<> <> <> <> <> * Ian has been sitting here for a while, enjoying the DunnoScenery and doing some writing. He looks surprisingly peaceful for someone who, just the other day, was running around in a lobster outfit. * Rochelle is there, seated on a bench and looking around. She looks... fine, actually. Awake, not screaming, more or less alert, and as neutrally passive as ever. * Threnody is sitting a tasteful distance away from Rochelle, and doing the Red NYT crossword on a datapad with a stylus. * Fitzroy is sitting on the grass by a tree minding his own business for the most part. (on the same bench! I forgot that.() * Vera is leaning against a tree, arms folded, smoking a cigarette. Her eyes are closed. (Yeah, I was wondering why you decided to mention me. :P) * Leopoldo is sitting on a different bench, because he's like that. He's idly listening through the random transmissions that are bound to happen in SIG-ASP, but he'll come to if you bug him enough. * Rochelle tilts her head a moment, then looks over at Thren's puzzle. * Katherine walks into the room, looking sorta tired and carring a cup of what's probably DunnoCoffee. She mutters a little and doesns't find anywhere to sit, instead choosing to just stand and drink. <> * Threnody frowns, not noticing Roch. He appears to be looking for an 11 letter term for the clue "End of the century". * Vera doesn't seem to mind it all. (THEN IT EATS HER) * Ian waves hello to Katherine. ( Thren: Apocalypses! ) (And we spend all session working on crossword puzzles!) Hey Kat. * Katherine waves a little at Ian and Roch and such, then pulls a bottle out of her bag, shakes a pill out and swallows it with a mouthfull of coffee. "Ugh." Bad night? * Katherine looks over at Ian with a small grin. "Could have been a hell of a lot worse." * Ian nods. * Threnody frowns, and tries "Apocalypses". The datapad makes a little beep. "Well, that's not it." About time Vernon started heading down here... ( Hmm... Try Youaredoomd ) * Katherine looks around to see that everyone's here! "But it could have been better too-- oh? Thank god. Thought I'd have to pull out the pad, and I don't need more of a headache." <> * Rochelle spots that. "Might wanna get off the grass. Looks like it's gonna eat ya." * Ian peers over and eyes the grass. "Better living through chemistry." * Leopoldo chuckles. * Threnody blinks. "Ah! 'fin de siecle'." He taps it in. The datapad plays the Final Fantasy victory music, and he beams. "Yay." (...okay, I've clearly lost my mind.) Better living? You'd be working a grasscutter all the time to handle that. * Ian grins. Fin de what now? * Katherine looks over at Thren. "... Yeah, what she said." * Fitzroy looks down at his legs and stands up quickly, "Yikes" * Threnody looks up, and looks surprised to find other people there. "'Fin de siecle'. It's French for 'end of the century'." <> That... is creepy. Uh... why do ya need to know French for a Marsal word puzzle? * Vernon walks in from a corridor! He actually looks fresh and alert - and obviously not used to feeling that way at all. That IS. You got me. * Threnody tilts his head, scribbling in another clue. The pad makes the happy noise again. "Well, the Red New York Times is supposed to have the most difficult crossword puzzles, after all." * Fitzroy kneels down and pokes the grass. ( Not to mention it's not even one word :P ) Good morning, everyone. (Oh, like that ever makes a difference to crossword writers.) <> * Vernon blinks at Roy. "Er. Roy, you probably don't want to do that..." (Man. Does Roy look like Tim? Is the grass programmed after Lenin?) (It's LubJ00Grass.) * Rochelle looks over at Vernon and half-heartedly waves at him. (Remind me after the session to mention the theme I found for Lenin and his progeny.) * Vernon waves back to Roch. "Are you feeling better?" Good morning Vernon. 