Move 13 (Chapter 1.13)

[yhlee]

Year 361, Month Three, Day Sixteen (Sunday), evening
Station Moongray

Mikodez, on Moongray Station, pondering an egg

[Follow-up to this thread.]

It's easy enough for Mikodez to switch the motion detector off; it's not really designed for security use, so the researchers in the lab have it set up so it's easy to take offline for maintenance, etc. (It's highly doubtful they figured the egg would know how to hit the off switch.)

There is no one snoring under the desk, but there is a small file box containing a few paper notebooks, the old-fashioned kind. The game's soothing purring continues.

If Mikodez wants to set up the matter printer for a fake egg and one or two guns, that's easy enough. It might take some extra time to make sure the egg doesn't come out attractively plaid, though.

---

Year 361, Month Three, Day Sixteen (Sunday), overnight

on the Bumblebee/Wasp/Mothra

After Sasha and Ashari's fight/cultural misunderstanding, and Ashari and Sulen clean up afterward, Gerae's distress becomes increasingly evident. He's pounding on the door of the room that Sulen deposited him in, crying in an increasingly hoarse voice that he refuses to leave without Fluffy.

[lleullawgyffes, it's up to you whether Virmad pays any attention to Sasha's presumed discreet lokwor message and returns in time to help talk to Gerae, or whether Virmad decides to ignore it in favor of continued shenanigans with Teo.]

Sasha appears to be in good health; Iawa might or might not want to write this up formally for Ashari or Ashari's superiors, depending on their assessment of Ashari's mood. [Iawa is the de facto medic as far as I can tell!]

Remi is asking Alaric if it would be difficult to set up a radio to soothe the mothlings into docility, which is less invasive than sedating them.

Meanwhile, Mothra is making rumbly noises again. It sends another Space ASCII diagram, this time of mothlings playing hide and seek.

---

Active in Move 12: Sasha, Ashari, Sulen, Mikodez, Iawa, Alaric, Virmad

Continuing inactive: Yehan, Kaliyan, Ankat

Comments

[pengwern]

[Will someone please ask (Remi) how they know the moth babs are playing tag? Do they manage different tones of squeaks?]

Mikodez drags the notebooks out while the matter printer decides on what it wants to do today, and doesn't even reach for those so-convenient goggles lying on a bench to shield his eyes from the screen's light.

[yhlee]

The notebooks appear to be diaries, written in a child's hand, as though by someone learning to write the high language. It's curious that they've been left here, because the entries, while dated, aren't dated by the high calendar...

[pengwern]

There's time enough for Mikodez to scan for any security cameras in the area one last time before he switches the EGG, as well as documents with actual names around this particular desk. Right?

He goes to the entrances to the lab space to see if anyone's there, and hastily shoves the bedizened gun down in a box next to the spinner candies when it appears.

[yhlee]

There's a lone security camera and it looks like it's...broken. There's a sticky note attached to it saying VANA I TOLD YOU TO GET MAINTENANCE TO REPAIR THIS.--R.

There's a single man sleeping in the lab space, not under a desk, but on a...hammock? An indoors hammock? A toolbox lies open next to it. Nirai uniform, but other than that Mikodez doesn't recognize him. He's snoring slightly and persistently, whuffling every few breaths.

Sasha would not know tact if it snuck up and bit her - paging Iawa

[zuhrovet]

Iawa's sort of staring. What did . . .? Oh, right, people in the heptarchate are judgier about cursing than actual judges.

"I don't actually believe in the saint of vines, if that helps," Sasha says. "What were you wanting to ask me about?"

If Iawa just keeps digging this hole deeper, they'll find a clue at the bottom, right?

[vass]

[Trigger warning for this comment: non-detailed discussion of partner abuse in the context of kink relationships. Iawa has drawn certain conjectures.]

[re the numbers] They associate 57 and semiprimes with a sequence of Significant Numbers they had to memorise for an exam and forgot immediately afterwards.

[re the hair-touching and the scarf] Despite having been right there at the earlier meeting, Iawa had not yet noticed Sasha's new haircut, or that Sasha had a problem with Ashari's touching her hair. Even now their vague conclusion is that Sasha and Ashari are in a pre-existing relationship but Sasha doesn't like PDAs and/or it was meant to be a secret.

And that reference to Ashari "binding" Sasha sounded like a reference to something Iawa's vaguely aware of which in their Liozh-associated days they'd mentally pigeonholed as unremarkable/private/unlikely to be relevant to them personally, and which their Vidona teachers had considered a psychological variation to be taken into account. They know where they stand on unnegotiated hitting, though.

"I'm not the heresy police," they say. "I left heresy police training by trying to stop a remembrance and then literally sinking through the floor before they could execute me for it." A pause. "You shouldn't talk about your saints on the station, though. It might cause trouble."

