"It makes sense, but is it safe?" Stanley asks. "I guess that depends on the answer to Smoke's question. If the fish can safely pass through, then humans not in a submarine should also be fine."

Trav has her elbows on the table. "Stan, baby, this is marching into Mordor level danger. I'm going to get rid of all the water using TARDIS atmosphere field shenanigans. We're not going to take a sub through that hole, we're walking through on foot. Ladies, run that through your numbers. Is that safer? The TARDIS force fields can withstand pressures from a black hole, so I think it can withstand the  P.S.I. from the ocean floor - although we should know the depth just in case and have a rescue vehicle on standby."

"It's not safe. At all. Whatever breathing apparatus you have in mind, could break at a critical moment. Also, there's water pressure. And to equate 'because fish can do it, so can humans without a submarine' as something to base your theory on is foolish. Fish or not humans. They're certainly not Draconians. If you wish to do this, you need to go in understanding that there is every chance you will not return." A deep breath. "However, if you are willing to do this, and understand this, then we go forth. Nothing is ever achieved by a refusal to do anything that is not safe."

The Osgoods, and Spiezo, look at Trav for an uncomfortable while.  Second-Traveller-Osgood finally gives Commander Boyle a helpless look, where he has been sitting with a polite, but fixed expression for the same length of time.

Boyle gets to his feet.  "Let's take a break," he says.  "Trav, do you want to take a walk with me?  We can go and feed the ravens."

TRav actually does some numbers. "Oops. Uh, yeah. Hm. Safe for me isn't safe for you guys, and I want things to be as safe for you guys as possible. So, despite how cool it could be to walk on a dry ocean floor, I think Sereth has it right here. Let's go with what the Osgoods had in mind. Sorry, I think I let my passion for bizarre solutions get the better of me. Sorry, ladies. Thanks, Sereth."
This message was last edited by the player at 04:58, Tue 19 May 2015.

Trav hops up. "Henry, if I'm going to suggest something stupid and get people hurt, call me on it. Sometimes my brain gets too big for my britches, you know, baby? Coffee and donuts. I can take embarrassment, I can't take losing any more of you. I'm not a girl version of -him-." She slips an arm around Henry's waist. "Ladies, Speizo - it's your show, I'm support. Let me know how I can help."
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Tue 19 May 2015.

Henry gives Trav a wry smile.  There's no sting in his words, but Trav can tell that he's serious, all the same.

"I think I know why the Director told me to work with you," he says.  "Because I've been there.  And I get how sometimes you lose track of getting the job done, when there's the chance of showing people something amazing while you're at it.  And, Trav, trust me -- it really is enough just to work miracles, sometimes.  You don't have to do them while turning cartwheels and whistling 'God Save The Queen'.  I assure you, Rayburn and his people will be just as impressed."

"Hank, I'll be doing "Yankee Doodle." Ok, let's get started, we have some people to rescue.

Smoke Alarm outlooked a bit bemused as the others got all talky and there was small to-do and Traveller footed off with Henry Boil. 'Kangs are not fishes either.' she pointed out, just in case it needed to be pointed out. She'd browsed books and viddies of animals once, and thought she had the rough knowhow.

'Or mayhaps we send... a dolfin?' she proposed, persisting with real, practical ideas. Then again, a sea animal with a tracking collar didn't seem infeasible. 'With a talkiphone... I mean, they can't use talkiphones with flippers,' Smoke Alarm flapped her hands at chest level to demonstrate, 'But Traveller can probly track back and eyespy what's on the other side, like a eyehole in the door.'


OOC: Where's Destrii when you need her...

"Smoke has a point, Henry. The Doctor had a talking talking Penguin he rolled with for a while, never liked me much. But that was when I was bad. I don't suppose you guys have a Dolphin in a labcoat on staff or something around here?"

In response to Smoke's question - "I can rig up something for a Dolphin or Porpoise, but I'm not having anyone or anything swim through that whole without informed consent. Hm." Then Trav's eyes light up.

She spins and turns to the Osgoods and Speizo. "Hey Ladies, Speizo we need low mass undersea vehicles, right? Smoke, you remember Dev's Skybike? I once outfitted Scott Bernard and his Robotech Rebel's with aquatic cyclones."

