VIgil: Return of the Geneva

[Rebonack]

[Geneva's Lab]

Geneva narrows her eyes at the box.

Both it and the orb are going into the decontamination chamber one way or the other. Her level of trust in tricksy divinities is, after all, rather low.

~I have a few ideas,~ she thinks back in response to Sekhmet's question while glaring at the entity. Which does not, in fact, answer the question.

Best not to encourage him.

~That's not surprising. This is all something of a learning experience for both of us,~ Geneva admits. ~There are a few other ways I could close it, but they're all a bit on the time consuming side. It might be a more judicious use of our time to just relocate it outside my lab and continue the testing there.~

You can move portals?

Huh.

Fancy.

[Mess Hall]

Lapis watches the canister as it plunks down on the table. It should probably have a picture or label on it. What if someone thinks it's air freshener and accidentally melts a lizard?

"No, it's okay, I heal really quick," Lapis replies matter of factly. "All the lizards who work at VIGIL are really nice. If one of them is mean I'll just tell Commander Wenomir and he'll tell them to stop being mean."

See?

Easy.

No melting required.

"And if it's a bad guy then beating up bad guys who are trying to ruin everything is what VIGIL does! But I only do that a little bit it's mostly my job to make sure the hedges look pretty," she explains.

If she's not making the hedges look pretty then who will?

Lapis eats another bite of pancake and raises an eyebrow at the wad of cash.

"What's that? Padding?"

She hasn't ever seen money before.

[bc56]

Geneva's Lab

Are you all right? What are you looking at? Sekhmet asks. Geneva looks angry. She doesn't like that. She definitely can't see the entity, who winks at Geneva and then flies away. What do you think is in the box?

[Morty]

[Hangar]

"We have a practice range here with some guns. It'll be easy enough to demonstrate what you can do," says the woman in plant-like armor.

"It sounds like you're going to be here in a less combat-oriented role, so a basic evaluation should suffice."

[Earnest Fencing of a Precocious Child]

Wenomir chuckles and shakes his head.

"It looks like I have to, Lapis. I know unbridled enthusiasm in need of direction when I see it. Like in Cessie's daughter Cora. I teach her too. I also teach an older boy named Koshal and two Vigil members named Mia and Svetlana." He looks over to Quin. "It is true I have quite a few students as it is. You could speak to Jezebel, who joined us some time ago. She's a warrior too. Her style is different than mine, but it might actually suit you better."

[Rebonack]

[Geneva's Lab]

~I'm fine. I'm just getting the sneaking suspicion that someone is meddling with my work,~ Geneva replies with a mental sigh.

Then?

She snags the little box and peers at the letter attached to it.

Assuming it doesn't inform her that someone prepared explosive runes this morning, she'll pop the box open as well.

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

In case it wasn't apparent?

Geneva isn't a huge fan of people meddling with her work.

Or her friends. Both of those things are undesirable.

[Earnest Fencing of a Precocious Child]

"Oh! I met Cora!" Lapis replies, bouncing from toe to heel excitedly. "She's the one with the hair that goes like this!"

And then she makes a rising, flaming motion with her fingers above her head.

"I haven't met those others, though, I'll bet I'll love them too!"

That isn't a tall order. Lapis loves just about everyone.

"I've been practicing the forms in the book but I think most of those are for fighting another person who's got a sword. Those'll be good if I have to beat up a mean putti but none of the gross faeries in that forest had swords."

[Purple Eagle]

[Training Grounds - Exhibition]

Svetlana gets as far as detaching the scabbard her hand was already holding before being shot at. She quickly halts her movement and jumps backward, hoping to generate a nanite shield around her sword-wielding arm in time to supplement the adaptive nanite armour that's covering her body. Two of the blasts hit her armoured body and the third hits her arm shield, due to the arm having been positioned over her torso, her sword pointing up. They disperse most of the energy, but some still gets through, causing Svetlana to growl angrily in pain.