They hand over an antagonist for the stimulant. "Use that one before you take the sleeping pill. Unless you really like sleep paralysis. In which case get the recipe from the grid and print the med for yourself, actually, don't use my first aid supplies for recreation."

That reminds them. "Also, if you're going to drink tonight, get someone to watch you to make sure you don't have a concussion, and definitely take a sober-up before the sleeping pill. It doesn't mix well with alcohol either. Actually just don't combine the sleeping pill with anything else without checking with me or the grid?"

"Also, drink lots of water, it'll help your throat."

But since according to the conclusion they have just drawn, the person most likely to watch Sasha while she's drinking is the same person who caused the injuries... "Listen, I don't know how things normally are between you and Ashari, or what you normally do in private, but it doesn't sound like they're treating you very well. Even if you sometimes want them to be rough with you, that doesn't mean you deserve..."

They get a bit tangled up, and try again. "They should treat you with respect and care, anyway. And not try to choke someone without a first aid kit of their own on hand. There are forms in here for writing up reports, and they're our leader anyway. I know what I'd like to say, but I don't want to make things worse for you. What do you want me to say?"

Belatedly, "You said it wasn't all your blood. I should go check on them too. How did they look?"

[Sorry for dragging out the tablet saga a bit further! I couldn't stick the segue.]

does Iawa give lessons in sinking into the floor?

[zuhrovet]

Sasha takes the stimulant with a sip of lukewarm tea, and pockets the other pills for later. She's surprised by the heresy police line, but it makes sense that Iawa wouldn't have joined this mission without some sort of prior training.

"I don't think our printer is food-safe. I certainly wouldn't trust any of the dyes. Are food-grade printers common, in your time? Maybe if I ever get a proper equipment budget we can get one-- that sounds really interesting."

"Wait." The implications of the rest of Iawa's comments are sinking in. "Ashari and I-- we don't do anything in private-- I'm not Imsayed."¹

Sasha can feel the blush splotching all the way down to the bottoms of her feet. This is awful. It's worse than the time her high-language conversation partner asked how many parents she had.² "Iawa, is everyone going to think Ashari and I are . . . involved? How do I make it stop?"

[¹ If only Ashari were getting all the action attributed to them, they would be much more relaxed!

² Yelling "My parents were legally married when I was born!" and rushing out of the teashop is not considered appropriate either in the heptarchate or on Naxarat.

As for the tablet, we'll just chalk Sasha's earlier question up to a vain attempt to turn the subject away from heresies.]

a valiant effort to change the subject - paging Iawa again

[zuhrovet]

Sasha is being ridiculous. It's the heptarchate. Everyone will inevitably make the worst assumption-- and Ashari's going to think this is fucking hilarious-- but she still has a job to do. As, presumably, does Iawa.

"If you must write a report, can you say we were sparring? The alternative explanations are that I punched Ashari, or that they were disciplining me for what I did to their files, but if you intend to go into that sort of detail you should probably check with them first. I don't know what sort of records they're making about the rest of us, and right now I don't want to know."

"Are you going to say what you originally meant to ask me?" Sasha continues. "I still have at least four hours of work to do, and though I appreciate the pills I was hoping to sleep at some point."

Re: a valiant effort to change the subject - paging Iawa again

[vass]

"I'll say you were sparring," Iawa says. They decide to document what actually happened privately, though, in case it becomes a pattern.

This being Iawa, until now they of course had not considered that Sasha might have other things to do when they chose this moment to come in for tech support.

They've clearly embarrassed Sasha very badly by assuming she and Ashari were a couple. They don't want to upset her further.

"It's not that urgent, my tablet just started playing up. It hasn't been working right since I was on the station."

[Nice try, Iawa.]

(not) spending the night

[lleullawgyffes]

Virmad's dozing is disturbed by the signal from his lokwor. He manages to stir himself sufficiently to read it — Second arrest imminent. — then sighs and turns over to look at Teo. [if Teo is asleep:] He hates to wake him, but he firmly believes it’s rude to just leave, so, reluctantly, he gives Teo’s arm a gentle nudge. “Teo?”

[if Teo is awake/once Teo wakes up:] “I really hate to say this, but I have to go.” He grimaces. “Duty calls, I fear.”

Re: (not) spending the night

[yhlee]

Teo dropped asleep pretty quickly, useful trait in a soldier, but wakes up the moment he hears his name. "Hmmmm?" he asks, smiling sleepily at Virmad at first. Then: "Ah, duty. Yes, far be it for a Kel to argue with duty." His tone is self-deprecating. He presses a kiss to Virmad's shoulder before disentangling himself. "Go, go. I hope it isn't anything too tedious."

Re: (not) spending the night

[lleullawgyffes]

“So do I,” Virmad says. He locates his clothes and puts them back on; the result is a little disheveled, but it’ll have to do. Once he’s dressed, e kisses Teo (For the last time last time? he wonders) goodbye. “Thanks for this — I had a great time.”