"IT'S TIME FOR AQUACYCLES.""

Trav turns around her Ipad, and shows them something like this -



"We can follow behind your small robot vehicle! I can outfit these with low impact solenoid batteries that shouldn't disrupt that anomaly. Low tech, and COOL. You all want to be COOl, don't you?"

Ever since Trav arrived back at UNIT, she seems to be regressing back into her somewhat more wacky 2nd persona a bit.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:49, Tue 19 May 2015.

Sereth grimaced. It wasn't about being -cool- or whatever. It was what would be effective. If her plan worked - fine. But the effectiveness of it had to come first, not some stupid idea of what looked good. The Draconian just scowled, and said nothing. Not at this point.

"Oh, Sereth. You take -such pleasure- in being disgruntled! It'll be fun, trust me! And I wouldn't be throwing this up if it wasn't effective. No one here has SCUBA training and we need underwater vehicles."

"That's not really the point. I take pleasure in seeing a job well done; in seeing the most effective means used, without care for how much 'fun' it will be." He glanced at Smoke for a moment. "Why concentrate on the 'coolness' factor? How much 'fun' it's going to be? Why not concentrate on the fact it will be effective, and the best way to do it? Yes, I know what Smoke will say to that, and you'll probably say the same. But if it comes down to it, I would rather be the boring 'yawny' Draconian, than the dead one because adequate measures are not taken."

A Draconian soldier had more in common with UNIT than he might want to think of.

Trav takes his hands. "That makes you beautiful. Loyal, steadfast, true. I hope one of these days I can make you laugh, oh sword of Draconia. Anyway, ladies, how does that sound? Lean scuba suits and icehot aqua cycles? Give me 5 minutes in Sweet boy and I can get 5 or 6 together."

'Pool-bikes? Icehot!' Smoke Alarm cheered at the idea, then caught herself after eyespying Sereth's outlook. She stop-signed. She'd met Sereth first, on that desperate flight from Arsuran on the Lucky Drifter, and was always torn on whether to outlook to the icehot fun Traveller or the sure-and-safe Legate for guidance. She had an again-think. It might be all icehot fun, but was it really shape-ship and sound? 'Um. But what about air-conditioning and water pressures and pee-ess-eyes? And do we need scoobers or not?'
This message was last edited by the player at 15:47, Tue 19 May 2015.

"Sweety, Leggit Sereth does have a point! That is why we need RIGOROUS TESTING." She turns and makes to Sereth a hilarious frowny face. "But in all seriousness, I'll be working off of one of the standard UNIT templates and just juicing it up a little. I would not take any of you onto a platform where you'd be hurt, and I've rebuilt Veritech Fighters, Space Fortresses, Hot Rods, Trains, even bicycles. You've ridden on my work already Smoke - Dev's hot rodded up Skycycle. But the ladies and Speizo get the last call, this is their show. Ladies Osgood, Corporal, what do you think?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Tue 19 May 2015.

The UNIT personnel all trade are-you-going-to-answer looks.

At last Spiezo speaks up.  "Well, I know I don't know how to redesign the kind of vehicles you're talking about.  That's why we were using what we have -- the ROVER might not be ideal for this, but it is off-the-shelf.  Smaller vehicles might cause less of an impact on the rift's stability, I guess.  Remember that we need to evacuate people, too, so you'll have to make allowance for pressure suits and passengers as well."

He shrugs.  "There's about a week until the next window opens, so that's the kind of time scale you have to work with."  He glances at Boyle.  "I think we can get some of the mechanics people to get you help.  Remember, too, unless you find some better way to stabilize the rift, I'd think you'll want to get in and out as quickly as you can."

OOC: Beyond that you can fight it out among yourselves.  If you're going to do this custom vehicles business just make one Ingenuity + Technology roll to give me an idea of how up you have souped them.  Also, in that case, everyone should probably consider what you're going to do in the meantime -- assist Trav, get some underwater training in, or what.

(You are, of course, a short distance away and contemporaneous with Mom Newton, if that suggests anything to do.)

Smoke Alarm frowned and admitted 'Dev didn't want to say-so, but he was a bit unhappy to not eyespy his old sky-cycle.'

