[Nexus] Inside 43

[Lady Serpentine]

[Park]

Karyana grins back, looking quite pleased that Zwei is so obviously feeling better.

"Consider it done, then, love."

[The Bushranger]

[Jessica's House]

"I assume she was human...I fear for your friend's safety," Rhyan says honestly, missing the dirt on the wall as she scans across the floor for any additional blood.

[Erin's Emporium]

"Aeryn! I'm back from the job! I have loot! You want to see a tri-corder? It's just like in the show." Wes is all hyper and chipper now.

Aeryn is behind the counter, and looks up with a grin.
"Oh? How'd that get into the Nexus I wonder?" she asks, setting aside her Sudoku book.

[Devixer]

Blue Zone-Library

"It's a plan then," he says. Hopping off of his chair and walking to the door. "Do you think we should keep the mineral hunt a secret, or be honest?"

Ashley hmm's in thought for a moment or two. "I think it might be best if we're honest about this. We don't know the consequences of getting caught lying."

[LadyOfWar]

[Jessica's House]

Mayhala frowns. That's not good... Certainly, it's possible that Jessica killed someone here, presumably after they attacked her for some reason, but in that case, wouldn't she have been allowed to stay in her house after reporting it and being interrogated under Truth Spell?

"Someone died here... I can't tell who, but they had plenty of time to live. Either they were young, or they were going to live to be quite old, based on how much time they would have had left to live."

Mayhala will notice the dirt only if Ryhan doesn't.

[Jessica's House]

"I assume she was human...I fear for your friend's safety," Rhyan says honestly, missing the dirt on the wall as she scans across the floor for any additional blood.

Winguardia’s eyes begin to seethe, and her expression hardens. “Look for clues. The authorities have already been here, but they miss things. Look for anything that will tell us what has happened.” As she speaks her lips, tightened by anger, seem to highlight her sharp fangs. By her anger, Jessica was young and human, but she isn’t about to verbalize the conclusion her fears have already jumped to. “And who are the authorities around here anyhow? They are going to have some questions to answer.”

There is no blood on the floor, there is no more blood anywhere, it doesn’t fit at all with a violent death, unless they were strangled, or somehow had no blood left to leave behind.

Meanwhile, in the little house across the street, a grey-haired old busy-body is peering out past her curtains at the three figures visible through Jessica’s living room picture window.

[Erin's Emporium]
Aeryn is behind the counter, and looks up with a grin.
"Oh? How'd that get into the Nexus I wonder?" she asks, setting aside her Sudoku book.

“My job was on a regular Federation Starship, they had some pretty neat stuff.” She sets the handy hand-held device on the counter to show Aeryn. “And some regular old precious metal too. Let’s see now, how much to I owe you? If you can convert the dollar amount to gold, that would be helpful. I’m not familiar with the exchange rates around here.”

[Chaotic Bob]

[Fourth Path]

Reviline eyes herself in the mirror, tilting the cowboy hat she has donned and making little faces at herself.
Boredom calls for some vanity-indulging.

She was supposed to be doing something about now, but a certain someone had passed out again a few hours ago, and neglected to finish her statement.
That woman is going to kill herself with this. But then again, considering what she'd said about her research, perhaps working less hard would result in her definitely killing herself with this.
"Everyone has their psychotic little obsessions, I suppose..."

"Psychosis is culturally subjective, Lin."
Glancing at the space behind her in the mirror, Reviline shrugs a little.
Looks like she woke up quicker than last time.
"Does this mean I'm working after all?"
"I just need you to place surveillance orbs in these places, and the green boxes in the ones marked in blue. Preferably out of sight, please."

Reviline is handed a not-so-very-little list and is gestured towards a duffel-bag by the door.
"There's no rush, so take your time. Now, I should get back to work.
Mind the rain, Lin."
And away she goes, as soon as she appeared, back into her study.

Scratching her cheek as she looks over the list, Reviline frowns a bit.
"This is going to take days. Awful lot of walking...oh well, I guess. Finally stretch my legs."
The list is tucked away in a pocket, her hat adjusted, duffel-bag fetched, and the woman heads on out the door.

A nice, straight forward day.

[Mindfreak]

[Alley]
She gets out, getting a shoulderbag as she goes.
I am Tsade, though I have been called Tsan.

Red Zone - Alley
"Well Tsan, I'm Dave. Why were you in that box?"