She jumps back a bit more, putting more distance between them, and sheathes her katana. Electra's gun remains pointed at her still, and... what's this now? Her armour's colour scheme has changed, that spells trouble! She remains standing where she is, eyes locked on Electra, activating her scanner to try and detect any structural weakpoints she can attack, assuming she manages to get close enough. Her thrusters are primed and ready to join Electra up in the air, but for now she stays put, giving Blanche more time to act.

If Awen's spike hits her shadow, she'll start working on a plan to force Electra downwards, but still won't move this turn.

[VIGIL LABS - Later]

Svetlana's lips purse when he ignores her correction, but says nothing. The man is focused more on the analyzer at the moment, so she can only hope that he understands and addresses her properly next time. Dahl, huh? "Would you like my help? I am well-versed in AI as well, perhaps I could take a look at the source code?" She asks in the spirit of cooperation, although it is entirely possible for him to want Dahl all to himself. Besides, they share this lab together, it is only fair that she and Dahl get acclimatized to each other.

She gives his cell a cursory scan, nothing hack-y or sinister, and nods. She stretches forward her hands, palm-up, and a holographic display comes out of it, showing her email address.

The problem is explained to her, and she smiles knowingly. It could be misread as condescending, at least until she speaks. "Inconsistent samples, magical readings.. I am right, then. She 'is' a dragon, just shifted to look human." She folds her arms, resting her chin on one of them in thought. "I am willing to help you encourage her to change back to dragon form, Val-san, for I am really interested in examining a real life dragon. They are a part of Japanese culture, more so than Polish culture. However, how do you propose we do that, in the event that she cannot change back herself for whatever reason?" She looks up at him once more, still with a thoughtful expression. "Where is she now, Val-san?"

[Bear Necessities]

"In my world, demons are unrepentant angels that have fallen from grace!" Asher declares, but they're also spirit creatures with no physical form, and the Nexus is filled with physical demons, as evidenced by the existence of half-demons. Where he's from, the concept of sex is alien to spiritual creatures.

"No, Lapis, maybe she's just a different type of demon. Right, Anika?" Anika seems to know all about Nexus demon types, so he defers to her expertise. "I thought you didn't like conflict, Lapis. Conflict is what leads to people getting sad, but there are playful types of conflict in a game where the losers don't get sad!" All that matters is that the bad conflict is gone, the ones that lead to sadness and death.

When Lapis asks her question, Asher immediately points to Anika. "Anika seems to know lots of stuff about types of demons in the Nexus! Though..." The little angel boy pauses to think a little bit. "As angels, we should be able to tell the difference, once you scan their spiritual energy signature. Then you can tell if they're demonic and how evil they are!" Simple!

[bc56]

Geneva's Lab

The note is written in a hand that is impossibly neat. It reads.

Geneva.
My apologies for interfering. I truly do mean the best for Sakiril-Ess, and the events that transpired today are necessary. This gift is a way for me to give you some information without breaking the rules set in place. Sakiril-Ess is familiar with it and can explain it to you.
Best regards.

It isn't signed.
The box is inlaid with red and white stones in an image of angels and demons battling. Opening the simple catch reveals an interior lined with black felt pouches, each containing a 2-inch figurine in either red, white, or grey stone, and a set of 3 wooden boards inlaid with red and white tiles.
The pieces for a board game?
Sekhmet remained on the other end of the room, not wanting to go too close to the box in case it's dangerous. When Geneva opens it, she asks, What is it?

[Recaiden]

[Entrance]

There's a band of 'angels' down beneath the base where the shuttles take off from.
They're asking for VIGIL's help dealing with an evil artifact, and it would probably be simpler if they could come up to the academy themselves, if that would be permitted?

Whether or not they're allowed up is a concern because an 'angel' is the same sort of entity as a 'demon'. They make silver glow by proximity, and they look quite monstrous, so it's understandable that one would be suspicious of them.

