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(no subject)

Who: Nightingale, anyone else
Broadcast: Video
Action: Y
When: The 11th, sometime mid-morning.

[The video starts up showing... Well, for most people, it's probably an empty wall, at the end of the dormitory hallway, and there's a crazy person just pawing at the wall. For those who have the lab support or cook augments that are currently glitching, though, you can see the doorway and touchpad. A hand will reach over from outside of the camera's view, touch the touchpad, the digital voice says "Level five access granted", and the door slides open, at which point she pulls a chair from off the camera to wedge it into the doorway so it can't close again. This probably looks very strange to anyone who isn't glitched.

This is when she will finally turn the camera around to show herself.]

This is Nightingale. I've found something weird that definitely wasn't here yesterday, and I'm starting to think this ship isn't as safe as was claimed. I need a party down here to investigate this, as soon as possible. Preferably people that are able to fight in case things get ugly. I haven't gone through here yet, but I think we might be on a time limit.

... And, while I'm making myself sound totally insane, something's wrong with the ship. I've been checking it with my Scan spell for a while now, and it feels more like a monster than a ship to me. Aren't there story books in here about getting swallowed whole by monsters and living in their bellies? Because that seems a little relevant.

Anyway, I'll be going to investigate this room soon. It's at the end of the dorm hallway. Anyone else who wants in, hurry, I'll be here.

[And true to her word, anyone who comes to check it out (or to check if she's completely lost her mind) can find Nightingale standing right where she said, anxiously checking her communicator. The door is still wedged open, too.]

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[ it is a very strange sight indeed, but it seems no more strange than the wild claims the blond is making. lacking her usual means of offense, weiss hesitates only briefly before deciding to follow through, her boots clicking lightly down the corridor to signal her approach. with the communication, she can't see what nightingale is seeing, but she thinks to save that part for later.

first thing's first. ]

Hi, my name is Weiss Schnee. You were the one who'd made the video earlier, yes? [ nightingale, she'd gone as. ] What did you mean by "Scan spell"?

Hi. I'm Nightingale. Yeah, that was me.

[She glances over Weiss, trying to see if she looks strong. She would normally be checking her with Scan, but conserving MP seems important right now...]

I'm a mage, that's a spell I have. It can tell me a lot about a target- Name, general strength, specific stats, all of that.

[ weiss certainly doesn't look like a fighter — prim and pristine, like a delicate porcelain doll. she isn't particularly strong, nor is she all that great with endurance, but even without her usual weapons, she isn't useless. and she flat out refuses to be made so. if she has to get by on her aura and semblance and tactical mind for a time, then so be it. ]

And you can direct this to objects? Like the ship itself? How potent would you say it is?

[Nightingale doesn't really look much like a fighter herself- Skinny, short, no stamina at all. But she's a mage, and she knows not to judge entirely on appearances- In fact, if it weren't for that question, Nightingale would have immediately just assumed Weiss was another mage.]

No, that's the problem. My spells can't target objects or parts of the environment. A ship, especially one I'm riding inside, should not be targetable. The fact that it is means there's something very wrong.

Scan isn't a damage spell. It can get me the level, stats, and description of who or whatever I target with it. It can act... weird, when other worlds get involved, but it's never failed.

[ her glyphs can be pretty "magical," as far as semblances go, so that presumption wouldn't be entirely wrong... ]

Have you considered the possibility of an AI? [ she's only just recently met one herself, but... ] I find it hard to believe that this vessel we're in is an actual living thing, but perhaps it is technologically advanced enough that it... thinks it is?

I've considered it, but a golem or mechanical intelligence still is affected by Scan normally. And usually, when those types of monsters get big enough, they're divided into different units, which isn't happening here.

And even without Scan, it looks different for that. It's really difficult to explain if you don't have magic sight, but there's this flow of... Mana, but not mana. Energy, I guess? It's weird, and a little creepy. It looks like a living thing.

[ it is weird, and a bit too unsettling a possibility for weiss to want to believe in... her lips purse, eyes glancing briefly towards the open door. ]

Have you tried... contacting it?

[She can only shake her head.]