He's had that question on his mind for like, the last minute or so.

[Lady Serpentine]

Winguardia’s eyes begin to seethe, and her expression hardens. “Look for clues. The authorities have already been here, but they miss things. Look for anything that will tell us what has happened.” As she speaks her lips, tightened by anger, seem to highlight her sharp fangs. By her anger, Jessica was young and human, but she isn’t about to verbalize the conclusion her fears have already jumped to. “And who are the authorities around here anyhow? They are going to have some questions to answer.”

There is no blood on the floor, there is no more blood anywhere, it doesn’t fit at all with a violent death, unless they were strangled, or somehow had no blood left to leave behind.

Meanwhile, in the little house across the street, a grey-haired old busy-body is peering out past her curtains at the three figures visible through Jessica’s living room picture window.

Or the blood soaked into something - if, for example, the person died on a very thick rug of large size. Though admittedly, Winguardia would likely have noticed anything like that being gone.

In any case, Mayhala now spots the dirt, since Ryhan didn't, and heads over to examine it, looking puzzled.

"Odd. What would leave dirt on the wall, but not anywhere else? Especially here on the wall; I'd guess, based on where the rest of the damage is, that it's too far for this stuff to have been knocked around in the fight..."

Mayhala doesn't see the busybody, at least not yet, though she does have an uncomfortable feeling of being watched, which is putting her quite on edge; her companions can likely see that her muscles are quite tense, and growing more so as time passes.

[OrchestraHc]

Ashley hmm's in thought for a moment or two. "I think it might be best if we're honest about this. We don't know the consequences of getting caught lying."

Blue Zone - Library to The Ghost Lover's Children

"Right," Kuko nods in agreement. Honesty, best policy. He's never had any doubt of that. Not that he would ever lie to those people, but it's easy enough to dance around the truth. If Ashley follows he'll lead the way to the the building from the map.

[Zefir]

*Pokes Beans*



Tlannae, apparently not liking the scorpion very much for some reason, ignores his question, and sets off towards Remnant.

Common Street

The scorpion doesn t seem to know why she dislikes him, but starts following.

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"Well Tsan, I'm Dave. Why were you in that box?"

He's had that question on his mind for like, the last minute or so.

Standard procedure.
As for why this box was here in particular, I do not know.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

[Park]

Astrana tries to recall any pact bounds which might help in this situation but nothing comes to mind. It wasn't often you bargained for neurosurgery equipment.

Arel was going to turn into some sort of zombie and they could do nothing but watch it happen. Great.
But if she felt bad about it, it was probably nothing compared to what Rein felt. At least Valente might still be cured but nothing save for a miracle could save Arel.

"Look... if the worst happens, maybe I can get you in touch with some of my contacts? They might be able to cure her." For a price of course, a price that Rein probably wouldn't even be able to pay even if they could 'cure' something like this.

[Park]

The Templar knits his brow, looking down at the afflicted woman. "I'll do my best. As much as I can for her. But whether or not it will be enough remains to be seen."

That said he'll reach out to put a hand on the former-angel's head. And then attempts to lay a blessing on her. The blessing is meant to mend wounds and purge poisons. Or rather purge foreign containment from a person's body.

Disease is caused by evil spirits where he's from. So the usual generic divine magic for healing sickness simply doesn't exist. With any luck the seed will be treated as alien to her body and dissolved.

...hopefully that doesn't leave her brain-dead in the process.

Fredrick bites his lip in anticipation! Will it work?

[Sojourn]

All sorts of neat stuff on the trolly. A tri-corder of course. A few funny looking ray-guns. Some fancy crystals. Shiny metals. Things of that nature!

Once lewt is picked out the adventurers will be hurriedly shooed off the ship. There are repairs to be done!

Park

((All actions approved by Gulaghar.))

Oh dear. Deep in the meat of Arel's brain, the seed has already taken root at the base of her skull, overcoming her antibodies and becoming one with her spinal column. This means that, had the purging prayer come even a few moments earlier, the plant would have been expelled.

Instead, it begins to grow in earnest, maturing at a much more rapid rate.

Of course, all of this happens internally. On the outside, Arel's skin should begin to regain its normal hue, and the moss and ferns that speckled her features should wither and die as the zombification is forcibly removed.

