(no subject)

[allegations]

Who: Neal Caffrey & OPEN
Broadcast: The first part!
Action: Yes!
When: Video: Today. Action: Anytime this week.

video
[Neal is standing in one of the abandoned way-stations, right in front of a very thoroughly looted vending machine. There's not even half a chocolate bar left, not that he's checked.

But that's not important, because he's grinning into the camera, wearing a white shirt that's clearly tailored to him (sleeves folded up to just below his elbows), wavy hair styled back as carefully as is possible without all his usual product. He might be standing in a mess of debris, but that doesn't mean he has to match the decor.]

Hi there. I'm Neal. I didn't introduce myself before, since everything seemed to get a bit busy around here.

[He smiles, 100% friendly.]

I was wondering, though, has anyone had any more luck with these way-stations? So far, all of the machines I've found have been emptied. There's not even a pack of peanuts.

[He shrugs.]

What's the point in giving us money if we can't spend it, right?


action
[Anyone exploring the way-stations might come across Neal. He's not straying too far from the entrances, in case they're as dangerous as he knows the mysterious ship is, but his curiosity is gradually getting the better of him. He's checking out any wending machine or abandoned shop he can find, just in case something has been left behind.

Eventually he will come across a still-functioning vending machine, too. Instead of buying anything, though, he'll be crouched down next to it, hands touching the edges, trying to figure out how it works. It might even look like he's trying to get it open.

If only there was a convenient keyhole he could get a pick into.]

Comments

action;

[paeon]

Neal?

[ Yep, it's your catgirl security officer. She's been back and forth from the ship and the waystations, exploring and taking breaks as necessary. That ship is less like a stronghold and more like a gauntlet, and she isn't stupid enough to try and force the way through. She's dressed practically, bow strapped to her back rather than at the ready, when she approaches her crewmate. ]

What is it that you're looking for here?

[allegations]

[Neal looks around as she talks to him, and his smile is exactly as friendly as it always is, bright and just a little challenging.]

We need supplies, right? This is the first machine I've found that isn't already looted.

[It doesn't really contain anything good, but.]

[paeon]

[ She considers that, then reaches to her belt and retrieves a knife which she holds out handle-first. Seeing where this one came from, it's obvious she has a second, as well. ]

Perhaps this will help. These machines are not like the sort I've encountered myself; I wouldn't know where to start with disassembling them. Are you more familiar?

[allegations]

[He looks a bit surprised, then pleased. Good taste in clothes, and a thief; now he's gotten past the cat ears, he's definitely starting to like her.]

No. Where I'm from, you usually just need a key. Or a lockpick.

[He'll take the knife, and insert it along one crack, carefully at first just to see if anything feels different.]

I'm not even sure these open from the front, since they're built into the walls.

[paeon]

[ She's a part of the Rogues' Guild, even if part of it is only in name. Adventuring means she doesn't really have time to do it as her regular job... but that doesn't mean she isn't quite the land-locked pirate at times. ]

Yes, that would make it simpler.

[ While he checks with the knife, she's going to try the seam between the wall and the machine with the tip of an arrow. ]

If nothing else, I've more tools back on the Caprine that may be useful in trying to pry it loose. Those other looters must have had some similar technique, wouldn't you say?

[allegations]

I think they mostly used brute force.

[Brute force, his tone says, is something to be ashamed of. Unless you're desperate.]

I'd like to be able to close it up again, too. Hide the fact that we broke into it.

[paeon]

[ She tilts her head to consider him, then nods. Her own work is brute in nature, but there's something to be said for playing fair while using physical measures. ]

To keep our trail hidden from what bandits may have passed?

In such case, there must be an entrance somewhere that would provide better access. How else would one restock such a stall? Perhaps we're looking from the wrong direction.

[allegations]

And from anyone in else from the fleet, too.

[Too many people frown upon stealing. For some reason. It's not like this is even stealing from people, since they're just machines, and abandoned by the looks of it. Not to mention: All's fair when you've been kidnapped.

Also. He's going to hand the knife back, now.]

You might be right. [Grin.] I bet we can figure it out if we study one of the machines that's already broken open.

[paeon]

[ She takes the knife and places it back from whence it came. Her lips twist with humor and she nods, beginning to walk along where a longer line of vending machines have been left open to rot. ]

You wish to keep what resources we acquire to ourselves? [ There's no condemnation in the question; it sounds like a kind of practicality she's all too fine with, but might not have considered on her own. ]

There were more this way. You've plenty of practice with this sort of thing.

