Move 21 [fixed numbering error] (at long last) (chapter 1.21)

[yhlee]

Move 21

[GM note: PROFUSE apologies for how late this move is. The month of May got eaten by non-negotiable writing commitments and then health issues. So sorry!]

For easy reference:
- Move 20 Recap [wiki]
- the escape plan [wiki];
- Station Moongray timeline [wiki].

(Thanks to zuhrovet for keeping this stuff updated for everyone's convenience.)

Year 361, Month Three, Day Seventeen (Monday), ~07:25

Confrontation at Administrator Nirai Paerani Shan's Office
Sulen and Virmad are facing off against Administrator Shan, having dumped a (friendly!) baby mothling (Crowned-With-Eyes) and faked evidence of Remi's "heresy" onto her desk, as per this thread from Move 19.

Shan makes a brief show of checking the faked datacube for the evidence, but she's clearly feeling pressured with two Rahal standing right there and it doesn't appear she finds anything out of order in the "evidence." "All right," Shan says. She pulls up an appropriate form on one of her data slates and signs over Remi and the mothlings to Sulen and Virmad's custody, then outputs it to a data cube and hands it to them. "Do you require assistance locating Nirai Remi? Or would you prefer to handle that yourselves?" Her expression is resigned.


On the "Bumblebee"

- Mikodez is in Sasha's bedroom, following this thread from Move 19. He is currently alone, trapped, and recuperating, apparently having dozed off.

- Sasha and Iawa have made preparations to talk to Mikodez (see above) as per this thread from Move 19. They have agreed to meet outside Sasha's bedroom and confront Mikodez together.

- Alaric is still currently closeted with Gerae (and Fluffy), continuing this thread from Move 19. Gerae looks abashed at Alaric's critique of heptarchate social control methods and says, "You're obviously very knowledgeable about us and our methods. Are you a scholar? I hadn't realized your team did research." (He's clearly fishing for more information about the Merry Crew he has fallen in with.) Meanwhile, Fluffy curls up on his forearm and appears to doze.

NPCs:
- Ashari is in their office.

- Kaliyan is still manning the cockpit in preparation for escape.

- Yehan graciously thanks Sasha for the box of Remy's journals and begins scanning them into the grid for further analysis; this is a process that can largely be automated so she has set the grid up to alert her if anything looks like it requires her immediate attention, and goes to get some more tea.

- Ankat is keeping an eye on Istradez, who is still woozy and concussed, as per this thread from Move 19. He is available if anyone needs an extra pair of hands.

Comments

insufficient algorithms - paging Iawa and Mikodez

[zuhrovet]

Sasha asks the grid to create a door to her room, and lets Iawa enter first. She walks inside a moment later. The door makes a soft, whirring noise. Sasha wishes she could have slammed it. Instead she whistles to the grid, to make it disappear again.

Sasha has a method for dealing with Shuos dropouts: she demonstrates her technical superiority, then hands them an alternative win condition, at which point they either prove their usefulness by getting some work done or turn out to be utter flakes and get themselves fired. She has been pretending, to herself as much as to Mishka, that this is a stranger round of the usual game.

Knots and wires! Time to stop lying. Sasha counts to sixteen to steady herself, then says, "Avrayen. Sit up and pay attention."

Re: insufficient algorithms - paging Iawa and Mikodez

[vass]

[Did Sasha frisk Mikodez at any point?]

Sasha had warned Iawa that she'd made the door go away. It's still... uncomfortable for Iawa, being trapped in a doorless room with two dangerous people.

She has her first aid kit, and a sedative ready to hand. She's clenching her jaw a bit. She picks a vantage point where she's not obtrusive, but has clear views of Sasha and Avrayen. She's standing a little closer to Sasha.

Re: insufficient algorithms - paging Iawa and Mikodez

[zuhrovet]

[Sasha hasn't touched Mikodez, but she did check the airlock scan, and if that's not accurate we have bigger problems. Ankat might have frisked him.

For the record, Sasha has a multitool, but nothing intended as a weapon. Her backpack with the heavy flashlight is in a locker in the gym.]

[venndaai]

[Isn't it actually Move 21?]

"We'd appreciate your assistance in locating him, yes," Sulen says, hoping that Remi isn't up to anything that might make this more complicated. "And you should let the appropriate people know that we'll be removing the... flitterling environment."

[yhlee]

"I can certainly do that," Shan says, back to being crisp and professional. She punches in a query on her slate. Her eyebrows slowly climb. "Well. Former researcher Remi appears to be...fending off shouting and possibly blows from his former research assistant, Nirai Vana. Security is already on the way. I'll have them hold him for your convenience. If you require additional assistance, Security has been"--her fingers flicker again--"instructed to cooperate in every way." She hesitates. "Is Vana implicated as well?"

Meanwhile, Crowned-with-Eyes appears to wake up and begins warbling again. Shan's mouth tightens.

[lleullawgyffes]

“Not at this time,” Virmad says, frowning a little at the mothling. Frown notwithstanding, this situation would be almost funny if it weren’t so dangerous. “But — and consider this an informal recommendation” — not that it makes much difference, coming from an inquisitor’s mouth, he thinks wrily — “I would suggest keeping an eye on Vana, and anyone else who has worked with Remi, in the future.”

He looks at Sulen, then, questioning. “In any case, we should probably go retrieve Remi — the less of a spectacle this is, the fewer questions there will be.” He smiles, a little grimly (intentionally so), and nods at Shan to include her in his next comment. “You know how Nirai can be in these situations — always asking questions, poking into research they have no business in. Best to keep things brief and to the point.”