One looks like a girl with horns, wings for arms, and a long barbed tail. She's doing the talking.
One looks like a filmy crab-wasp the size of a lion. It's carrying the dangerous artifact in question, safely wrapped in webs like a spider would do with a fly.
One of them is a little six-legged kangaroo-warthog sort of beast. Kind of cute, actually.
And the last one is just big and strong and covered in boils and fangs.

[5a Violista]

[Cessie's Office =>]

It's just pride.
Pride, plus she has no good role models and so she has no idea how she's supposed to act.

She can't call Cessie 'desk lady' anymore because she's no longer sitting at the desk because they're walking, so...Cessie makes some good points. Kind-of convincing. If other dragons and other strong people sometimes need help, then Obsidian could use help too, right? Yeah, that makes sense.

Hearing that challenge, Obsidian puffs out her chest, and uses her hand to make some sort of sign as part of a pose. She proudly declares, "Ha! You dare underestimate me? I already can heal myself!"
Then, why hasn't she?
After letting that declaration hang in the air for a bit, she adds, a little sheepishly, "U-um. But to do it I need to bite people. Bite them pretty hard, actually."

And then, in case that's not a good enough explanation for why she hasn't done it yet, she adds, "And, well, it's not nice to eat people who have friends."

[Rebonack]

[Geneva's Lab]

One of the pieces is levitated up for Sekhmet to see as the parchment is stowed away in her inventory.

~They look like board game pieces?~ Geneva replies uncertainly.

Why would board game pieces of all things be a clue?

Maybe Sekhmet will just feel more at home if she has a familiar board-game to play?

Regardless, Geneva begins gathering flexible components from storage and begins arranging them in a hoop around the parameter of the portal. Once she's has them all locked into place the odd device will begin making a humming sound and filling the air with the scent of ozone.

Also?

It should make it possible for Geneva to scoot the portal around as if it were a physical object rather than a hole in reality. Handy!

[bc56]

Geneva's Lab

The piece is a beautifully carved angel in white stone, a hooded man holding a large axe, with such great detail that the determined scowl on his face is plainly obvious. Sekhmet responds with shock. The Death piece. From a game of Purification. She's at Geneva's side peering into the box in a flash. I never thought I'd see one of these here. This looks like a very expensive set. She glances through the portal again, confused. Where did it come from? I can, uh, teach you to play, uh, if you'd like.

[Earl of Purple]

Vigil Labs- Latest

"I honestly wouldn't know. I've never been that far up the hierarchy. Mostly I've been working in buildings converted from something else, or built from scrap stolen from somewhere else." Old warehouses, converted houses, tenements, and shops. "If I leave the lab for a few days, remind me to get Doctor Svetlana or somebody to look after it. It's quite particular about what it likes."

She looks at the laptop as he speaks. "A new laptop's on the list of purchases, once I get a paycheque. Probably third from the top, maybe fourth. Or fifth." After food, rent, a bit of debt clearing, and possibly a phone.

[Rebonack]

[Geneva's Lab ==> Testing Grounds]

~I'd like that, but it should wait until we're sure that the situation with your mother is properly secured,~ Geneva replies as she places the pieces back in the box and sets the box on her work bench. ~The box came back tied to my metafold oscillator. It reminds me of Fortuna pranking me.~

Geneva isn't terribly fond of Fortuna.

Otherworldly beings are always a giant pain in the butt.

With the portal re-locator locked in her grip, Geneva begins heading toward a nice, open part of the grounds that she's been using for her more... hazardous testing.

She's confident that she can close the rift.

It... just isn't a very gentle process.

And she would prefer to avoid getting her sensitive equipment wrecked by gravitational sheer.

[bc56]

Testing Grounds

Sekhmet follows Geneva out onto the grounds. I, uh, think I should try to close the portal first. What good is learning to open portals if you can't close them back up? You're right. We should play later.