Not yet. I have no idea how to even begin, and even if I did, I don't want to take an action like that alone. There's over a hundred of us in this ship, and worst-case scenario... It's not aware of us, but talking to it might make it decide to start digesting. I'd want more people to be for the idea first.

[And, well. She's doing a decent job of keeping up her poker face, but honestly, this thing is creeping her way the fuck out, and she really doesn't want to be the one to make contact. She will, if there's no choice, but...]

[ start digesting............. weiss can't even help but shudder at that. ]

Well, you were right to reach out to others. This shouldn't be something anyone should have to tackle alone.

[ she attempts to give the girl a reassuring smile. ]

If things turn sour, I'll do everything in my power to make sure we're both safe.

[Honestly, that reassurance helps, and she returns with a grateful smile herself.]

Thanks. But don't think I won't help- I've got eight casts of my best spell left, so if things do 'turn sour', I can take care of offense.

[ weiss' own smile widens, just a fraction, bolstered by this return in promise. ]

Then we'll be a force to be reckoned with, I'm sure.

[ she shifts towards the propped door then, craning her neck a little to get a peek into it. ]

Shall we...?

[She gestures to Tyrion and his panel from the wall.]

Let's go, but I'm thinking let's stay behind the guy with the shield.

Well I suppose that's one way to do it...

[ weiss thinks her reflexes are fast enough not to require the shield but. whatever makes nightingale feel better, she supposes...

regardless, she'll take a tentative step in through the crack.

but she pauses right at the doorway. ]

Um. What exactly am I looking at, here?

[An advantage to being as scrawny and tiny as Nightingale is that she can get into small places easily. So she's slipping through behind Weiss to take a look.

If Weiss looks closely, Nightingale's eyes are glowing slightly for a moment, before returning to normal.]

Good question. It looks like they just left everything too big to carry... Why are there cryobeds in here?

[ HEAVY SQUINTING ]

I'm sorry. Cryo-what??

Cryobed. That thing.

[She points at it, reciting information like she'd been called on in class. The fact that Weiss might not see what she sees doesn't appear to have even occurred to her.]

They're used in long space voyages, putting the person inside to sleep. These ones are...

[And she trails off at that, looking quite confused.]

... Okay, I should not know this sort of thing. I know nothing about space trips. So, that's the creepiness level going way up. Anything weird going on with you?

Just this, [ weiss answers a bit blithely. she sees nothing, and that much is clear given the way she's arching a dubious brow at the other girl. ]

Are you sure you're feeling alright?

Yeah? I'm fine. No status effects or anything. What's that look for?

There's nothing but junk in here. [ literal junk. even weiss can't see the use for half of these things, and she loves that shit. ]

What? No, there's...

[And she stops abruptly.]

Oh, fuck. Are you not a mage or anything?

[ she squints at that ]

Define "mage."

Okay, with that answer, definitely not. You don't see ambient magical effects or anything, is what I'm getting at.

It must be an image, like the wall that was concealing the door... Finally meet someone cute, and make them think I'm crazy. Hell of a first impression.

[Yeah, being the type to think out loud can be a problem sometimes.]

[ some more squinting, but this time with a light dusting of pink on her otherwise pale cheeks. she clears her throat a little, attempting to recompose. ]

Are you implying that what you're seeing is some sort of magic-induced hallucination?

[Fortunately, she doesn't appear to notice.]

Just the opposite. It's probably a type of utility spell called an image- It lets you use magic to disguise an object as something else. Like a door as a wall. But it's only visual, so mages or people with the same kind of skill can see through them.

It's also possible it's more technological in basis- Talking with another guy, we realized we're seeing different things. It could be that people's augments are showing different things, since the are hooked into our brains. It was suggested before that the augments might themselves be the cameras the Atroma are using for footage to broadcast, taking the feeds directly from our eyes, so maybe they can input visual data into our heads rather than just receiving it...

[She's going to keep going in this vein if she's not stopped.]

[ tbh she's only stopped because weiss wants in on this theorizing too. ]

And what augment have you been outfitted with? I've got the communications one, or so I've been informed.