In reply to Yardbird (msg # 740):

Nightmare places a hand on the collar takes a deep breath and her figure and the collar go briefly hazy.  She easily lifts the collar off of the tentacle.  She smiles handing it to Roger and Billy.

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, B, A, start?

She says with a smile looking at Billy.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:25, Thu 02 May.

The various tinkerers are able to remove the collar from the tentacle without much trouble. Removing the spike from the housing proves more difficult, however.

OOC: Reason check for anybody trying to remove the spike without damaging anything.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 742):

Aviva lifts slowly from her crouch.  She does, however, keep her hand by her hip with her pistol trained on Briggs.

The tentacle was probably bigger before, she muses.

Right, we'll cut it out and bring it back?

Yep

And we didn't get to see what the rest of it looked like.

Maybe a really big snake?

Probably not, snakes don't stick their butts up into wasper hives

Aviva peers over Roger and Nightmare's shoulders.

It's a cult thing I think

In reply to Aviva (msg # 743):

Frank stifles a half-hearted but authentic gag. It remains wholly disconcerting how comfortable you all are discussing this as though it's a banal decision like which cheese to have with your hard bread.

I hope this never becomes normal for me.

"Sorry, before you got here we had to fish the radioactive corpse of our friend out of subterranean godzilla's gizzard.  This is still mild just for this week." Billy replies to Frank over his shoulder, but pauses to look at Aviva as she shares their blasé  attitude, "I don't think I wanna know the shit she's seen though."

Ha, Nope, you don't!

Aviva slowly and dramatically boops Billy on the nose

But I can't TELL you about it until you see it too...

Aviva continues to point her weapon toward Briggs, though her general inattention means her aim wavers from time to time.

In reply to Aviva (msg # 746):

Nightmare's ears prick up

Why can't you tell us about it until we see it too Aviva?  Does something stop you?

Noticing Frank's discomfort Nightmare pauses and lowers her glasses.

Please accept my apologies, Frank.  She says with sincerity.  I am a product of my environment, my entire upbringing has been geared for this exact moment. 

She cuts her eyes over to the tableau of Billy and Aviva and her cold scientific veneer cracks.  She smiles with genuine warmth and her eyes get a bit dewy as she blinks back tears.

I am still working on forging appropriate interactions with people and sometimes I slip... If you think I'm scary now... you should have seen what I was before.  All that being said, that...thing is an existential threat that seems to act similar to the cordyceps fungus did on earth.  Only that fungus could only infect ants.  This has shown tropism for both humans and waspers... likely Joss if I had to guess.  Oh and if that wasn't bad enough somebody has been fucking with it. 

The curse word seems unfamiliar in her mouth, but she gestures to the collar that Roger is tinkering with.

So I need to be laser focused on the task at hand.  So, please, tell Percy what happened down there, he is an extension of me.  When I get to break for the day lets talk over dinner?

That last sentence seemed like it was VERY difficult for her to say and required significant force of will.  He hair which had remained white through this entire time has a quiet pink flush to it as she awaits an answer to her question.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:56, Fri 03 May.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 747):

"So, what, we're just going to let the oracle wave her gun around?" Gestalt grumbles, finally seeing fit to holster his own weapon in the presence of so many people who Billy would deem outrank him.

"That's the wrong question," Wren says, walking over to the Avivas. "What do you mean by kidnapping?"

Nightmare snorts a laugh breaking her serious conversation with Frank.

YOUVE BEEN WAVING A GUN AT ME FOR THE LAST 2 HOURS!!!  Despite the fact that you know it won't do you any good anyway!

"It's the parasite eggs I was planning on shooting," Gestalt frowns. "Though I guess I could always hope once they burrow into your brain, they miss the part that makes you a ghost for long enough to be shot..."

In reply to Gestalt (msg # 750):

"Uh, uh, wait, excuse me... we? " Roger replies to Billy's godzilla remark before having a mumbled sidebar with himself. "No, no, Roger, you chose that, you're not a victim."

Billy holds up his hand so it's between him and Roger, then points at it while stage whispering to Frank, "He was the hook."

In reply to Gestalt (msg # 750):

Nightmare makes an exaggerated wind up and aims a playful punch at Gestalt.  Just before contact her fist phases out and she wiffs through him letting the momentum carry her back around to the bench.

Joking aside... this thing is terrifying.  We need to find out what it is immediately.

When Percy has a moment he grabs her EVA suit helmet and she uses the Eye of Baxter to magnify and zoom in on the plant looking for the fruiting bodies searching to see if the spores are on the tentacle or if they are located elsewhere.  If on the tentacle she pushes everyone away places the entire reproductive organ in the jar.

She will work on it with an eye towards how to kill it, testing flammability, conductivity, freezing (thanks Wren), and Roger's mist to see what would be most effective in killing the main body.

