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[ISS] Rally the Troops (Mar 3.8, Our 3,6, Tem 3.5)
Temperance,
You summon the T's to Torrence's room. Trish comes in, still adjusting her top, she looks flushed. Tunde comes in with Mi Sun, Mi Sun's all smiles, and Torrence comes in last, his Navi under his arm. It's no problem to ask Mi Sun to leave, she doesn't seem offended, really. Anything you promised her for later?The gang's all here. What do you do?
Comments
I look around at my three closest allies and friends, catch each one's eye for a long second. "So, kids. You wanna put on a revolution?"
Temperance,
Trish speaks for the other two, "Bout drokking time!" She rocks up from her seat on the bed, excited for this new challenge. Tunde is thoughtful about it, thinking about what it means, while Torrence is interested with the idea, definitely. Trish asks, "Wait, Temp, what do you mean by put on? Like, it's a feint or somethin'? What's the idea?"
"No, Trish. More like putting on a show or throwing a party." I hand Trish the detonator. "Can you rig a deadman switch for this? But... add a feature to it, give me a cutout so that the switch can't be activated unless I decide to let it."
To the group in general. "Here's the deal. The adults need fresh blood, but they're too drokking scared of us to do anything about it. They may or may not be close to curing the plague, but even if they do, it would be in their best interests to keep us ignorant of that, the way they keep us ignorant of everything else. So, we're going to... intervene."
I look to Torrence. "Torr, I want you to dig, quiet-quiet, and find out what criteria they're using for picking subjects for plague vaccine experiments. And while you're at it, try to find Pris's location."
"Tunde, my friend, you get to rig us up to take over the video feeds. All of them, all at once. And see what you can do to be ready to take down the feeds from surveillance cams to the adult side of the ship. And, if you have the time and energy left, get us a minute or two's footage of the bridge. They're working on a skeleton crew, and I'm sure not all of the adults realize that."
Temperance,
Your clique listens in, each of them taking their assignment without argument.Trish assures you she can make a deadman switch, but she'll need parts and tools from resyke.
Torrence assures you he can find info on the experiments and "the lovely Priscilla", no problem.
Tunde offers some ideas for inserting a splice in the video feeds. When he asks about bringing in someone like Aiden, what do you say, Temperance?
As you finalize this plan, the bathroom from Corporal Nul's side opens up. Seems like he's coming through.
What do you do?
Mark,
When you come through to Torrence's room, you see Temperance, Trish, Torrence and Tunde, all chatting and "hanging out".What do you do?
Temperance,
Also, you get a message on your Navi.Temperance Staffing on the bridge is short and we need volunteers. This will amount to a two-week project where we try to shore up the bridge crew and get the ship through the nebula and back firmly onto the Beacon Path. I don't know you very well, but you have a reputation for making connections and reading people. I'd like to have you on the bridge as the Chief Comms officer, keeping the Bridge internally and externally informed. If you can't or won't, I would appreciate any alternatives you had in mind, but please consider it. Tabitha"Tunde, recruit whoever you need, but recruit them. Aiden, whoever, just make sure they're on board. And before we all go our merry ways..." At the same time, the door opens and the Navi indicates I have a message. I focus on the here and now. "Yes, Corporal Nul?
I look around the room. Everyone seems kind of far away, or not real somehow. Like dolls.
"Hey." Oh right, I'm supposed to say something. "Everything... under way?"
Null is checking in on me? "Yeah, Corporal, unless you've got something to add?"
Thats... weirdly hostile. Dunno what her drokking problem is.
"Okaaaay..." I would just leave, but I have a job to do. The voice wants this to work. "So what is the plan? And is there anything I could be doing to help it?"
I shrug a little. "Ourania's the one with the plan. I'm just providing tech support and recruitment services." I give Mark a smile. "Sorry I reacted that way, Mark. I guess we're on the same team now, sort of, but you've been pretty harsh since we transferred into class. Seen it with other people, too. Is the Corp thing not sitting well with you?"
I don't think anyone really likes it. Maybe Eff. Tek, I think, does it because the voice told him to.
"I only signed up so I could get Tabitha out of iso. It was my half of the deal." I shrug. "It might seem harsh, but we try to do just enough to keep the adults from revoking privileges. And no more. You just got to keep things off-camera and we're all safer."
"Bull. I stood up when you didn't, that first day I was in class, and you tried to make me the bad guy when stomm was going down. That's not just enough, Mark. Things were going to chaos and you watched until someone actually tried to resolve it. If we're going to do this together, I need to understand why. Understand what the drokk is going through your brain when you get mean, so I can either support you if it makes sense or shut you down if it doesn't."