'morning! * Fitzroy stands back up. "uhmm, ok." * Katherine looks over at Vernon, and does not wish him a good morning. But she is paying attention. "Hello, Vernon." * Threnody looks over and waves/smiles. "Good morning." Hmm, excuse me for just a moment... * Vernon walks over to where Roy is, bends down, and mutters a few sentences to the grass. They sound threatening. <> Yeah, I'm just... So, Vernon, how does it feel to have helped make a creature that God never intended? * Rochelle eyes the grass. "Fine. The hell is that stuff?" My question exactly. * Katherine tracks Vernon with her eyes as he walks to the grass. "I think he's just looking for excuses to look crazy. Make grass that moves! That way you won't really be crazy when you talk to it." * Vernon gets back up. "There. It's 'LubJ00Grass.' A couple of our techs created it, but they made a few miscalculations as to how affection works. It's not usually dangerous, but..." It's got a crush on Roy. Right. Uh huh... * Vernon nods. "So it would seem." <> This one really isn't my fault. I promise. * Fitzroy eyebrows at the grass. * Vernon rubs his hands together. "So, have you come to a decision about the excursion?" * Threnody looks at the grass carefully as he answers. "I have a suggestion, on that front." Ah? * Threnody looks around. "Maybe... just those of us who feel comfortable going should actually go. The rest could stay and monitor the situation with Vernon?" He glances at Rochelle curiously. "Unless... did what you see allow for that?" * Katherine stands there more or less impassively. She does glance over at Roch when Thren does, though. * Rochelle blinks, then looks into the distance, her eyes visibly unfocusing for a moment before she winces, just a little, and they snap back into clarity. "Gotta have everyone." * Threnody blinks, then frowns, hmmming. "I guess that's out, then." (Then the creatures broke the dimensional wall and ate everyone except Vernon and Kat, leaving them to repopulate mars.) (Ew.) ("Ew?" "EW?" Oh, thank you so much. ;_;) (Fucking EW.) (I suppose I could wear the lobster costume if it would help you to relax.) (Then fill the dead air with roleplay instead. :P) * Katherine shakes her head for a second, then looks at Vernon. "Well, easy enough, then. I'm in." (Don't make me eviscerate you.) <> * Threnody nods. "Me too. I don't really like the idea, but..." He pauses. "I gave it some thought. I want to know what's going on. What if... what if one of us is next?" * Vernon looks and then turns in the direction of the shrub, and waves a finger. "NO. Bad!" * Fitzroy scoots away from it. * Leopoldo sighs. * Vernon sighs, and then nods. "Everything is ready, so if you'll all just follow me..." Sure, why not. Let's all get ourselves killed now. (Why bother? Why not go mad? Why not fly into a mountain!) * Katherine frowns at Vernon and says angrily, "Hey, I don't speak for them. This isn't the Europa team." * Ian stretches, and gets up. "This should be interesting, at least." * Rochelle clutches the edge of the bench. It's almost unnoticeable, but it's there. But she takes a breath and stands. "Yeah." * Vernon grins. "Okay, okay, sorry. I don't see any dissent, though." * Threnody also gets up, giving Rochelle a glance, then looking at Leo. (You forced me to do this, lizard.) (Oh god. I must be a better actor than I thought. Is Thren as annoying to listen to as I can make him sound sometimes?) * Leopoldo gets up. "Whatever, let's get going. I can't wait to see what kind of stuff we find." There's a bit of sarcasm in his voice, but he's still up. * Katherine gravitates over to Roch a bit and says in an amused tone, "Are you even carrying your piece?" * Vernon waits for everyone to gather, and then starts off towards the elevator! * Fitzroy scoots away from the new lubj00 bush s'more, "Yeah, I'm starting to like this park less and less." (Vera is a tree.) <> * Leopoldo walks torwards the elevator too. * Vernon steps in! * Ian heads into the elevator, still stretching a bit. * Rochelle adjusts her jacket, and yeah, Kat can see the gun under it. "Yeah." She heads in. "Dunno what for, but yeah." * Fitzroy heads for the elevator. * Threnody follows. He has the sort of distracted look of someone whose mind is somewhere else. Usually literally in his case. * Katherine doesn't walk, but instead eyes the silent detective. "Yo, Vera? You coming? The psycho trip to another dimension is leaving." * Vera looks over at the others. "Hm? ... Oh. Crap." She heads into the elevator. * Katherine follows Vera