like buzzwords or angel-think.)
Mikki says, "I haven't come from a good workplace recently, but I assure you that I would do my best, and I've been told I'm a fast learner, ma'am."
Sapphire nods, and makes a note on a piece of paper produced from behind the counter. "As to qualifications and skills: am I correct in thinking that you are _the_ Mikki responsible for the logic theory paper in 2003? The time series modelling in 2004? More recently, the parachronic and thetachronic online discussion board earlier this year?"
Sapphire gives off a soft sparkly geniality, and her tone of voice sounds genuinely appreciative.
Mikki coughs happily. "Why, yes. I'm glad that you've heard of my work!"
Sapphire checks off another mark on her paper. "In that case, my dear, you are just the person we've been looking for."
Mikki... glows, very nearly. And belatedly hopes that this isn't all a fiendish trap for a new Renegade.
Sapphire says, "Contingent on an interview with my own employer, I believe we can offer you guaranteed working space, unusually interesting technology, a line of research which will fit your current thinking, and the opportunity to develop sound working relationships with new and supportive colleagues."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "If it is a fiendish trap, it's a very complicated fiendish trap. ;)"
Mikki has wide eyes. "It's too good to be true. I do hope your employer likes me."
Sapphire says, "He's actually currently on the premises, if you'd like to go through with the interview now."
Mikki nods, torn between belated paranoia and terrible hope. "If it's no trouble, ma'am."
Sapphire smiles reassuringly. "Not at all." She puts down her pen, and walks across to the door behind the counter, opening it. "If you'll follow me, please?"
Mikki takes another sip of coffee, and sets it down on the counter to follow Sapphire. Well, either she'll have her chance to SHOW THEM ALL, or else she'll be a very short-lived Renegade, right?
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And we close there for the moment."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "It's a nice morning. What is Lan-Chappan up to?"
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan says, "I assume he's on leave?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Yup."
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan is having a stroll along Main Street, remembering how his small-town-America hometown used to be - well, how he /imagines/ it used to be - before the Barnes & Noble set up shop where the old True-Value Hardware used to be. Despite the encroaching consumerism, though, he's pretty cheerful just to be back in (what he presumes is) the old homestead.
A blond man in a plain grey suit comes down the street towards him. As he approaches Lan-Chappan, his hand slips into his jacket pocket. He has a firm, decisive stride.
Lan-Chappan nods and smiles at the man. "Good morning!"
The man regards Lan-Chappan with gunmetal-grey eyes. "Good morning," he says briskly in a clipped voice. "May I have a few words with you?"
Lan-Chappan says "Of course, sir. What can I do for you?" He settles into an at-ease posture, still smiling.
<<GAME>> Maya rolls the d666 and gets 2 2 CHECK: 4.
The man in grey nods as if something has been confirmed. He lowers his voice to a harsh whisper. "We have a mission for you, Lan-Chappan."
Lan-Chappan nods, and his spine straightens. The smile is gone, but he's not hostile. "Would you please identify yourself, sir, before we proceed?"
The man in grey pulls a piece of paper out of his pocket and offers it to Lan-Chappan.
Lan-Chappan takes the sheet and examines it.
The piece of paper has handwriting on it, in old-fashioned italics. TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN; THE BEARER OF THIS NOTE IS STEEL, MALAKITE OF DESTINY. I AM SURE THAT IF HE IS CURRENTLY BEING CURT AND SHORT-SPOKEN, HE HAS A GOOD REASON FOR IT. YVES, ARCHANGEL OF DESTINY.
<<OOC>> Cythraul *cackles*.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (I am. So. Very. Dead.)
<<OOC>> fade heee.
Lan-Chappan looks Steel up and down, then nods. "Understood." He offers the slip back to Steel. "In what capacity may I help you today?"
Steel takes the paper, folds it neatly, and slips it back into his pocket. "We have an urgent retrieval and interception mission, Lan-Chappan. It was felt that we needed a combat expert on the team."
Lan-Chappan nods. "I assume that you have cleared this with my superior... officer?"
Steel says, "Naturally. Notification has been issued, and contemporaneous adjustment has and will be taking place."
Lan-Chappan says "In that case, lead the way, sir."
Steel nods. He leads the way down a minor back alley, and opens an inconspicuous door in the wall, marching through and clearly expecting Lan-Chappan to follow.
Lan-Chappan follows a few yards behind, and enters behind Steel, closing the door if it doesn't swing shut on its own.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And we close there for the moment."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "It's a nice morning. What is Jin up to?"
Jin is sitting in the main room of her new apartment, going through the newspaper with an eye towards unusual activity in the area. Her new job is, thanks be to her Archangel and God, not one that involves very /young/ children. The cup of hot chocolate is an indulgence, but one she's decided supports her Role-building and does not actually cause problems.
Her doorbell rings.
Jin sets the paper aside, and goes over to check through the peephole in the door.
There's a blond man in grey standing outside, with an atmosphere of cold-blooded patience.
After an instant of consideration, Jin opens the door, and offers him a pleasant smile. "Good morning."
<<OOC>> fade says, "Standard Elo-ping, if I may."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Roll, please."
<<ROLL>> Fade rolls the d666 and gets 3 + 3 = 6 CHECK 4.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Current emotional state; focused. Strongest emotions; urgency and dedication. Motivations; has a crisis to be coping with, needs to fulfil his mission."
<<OOC>> fade nods, and figures that wouldn't change the reaction in the meantime.
The man gives a harshly polite nod in response. "Good morning. I am called Steel, and I require your assistance."
"Do come in, then." Jin opens the door further, and steps aside to let the man in. "What did you need my help with?"
Steel steps inside, and moves to one side so that Jin can close the door. "There is a crisis about to occur. Your skills would serve admirably in the team which is being assembled. We need someone with an understanding of both solidarity and negotiation."
Jin nods thoughtfully. And doesn't twitch at "negotiation," because it would serve no purpose. Though she does make a mental note to work on some of those emotional reactions to innocuous phrases. "May I ask who sent you?"
Steel plucks a folded piece of paper from his jacket pocket, and offers it to Jin.
Jin accepts the piece of paper, and unfolds it to see what it says.
The piece of paper has handwriting on it, in old-fashioned italics. TO WHOM THIS MAY CONCERN; THE BEARER OF THIS NOTE IS STEEL, MALAKITE OF DESTINY. I AM SURE THAT IF HE IS CURRENTLY BEING CURT AND SHORT-SPOKEN, HE HAS A GOOD REASON FOR IT. YVES, ARCHANGEL OF DESTINY.
<<OOC>> EDG decides that it's really interesting to see the reactions of the three characters so far. Mikki: "I hope you like me!" Lan: "Who are you?" Jin: "Who sent you?"
<<OOC>> Sariel hee!
Jin folds the paper back as it was, and hands it back to the...Malakite, then. "So I see. What did you need my assistance with?"
Steel takes the paper and slips it back into his pocket. "An intervention team is being assembled on a matter of urgency. I regret that I cannot personally give you the full details. My Superior will do so if you consent to the mission."
<<OOC>> fade says, "A hand-written note claiming to be from Yves seems a touch sketchy to Jin.
<<OOC>> fade says, "Is there anything that makes the Elohite sure it's legit? (Because I would not like to bother the GM with further demands of proof if it's a reasonably trustworthy means of communication.)"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Fair enough."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Hm."
<<OOC>> MetaMikki OH ACK I'M GONNA MEET *YVES*?
<<OOC>> Sariel _snrk_.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "No, there is nothing to make you sure it's legit. Feel free to ask for further proofs."
"Understood." Jin considers the matter for a moment. "While I would prefer to believe that this is a legitimate message, I'm afraid that I'm being provided with insufficient proof of this, given that I do not know you, nor have I had many dealings with Yves himself. Despite the urgency of the matter, I must request further proof."
Steel nods. "Quite understandable. I would suggest that you use your Mirror on me. I will resupply your Essence afterwards."
Jin smiles. "An excellent suggestion." She promptly fetches the Mirror from its current place beneath the kitchen sink (who would think to look there for it?), and drops the Essence required into its activation.
<<OOC>> fade says, "Given the activation roll required, would it be wise to add more Essence to the activation target number? Assuming I understand the workings properly."
<<OOC>> fade | Jin is not paranoid just because of being jumped by demons recently no not at all why do you ask? But has perhaps re-evaluated its suspicion levels when confronted by strangers.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Hm. It's a Mirror/2, you have 4 Cel forces; given that Steel offered to refuel you afterwards, I don't see why you should stint."
<<OOC>> fade says, "I'll drop three more points in for the roll, then."
<<ROLL>> Fade rolls the d666 and gets 1 + 4 = 5 CHECK 2.
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "Naturally, adding Essence lowers the numbers the dice roll?"
<<OOC>> fade says, "Naturally!"
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "If you hadn't added Essence, you'd have gotten a 6 6 5, clearly."
Steel is revealed in the mirror as Malakite, wings dark as obsidian and perfectly groomed into place, steely chains looped across his torso and steel studs in his ears.
Jin tucks away the mirror again, and, considering the Malakite's brevity of speech, decides to not bother with thanking him for his patience. "I agree to your request."
Steel says "Excellent." He offers his hand.
Jin takes his hand.
<<OOC>> fade says, "Or was that a 'shake' gesture?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "It was a let-me-pass-Essence gesture."
<<OOC>> fade says, "Ah, right right. (No brains yet.)"
Steel passes Essence to Jin until she is once more replete.
Jin receives the Essence, and nods politely. "And now?"
Steel says, "Please follow me." He moves to the door and holds it open.
Jin follows along behind him.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And we close there."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Deoradhan, what is your Ofanite up to?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Hm. Either in the Vale unwinding, or at work, probably?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Work would be easier. Or perhaps on break."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Break makes sense. [grins]"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Could you pose the scene, please?"
Deoradhan, on her lunch break, leaves the hospital and heads to a convenient cafe down the street. Not that she _needs_ to eat, but it helps keep up the Role. Besides, the coffee is worth it.
The cafe is fairly full today. The only spare seat is at a table where a blonde woman's already sitting, sipping at a cup of tea and eating a scone in small bites. She looks up with a friendly smile.
Deoradhan considers a moment, then shrugs inwardly and drifts that way after paying for her coffee. She smiles at the woman, and asks, "Do you mind if I join you?"
The woman says, "Please do." She gestures to the free chair.
"Thank you." Deoradhan sits, absently smoothing the lines of her jacket as she does, and offers politely, "I'm Deborah."
The woman smiles brightly. "I am Sapphire. Pleased to meet you." She genuinely sounds pleased.
Deoradhan blinks, taking a sip of her coffee. "Sapphire? That's an interesting name." She smiles back, infected by Sapphire's cheerfulness.
Sapphire drinks some more of her own tea. "Oh," she says, quite blandly, "it's the closest human approximation. I work for Yves, you know."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And we see how far across the room Deo can spray a mouthful of coffee."
<<OOC>> arcangel laughs!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _laughs_.
Deoradhan manages, by sheer willpower, to swallow instead of spittaking -- although it does get followed by a coughing fit. Once she manages to breathe properly again, she stares at Sapphire. "..._Really_."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan wist at a useful perceptive resonance. Oh, well.
Sapphire smiles again. "Really. Which is why I came looking for you."
Deoradhan clears her throat, and manages to look apologetic despite the vague wariness in her eyes. "Ah. You'll forgive me if I ask for verification?"
Sapphire says, warmly, "Of course. What would you like?"
Deoradhan glances around the room, and lowers her voice. "I can only think of one way that'd works without disturbance... Can you sing it?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan mutters at her lack of Singing, but hopes Sapphire may have Singing/1 for pidgin angelic? Or may think of a better idea? Anything else I can think of involves going celestial, and, er, no. [laughs]
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Well, yes, it is a problem. :)"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(...well, no, I can think of one other thing, but that requires one of us to be a Kyriotate, and, er, I assume not.)