Another think-again, and Smoke asked 'What if mayhaps we put the talkiphone on the ROVER? Then, even if the nomaly closes up with no exits, we can still make a fire-escape in the talkiphone box. Would it fit?'

She remembered something Trav had said before. These scoobers were being talked a lot, and they seemed important. ''Do we need this scoober training? I can splish-splash in a pool just fine, with floaties.'
This message was lightly edited by the player at 02:21, Wed 20 May 2015.

Trav crosses her arms and sighs. "Ok, I suppose I will have to restrain myself. You people are giving me the same looks that Emil Lang and the team did when I installed those gravity pods on a certain battle fortress. How did I know they were going to break away? I made sure we had reaction thruster backup! And yes, I can make sure we have communications on the ROVER, that's easy.  Smoke, we don't need a fire escape - Sweet Boy can just hold back the water at the door."

"Corporal, just show me what you need, and we'll work from there. If the aquacycles will make things more complicated, we'll ditch them. We'll work from your plans."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaJLfhdEzWA
OOC:(advance to 10:15)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:35, Wed 20 May 2015.

At some point during that week, Sereth approaches the Traveller.

"Do you have a moment? I think we need to talk."

It was hard to read him; but he did seem more the diplomat that talked down Warlock; than the soldier that sent thugs cowering.

(Presume this is as Trav is helping make preparations for the rescue effort. And despite her wacky suggestions, she fully follows the lead of the UNIT team, tamping down crazy enthusiasm and going with their plan.)

"I always have time for you, Sereth. What do you need?"

He sighed.

"It's not about me. You're... smart. Very smart. You can tinker with things without even thinking about it, and it works out okay." His eyes focused on her. "But just because you can, doesn't mean you should. It's not necessarily even about whether it's the best way to go about things. Smoke was mentioning her friend, who you tinkered with their bike. And I get the distinct impression he wasn't overly happy about it. You have friends, allies, who will do a lot for you. My advice? Let them. Let them bring -their- skills to bear, not your technological advancements. If they ask? Fine, help them. If they don't, don't just assume that just because it's -technically- better, means it's better for them." He drew out his blade. "Take this for example. It's a good weapon. Very good. I'm sure you could do things to it to make it better. But then - it wouldn't be mine anymore. My honor would be gone. Without honor, I have nothing to fight for." He put his sword away. "That is an extreme example, it's true. But most people have one thing they feel deeply invested in, and tinker with that, and they feel you're taking something away from them. I would wager Smoke might feel the same about her arrowgun, or Doctor Newton his medical kit." A shrug. "You are smart, probably the smartest person I've met. And you have a gift. Make sure you combine those two, to do things that are right. Don't just do something because it would look fantastic, or feel cool. Do it because the person you're doing it for? They want that. No-one can do all you do alone, not even you." He then stood up to his full height. "I apologise if I have caused offense."

MONTAGE!

( The theme to The Great Escape plays in the background. )

THE GANG steps out of the TARDIS on board a small military ship flying the Stars and Stripes.  The Osgoods, Boyle and Spiezo follow them out, and Boyle trades salutes with an American officer wearing the shoulder boards of a lieutenant commander.

Alongside the ship is a smallish, sturdy-looking submersible.  It happens to be painted yellow.  On the deck there is a big winch and several smaller craft, colored orange, red, magenta and green.

*** WIPE ***

TRAV pushes herself out from underneath one of the small craft on a rolling cart.  She's wearing a tank top and welding goggles, is smudged with grease, and has a wrench and an arc welder in her hands.

*** WIPE ***

STANLEY is talking to a couple of the USN officers, going over the contents of a large, orange floatable container with a variety of equipment and drugs, going over a refresher on decompression illness.

*** WIPE ***

SMOKE ALARM waves excitedly as the winch lowers her into the ocean, bundled into her pressure suit.  They've found one in her size: it is, unfortunately, not blue, but she has already "customized" it with her paints.

*** WIPE ***

SERETH can be seen looking dubiously into the face shield of his suit and gingerly seeing how it fits onto his non-standard-human shaped head.

*** WIPE ***

TRAV, SMOKE, STANLEY and SERETH (the last in his Samuel Jackson guise, although in white shirtsleeves and slacks) walk along the boardwalk of a Caribbean resort island.  SMOKE is running back and forth to look at things.  TRAV is wearing a crop-top and sarong.  SERETH studies the scene, appearing somewhat bemused at the waste of time.

