When We're Rollin Through the Wild Wild West

[geonomy]

Who: Everyone! EVERYONE!
Broadcast: IF YOU WANNA
Action: Everywhere! EVERYWHERE!
When: Mid-September - Mid-October

[How's your ship doing, pardners? Is it still pretty damaged? Is it glitching out hardcore? Well, there is one place to land to take care of all that, and that's on a dusty old moon in front of a planet that no one wants to go to. On this moon, you'll find a civilization that looks a lot like one's stepped into a wild west movie, hardened cowpolk and mutant horses and all. Will you become a vigilante, hunting bounties and stopping gangs from doing their dirty work? Will you go exploring planetside, with a cowboy hat and a stalk of wheat in your mouth to complete the look? Good luck with that; there is no wheat. This town ain't big enough for all you flooters, but make it so! For the ratings!

In other words, it's a planet mingle! Get 'er done!]

[September Planet info here]

Comments

[dancingmd]

[Jove's question makes Beverly chuckle, so she's glad Tek sees the humor in it as well.]

Me? A mage? No, no, I'm just a plain old human. There isn't even any magic at all where I come from. I wouldn't know the first thing about casting a spell.

[dancingmd]

Good.

So... I take it you don't have an emotion chip either then?

[dancingmd]

[Mae offers Nova a small smile in return. Meanwhile, Beverly has opened up her medkit and taken out her tricorder. She holds it up so the girl can see it clearly.]

This is called a tricorder. A scanner. Do you know what that is?

[Mae looks uncertainly up at her mother before shaking her head solemnly.]

It'll tell me why you're feeling sick, so then I know how to make you feel better.

[She looks at Nova.]

Would you mind giving a little demonstration?

[dawnwillcome]

[There's something about that, about a human being willing to call themselves plain old anything, that surprises Jove a little. She's not used to meeting humans who would admit something like that so easily to an elf.]

I'm sure you're much more than that. If I've learned anything about our friend, it's that he doesn't tend to bother long with the mundane. Now then.

[Jove raises her staff and points it in the direction she approached from, shards of ice gathering around the end before a large glyph appears on the ground. It pulses bright blue and then fades, but there's still a faint glow and if they were to get closer, they'd feel the change in temperature around the ice mine.]

There we are. Something to keep us from overheating and to keep any potential dragon hunters from sneaking up on us.

[catamite]

[and, as always, he appreciates the show. he snickers conspiratorially, and then casts a glance down the street, like he might just be able to see the next best place to go from right there.]

You kind of have to dig around for it, yeah... but I'm good at making my own fun. I think we can find something to do.

[dancingmd]

[Well, when your species is only one of thousands in the galaxy, it's harder to think humans are anything particularly special (though, naturally, Beverly will still bristle at any implication that they are lesser). Besides, she knows nothing of human-elf relations on Thedas, so she has no reason to react any differently.

In fact, she's duly impressed with Jove's magic. This sort of thing is still a bit of a mystery to her, but she is always hungry to know more, so she immediately takes out her tricorder (because of course she has that with her) and scans the mine. The tricorder can't tell her how it got there, of course, but she can see the triggering mechanism that shoots up the ice spikes.]

Fascinating. May I...?

[She looks at Jove, to see if it's okay to approach.]

[dawnwillcome]

[In Jove's world the races are much more limited and hers just happens to be on the bottom of the totem pole. What's more, she's a Dalish elf, the kind best known for keeping well away from the goings on of humans for the fear of being immediately murdered simply because her people have refused to give up on thousands of years of tradition.

Plus, she's a mage. In a world where what she had just done was more likely to result in being hunted down and locked in a tower for the rest of her life, a reaction like Beverly's is very uncommon.]

You... [Yeah she needs a second for that to sink in, hang on.] Of course, it's no danger to you. Anyone who may come to harm us will be frozen in place and impaled on spikes of ice, but the worst you'll get is a little chilly.

D! living on the edge here

[stefanged]

[Towards the tail end of their stay on this moon, Stefan's starting to wish they could move on. He's stocked up on as many desert plants as he could; he bought some materials for the interfaith center; and he even fed on a zebra-horse.

It took him a couple of days to nurse the poor thing back to health, and the little guy's a bit skittish now - not that Stefan could blame the zebra-horse. Right upon returning the (super nervous) horse, he passes by the saloon and. And yep, that sure is another few people tumbling out with injuries.

Thankfully, he's fed to his heart's content, but the sight makes him groan more than usual.]

You'd think they'd learn by now.

[dancingmd]

[Beverly steps into the circle of cold, eyes wide with interest. Squatting down, she gingerly reaches out and touches one of the still faintly glowing marks. A strange tingling sensation flows up her arm and she instinctively jerks her hand away. When she looks at her hand though, nothing is wrong with it.]

Wow.

[She looks back and up at Jove.]

I've seen Anders do some... ice magic? [Is that the proper term? She has no idea.] But he only turned his hand cold. I had no idea you could do anything this complex!

[dawnwillcome]

[This is such a pleasant change that Jove has nearly forgotten the giant dragon in the corner, far more interested now in Beverly's curiosity and eagerness to learn about magic.]