[yhlee]

[Oh, you're right! I apparently didn't scroll to the right part. Will fix, thank you!]

Chatting with Gerae

[slybrarian]

"Indeed, where I come from I am a scholar of some renown," Alaric said. Certainly there's got to be someone somewhere who reknows him, at any rate. "And I think the official description of most of us would be... entourage? Hangers-on? Whatever the correct term is for the regular people the faction members bring along to look pretty, maintain the ship, and push them around in float chairs when someone falls over drunk. The research is more of a hobby for when the Andan and Rahal are off doing whatever high-society things they get up to."

He wishes he could tell Gerae about the moth and his discovery - well, okay, his and Sasha's, but he gets first credit on the paper or there will be hell to pay - about moth communication, but that will have to wait until they're safely away.

Re: Chatting with Gerae

[yhlee]

Gerae looks suitably impressed; even not-very-good lockpicking Rahal have a certain learned respect for scholarship. "Yes," he says, "entourage is probably the word you want. The Liozh are theoretically supposed to look out for common citizens, but it doesn't always work as well as the system claims." His mouth crimps. "It's the kind of thing we wolves do discuss from time to time, in the hopes of cleaning things up. Research as a hobby, though--that's an interesting concept. Do you have a particular specialty?"

Re: Chatting with Gerae

[slybrarian]

"Hmmm. I should probably say something like 'sociology' or 'calendrical mathematics'," Alaric says, "which would technically be true, but I've had a long day so I'm just going to call it 'comparative heresies' since that's probably the most accurate description around here."

Re: Chatting with Gerae

[zuhrovet]

[I am touched by Alaric's willingness to share authorship!]

Re: Chatting with Gerae

[slybrarian]

[Now all we have to do is find somewhere to publish without being publicly executed!]

virtuously requesting permission from Ashari

[zuhrovet]

Ashari's brooding feels like a thunderstorm about to break. But Sasha's already soaking wet, which is backwards. She frees her hands and celebrates by arranging the blanket around her shoulders like a shawl.

"I think the backup should be finished by now. May I go ahead and wipe the foxling's augment?" she asks Ashari.

Re: virtuously requesting permission from Ashari

[yhlee]

"If you can back it up to somewhere where its contents won't wriggle free and doom us all, yes," Ashari says. "Whatever's hidden there might give us some interesting leverage for the future." Ashari cocks an eyebrow at Mikodez. "You are remarkably calm for someone in a world of trouble."

To Iawa, Ashari says: "How did the floor get wet, anyway? Or do I not want to know?"

Re: virtuously requesting permission from Ashari

[zuhrovet]

"The water is my fault," Sasha says. "Automatic security measure."

She stands, carefully, walks over to the chair, sits down again, and reopens her terminal. The copy is indeed finished, so she enters the reset command.

[venndaai]

[So, can Sulen, Virmad, CWE and Remi just appear on the Wasp? (Sulen having managed to dispose of their gun on the way out- they'd gotten rid of the bullets earlier but hopefully Sasha never finds that out.)]

[yhlee]

[Yep! Feel free. I'm going to be flying out to Seattle tomorrow and teaching a workshop so I'm going to be a little slow to respond for the next couple days, just so you know. If there's a Dire Emergency somehow, feel free to email directly at yoon at yoonhalee dot com--I will check email when I get the opportunity.]

On board the Wasp

[venndaai]

"Your things are in the room at the end of that hall," Sulen says to Remi. "Could I ask you to keep the creature in there while I check if our temporary habitat is ready?" That will also get him out of the way while they check in with the others.

Re: On board the Wasp

[yhlee]

Remi inclines his head. "Thank you, I can certainly keep the mothling entertai--"

There is a faint vibration from the Wasp as the bigger moth hums ever-so-quietly to the baby mothling.

The mothling wriggles in delight and hums back, not really in tune.

That settled, Remi heads off, mothling in tow.

paging Virmad

[venndaai]

Sulen turns to Virmad. "I am going to check in with Ashari and Sasha on the Avrayen situation, and have Sasha check what progress the station's made in detaching the moth environment. You could come with me, or check on Gerae. I promised him he would get a chance to return to the station if he wished." Virmad will understand the importance of giving your word.

[venndaai]

[I've currently got a bad cold and I think the edge of a fever, and I'm lying in bed trying to sleep it off so I can start my new job teaching video game design to kids tomorrow, and the punchline is I think I'm tapping into Mikodez's dreams. Remis and Asharis made out of pixels and I can't get their code to work.

...I think when I have a free week I'm going to make a little platformer where Mikodez runs around chased by cats and floating eyes.]

[vass]

[I love everything about this except that you're not feeling well.]

[yhlee]

[Oh man, feel better soon!

Whoa, you teach video game design?! That must be the coolest thing ever.]

[venndaai]

[Only on the kids' summer camp level- it's more about introducing them to the software than really getting into design, but it is pretty fun so far. It's a summer job while I work on my own undergraduate game art degree. I'm much more of an art person than a level design or programming person but I know enough to help them make complete little games. The real challenge is keeping track of ten kids for a week and making sure they don't get food on the keyboards!]

[pengwern]

[OOC: Hi, sorry for the falling off a cliff -- I'll start replying soon! (at most in another two weeks, home free but despairing.)]