✧06

[bi_otic]

Who: Kaidan Alenko and anyone!
Broadcast: Fleetwide video
Action: SS First Breath cargo hold
When: today-ish? Whatever works

[He's sitting sideways on the weight bench in the cargo bay, easily visible by the fact that he's propped the communication up on the nearby railing. A tiny, yipping, long-haired lump of a puppy toddles occasionally in and out of frame as it chases a ball, though Kaidan is ignoring it for moment. His expression is serious as he looks at the camera.]

I wasn't sure about going out into the mist, what with all the danger signs attached. Seems like a good way to get hurt to me. But...uh...something gave me the impression that a certain someone didn't want us sticking our nose where it didn't belong.

Which...uh..[he chuckles, the sound a little sheepish and a little rueful]...meant that I had to do the opposite. I know a few of you have already been out there and mist monster aside, there's one other problem I ran into - the atmospheric pressure down there is incredible. I couldn't take my shuttle down more than half way to the surface before almost every warning light in the cockpit went off. I'm pretty sure it would crush me like a tin can if I tried, but I really didn't want to risk testing it.

I'm not an engineer, though, so I'm not sure what could be done to get around this. But if you're as curious as I am...I'm open to suggestions.

[To counterpoint this small speech, the pup jumps up on his lap in an awkward splay, dropping the ball between his knees. Kaidan can't help but crack a small smile as he pats the dog.]

Settle down. I'll play with you in a minute, ok?

[He tosses the ball across the cargo hold and the pup bounds after it]

Comments

voice

[airily]

Hmm... Maybe it's something people that aren't human should look into.

[bi_otic]

I...uh...I don't know. Assuming we can find a way to bypass the mist, there's a lot of bad down there, and I don't just mean whatever's waiting around to eat whoever gets too close.

[airily]

Maybe if the lotta bad can't see me... [ He hums, thoughtful. ] I guess I could look into it. I'm not a scientist, but I'm pretty invisible to most things.

[bi_otic]

The...most things part might be the sticky part? What are the exceptions, usually?

[airily]

Things that can usually see seraphim, or have spent a long time around one so they learn to see them.

[bi_otic]

There's no way to know if it's in the first category.

[Mentally, he's just brushing past the usually invisible part as if it were a minor detail. The how of that isn't the most important issue in this conversation]

[airily]

We'll figure it out when we get there, huh?

[bi_otic]

I...generally like to have more information before I take action. But I guess that's one way to go about it.

Look, like I said, I'm not a scientist either, but invisible or not the mist might still be a problem. Whatever you do...just...be careful.

[airily]

I'm always careful. [ Ahah. ] You want a report when I get down there?

[mongoosecrow]

Look, I'm not exactly into the idea of all the best looking among us going down into that midst, but if you gotta I might be able to rig something up to help. I'll take a look around, see what I can come up with.

[bi_otic]

You're free to use one of my shuttles as a test subject. I already have reinforced shields from some our previous upgrades. It might make a difference.

[mongoosecrow]

Yeah! That sounds like a fun toy to play with either way.

[bi_otic]

[That merits the smallest of chuckles from him]

Well, you can have as much fun with it as you want, as long as it works. I know what I'm asking is dangerous, but the less people that get hurt the better.

voice.

[astrobleme]

[A relatively young voice, and tired-sounding:] I don't know what's going on down there... but whatever it is, it definitely isn't worth messing with. Probably just more monsters and crap. I mean...

[bi_otic]

[Kaidan almost never bothers to question how young people sound around here, and tired just seems to be a given]

I know. I wouldn't be surprised, but...[He sighs]...if it's really a threat to these islands, maybe there's something to we can do. And on the other...frankly I'm a bit suspicious everytime our hosts try to get us to look in the opposite direction.

[astrobleme]

We could end up making things worse, though. Not intentionally, but still...

[A glass half-full kind of outlook.]

[bi_otic]

I guess I could see how that's possible. We need to be careful about what we mess with down there, so caution is definitely warranted. But at the same time...if people are going to keep going down into the mist, I'd prefer we do it safely.

[astrobleme]

It's probably just a ratings thing. That's what it seems like to me. This whole... mystery from down below, and whatever. Everyone's all scrambling around and it doesn't even matter. [...] Doesn't this kind of thing ever get tiresome? [he asks, then, and it isn't a question specifically meant for Kaiden. Kaiden just happens to be the one listening in.]

[bi_otic]

[A beat]

...of course it does. But...I can't bring myself to stop digging deeper whenever I feel like there's something they're trying to keep us from seeing. The more we learn, the closer it brings us to finding out how to get out of here. Or to having more control out of lives.

video;;

[postocular]

Other than reinforcing the shuttle, I'm not really sure. It's still worth looking into, I think. Has anyone else given any ideas?

[bi_otic]

Nothing specific, except a few offers to look into it as well. I'm offering one our shuttles. Are you an engineer?

[postocular]

I am, yeah. No prior experience before the fleet, though.

[bi_otic]

I don't think it matters that much, here. What does is that you're willing to try. And if we get a few heads together on this it won't be an issue.

[postocular]

I'm willing to do what I can, just put me to work.

[bi_otic]

Hey...I'm nobody's boss here. But I'll do what I can to organize the effort. I've seen what people can accomplish when they put their heads together.