There's a similar spell that will make a mine of fire that explodes when stepped on, but I think the desert is warm enough already. I can also make a ring of lightning that will shock anyone who tries to leave the circle, but we'll be keeping the electricity to a minimum today.

[She hasn't completely forgotten Tek, it seems.]

I didn't know you were a friend of Anders, but I'm glad to hear it. How long have you known him?

[dancingmd]

[Beverly stands again, hands on hips.]

Well, hopefully none of that will be necessary.

[She's not exactly relishing the idea of having to hurt anyone. But as to Jove's question:]

Oh Anders? I was - am - friends with Hawke, so ... let's see, when did they start dating?

[heresyandlace]

[okay, chatting has happened, friendship has been established, and that's all well and good. but the dragon is bored now, and still full of terribly restless energy.

so, after his limbs are all stretched, he beats his massive wings once-- kicking up quite a bit of wind and dust --before folding them on his back, and turning away.

without bothering to really see if his pair of babysitters are following, he begins to wander out from the shade of the nearby cliffside and head for a sunnier and dustier bit of wasteland.]

[thezerothlaw]

[Look at him, being all stopped. In a weird way, this is more fascinating than he expected. And while he doesn't understand the specifics -- he hears more in the way of general emotion than specific thoughts, after all -- he understands paranoia and alarm, and he understands the comprehension. Daneel sits down on the ground, cross-legged. Not a threat, see? He is the least threatening individual ever.

He is pretty sure he could get up in a hurry if he had to. How fast do dragons move?]

I am not a threat to you.

[thezerothlaw]

I was from 3741, assuming our calendars are similar.

[He... assumes so.]

There were many robots. There were very few that looked human. I was a prototype, in fact.

[thezerothlaw]

An emotion chip?

[Daneel considers this for a moment.]

Human emotions are partly a result of hormonal and biological responses. My reactions are my own, and while they are different from human reactions, I'm often able to draw parallels. I suppose it may be possible to introduce software or hardware into a robot that allowed it to more accurately experience emotions in a human sense, but I'm not certain why. I may be content in my own way, or grieve, or regret. Anger is alien to my nature, but I'm not certain that I need to experience it, either.

[dancingmd]

[The wind kicked up by Tek's wings blows a pile of dust right in Beverly's face. She throws up her arms in a only somewhat successful against the grit getting in her eyes.]

Tek!

[Blinking furiously, she reaches into another pocket of her uniform for a small medkit and digs out a tissue. As she wipes her eyes and face free of dirt:]

Where the hell is he going?

[dawnwillcome]

[While Beverly gets a faceful of dust, Jove is knocked off balance and staggers a few steps to the side before righting herself. She's very thankful she didn't fall straight over, but the glare she shoots Tek's retreating form is hot enough to suggest this was bad enough.]

Fenedhis lasa, you great idiot!

[That's the elvish equivalent of holy shit and there's some grumbling about the Dread Wolf using him as a chew toy too, but that's mostly under her breath as she shakes sand off her armor and brushes it out of her hair. So annoyed, but still driven by the guilt of previously murdering him and trying to make up for it in any way she can now. Which means following him. He sucks so much holy shit.]

We'd better follow him, Creators only know what he'll manage to get into that size.

[heresyandlace]

[it's like he doesn't notice what a disturbance he's caused-- and it might even be halfway true. at this size, it's hard to keep track of little things like that, especially when you are absolutely not watching for them.

he can only be so considerate.

at least he doesn't laugh at their outbursts, and a grin doesn't show up easily on a face already made of mostly bone and teeth. he does answer them, though, regardless of the fact that they have little hope of understanding him.

he lifts his head and cranes it back a bit as he walks, answering with a few words curled with growls and hisses and rumbling voice. it's not his fault that they can't understand him.]

[ino]

[ She can't really talk, given she was involved in a bar fight herself. But in her defense, she came out of that unscathed, unlike the other guys.

Still, she waits around here some nights for the injured in case they need emergency care -- or an extra fist. So she'll be watching Stefan pass by, kind of amused ]

Nah, there's always something to fight about.

[feathery]

[He gives her a quick, rare grin, surprised; truthfully, he still doesn't know what to do with positive reinforcement.]

Fair. I don't know if I'd have the faintest fucking idea what to do with something like a tortoise.

[He gives his lizardfish a prod, evidently caught up in its weirdness, and it wriggles at him.] —Whoops.

[takeabow]

Sure, but you'll have to tell me what to do.

[stefanged]

I'd believe it. Even I've been in a couple.

[He has to hold back a smile at the thought, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he approaches her. Even he's been involved in a few, mostly because he was seated in the wrong place at the wrong time.]

Though I'm not sure if those count, considering the lowlife decided to use my card table as a shield.

[notkittenaround]

It is your catch, so you may choose what to do with it. I know not whether it is good, or poison, so I would not eat it raw.

[ She gives it an amused prod with her nail. ]

But it has no spines that I see, so you will be well despite your lack of fisher's gloves. If you wish to learn more of the art, I would see you clad in better gear.

[stickupherforehead]

[it...would be smart to program robots to like their creators, right?]

I think I like humans better as individuals than as a whole.

[ino]

[ Pfft. She lets out a little laugh ]

I'm pretty sure if you aren't fighting dirty you aren't doing a bar fight right.