*** WIPE ***

THE GANG is back in more functional gear, with suits and mini-subs lined up next to them, with the UNIT London group and the crew of UNS Loyal gathered around them.

OOC: Feel free to further explore or expand any of that, then we can prepare to start the expedition.  You can use the ROVER or not; you can materialize the TARDIS "on station" down in the depths to deploy vehicles if you want.

Aaaand that probably becomes a new thread, actually, but we can start that when you're ready to press GO.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:42, Fri 22 May 2015.

Trav listens keenly.  "You always speak the truth. You see how hard I'm working to ratchet myself back? You are 100% right. I have this urge to -make- and -create-, Sereth, but it can steamroller everyone. No, I'm causing offense. It gives me such joy to make wonderful things but I often make other people feel small with it. I saw it back there, so I'm yanking myself back hard. It's like a cyclone, sometimes, and I can crush people with it. I'm so sorry I do that. I'm like a child, like when Smoke Alarm paints walls. So, thank you for holding me back."

"I told Stanley when he first started travelling with me, I needed his good heart to see for mine? I walk in eternity, Sereth. I don't say that because I want to lord it over you or Smoke Alarm or him. It's because I can feel the galaxies turn and this planet spin and time shift and flow past us. It's hard for me to see small. I'm a Time Lord. Even when I'm playful, I lumber and break things, sometimes. I try my best not too, and sometimes, I'm like an elephant with people's feelings, I'll just charge in. That's still no excuse.So, thank you for being diplomatic, and helping me to see."

Trav looks down at her hands. Even when they wanted to do good, they caused nothing but clumsy grief - the underground railroad, the SDF-1, the Time War, the Hells of Deeval on Rifts Earth and Nuclear Weapons, even here, when all she wanted to do was simply give a nice kid a hot new ride.

The Time Lords, in this case, were right.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:34, Fri 22 May 2015.

Montage!

Smoke Alarm was very impressed by the ship – it was like a tower that floated on the water. But since the ships she was used to flew through space, she called it a "pool-ship". Or "pool-tower", she wasn't quite sure. She jumped and ran all over it, getting lost-and-found and causing a bit of a to-do with the sailors. She decided it was "shape-ship and sound".

The first part of her training was to see how good a swimmer she was. They came to a great pool which Smoke thought was icehot, though it wasn't in the sky. Then she immediately started taking off her clothes, because they didn't need a wash this week. All of her clothes. Right in front of everyone. This caused another to-do for some reason and she was interrupted before she could go all the way. A bikini in her size was found – blue, naturally, and black, two mismatched pieces – though she'd argued she didn't need the top part because she had hardly anything to put in the pouches. She was probably right. Smoke Alarm in swimwear wasn't conventionally alluring: pale, scrawny, and wiry, with blue-dyed body hair and scars. The nasty set of scars on her leg showed where a wild dog had bitten her. Her sister Kangs had stitched it; she'd had no anaesthetic.

Finally in the pool, a cloud of blue floating around her, Smoke's swimming style proved to be a furious dog-paddle. The instructors show-and-telled her other ways of swimming, and the athletically gifted Kang soon picked it up, taking to it like a duck to water. She was soon swimming and diving and propelling herself underwater with as much as grace as she ran and leaped.

After a day's swim practice, Smoke Alarm was horrified to look in a mirror and discover she was a brunette – all her blue and black had washed out! This necessitated an emergency trip for hair dyes to restore the vital Kang fabshion.

The following days saw SCUBA training and underwater survival show-and-tells, which Smoke Alarm eagerly lapped up. She'd really have some pool tricks to show-and-tell the other Kangs when she got back.

Outside of training, she worked with Traveller on the mechinery of the... swim-cars? The ROVER and things. It was sort of like, but entirely not, helping.

Shooed away, she got lost-and-found on the ship, got into a to-do for making a wall-scrawl with fishies in the walls and illustrating their coming underwater voyage, got into another to-do for somehow getting in and out of a no-entry area, and wound up sparring and training with the UNIT soldiers and USN sailors. Her Kang Fu and nimble athletic ability saw her more than hold her own. The Kang was hard to dislike, and she soon earned respect.