[Park]

The plants that had begun growing on her indeed fall away, but her skin retains a slight yellow tone. Unfortunately, Arel doesn't seem to be less zombie like, and there's still more to come. Three pairs of vines, very similar to those still surrounding them, sprout from along her spine and grow at a rapid pace. Her dress is in the way, so it might not be too noticeable until there's obvious bulges under her clothing and the vines navigate out of the various ways out of her dress. It'll take a couple minutes for them to grow to their full ten foot length, but as soon as they're able, they will try to wrap around Rein and pull at him.

[Park]

Reinholdt almost breaths a sigh of relief when the plants fall off, but the colour still seems wrong and she's still fighting him and it's becoming a struggle to hold on.

"Are your contacts near here?" He asks Astrana, desperation in his voice. It's the last ditch thing he can think of, short of ending Arel's misery.

As a few minutes have clearly not passed yet, nothing grabs Rein at this time.

[The Bushranger]

[Jessica's House]

Rhyan frowns and shakes her head. She has the feeling that something doesn't add up here!
"There is an organisation that maintains law and order. However I'm not sure if this area is within their jurisidiction..."

She too has the feeling of being watched. And so the cloaked half-drowess walks to the window and peers out!

Oh dear.

[Erin's Emporium]

“My job was on a regular Federation Starship, they had some pretty neat stuff.” She sets the handy hand-held device on the counter to show Aeryn. “And some regular old precious metal too. Let’s see now, how much to I owe you? If you can convert the dollar amount to gold, that would be helpful. I’m not familiar with the exchange rates around here.”

"What, no gold-pressed latinum?" Aeryn quips, examining the device with curious interest. "...tell you what, if you let me scan this for duplication, I'll call it even, alright?"

[LadyOfWar]

[Jessica's House]

Rhyan frowns and shakes her head. She has the feeling that something doesn't add up here!
"There is an organisation that maintains law and order. However I'm not sure if this area is within their jurisidiction..."

She too has the feeling of being watched. And so the cloaked half-drowess walks to the window and peers out!

Oh dear.

“This must be in the jurisdiction, or we wouldn’t have found the crime scene tape here.” Winguardia reasons.

Outside the window Rhyan will find a sleepy little street, lots of quiet little houses with their porch lights on, and… across the street one particularly old little house. A pair of eyes peer out past the curtains, staring at Jessica’s house. Then the eyes disappear, leaving the curtain swaying and the light from inside the house winking out into the dusk.

Or the blood soaked into something - if, for example, the person died on a very thick rug of large size. Though admittedly, Winguardia would likely have noticed anything like that being gone.

In any case, Mayhala now spots the dirt, since Ryhan didn't, and heads over to examine it, looking puzzled.

"Odd. What would leave dirt on the wall, but not anywhere else? Especially here on the wall; I'd guess, based on where the rest of the damage is, that it's too far for this stuff to have been knocked around in the fight..."

Mayhala doesn't see the busybody, at least not yet, though she does have an uncomfortable feeling of being watched, which is putting her quite on edge; her companions can likely see that her muscles are quite tense, and growing more so as time passes.

Winguardia would indeed notice such a large item missing from the room.

Wing moves in front of the couch, so she is standing between the couch and the coffee table that is pushed back at an odd angle.

“When I left Jessica was lying here, resting.” She turns around and looks at the coffee table closely, at a slight angle. “Oil…” she says softly, running her fingers under the edge of the table and collecting a little of the slick substance off of the wood. She smells it, and her eyes narrow. Then she reaches behind her own neck with her other hand and compares the slick substance on her right hand with that on her left.

“What was that, Mayhala?” she turns to face her shadowy friend, but she does not move from her spot beside the couch. “That’s not far by a Celestial’s reach.” Winguardia extends her nine-foot-long wing and the tip of her feather should be right about where the dirt streak arches across the wall, in front of Mayhala’s nose - the tip of her feather that drags along the ground when she walks with her wings folded. “Did you all find blood anywhere else?”

[Erin's Emporium]


"What, no gold-pressed latinum?" Aeryn quips, examining the device with curious interest. "...tell you what, if you let me scan this for duplication, I'll call it even, alright?"

[Erin’s Emporium]

“Are you sure? That sounds like a more than fair deal.” Westlanna pushes the tri-corder across the counter toward Aeryn.