/ooc Is our biologist still with us?  He should be assisting as well.

She pokes at the collar when she has a moment.

<Reason 89, Yellow RED Success>
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Today.

Kidnap, by which I mean hold me hostage

I mean, I get away eventually but still

Dick move

No, Aviva responds to Nightmare.  Usually I can tell you what I remember!  Remembering things from your future I mean, mostly people don't mind when I remember things from the past.

Unless I forget

Right, or in Billy's case, he'll be upset if I tell him too early.

So it's sometimes for your own good.

But sometimes I forget.

Right, right, I'll say that in a minute

Aviva finally either forgets why she was covering Briggs or else forgives him.  She reholsters the weapon and crosses her arms.

Oooh, I like your hair though! She smiles broadly at Nightmare

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 747):

Frank makes a mental note Scary smart, but not one for subtlety or sarcasm. Good to know

She sticks out a hand toward Nightmare, but pulls it back as their focus turns to xenobiology before cheerfully adding, We can do more formal introductions later, but I promise I'm not a stranger to danger, but I am very much coming up to speed on Billy's particular brand of stranger danger.

Frank lets out a haughty and unexpectedly girlie chuckle as Billy shares the fish finding adventures of Roger before sauntering over and planting a kiss on his cheek. It's good to see you again. She leans over and whispers into his ear

In reply to Penelope Franklin (msg # 755):

"Yeah, uh, welcome back dude," Roger manages, his cheeks burning red as Frank's lips meet his skin. His eyes do a quick sweep of the room -- left, right, anywhere but here -- mimicking a small furry creature in traffic.

In reply to Yardbird (msg # 756):

Rebecca studies the collar and the spike carefully, and ultimately determines the best way to extricate the former from the latter. Removing a small pin from either side a tiny hinge, she releases the spike and pull it out of the broader housing.

With the spike out of the way, you're left with far easier access to the collar's inner workings. The techies among you dive in with gusto, being careful not to destroy the thing in their attempts to understand it.

Your first salvo of efforts do not, in fact, damage the collar, and yield the following pertinent discoveries:



If you'd like to learn more, another Reason roll is needed (complete with another opportunity to damage it).

Interesting, Aviva taps her chin thoughtfully, before anyone explains what they learned

In reply to Aviva (msg # 758):

"Circuits? Adj, is this Leireblomst?"

Roger polls his AI for any information it may have about the collar.

[Reason: 48 + 5 = 53, Success]

"That would make something... like sense." Billy replies as he observes the brains working over the collar, "Talpid said it just worked, they didn't activate or deactivate it, but the moles seem to have a better grip on tech than the Joss.  Has that been your experience with the others?  It could be older than the Leireblomst, theoretically.  The voice said there were other settlers in the past, and whatever it is, it did seem to have a geological sense of scale."

"It is, and it isn't," the tinny voice of Roger's wrist-mounted adjutant whines. "The casing resembles a late-model labor collar, but oh dearie dear!"

Adj quivers with indignation.

"Someone has tampered with it!"

"Shocker," Billy rolls his eyes at the observation, "How are the labor collars supposed to work? Were they involved in giving commands, or just a discipline kind of thing?"

"Yeah Adj, give us the backstory. Tell us how it was modified. And while we're at it, what's the frequency? Let's get in touch with whoever's on the other side. They've got some explaining to do."

Roger looks at Billy.

"I wonder if some Talpids are playing puppetmaster. Gustaf was <ambushed by them. I don't recall him getting a collar slapped on him, though. Dolom's crew? Dunno who else would come up with this Face in the Deepest Burrow schtick..."

He turns to Wren.

"What do you remember from that encounter with the voice on the island?"
This message was last edited by the player at 13:32, Today.

"It could be real, but the Talpid we ran into made it sound like their voice was dealing terms, that they had to clean up after themselves or something.  Yours sounded a lot more indifferent to the comings and goings of the likes of us though.  Seemed like a fourth faction though, they didn't like the current or deposed deep one, and seemed surprised about Dolom's crew living under Havetplata."  Billy looks thoughtful as he considers the likelihood of this voice being genuine or a ruse.  Either way it didn't make sense to kill Ibis, there were clearly still holes in all the mole-based goings on.

A thought occurs to Roger and he gets a faraway look in his eyes. "'Scuse me," he says, stepping back out into the lobby. He spends a moment by the fire, tapping on his bracer as the light from the flames flickers on his face.

On his way back into the bunk section, he asks one of the guards, "Hey dude, ever hear about the face in the deepest burrow? Or is it voice? Anything? Thanks again for the lumber, by the way. As far as incarcerations go, this one's been pretty chill and I appreciate that."