<<OOC>> Deoradhan nods. [snickers] "But you can't lie in pidgin angelic either, AFAIK. Of course, if she doesn't _have_ Singing at all, there's a problem..."
Sapphire says, thoughtfully, "That could be awkward. Of course, I could mention Achzib, but then a lot of people could do that, couldn't they?"
Deoradhan stiffens. ...reaches for her coffee, and sips again, deliberately. "But a lot of people wouldn't know to. I hope. ...Why are you looking for me?"
Sapphire says, "A team is being assembled to deal with an incipient parachronic crisis. You are one of the first choices for it. To be frank, I hope that you will accept."
Deoradhan stares again. "Parachron--_erk_." Takes a longer drink of her coffee. "...Does my Lady know you're asking me about this?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan's (few remaining) Fate buttons get pushed. _Erk_.
Sapphire says, "Why else should we be asking for you in particular?"
Sapphire says, "Don't worry about your Role. It will be covered contemporaneously, and you should be back within the hour, if everything functions properly."
<<OOC>> fade says, "...there should be a chord to accompany that ominous 'if'."
<<OOC>> Rilarien plays an ominous chord!
<<OOC>> Maya looks innocent.
Deoradhan says, with a touch of irony, "Convenience?" Her eyes narrow at the Role comment, then she nods, reaching around with her free hand to fiddle with the end of her braid. "If she's given permission..." (The 'she' is practically capitalized.) "All right. How bad is it?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan hee!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan invokes Jean for appropriate thundercrash SFX?
Sapphire grows more serious. "Extremely serious. Only my Superior can give you the full briefing, if you choose to accept, but believe me. This isn't a game."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Unfortunately, today the weather has no sense of occasion."
<<OOC>> Rilarien says, "It's nice and sunny, there's a pleasant breeze, good day for a walk?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Precisely."
Deoradhan's lips twist. "I'd hope not. I quit having to deal with Games a _while_ ago." (_Definitely_ audible capital, there.) She considers a moment, then sighs and finishes her coffee. "Okay. I accept. What do you need me to do?"
Sapphire finishes her tea, and puts her cup down. "Just come with me for a short interview and briefing session with my Superior."
Deoradhan's eyes flick to her watch, before she remembers the Role comment. She nods. "All right." And will stand up after Sapphire does.
Sapphire leads the way to the door of the cafe, and walks through it, holding it open for Deoradhan.
Deoradhan follows quickly, with a reflexive 'thank you' to Sapphire as she passes through the door.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Ladies and gentlemen, you were all, from various locations, being escorted by a Mysterious Person (who had sometimes shown Credentials) through a Door."
As the four of you step through your respective doors, you all find yourself in the same room. It is an old-fashioned library, with tall bookcases, several armchairs, windows looking out onto a sunny lawn outside, and an elderly man sitting in one armchair with a book open on his lap. He looks up with an amiable smile, and as you see his eyes, you recognise an Archangel. Sapphire and Steel walk across to him and give a polite half-bow before moving to stand by his chair.
Mikki stares for a moment. . o O (At least it's not a Prince.) She drops to her knees.
Jin glances about at the others who have entered, and then offers a similar, slightly smaller bow than Sapphire and Steel did.
Lan-Chappan snaps to attention and holds a salute.
Deoradhan blinks, surprised, but looks distinctly relieved once she recognizes Yves. She bows her head, with a polite "Bright Lord," and drifts away from the door. ...then blinks at everyone else who suddenly appeared.
Yves says, "Delighted to meet you all. Please relax and get up, Mikki. Thank you all for accepting my invitation."
Yves gestures at the armchairs. "Do have a seat."
Jin sits down, and pings Mikki out of general curiousity.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 2 + 4 = 6 CHECK 5.
Mikki tries to parse "relax" and "get up" in the same sentence. Doesn't he realize that her knees are _not_ working without a lot of tension? Carefully, she works on regaining her feet long enough to scurry to a chair and re-collapse.
Lan-Chappan decides that's as good enough as an order, and sits rigidly in one of the armchairs.
Deoradhan drifts over to the one of the chairs, glancing around curiously. She settles in, fidgeting with her braid and blinking at Mikki.
Sapphire and Steel remain standing by Yves' chair, flanking it.
Yves closes his book and puts it on the table by his chair. "I'm sorry to have had to call you all away from your regular work and assignments, but I'm afraid that we have something of a crisis on our hands, and the information I have suggests that you four are the best fitted to handle it."
To (Maya, Jin), arcangel pages: Mikki's current emotional state is terrified (because she's in the room with an ARCHANGEL AUGH!). There is a thread of hope in it (who won't kill me?), and a bit of dark humor (oh, right, of COURSE this would happen, *cry*).
Deoradhan pays attention to the Archangel instead of the--oddly-behaving girl--when he speaks up. She tilts her head, waiting to see if he'll give more information.
Yves steeples his fingers. "Has anyone here ever read TS Eliot?"
Jin raises a hand. "Some of his works, though not all."
Jin reflects that she has, perhaps, been spending too much time in classrooms of late.
Mikki shakes her head silently, with an expression of muted panic.
Deoradhan offers, "Only a little, Bright Lord."
Yves nods to Jin. "Perhaps you are familiar with his "Burnt Norton." Time present and time past are both perhaps present in time future, and time future contained in time past."
Yves says, "But I digress. Forgive an elderly, ah, entity his maunderings."
Yves says, "The facts of the case are along these lines. I will be simplifying somewhat to save you the theory. In the future, something which could happen now _has_ happened, and it has caused ripples throughout the past."
Mikki straightens up a little, paying attention with less panic in it.
Deoradhan's eyes narrow slightly at the time comment. She blinks at the explanation, though, and winces, tugging at her braid.
Lan-Chappan sits motionless in the armchair, absorbing the information.
Yves says, "Do any of you believe that it is possible to travel through time?"
Breathlessly, Mikki nods, whispering, "In theory..."
Deoradhan raises a hand. Since Jin did it first.
Yves glances at Jin and Lan-Chappan. "And you two?"
Jin considers this for a moment. "I don't believe I have enough information to form a solid opinion about its possibility. That you bring it up the matter would push me towards the opinion that it is possible."
Lan-Chappan pauses briefly. "I have never seen it done, sir."
Yves nods. "I myself had viewed it as something possible rather than certain, until I became aware that it had happened. And once it had happened, it had always happened. It was then that . . . a visitor from the future arrived. It seems that he, ah, chose to depart precipitously with one of the relevant devices."
Deoradhan blinks, startled. "Devices?"
Mikki . o O (Devices? The pretty, pretty TECH?)
Yves says, approvingly, "Indeed, my dear. Devices. It seems that they've found a way to tap into the energy of the time vortex through a combination of technology and celestial engineering."
Deoradhan ...looks disturbed.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(Okay, that might be _worse_ than the attunements...)
Jin quietly hopes that she will not be required to learn how this works.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Devices. SQUEE!)
<<OOC>> Deoradhan hee!
Yves says, "In any case, the gentleman who brought the device back to our period was not in a condition to discuss it, and is currently in Trauma. We have been forced to make our own investigations. It seems that the _existence_ of time travel, if I may call it such, puts certain stresses on the natural flow of time. Some things begin to happen that should not happen, or do not happen that should happen, and this occurs in both the past and the present. And, presumably, our future."
Deoradhan frowns. "Is there a way to keep time travel from being created in the future, Bright Lord? Or would that just generate paradoxes at this point?" . o O (Or is that what we're being assigned to do?)
Yves shakes his head sadly. "I am afraid there is no way to keep it from being created. The best that we can do is mollify the results."
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Whew.)
Deoradhan nods, disappointed.
Yves rises from his chair. "Which is why I have asked the four of you to come here today. I am not denying that it will be difficult, or that it will be dangerous. I cannot promise you that it will be easy. But I believe that the four of you, working together, have the best chance of making certain alterations and preserving the integrity of the time stream."
<<OOC>> Jin . o O ( ...the time stream is doomed. )
Mikki blinks. Then again. Then she darts glances at the other three people in the room.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan cackles.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Only a -little- doomed?)
Deoradhan looks...not entirely surprised. She nods obediently, tugging at the end of her braid.
Lan-Chappan nods.
Yves walks across to an large old-fashioned beech bookcase which has panelled doors across the front. "Lan-Chappan, Deoradhan, Jin, Mikki -- will you help me?"
Lan-Chappan stands. "You have engaged my time, sir."
Mikki knows that there is only one response to a Superior asking a question like that. She leans forward in her chair and nods enthusiastically.
Jin says, "I will."
Deoradhan murmurs, "If you wish it, Bright Lord."
Yves nods. "Thank you," he says, genuine gratitude in his voice, and swings open the door of the bookcase. Light spills out from inside.
Yves says, "Follow me." He walks _into_ the bookcase.
Lan-Chappan watches closely.
Jin stands up, and blinks once at the light. Then follows promptly behind the Archangel.
Lan-Chappan glances at the others, then follows Yves.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "For those following him -- this is what it looks like. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/making/360/full.shtml"
Deoradhan blinks at the light, then hops up and follows.
Mikki works on standing up. Swallows. And then she scuttles off in the rear.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Much bigger on the inside than the outside. Strange lights. Big console in the centre. Towering beams overhead. Hatstand by the door."
Yves says, "This is the device."
Yves says, "This is what you will be travelling in."
Deoradhan stares.
Lan-Chappan does his best to mimic the hatstand's pose. "I see."
Mikki's eyes SHINE. She falls to her knees again, hands clasped in front of her.
Jin peers around the room, and nods. "Is it self-directed, or will we need to learn to control it?"
Yves says, helpfully, "You will control it to a degree. I understand the general directional controls are reasonably comprehensible. There is a manual of sorts; Mikki is probably the best-suited to understand it."
<<OOC>> Jin . o O (Note to self: figure out what the heck is going on with /that/ angel--er. Celestial? Person?--later.)
Yves says, "Since this location is in a sense coterminal with all three Realms, it will be possible to move your Hearts here as well."
Mikki looks up at the Archangel, her eyes still shining. Her lips are parted slightly, and her expression is one of worship.
Yves smiles at Mikki. "A Heart will be arranged for you, my dear."
Mikki looks ready to swoon. She manages to squeak something that sounds full of gratitude.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Feathers? I can live with feathers. Whatever. I get TEH TECH!)
Deoradhan glances at Yves, blinks more at Mikki and the Heart-comment, then drifts to the side to see if she can orbit around the console, curious. "Are we going to be busy for long, subjectively, Archangel?"
Lan-Chappan blinks at the Heart comment too, and focuses his gaze and resonance on Mikki.
Yves says, "Well, now, that _is_ an interesting question."
<<ROLL>> Lan-Chappan rolls the d666 and gets 1 + 1 = 2 CHECK 2.
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan >_<
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Wow. Good roll."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan subtracts 1 from the CD? [ducks]
Jin oh-dears quietly internally, not much reassured by "a manual of sorts", but is not the sort to start distrusting an Archangel's commands. No doubt this sort of journey--and company--will build character.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, most noble and ignoble things in the last week for Lan-Chappan, please."
Yves says, "Technically, you should be able to return through time to the precise moment that you left here. Or maybe a tiny bit later, in order to avoid any little problems."
Yves says, "However, if multiple adjustments to the timestream are required, there is a possibility that you may be away for _subjective_ weeks. Even months."
To (Lan-Chappan, Maya), arcangel pages: Most noble; shattered her Heart to SHOW THEM ALL. Most ignoble, has been considering defecting to the Other Side.
Deoradhan nods to the first part, while she's still within sight. Then disappears on the other side of the console, glancing around -- and winces at the second. "Ah." . o O (Thought so.)
Lan-Chappan frowns, but decides to trust the Archangel.
Jin . o O ( Yay! )
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Is Jin thinking "no more kids and teaching for several subjective months"?"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Very much so."
<<OOC>> Jin does a little jig. No more classrooms, no more books, no more teachers's children's dirty looks... Okay, books are nice, but no kids! Yay!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan | Maya says "Oh, good." And drops the party into the middle of a historic town full of small children. || Jin cries.