in, since she didn't really move until Vera decided to tag. <> <> This should be fairly straightforward - I'll give you the sampling equipment, and everything should go quickly. * Katherine looks over at Vernon and says with the frown on her face. "Is this like a bodyslide bowl or what?" I hope not. Bodyslide bowls are so disorienting. No, not at all. It's like...hmm. It's basically like DShift, only it's safe for life forms. A what? (Man. I need Brain Waiting or somethimg.) ("Sorry, can you hold? I have someone on the other neuron.") A dimension shift? Did I hear that right? Yes, that's right. It's the other process that the Sleythin developed, besides bodyslide bowls. * Vera folds her arms, leans against the wall, and smokes. * Threnody nods. "Before, they claimed it only worked on inanimate objects, though..." He winces, then plasters a smile over that. "Amazing, the advances in technology." <> * Rochelle sorta stares at it. Well, no sorta about it. She does. Relative normalcy must be getting to her. <> * Vernon steps out. "And here we are." * Katherine looks it over and mutters, "Yeah, amazing." * Ian steps out as well, and eyes the equipment. (That is, IF a flea could sneeze on Pluto. :P) * Threnody tilts his head as he walks off, eyeing the stalactites. "Are you using sleythin power crystals?" * Vernon nods. "We certainly are." * Rochelle blinks, then steps out. And goes back to looking around. They've been working very well. <> * Leopoldo steps out last and looks around. "I hope you're right." * Katherine looks at the crystals and says, "Did you figure how to make those, or is this an inter-species loan?" * Vera winces and rubs her eyes. "Remind me why we're doing this again?" * Threnody nods slowly as he looks around. "Because it could save a lot of lives, including our own." He pauses. "Well, some of our own." * Vera glances at Thren. "'Some'? * Threnody turns around and nods at Vera. "Not all of us are 24's." * Vernon answers Kat, "There are some on Europa." * Rochelle shrugs. What's that supposed to mean. * Katherine sighs, then nods. "Yeah." She rubs her hands together. * Threnody tilts his head at Vera. "Well... these are the things possessing 24s and driving them mad. So..." Uhh... Yeah. I think I'll sit this one out. I'm not looking forward to having you scramble my brain, Thren. No offense, but it's happened enough already to last me a lifetime. * Ian blinks at Vera. * Leopoldo eyes Vera. "Chicken?" * Threnody blinks, then rubs the back of his neck. "Well, strictly speaking I don't even have the power to scramble your brain, as it were, so you're safe there." * Katherine rubs the back of her neck, then looks over at Vera in with confusion. And the frown. But definite confusion. How much can you do, Thren? * Fitzroy also looks confused, "What makes you think Thren will be doing the brain scrambling?" * Threnody tilts his head. "Ah..." He puts a finger to his lips in thought. "Well, I can read people's thoughts, obviously. Memories, too, depending on how deeply they're buried, though I never do that without permission. I can speak with people or let them speak with others... I haven't really put much effort into perfecting the use of my powers, really." * Vera shrugs at Roy. "Unless someone's been holding out, he's the guy who does things with minds." You had more to fear from my sisters than you do Threnody. I'm sure you can live with that. I certainly can't control people's minds, if that's your worry. Fine. I can deal, then. <> ( They're going instead of us. ) Ah, looks like we're all set. * Rochelle watches them go. "Uh, yeah." * Katherine just looks confused, then shakes her head. "Well, then, looks like it's time." * Vernon heads over to the sampling equipment. "Once you're there, you just have to activate this by pressing the blue button. The green light should go on, and then you just have to move the equipment around." * Threnody nods. He checks his belt loops for his bokken, just in case, and seems satisfied to find it there. Mmmhmmm. * Vernon then goes through the door into the observation room, and closes it. He gets up behind the main monitoring screen, and says through a speaker: "All set?" And then we just... come back, or what? Yes, that's it. The light will go off, and it'll beep at you once it's done collecting data. And then what? There will be a visible portal to come back here. <> * Leopoldo glances around nervously, his skin changing a slightly more yellow hue. And I mean slight. It's only become apparent now, really. * Threnody takes a few deep breaths, closing his eyes. * Katherine rolls her eyes. "Thank you. Jesus." She looks towards the opening door. All right, when you're ready, step on into the inner chamber. * Threnody bravely steps into a whole new world! No Soma required!