<> <> <> <> <> ( Test out the new karaoke lobster suit ) <> * Vera awaits Vernon. This project better be very easy. And worthwhile. * Leopoldo waits patiently. * Threnody also waits. He's wearing a tight sleeveless black shirt, somewhat baggy cargos, and sneakers. And for the first time in weeks he looks more or less happy instead of preoccupied, insane, or tired. * Fitzroy waits, seemingly absorbed in his TSM. * Vernon appears from one of the elevators, preceded by beeping noises and squawks from his headset. "Look, I don't *care* how many pipes you have to put on the chip, just get the fab to DO it. It's vital for stability, okay?" * Rochelle is there. Her hands are jammed in her pockets, and she turns to give Vernon a blank stare. * Vernon pushes a button on his headset, which causes more beeping. He starts juggling gadgets. * Katherine is waiting too, and although she isn't as happy as Thren, she doesn't seem angry at the moment. Someone take a picture, because that might just change. * Ian is in normalish clothing for once, wearing a buttondown and jeans. He raises an eyebrow at Vernon's entrance. * Vernon looks up. "...ah. Sorry if I kept you all waiting." Did everyone have a pleasant vacation? * Threnody smiles. "More or less." * Ian nods. "I did, thanks. ...busy day?" For the most part. * Katherine chuckles a little. "Coulda gone worse. Coulda gone better." She looks at Vernon with an even gaze. Well, I'm sure you've all heard about the new attacks. We're actually digging a whole new wing to hold all of the victims. * Fitzroy glances over at Vernon and shrugs. * Rochelle just keeps giving Vernon that blank stare. Creepy? He's probably used to that sort of thing. * Vera shrugs. * Vernon starts back towards the elevators. "Please, follow me. I'll explain your new project on the way - it's a good distance down." <> * Leopoldo nods slowly. "Uh, okay." * Vernon gets into one of the elevators, and holds the door. * Katherine walks in. "Yeah, sure." She stands closeish to Vernon. * Fitzroy follows. He looks less busy now. * Vera gets in the elevator. * Ian gets into the elevator and looks around, determinedly prepared to be amused by the inevitable madness. * Leopoldo follows. * Rochelle stands there. Maybe she's trying to do a Deme impression. * Vernon plays the BGM from Super Mario Brothers on the elevator buttons. Hey Rochelle! The elevator's leaving! (Roch... isn't following?) * Rochelle blinks. "Huh? Oh." She heads into the elevator. (Thren?) * Threnody follows, giving Roch a curious look as he does so. * Rochelle doesn't respond. She doesn't even seem to notice, but she does get on the elevator. Are you okay? <> "This line is an express elevator to DimTech. If you are not wishing to go to DimTech, it's just too damn late, and you can piss off!" <> Yeah. <> * Vernon raises an eyebrow, and then shrugs. All right. The situation today is that DimTech has invented a machine that will allow for fairly reliable interdimensional transit. Ronnie has pushed together a prototype. Mmmhmm? And? This means that we may finally be able to get some solid data on these...beings that are causing all the trouble. You sure that's a good idea? * Vernon leans against the wall. "Well, we have to do something. The attacks are increasing, and all indications are that they're extremely nasty." * Ian nods. * Threnody frowns. "Some very deeply buried ancestral memory is telling me to be wary of 'SIG-ASP' and 'prototype'. Are you sure it's safe?" Yeah... But any reason for us and not, you know, somebody more trained in this kind of thing? So. We were hoping that you would be willing to try this out and take some readings. * Katherine stands near Vernon and says in a doubting tone, "You haven't tested it with drones?" * Vernon smiles. "I know our reputation, but this is one of the safer prototypes we've had in a long time. And our record isn't *that* bad - it's the failures you hear about." It's the failures that would worry me. So send some ATC people to do it. * Vernon nods. "This is true. Nothing, after all, is risk-free. Another reason to ask you to do this is because you're the only ones who have run into these nasty beings before." * Rochelle keeps a blank look on the door. She's so not participating in this conversation. * Vernon nods to Katherine, as well. "We did test it - worked fine." So, you're saying out of all those incidents and all those people, not one of them has encountered one of them? So why do we need to take readings? Hmm. Well, I