Yves nods. "You will all need keys to . . . this device. We have yet to name it." He reaches into the pocket of his jacket, and brings out four normal-looking keys.
Mikki continues to gaze up at the Archangel with adoration.
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan | Maya [to Jin]: Welcome to Hamelin! Here's your flute. || Jin O_o
<<OOC>> Jin sniffles. You're all cruel to a poor angsty Elohite.
Deoradhan orbits back around to the group, blinking bemusedly at the keys.
Lan-Chappan nods and reaches toward the Archangel, palm up.
Yves gives each of the four celestials a key.
Deoradhan peers at hers, to see if there's any relicness to it, then pockets the key carefully.
<<GAME>> Deoradhan rolls the d666 and gets 3 5 CHECK: 6.
Yves says, "The device is apparently engineered to Song-generate a changed appearance wherever it lands, taking into account the local time and customs. From the exterior it will usually be approximately this size."
Mikki holds it as if it were a precious treasure.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Made the relic-check. Wow. o.o"
Jin stows away the key she receives, most of her attention on the surroundings. "Can the machine be entered without one of these keys? By locals to a time we visit, hostile or otherwise."
Yves says, smiling, "Only if you leave the door open, Jin. Otherwise it is very nearly impregnable."
Deoradhan looks mildly relieved.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Deo -- yes, it is a relic, very complex and unobvious."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "You have the impression it wouldn't register as a relic to a casual check, only a really efficient one."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan oo, useful! Makes a note.
Lan-Chappan starts to slip the key around his pocket, then thinks better of it. He reaches up, unfastens the chain around his neck, and slides the key onto the chain, then refastens the link.
<<OOC>> Mikki plots to surgically implant the key in her body.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _laughs_.
<<OOC>> Jin eyes the freaky-Mikki. No, no. That's a very Habbalite gesture. Perhaps you could just get a really good keychain.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Besides, how could you open the door then?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Implant it in a finger? Like one of Wolverine's claws! Retract under the skin when not needed..."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan ...ahem.
<<OOC>> Jin smacks the Dreamer. Don't /encourage/ her!
Yves gestures to the second doorway out of the console room, the one leading further into the Device. "There are other rooms inside. Bedrooms, wardrobes, and so on . . . There is a reasonable stock of common equipment and clothing."
<<OOC>> Mikki could put it in her palm, retractable, and only extrude the part needed to unlock it!
Yves says, "If I have your agreement, I shall have your Hearts brought down here now. While I do not wish to pressure you, things are slightly urgent."
Lan-Chappan nods. "If my Superior wishes so, sir, then you have my permission.
Deoradhan perks at the mention of equipment and things. Useful! She nods agreement with Lan.
Mikki nods again, speechless. One gets the impression that she would agree to just about anything.
Jin says "Certainly."
Yves nods in return briskly. He glances to Mikki, then gestures smoothly. A glowing ball of crystal forms in his hand, which he offers to her. "Here you are, my dear."
Yves glances to the doorway out, where Sapphire is standing. "Sapphire, my dear, have Steel procure the Hearts -- normal channels, of course -- while you fetch the manuals."
Mikki takes it with one hand, eyes huge. (The other hand clutches the key.)
Sapphire nods. "Yes, sir."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, that is an unkeyed Heart which you can key to yourself."
Deoradhan peers at the crystal, then at Mikki again. .oO(What _is_ she? Outcast, maybe? ...really _twitchy_ Outcast?)
<<OOC>> Mikki will do so... and it will probably turn into a flickering Heart instead of a steady-shining one?
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Yup."
<<OOC>> Mikki's player cackles. Mikki . o O (What? Angel Hearts don't do this?)
Yves steps back and nods to the four celestials. "We should be ready for you to leave shortly. Please have a look around, introduce yourself to each other, and so on. And thank you, once again, for agreeing to this."
(Meanwhile, Mikki's Heart... has begun flashing and pulsing, flickering to an unheard melody.)
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (This isn't going to fix my Discord. Is it.)
Deoradhan murmurs, "Happy to help, Bright Lord." ...then catches sight of the flickering and _stares_, jaw dropping.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _laughs_.
Mikki cuddles her Heart and the key, smiling blissfully.
Yves smoothly steps outside, leaving the four celestials alone in the big console room.
Lan-Chappan nods and looks around.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Well. Yves has left the four of you together. The door to the outside world is still standing slightly open. The door on the other side of the console room leads, well, further into this -- device. You think. The console shimmers with mysterious lights. Dials and screens on it flash and beep occasionally."
Deoradhan is boggling at Mikki's Heart at the moment. _Demonic_-looking Heart! Bwah!
Mikki holds her new Heart, all flickering, and smiles fondly.
Lan-Chappan pats his pockets down.
Jin sets aside certain questions for /later/, and nods politely to the other three. "I am Jin, Elohite of Stone. It will likely be a pleasure to work with you."
Mikki... pretends very hard that she didn't just hear that.
Lan-Chappan looks around at the other recruits. "You can call me Lan," he says, glancing at Mikki.
Deoradhan blinks over at Jin and Lan, momentarily distracted. Then goes back to boggling at the Heart. "I...Deoradhan. Ofanite of Dreams. ..._Why_ does that Heart look like that?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Hiccups? :)"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Aw, fear not the Stonie. Stone is so fuzzy non-violent comforting ...it doesn't hit first!"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Hiccups?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _giggles_.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan suggests Jin argue for not fearing the Elohite instead of not fearing the Stonie? Elohim are cute and cuddly and ruthless little SOBs who can predict your every move!
Lan-Chappan shrugs at Deo. "Because Destiny made it, and Destiny is strange."
<<OOC>> Mikki... eeks.
Mikki pretends _very hard_ that she doesn't hear people discussing that her Heart looks strange. It looks perfectly normal to _her_.
Deoradhan squints. "I didn't know Destiny's Hearts looked like _demons'_ Hearts."
Lan-Chappan turns his gaze to Mikki. "You're Mikki, then, I guess?"
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Oh ****, this one knows what demon Hearts look like!)
Lan-Chappan raises an eyebrow. "Are you a demon?"
Mikki looks up at Lan-Chappan, a bit like a rabbit looking up at a wolf. "Er..."
Deoradhan peeeeeeers.
Jin looks between Mikki and Lan, and says mildly, "No doubt Yves would not have set us to work together unless he believed we could do so."
Lan-Chappan keeps the eyebrow raised.
<<OOC>> Jin admires the eyebrow-suspension skills.
<<OOC>> Maya too.
Mikki swallows. She nods to Jin's words. "I... I agreed! To work. For the nice lady's employer!"
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan says, "It's a subskill of Acrobatics!"
Lan-Chappan says "But did you answer my questions? Quick yes or no, that's all I'm askin'."
Mikki says, "...I'm called Mikki."
Lan-Chappan says "Okay. And are you currently a demon?"
Jin tilts her head, and smiles at Mikki. "And you're the one who's likely to be doing the driving. How interesting. It does speak of a certain measure of trust on the part of the one who made that Heart for you."
Mikki considers scootching, on her knees, a bit closer to Jin. "I... I broke my Heart. In Tartarus."
Lan-Chappan nods. "You been an angel in the last five minutes?"
Jin . o O ( Or a certain callous disregard for what might happen to everyone else in this device. Given what I know of Yves and his methods, this seems unlikely. Therefore: to be assumed trustworthy enough to perform her duties as assigned. )
Deoradhan fiddles with her braid, peering at the lot of them. .oO(I didn't know Destiny _could_ make Hearts demons could use. ...well, Destiny.) Then boggles at the Principality. .oO(_Technologist_?)
Jin looks back at Lan, and stretches out her resonance thoughtfully.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 3 + 1 = 4 CHECK 6.
Lan-Chappan looks up at Jin, and pings curiously.
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan hee.
<<ROLL>> Lan-Chappan rolls the d666 and gets 6 + 2 = 8 CHECK 6.
<<OOC>> Jin grins. Double-ping!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan fears the dueling CD:6s!
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan fails, though. >_<
<<OOC>> Deoradhan also sniffles and envies y'all your Useful Datagathering Resonances. Oh, well. Area Knowledge (the Symphony) will probably come in handy in the past...
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Very likely, I'm sure!"
To (Lan-Chappan, Maya), Jin pages: Two actions wanting to know response of: if she said this wasn't a useful line of questioning, or if she pointed out Yves' implicit trust in Mikki.
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Awwww. And detailing my honor would've been so much fun!"
<<OOC>> Jin is unpinged. Ha! Take that!
To (Maya, Jin), Lan-Chappan pages: 1. "It /is/, and I have my reasons for asking." | 2. "I got a strange result from an earlier use of resonance, and I want to verify my suspicions."
To (Lan-Chappan, Maya), Jin pages: Also, the emotional reading?
To (Maya, Jin), Lan-Chappan pages: Oh, sorry. Current emotional state is calm. Two strongest emotions are curiosity (because he wants to know if Mikki just Fell) and anxiety (because he's in a Brand New Situation and placed there by someone his Archangel distrusts implicitly).
Jin says "Mikki, you must realize that your refusal to answer is an answer in itself. It would be more productive to address the situation directly."
From afar, to (Lan-Chappan, Maya): Jin whews. No SMITE emotions going around yet is good.
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan mutters irritably at his useless-for-three-hours resonance.
Lan-Chappan winces. "Does anybody else hear static?"
Mikki clutches the Heart. "I... I... Tartarus." She takes a breath. "I broke my Heart! I was... sort of getting around to thinking about trying to find an angelic Tether." She grimaces.
Lan-Chappan nods. "So you were /not/ an angel in the last five minutes."
<<OOC>> Jin patpats Lan. It was a noble effort!
Deoradhan blinks at Lan-Chappan. "Static?" ...looks abruptly much more sympathetic at Mikki. "_Oh_." .oO(That explains it. A little.) "And then...Sapphire showed up?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan extrapolates! ...GIGGLES at Lan-Chappan.
Jin says "While this is not, so far as I'm aware, a Tether, you appear to be surrounded by angels, which is halfway there. So on that account, I'd consider all to be well."
Mikki says, "Er. I wanted to get equipment. And I went into a store, and Ms. Sapphire was there, and she said they wanted to hire me. Because I know temporal theory." That last, at least, is fairly firmly said.
Lan-Chappan tries out his resonance on Deo and is unsurprised when it doesn't work. "I sprained my nature," he says, probably unhelpfully.
Deoradhan thinks about that. Tartarus. Temporal theory. ...vetted by Destiny. But. _Tartarus_. _Temporal theory_. ...Lord Yves isn't insane, is he? ...squints at Lan-Chappan. "Uh-_huh_..."
Lan-Chappan nods to Mikki. "Let's see if we can get you thinking of switching sides as honorable by the time we come home, huh? And no, you don't have to worry about me. Right now, we're on the same side."
Mikki says, plaintively, "I really do know temporal theory, and I'm sure I'll be able to figure out the manuals."
Jin tches sympathetically at Lan. "Annoying, isn't it? But at least it wears off after a bit."
Deoradhan hopes Lord Yves isn't insane. Peers at Mikki, thoughtfully. "What Band are you?"
Lan-Chappan nods and whacks the side of his head a couple times to see if he can get the steel wool out of his ears.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan snrk!
Mikki says, in a small voice, "...Impudite."
Deoradhan perks. Oh, good, not one of the _really_ annoying Bands. She goes back to orbiting. "Why'd you break your Heart?"
Jin strolls about the control room slowly, peering at the controls without taking her hands out of her pockets. And takes a moment to examine Mikki's feelings on the situation.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 5 + 2 = 7 CHECK 1.
<<OOC>> Jin is probably horribly abusing the resonance, but...information good. Especially in strange situations.
Mikki says, almost in a growl, "Because it wasn't my fault that the angels attacked the lab and the Ofanite killed me and pulled Forces off and sent me into Trauma and it wasn't _right_ for _him_ to tear off my other Forces so I can barely get back to Earth and not give me my good vessel back! And I will SHOW HIM."