@ * Leopoldo walks in. New world, whatever. <> * Vera heads in. "This already sucks." * Katherine clenches her hands for a second, then follows the peoples in. Did it ever stop? * Fitzroy scratches his head, shrugs, then follows. * Ian stretches one more time, and follows. "Here goes nothing!" * Rochelle stares at it for a long moment. Her eyes glaze over briefly before they clear she springs forward, practically dashing in. Briefly, once. When I got to watch an exciting documentary on Dunnowood. Those were the days. <> * Katherine looks over at Roch and grins, "Whoa, easy, tigeress." * Katherine then looks around. "It's not going anywhere. I think..." I should warn you that the sensation, while different from the bodyslide bowls, may disturb you. * Vernon touches a button and adds, not entirely reassuringly, "It scares the willies out of me. Hold tight." * Rochelle winces a little. "Yeah, okay." ... I hate you so much, Vernon. <> * Threnody says, with a hint of uncharacteristic irritation, "Is the lack of warning SIG-ASP standard procedure?" Yes, there was a special on it on the radio last night. <> * Rochelle doesn't even seem to notice. She's staring into the distance, now, a lot like back down the elevator a day ago. (Can we act, or are we bodiless, or should we just shut up now and let you narrate? ^_~) <> * Threnody floats! In sparklies! Anything he says is irrelevant because nobody can sense anything. * Rochelle is floating, too! Wheeee! <> <<... down through dirt and rock and miles of metal shielding, and then the whip sound only precisely in reverse and you find yourselves back exactly where you started. Precisely.>> <<(end narration)>> * Vernon stares at the group. "...uh?" * Threnody blinks his eyes open, tilting his head a little. "...perhaps it didn't work?" * Rochelle blinks a few times, then looks around. * Katherine blinks, and whips her head around. "Aigh. What a tri--what?" * Leopoldo shakes his head, getting his bearings again. "Ooookay." Well, that was new. * Vera winces and grabs her head. "Agh. B-rate technology." That...was weird, but amazing... It, uh, worked. You disappeared, but then showed back up after 4.7 seconds. It took that long? * Threnody frowns at Vernon. "...what?" What did you all see? Stars. It's not some kind of fluke, it really did work... Yeah, that about covers it. * Vernon prods a tech and points them at a monitor that's not being watched, and juggles three monitors himself. "Huh..." Lots of stars. After the blue sparkles... it was like zooming in on a universe simulator. * Threnody nods. "Mostly darkness... the kind I sort of associate with bodysliding. But there were blue stars, and then what Katherine described." * Rochelle blinks, and she looks briefly puzzled. * Ian nods. "It was beautiful..." * Katherine rubs her head. "Except faster, and far trippier. Maybe I could make a TSM prog out of it. Wouldn't that be a kick?" It was big. Anyhow, didn't work. * Vernon adds a fourth monitor. "Well, this is going to take a while...why don't you go back to the lounge? I'll call you when we get these tests figured out." ... Yeah, sure. * Fitzroy grins at Kat. "It'd be a blast." * Ian looks at the others, and then back at Vernon. "...we will get to do it again, right?" <> * Katherine looks over at Roy and chuckles. "Yeah, probably... if only I had the free time." * Threnody knits his brow. "I think I need a cup of [tea]." (For the record, that was him saying tea in Sleythin, not powerbrackets. ^_^) * Vera heads for the elevator. On the way, she lights up a cigarette. You really want something that strong? * Rochelle