should say that you're the only ones who really have a handle on it. Some of the victims know, certainly, but... * Vernon replies to Kat, "The drones are very limited in range, especially over dimensional boundaries." * Threnody blinks, glancing around nervously a moment. * Katherine gestures towards Vernon and says, "So build a better one. Robots are designed to take readings. You don't bring in a team of 7 random people to 'take readings'." * Leopoldo nods. The robots work fine - it's the communications link that's a real problem. That's not going to be solved quickly, I'm afraid. Uh-huh. And how do you expect to communicate with us across boundries. I would think a robot, if intended to come back, would have recording equipment as well. * Katherine frowns thinly, but shuts up. So like I said, get some ATC people to do it. * Vernon shrugs. "We can communicate just a short distance over a boundary, but to get useful data, we're going to need people with some autonomy and intelligence to go further - ones who will recognize signs of the beings, and be more capable of dealing with them than our military people are. Military's not really going to help at this point." * Leopoldo chuckles. "Wait, you're saying we're more effective than the military? Oh, that's a laugh." * Threnody puts up a hand. "Hold on a moment." * Vernon raises an eyebrow. "For dealing with these things? Yes." Will we be tangible to them? If we find one, are we going to have to fight it? * Fitzroy raises an eyebrow, "And your scientists are no good either?" Hell, I don't know what the signs of these beings are, 'cept they look like apes or somethin' (Whcih I'm sure they'd know, as the aliens likely trashed any recon bots that went through.) I have no idea. And no, not beyond holding it off long enough to run. * Threnody frowns. "...okay, now that sounds a little suspicious. Why not send in trained xenologists?" Send in trained xenologists with an escort, even. * Threnody nods in agreement. "Is there something you're not telling us?" Xenology's a very, very small section, and is incredibly overwhelmed with all of these victims. One thing that should reassure you is that you're not going all the way there, so to speak - you'll be a little out of phase. Less dangerous if you do run into these things. How much less dangerous? * Ian hmms. "What use is the data that we'll be getting?" * Vernon shrugs. "How do you measure something like that? I don't think it's likely that you'll end up fighting." Hopefully, we'll be able to figure out how to keep them from intruding in peoples' minds. Me too, because I don't think it's likely that I'll end up going. Why is it the last bunch of times I was told there wouldn't be fighting, fighting broke out anyways? Or, at least it was implied there wouldn't be fighting. * Threnody sighs and leans back against the elevator wall, suddenly wincing and rubbing his forehead. "I want to give you the benefit of the doubt, Doctor Marcus, but this hardly seems like 'an easy little errand'." * Katherine chuckles. "Because the intel's never right, Leo. And yeah, Vern, you have to admit. This is more like a long term troubleshooting team than a short-term research team. Decent mix of genders, capabilities, backgrounds." * Vernon sighs. "Your choice. My other options are wacked-out scientists that haven't slept in 36 hours, or infantry with large boots and grenade launchers. Neither's going to be much use for dimensional exploration." Sounds to me like they just need a few guinea pigs to test their new toy. Probably can't get authorization to use employees from other departments, not that that's surprising. As for being out of phase - they can't fight you if they can't hit you. (...but that was what I asked him!) (*clubs Vernon*) (Are we still going down? @_@) (Yes.) * Vernon actually laughs tiredly. "For this, authorization is not a problem. Ronnie's *into* this." * Katherine 's ears twitch, then she says, "Have you even done a live short term test? Lord." She rubs her head. "So, what's the actual damn setup? Since we couldn't possibly be in real contact." 