Session 45

Several pokemon later, Max, Linnea, and company have still barely made a scratch in the list of pokemon in the storage system.
Linnea: "… Right. As much as I would love to continue involving myself personally, we're wasting time."
Max Thorn: "…I think we've got a pretty good baseline on what to expect at this point. So, I'm going to stop here and focus instead on forming a professional team for tackling the matter."
Linnea: "We need to get a proper team together for this."
Linnea: "RIGHT!"
The rattata that persian pointed out simply could not cope, and when the persian beckoned from the doorway, ran for the persian. No one else saw what happened next, but there is no sign of the rattata and the persian is now lounging in the sun with a slightly protruding belly.
Linnea: "…Welp. That's why."
Linnea: "So it goes."
Max Thorn calls up the directory of professors, then filters it for pokémon psychology, trauma surgery, etc., and sends a note to the professors who remain on the list that asks 1. if they're interested, and 2. when they'd be able to begin, if so.
While there are no grief counselors per se, the quasi-mohawked Nurse Joy who has been just holding Sam seems to be the most qualified to lead such a group, apparently having single-handedly talked down a mass suicide in some other region, though details are classified.
Esme 's side of the lab has been relatively quiet after the series of thunderclaps. She quietly hums as she tinkers, occasionally motioning for one of the assistants to fetch her something.
Nurse Joy sends a quick note back, "Yes, and as soon as I'm done with my current case. Is she a friend of yours?"
Max Thorn replies, "Yes, but take however long you need; these pokémon aren't going anywhere, whereas she and my fellow trainers will eventually be."
Esme's crowd of onlookers has dissipated somewhat, though not entirely gone away, and has helped clean up Esme's workspace.
Sam Spade has calmed down, actually. She really just needed to let some time pass.
Nurse Joy: "Could you come get her, and tell her it's alright?"
Max Thorn: "Be right there," Max texts back. "Lin, I think we're done here for now. Anything you want to have a look at, or…?"
Nurse Joy then releases Sam, stands back, and looks her in the eyes. "Hey. Your friends are coming. Can I see your smile before then?" She grins to demonstrate.
Linnea: "The bottom of a good drink? I'll be glad when we have actual specialists here."
Sam Spade smiles, a bit sadly.
Sam Spade: "Everyone dies, in the end. I'm okay with that, really I am."
Linnea: "I've completely forgotten what we're doing next, what with all throwing myself into this."
Max Thorn: "Well, the closest we have to a grief counselor's talking with Sam right now, but the university has /plenty/ of trauma specialists."
Nurse Joy smiles wider, and pats Sam on the shoulder. "There, see?"
Linnea: "Brilliant."
Sam Spade: "…But I'm not okay with those who have died trying to accelerate the process for everyone else."
Linnea: "I think the best thing t'do is to figure out what we're doing next."
Sam Spade hesitates for a second.
Max Thorn stands, then heads over to where Nurse Joy and Sam are.
Esme perks her head out of her workspace. "Hey Lin! Come check out this thing!"
Linnea: "So, we-"
Linnea: "Hey!"
Sam Spade: "…And we've lost our experts…so now…hmm."
Nurse Joy: "Your experts?"
Linnea books it over to Esme. Looking much more enthusiastic about whatever this might be.
Linnea: "What's up, Esme, what is it?"
Esme nudges a light-green slab across the desk with her elbow while she continues sauntering. "Made a thing."
In the lobby of the medical lab, Nurse Joy waves to Max when he arrives. "Oh! I thought I recognized that name. Welcome back, Max. Are you still on your journey?"
Sam Spade: "Oh, uh. When we started out, we had a few people who were good at…dealing with ghosts."
Linnea looks it over, gives it a few pokes and prods, runs her finger across it and almost makes a motion as if it taste it, but thinks better of it. "Putting the artifact in artificer, are you?"
Sam Spade: "…But with one thing and another, we've lost them along the way."
Max Thorn: "Howdy, Nurse Joy. Yes, I am."
Nurse Joy: "Oh. Did…err, did they become ghosts?"
Sam Spade: "I'm sure they're okay on their journey, no."
Linnea: "I've not seen something like this in quite a while, and usually I just see the old, crumbly ones with incomprehensible stuff carved into them."
Max Thorn headtilts. "Sam, isn't what Lin is? Someone who's good at dealing with ghosts?"
Nurse Joy: "That's good."
Linnea: "So, which one is this for?"
Sam Spade: "I don't really have a good grasp on Lin yet, other than she's kinda cute."
Sam Spade: "Anyway, we'll see!"
Esme shrugs. "I was mostly just trying to test out a wave-particle theory as far as energy goes. Results: I was right! Sort of."