The controls are enticing and incomprehensible. There are screens that display reams of figures, sine waves, interesting notations, and occasionally strange geometrical patterns. There are big levers that beg to be pulled. There are large buttons made to be thumped. There are several keyboards. There are a number of exposed wires connected by clips and duct tape. There are glowing lights.
To (Jin, Maya), arcangel pages: Mikki is Stressed.
Lan-Chappan raises both eyebrows. "Well, then."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Resonance abuse is shiny! Besides, at least you're not abusing Mercrez on your poor fellow players or GM. _That_ gets lynchmobs."
<<OOC>> Mikki will never abuse her resonance if she redeems! At least, not while she has Perception 3.
Deoradhan ...blinkblinkblink. "Oh. Er." She thinks. "Well, I've heard worse reasons. Um."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _giggles_!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Ahhhhh, _incentive_ for the GM to give you a redemption opportunity. Good Impudite! ^^"
Lan-Chappan says "On what appears to be a related note but I promise it's not, I'm going to see if this thing has an armory, and explore it while I'm looking."
Mikkie emits a nervous giggle.
The door that leads further into the Device is partly open. It's ... inviting.
Lan-Chappan cheerfully allows himself to be invited.
Deoradhan blinkblinks at Lan-Chappan. Hmms. Peers at Mikki. "Maybe we should all go exploring? It sounded like this was pretty big."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(And I don't know if we want to leave even a redeemable Techie alone in here.)
Lan-Chappan . o O ( No gun, no sword, no resonance... at least I have my trusty Spidey-Sense. ... Don't I? )
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Of course you do, Peter."
Jin decides it's best not to let anyone be swallowed up alone. "I'd like to see what facilities this place offers as well."
Mikki starts trying to get up, one hand clutching the Key and the other her Heart. "Er. Okay. You... really will need me for this, right?"
Lan-Chappan says "Well, if you all /want/ to come..."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "But what if there's a laboratory further in?"
Jin says, a touch brightly, "Of course we're all interested in what this place has to offer. And if we stay together, we can talk on the way."
<<OOC>> Mikki is worried about a Garbage Disposal Chute further in.
Lan-Chappan nods to Mikki. "I don't think any of the rest of us can pilot this thing."
Deoradhan nods to Jin. ...smiles at Mikki. "Well, Yves said we would. And I trust Yves. So..."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "We can get someone to sit on her! Probably!"
<<OOC>> Jin can then pingpingpingwheeeee!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan hee!
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan can't. :<
Mikki looks vaguely relieved, and manages to get up. Barely. One might suspect she is very, _very_ low on the Corporeal Forces.
<<OOC>> Jin awwww. Poor Lan. Adrift in a sea of uncertain honor!
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan is Sad Malakite In Snow Time-Travel Device.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _giggles_!
Jin offers Mikki a hand. "Are you feeling well?"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "(Can I engage in judiciously manipulating you towards personal attachments to angels and subsequently a greater appreciation for the joys of serving Heaven?)"
Deoradhan drifts through the door after Lan-Chappan, then pauses to look around there and let the other two catch up.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan admires.
The door opens onto a well-lit corridor with faintly luminous pale walls, ceiling, and floor. Another door immediately to the left opens to display . . . a well-appointed toilet. With lush soft loo paper. And washbasin.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _snrk_!
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Oh thank /god/ it's near the control room. Poor Jin."
<<OOC>> Maya | Clearly the inhabitants of this ship have some human habits, Captain.
Mikki tries to juggle the key and Heart. "I'm a little... um, stressed. Confused. And I only have one Corporeal Force left."
Lan-Chappan eyes the Heart. "You want me to hold that for you?"
Jin blinks. "Really. You'll want to stick close to us once we arrive anywhere, then. That's a dangerous state to go about in alone."
Deoradhan blinks bemusedly at the bathroom. ...then _winces_ at Mikki, and shoots her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, that's frustrating, isn't it?" She sneaks past Lan-Chappan to look a little farther down the hall.
Mikki nods.
Jin considers Deo's comment, and takes heart in the thought that at least Lan looks and sounds as if /he's/ unlikely to keel over if tapped on the head too hard.
There are more doors further on. Some lead into further passages. Easily accessible rooms include: several bedrooms, in various styles (four-poster, normal bedroom, plain with futon, etc); a large library; a kitchen; a couple of bathrooms, one sparse, one Extremely Luxurious; a wardrobe room full of racks of clothing from different periods; a laboratory with various computers and equipment; a gymnasium; a room full of shoes and hatracks; a room stocked with copies of the Boy's Own Paper; the passage continues . . .
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Basically, this place has clearly been set up for long-term habitation and unusual conditions."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Also, the three angels here are getting the impression that it was organised and coordinated by other angels. There's just _something_ about the way that things are built and arranged that reminds you of angelic protocols, ideas about privacy, etcetera."
Mikki tries to linger in the laboratory!
Jin cheerfully makes little come-along motions to Mikki. "Let's not split up just yet. There's a lot more to see."
Mikki blinks at the offer to hold her Heart. "Er?" That sounds like genuine puzzlement, and not just demonic reticence.
Lan-Chappan looks over his shoulder at the little demon. "You look like you're having trouble holding all that. You want some help?"
Mikki says, "But... I need to hold the key, so I don't lose it. And... it's my Heart."
Deoradhan goes oooo at the four-poster bedroom. Pauses. Blinks. "--I _hope_ I can go to sleep in here." She frowns slightly, and continues heading down the hallway, exploring. ...pauses, glances over her shoulder. "Um, I don't know if any of the rest of us _could_ hold it, Lan? If it's a real demonic Heart..."
Lan-Chappan shrugs. "Your call." He looks over at Deo. "...and?"
Lan-Chappan says "Should I have reason to believe that Infernal Hearts are fundamentally different from Divine ones? Aside from the light show?"
Deoradhan says "And the only people who can touch demons' Hearts are the demons themselves. Or their Princes." She shrugs a little, uncomfortably. "I mean, I don't know if one made by _Destiny_ is going to work the same way, but you can't really carry it for her..."
Mikki asks, "You... can _hold_ angel Hearts?"
At the end of the corridor (they are now some distance from the console room) is a door that looks different from the rest. Bigger. Heavier. More impressive. There is a single circle embossed on it.
Deoradhan points at Mikki, and tells Lan, "See?" Then nodnods at Mikki, before getting distracted by the door. "Huh."
Mikki blinks at the final door.
Lan-Chappan shrugs. "Okay. Now I know."
Lan-Chappan eyes the door.
Lan-Chappan tries it, to see if it's open.
The door swings smoothly open. Inside is a large room, dominated by the statue-like contraption at the centre. It consists of a single pillar with eight niches spaced around it, each the size of a Heart. Protruding from its base are eight long pallets of an oddly crystalline substance, each the length of a human body, each directly below one of the niches. There is a hushed but gentle quality to the air, oddly peaceful.
Deoradhan ...blink_blink_blink. "...Wow."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "For the angels present, this actually feels like a Heartroom."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "For Mikki; this feels kind of nice."
Mikki blinks around. Carefully, she edges in, to see if there is any equipment around the pallets.
Lan-Chappan says "Huh."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Lan, want to give me a Military Procedure roll?"
Lan-Chappan goes on in and starts looking around.
<<ROLL>> Lan-Chappan rolls the d666 and gets 3 + 3 = 6 CHECK 3.
There is no equipment in the room other than the contraption in the centre.
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan yay!
Deoradhan follows them in, and orbits the pillar carefully. She says, quietly, "Eight?"
Jin glances about at the niches. "Interesting."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan mmm, Ethereal Intervention!
Mikki frowns. "One from each Band, and one left over? One of the minors?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Lan, you're getting the impression from your military experience that just as this Device was clearly an expeditionary vehicle, this was probably their Heartroom, since they might be out of touch with their Superiors long-term."
Deoradhan blinks at Mikki, and hmms. "Or they might've just planned for up to eight people on board." She checks the niches, suddenly worried, to see if any of them contain Heart-shards. "Hopefully it doesn't _need_ eight people, or Lord Yves will find four more..."
<<OOC>> Lan-Chappan nods.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "...Heart-shards or actual Hearts, actually. [is too specific]"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan is also redundant. >.>
Lan-Chappan eyes the device. "I'm willing to bet that this is where the original team kept their Hearts. I doubt the number's anything more than a concession to a potentially-larger expeditionary force.
All the niches are empty.
Deoradhan phew. Orbits back around to the other four. "Hope so, anyway."
Mikki looks for the pallet furthest from the door, and sets her Heart into it.
Jin says "I suppose our three Hearts will be going here as well, soon. It will be reassuring to have them so conveniently located."
Deoradhan nods.
There is a little click, and the pallet next to the Heart begins to glow gently.
The thingy in the middle of the room pulses gently. Nothing blows up.
Deoradhan peers at it, then shrugs and starts orbiting back toward the doorway. "So should we explore more or head back? They didn't say when they were going to show up with our Hearts, so..."
Mikki pets her Heart a little more.
Lan says "I think if we were supposed to stick around in the control room, they'd've told us."
Jin says "I imagine we ought to head back soon, if only to avoid wasting anyone's time in looking for us."
Deoradhan nods to Jin. "That's what I was thinking." She squints at the pillar. "Unless they're going to come straight here anyway."
Lan says "I think we should do a bit more exploring. If they come back and say 'okay, all ahead full, have fun', I'm going to want to know what's where before we /really/ need it."
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Incidentally, Maya, I assume you'll tell me when my resonance comes back online? (It was three hours from when I tried to resonate Jin.)"
<<OOC>> Mikki asks the GM if we ever found anything looking like "Engineering" or propulsion system?
Jin says "I have no objections to looking around further." She glances over at Lan. "Incidentally, I don't believe you mentioned who you work for. Or is this one of those issues you'd rather not address?"
Lan opens his mouth as if to say something, and then snaps it shut so hard his teeth click.
Deoradhan shrugs cheerily. "Hey, I'm up for whichever." She pauses and blinks at Lan at the question and teeth-clicking.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Not as such, Mikki."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Lan -- oh what the hell, let's assume it's been 3 hours and coming back online now."
Lan looks at Jin and nods slightly in Mikki's direction. "I'll play that card close to my chest for the moment."
Mikki looks up, also about to say something, and then hushes. She eyes Lan with concern.
Deoradhan lifts an eyebrow.
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Well, if you want. ;) I'm happy to hold off for whenever, I was just making sure someone other than me remembered. :)"
Jin nods. "As you like."
Jin . o O ( Not that I don't have my own theories, but why press? )
Lan lets some gears turn in his head. "...have any of you seen anything to /power/ this boat?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "No,that's fine. You've probably been walking a while."
Mikki says, hesitantly, "No. I was concerned about how to repair the mechanism."
Lan nods. "Let's make finding that a priority, then."
Mikki perks up and heads for the door eagerly, still clutching the key in her hand.
Deoradhan shakes her head. "Unless that control panel back in the first room had a power source in it? I have _no_ idea what kinda tech this is, so..." She drifts out of the doorway and back into the hall, calling over her shoulder, "More exploring, then?"
Lan says "If you please."
Lan follows Deo and Mikki.
Deoradhan nods cheerily and heads Onward to Unexplored Parts of the Time Machine.
Jin trails along behind the rest, watching for how the group dynamics are beginning to play out.
Mikki says, "There might be something in the manual we were told about. I'd want to have that before I did any modifications or attempts at repairs."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "So, do you have any plans for your explorations? :)"
<<OOC>> Jin cheerfully pings-again! Mikki-Lan-Deo, assuming no fuzz happens along the way.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 5 + 2 = 7 CHECK 2.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 1 + 4 = 5 CHECK 2.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 2 + 1 = 3 CHECK 2.
