Chapter 3.4: Breaking down the base

[zuhrovet]

As the meeting ends, the team members move to their assigned tasks.

Dar, Deyna, Seyli and Sulen collect some heavy-duty servitors and begin transferring supplies to the Cantata.

Alaric, Reshad, Shess, and the Cantata's drone prepare to remove the harness from Ankat's moth, The Sedulous Eel.

Back on the Cantata, Sasha goes to her office and starts remotely wiping memory nodes on the base's grid. Jedao is in the Communications/Gunnery room, controlling the weapons. Xiulan acts as his backup. Remi has been instructed to look for patterns or causes of the missing interstellar signals.

Meanwhile, Hana and Eddox look after the mothlings, perhaps joined by Mafyyil, who for some reason has not received clear instructions. Gerae and Ione divide their attention between the mothlings and the nest of pseudo-dragons.

[Welcome to a new move!

I know that things are stressful and uncertain for all of us right now. Please don't fret if you suddenly find yourself with less or more free time than usual--we will adjust! If you would like to give your character a node of peace where they drink tea and admire baby aliens for the next while, this can be arranged. Conversely, if you want a plotty distraction, we will bring you one!

My own focus is unreliable of late, but I'll work on a recap of the previous move as I can.]

Comments

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[zuhrovet]

[Jedao has not been given a gun or other weapon.]

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[yhlee]

[Okay. Jedao has for once in his life (?) exercised restraint (?) and has not purloined a kitchen knife or something. He's about as unarmed as he gets, unless you count the duffel bag.]

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[stormglass]

[No worries at all! Especially since I got waylaid by a vision-blurring headache after dinner that’s taken until this afternoon to ease up. Verdict is…I seriously need to rearrange the impromptu work from home setup before my spine smacks me one any further :p]

Earpiece having been settled into place as she left the conference room, when Cantata sends its query about Remi’s whereabouts, Xiulan hears it and frowns a little. “I last saw him about ten minutes ago,” she replies back, to the same broadcast group Cantata spoke to. “He was with the mothlings.”

The tailend said as she’s stepping into Gunnery/Communications, she nods at Jedao and asks him, “Did you hear that? Remi’s missing. Which, I gather that’s a feat when a moth is looking for you.”

Considering the door control panel for a moment, she taps on it, setting a delayed open sequence and an alert if someone goes to open it from the outside.

"Your instructions?"

The word choice gets a bit of a smile. In general, her demeanor is as it seemed outwardly during the party, surface ease underlaid with sharper attention.

“Do what you need to, to get scan linked in and systems prepped to fire if we need to. I’ll see if anyone is aboard the Typhoon.”

So saying, Xiulan hails the other moth, watching what Jedao is doing while she does. It’s not done in a suspicious fashion, but curious and ready to learn.

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[yhlee]

"I haven't seen him since the meeting," Jedao says, and messages the same group as well using the mothgrid.

I've been in Gunnery and have not seen Remi since the meeting.--GJ

[Jedao has no augment.]

"Heard and acknowledged," he adds in response to Xiulan's instructions. He sets about linking scan, doing a painstakingly thorough systems check, and prepping to fire; he's also double-checked and made sure that his station is logging all his activity for future review, whether for security or pedagogical reasons.

The Typhoon responds: "Kaliyan of the Typhoon," comes a steady voice. "What's your emergency?"

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[stormglass]

“Thanks,” she says to Jedao when he sends his grid message (after she glances at her tablet’s screen and sees it).

As he operates his board, she responds to Kaliyan.

“Xiulan on the Cantata. No emergency, yet. We’re on watch to respond to any hostiles while evacuation is underway. Sasha wanted you to have fire control for all moths when we’re in contact. Are you in a position to coordinate right now or are we running solo?”

In some back corner of her mind, she muses on language and jargon and gulfs of differences. It is a papercut, added to an inventory of such that has built in the years since a fateful day at Star’s End. She puts it aside with the others and doesn’t think about why that isn’t a good long term plan. It’s what there is.

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao) (paging Sasha)

[yhlee]

"Typhoon acknowledges," Kaliyan replies. "Glad to have you. Can coordinate at the moment, although the situation may change. No hostiles in sight yet--but of course, that's the problem, isn't it?"

Re: On the Cantata (Paging Jedao)

[stormglass]

“Acknowledged,” Xiulan replies when Kaliyan confirms fire control. And: “That is certainly one of the problems.”

Amongst others of course. But then, when was her life last not about prioritizing emergencies?

Looking to Jedao and thinking back to the party, she concludes with, “Cantata out” rather than elaborate on precisely who is in Gunnery at the moment.

“Wasn’t sure you’d met Kaliyan yet.” So saying, Xiulan resumes watching what he’s doing with interest, asking a question here and there. If she’s somehow bothered by the tangle of considerations Jedao’s presence continues to raise amidst the crew, there is no sign of it.