Esme: "Bug, I think." She points to the small hive-like symbol embossed in the center.
Linnea: "Dumb it down a little for me, then? Did you condense energy into this… object?"
Esme: "Well…if you think of essence, type energy, or whatever you call it as a thing-" , she wiggles her arms, "-it mostly acts like a wave, at a specific frequency."
Max Thorn shrugs. "Anyway, we've a gallade who's willing to help communicate with the pokémon who've lost their trainers. Meanwhile…that rocket Petri took up, and Dunderclod."
Linnea: "Right…"
Max's pokedex beeps with another message from Dmitri. "Rocket will land in one hour. Security wants to rush in and arrest. You are welcome to join since you've dealt with her before."
Esme: "Type Boosters and Gems are basically ones that are on the same wavelength, either at a lower or higher amplitude. So they resonate and boost the effect!"
Linnea: "Right…"
Esme: "Bracers are the inverse, and thus cancel it out a bit, making you more resistant."
Max Thorn: "…Speaking of, let's go brief campus police on Petri."
Nurse Joy: "The…Champion's gallade? I heard some rumors about him."
Max Thorn taps a note to Lin and Esmé.
Linnea folds her arms at her chest, giving the matter serious thought.
Max Thorn: "The very same, according to him."
Linnea: "So… you mashed them together, essentially?"
Linnea: "A perfect material of type resonance?"
Esme scratches her head. "I was wondering if you could somehow get both effects at once, since sometimes it's weird and only responds a certain way depending on what happens to them."
Nurse Joy: "I'll go talk to him. Ah, you wanted a group to help counsel the pokemon who've lost their trainers?"
Esme claps her hands together. "Exactly!"
Esme: "Though wasn't expecting a Plate."
Linnea looks quite apologetic. "I just make things, I don't know exactly why. You're gonna get me to sit down and do some serious study one of these days, I just know it."
Sam Spade stands up.
Max Thorn: "Yup. I can't spin my wheels here, unfortunately, so I'm having to form a team to do it."
Nurse Joy: "I'll ask around while you talk to the police. Maybe we can set something up." She heads out, down to the storage system.
Max Thorn: "Excellent, thank you."
Max Thorn gestures to Sam. "Shall we?"
Linnea: "Right?! Like…if I remember my history correctly, one of the oldest legends of Arceus was inscribed on these plates. Which made researchers consider it was connected to said deity at some deep level."
Sam Spade takes Max's arm. "Let us proceed, good sir!"
Max Thorn … proceeds.
Esme: "Yeah, that's about as much as I remember about it too. Got an answer, but more questions."
Linnea: "That's always the case, though."
Linnea: "Interesting."
Scale Mount Police Station #1 - their local headquarters - is a separate building on the upper tier, standing off to the side of all the research works for multiple reasons.
Esme: "Also-" She finishes what she was working on, slapping two bracelets around her ankles. "-stole your Leyline tech."
The duty officer at the front desk wears a worried expression as Sam and Max approach. "Hello, can I help - oh, hey! You're Max Thorn, right? Professor Dmitri said you might be coming by."
Sam Spade: "Hey, is everything okay?"
Sam Spade: "Oh, ah, I'm Samantha Malakowski. I worked with the Metro Beach police department when they were willing to let me."
Duty Officer: "There are reports of a large mob of pokemon heading our way. I'm not supposed to talk about it, except I'm told you know more than we do about them."
Sam Spade: "…STORMDERP."
Sam Spade: "…Tell me, are they going to be arriving about the same time that Petri's rocket is?"
Max Thorn: "Well, rocket's landing soon, so I figured we'd brief on Petri and then on Dunderclod. Unless Sam would prefer to do her briefing separately."
Esme stands, and then wobbles, as she attempts to draw a shape with one of her feet. "So how did the poke-counseling go?"
Linnea: "…we're out of our league."
Linnea: "Max is trying to get a team of experts together so all the remaining Pokemon can be seen to without it taking about a century."
Duty Officer: "Samantha…?" He taps into a console behind the desk. "Oh. Looks like they have good things to say - ahh, no, the pokemon mob won't arrive for another day or two at their current pace."
Sam Spade: "Aww, that's sweet of them!"
Sam Spade: "…And that's good, I think. Means we won't have two crises to deal with at once, aside from all the other ones that may be going on."
The duty officer looks like he could be Officer Jenny's younger brother. He shrugs. "They're marching. Going on foot takes time, as you know. A lot slower than traveling by rocket."
Sam Spade: "Sure, but they could have timed things."
Max Thorn: "…Man, at this rate I think my job title's going to end up being 'Troubleshooter' rather than 'Professor'. Eh. Can't be helped, I guess."