[Arkhosia]

[The Battered Shield]

Kal looks thoughtful. "Hmmm... well, if you've already slept with each other, that can be an advantage. There's no need for you to feel awkward anymore - I mean, you guys have already done a lot with each other, so why be nervous?" He points out.

"So now you just need to be focused on showing Anika a good time... do you know what her interests are? Hobbies? Any paired activities you think the two of you could enjoy doing?"

The woman’s eyebrows rise up in surprise as Kal casually mentions Anika’s name. How- how did he know? Have her affections been that obvious?

The fact that Kal might’ve seen what room she had left certainly hadn’t occurred to her.

”Eh, well, that’s mostly what I’m unsure of? I know that she’s pretty damn energetic, and I think she might be a bit competitive too? Dunno if there’s any sorta sports she or games likes specifically though.” A beat. “I did offer to teach her to shoot earlier too, not sure how good of a thing that might be for a date though.”

[Hattish Thing]

[Mess Hall (Lapis/Val)]

With a sigh, Val rolls his eyes before retrieving his canister. Kids these days. "Oh yeah? Well, uhh - fine then." He was almost offended. "You're probably not ready for something this cool, anyway." What a shame! Going on about hedges instead of the miracle melting juice. He would never. "If you ever change your mind, you know where to find me, yeah?"

As she questions the wad of cash before her, Val frowns. "It's money, paper currency. Don't you...?"

---

[VIGIL LABS (Svetlana/Val)]

Dr. Valiance pauses his work with the analyzer for a second. Help with Dahl? Hm. "Well - actually, I'm not a huge fan of AI. Not in the way you're talking, at least. Sentient machines? Yikes." That was a can of worms, for sure. "You know - you can trust a machine. Drones, robots. They don't make choices. They won't tell you 'no' if they don't like what you're saying." He pauses thoughtfully before continuing. "Machines, they're reliable in a way human beings will never be. Why ruin something as pure and beautiful as that?" Val then points up at the ceiling. "Besides, Dahl's great at conversation as he is! I installed a personality module a few months ago." A glitchy one, to be fair, but still.

"Just ask him whatever, he'll respond to voice commands." It wasn't quite the same thing, of course. But, that's how Val liked it. "Although, if AI's your thing... He pondered over his scheduled meeting with Ishmat. "I actually may have something for you to work on." He offers a small smile before he pulls a lever built into the analyzer, releasing a refrigeration canister filled with the samples he'd harvested from Obsidian. "For now, though, let's focus on the task at hand!" He grins excitedly before placing the canister down atop a nearby table. "Unfortunately, our quarry isn't particularly cooperative. I think she might be mad."

"She's with Ms. Mithar right now. I only got these because - well - I sort of lied about her being a health hazard."

"The way I see it, we've two options: we can attempt to find someone capable of disenchanting the samples we do have, or try to convince this... possible lunatic to go under the knife again."

---

[VIGIL LABS (Felicity/Val)]

Converted buildings, stolen scrap. They've shared similar experiences, it seems. "Ah? No need to bother her. The drones will take care of it." He flashes a warm smile to her before continuing forward. "Just send me an email with directions, or whatever." After all, what task couldn't be performed better by a swarm of drones? "Likewise. The laboratory comp is great, but - I'll need something a little more private." He taps his fingers against his side. "I was actually planning on heading out to Mallside tomorrow. Come with?" As he waits for a response, he limps on over towards the pair of blast doors to the east. As he walks, he calls out into the air. "Dahl? Medlab, thanks." At that, the fourth blast door within the receiving laboratory slides up into the ceiling.

The Medlab appears as a moderately-sized chamber whose northernmost quarter is sealed behind a metallic wall complete with an observation window which overlooks a futuristic surgical theater. At its center, a sinister-looking operating table gleams in the blinding light. Mechanical arms hang over the operating table, clearly extensions of an enormous cylindrical machine built into the ceiling above. Enormous tanks of crimson fluid line the laboratory's southern wall, with rows of tables complete with burbling vials and mixtures visible just across. "Alright, so! This is the first room I wanted to show you."