Wow, it's like she's living in her own little world. I shake my head, pity mixed with disbelief. Some of us really are still children.
"Whatever, Johns. You tell yourself whatever you want."
I give an honest answer and this is what I get back. Well, Temperance can get to drokk. She might impress her little hangers-on but I don't need or want her approval. I head for the door. The real door, to the corridor outside.
Mark and Temperance,
Oh yeah, that's right. The toadies.
"Oh really? That's real interesting, Trish. Is Temperance a doctor? Or on the trauma team? No. She's a kid in school, like all of us. All I did was tell you guys to sit down. Because you were interfering. The fact that you are all apparently still even upset about this - days later - is... kind of amazing and immature."
Seriously, this didn't even register with me at the time, yet it's a big deal to them. I guess the princess doesn't like being told what to do, ever.
Mark and Temperance,
What do you do?
I nod, although I can see it's her approval Tunde wants, not mine.
As for whether Rys and Eff ever messed with him, yeah, I 'm sure they did. What no one seems to realise is that if we did exactly what the corp handbook says we're supposed to, everyone would be in iso, like, all the time. You can't tell people that, though, because everyone thinks they're the one that won't get caught and they'd ruin things for everyone.
Of course, now we've moved onto physical-force revolution, none of this matters any more. These are grievances that will be irrelevant within the next 24 hours or so.
"Tunde, if you can sum things up, be my guest. As far as I know, we're rigging the detonator, finding Priscilla and information about the anti-plague trials, and working on access to security monitoring and getting eyes on the bridge, yeah? And I'm about to start recruiting. Those are our parts of the plan, Corporal Nul, if you need a specific task maybe Ourania would be the better person to ask? Or Pax? or the AAU?" That last is a shot in the dark. It seems to be a common factor.
Nod, nod.
"Pax is probably a non-starter, but the other two yeah, I could--" Wait. What? "Did you say Priscilla? Why are you looking for Pris?"
"I honestly don't know. Ourania asked, and like I said, she seemed to have something like a plan." I shrug. "Just following orders."
Hrm. Not sure how happy I am about this.
"Uh, yeah. I'll ask her. Just I kinda went to a lot of effort to hide her, you know?"
That one's easy. "No. I don't know. But it doesn't really matter. You and Ourania work it out. I honestly have no clue what's going on under the surface here, but the big picture's got me worried enough to ask my friends to do a little digging. Every answer is a piece of the puzzle. Although, if you know where Priscilla is, you could spare us some effort and just tell Ourania yourself. Or tell her to withdraw the question."
Temperance,
Did you want to spend a string to convince Mark to tell you where Pris is? It doesn't sound like it, but worth checking.
I shake my head. "I don't actually know where she is. So that no one can get that information out of me."
Which I am maybe slightly regretting now, but it seemed like the only option at the time.
I look across the room and catch sight of myself in a mirror on the desk. I look... different somehow. Paler, though that could just be the lights. More kind of angular, like the my cheekbones and jaw seem sharper, but that's impossible.
I look back to Temperance and she has this kind of appraising look on her too, as my gaze locks with hers. Maybe she sees something. Maybe I should go to med bay.
------
That Mark guy sure is handsome, eh?
Mark,
Sounds like you're Disaffected self might be Turning Someone On here? Let's see that roll with Cold.
Immediately spending the string to give Temperance the condition Hot For Mark
Mark represents everything wrong with our little world. Authority without understanding. Power without puissance. And yet, there's something about him right now. Pale, drawn... uh, Byronesque? Byronic? Not sure I remember the right adjective, but the effect is kind of... intriguing.
I look at the T's. "You all have your jobs. Sorry, but I need the room for a bit." As they leave, I give Mark a look. A look. Like "so, what do you have to back this up, big boy?"
Huh. What does that look mean? I wait for the Ts to go before I say anything.
Mark and Temperance ,
The T's head out, with Torrence giving you a warning look, Mark, and the pair of you are alone.
I try to remember if I knew anything about Temperance before the quarantine. Her family is in Systems, I think. I probably got introduced to her parents, when I was small. I don't recall.
"Sooo...." I run one hand through the back of my hair. "What did you want to talk about?"
Mark and Temperance ,
The door opens, a keycode entry, not automatic. Ourania peers inside. She looks troubled.
Ourania,
Like Torrence told you, Corporal Nul is here, in his drokking room. Speaking of drokking, Temperance looks a little flushed, and there's something about their body language, how close they are together, seems almost... intimate?