2d6-2 * Dicesuke throws the bones for Rochelle (2d6-2) and gets 3. * Vernon nods. "We've done a couple of live tests, with interns. The plan is that we send you through, slightly out of phase, with equipment that will read everything within a close spectrum. You walk out a little ways further than our comm can go, take data, and head back. In the unlikely event that you do run into anything, just hurry back, as it shouldn't be able to do any damage." And what if it does? Then you go faster and do what you can to keep it confused until you've made it through. * Fitzroy hmms and frowns. We've no idea what weapons will work - that's another thing we'd need hard data for. You mean the weapons we can't hit them with since we're out of phase? Or are you talking about their weapons? Not that it matters, since they'll probably just mind control us and get us to shoot each other. * Threnody rubs the back of his neck. "I'm not completely objected to going, but... this isn't something you *spring* on people." Weapons wouldn't work on either side, I don't think. Theirs because you're out of phase, and yours because we have no idea what works. Although...yours is Elder Tech, isn't it, Vera? * Rochelle twitches, and her eyes glaze over. Yeah, I got a big gun from them. * Vernon nods. "I know, and I apologize. This whole project was sort of sprung on us, too." Hmm. Well, if you do run into one, try it out. Elder Tech might be able to hurt them. * Rochelle stays that way for half a moment before she shivers and backpedals into whoever's behind her. (Who *is* behind me, anyway?) Uh...are you okay, Roch? * Katherine frowns. "Sprung on you a week ago." She looks over at Roch too. * Leopoldo takes this in, watching Rochelle back into him. "You're definetly not okay, are you?" (I am, because nobody else is. :P) * Vernon grins. "Something like this, a week counts as sprung." * Vernon then blinks at Rochelle. * Threnody grits his teeth. "There is. I'm sorry, please let me handle it." * Rochelle shuts her eyes and screams. There's nothing but fear in there, and she more or less bounces off of Leo and crumples forward, ending up on the floor. * Rochelle doesn't stop the screaming, though, and her eyes open but she's not *looking* at anything. She claws at the air. * Vera glances down at Roch, briefly, then back at Vernon. "I'm sorry, you should really get your own military types if you want combat data. I know you've got a boat-load of 'Elder Tech' stuff; one of them's got to be a weapon. * Katherine looks as if she wants to move, but she's just not close enough. She does exclaim, "Roch!" * Vernon quickly leans down and looks at Rochelle, concerned. "Threnody, what's going on?" * Threnody frowns, bites his lip, says "I'm really, REALLY SORRY," and promptly leans down and slaps Rochelle across the face. * Katherine is stuck between Vern and Leo. >_< * Leopoldo keeps Rochelle from actually hitting anyone and, well, watches Thren slap her. * Ian is on the other side of the elevator, looking worried. (There was no bucket of cold water handy. ^_^) (I don't think. What's in your pockets, Vern?) (Sss, what hasss he got in hisss pocketsssess?) * Rochelle takes the slap and grabs Thren by the arm, digging her nails in ruthlessly. She gasps, though, and chokes on another scream, as tears start to trickle out of the corners of her eyes. * Leopoldo looks mostly dumbfounded. "Uh... That's *definetly* not normal." * Threnody grits his teeth. "No, it's not, and I can't say anything about why, so I'm hoping you'll all forgive me in the end." He lets Roch dig in. He's got blood to spare. Figures. * Vernon hits the emergency stop! * Katherine looks at Roch with a little worry. "Good call, Leo." * Fitzroy blinks.. * Threnody shuts his eyes and takes a measured breath. * Vernon frowns. "She didn't look well earlier..." * Threnody doesn't stay that way long, though. His eyes shoot open, unfocused, and his mouth opens a little, making strangled sounds. She looked LESS well. Slightly different, for her. * Katherine looks over at Vernon. "Get us to your fucking xeno-whatsit, right the fuck now, you moron." * Vernon starts punching buttons. "Right!" <> Hold tight! * Katherine whispers, "God dammit, Thren, Roch." She clenches her fists. * Leopoldo sighs. "What the heck..." * Threnody doesn't shut his eyes; they stay nicely unfocused, but he's at least breathing again, though it's the heavy breathing of concentrated effort. * Vernon clicks a few buttons on his headset. "Get diagnostics over by the elevator." * Rochelle reaches up uselessly with her other hand and grabs nothing. She kicks. It's depressingly weak. * Leopoldo looks over at Kat. "You know her better than me... should I try something... more?" * Threnody squeezes his eyes shut tight, suddenly, and is mouthing something unintelligble around big gulps of air. * Katherine shakes her