"You know why, my brave assistant?"

Spoiler: Medical Laboratory - Approximation

Show

---

[Barracks (Anika/Val)]

The man at other side of the door smiles widely as Anika opens it. "Ah, Ms. Anika!" He steps back politely as he realizes she's not particularly presentable. "I don't believe we've met, but I'm a huge fan of yours!" He nods before rubbing his gloved hands together. "I wish I could say that I'm here out of admiration, but - uhh. Well, something has come up."

"And on behalf of VIGIL, I must insist on your involvement."

"It's a matter of grave importance - the gravest."

---

[Entrance (Angels/Val)]

Before the group of 'angels' are permitted onto the island, they're approached by a stray drone. Although Dr. Valiance lacked explicit authority to grant anyone access to the island, nothing was stopping him from surveying interested parties. The drone, which appears as an orb-shaped machine complete with various limb-like rods, will scan the potential intruders from afar. Once they make their intentions clear, it drifts forward through the air. Once within thirty feet of the group, its scarlet eye blinks out and a holographic image of Dr. Valiance is projected forward.

The crimson projection flickers for several seconds before stabilizing. "Uhm - ahem! On... well, I guess - on behalf of VIGIL."

"Hello, and all of that."

"What's this about an artifact?"

[Nova_Eclipse]

[Earnest Fencing of a Precocious Child]

Quin nods, considering Excalibur for another moment.

"She was the mayor of one of the cities, wasn't she? Riverside, I believe it was, yes? I believe I have heard of her if so."

[Recaiden]

To be technical, they're only 1/4 angel.

"..."
"Hello."
Says the first angel after a moment of confusion and irritation. She steps a bit closer to the orb and its hologram. It was such an unfriendly distance away.
"It was trying to kill all of us yesterday. Its alright now, but we're not sure how to safely contain it or destroy it. But we expected VIGIL would be better equipped to deal with it on a more permanent basis. Is that correct?"

[Hattish Thing]

[An Entirely Different Day - Entrance]

The holographic version of Dr. Valiance blinks once or twice. "Yeah? Wow, that sucks. One moment." Val's silhouette jitters and freezes in place for several seconds. Meanwhile, deep underground, Val goes over the data acquired from the drone-scan. Didn't look that weird, but then again, magic was hard to predict.

Finally, the hologram moves again. "Okay, nothing radioactive. Not a bomb, so. That's good!"

"Yeah, we - I mean - I, have something in mind. Can you just, uhh."

"Pass it on to... ah, there he is."

A second drone drifts on towards the group. It's quite similar to the other, but equipped with a pair of heavy-duty clamp-hands.

[Recaiden]

Hmm. How do they fit the pilot into these little machines? Or are they somewhere else?
The angel's thoughts poke at the drone. Anyone in there?
"What it does is, if you touch it, it tries to enchant you to stab the spikes into you, promising power and so on. It has a pretty high opinion of itself. If it pricks you, though, it hollows out your mind and takes over your body."
"We saw it control the weather and create a volcano. Might have other tricks, too."
The worker angel hands the web-wrapped staff over to the clamp-drone.
Alright. Mission accomplished?

[Hattish Thing]

[An Entirely Different Entrance]

The angel's mental probe is met only with an artificial chill.

Below ground, Val winces. That thing sounded nasty! "Uhh, okay - wow. That's a lot to take in." The... whatever they were, they specified touching. Was it powerless at a distance? Best figure that out. "Mkay. So, as long as you don't touch the thing, it's fine?" An easy workaround. That's what drones are for! Alternatively, some kind of gel to cover its surface. Hm. Maybe that spray-on plastic?

While Val ponders over safety precautions, the clamp-drone lives up to its name, securing the staff. "Alright, uhh. Can I get a name?"

"You know, for recordkeeping. We do that."