What do you do?
"Oh," I look between the two of them. Feeling my own cheeks heat. "Uh... Stomm...Sorry. I'll.. Uhm..." I'm stuck for a moment in indecision.
"No, stay... I stand up and move away from Mark. Thought I felt a thing, but apparently I misread the situation. Still... I glance back as I pull out my Navi and think about checking that message that pinged in recently. "Corporal Nul was just wondering why I was looking for Pris, and I have to be honest that I'm without a clue."
I'll give Ourania the chance to answer while I check my message. From Tabitha? I start frowning as I read it. An interesting twist, this.
"Um... Okay." I say and step into the room, knowing that I did just interrupt something but unable to really undo it. The awkwardness seems to linger in the air.
I look at Mark as Temperance checks her Navi"I want to make sure she's still alive. Steal her if we need to, so they can't finish and kill her for the cure they've been working on. Part of the demands will be to make her well, if they can. She wasn't in med anymore when I left it, so we need to know where she has gone to. That's why I want them" I motion to Temperance "to find the vaccine-testing profiles too. I can't believe that Pris was the only optimal candidate for development. They could have asked for a volunteer. I need to prove that they had options, hopefully a lot of them. Look for anyone who might have gotten a pass based on who they're related to." I say. Me, for example.
"But the reason I was looking for you is... Well I was trying to get nav data from the bridge and I got dethed like twenty minutes ago. I don't know by who."
I hold up my navi. "And speaking of the bridge, I got this from Tabitha, about the time we started here." I hand Ourania my navi, with the message on-screen.
I try to take in everything Ourania is telling me. Seems like she has come up with a pretty comprehensive plan.
"Pris is safe," I say. "I don't know where she is, but she's safe. I took her out from the med bay. If you think we really need to find her, then OK - but I think she's better protected if she stays hidden from the systems."
I pull up Ourania's status on my Navi screen. "Now, let's see what's up with you getting dethed."
Mark took her? Then he gave her to... I can't decide if that's better than the 'adults' or not, but I'm a little relieved. Iso is the only logical place for the machine to hide her, and she'd be damn hard to find.
"You gave her to the AAU , then." I say. I glance at into Temperance's pretty eyes to see what she thinks, and take the Navi from her. At least admin doesn't have Pris. That will help... maybe.
I look at the Navi Temperance gave me. I nod "I got one too. The deth happened right after I got a similar message. We might need to revise our plan."
There's a hint of disapproval in Ourania's voice. She may be right about that.
"I was getting a little desperate at the time," I offer as some kind of explanation.
Mark,
The auth codes for the dething are spoofed. You can override them, of course.
Red Five? Aiden could do it, but I don't think he would. Without saying anything, I override the codes and cancel the locks tagged onto Ourania's ID.
"Yeah, here we go. I can override that easy enough. But... ah, what's it worth to you?"
I look up and meet Ourania's gaze, arching an eyebrow. Hold it for just long enough for her to start to think I'd really do that, then smirk at around the same time I start to get the first throbs of that keening headache.
"Hah, yeah no, I'm just drokking with you. You should be back in the land of the living already. But while I'm asking for favours, can you undo that whole no-lying thing? I mean, if it's tough or impossible, no big deal." I shrug. "Kind of makes life better anyway. But if someone asks me what you're up to, I'd like to say I don't know."
I nod at Mark's desperation. If I'd had his options I probably would have done the same thing. Down in there somewhere it seems he really does care about Pris.
I tense for the second that Mark implies a trade my mind already going through what I could possibly offer. I crack a bit of a smile when he says he's messing with me.
I had almost forgotten about the lying hex. "I think I can do that. Come here." I move to stand in front of him and reach up, placing my hands on either side of his face while staring deep into those pretty eyes for the string of power I need to untie.
Ourania,
For Ring of Lies, you rolled a 10. Per the move:
Hex-Casting:
You can cast Hexes. Choose two that you know. To cast them, either expend a sympathetic token during a secret ritual, or meet the target’s gaze and chant at them in tongues. Then roll with dark. On a 10 up, the Hex works, and can easily be reversed.
You can drop it at your will. You know, you could demand a kiss for it. To "mess with him" or whatever.
I search for several long moments as the intensity and intimacy of this moment pushes up my heart rate and heats my body. Finally I find it, clear and easy to dissipate.
"Okay." I breathe. "Kiss me."
Now I'm the one to look away, uncomfortable with whatever is going on here. I'm completely at a loss, the intricate spirals of these relationships much more a whirlpool looking to suck in the players than the comprehensible, organized dance I've built up around myself.