head. "Just... watch. Fuck, now I wish I were telepathic. Out of the way, Vern." * Vernon nods, and moves. <> * Katherine tries to get over to Thren, on the off chance he's trying to mouth something that she can understand. When they hit the bottom, she starts to work an arm around lifting him. (It's gibberish. Well, wrong. It's Japanese.) (Which is a lot like gibberish. Good thing Kat's head computer can't translate. ^_^;) <> Out! * Vernon hops out of the elevator and to the side. * Fitzroy gets out of the way quickly. * Leopoldo picks up Rochelle and hands her over to the medic team. * Vera gets out of the way. "Christ, turning out to be a great week." * Ian is in the back of the elevator. * Katherine mutters, "Dammit, Thren, speak something sensical." She tries to help Thren up and keep him connected to Roch, on the off chance that's important. Who knows? It's just the beginning of the week. Don't say that. Why? You think it's gonna get better? I doubt it. * Threnody somehow *resists* being moved despite not really making an overt move to fight help off. * Threnody manages to stammer out: "Don't... back." * Katherine frowns. "Dammit, Thren, the Roch train is leaving--what?" * Rochelle lets go of Thren's arm and shuts her eyes. She's unconscious. <> ( Neat trick @_@ ) ( They must be psychic medics ) (They are, actually.) I can hope. (They've got hoverboots! The wave of the future!) * Threnody slumps once Roch lets go. He looks *exhausted*, to the tune of having just run a marathon. * Katherine is holding him up! She's got body, she can manage. "Jesus, Thren." <> * Vernon collars one of the less hands-on medics and explains what happened. * Threnody takes nice deep breaths. He's dead weight, but unlike Roch's he *awake*. "She needs rest... her mind hasta... process wha... she saw." (I am slurring! I'm no Earther. ;_;) (*takes away Thren's citizenship*) (Now where will I live? ;_;) (Well, I got this box I'm not using anymore...) (No you don't. Hettie welded it to hers.) (*Damn* it. Move out for a month and see what happens.) * Katherine says, "... just that? Jesus, I thought that one of those things had got her." She keeps holding him up and says in a vague attempt to convince, "Come on, let's get out of the elevator." Mm? What'd she see? * Threnody says, solemnly: "Death." Whose? <> "She, uh. Looks fine, actually. Pulse is returning to normal, brainwaves okay, no sign of extradim particulates. Whatever it was, it's over." * Vernon relaxes a little. "Thank you." * Threnody grits his teeth. He looks alright, just tired. "Hers." Huh. Must've been a pretty bad one. That sucks. * Ian winces. What could have brought that on? Maybe she sees the future. * Threnody rubs his face tiredly. "It's... a long story. Can I have... a chair of some... sort?" Or a version of it. Probably went looking for the wrong thing. * Katherine is helping Thren move, which would help him get to a chair if one is around! <> * Vera looks for a chair for Thren. (So what's Thren play?) * Vera finds several! They're self-moving @_@ (They're coming for you!) (Bari sax.) * Vera leans against the wall. She pulls out a cigarette. "Wonder if she saw the while light or the skeleton guy with that hookie blade? Usually it's one or the other." * Threnody successfully makes it into a chair! Into which he slumps. "Ow." * Vernon takes a seat, as well. "That...was sudden..." * Katherine helps/lets Thren sit down, whichever is appropriate. "Who knows? Minds get tricky." Didn't sound like one of those two to me. * Ian leans against the wall! * Leopoldo stays standing. * Vera lights up. "Guess not." <> Well, guess we're not gonna be jumping to other dimmensions now. Sorry, Vernon. * Vernon looks up at Vera, and frowns. "Smoking in here is..." He grins. "Just fine, the techs wouldn't survive otherwise. And no, certainly not right after that." * Vera chuckles. "Glad you approve." <> * Threnody knits his brow. "Not sure it's safe." * Katherine looks around, then says, "You guys don't need me here. I'll be back." She stalks after Roch. (... you dork.) * Threnody shakes his head. "Stay." (You can sort of assume Thren's got that tired rag doll effect going on so I don't have to keep reiterating it.) (You can have him flop in random directions.) (And then one of his button eyes pop out.) ("To the pain!") (*cackle*) (The GM shakes Thren! Like a polaroid picture!) (Yes! :D) (Now I shall see Thren as Westley for the rest of my days, DAMN YOU.) * Katherine stops and looks back at Thren. "Why? You