Move 9 (Ch. 1.9)

[yhlee]

Year 361, Month Three, Day Sixteen (Sunday), evening / day Seventeen (Monday), morning

On the station's carapace
The ammunition drone reports to whoever is listening that it has not exactly caught a spacegoing slime mold; rather, the slime mold has clogged up its legs and it's clinging rather precariously to the station's carapace. It is requesting, as forlornly as a nonsentient drone can, that somebody repair it. Until someone does something, it's...stuck.

On the station, during Mikodez and Iawa's science tour
Pavn, having noted Iawa's interest in the question of sonciousness, adds, "If you like, the researcher is probably busy at this hour, and he's in one of the classified labs, but I think that research assistant is currently off-shift. I could introduce you to her, if you like. She's always happy to talk about philosophical questions."

On the station, during Sasha, Yehan, and Alaric's science tour
Pavn looks quizzically at Yehan during the tour. "You remind me of some of the other visitors we've had recently," he says, in a friendly enough fashion. "You may have caught sight of their ship on the way in. Granted, phenotypes can be so misleading. Where did you say you were from?"

On the station, visitor's lounge, later
Sasha and Alaric are debating over carbon-fiber sculpture aesthetics when a ping comes in from the lokwor to indicate that Sasha's program has picked up more information on Remi. [Edit: sorry, hit post too soon.] He's not in his lab, but has signed out a spacesuit and has apparently gone for a walk outside the station. The lokwor has no idea why--it wasn't able to ferret out that information without Sasha's hacking guidance.

On the station, Rahal Gerae's office
Armed with an extra slate containing information about Rahal Gerae's known black market dealings, Sulen and Virmad head to Rahal Gerae's office. [Feel free to insert any preparations you may have wanted to make beforehand in a thread of its own.] The door is neatly labeled in a peculiarly Rahal style of calligraphy, recognizable despite the drift of time. There is a potted plant outside the door, its elongated flowers wilting.

More problematically, the door isn't locked. It appears to be stuck halfway open.

On the station, Nirai Alissa's dance studio
Before Ashari can say anything one way or the other to Alissa, a short man, dark-skinned, their shaven head covered with gold mesh-tattoos, stomps out of the office. He glares at Ashari. "I always knew you would be sucking up to any 'artists' who showed up on the station," he says. "Excuse me. I'm artist-designate Kwor, and I simply must demand that you authenticate yourself."

Alissa closes her eyes and looks pained. "Ah, yes," she says, "our resident artist-designate..." She leaves it at that.

[An artist-designate is basically the station's arts & entertainment coordinator, and in particular it means that Kwor is not an Andan but sort of secondary artist hired through the Andan, because a real Andan couldn't be arsed to come out to this posting.]

[Also note that Istradez is lurking in the background in this scene, if you need to borrow him.]

On the station, bubble tea stand 4:30 Monday morning
The bubble tea cafe is already open, or maybe always open, based on its sign. Mikodez and anyone else who decides to come here will notice several people sipping their bubble tea or coffee in a small area with seats and tables and decorative floating lanterns. There are many flavor shots offered, from mango to orange creme to root beer.

The barista frowns when she sees Mikodez. "Excuse me," she says. "Where are your parents?"

---

Character status
- Active characters as of last post: Sasha, Alaric, Yehan, Sulen, Virmad, Ashari, Mikodez, Iawa

- Currently inactive: Ankat, Kaliyan
Inactive players should feel free either to jump in wherever it feels logical, or to message me asking for an updated storyline so they can rejoin in a graceful fashion.

Comments

paging virmad

[venndaai]

[Are there any preparations we want to make? I think Sulen's ready to go straight there.]

Science tour: paging Yehan

[zuhrovet]

It had been a favorite game among the Junior Mining Engineers to see how long you could spend telling Sasha she wasn't really Naxorian before she tried to hit you. By the age of 14 her record was around 35 minutes [more like 20 if you're not keeping hexarchate time]. "You look less Naxorian than this completely Kirrish person standing next to you" is new in Sasha's experience, though, and she's surprised how much it stings. She stares fixedly at the art display in front of her-- it's an infinite arrangement of circles, somewhere between bubbles and spiderwebs-- and hopes Yehan has a lie in readiness.

Witty Commentary

[slybrarian]

[Wow, look at that list of character locations. Don't you know, you never split the party. Clerics in the back, keep the fighters hale and hearty....]