[allegations]

I've been in some tough spots, yeah.

[He knows that's not what she meant. Nothing on his face gives away that he knows that's not what she meant.]

I don't mind sharing. It's just that some people get angry about this sort of thing.

[paeon]

Any spots similar to the one we now face?

[ Now that's a tease. It's so beyond her comprehension that she doesn't even think that this might be normal to someone else out there. ]

Ah, the... less than noble acquisition, you mean? Yes, I suppose that's their right.

[allegations]

You mean being kidnapped and forced to participate in a reality show? In space? [He pauses, briefly, like he's thinking about it.] No, definitely not.

[He's just going to. Shove open one of these vending machines a bit more completely, so he can look inside.]

Yes. That. Though the way I see it, if they didn't want us stealing from them, they shouldn't have brought us here.

[paeon]

[ Rather than look inside, O'danya is inspecting what pieces remain in tact of the front covering. Hinges or weak points where it seems the material buckled easiest, that sort of thing. Ways to break inside if necessary. ]

Part of me wonders how much of our destinations are voluntary. They're clearly staged, but something does seem off about the participation of our captors.

[ She just isn't able to put her finger on it. This is more Alichi'ra's forte than her own. ]

This place in particular puts it all into question.

[allegations]

If it's a reality show, it's all about the entertainment. They'll want us to either argue loudly or... Well, they don't want us to sit quietly and read books.

What's off about their participation, and this place?

[He hasn't been there long enough to really pick up on anything. Meanwhile, he's going to poke at the other three walls inside, as well as the floor and ceiling, in case anything comes loose.]

[paeon]

[ Danya's trying to get the front covering free from what's left while she speaks. No reason to not work while she talks. ]

Their announcements have a certain... regularity to them, but never do they seem to acknowledge where we've stopped or what has happened other than changes in crews. Or... trying to placate us when other ships have come into range, though we've been unable to communicate with them. This place is abandoned and picked clean without mentioning the dangers of the ship we've discovered whereas other locations have been focused on whim and fancy. What purpose would we have for stopping here?

I apologize; description has never been a talent I could claim. Perhaps others could explain it more clearly.

[allegations]

[Neal can multi-task, too. And when he notices what she's doing, he'll turn and help her by unhooking the cover from the inside, lifting it free with her.]

The purpose is probably just to see what we'll do. They want us to explore that abandoned ship, I bet. Fight those... bugs, or whatever they are, that have been attacking people.

And I guess it would be less entertaining if they warned us about what might happen.

[paeon]

[ She looks up to smile at him, then sets it up against the wall once it's free. Muscle doesn't seem to be an issue for her so much as the leverage was poor. She steps back and considers the damage done to it for now. ]

That is entirely possible. Yet only a select few of us know how to fight... that danger is all too powerful to be mere entertainment. [ She sighs. ] I should be thankful I've weapons and Omnilex both with me.

[ Metaphorically, that is. She's left her magical tools on the Caprine once discovering the bugs are more resistant to them. ]

Have you found anything within the machine thus far?

[allegations]

There's no better entertaining than people dying.

[So very, very dry. There's a reason why he's going nowhere near those bugs - he's in good shape, but fighting really isn't his thing.

Investigating this machine is far more interesting. He shoves some of the debris outside with his foot, to get it out of the way (there actually is a pack of nuts in the mix, but he's also not interested in anything that's been on the floor, even if it's in its wrapper still), allowing him to finally get a proper look at the inner workings.]

Yeah. It does open outwards, but I'm betting you need a signal to get the door to unlock. And hacking isn't really my area of expertise.

Everything here's pretty damaged, though.

[He clearly hasn't given up on this yet. There's always another way.]

[paeon]

[ She isn't going to comment on the entertainment part. Halatali is still a thing, even if it usually pits adventurers against monsters or otherwise adds a large dose of danger into the mix. Then again, anyone who's entered themselves to the coliseum would know the risks beforehand. Not so, here. ]

Hacking?

[ O'danya tilts her head, confused and curious at once. ]

Through damage we might find an opening otherwise left unchecked. This piece itself has given me an idea how to pierce the plating to open it, but if we were to be subtle... then I've yet to find a solution.