[Recaiden]

"Also if you connect to it with any magic." the angel explains. "But it seems like you need to touch the spikes for it to be really dangerous."
"Oh, the staff is called 'Otraga'." The angels explains.
A moment passes.
Another moment.
"I am called 'Lokvah'."

[Hattish Thing]

[An Entirely Different Entrance]

Val shrugs at his computer, not particularly concerned with these restrictions. "Mmkay, so - no touching, no magic. Definitely no touching the spiky bit." That all seemed pretty easy. He wasn't going to be doing anything like that anyway! "Got it, easy. Easy stuff." As the hologram-Val smiles, the clamp-drone jets off and up to the island, staff held within its artificial 'hands'. "You know, it would suck if he dropped it or whatever. Really just put a damper on things."

"But yeah - no, it's safe with me, uhh! Lokvah! Yeah."

"Thanks for your time!"

[Shadowcaller]

[Barracks (Anika/Val)]

Anika let's out another yawn as she's once again forced to look down. Why did everyone here have to be so darn short?
The poor doctor will probably find himself at eye level with the druid's chest.
"Huh? A fan?" She scratches her head as she looks at the man, unable to recall ever seeing the guy. "Um, okay. So who're you? I can't even recall seeing you before. I didn't even know I had fans around here." She grins, her pointy canines being displayed like some kind of predator.

[Cessie's Office => Medical Facility]

"Yes, that sounds a bit limited. Wouldn't you want to learn how to heal without biting people? You said your mother lived for a very long time which must have meant she had the time to learn all sort of things. That's probably why dragons are so powerful, since they have the time to learn so much. Spako, our dragon member, is both a rune-smith and a skilled swordsman and he isn't that much older than you. If you prove yourself to him I'm sure he could teach you a great deal that dragons should know. I can tell you right now though that he'd tell you to heal yourself before we go to see him so let's just stop by the medical facility first, alright?" If Obsidian is willing to go to the healers Cessie will send a message to Spako (just now noticing all those messages Val left to her) telling him that he has a fan wanting to see him.

The healers will if allowed take care of Obsidians wounds, treating them magically unless they can see that there would be complications with such a treatment.

[Bear Necessities]

"I think how it works is that some demons can still make babies, but those babies aren't demons if that makes sense." Anika had no idea really and was just piecing together bits of information in ways that made sense to her. "But yeah, uh, demons aren't mortal. I know that since they go around saying 'foolish mortals' all the time. It's really obnoxious but they do it since they reform when they 'die'." She attempts to explain. "That's the general rule for demons though. They can be both physical or non-physical. Like, uh, Asher said." She nods glad that what she was saying actually made some kind of sense.
"But other than that demons in the nexus come in all sort of variations so you gotta watch out for them. They're really tricksy." A beat. "No offense meant to your aunt." Who Anika was pretty sure wasn't a demon.

[Recaiden]

"If it dropped, we would catch it."
Hmm. Concerned with her name, nearly forgot it. Just human things? Probably.
"This went easily. Our thanks to VIGIL."
All at exactly the same time, the angels turn to leave.

[Purple Eagle]

[VIGIL LABS (Svetlana/Val)]

"I did not mean sentient machines. I merely meant to help improve him." Dr Svetlana quickly corrects, sharing his concerns about turning a machine sentient. Now she loves her computers, some would say a little too much, but sentient machines? In fiction, they usually end up turning against their masters, or taking commands too literally in a manner that is dangerous to humanity. "I have never even met a sentient AI before." This being the Nexus, though, it's probably only a matter of time.

She does nod in agreement when he speaks of the reliability of machines in comparison to human beings. Looks like they have quite a bit in common, after all! "I agree, it is pure and beautiful. Innocent, even. I have no intention of ruining that, the best I can do is simulate a level of sentience just short of actual sentience." However, just ask him whatever and he'll respond? "Does he not need to be trained to recognize my voice, Val-san?" It wouldn't do to have an AI that would listen to just anyone, unless he took the initiative to do that already. She smiles back when he mentions something AI-related to work on, she wouldn't mind trying her hand at whatever it is.