Sam Spade: "Anyway, Max got a better read on Professor Petri than I did."
Sam Spade: "Who would you like him to give his briefing to?"
Max Thorn: "Do we have a conference room or auditorium set up?"
Sam Spade: "Because I know we found out stuff in Fort Blaston and in Dojji that she wouldn't have shared."
Esme: "Probably a good idea! Hopefully not too many corrupt ones in there."
Linnea: "I'm sure we'll never hear the end of it if there are."
Duty Officer: "Well, you can either give me a statement and I'll distribute, or we can set up a full briefing - after the rocket's landed. Chief said to tell you you're welcome to be on hand when we arrest Petri, just in case."
Sam Spade: "I think so, yeah."
Max Thorn: "Brief statement now, actual briefing later, I think." Max proceeds to give a thumbnail brief.
[OOC] Max Thorn: Which is just the highlights; the juicy bits about her body-swapping are going in the briefing, though.
The officer records what Max has to say. "Got it. I'll make sure this gets out, and schedule…hrm. This afternoon around 4 do for you?"
Max Thorn: "Should work, yes."
[OOC] WC GM: It is about 11 now, with the rocket landing just before noon.
Duty Officer: "Alright, I'll book the room and we'll have most of our force there."
Max Thorn: "Excellent. In that case, let's go kibbitz at the landing pad."
The small cluster of Nurse Joy, the gallade, and a few lab workers drifts into Linnea's and Esme's views. A few of them have resumed interviewing pokemon; the rest are setting up charts that look like the beginning of means of quickly processing the case load.
Linnea: "…And there's the team started, I think. I don't think I have anything left t'do here."
Esme finally manages to get a symbol drawn by holding onto a nearby wall, her anklets briefly lighting up. "I have no idea how you do this all the time, but I'm gonna figure it out. Guess I'm done here for now, too."
[OOC] WC GM: Are Esme and Linnea joining Max and Sam at the rocket area, then?
[OOC] Linnea: Yep.
[OOC] Esme: verily
All four trainers' pokedexes bleep in unison - a message from Tim, this time. "HELP! Need to defuse tensions @ rocket pad."
Linnea: "Ah, great." Lin picks up the pace!
Esme: "Tensions?"
Near the rocket launch facility, a line of police is glaring at a line of Team Jaeger trainers, who are posing smugly.
Sam Spade: "Hey, Esme, Linnea."
Max Thorn changes pace from walking to running after he reads the text and pockets his 'dex.
Esme waves.
Tim waves down the party. "I thought I'd have the Jaegers work WITH the police for once, in arresting Petra. It's not going so well."
Sam Spade bites her lip to hide a grin.
Max Thorn sighs. "I'm not sure what you were expecting, honestly."
The apparent leader of the local Jaegers shrugs, in a move pulled right from historical documentaries about Team Skull. "We're in charge here. She's our problem."
Sam Spade: "Now, now, Max."
Linnea: "Oh, fun."
Max Thorn turns to the Jaeger. "Oh? And how many badges do you have…?"
Sam Spade: "Tim thought people were decent and would be willing to work together if they had the same aim in mind."
The Jenny among the cops, apparently their commander given her extra brass, frowns. "If she's a criminal then it is OUR duty to arrest her, no matter who's in charge."
Jaeger Leader: "Badges? Well, uh…all of 'em from Dojji."
Sam Spade: "That might have been silly of him, but it's hard to look down on someone for them thinking that people might rise over their base instincts."
Another Jaeger pipes up, "But there ain't no more gyms in Dojji. You got all zero of zero."
Jaeger Leader: "Shut. Up."
Sam Spade smiles at the Jaeger Leader.
Max Thorn: "I see. Well. Do you really think the police are going to *retain* custody?"
Sam Spade: "You know, it was raining in Dojji when we left…"
Jaeger Leader: "Yeah, so I heard. First time in years. Freaky, huh?"
Esme: "You're welcome!"
Sam Spade: "Hardly freaky!"
Max Thorn: "Eh. We're the ones who arranged for it, however. You might look us up."
Sam Spade: "Amazing, yeah. Wonderful, yeah."
Sam Spade: "Please stop trying to help, Max."
Sam Spade: "This isn't about dominance."
Max Thorn: "So please, pretty please, let the police do their jobs. You can have custody after."
Sam Spade: "That's the problem we have here, is two groups fighting for dominance and letting that get in the way of the fact that they have the same goal."
Sam Spade: "Am I wrong, Mr…?"
Sam Spade: "And…Commander Jenny?"
Sam Spade eyes both leaders.