Back on the ship: paging Yehan and Alaric

[zuhrovet]

That evening, Sasha drags Alaric and Yehan back to the ship, and Yehan at least up to the galley. She puts whatever image she can glean of Remi's space walk on a monitor, and makes a mug of very sweet tea.

"Yehan, would you mind alerting Ashari and the Kel of Remi's movements? And I'm going to pull the Rosemallow crew list and cargo for you. I didn't hear them talking about any Kirrish on board, but there's something weird happening, definitely. Really, let me know whenever you want data? You're the actual intelligence analyst, here."

Sasha does as promised and then starts trying to figure out what Remi is doing: can she guess where he is going? Does she have any way to get a message to his suit without alerting the station?

During the science tour (paging mod, attn Sasha)

[vass]

"I would be delighted to make her acquaintance at the end of the tour," Iawa says.

While Pavn continues to explain some detail or other to Avrayen, Iawa receives Sasha's message about mold cleanser. It doesn't sound that urgent, cleaning mold off something, but Sasha knew Iawa and Avrayen were on the tour, it might be a pretext to get them over where she is. And besides, Iawa's cover is a general ship hand, it's supposed to be their job to run come and go when they're called.

As Pavn is about to continue to the next section of the tour, Iawa says "Actually, is Supply near here? There are some things I'd like to pick up if I could, and if I do it now while I remember, it won't matter if our talk with the research assistant should run on."

They want a first aid kit as well as the sputter -- one small enough that it can be concealed in their clothing, but still useful for stabilising critical injuries long enough to get a person to better trained people with better equipment.

The longer they're on the station, the more the reality of this mission and its dangers is sinking in [no one ever accused Iawa of being a slow learner, but they should have] and they're scared. It's occurring to them now that until Sasha messaged them, they couldn't have known for sure that all the other Wasp crew but Avrayen hadn't disappeared into another rift and left them stranded here.

Maybe they'd better not tell Pavn specifically what they want, the first aid kit or the sputter.

They want to touch the pouch under their clothing where the mirrorweight web piece is. They hold their hands by their sides instead.

[Let's say all Vidona cadets learn some first aid as a general faction education requirement, whether or not they're going into medicine]

Artist credentials (paging Sasha? also GM?)

[smokedetective]

[Sorry, I've been out of it for way too long! Going to try and jump back in. I don't wanna break the flow of what's going though, and was wondering if either credentials are something Sasha would have forged in advance or if Ashari can call Sasha up and demand credentials lmao?

Failing that, does Kwar belong to a faction, and if not, does that automatically put him Ashari in perceived social status if it comes to, say, enthralling him?]

messages from Sasha, 20:25 Sunday: paging command, Sulen, Iawa

[zuhrovet]

Sasha sends the following lokwor messages. They're encrypted, but she's not sure who might be reading over people's shoulders.

To the Captain (Kaliyan)

where are you?

To Andan Rii (Ashari), cc assistant (Imsayed/Istradez)

A Nirai who indicates interest in potential artistic collaboration is visiting Bumblebee at 21:00. Would you like to show him your project?

To Anaz (Ankat)

have lead on possible passenger. meeting soon, will fill you in tomorrow morning.

To Rahal Dar Chresh (Sulen)

I found the accounting software you asked for. Understand that was urgent; please return to Bumblebee for installation at your earliest convenience.~Tech. Bayan.

To Jaghan (Iawa)

could really use some help cleaning ship from reception. please come back asap.

She can't figure out how to send a message to Virmad that's appropriate reading for the middle of a date with the chief of security (the logic of this decision escapes Sasha, but perhaps Virmad can keep Teo from checking surveillance logs for a few hours?)

In the land of milk and honey iced tea

[pengwern]

A glance around at the cafe showed several individuals in the same solid neutrals Mikodez was wearing, and no-one on the ship had looked at his side braid oddly. He was ninety percent convinced that he stood in ancient times, so maybe an antique false beard...?

"No matter what they've been complaining about, my cousin's only in loco parentis, you know," he tries. He has his pad, a stylus, and a hangdog expression of bleakness in the best note-taking form, and was prepared to sit there all day long to give random passersby an opportunity to accost him.

[If Remi boarded the Bumblebee overnight, then there's not quite as much reason for him to stay put, besides the desserts.]