rubs at the back of her head, idly checks under her jacket, and heads out. * Vernon grins. "Yes, you should be able to later." * Ian sighs, and heads to the elevator. * Threnody blinks at Leo. "I've never thought it was terribly strong." * Katherine starts walking for the elevator too. "I think I need a bottle of alcohol. Very... strong... alcohol." Hmm. That sounds good. * Fitzroy follows (Drunkwings, assemble!) * Leopoldo rolls his eyes and heads out. "That was a bust. And it is for tea. At least, that's what I think." <> <> (... I like these vending machines.) * Ian steps out of the elevator. Did Vern say how long it'd take? I don't think so. * Fitzroy pretends he didn't see it, and yet, avoids it. * Threnody tilts his head at the vending machines, and actually says despite himself, "[That doesn't make any sense. It'd be brewed all wrong]." * Katherine rolls her eyes. "No, because he's Vernon fucking Marcus. God. I should have beat him up and stolen his stash." * Rochelle blinks at Thren. "Uh. Why are you speakin' in Sleythin or whatever that is?" * Threnody blinks also and turns around, looking at Rochelle in surprise. "...I was speaking Sleythin?" Yes you were. * Ian nods. "It sounded like it." Anyways, I think it was one of the newer blends of [tea]. That could have had something to do with the strength of it. Yeah, you were. * Threnody rubs the back of his neck. "Well, I do know the language. Maybe I just slipped into it without thinking." ... I guess. Sure. * Rochelle stalks over to her old bench and has a seat in the same spot. * Leopoldo shrugs. "I don't see what's odd about it." He takes a seat on one of the benches. * Katherine takes a breath before rubbing her eyes and going over to the machines, and gets herself a small bit of something that isn't beer or furnace grease. <> "Hi, guys. Listen, sorry the trip was a bust. I've got Vernon working on it, and I've curtailed his movie privileges for the week because he screwed up. Anything I can get you while you're waiting? <> Asprin. Hmm...whiskey and soda, please? * Threnody just eyes the screen for a moment. * Katherine looks over at the screen and her jaw drops. "Ronnie? When did you get male?" * Rochelle eyes the screen, too. "The hell are you?" It looks like a... male version of Kat's 'girlfriend'. * Ian blinks, and eyes the screen. * Katherine says slowly, "Ex-wife, Leo, ex-wife. Gotta keep the lies straight." She's just eyeing the 'guy'. <> "What? Kat, are you okay? Maybe we ought to get all of you to medical first." * Threnody tilts his head. "Well, there's no reason she couldn't have created a male form. It *is* just a hologram." Oh, sorry. It's hard keeping all the stories straight. * Katherine steps towards 'Ronnie' and says, "Yeah, but she was created full on female, and I've never seen her..." she shakes her head. "You are... Ronnie, right? R. Levinworth?" * Vera shrugs. "Maybe there's another one." I don't think there is... I highly doubt that. * Rochelle rubs at her forehead. "I mean, I could get you some FloofyPrin if you need it... really." <> "You ought to know, we've been fake married six times." * Threnody pauses, knitting his brow. "...wait a minute." "Look, I really think you ought to stay put for a bit. Hold off on the alcohol, you know? I'm going to get a med team down there." * Katherine says a little quickly, "Hold it, ,hold it, Ronnie. As of a few minutes ago, you were so very much female." * Vera sighs. "So much for going out. * Ian nods. "You were, for sure." * Threnody shakes his head. "And I don't think Floofy makes pharmaceuticals..." This sucks. "Now I'm SURE you need a med team. I've been male since Tim and Vernon filled my protoself with those mecha shows. And Floofy makes everything, they're one of the four big corporations." <> "... look, just sit tight, okay? I'll be down there in a bit." Ah, hmmm... Then.. the dimensional shift did work? * Katherine 's eyes make some twitching movements, then she says, "... What? Hey, don't leave, dammit!" Apparently. <> ( Oh. I thought Roy was being all l33t and stuff. ) Hey, R-oh, damn. So. Another dimension, huh? Knew I should have sat this out. Does anybody else feel like they're on a bad