Police Captain Jenny: "Captain, actually. And…it'd help if we knew exactly what she was charged with. Our laws are not Dojji's laws, but apparently she incited a major riot?"
Sam Spade: "Is there a charge for grand-theft of a body?"
Sam Spade: "Because she put her mind in her daughter's body, which should be reason enough to hold her."
Max Thorn: "Possibly multiple bodies."
Sam Spade: "Also she stole this rocket."
Max Thorn: "Grand theft auto, I think…?"
Jaeger Leader: "Eh. Call me Haroun if you need a name."
Jenny: "Grand theft, that's for sure. Good enough. What's this about putting her mind in someone else's body?"
Haroun: "Yeah. Illegal possession, cloning without a license - maybe you can't enforce Dojji's laws, but we sure can."
Sam Spade: "Ah, I kept all my notes here in my pokedex. Let me send it to you…"
Sam Spade pulls out her pokedex, and pulls up the list of evidence against Petri re: theft of her unnamed daughter's body
Max Thorn: "Dojji does not presently have a government; even if that weren't the case, however, you would need to apply for extradition and follow all the other legal niceties."
Jenny reviews the list, eyes widening. "What…?"
Haroun: "We could. Given as we ARE Amoda's government, though…"
Haroun leans to one side. "Hey, me. Can we extradite this Petri lady and charge her for violation of Dojji laws?"
Haroun leans to the other side. "I don't see why not. Extradition approved!"
Max Thorn: "Still have to follow the rules. You *will* have custody once she's been processed through the civilian system."
Sam Spade: "Max, this is neither the place nor the time."
Tim facepalms at Haroun's display.
Sam Spade: "Especially with Tim here in the potential cross-fire."
Sam Spade: "So, what are the problems we have here? Whether we should arrest Petri? Who will put the cuffs on her?"
Sam Spade: "Who keeps her afterwards?"
Jenny And Haroun In Unison: "Yes."
Haroun: "Well, except for arresting her."
Jenny: "She's going to be arrested. By US."
Sam Spade: "Because in regards to the first one, she's already run once, that makes her a flight risk. So best case, the evidence we have against her is faulty, we still want to hang onto her until we know."
Haroun: "We'll handle it."
Sam Spade: "Now, next problem who puts the cuffs on her."
Max Thorn: "Might I offer a suggestion? You can cuff her simultaneously; one arm each."
Linnea: "…this is silly."
Sam Spade: "Or civilian authority can arrest her and immediately turn her over to the occupational government."
Tim: "Handcuffs don't work that way, Max."
Sam Spade: "Of course it's silly, Linnea. People are, when it comes down to it."
Sam Spade: "Especially when it comes to raw wounds."
Max Thorn: "No, see…this way she has an escort at all times, one from the police and one from Team Jaeger."
Sam Spade: "And jurisdictional conflicts, ESPECIALLY those between a preexisting civilian local authority versus an occupying military force exerting martial law."
Linnea: "…Right."
Sam Spade: "Now, if I were to say something, I might say something along the lines of Team Jaeger has recognized the Amodan Police Department as a legitimate authority, at least in local areas."
Sam Spade: "So if it has to be one or the other, then it should probably be Captain Jenny performing the arrest, BUT."
Sam Spade: "Like it or not, the only way for Team Jaeger to not be the governing authority is to start shooting and hope we don't die and that's not good enough for me."
Esme: "Mrr."
Sam Spade: "Which means Team Jaeger has the ultimate legal authority…and Captain Jenny and the campus policy can only do law enforcement because Team Jaeger has said they won't interfere."
Sam Spade waves a hand at Esme from behind her back, as if to say "I don't disagree but NOT RIGHT NOW!"
Sam Spade: "So the best thing to do would be for Captain Jenny to do the arrest, then IMMEDIATELY hand her over to Team Jaeger…at least on paper."
Sam Spade: "….Um. Haroun, does Team Jaeger have any jails here?"
Sam Spade: "Because I think that Scale Mount University has a lot of questions regarding Grand Theft: Rocket."
Sam Spade: "And I know that, even if Professor Petri is 'officially' technically under Team Jaeger control…Campus Police definitely do have jails here."
Haroun looks a bit thoughtful, as if he is considering Sam's logic. "Huh. I suppose we have been relying on what buildings are already here."
Jenny: "We don't even have a category for Grand Theft: Rocket. It's just grand theft. And probably vandalism."
Sam Spade: "…Well, I wanted to be a bit more specific."
Haroun: "That said, no way we're not going to be on hand for this. Wouldn't be proper."
Sam Spade: "Absolutely."
