[Smuggling Mingle]

[detectivewonder]

Who: Planned: Tim & Cass, Tim & Stephanie Amell, Tim & Hiro & Ino I think. Not Planned But Still Welcome: Tim and YOU!
Broadcast: Fleetwide Text.
Action: On the moons, or a shuttle in between them!
When: 2/17-2/20!

I'm making some book-buying expeditions to the moons for the next few days - let me know if you have any requests and I'll see if I can find something that fits. For that matter, let me know if you need a ride - we can carpool in one shuttle.

[It's true, but it's also a CYA pretext - if he's going to afford a decent library, Tim thinks, he needs income. Exporting books from all three moons gives him good cover - small items can be hidden in the spines, in the book jackets, in the pages, and might avoid customs, since he isn't planning to take the books themselves off-ship. For that matter, he has a lot of experience layering clothes in subtle ways, and the market value of red silk lingerie and underclothes on Abeo is unreal...

And unbeknownst to Tim, around the time he first starts spending his days cooped up alone in the shuttle, his augment is malfunctioning, upping his pheromones. Mostly, lightly, just enough for a raised heartbeat and a flushed cheek, but it still might make his trips... more interesting than he wants them to be.]

Comments

Action

[detectivewonder]

[The next morning, Tim's running five minutes ahead of schedule. He's borrowed a black button-down shirt, and conceded that his dress slacks are probably not quite contraband, so he has a funereal look as he docks and the airlock opens on the shuttle. He looks into the Bishop curiously, not yet stepping out - he sent a text notification before docking, but didn't wait to hear back beyond confirmation that he could do so. His mind is already on the logistical problems ahead, and not on the moment, or on his passenger, except whether or not she'll be on schedule.]

Action

[howcanihelp]

[ Stephanie is nothing if not punctual.

Okay that's a lie, she is not always punctual, she's often distracted or held up or just running late because she forgot she had to be anywhere, but today, at least, she's on time. She received his text, replied that she was ready and would meet him at the airlock, and is now trotting down the corridor towards him, all of 5 feet tall and wearing her Warden armor. ]

Hello! You must be my ride. I'm Stephanie, thank you so much for taking the time to get me.

[detectivewonder]

[Tim is overcome with a sudden fit of coughing. She's shorter than him, and that's about all that keeps him on his feet - the shock of looking a blonde Steph in the eye would have been too much.]

Stephanie. Hi. I'm Tim.

[His voice is a little weak and thready at first.]

[howcanihelp]

[ Stephanie looks concerned, darting closer to help if he needs to double over or something. That did not seem good. ]

Are you all right? I'm no healer, but I've enough practice to lessen any discomfort if you're ill...

[detectivewonder]

No, uh, I just... accidentally swallowed my tongue. I'm fine. Uh... welcome aboard?

[His eyes are very wide.]

[howcanihelp]

[ Stephanie looks a bit dubious, but she steps back to give him some space all the same ]

If you're sure. Thank you.

[detectivewonder]

You're welcome. Uh. First stop is Abeo.

[He moves to his seat, still glancing over at her thoughtfully. She's going to be sitting next to him for... a while. better get used to it now.]

[howcanihelp]

[ Seriously, she is really confused. Maybe it was the armor? She'd mentioned it but it does seem to be a bit outdated among many of the people in the fleet.

It's a crap explanation but it's all she can think of. ]

Right. Which are the things we aren't allowed to partake of there?

[detectivewonder]

Fancy clothes and make-up. Calling attention to yourself. They're serious people, survivalists. A little grim. I want to see what they've got available in catalogs of hazards and higher-tech survival advice for spacefarers. Maybe we can get an idea of what troubles we'll run into in the future...

[howcanihelp]

[ She nods, and smooths the cloth of her tunic. ]

Well, I shouldn't have too much trouble, I'm generally rather easy to overlook, being below eye level for most people.

[ Trying to lighten the mood a bit, because he seems ill at ease with her for some reason? Why yes she is. ]

[detectivewonder]

So... how are you handling being in space? Given that armor, I'm assuming there's no interstellar travel where you come from.

[howcanihelp]

No, we can't travel the heavens in Thedas. It's... well, it's very beautiful, certainly.

[ She pauses, thinking ]

It's cold, though - not like winter, just... cold. Everything smells of metal. I miss having grass under my feet and wind at my face.

Did you travel through the stars, where you're from?

[detectivewonder]

I've been off-planet before, but not often, and not like this. I'm kind of a homebody compared to my older brothers.

[the dry tone of the last sentence makes it clear that some part of that is a private joke; then he shakes his head.]

I don't really mind the sterile environment, though. I mind being stuck here. But the ships are fascinating.

[howcanihelp]

You have brothers? How many?

[ Stephanie always likes hearing about people's families. It helps when she decides to daydream about her own. ]

I mind being stuck here very much. I had important things to do, at home. Responsibilities.

[detectivewonder]

Three brothers, one sister; all by adoption. I grew up an only child, mostly.

[he pauses, still keeping his breathing slow and even.]

And I know what you mean.

[howcanihelp]

I don't have any siblings. Or, well, I suppose I have quite a few, in a way. I grew up in the Circle in Ferelden, the country I'm from. It's...

[ How to describe the Circle? ]

Anyone found with magical ability is brought to a Circle, usually when they're children. I was six or so when I was left there, and that's where I grew up.

[detectivewonder]

Magic?

[He's surprised, but not dubious. All right, if they're being monitored, this is an interesting conversation topic.]

We don't have anything so organized back home. Nothing institutional.

[howcanihelp]

Mm-hmm.

[ It's nice to know he is accepting of magic being real. There's so little sign of it here (aside from their presence) that she was pretty sure some people would scoff at the idea ]

The Chantry requires that all mages be kept under guard. Our magic comes from our connection to the Fade, it's... where spirits live, where mortals visit in their dreams. Mages are susceptible to being seduced by demons in the Fade, allowing them to possess them.

It's... a possessed mage is very dangerous. Demons do not care who they hurt as long as they get what they want.

[detectivewonder]

That part, I've seen firsthand.

[howcanihelp]

[ She smiles tightly ]

At any rate, I felt sometimes like I had a very large number of siblings, growing up.

[detectivewonder]

That would have been cool. Mine are all... a lot more recent.

[howcanihelp]

What are they like, if you don't mind me asking?

[detectivewonder]

Well... Cass just arrived the other day. She's the next-oldest, after me. Serious, quiet. Impressive. Dick's the oldest and friendliest; Jason's the black sheep, and Damien... is a brat.

[His voice goes from fond at the first two, uncertain at Jason, to edged as he mentions Damien.]

[howcanihelp]

Cassandra? She has black hair and works for a bat man, right? I met her, she was lovely.

[ She means that TOTALLY non-sexually, for the record. Not a single thought about her being pretty, or how well fit her body was in that skin-tight suit. Nope. None. ]

[detectivewonder]

That's her.

[Lovely isn't a word he would have considered using, although now that he thinks about it, he can;t argue with it in any sense.]