don't." * Vera shrugs. "Not like it's gonna matter whether you're here or there. She won't be going anywhere for a while." * Threnody struggles to sit up a little. "She can't hear you. She'll... ow... be out for a long time, I can guarantee. And you'll need... to hear all this." (Thren as Wesley isn't far off the mark, if you stop to think about it. All he's missing is Twu Wuv, and he can find him some of that on the streets tonight.) (The streets are 500 meters above us.) (I'd bet a lot higher than that. >_<) (Yup.) (You're deep inside the ATCERV Geofront.) * Katherine turns around slowly. "Alright, fine." (EvRongelion). * Vera smokes. Choo choo! (Yeah, I can see Ronnie as Misato.) (But that would make Lenin Pen-Pen.) (Shut up now.) Okay, let's hear it then. * Ian nods. Yeah, what imminent doom is about to befall us? This time. * Threnody runs his hands through his hair. "I don't know where to start..." ( This time it's *spins the wheel* Cyborg ninjas! ) How about the beginning? (DOn't be silly. Isis is on Earth.) (Not THAT far back. <.<) (I was talking to Vera.) (Of course, okay.) * Katherine 's ears twitch. "Why not start with what just happened, and work your way back?" * Threnody nods slowly and slumps forward a little. "Rochelle... just had a vision of her own death, and believe me... the monster you 'saw' in Kat's apartment doesn't compare." Roch saw her death. She went looking for it, probably as we got on our elevator or just before then. * Threnody shakes his head. "No, she wasn't looking for it." She wasn't? Huh. * Threnody nods. "Rochelle... I don't know that she's 'prophetic', but something about her 24 power gives her inklings of things that will happen. It's not the same as Anders' power... I don't think it's as detailed. She gets impressions, moods, feelings instead." * Ian nods... * Vera folds her arms and nods. And smokes! * Katherine mutters, "Nobody'd ever look for that anyway." She still can get a feel of the future. She saw her own death, and I'm guessing what she saw around her put her into a state of shock. * Vera shrugs. "I figured she went looking for the result of visiting this other dimension." Can you go 'looking' for the future? More importantly, would you even find anything? Beats me. * Threnody shakes his head. "No, she couldn't. On Earth, when we went for Anders, her power suddenly stopped working. She... saw a 'blank spot', and it terrified her." I can see why... * Leopoldo nods. "It's similar to how I get nervous in a radio dead zone. Things don't feel 'natural'." ( This is too deep for Dicey ) (He can't handle the pressure.) * Katherine mms faintly. * Threnody knits his brow. "She was panicking all the way down here. I think it's the first time she's been without that 'sense'... she didn't go looking for her death. I think it just found her." Guess it makes sense. * Fitzroy nods. * Threnody gets a sort of vacant look. "I can't describe how vivid it was. But it was... it was..." He actually makes a little noise, and then a mini-sob. It's sad! But adorable. Vivid. * Ian nods. * Katherine looks at Thren with a funny look, then sighs and crosses the room back over towards him from where she was stalking, and sits down. * Threnody looks at Vernon with actual terror, which is pretty rare for him. "I don't think we should go. There was... something smiling in the dark. I don't know what it was... it was..." He makes a choked noise again. "...hungry." * Vernon raises an eyebrow. "Something...there?" Ew. * Leopoldo frowns. ( Interesting story. Who's up for some burgers? ) * Threnody shuts his eyes a moment. "I don't know how to describe it. Something was there." (Me! Oh wait, I'm unconscious.) So we don't go. Easy enough (As if it's that easy.) (As if it's EVER that easy.) ( Vernon: "Unfortunately, this room is already the transdimensional warp, and we set it to activate five minutes after you walked in... ) * Katherine sighs, then looks up. "Shit, though. If that's the thing that's attacking everyone, you can't just... leave it." So send an army to kill it. * Ian sighs. "As much as I'd rather avoid danger..." Running in and getting devoured or what not isn't an option, however. * Threnody leans back in the chair, looking at the ceiling. "We need to know more, first... maybe we just need more artifacts." (Citizens Demand More Artifacts) ("I can't. Not enough Artifacts") * Vera shrugs. "ATC has plenty." * Katherine looks straight at Vern. "You guys DO have plenty. And you know what the hell