[I'm assuming it'll be possible for Virmad to compose and send a lokwor message while he walks, in which case, once he's outside:] Out in the corridor, rubbing his eyes a bit as he gets moving in the direction of the ship, he sends a message back to Sasha.

On my way. This had better be worth it.

We could have had at least one more round, Virmad thinks, sighing. Oh, well.

Re: (not) spending the night

[zuhrovet]

"Boss will fill you in," Sasha messages virtuously, like somebody who definitely would never try to do Ashari's work for them.

[lokworing while walking]

[yhlee]

[Unless zuhrovet thinks otherwise, since she came up with them, I would assume that you could lokwor while walking, just like texting, so long as you're not navigating a maze or anything strenuously complicated. :) ]

Sulen almost forgot they stole a magistrate

[venndaai]

Ashari and Sulen are on their way from the medbay to check on progress at the range when they hear Gerae’s yelling.

“Oh dear,” Sulen says. “Er, this is the magistrate I recruited... or kidnapped, depending on how you look at it. I didn’t think he was capable of that much shouting.”

Raising their voice to be heard, “I told you we’re not leaving until the morning.”

Re: Sulen almost forgot they stole a magistrate

[yhlee]

Gerae yells even louder once he realizes someone is responding. "But Fluffy is going to need her midnight snack! I'm sure it's way past midnight now, and she'll be so worried. Please, can't you send someone for her?"

Re: Sulen almost forgot they stole a magistrate

[lleullawgyffes]

Virmad chooses this inopportune time to turn the corner and almost collide with Ashari and Sulen.

“Hello,” he says, once he’s collected himself as best he can considering that his shirt isn’t fully tucked in (he doesn’t seem to have realized this), his hair is sticking up a bit (as noticeably as it can considering how short it is) on one side, and he still looks half-asleep. “Sasha called. What’s going on? Is that Gerae?” He manages to avoid, just, doing a double-take when he notices Ashari’s...slightly battered face. “I hope he didn’t give you any trouble...?” He sounds very confused.

Re: Sulen almost forgot they stole a magistrate

[venndaai]

Sulen is giving him a very judgemental stare for someone who was recently drinking away their feelings.

"He's been no trouble," they say, "except for being easily upset. Perhaps you can calm him down? I think I may have taken the wrong initial approach with him."

definitely after midnight

[zuhrovet]

[My timeline arithmetic says it's probably about two in the morning in this thread. Virmad just missed meeting Remi in security. On the bright side, this pattern of Remi going through security right around the time as one Rahal or another makes it look exactly like we pulled him in for questioning.]

Re: definitely after midnight

[yhlee]

[Thank you for maintaining the timeline--I am actually pretty rubbish at detailed timeline stuff. I am NEVER AGAIN creating a setting where people are obsessed with timekeeping...the sad part is, it's self-inflicted. ]

Mothling Bay Construction

[slybrarian]

"Radio would be easy enough," Alaric says. "We can just install a transceiver unit inside the shielding and run a line out. Have they ever responded back with radio, or any other method? In fact, do you know anything about their natural communication?"

He pulls out his lokwor, which he's programmed to relay messages to and from the engineering computers. He shows it to Remi.

"Right now we're basically stuck sending pictograms over a low-bandwith channel not remotely meant for this purpose."

He sketches out that he is doing something to this compartment, into which the mothlings will come and then the whole ship will fly off.

Re: Mothling Bay Construction

[yhlee]

"Yes, that sounds admirable," Remi says. He's clearly pleased to be working with a fellow science person. ["Science" haha.] "They do seem to engage in frequency-modulated radio babble, but it's unclear to me whether it's language. We think there's a possibly they're communicating with gravitation waves, which was Vana's hypothesis, but we stalled out trying to get funding for a sufficiently sensitive detector to listen in on any such thing."

Meanwhile, Mothra sends back a picture of the entire ship flying off, mothlings and all, with the crew, then a "1111111" for an emphatic "yes."

Re: Mothling Bay Construction

[slybrarian]

"It's possible the harness has detection equipment. I wouldn't put it past the government to spy on moths that are supposed to be asleep," Alaric says. "We can check that later. For that matter, the presence of an adult might stimulate greater levels of communication on radio. Obviously I don't want to over-anthropomorphize, but human babies learn to communicate from other humans, and that applies to a number of other species as well."

Re: Mothling Bay Construction

[yhlee]

Remi looks grave. "In all fairness," he says grudgingly, "I suppose scientific observation doesn't look much different from 'spying,' from the subject's point of view. I'd be happy to help look for detection equipment during the journey, but--" He makes a helpless gesture. "I have a lot to learn from you regarding this advanced technology."

He pats one of the bulkhead's absently. "I do hope the presence of your moth adult is good for the mothlings. Imagine witnessing them learning to speak properly--whatever that may look like!"

[venndaai]

I made a tentative plan of the Wasp, in case that's something that would be useful? I'd love suggestions.