Max Thorn folds his arms. "How about…until such time as she is remanded for transport to a Jaeger facility…she's /technically/ under campus police jurisdiction, but Jaeger officers and campus police both are responsible for monitoring her condition and ensuring she remains in custody?"
Sam Spade: "Like I said, officially she's got to be handed over to you."
Sam Spade: "So Captain Jenny, or one of her men, slaps cuffs on Professor Petri. Then she turns Professor Petri over to you, or one of your men, with…whatever documentation is necessary."
Haroun: "Hmm…I guess that'd work. We could even use the local courthouse to argue her crimes against us too. So long as we're there to witness the arrest."
Sam Spade: "Then you take Professor Petri down to the jail, lock her in, and however many people are needed to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't turn into a pink blob and squeeze through the bars, and if so, capture the Ditto and let us know that Petri's gone…"
Tim: "Well…there's room for twelve on the gantry, three ranks of four each."
Max Thorn checks the clock.
Max can barely spy the rocket, high in the sky, on final approach.
Max Thorn: "Rocket inbound."
The police and the Jaegers, Tim included, look up in unison.
Jenny: "We're running out of time. Um. You have…guns, right?"
Max Thorn: "I've a rifle…?"
Jenny: "I meant them."
Haroun: "What about it?"
Jenny: "So…four of you in back, then four of us, and…" She gestures to the party. "…let the experts lead."
Sam Spade doesn't show any reaction to that shock. Expert!
Sam Spade moves to the front.
Haroun: "That'd work, if they're up for it." He looks to the party.
Max Thorn: "Works for me. Esmé? Lin?"
Linnea: "As good a plan as any."
Esme cracks her knuckles.
Esme: "Probably for the best."
Max Thorn picks the outermost spot of the four available.
As the rocket comes in, all thunder as its engine strains to keep it aloft but only slowly descending, the group assembles on the launch gantry: the party in front; Jenny and three riot-armor-clad police behind them; then Tim with Sands, Haroun with pokeball ready, and two other Jaegers with submachine guns to the rear.
Dmitri's voice comes over a loudspeaker. "We have control from here. I'll pop the hatch when it's safe. But, uh, internal sensors are either offline or…"
Sam Spade: "Or she totally got out somewhere in space?"
Max Thorn has Antheia out and ready.
Dmitri: "We're not reading anything inside."
Max Thorn: "Did sensors report her docking with any stations?"
Sam Spade: "Anyone surprised by this?"
Max Thorn: "Or any egress while in space."
Sam Spade doesn't raise her hands.
Dmitri: "The rocket was clear of all stations."
Dmitri: "Just in case, we'll begin fueling for immediate relaunch. In the mean time…" The rocket stops shaking, there is a moment's pause, then the door swings open on its own.
Linnea readies Miator, right before the door busts open. "<Kinda short notice, you think?>" "Shh."
Max Thorn brings his rifle up, aiming at the door, just in case. "Do we want to storm the rocket, or…?"
Jenny: "Storm the rocket. Go go go!" She sounds like she is willing herself not to shove the party out of her way.
Sam Spade goes!
Max Thorn lowers rifle, steps aside.
Linnea books it!
Indeed, the inside of the rocket is empty of Petri.
Sam Spade: "Captain Jenny, do you have any experts on crime scene investigation?"
Sam Spade starts making detailed visible observations of the rocket.
The rocket capsule has four seats, and one of them was used judging by the impression on it. Sam even finds a few strands of hair on that chair.
Sam Spade pulls out an evidence bag and uses the inside of the bag to grab the hairs.
Sam Spade: "Max, we'll want this checked, I think…"
Jenny: "I've had to become the local expert. No offense to University staff, but some of the crimes here have been…esoteric." She smiles. "It's why I asked for this post."
Linnea: "Spaaaaaaaaaaace."
Esme: "It's the place, so I'm told."
Dmitri: "What's going on? Is she there?"
Sam Spade: "No, but she was."
Dmitri: "…argh. Sorry to have to ask on short notice, but if she did skip out, then to catch her in orbit…"
Linnea: "…where could she POSSIBLY-"
Linnea: "…Are we going INTO SPACE?!"
Sam Spade: "…Can we get a gym badge for it?"
Jenny's eyes BULGE. She was about to step into the rocket but jumps back. "No, no. I'm not going up there! I like my feet on the ground!"
Sam Spade passes the evidence bag to Jenny.
Sam Spade: "Check the DNA for me, please?"
Dmitri: "…sure. This'll be your gym challenge."
Jenny: "Will do!" She salutes.
Max Thorn: "Won't be an issue for me, I don't think, but…hmm. Do we have any pokémon capable of operating in space on hand?"