they do enough to give them names." * Vernon nods. "We do have quite a few. Studying them is what helped the DimTech folks to get this running in the first place, actually." * Threnody sits up suddenly. "...Anders." Was wondering if someone would think of that. More to the point, I wondered... why Dorian would be looking for power inhibitors. * Katherine mutters, then says, "I had figured Dorian would have already moved them. If he were smart..." Hmm... That part I don't understand. I mean, if he had Anders under his control, why would he need one of those things? * Threnody looks Rochward. Or wherever they took her. "If Anders had a vision like this?" * Ian blinks. * Vera blinks. "Holy crap. I figured he was just drugged up or something..." Rochelle said herself his are more explicit than hers, or so she thinks. And whatever it was she just saw was... That would only work, though, if... everyone was gonna die. * Vera shrugs at Kat. "Isn't that the way these things usually go?" * Threnody nods, saying quietly, "Everyone goes someday." * Katherine says, "Yeah, but that means that Roch wasn't seeing what would happen if she went." Um, yeah. She was seeing what would happen _anyway_. Maybe if she stayed. Hmm. Wow... So it could be one way or the other. I dunno, sounds like a pretty useless power. * Threnody shakes his head. "I don't think that's completely true, Katherine..." * Katherine looks over at Thren. "Do you know for sure?" * Threnody makes the effort to turn in her direction, and winces slightly. "There was no way to know. It's like it *assaulted* her out of nowhere. She said... she said she was 'closing in' on the point where her vision went dark, the further the elevator went." It sounds like the power just finds the most likely outcome and uses that. * Katherine 's face looks set. "Then we ask the only other person who might have a clue." * Vera chuckles. "So damned if we do, and damned if we don't, Leo?" * Threnody sighs. "I don't believe any of it. Rochelle was being attacked by her own fear as much as anything else. She was intensely afraid of losing the security of knowing what was going to happen." Yeah, it's gotta suck to be normal like the rest of us. * Vernon nods. "I wonder if the effect just came from the shielding and general interference in here." * Katherine glares at Vera. "Oh, shut the hell up. Jesus. You try living with shit you can't control for a few years." How do you know I haven't, Kat? * Threnody glances at Vera, though not unsympathetically. "Imagine if you were to suddenly go blind. That's what it felt like to her, just like how losing my power would feel to me. It becomes ingrained, after a while." * Katherine rolls her eyes. "Get some goddamn sympathy, then." * Vera blinks at Kat. "What, you're not happy with me treating her the same way she'd treat me if our positions were reversed?" * Ian sighs, and starts to read a book. Maybe I could be nice and tell her she's gonna die, like she did to me once. * Threnody glances at Vernon, content to let Vera and Kat fight it out. "How's Anders?" * Leopoldo sighs and takes a seat. Could have left Edward in Red NYC, too, and we would have died to that HEX, or never gotten past it in time. Ever think about that? He's alive, and doing well. There's an inhibitor on him 24-7. * Threnody nods slowly. "Maybe we should talk to him, when he's up to it." Yeah, actually I think of that quite frequently. Funny you should ask. * Vernon nods. "Not immediately, but we could arrange that soon. He's fully alert." * Katherine snorts, then stands. "Think about it a little more, then, and wonder why someone who didn't even want to tell you about her powers would risk it just to let you know you would die if you made the wrong choice." * Katherine stalks off Rochward. Quickly. Mm... More like maybe she kept me from making the right choice. * Threnody shakes his head. "That's the problem, isn't it? And I'm sure it's why she's never mentioned her powers. The future's not a sure thing. Just because you can see something happened doesn't mean you know the whys or the hows." * Vernon nods. * Threnody lowers his eyes. "She saw that if Edward didn't go to Sweden with us, everyone would die. So we deceived everyone but Roy, and took him along, rather than hurt Demetreia more by forcing the issue. It might not have been the best choice, but we did what we felt was right." * Vera folds her arms and inhales on her cigarette. I can understand that. Or she could have said, "Hey, I can