TV show? * Katherine frowns. "If we are in another dimension... this isn't me. My head computer has the wrong gender for Ronnie too." Let's head back to Vernon and get him to fix this crap. * Threnody finds somewhere to sit down and does so, looking dazed. <> * Leopoldo doesn't care too much. "It'd explain the change in scenery, though." * Ian nods. "Just what we needed, huh?" * Katherine looks at the medteam angrily, then brushes her cheek, arm, and side when they're not mobbing her. Oh, I'm sure. Sliding through dimensions looks like so much fun in all the TVNet series. * Threnody knits his brow, then closes his eyes. I'm more worried about what I'm doing back home. <> "So. Mind explaining what you did with my friends?" * Rochelle lets them do their thing. * Threnody sighs and leans back, looking at the ceiling. "We *ARE* them. In a sense. But we can't establish our bonafides in some... alternate universe." * Ian nods. "I'm guessing we switched places." * Leopoldo nods. "Really. And you can't back this up in any way, of course." * Ian shrugs. "How could we?" * Katherine frowns and says, looking Ronnie up and down. "Well, I got her headputer." * Vera shrugs. "Send us back where we came from." ... Er, my headputer. Other me's headputer? Oh, this is going to be a pain. * Threnody looks a little panicked. But just a little. "We don't even know if that's possible, though." * Vernon emerges from the elevator! I don't see why it couldn't be reversed. * Threnody breathes out. "'Reversed' implies there are only two possible destinations." I'm sure we're arguing the same thing back home. O...okay, what the heck is going on... * Rochelle just rubs her head. "You tell me. You're the one who got us in there. Other you. What the hell." The machine screwed up. "No. We don't. We don't know if you're EDBs masquerading as them or not, or if you're just alternate yous, or if you're ... Vernon, what the FUCK is going on?" The fuck is an EDB? * Vernon rubs his temples. "Okay. You definitely travelled..." * Katherine throws her hands in thee air. "Who knows what happened? It's Vernon fucking Marcus." Yeah, we got that part. But, uh...your bodies aren't necessarily yours. Quantum differences. <> * Katherine is still looking at Ronnie. Apparently she can get angry at Vernon without looking at him. * Rochelle watches the whispering. * Threnody looks at his hands. "They can't be too different. Leo is still Leo, I'm still telepathic..." <> I'm the same... * Vera shrugs. "Don't feel any different." * Vernon nods. "It's all quantum, I'm afraid...oh dear..." * Katherine says angrily, turning towards Vernon, "My computer's different, dammit." Ah, there's one thing... hmm, Mine's not different though. * Rochelle rubs at her hair, then brings one bleach-blonde streak to before her face. * Leopoldo taps his head. "The radio even sounds the same... And frequency 100.6 still needs to think about something other than old 1950s songs." * Vernon rubs his temples again. "Ugh. Ronnie, do you have any mapping of the crystal pattern?" <> "No, Vernon, I left that with you. DON'T tell me you misplaced it." <> * Katherine turns back to Ronnie and mutters, "Probably too drunk to remember." * Threnody frowns slightly. "So..." He pauses. "A different dimension with a different history, but except for Katherine's computer we're exactly the same?" Okay, the easy method won't work, then...I'm going to have to go and research the dimensional path. We look exactly the same, sure. Wonder if I'm still from TC. I *said* it felt like a bad TV show. Hm, very odd. * Vera smokes, muttering under her breath. * Vernon flees to the elevator. "I'll do my best. Ronnie, can you arrange rooms for everyone in the meantime?" * Katherine rubs her temples, then pulls out her datapad, before saying, "We already had rooms." She starts tapping on the pad. * Threnody says, quietly, "I'm a little afraid to see the outside world." <> "Medic says you guys are toting around twice the brainwaves than usual. I don't know what the fuck that means, but you're confined to your wing till I get some fucking answers from somebody on this shit." <> "Next time Vernon tells me something'll be easy, one of you remind