The Jaegers had barely moved from their position, and are now backpedaling.
Dmitri: "Fortunately, there should be a variety of spacesuits next to the rear bulkhead."
Dmitri: "Some of them can even be adapted to certain types of pokemon."
Dmitri: "Since this IS your gym challenge, I'll require you to use your pokemon somehow."
Max Thorn steps into the rocket and checks out the suits…
Miator: "<Better me than the Absol, I think.>"
Sam Spade steps to the hatch.
Sam Spade: "MALTA!"
Malta screams, then dives, lands on the gantry, and hops awkwardly inside.
Once all of the party are inside, the hatch slams shut. Dmitri's voice pops up on internal comms. "Strap yourselves in while I program the launch sequence. The rocket will pretty much be autopilot for you, so you just focus on finding and dealing with Petra. You'll make about two orbits - total time in space about three hours."
Linnea: "I am fascinated and terrified in equal measure."
Max Thorn heads back up to the seats and picks one.
Sam Spade: "Malta, you'd best get back in…"
Malta sighs, visibly, then pecks her pokeball and disappears in a blaze of red energy.
Max has found a selection of spacesuits for the party and the party's pokemon. There is no time to don them before the launch, but after orbit is achieved there will be time.
Esme takes a seat, and begins looking over one of the consoles. "I wasn't planning on going to space this early, but I'll take it."
Sam Spade straps in.
In less than a minute, the rocket begins to shake. From the consoles, it looks like refuelling is finishing up while ignition begins, stripping down relaunch procedures to the absolute minimum. This rocket is probably not going to be in the best of shape when it lands again.
Max Thorn: "That's…concerning. I hope nothing breaks."
And then, up it goes. This is mainly detectable by the increased gravity pushing everyone back in their seats, leaving no comfortable or advisable opportunity to tilt head to look to the side - and there are no windows or portholes. That said, monitors in front of the party give multiple angles of view of the planet falling away behind the rocket.
Max Thorn waits for the seatbelt sign to turn off…
The acceleration lasts for about ten minutes, then ceases. The rocket is fully intact - a single stage to orbit miracle of its time, now somewhere between its hundredth and thousandth launch - and is indeed on autopilot; the navigational controls in the cockpit are locked out. It looks like the party will need to ask Dmitri for any course changes.
And, oh yeah, hello microgravity.
Sam Spade: "Space…."
Max Thorn: "All right. Time to suit up."
Sam Spade: "Uh, yeah, right."
Sam Spade taps a button, releasing not Malta, but Chicklet.
Max Thorn leads the way to the suits, going slowly as to demonstrate good microgravity technique.
Linnea flails wildly trying to reach the suits in reduced gravity. Miator just gives her poor suffering partner a Look and teleports over.
Esme releases, unsurprisingly, the pokemon most unlikely to care about vacuums and gravity. It's Lucrece.
Sam Spade follows mediocre microgravity technique, that is always holding on to something.
External cameras wink out as Dmitri's voice pipes in. "I hope you're getting ready for EVA, because sensors just went on the fritz. Sorry, we haven't had to emergency relaunch…ever. Think you can get a…umm, guys? I've just been told radar picked up a couple small blips inbound."
Sam Spade: "Please be friendly. Please be friendly."
Max Thorn: "Great. We're already working to suit up ASAP."
Max Thorn distributes suits, then takes the lead on suiting up first Amaterasu and then himself. He double-checks everyone else's suits before giving them the okay.
Linnea: "Good thing magic doesn't give a shit about gravity." "<Unless you're manipulating it.>" "Smartass."
Dmitri: "And now sensors are saying you still have air outside." The rocket vibrates a bit.
Sam Spade: "That's not disconcerting at all."
Sam Spade suits up anyway.
Esme: "Space… Bubble?"
Linnea: "Uhhhhhhh?"
Max Thorn 'swims' to the airlock, with Amaterasu tethered to him.
Linnea is too busy suiting up herself and Miator to pay much attention to that, though.
Dmitri: "Picking up some-" One thing about digital radio: when it cuts out, it does not fizz or hiss, it just stops.
Sam Spade: "Alright, Chicklet. Time to…well, we'll see, right?"
Esme gets geared up and good to go.
Chicklet: "Torch!"
The airlock reads atmosphere outside, safety protocols disengaged. Max would be able to open both doors at once if he wished.
Max Thorn cycles himself through properly, as though entering space (or a hostile atmosphere). Better safe than sorry. He snaps a 50-meter line to the rocket as he exits the outer hatch.
[OOC] WC GM: Everyone else is still getting prepared, Max is first out, yes?
[OOC] Max Thorn: The other end of that 50m line's on his suit, fwiw.