[Lady Serpentine]

[Jessica's House]

Mayhala shakes her head, frown deepening, and apparently continuing to grow tenser, though it's now from anger, rather than wariness, and that's reflected in her face.

"Not that I know of, though I can't speak for what Ryhan may have seen... Why? Certainly, there isn't much here, but I'm sure someone died, and it was either recent or they were close to immortal, or there wouldn't be anywhere near as much residual life as there is..."

It seems Mayhala, despite her similar nature, is unfamiliar with the concept of vampires. Unless Winguardia explained what one was when she described herself, that is.

[Beans]

[Park]

Karyana grins back, looking quite pleased that Zwei is so obviously feeling better.

"Consider it done, then, love."

Zwei hugs her and smiles.

[Mindfreak]

Standard procedure.
As for why this box was here in particular, I do not know.

Red Zone - Alley
"And what is your purpose?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Park]

"I'd need a ritual to contact them." Astrana admits. "I can't promise anything thought, a lot of them are rather unreasonable." She really didn't want to give the catboy false hope.

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"And what is your purpose?"

... You haven't given me a purpose yet.
I'd prefer it to involve books if that's possible.

[Mindfreak]

... You haven't given me a purpose yet.
I'd prefer it to involve books if that's possible.

Red Zone - Alley
"No, I meant why were you put in that box. If you said it was standard procedure...it must mean someone told you to."

[Lady Serpentine]

Zwei hugs her and smiles.

Karyana happily returns her hug, also smiling.

"What planet do you want that section to show?"

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"No, I meant why were you put in that box. If you said it was standard procedure...it must mean someone told you to."

I do not remember.

[Hattish Thing]

Entrance to Louv're Laboratories

Marciano asks the pantherbot, Stay 'ere please. I'm leavin fer a second. I'll be back. Alrigh'. Marciano leaves for about ten minutes. He comes back with a large sack. Oy! Grantair? Grab th' sack. Now. Grantaire nods and grabs the sack with his large bulging muscles. Marciano takes out the remote and locks the entrance. Marciano looks at a phone that beeps. He chuckles a little...never a good sign...He hums a little with that nasty nasal voice,Ya da da dada dadada, da da ya da dada la ta da!He does a little spin...Obviously he's in a great mood! News must have come in! Granty! Tonight we're gonna enjoy th' town! Grantaire nods and then looks confused, But...don't we need that money for Magtok and Ilpholin? Marciano grins with those rotten teeth, Wel', My new shipment came in...ya know our partna? 'E's an idiot...hehe....Today is the day Marciano Louv're gets 'is turn! No more relying on fools...now it's me. He opens a portal with a gizmo and walks in. He nods for the pantherbot to follow. They'll appear in AMEN.

[Mindfreak]

I do not remember.

Red Zone - Alley
"Okay..."
"..."
"So what can you do?"

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"Okay..."
"..."
"So what can you do?"

I can absorb and store data at an extremely high rate.
Also, I have mild telekinetic abilities.

[Mindfreak]

I can absorb and store data at an extremely high rate.
Also, I have mild telekinetic abilities.

Red Zone - Alley
"Oh, that's...useful..."
"..."
"So what are your dreams then?"

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"Oh, that's...useful..."
"..."
"So what are your dreams then?"

... I like reading, if that counts.

[Rebonack]

[Park]

Well.

It's pretty obvious that something is still wrong with the girl. Though at least the gross plant-growths are gone? Looks something else is starting to grow and wriggle under her clothing though.

Bad news.

Baaaad news.

Gregoire narrows his eyes slightly as he contemplates pulling out that Relic of his and slaying the former-angel before she becomes a danger to anyone else.

"It... it didn't work?" Fredrick asks with a pained tone in his voice. Geeze... what a let down. All this trouble to save the girl and she's still a zombie.

"I'm afraid not," the Templar replies. "She is, however, still alive. So there may be hope for her yet."

[Mindfreak]

... I like reading, if that counts.

Red Zone - Alley
"Then you wanna go to the library then?"
He had a library card!

[Beans]

Red Zone - Alley
"Then you wanna go to the library then?"
He had a library card!

She nods excitedly.

[Halae]

[Park]

The group may hear another source of moaning, still hanging from the branches. It's the ginger Tomboy!

You all forgot she was there, didn't you?

She not doing much at the moment, apparently still unconscious despite the sound she's making.