Deoradhan .oO(...oh, _phew_. A _sane_ Vapulan.) "If we don't find it first, maybe the manual will say where."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan is drifting on down the hallway, and vaguely considering trying to see if her rez will give her directions if nothing pans out soon.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan fears the CD:2s.
Mikki nods. "Shall we try a methodical search or... do you have some angelic means of finding things?"
<<OOC>> Jin fears along with Deo. And, those should all be successes.
From afar, to (Jin, Maya): Deoradhan is currently generally cheerful/content. Single strongest emotion is Interest.
Jin looks over at Deo. "Can you get anything on that sort of area in this...device?"
To (Jin, Maya), arcangel pages: Mikki is a bit nervous but starting to be interested/excited. Tech! Interesting! Not going to die immediately!
They encounter interesting things on their voyage. A room full of ships in bottles. An interior swimming pool, with glass window on top that looks out into a starry night sky. (Or so it seems.) A storeroom full of bags of rice and spices. A greenhouse (overgrown). A classroom whose blackboard is covered with scribbles of I MUST NOT STIK KNIFES INTO BIG HAIRY THINGS BEKAUSE THEY LOOK NASTY.
Mikki eyes that. Thinks about making a comment about Malakim. Changes her mind quickly.
Deoradhan pivots to walk backwards (so she can see people), and wobbles a hand. "I can usually get more information on, like, cities or Cathedrals and things, but..." She hmms, shrugs, and decides it's worth a shot.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Ping! Looking for 'propulsion systems of time machine'."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan CACKLES at the desc!
<<GAME>> Deoradhan rolls the d666 and gets 3 6 CHECK: 5.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "And that'd _just_ make. Woo!"
To (Lan, Maya), Jin pages: Elohite results? Or did I miss your page?
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Right. Deo, you have a fix, and it's "thataway", but your distance judgement is a bit... weird."
<<OOC>> Mikki does the "Woah, Angels are Useful!" dance!
<<OOC>> Jin takes notes on the dancing.
To (Jin, Maya), Lan pages: General emotional state is uneasy and guarded. Single strongest emotion is discontentedness.
Deoradhan's eyes cross momentarily, and she spins around to walk like a normal person again. "Um. Somewhere in that direction." She waves a hand, vaguely. "Distance is _weird_, though. Kind of like looking in a Cathedral. Sorta."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan assumes it's like that, anyway? Freaky 'there's more space in here than there should be' type things?
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Pretty much, yes. :)"
Mikki's eyes light up. "You _can_ find things? Angelically?"
Deoradhan says over her shoulder, "Sometimes! And more places than things, really -- for things, you want Cherubim. For places, you want me. It's a job perk." She winks at Mikki, then keeps drifting Thataway.
Lan follows the dizzy Deo. "Steady as she goes."
Mikki follows after, eagerly. "And... what job do you have that it's a perk for?" She pauses, and looks a little fearful. "If you don't mind my asking, er, ma'am."
Within about five minutes (which is really shorter than it should be, given the amount of time they have been exploring) the daring explorers are once again entering the control room.
Jin moves a touch faster to stick closer to the center of the group, and mostly sticks to listening.
Lan covertly tries his resonance on Jin again, now that the static seems to have gone away.
<<ROLL>> Lan rolls the d666 and gets 5 + 5 = 10 CHECK 5.
<<OOC>> Lan >_<
<<OOC>> Jin patpats. Unreadable Elohite! The resonance just sliiiiides right off their smooth heads.
Deoradhan squints as they come back to the control room. "Huh." Do the systems seem to be in here, or is it somewhere beyond the control room?
To Mikki, Deo says cheerfully, "I don't mind. And, well, it's a Choir perk to be specific. I'm an Ofanite. We resonate for moving, which includes 'moving to somewhere'. Y'know?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Deo, you're getting the impression that the power source is somewhere under here, but your distance judgment is fuzzing again."
Mikki blinks and shies away from Deo a little. "Oh. Er. Thanks. I see."
Lan says "So the power supply is somewhere in here?"
Deoradhan peers at the shying, curious, but then goes abstracted again. "I think it's around here. Or under here, maybe. But I have _no_ idea how far under. That's so going to get annoying if I have to look for places in here a lot. Oh, well."
Lan mm.
The floor is covered in plates and gratings that could _perhaps_ be pried up . . .
Lan says "Okay. I feel a little better now."
Mikki starts looking at the control panels, but will wind up on hands and knees looking for removable panels...
Jin meanders by Mikki in her circuit of the room. "I'm a little surprised to hear that you weren't aware of how that resonance worked. If you have any other questions about that sort of thing, feel free to ask."
Lan says "Next question. How do we tell when this thing's powered up?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan ...is a bad person. Gets evil wrong Balprop-ish mental images at the twitchy low-Force Impudite "wind[ing] up on hands and knees" around the angels. >_<
<<OOC>> Jin snerks, and patpats. At least there are no hidden cameras!
<<OOC>> Mikki meeps!
<<OOC>> Jin says, "(That we know of. What with them being hidden and all.)"
Deoradhan shrugs at Lan, and orbits the control panel. "No clue! Lights, maybe?"
Lan starts looking around the room, not touching anything but examining /really/ carefully.
Mikki says, from somewhere on the floor, "I hope there will be something in the control panel. If not, I can rig something up."
The console itself clearly has at least _some_ power going through it. However, it's difficult to know where to start poking it.
Deoradhan looks momentarily worried at 'rig something up', but it passes.
Jin . o O ( Do we really want Vapulan-rigged /anything/ attached to the controls? On the other hand, do we have a choice? )
With some research, Mikki discovers a point where you could possibly insert a crowbar. If you wanted to.
<<OOC>> Jin is gonna have to go find a nice quiet place to meditate on "I will not second-guess the judgment of ancient and trustworthy Archangels." Or possibly write it on the chalkboard a few dozen times...
Mikki pokes at the area. Hmmmms. Starts looking for a crowbar. Or a fiber-optic camera.
The door to the outside begins to swing open.
Lan snaps his attention to the door.
Deoradhan perks up at the door. Oo, they're back!
Jin makes a mental note at Lan's response, and pauses in her wandering to face the door again.
Mikki pokes her head back from being half-way out the "interior" door. Is there a crowbar in the offing?
Steel pushes the door open. He is carrying three Hearts in his free hand. Sapphire is behind him, with a large manual, and Yves is following the pair of them.
Lan visibly relaxes.
Mikki steps out of the doorway and drops to her knees again.
Deoradhan nods to Steel and Sapphire, and nods more respectfully to Yves, brightening at sight of the Hearts.
Yves smiles. "I'm glad to see you've been getting used to the device. We've brought your Hearts, and an operating manual -- Mikki, please do get up -- both paper format, and some computer disks. I'm sure you'll be able to make proper use of it."
Mikki scrambles to her feet, though in a somewhat wobbly way. Her attention seems to be oscillating between the Archangel and the manual.
Sapphire offers her the manual with an encouraging smile.
Mikki takes it, slightly hampered by clutching the key, and nods. She squeaks something that is probably "Thank you."
Jin listens quietly, though her gaze is perhaps slightly more focused on her Heart in Steel's hands than anywhere else at the moment.
Lan stands at rest, focusing his attention on Yves.
Deoradhan bobs her head in response to Yves, drifting over nearer Steel -- the overall impression is more of an Ofanite 'bowing' celestially than anything else, really.
Yves says, "It'll probably take Mikki here a couple of hours to be able to grasp the basics of piloting the device."
Steel hands out the Hearts to their respective owners, briskly yet gently.
Lan takes his Heart gladly from Steel and holds it behind his back.
Mikki quivers, looks around, and plops back onto the ground -- crosslegged, opening the manual to page one. . o O (That would be a _hint_ from a Prince!)
Deoradhan .oO(A couple of hours? Is that good or bad?) She smiles thanks at Steel, hugging her Heart to her.
Jin holds her Heart lightly in both hands. "When will we be receiving further instructions on what we're meant to do?"
Yves looks thoughtful.
Deoradhan looks curious, rocking on her heels.
Yves says, "I believe we've managed to calibrate a device which will detect disturbances or possible anomalies in the time stream, and direct you to them once you zero in on them."
Yves says, "Of course, you will be able to program and guide the -- have you named this thing yet, by the way? -- the device independently of that, should you wish to, and should you have a particular destination in mind."
Mikki pauses, and quivers all over for a moment, then resumes reading.
Deoradhan's brows crease. "So we don't have any kind of..." She waves a hand, cradling her Heart with the other. "Any way to be sure when we're done or should come back to 'our' time, Lord Yves?" She blinks at the question and shakes her head, bemusedly.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (Would it be _so_ bad, to find a little Habbalite before he even got a Word and unleash the scary angels on him?)
<<OOC>> Deoradhan GIGGLES.
<<OOC>> Jin snickers. You could probably even talk the angels into this! Maybe.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "A little Habbalite _of Fate_. Very bad!"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan <-- justifiably paranoid!
<<OOC>> Mikki nods somberly!
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(It's a good thing we don't have any Sparkies in the party for Mikki to tempt like that.)
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Heeere, Habbie, Habbie, Hab-- what? WHAT?"
Yves says, reassuringly, "You can at any point come back to ask further questions."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan GIGGLES.
Deoradhan brightens and nodnods. .oO(Right. Time-travel has perks like that.)
Mikki pulls a four-color pen out of her pocket -- she's a geek, what do you expect? -- and scribbles something in what is either Helltongue glyphs or impentrable shorthand in the front cover.
From afar, arcangel | Mikki scribbles, "Ask if killing Princes is okay or not. Later."
Jin says "Useful."
Yves takes a couple of steps, then says, "I am relying on your common sense. Do not do something which you _know_ will change history. But equally, if you are in a situation where you can give help, and you don't know what happened -- well, perhaps you have _always_ been there and were the ones who gave the help that made the situation work."
Yves says, "Time travel is like that."
From afar, to (Deoradhan, Maya): arcangel leaves it to Maya whether or not it's pure Hellglyphs or not. Would be inclined to say it is -- mostly, if in wretched handwriting.
Long distance to (Deoradhan, arcangel): Maya is fine with it being pure.
From afar, to (Deoradhan, Maya): arcangel giggles! Mostly pure, with a few shortcuts, then, and horrible handwriting.
From afar, to (Maya, arcangel): Deoradhan doesn't mind either way, so. Cool. [grins]
Deoradhan sobers and nods, obediently.
Lan nods. "As you say, sir."
Yves wags a finger. "So no attempts to assassinate Lucifer."
Mikki scribbles something else in the front of the book, still in the non-obvious characters.
Deoradhan says "..."
<<OOC>> Sirea tries to imagine a group of angels and demons mobbing Archangel Lucifer in Heaven.
Jin nods thoughtfully, and recalls the library. Will perhaps have to request certain history texts later if there aren't sufficient available.
From afar, arcangel puts in, for future reference, "No killing LB. No changing timeline deliberately. No redeeming Princes?"
Jin says "That...hadn't really sprung to mind, actually. But I shall remember not to do so."
<<OOC>> Jin eyes over-use of modifiers. Bad Elohite! That's inefficient speech.
Yves nods approvingly. "That's right. Any further questions?"
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "Stone can take a while to get to the point, right? O:>"
Lan shakes his head.
Jin says "Not at the moment."
Deoradhan raises her free hand. "Is there anything we forgot to ask about that we should've, Bright Lord?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(Because if anyone would know the answer to that, it'd be Yves.)
Mikki pauses a moment, and replays the conversation in her head. The expression on her face is suddenly, *ERK*.
Lan raises an eyebrow at Mikki and, although it probably won't do a lot of good, resonates her.
<<ROLL>> Lan rolls the d666 and gets 6 + 6 = 12 CHECK 5.
<<OOC>> Rilarien says, "That is an excellent question which must become a routine part of every superior interrogation."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Boy, that was close."
<<OOC>> Jin is almost disappointed, there...
<<OOC>> arcangel . o O (BAD time to get an II, next to Yves?)