[OOC] Sam Spade: Yes.
[OOC] Max Thorn: Yes.
[OOC] Sam Spade: Aaaand…hmmm….
[OOC] Sam Spade: Yeah, Sam doesn't know any better.
Sam Spade waits till she hears the hatch clang shut, opens the inner one, then opens the outer one and walks on through.
Esme snorts.
[OOC] Sam Spade: Oh, Esme knew better? Welp. =p
Max Thorn checks the suit radio. "Everyone suited up?"
Linnea: "[Sounds like it.]"
Max Thorn: "[Suit sensors are *also* reporting an atmosphere…and visual observations are reporting a spherical bubble of some sort,with contours resembling a pokéball.]"
Linnea: "[Mia says she's fine. Still need to find a way to do thoughtspeak over radio.]"
Esme: "[All good here!]"
Sam soon finds herself adrift just outside the hatch. Fortunately, Max's line is right there to grab onto.
???: "You're fine, you're fine. I've got it. Don't be so silly, you can breathe while I'm here."
Max Thorn cranes his head. Who said that?
Sam Spade: "Who are you?"
A pressure alights on Max's left shoulder, just outside his view.
Sam Spade blinks
Sam Spade blanches
Sam Spade: "Is that-"
Sam Spade: "Are you-"
Linnea: "[Uh…]"
Max Thorn: "Uh. Hello."
Linnea: "[What's happening?]"
???: "Take off your helmet. You'll live, honest. I want to get a good look at you."
Sam Spade: "That's…a Shaymin?"
Linnea: "WHAT?!"
Sam Spade gulps.
Max Thorn: "Uh. If you say so. Nobody follow my lead just yet, okay?" Max carefully undoes his helmet and slowly pulls it off, ready to clap it back on if needed.
Esme: "Why is there a Shaymin in space?"
Sam Spade: "Well, they're…uh…legendary Fairies, right?"
Esme: "Of like, forests."
Max Thorn: "Well, I imagine the fella wanted to talk solely to us, and since space was the only way to arrange for that isolation…"
Sam Spade: "And Fairies are from the Moon?"
Indeed, Max does find air out here - and a Shaymin on his shoulder. The Shaymin gently presses his paw to Max's cheek. "Hehe! Hi there! It's you, aren't you? The one who returned rain to Dojji!"
Linnea instantly perks up. "I mean, the fae generally don't give a damn about mortal rules…"
Max Thorn: "One of 'em, yes, sir."
Max Thorn: "Couldn't have done it without my friends, really."
Esme gets this cycling thing going. She's gotta see this.
Shaymin: "Yeah! I told the higher-up…oh, hey! Plate crafter lady! You're here too!"
[OOC] Sam Spade: Honestly Sam never closed the hatches, so you could just walk on out.
[OOC] Esme: Pfft
Max Thorn: "It's an honour to meet you, sir."
Linnea heads on out with Mia… -after- tethering. And closes the doors once people are done heading out.
Esme floats out, hanging onto Lucrece for movement. "Oui. Guessing you've been watching us."
Sam Spade keeps one hand on Max's tether, but doesn't actually try to go any closer.
Now that everyone is out, it does indeed seem like the rocket is enclosed in a giant pokeball-shaped bubble of air.
Linnea: "Sorcery."
Shaymin: "Hehe! Maaagic~!"
Sam Spade: "Yeah, I was about to say magic."
Max Thorn: "So…what can we do for you, sir?"
Shaymin: "So you came here looking for that soul in her daughter's skin?"
Sam Spade hesitates for a second, but let's be honest. Legendary wants to kill us, we die. So she pops her helmet off, too.
Sam Spade: "…Yeah, that's…"
Max Thorn: "Indeed."
Shaymin: "Big Boss had words for her audacity. Wanted her to do penance. You'll meet her again, I'm sure."
Shaymin: "You're going to Gaela, aren't you?"
Sam Spade: "….Um."
Max Thorn: "That's the plan, yes."
Linnea: "Oh…oh boy."
Sam Spade: "Eventually."
Sam Spade hesitates.
Shaymin: "Then yeah, you'll see her there."
Sam Spade: "Did she know what to expect when she came out here?"
Shaymin: "Heh. Nope nope nope~!" The pokemon's voice - apparently telepathic, since you aren't seeing the Shaymin's lips move - trills above its general high pitch. "Boy was she surprised!"
Sam Spade: "…Heh."
Max Thorn: "I'll just bet."
Linnea: "Terrifying."
Sam Spade: "Wonder what she thought was going to happen."
Shaymin: "So, ah, if I can ask a favor?"
Max Thorn: "Yeah?"