Mad? How so? Does he still not believe that she's a dragon? No, that's probably not it... perhaps it has more to do with her behaviour. Perhaps she's eccentric or delirious. Another reason for Dr Svetlana to meet Obsidian herself! She frowns in disapproval when he admits to lying in order to get samples, but has a different take. "While I don't approve of lying to get samples, you mentioned an infection. Perhaps she really is a health hazard, especially if the infection turns out to be contagious. Perhaps we should go and ask Cessie-sama or Wenomir-sensei if they know anyone capable of disenchanting these samples... though it might be easier to convince our dragon to transform, and then get more samples that way." Without lying. "We can just tell her that the samples will help us help anyone who suffers her fate." Who wouldn't want to help, then? Unless they're a violent criminal in need of killing.

[5a Violista]

[Medical Facility]

"Don't you have to be some kind of wizard to learn how to heal people?" She wants to follow along that line of protest, but instead just says, "Yeah, she was the one who taught me how to recover by biting things."

And, hearing about Spako is too distracting and immediately changes what Obsidian wants to talk about and what she's interested in. "Yeah. I'll do my best to impress him," she says. He's older than her, which means he's probably really cool, right? Plus, he's good at both runes and swords. That sounds neat. What if he thinks she looks bad? What if he makes fun of her and says she's dirty, or something? She starts licking her wrist and using that to wet her hair and push it back and making sure her hair isn't messed up at all. And she looks down at herself to make sure she looks decent. Gotta give off the best first impression, after all. What if he says he doesn't want to talk with her? That would be the worst. That's why first impressions are important.

She pauses and thinks. "Hey. He'd really prefer it if I let the healers take care of it, right?" she asks Cessie, trying to really confirm what she just said. Now that this is on her mind, she imagines another dragon staring at her with disapproval. 'You're pretending to to be strong and refusing help? How cute.' That would be the absolute worst! He'd probably see her as worse than trash if she doesn't go to the medical facility. Fearing that, she quickly agrees: "Y-yeah. I'll let them do whatever, let's go," even though they're already headed there.
"...as long as I don't have to sign anything."

She does her best to swallow her pride and let the healers finish treating the wound; there are no complications. The whole time, however, she asks the healers how they think she looks and if she looks decent and if they would want nothing to do with her.

[Earl of Purple]

Vigil Labs Felicity & Dr. Valiance

"I think I'd prefer a person's touch with regards to caring for my plant." Particularly considering the other option are drones programmed by a man who can't keep a plant alive. Nirnroot are a little sensitive, so she'd really prefer somebody to care for it. "Sure, Mallside sounds good." Felicity smiles, and starts figuring out how to tell him she's not interested, if his motives are romantic. He's really not her type... Particularly since he's her boss. That would just lead to trouble, she thinks.

And then she sees the medlab! It's incredible, and she looks around with a lot of interest. A lot of stuff she's done before was playing with chemicals and biological samples, so she expects to spend a lot of time here. "Because my last employer worked on bio-organic serums to provide enhanced abilities and tap into less visible dimensions to display and utilise incredible achievements and most of my other work has similarly been either chemically or biologically based?" She can't think of another reason, anyway.

[Hattish Thing]

[VIGIL LABS (Svetlana/Val)]

"Oh, type 1 - you mean?" Val nods before shrugging and leaning back against the analyzer. Just a miscommunication, then. "With how prevalent superintelligent AI are around the city, traditional definitions and categories of AI seem pretty outdated." Dr. Tanaka wasn't wrong, albeit by a technicality. Val's cell phone possessed some form of artificial intelligence, as did Dahl. Speech recognition, however, was so narrow a definition of intelligence compared to the supercomputers of the Nexus that it seemed almost silly to refer to both technologies by the same name. "Anyhow, nah! I - uh."