<<OOC>> Lan nodnod!
Yves says, "Not that I can think of offhand, my dear. I'll try to find a way to send you messages in case something should come up."
<<OOC>> Rilarien says, "Yves turns out to be Lucifer tricking you alllllllll into killing Yves at the beginning of Creation."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Resonance returns: Wait, Mikki /is/ Vapula! In a clever disguise!"
<<OOC>> Sirea says, "666 inside a time machine? Does Kronos appear in a tutu or something, telling the celestials that they are his only hope?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan | The party heads to Future Los Angeles. They run into Maximilian Future Lan-Chappan there. Present-Day Lan cries.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Now that's just too cruel, even for me."
Deoradhan nods, accepting that.
Mikki looks thoughtful. In the margin of the current page, she makes a note.
From afar, arcangel | Find way to make cross-temporal email.
Yves gives Sapphire a little nod. She steps forward and indicates a computer screen that seems to have been forcibly attached to the console with multiple levels of wire, electronics, and sparkling crystals. "This is -- well, we call it the Anomaly Detector. It should let you locate the most urgent anomaly or other problem with the timestream."
Mikki looks up and scrambles over. "Is it in the manual or is it aftermarket?" Pause. "Ah, ma'am."
Sapphire says, "I'm afraid it's not in the manual. We had to attach it ourselves."
Lan walks over and has a look.
Deoradhan orbits around to peer at it, curious. "How does it work?"
Mikki asks, "Did you document it?"
Sapphire says, "Yes, we documented it. At the moment it's only identifying that a problem exists -- look, here." She points at a particular swirly configuration of glowy bits. "Once you have arrived at the time-space location which it's documenting, it may be able to provide more precise detail about the nature of the problem. We haven't really tested that function yet."
Lan nods.
Deoradhan squints at it. "How do we tell when or where it's looking for?"
Mikki looks for the rest of the documentation and starts flipping back and forth to find it. There's got to be a way to improve this...
Jin manages to not look alarmed at all at this new information. But does suffer a brief, irrational moment of Ludditism before pushing that aside.
Sapphire says, "At the moment, you can identify loosely where and when it's referring to -- somewhere in the sixteenth century, in the area of Europe, I believe. As you approach through the time-space vortex, a closer identification should be possible."
Deoradhan squints at the screen more, to try and figure out how Sapphire can tell what it's saying. "Okay..."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, there may indeed be a way to improve it, but you're going to need to do a fair amount of research and experimenting first."
<<OOC>> Mikki wants to hook it up to a laptop and make sure it can spit out plain old dates for the non-tech in the crew, among other things. But that can wait!
Yves says, "Are there any supplies that we can provide?"
<<OOC>> Jin is not a complete Luddite, but tends to view Sparkly New Tech a touch...suspiciously. And this tech is so new it doesn't so much sparkle as shine a hideous glare in one's eyes, so.
Mikki looks up at the words and is about to rattle off a list, when she realizes who asked. Erk.
<<OOC>> Jin refrains from resonating people every five minutes. It's probably rude. And prone to CD 6 failure. But.../shiny/ resonance!
<<OOC>> Mikki's ERKs are quite interpretable! They have to do with the Archangel over there. ERK! ERK!
Deoradhan starts to shake her head, then pauses. "Um. I have another question, actually, Lord Yves. Er, what happens if you try to go to the Marches from inside here, do you know?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan is mainly asking for 'Marches-in-transit', not 'Marches-while-we're-"parked"', but.
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Yes, but there are so many /nuances/ of ERK!"
Yves says, "Now that is a very interesting question."
Mikki settles for whispering a list to Sapphire, hopefully.
Deoradhan rocks on her heels again, waiting to see if her question has an answer.
Yves says, "We _think_ that if you try to do so while the device is, shall we say, parked in a particular space and time, then you will access the Marches at that particular time. If you try to do so while the device is in the Space-Time vortex, then . . . well, to be frank, I am honestly not quite sure."
Sapphire pulls out a notebook and writes down Mikki's list.
<<OOC>> Rilarien says, "Of course, this means that you must try it."
<<OOC>> Lan . o O ( Right. Memo to self: DO NOT LET HER TRY IT. )
Deoradhan ...bites her lip. "Is that a 'not sure, but it should be harmless' or a 'not sure, so don't try it unless it's an emergency', Lord Archangel?"
Mikki has a fairly long list, starting with a half-dozen laptops of various sorts, cables, keyboards, terminals, wires, solder, tools, materials to build chips, a few guns, and a reliquary with a half-dozen Essence. (She doesn't expect to get even half of it.)
<<OOC>> Deoradhan admires the list.
Yves hesitates. "Well, Blandine did not issue any definite caveats against it, so it probably should be harmless."
Jin says "Along similar lines, if this place is sufficiently celestial to hold our Hearts... Do you know what effect that has on entering or remaining in celestial form while inside?"
<<OOC>> Jin read 'solder' as 'soldier' and was about to point out one's already available...
Yves says, "Ah, that is simpler. You will be able to assume celestial form while inside it, if you wish."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "But I'm not sure you can really weld with Lan effectively."
Deoradhan ...nods, and looks concerned. Although she brightens at the comment about going celestial.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan _fears_.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (But... Lan's not a Fire Servitor!)
Jin . o O ( ...I might not have to wear /either/ of my vessels some of the time. Yaaaaay! )
Yves smiles. "Is there anything else?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan wonders idly if either of the violent types will be asking about weaponry.
<<OOC>> Jin stares at her hands. Weaponry? People need /weaponry/? Tch.
Jin shakes her head.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan snickers!
Lan shakes his head. "No, sir."
Deoradhan joins in the head-shaking. "I can't think of anything else, Bright Lord."
<<OOC>> Mikki asked for a few guns! And probably swiss army knives.
Mikki mumbles something which sounds like "thank you for your munificent benevolence" -- attention divided between documentation and the various equipment.
<<OOC>> Rilarien says, "You have YVES backing you. Get some Lightning prototypes. Really. I can't believe that you're not asking for shinyshinyshiny things."
Yves nods. "Very well. I'll let Sapphire see to the supplies that Mikki here has asked for, and then -- you are free to depart at your leisure."
Sapphire and Steel leave, Steel holding the door for Yves.
<<OOC>> Mikki . o O (But they might blow up!)
Lan nods.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "The Techie is requesting shinies! As the Techie is the only one with ideas of what it might need that isn't yet supplied. ^_^"
Mikki is much relieved. No more Superior on deck! Now she can get down to cramming all the knowledge into her brain.
Deoradhan nods and smiles.
<<OOC>> Mikki wonders if the controls have a chair? Forgot. *blush*
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "Just wait if Mikki has to go scrounging in the rest of the... thingy."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "There are no chairs currently in the console room, but it would be easy to bring one in from one of the bedrooms or office rooms or storerooms down the corridor."
<<OOC>> Mikki will be doing that soon. And a table, to put the documentation on. And then a screwdriver and some screws to make sure the chair and table are not moving around if the thing loses the grav like the Enterprise.
A few minutes later, Sapphire returns, pushing a trolley full of tech supplies, a couple of laptops, cables, keyboards, a terminal, a reliquary, and some other things. But no guns.
Deoradhan ...blink.
Mikki blinks. She got the reliquary? Woah. She should have asked for more stuff.
<<OOC>> Lan . o ( Memo to self... )
Sapphire smiles. "The Archangel did anticipate that our resident tech might need a few bits and pieces. However, the onboard labs should also be of service."
Mikki descends upon the stuff -- including the trolley -- and starts cataloging it. "Mmm."
Sapphire says, "I'll leave you to it," and leaves again.
Lan nods at the departing Sapphire. "I'm going to go put my Heart in the Heartroom. Does..." He pauses. "Never mind. I'll be back in a few minutes. Don't break anything while I'm gone."
Mikki is immersed in TECH! And then she'll be immersed in finding the labs and figuring out what's in there, and reading the manual and documents at the same time, and getting a chair and a table and tools...
Deoradhan peers more at the trolley, then nods to Lan. "Probably a good idea." She glances at Jin, then at Mikki, like, 'do you want to keep an eye on her or should I?'
Jin says "I think I'll wait here a little longer."
Jin is going to keep an interested eye on Mikki, even if said Techie does look fairly involved in the Shiny New Toys. Just on general principles.
Deoradhan nods and grins. "Then I'm gonna drop my Heart off too." She starts after Lan, humming to herself.
Deoradhan wanders in the direction of the Heartroom, probably catching up with Lan or getting a little beyond him. When they're probably out of earshot of the main room, she asks, "So...What _are_ you? You haven't said yet..."
Lan turns and looks behind him, to make sure that nobody's following. "I serve War," he says, finally, "and am a Virtue thereof."
Lan says "I'm sure you can understand why I was reluctant to mention this in front of the demon."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Yes. She might have fainted. ;)"
<<OOC>> Jin awwwws. Poor Mikki.
Deo ...blinks, and peers bemusedly at Lan. "_Huh_. Er. Yes, probably not good to tell her." She considers, then adds, "Well, tell her yet. Unless the Elohite says otherwise. I mean, _some_ demons are just plain _weird_, but most of 'em probably wouldn't want to be trapped on a not-so-small enclosed--time-travel thing--with a Malakite, so. At least to start with."
Lan nods. "Precisely."
<<OOC>> Mikki wails. Waaaaaar! Malakite! She is so dead. Or something. Augh, those stupid magazines from Shal-Mari have no truth to them, right? Right. There are Calabim in Shal-Mari. Could write anyting stupid!
Deoradhan nods. "And...did you get to resonate her yet? I mean, er, if Lord Yves wants her here, smiting _really_ probably isn't a good idea. Even if she's dishonorable right _now_, it doesn't mean she's not redeemable." She bites her lip. "But if you saw anything useful..."
Glimpses of rooms as they wander past towards the Heartroom; a swimming pool, a wardrobe, an umbrella closet, a washing machine, a large empty room with a big infinity design in dominoes laid out on the floor...
Lan makes note of the swimming pool.
Lan says "I did. She has broken her Heart - this was, of course, before she received her new Heart - and considers herself dishonorable for thinking about changing sides." He pauses. "Which is why I was so insistent on finding out whether or not she was still a demon."
Deoradhan looks bemused at the Infinity Room, and makes a note to wander back and explore there later. She coughs at the comment. "Oh. Er. Makes sense." Deo thinks. "...Understandable, too. But at least she was already thinking about it, and Heartbreak's hard to go back after. And if Lord Yves thinks this is a good idea..."
Lan nods.
The Heartroom door is visible at the end of the corridor. Odd -- that didn't _feel_ like a long walk.
Deoradhan is Ofanite; very little feels like a long walk. She darts inside, then orbits the pillar, considering which niche to claim. "So. Um. You, er. Don't mind working on this job, right?"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan attempts to come up with a diplomatic way of going 'So why the HECK did Lord Yves pick a _Warrior_ for a job? And how'd he get Michael's okay for it?'
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Well, it all started when Eli spiked the drinks being served to the Seraphim Council..."
<<OOC>> Mikki points at the photo of Lan giving a V sign next to Michael on the edge of Heaven, with all the signs of demons being tossed off the edge?
Lan shrugs. "If Michael commands it, then I see no reason to decline." He chooses the Heart-niche nearest the door and sets his Heart there.
<<OOC>> arcangel admires the Malakite. Ready to spring into action and run out the door!
<<OOC>> Jin says, "With his Heart under his arm like a tiny glowing football!"
The "pallet" by Lan's niche begins to glow faintly, in the same way as Mikki's.
Lan watches his Heart glow for a moment, then adds, "I could have been less disingenuous about my answer. No, I do not mind working on this job, as long as it does not damage my Role to do so."
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Blue, 42! Blue, 42! Hut - hut - SMITE!"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Would any Malakite "mind" getting to time travel and save the world? :)"
Deoradhan hms, consideringly, then takes one a space away from Mikki's. She smiles at the rest of the answer. "Oh, good. I mean, well. _I_ don't mind either, but... You know?" She shrugs, and starts to drift back toward the door once her Heart is settled.