see the future, and if we go without Edward, everyone dies!" * Threnody raises an eyebrow curiously. "Would you have believed her?" Who the hell knows? * Ian nods. "...I think that was right." Things like this are always, well, complicated. And how. But I still don't buy it. * Threnody tilts his head. "Buy what?" What if she misinterprets? (Work on winding down,) * Threnody nods. "Why do you think most of the time she doesn't say anything?" So what if she was wrong, and some of us got killed trying to save you guys? You're saying she stays silent so she doesn't have to deal with the guilt if she's wrong? In that case, she should be happy she doesn't have the powers anymore. * Threnody shakes his head. "She stays silent because there's no way of knowing. Even she thinks that, deep down. It all ends up being what-ifs." But that didn't stop her from acting on it. * Ian starts to say, "I th..." and then shuts up, and nods to Thren. * Leopoldo shakes his head. "Why do you guys have to argue like this? You're arguing over something that is already past and can't be helped anymore. Maybe we should be thinking about something more important, like what the hell we're going to do now?" I'm thinking of the future. I don't want to die because she has a vision and decides to go do her own thing without telling anyone. How will it be different from if she doesn't act on her instincts? It wouldn't. Same problem. So you're arguing over nothing. * Threnody leans back his chair and sighs quietly. "How you respond is up to you. It's out in the open, now. She'll be unhappy with me, but..." He shuts his eyes. "...I'm really tired. I don't know how I didn't notice." * Vera shakes her head. "Fair enough." But I still don't like her. Thren, it was in the open already. I don't see why this wouldn't be different. I can set up rooms for all of you, and we can figure out what to do next in the morning. * Threnody shakes his head at Leo, eyes still shut. "She'll still be angry. I don't mind. She has a right to be." And, Vera, I'll be honest. I don't like you. And I don't know if anyone else in this room does either. I don't know why I'm sitting here with all of you. I'm clearly not suited to this and I know it. I've known it from the start, and the recent events have just confirmed what I felt. Yeah, well, me neither. * Threnody suddenly gives a chuckle. "We're all blue." Well, after what happened... * Threnody sits up and runs his hands through his hair. "No... Rochelle can see auras, somewhat. We all have a blue color, and people of like colors tend to attract each other somehow. Or so she says." * Ian raises an eyebrow. "Really?" * Threnody nods. "Really." Oookay. (Leo's response is the best. Gold star.) Huh, interesting. * Threnody stands up. "Mr. Marcus, I'm going to take you up on that offer. I'm not in any shape to be up and around." * Vernon nods, and runs off to arrange things. * Vera shuts her eyes. "Well..." So she sees auras, and we all have blue auras. Does that mean I'm just going to be tagging along for the rest of whatever is going to happen? We're all pretty well mixed up in this, I think. What I'm doing, at this point, is going with the flow. * Vera opens them. "You may not like me much, Leo, and I don't blame ya, but I am going to make sure we all live through this. That's all I gotta say." * Threnody shakes his head. "It means as much or as little as you put into it, Leo." He glances Lizardward. "I like Rochelle well enough, but I don't trust her power completely. I went along with her vision of Sweden because it coincided with my intuition. But I don't believe the future is preordained. I do what I feel I need to, and I take responsibility for what happens because of me. That's all I can do." I see a lot of risk in doing...well, anything associated with this whole mess, but I also see a lot of risk in not doing it. * Vernon reappears. "Okay. If you like, you guys can sleep on it...you've pretty much the run of the base." (Last poses. So Z.) * Threnody nods and smiles, wearily. "Thank you." * Vera takes her hat off long enough to run her hand through her hair. "I already need another vacation. With lots of alcohol." * Vernon nods. "Glad to help out. Thank you all, as well." * Leopoldo nods. "Yeah, well... * Threnody shakes his head, looking around. "Why don't we all sleep on it and make decisions with more rested, level heads?" * Leopoldo sighs. "I still wish I knew why I'm involved other than 'I'm blue'." (I Am Leopoldo (Blue)) <>