Unconsciously, I edge toward the door, on the verge of removing myself from the whole thing. If Ourania didn't still have my Navi, I'd be gone.
Drokk that. I don't run away. "Whenever you're through, I'm still here."
Ourania's hands are really cool. Not as in zeng, as in the opposite of warm. I look back at her, unblinking. She really does have pretty eyes. If more people told her that, things might be different.
I lean in, and I hear a hitch in her breath just before our lips meet.
+2 Cold
(Rolled: 2d6+2. Rolls: 2, 4. Total: 8)
+1xp
take a string, Mark
Kiss me? I can't explain it. Spur of the moment. The intimacy. Remnants of old fantasies. An opportunity. Temperance's comment breaks the spell a little and I'm stuck wondering whether to take the embarrassment of admitting the kiss isn't necessary to break the spell for just a second before his lips meet mine. Stars, he's a good kisser. So good I almost forget to dissipate the hex. I break the kiss a tad abruptly and step back, looking down a moment to gain composure, now a embarrassed. Face heated both from that and from the kiss.
"Sorry..." I say to no one in particular. "Uh... you know...Magic. You should be good now... clear." I continue as if that explains everything. I hand Temperance her Navi with only a sidelong glance. Not willing to hold her eyes for the moment.
I clear my throat. "So... Uh... Do you know who that was? Who dethed me I mean?"
I shake my head. "I don't know. But I got my suspicions."
Temperance looks confused. And annoyed. As well she might. I look from one girl to the other.
"OK, let's try out this lying thing: I am not at all curious about how Ourania happens to have magical powers."
Yep. No backlash.
I look between them, calmer now. I consider Mark's question, indirect though it might be. I suppose it's a gesture of trust to share it. I can't be trusted unless I show I'm willing to trust them. With an internal quiver I back against a wall and start.
"I don't really know, exactly. I just... Well I started collecting things a long time ago. Things that have energy behind them. I... I can feel it. One day... well more like a over a week or so I became aware that I could feel this energy and I realized that these things I'd collected had it. It was almost like someone flipped a switch. Then I found I could manipulate it, especially if I had something to work with as a channel... though that's pretty new. Me being sick? I shrug That was a bounce back I wasn't ready for."
I paus a moment, then I look at Temperance.
"Now... the real question is do we go help Tabitha with the bridge, and how does it affect our plans?
It's a thought, but going to the other side, even someplace as critical as the bridge... that's leaving behind my strength, which is my people and my connections. "I'm not sure of the long-term plans, but won't it be hard to manage a rebellion here if we're there?"
"I did find a place in the ship to, you know, threaten for maximum effect. But if you have control of the bridge, maybe that's a better starting point."
I'm not sure Ourania is up to blackmailing the crew with a suicide bomb, anyway. Breaking quarantine by taking off a spacesuit seems easier to do.
I nod to Temperance. "Yes, it will. The need of the bridge is in itself leverage, though. As much as I want to help Tabitha..." And I do, very much. "We can hold back, and maybe use the bomb as a threat to prevent anyone else from going, at least until they've listened to us, and given us some real concessions."
I let out a breath. "On top of all this, the illness hex that bounced back? After I managed to push it off it hit my intended target." I look at them both, my chest clinching as I think of my mother's gaunt face. "The Commandant is very, very sick."
I almost laugh when I realise that it was Ourania who made herself sick all this time. But then she looks really sad, so I rein it in.
"I wasn't invited but I could help... talk people out of going. If need be."
That or stun them and lock them in the storage closet.
"So, am I recruiting people for a rebellion, or recruiting them to ignore Tabitha's messages and the ones that follow? I really just need a clear direction, and you both are all over the place. Read your history. Personal motivations sink revolutions."
"I am not. It's the same thing. We don't do anything that the adults want-that includes manning the bridge-until they listen to us. Recruit them to the rebellion. But the rebellion is not going to the bridge or letting anyone else do it either." I say, straightening up from the wall.
"Mark you said you had the place, right?" I turn back to Temperance. "So, how's that trigger coming? You have an ETA?"
"So we're abandoning Tabitha? Just being clear. And, yeah, we're working on your trigger. It might take another few hours." Without my little addition, it would take Trish no time, but to give me the cut-off? An extra hour at least.
It sounds bad, when she puts it like that. Abandoning Tabitha.
"I have the place. The airlock that killed me. I can show you the way, when the trigger is ready. We can seal off the connection to the quarantine area, so that the threat is only to the rest of the ship."
End Scene.