Lan nods. "It is strange to be co-opted from one's duties by a Superior not one's own. Not to mention the countless violations of causality that time-travel presents."
The pallet by Deo's Heart starts to glow too.
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Do we get different colors of glowing?"
Deoradhan smiles at the pallet, then nods to Lan. "Well, it could be worse," she says, vaguely. "But if anything could _require_ an, um. Mixed team? It'd probably be time-travel. Weird that we're not getting a real Shepherd, but if we can come back 'home' easily, we probably don't need one..."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "No, it's just pale white-blue, the same for you all."
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "Though Mikki's Heart has its own flicker, personally. (Hee!)"
Lan nods again. "True. And it is possible that Yves has his reasons for not sending one of his own Servitors with us. Imagine the havoc a Destiny-Servitor could wreak were he to attempt to resolve the destinies and avoid the fates of some of the people known to have been fated or destined in our own time."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki's Heart has the flicker, but the pallet is just like everyone else's."
Deoradhan bites her lip. "Trueeee. There's always someone with Destiny-training, but...yeah. Inconvenient. Um." She drifts out of the doorway, lurking just beyond it.
Lan starts heading back to the control room. "It occurs to me to wonder if this mechanical terror can be in a given moment more than once."
<<OOC>> Mikki's eyes shine. Ooooo, that would be cool!
<<OOC>> Lan figures he's allowed to refer to popular culture /occasionally/ when he's not in a Role.
Deoradhan ...eeks quietly. "I _hope_ not. That's...not likely to be good."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Oh, certainly. ;) Though the Doctor Who series does not exist in this universe. (Quantum Leap does, though.)"
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "You know, all we need now is a Sliders-style portal for one of us to fall through into the Doctor Who universe... "...Why are you spray-painting TARDIS on the interior door of the time-travel thingy?" "...no reason?""
Lan says "Mmm. But it could be. Assuming that we don't overload a given moment simply by being then when we are not meant to be -" He pauses, stopped dead in his walking by an inconvenient thought, then continues. "- then I see no reason why we would do so by being then more than once. And if it is the case that we can be somewhen more than once, it gives us a safety net, although it does require violating our memories of events.""
<<OOC>> Lan hee. Was (mis)quoting Darth Vader, actually.
<<OOC>> Maya has no problem with Lan being a Star Wars fan.
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Should've been 'technological terror'."
Deoradhan looks dubious. "Paradoxes _never_ end well. I mean, not that we're not already planning to be kind of paradoxic, but it'd be _so_ much better if we don't 'overload'..."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan fears Darth Lan.
Lan raises an eyebrow, Jin-style. "Why would our being in a given moment more than once ipso facto introduce a paradox?"
<<OOC>> Jin meanders about peering at Mikki. Investigate, investigate, consider, decide, pounce with objective accuracy! It's a good plan.
Deoradhan says "Because Kyrios are cool and all, but that, er, really wouldn't be Kyrio-multitasking." She waves a hand vaguely, while starting back down the hall (unless Lan stops her). "If there's a me-from-right-now, a me-from-five-minutes-from-now, and a me-from-ten-years-from-now all in the same place at the same time..."
<<OOC>> Mikki is not terribly bothered by an Elohite! Especially one who will hand her that volt-meter over there, please?
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, at the moment you've been through the basic sections of "how to program and drive this machine" and you think you understand the basics of how to set in coordinates and tell the machine to go there, with the help of your knowledge of computer theory, your high intelligence, and the computers already in the console. Actual understanding of how this thing does why it does will take a lot more work."
Lan follows Deo. "I am not sure that I understand."
<<OOC>> Jin is good at passing over volt-meters, when he can figure out what's being referred to.
<<OOC>> Mikki wants to know if this wired after-market thing is going to blow up or short anything out, too. Just a few observations on the wires...
<<OOC>> Maya says, "You think it'll do, Mikki. It's clearly been put together by someone who took pride in efficiency and neatness."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Though you're going to need more study to work out exactly how it works."
Deoradhan coughs. "I...not that I have a _lot_ of experience with temporal theory or anything? Mostly just, y'know, theoretical. And fiction. But mostly theoretical. It's, um. We're more likely to get stuck in a paradox or a loop or something if we have lots of copies of us at the same time, _especially_ if they meet. ...I mean, we're already kind of risking that, depending on if we go back to times we were alive in? But." She flails a little while talking. It's hard to come up with the right words for this stuff!
<<OOC>> Mikki hopes that time travel takes a while. More time for study!
<<OOC>> Jin says, "It's time travel. We could probably go sit around in 4513 BC for a few months if need be while studying. I mean, it's not like it would make us /late/ to get anywhere..."
Lan nods. "I see."
<<OOC>> Mikki fangirls Jin.
The entrance to the console room comes in sight.
Deoradhan flails more. "So. Yeah. I mean, if _anyone_ could help compensate, I'd bet it'd be Lord Yves. ...Or Fate. If he wanted to." She shudders a little. "But we should be careful on our timing, so we don't risk as much. You know?" She brightens at the entrance, and ducks back inside.
Lan says "As you say." He follows Deo into the control room. "Have you figured out the controls to the flux capacitor yet, Mikki?"
Deoradhan nods. And blinks and giggles at the comment, before settling into orbit again.
Mikki says, absently, "I don't know if it's got flux capacitors, but I think I can get us to places and times without falling down."
Lan nods.
Jin nods politely to Deo and Lan as they enter, and remains in her current posture of slightly curious patience.
Lan tries, once again, to ping the people in the room. This is getting ridiculous.
Deo nods back to Jin, and when her orbit takes her near the Elohite, notes quietly, "Do you want to go put that down?" And nods to the Heart.
<<OOC>> Lan pings Jin first.
Jin smiles at Deo. "I probably ought to do so," she says, and moves towards the hallway. "I'll be back in a moment."
<<ROLL>> Lan rolls the d666 and gets 2 + 3 = 5 CHECK 6.
Deoradhan smiles back, and nods cheerily, then orbits closer to Mikki to peer over her shoulder.
<<OOC>> Lan does the "my resonance wo-orks, my resonance wo-orks" dance. It looks a lot like Tagon's happy dance.
<<OOC>> Jin says, "...greatest virtue and worst sin? Dude. Half a sec..."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Full potential spectrum, Jin. [snrks]"
<<OOC>> Jin grfles. Greatest virtue... "This might take me a minute."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Jin has the good potential to be a high Word-Bound, acting as liaison between Trade and Stone and helping them both understand each other better."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Oh, right, it's a CD 6, not 5. Right right."
<<OOC>> Jin awaits to hear the potential depth!
<<OOC>> Maya says, "She also has the evil potential to be a powerful demon who works to destroy communities and disrupt communication, high in the councils of Hell."
<<OOC>> Lan eee.
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Yay! I could be uber!"
<<OOC>> Lan . o O ( Memo to self: don't let Jin fall. )
<<OOC>> Jin says, "...wait, I could be uber-evil. That's bad. But cool! Good thing I'm all Elohitey and stuff, and thus not tempted by petty things like personal power. (mmmm. power.)"
<<OOC>> Mikki jumps up and down. Stay good, Jin! Stay good!
<<OOC>> Lan shifts his shadowy, baleful gaze to Deoradhan. (I'm an angel, really! I just look like my Creator was going through a goth phase when He created me!)
Meanwhile, Jin makes her way down the corridor happily to the Heartroom, unaware of Lan's Powerful Resonance warming her back.
<<ROLL>> Lan rolls the d666 and gets 6 + 4 = 10 CHECK 6.
<<OOC>> Lan . o O ( Memo to self: no description in the future. It angers the dice. )
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Pooooor Lan. He'll get everyone's honor... eventually... at multi-hour intervals..."
Deoradhan hovers behind the Impudite, oblivious to the Angst of the Goth Angel.
Lan winces, the static in his head coming back. "I think this device is interfering with my celestial abilities."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "...that's a fairly plausible interpretation, given evidence. Poor Virtue."
Deoradhan blinks over at Lan. "Really?" She frowns. "My resonance worked all right, even if it was a little weird on details..."
<<OOC>> Lan says, "Jin gets timesickness, Lan gets CD:6 resonance failures. Let's see what Deo and Mikki get!"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "T-shirts?"
Mikki says, "Really?"
Lan hm. "Perhaps it's a result of the conflict between my Word and that of the designers of this thing."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "My Archangel Sent Me Across Time And Space To Save The Universe And All I Got Was This Lousy Corporeal Artifact T-Shirt."
Mikki asks, "What resonance is it? I can try to look it up in the manuals, and see if it's natural or just, well, bad luck."
<<OOC>> Lan resists the urge to suggest that we name the time-travel machine "the General Lee".
<<OOC>> Jin suggests that a vehicle with functioning doors would be desirable over one requiring entrance through unorthodox openings.
Lan raises his eyebrow. "I am not sure you want to know the answer to that question."
Mikki pauses. "Er. You're not a Calabite, are you?"
Lan says "...ah. No."
Mikki says, "Another Ofanite?"
Deo offers, "I can look it up, maybe? Or is there just a section on resonances, period? I mean, we should know if they're weird in general here..." ...she _coughs_ at 'Calabite'.
Lan says "I will tell you if you swear to me that you will not panic when I tell you."
Deoradhan ponders discreetly starting to orbit toward the exit door.
Mikki says, "...you're a Lilim?" Her eyes are wide.
Lan says "I... what? No."
Deoradhan says, gently, "He's an angel. Mikki, can you look up resonances in general, please?"
Mikki says, a little suspiciously, "Then... why do you need me to _swear_?"
Deoradhan pauses, then adds, "Not a Habbalite kind of angel. A Heaven kind of angel."
Mikki starts looking in the index, obediently.
Deoradhan smiles. "Thank you."
<<OOC>> Mikki HIDES in the index from the WEIRD angel.
Lan says "Because I tend to find that it helps my ability to get things done when my team-mates are not fleeing in abject terror from /me/."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Jin, you'll be back in a couple of minutes. You deposit your Heart, and a pallet starts glowing as for the others."
Mikki pauses and peers over the top of the manual. "You're... a Lightning-Servitor?"
There is a section on RESONANCES, PERCEPTIVE AND INDUCTIVE.
Mikki finger-marks the place, and will check the page in a moment.
Lan rolls his eyes. "No. I serve War," he says patiently, "and am a Virtue thereof ANDIAMNOTGOINGTOKILLYOU."
Deoradhan facepalms inwardly, and braces herself to catch the Impudite if necessary.
<<OOC>> Jin says, "...you know, this means Jin is the only one who /doesn't/ definitively know that Lan is a Malakite of War. The things that happen when you step out of the room..."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Of course, I might hear the shrieking even from the Heart room, depending."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "She could return just in time to hear the rapidfire capitalizat--yes!"
Mikki freezes, probably in shock. Her fingers tighten on the manual. In a voice which is only calm because she's clearly channeling her Inner Habbalite On Empty, she says, "Er. So. Er. You're just going to...?"
Lan says "Not kill you."
Mikki says, still in that rather forcibly detached tone, "That leaves a lot of leeway, even if you don't want to make me unable to maintain the machine."
<<OOC>> Jin wishes desperately for reverse-CD-5-and-6 resonance, dammit.
Lan says "Or maim you, or pluck your lovely green horns and wear them at my throat as a trophy, or keep you in a very small cage and feed you just enough Essence to make it entertaining to watch you try to escape, or do any of the other things that your friends in Hell have told you that Malakim do. Despite Balseraphic propaganda to the contrary - of which I have read quite a bit - we are not slavering, ravening beasts from the maw of God sent to destroy anything without feathered wings and many things with. I assure you, I mean you no ill will."
<<OOC>> GC says, "Mmm, the Malasnark!"
Mikki blinks. "Er. Good. But the horns aren't green. They're sort of gray. Mauve on a bad day."