Shaymin: "The sea's really, really upset. Can you calm her soon, please?"
Sam Spade: "We're trying to."
Shaymin: "It'll probably just take a long hug or something from you, her friends."
Sam Spade: "But we don't know where to look to find…ah…the sky?"
Shaymin: "Hehe. No, silly~. She's just across the water from where this big metal came from."
Sam Spade blinks
Sam Spade: "…O….kay…"
Shaymin: "That…you know, the rock with a lot of holes in it that barely juts up above the water's surface."
Linnea: "…Bay Island?"
Sam Spade: "Is Ho-oh still missing?"
Max Thorn: "Consider it on my todo list."
Shaymin: "I don't know your names for most things, sorry. Big Guy just told me the name for what you did."
Sam Spade: "Ah."
Shaymin: "Oh! Speaking of, brace yourselves, he's almost here. Be ready to stand instead of float."
Max Thorn: "Well…if you could project a map…?"
Sam Spade: "Uh - stand on what?"
Linnea winces, and readies.
Max Thorn braces himself…? As much as one /can/ brace themselves when one has no idea what the direction of gravity is going to be.
Sam Spade tries to guess what Shaymin is calling the Big Guy.
Gravity resumes, in a plane parallel to the airlock's outer hatch.
[OOC] Sam Spade: At which point we start falling…
[OOC] WC GM: A few feet at most. No damage.
Max Thorn oofs. "Thanks for the warning."
Linnea staggers around, trying to regain her footing. Mia gracefully floats down, looking smug.
[OOC] Sam Spade: So falling onto 'nothing.'
Shaymin: "Sorry about that, but he figured you'd want that."
[OOC] WC GM: Basically. It's kind of a plane of pure force.
Esme is thankfully cushioned by goo.
[OOC] Sam Spade: Yeah, quite.
Esme: "He?"
Sam Spade looks around in trepidation.
A much deeper voice BOOMS, rattling in the party's bones. "ARTIFICIER! TAMPERER IN MY DOMAIN! SHOW ME YOUR WARES!"
Esme perks. Or more rather, jumps. "Oh."
Sam Spade: "That sounded both angry and upset and curious."
Linnea: "…that was FAR friendlier than I was expecting. What the actual-"
Esme: "Sounds like my general my experience in toiling around with this sort of stuff, honestly…"
Shaymin: "Nah, this is him being chill."
Max Thorn: "In any event, I believe that's to your address, Esmé."
Esme hops back into the ship for a second…and returns with the Steel and Ground Plate. "These good?"
Shaymin: "You do not want to hear him when he's upset. Trust me."
Sam Spade: "I believe you."
???: "ADEQUATE, FOR A FIRST EFFORT. WHAT IS YOUR INTENT WITH THEM?"
Esme: "W-well. Honestly, at first I was just seeing if I could!"
Esme: "…but probably see if I can integrate them with my current project."
???: "A NOBLE START. AND THEN?"
Esme: "…and then expand said project and try to minimize the design, get more involved with other essence types…" She scratches her head. "Maybe do some more tests on how humans align with types."
Linnea raises a hand nervously.
???: "SPEAK."
Esme: "…and ultimately get a better understanding of it all."
Linnea: "Oh no, I just. I'm going along with what Esme was saying about human alignments with types. To maybe get a greater understanding about how magic - at least, the magic we can use - works."
???: "INDEED. YOU SEEK KNOWLEDGE. UNDERSTANDING. YOU DO NOT JUMP STRAIGHT TO POWER FOR POWER'S SAKE. THIS IS GOOD."
???: "YOU HAVE MEDDLED. TAMPERED. INTERFERED. PUT RIGHT. REPAIRED. AIDED WHAT SHOULD BE."
Sam Spade: "Black and white, added together to make gray. Fascinating."
An intricately-engraved slab whirls into view, like Esme's ground plate only far more intricate. Then again, only steel type. Then red - fire, blue - water, and more…
Esme: "Plus after that thing where I ate that shard, I was kind of wondering what the other essences feel like. Like Poison is still obviously the best but-Oh."
???: "AND YOU WILL DO MORE. BUT FIRST I WOULD SAMPLE YOUR POWER. READY YOUR ALLIES."
Linnea 's expression lights up in a "ah-ha" sort of way, watching in fascination- oh.
Sam Spade: "Chicklet!"
Max Thorn gets Amaterasu's helmet off. It's still tethered to her suit, though.
Arceus rounds the rocket and lands on the plane of force, a full set of plates circling like ioun stones of myth. "COME AT ME WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT."
Linnea: "Oh, if this fucks with the suits, the university's gonna be pissed…"