me to give him a dust bath in lye and send him swimming." * Ian blinks, and pales slightly. "...that sounds very bad." * Katherine grins at Ronnie. "I'll remind you twice. Three times if necessary." Twice the... uh. I'm not a scientist or anything, but does that mean the other me or whatever's still here? Twice the brainwaves would mean... Perhaps we have the personalities of our alter-egos? As well as our original ones. * Threnody blinks, hmming. "I don't sense anything strange though. It's not like people are expressing a second personality..." * Vera rubs her head. "This is giving me a headache." * Threnody suddenly blinks, putting a hand to his mouth. * Ian looks at Thren. * Leopoldo raises an eyebrow. "Something wrong, Threnody?" * Rochelle eyes Thren. "If I had to hazard a guess, something's riding piggyback. Till we figure out what that something is, nobody gets out from where I can easily have you taken down. No offense, but personal safety comes second..." < * Threnody clears his throat. "Remember the few people we've met who were possessed by the artifact aliens? In all of them I sensed not just one psyche, but a multitude of them..." * Katherine looks up from her datapad, then will follow the Thren-looking trend, because, hey, all the normal kids are doing it. Oh boy... * Ian facepalms. "Oh, no..." ... Okay... That explains for twenty-fours. What about the rest of us? * Threnody shakes his head. "It's not that I think they're the exact same phenomena, but..." Sorta an inherent problem with this dimension shit? Hey, did anyone remember to turn on the data equipment? ... Why would we? We never had a chance to. <> But what? * Ian shakes his head. "Ah, never mind." I'm gettin' another blank. * Rochelle stares at nothing. "No 24 attacks or anythin' before then, though. Probably." * Threnody shakes his head. "It's nothing. The feeling isn't the same. It's more like..." He pauses. "It's more like the audio playback of your thoughts has a 'skip' in it every few seconds or so." That's... odd. We really shoulda just all stayed behind. * Ian blinks. "That sounds...'out of phase.' Just like Vernon said." .. where is the data equipment anyway? But that's awfully odd. * Vera eyes Thren, then shrugs. "As long as that's all, then." I didn't see it when we got here... * Katherine rubs her head and givees a glance at Ronnie. "Who knows. Did you guys send any data equipment with your team?" <> "If you were out of phase the med techs couldn't have touched you." <> "The data equipment arrived on schedule in the dimension of the Elder Race. Fuck-all knows what happened to yours." It probably exploded. That's about how reliable it is, anyhow. The techs could probably make an abacus explode. * Rochelle snickers a little, then rubs at her forehead again. I think they did, Vera. Did you miss the papers the other week? * Vera slaps her forehead. * Ian grins. * Threnody sits back down, shutting his eyes for a second and opening them again. <> "Look, I've got other shit to take care of. This FTL system is proving to be another pain in my ass." <> "Look, I hate to have to do this if you are who you say you are, but, you know, hardwiring sucks ass. Can I trust you to be nice and just follow to your rooms?" * Katherine frowns and says to Ronnie in a more annoyed tone, "Hey, I can prove who I am, and you know it." * Ian nods. "Sure." Sure. Fine. * Threnody nods at Ronnie. "I understand." Yes. * Rochelle nods. <> "Good. Like I said, you can move about the wing, but there'll be guards, so ..." <> "Look, I'll see what we can do. Talk to you again soon." <> <> * Rochelle looks at them equally impassively. Probably moreso, since she's been practicing seventeen years. * Threnody goes along quietly and whatever. * Ian does likewise. "It'll be interesting to see what writing I can get done with corrupted brainwaves." * Leopoldo sighs and walks along. Gonna be a boring day... (Well, either boring or way to strenuous. There's never an inbetween.) * Katherine glares at MaleRonnie as he leaves, then looks at the MPs and says, "What are you waiting for?" * Vera heads out. "I need to lie down. Wonder if these rooms have TVNet? Wonder if TVNet even exists?" <> <>