Lan says "Just as well; they don't go with any of my clothing, then."
<<OOC>> Jin awwwwws at Mikki's cute color-changing horns.
<<OOC>> GC says, "...Bad Horn Day?"
Mikki blinks. "Oh. Good. Er. Should I look up whether this place interferes with resonances or not, dread Virtue?"
Deoradhan ...giggles quietly at Lan's list, as she orbits closer to Mikki. "Lord Yves wouldn't like it if any of us hurt or killed each other, you know?" And smiles, reassuringly. "So we're not going to. And you don't have to call us things like that. 'Lan' is probably fine--right, Lan?"
Lan leans down. "I have seen that you are thinking of switching sides. You find this dishonorable; I find it admirable, and will encourage it in any way possible. And yes, please look up whether this place interferes with resonances."
<<OOC>> Jin dies laughing at 'dread Virtue'. It's a good thing Jin didn't hear that, because the poor Elohite would have a hard time not picking up on the usage for sheer amusement value. Which would be Not Objective, but so much fun!
The section reads: RESONANCES, PERCEPTIVE AND INDUCTIVE. Entry into External Space (as in TARDIN interior) may cause temporary flux and less than perfect resonance usage. This is not an observable phenomenon but has been noted in several cases. Unfortunately there is a lack of sample material. It is believed that this lessens over time. There is a hypothesis that psychomatic reflexive concern may be involved.
Mikki reads the section out loud.
Lan straightens. "And, er, yes. Of course. Lan-Chappan is my name; you may call me Lan, or Allen when we are around those who do not know of our natures."
Mikki replies, with every tone of obedience, "Yes, dread Virtue."
Deoradhan makes a note, and offers, "I use Deborah in Roles, myself." ...she sighs faintly again at the address. But thanks Mikki for the reading, politely.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Jin, you're back again."
Lan nods. "Psychosomatic. Hm."
Jin strolls back in, and does not blink at the "dread Virtue", though it does confirm a few theories for her. And, almost out of habit, pings everyone in the room.
<<OOC>> Jin abuses her resonance terribly. Mikki-Lan-Deo, assuming she does not 6 it.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 4 + 4 = 8 CHECK 4.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 2 + 2 = 4 CHECK 1.
<<ROLL>> Jin rolls the d666 and gets 6 + 6 = 12 CHECK 5.
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "So. Close."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "That was...kinda uncomfortably close."
<<OOC>> Deoradhan cries. A 666 on her would get Kronos-stalking, wouldn't it.
<<OOC>> Jin must nail crosses in the windows, or however it is that one keeps hostile interventions out of the TARDIN. Or is that just vs. superstitious vampires?
Mikki tells Deo, "Yes, M'lady Wheel."
To (Jin, Maya), Lan pages: Lan is currently frustrated, by a number of things.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan .oO(Although it'd be amusing timing, right after the "psychosomatic resonance failure" bit...)
Deoradhan tinysighs. "Deoradhan is fine, really. Or just Deo, if you want." She smiles again.
Mikki says again, "Yes, M'lady Wheel."
There is a knock on the TARDIN door.
<<OOC>> arcangel says, "Mikki is... STRESSED."
Deoradhan shakes her head. And blinks at the knock, and orbits over to get the door if nobody else gets there first.
Jin will let the speedy, speedy angel open the door. And is perfectly content to stand around watching.
Lan's gaze darts up to the door, and he quickly fades into the background, waiting to see who comes through.
As Deoradhan opens the door, Yves is standing there, carrying a bottle.
Lan relaxes slightly.
To (Maya, Jin), arcangel pages: Mikki is stressed. Mikki is afraid of the Ofanite and the Malakite, primarily, because they are unpredictable and can't be trusted. Mikki has an undercurrent of interest/WHEE at all the NEAT TECH of the machine, though.
Deoradhan blinks. And bows politely to Yves, looking bemused at the bottle.
Yves says, "May I come in?"
Mikki nods dumbly. Like she's going to tell the scary nice Archangel no?
Deoradhan blink. "Of course, Bright Lord!" ...thinks to step away from the door so he _can_. Right.
Yves enters. "Well, then," he says cheerfully. "Is everything under control?"
Mikki nods! This is an easy question. There is no blood, nothing's blown up, and the manuals seem to correspond with the physical machine!
Jin says "To the best of my knowledge, yes."
Deoradhan nods agreement with Jin, rocking on her heels.
Yves says, "In that case..." He offers the bottle generally. It is clearly old and has labels in French on it. "Napoleon brandy. To celebrate your first voyage. It seemed better to drink it than to smash it on the device's side. I'll step outside and let you be going. The best of luck."
Deoradhan takes the bottle, since she's probably closest? Blinks at the label, and _giggles_ at the rest. "Thank you, sir!"
Mikki blinks a few times and bows deeply.
Jin ducks her head politely. "Thank you."
Lan nods. "Thank you."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "We are thankful! Of course we're thankful. We just got really good booze."
Yves smiles. He raises one hand in ambiguous blessing, then turns and leaves the console room. The door closes behind him with a soft click, leaving the four celestials alone.
<<OOC>> Deoradhan says, "Booze of DESTINY!"
<<OOC>> Jin coughs. Not that he would be particularly affected by booze or--oh, who's he kidding? He can appreciate the finer things in life, even if it's seldom objective to deliberately seek them out for personal use.
Mikki gets an expression that suggests she's quite aware she's locked in with three angels. She clutches the manual and looks vaguely panicked and thoughtful at the same time. It's an odd combination.
Deoradhan peers at the wine-bottle, then peers at the others, and smiles brightly and reassuringly once she notices Mikki's expression. "So, did anybody see wine-glasses anywhere?"
Jin moves over to look at the bottle. "Very kind of him," she says. "It probably isn't a bad idea to take at least a few minutes to settle in before leaping into our job."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Fifth room down the corridor on the right had a sideboard and glasses."
<<OOC>> Jin snickers at poor Mikki, who has three angels being Aggressively Friendly at her.
<<OOC>> Maya notes, btw, that that is Napoleon brandy, not wine. Drink it in wine glass quantity and you will notice a difference. ;)
<<OOC>> Lan could be Warningly Friendly? He was going to earlier, but then people started asking him questions and he forgot.
Mikki says, "We should probably move this place... somewhen. So that we're not ticking in realtime. Because I don't think I should be trying to drive while under the influence!"
Jin will not giggle. Is an Elohite. Can manage that. "That's a good point, Mikki. Where shall we go, then?"
Deoradhan shows it to Jin, obligingly. Then blinks at Mikki and giggles again, since Jin won't. Is not an Elohite, is allowed to! "Um. Maybe a good idea. Do you think you can move it yet?"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "When the Vapulan talks about driving a time machine while under the influence, giggles or panic are pretty much the only plausible reactions."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Okay, Mikki. You've figured out the controls that will put you into what the manual calls the Time Vortex, outside space and time. You've also figured out the controls that will let you land in a particular space and time, once you've programmed in the coordinates."
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And you've worked out how the controls work together with the problem visualiser thingie that Yves' guys bolted onto the console, and how to tell it to go to that point in space/time."
Mikki flips pages in the manual. "Well, my Ethereal Forces didn't suffer too much, so I believe I can understand the directions in the manual, and the work doesn't seem too shoddy... I can at least put us in a temporal limbo -- a Time Vortex, as the manual calls it."
<<OOC>> Mikki would like to know if she can dump them into Time Vortexness and then program the rest?
Mikki . o O (Never let them know how much you know, and how easy it is.)
Deoradhan hms. Passes the bottle over to Jin entirely, and orbits back to peer over Mikki's shoulder. "Can you explain how, while you do it? In case any of us need to do it later?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Yes, Mikki, you can do that."
Mikki presses the book to her bosom, so it can't be read over her shoulder. "It's _very technical._ I'm working on ways to make it simpler for you to put it into the Time Vortex, in case I'm in Trauma or something."
Jin holds the bottle, and decides that she'll go pick up the glasses after entering any...time vortex, and that does sound less than stable, doesn't it? Oh dear.
Mikki says, "So... Stand over _there_ at the edge of the controls, and I'll try to get us into the vortex. Er, if that's all right with everyone."
Jin does not want to enter /anything/ with 'vortex' in its name, no no no. "I have no objections."
Deoradhan makes a note to steal the manual later and poke at it, but nods obligingly for now. "If you say so." She orbits around to the indicated spot -- though she does try to still watch Mikki as she works. "It sounds fine to me..."
<<OOC>> Jin is Elohite! Is /expected/ to lie through his teeth if it's objectively correct!
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Okay, Mikki. Give me, hm, a Computer Usage roll, please."
Mikki sets the book down. Closed. Near her. She begins to push buttons, set dials, enter data, and pull levers -- as appopriate. Her face shows she is deep in concentration -- and just a little excited.
<<GAME>> Arcangel rolls the d666 and gets 5 5 CHECK: 2.
<<OOC>> arcangel eyes that.
You paged arcangel with 'It's also a fail.'.
From afar, arcangel drats. Right. Hopefully not a bad one.
Lights flash. Levers whirr. There is a clunking sound from the big column in the centre of the console. Nothing happens.
Mikki starts looking in the book again, muttering darkly in Helltongue.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, it didn't work. On the positive side, you're fairly sure what you did wrong."
Deoradhan does _not_ move to steal the book while Mikki is working. Does tug on her braid while watching, though, fidgety. Just in case moving is bad. ...eyes the Helltongue. "Is something wrong?"
<<OOC>> Mikki will try again! This time, she will spend 2 Essence on the attempt!
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Right."
Mikki adjusts the levers. "No, no, not wrong. I just got a few adjustments... misadjusted. It's very complicated, and it's not my machine. THIS should do it..." There is a burst of Essence, as she makes some final tweaks to the controls.
<<GAME>> Arcangel rolls the d666 and gets 4 3 CHECK: 1.
<<OOC>> Mikki crosses her fingers and looks hopeful at Maya.
This time the lights flash in a more definite manner. Strange flashes light up the whole console room, flickering between the uprights. The console column begins to rise and fall, with a wheezing, groaning noise.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Jin, you feel sick. Sick to your stomach. The world is busy altering its concept of time and space around you."
Mikki looks excited, apprehensive, and smug all at the same time.
Deoradhan tugs slightly too hard on her braid, wincing as she does, and watches the column suspiciously.
Jin carefully puts a hand on something solid nearby to make sure things really /aren't/ warping around her the way they feel but probably aren't.
The column's rising and falling slows. A panel in the wall to one side slides back to show a computer screen full of darkness and swirly sparkles.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Jin, you feel better now that it's apparently stopped moving."
Mikki checks to see if they're in temporal limbo aka the Time Vortex.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "Mikki, according to the readings showing, you are currently in the Time Vortex, aka temporal limbo."
<<OOC>> Jin says, "As in it's not getting worse, or as in I no longer need to excuse myself and run for a restroom?"
<<OOC>> Jin says, "Incidentally, what's my resonance telling me for my where/when? Or am I reading fnord/fnord?"
<<OOC>> Maya says, "As in you no longer need to excuse yourself and run for a restroom."
Deoradhan blinks several times. "...Huh. _Weird_." She peers at the computer screen, eyes the column, and wanders toward the screen bemusedly.
<<OOC>> Maya says, "And your resonance is reading fnord/fnord."
Jin stares a little blankly for a moment. And then says, in a very calm voice, "Did anyone else feel peculiar during the transition?"
Lan shakes his head. "No more peculiar, at least."
Deoradhan blinks, and shakes her head. "Not really; why?"
Jin says "Given my attunement, having time and space change abruptly around me is highly disconcerting. And it's currently reading...nothing at all for either."
Jin passes the bottle carefully back to Deo. "I believe I should remember not to eat anything directly before a jump, if this is manageable."
Mikki... looks starry eyed.
Deoradhan blinks. "...Oh. Um." She takes the bottle, biting her lip. "...I should probably not resonate while we're moving, either. Erm. Yeah."
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