He coughs once or twice before continuing. "I actually went ahead and created a profile for you." Of course, best not mention how exactly he was able to sample her voice. People rarely appreciated Val's fondness for surveillance. Then, she mentions lying. "Well - you know, technically! It was not a lie. I really was concerned with the potential health hazard she, uhh, presented." He finishes his thought in a smaller voice. "Just, well, went ahead and helped myself to some samples along the way. There's nothing wrong with that." Then, she mentions hunting down Obsidian. Yikes, that probably wouldn't go well.

Then again, she did have some valid points. "Well! I'll warn you, she was just... super not a fan of this sort of thing."

"I'll go ahead and prepare a dose of tranq, just in case?"

---

[VIGIL LABS (Felicity/Val)]

Dr. Valiance shrugs before stroking his mustache. "Yeah? Any caregiver drone I create'll do a better job then whoever gets stuck with the plant! I'd bet, like - twenty bucks on that." He was almost offended! She was over here implying his drones lacked personal touch? Well, that's just ridiculous. He could totally put people hands on 'em. "Anyway." He sniffs. "Dahl, make an entry in my personal planner: mallside, friday at 6pm." He glances back to Felicity as he strides on into the Medlab. "Glad to hear you'll be coming, I'll need someone to carry everything." Not like he could be carrying anything like that, given his injury! That'd be unsafe.

The blast door shuts behind them. As it seals itself, Val walks on back behind the safety glass. "Okay, one sec." He closes the door behind him before approaching a microphone at the other end of the safety glass, speaking into it.

"Okay, hi! A good guess! You can hear me, right?"

---

[Barracks (Anika/Val)]

Val stares forward for a second or two before stepping back once again, allowing him to more easily make eye contact. "Of? I mean, no - it's not that I don't, just not very prof-" A blink. "Oh, I mean. Yes - of you." Yikes, that was awkward. He winces tiredly. Why did he say that?

"My name? Well, uhh. Doctor Valiance, but! You can call me Val."

"I'm with the new science division."

[Shadowcaller]

[Barracks (Anika/Val)]

"Science division?" Anika rubs the back of her head as she looks at the doctor. "Like... steam boats and that kind of stuff?" A beat as an idea seem to occur to her. "Oh yeah! I should probably get dressed properly. Sorry, Val! Just give me a sec."

She gives him a curt wave before she walks back inside her room and bends over to pick up her robe from the floor laying next to a chair standing near her bed. "Oh man, it fell down. This is going to wrinkle it so bad." She complains while spending a moment inspecting her clothes.

Eventually she returns however fully dressed. If he took the wave as an invitation inside or is still standing out there doesn't matter. "Right, so what does the science division want? I'm not that well-read on the subject."

[Reinholdt]

[Gym Showers]

Anika considers this for a moment. "Oh! You should turn into C-command! You're practically the same height as her!" Well, Ilpholin was four inches taller, but almost! "That make a great joke." A beat. "As long as you don't go overboard with it." She giggles.

[Gym Showers]

Ilpholin raises an eyebrow a little. "What counts as overboard? Making out with you as Adir walks in?" That'd be a shock for sure, but she's fairly certain if she has to wait for Adir, she wants to be making out.

"I mean, I can try. She's probably the most similar to me anyways." Cessie should feel proud to being so much like Ilpholin. The nymph closes her eyes and concentrates on the image of Cessie in her head. Her features slowly shift, a little softer there, a little more angular there, hair short and black. If it looks uncomfortable to Anika, that's because it is quite, and also more than a bit uncanny. When Ilpholin's done, she looks remarkably like Cessie. Perhaps a little too perfect, missing some of the imperfections one forgets about when recalling someone from memory, but it would take someone who knew her or Ilpholin well to notice the difference. Aside from the height thing which is probably more relevant to people who aren't Anika's size and always looking down. There's also the telltale giveaway of a lack of a back tattoo that's on fire.

Still Cessie daintily twirls. "How do I look?"