video; a work in progress

[whatsupcroc]

( Audio picks up the sound of industrial construction, either things familiar in woodshop, car garages, or anywhere of a similar sort. When the feed goes live, Collette is framed to one side, looking forward and away from the camera.  She's clearly resting on her arms, and given the angle of the ground on the screen, she's probably lying on her stomach in order to do this.  She glances over her shoulder, eyes going to something behind the tablet being used for recording, then smiles as her eyes drop down to the tablet itself.  For all intents and purposes, the camera is positioned to make the viewing audience seem like they're side by side with Collette, wherever it is she is, keeping a low profile in this industrialized looking area.  Concrete floor that she's resting on, packing boxes ahead of her, bundles of cables and chains glimpsed somewhere past her head. )

Guys!  ( She keeps her voice low, not a whisper (they carry further, and can't be heard about the ambient noise), but low to avoid excessive attention. )  Anyone else catch where they dragged the ship off to with that giant crane after the crash? I wondered about that. But I've got news!

( She makes a waving motion at the camera, and it shifts, jarringly, to leave Collette off screen and show something covered in plastic and wiring and cables, a few Initiative workers using welding guns, others wheeling parts away or calling out shouts of questions over the sounds of construction. )

They say the spaceship's salvageable!

Comments

[quisling]

I kind of doubt the people being sent home are getting back by other means, but until I know for sure I won't write off the possibility. Either way it's not much of an option if we don't have a lot of control over it.

[whatsupcroc]

< A giant owl! >

( She closes her toes around his finger, tugging on it experimentally before putting her weight on it, pulling herself up altogether with another wild flapping of wings. )

< I wish I could see that! >

( Once settled, careful not to hold on too hard or accidentally puncture his skin, Collette's ready to report. )

< Systems are functional on a really basic level, but not back in operation yet. We're missing parts we need to get everything fully functional. But! Both Transports and Initiative says it can be done, so I have a feeling it will be, though I don't know how soon. They scrubbed it down really well. Most the damage was kind of containable. >

private, voice.

[reconnaissance]

Booze, a razor. There are your logistics.

( Trust her. She's a professional. )

[sonofabyte]

Then again. That assumes they have our trust in the first place. Which they do not.

[ A pause. ]

It's scrutiny.

[aceordisgraced]

... Collette?

[Really?

For reals?

Phoenix scratches the dog behind its ears and eyes it curiously.]

I didn't know you could do something like this. You're really Collette?

[ganking]

Only if I get to dump another pot on you.

[commentboxtroll]

[ Owl now perched on his finger (and most of his hand), he carefully lifts her up to take a closer look at the form. It's so... ]

This is way too cute to be a night-dwelling rodent death sentence. [ It just is, really. ] So basically it's ship-shape? That's good. I have no doubt that between them and the Transports, it'll be up and running again in no time at all, though I wonder if a trip to steal the missing parts is in the near future.

[ Which is funny to say, since they'd be going into the past to get the parts in the... yeah. ]

[shortstature]

[He's definitely proud now. He puffs out his chest and lets out a laugh.]

Sure! I'll be happy to show you! Er...are there any good skateboarding places here?

[whatsupcroc]

You'd say getting that control is important?

private, voice.

[whatsupcroc]

And a low cut shirt on someone with cleavage. All three together, we'll be unstoppable.

( h e h B) )

[whatsupcroc]

They don't have our scorn either, so at least that's something!

( She grins. )

Public scrutiny? Of course! Thank you, I knew there was a phrase for it, I just couldn't remember.

[whatsupcroc]

< In the fur! >

( She tilts her head his way, giving him even greater access to behind her ears. )

< Man, you think it's a joke with all the behind the ears scratching dogs do, but it really does feel great! >

[whatsupcroc]

Oh, and now you admit it? You're --

( insufferably stupid and making her friends worry )

-- so dumb!

[whatsupcroc]

( She laughs at his statement, twisting her head to the side slowly to regard him from almost upside down. )

< The owl gets to be criminally cute. I see! >

( Blinking one eye after the other, she straightens her head out. )

< I think there has to be, or else they'll find stuff in their stores from earlier missions? Is that even possible? This is like a living junkyard, they might have more on hand than they realize! >

( She hopes that's the case, to simplify the process. Otherwise... )

< But yeah. It should be fixed before too long. I wanted to see for myself, and then Oz was feeling low after Ahiru left, so I thought... >

( Here Collette trails off, holding herself still. )

< Do you want me to let you know before I do stuff like that? >

[whatsupcroc]

I have no idea, but there's this one place that I bet is perfect for boarding!

( Almost bouncing in excitement, which so doesn't fit the current situation. Collette has to duck down after, whispering an apology. )

[commentboxtroll]

[ Otherwise, more raid missions. Those, at least, were simple. ]

Oz? So that's who you had with you.

[ Also not very surprising, since his roommate had wandered off not too long before the broadcast. He almost launched into a joke about whether or not she'll be able to pencil in their date between all her other ones, but then she goes and asks that.

He has to consider it for a moment, though ultimately he just shrugs. ]

If you want? [ He lowers his hand back towards the bed. ] If it's going to be dangerous or you're going to be gone for awhile, it would be nice to know, but it's not like I need to know every detail of your life, Collette.

[ Because he sure isn't going to be letting her know the same about his! ]

[whatsupcroc]

( She hops back off his hand, which meant hopping toward him rather than away. Good! She's not planning on sharing all the details of her life, especially the boring or slightly alarming or downright uncomfortable parts.

Like, for one, she was never going to tell him when she was -- you know. Around that time of the month. Or for a less reoccuring piece of existence, the fact she was, technically, dead.

But those were just some of the things that went through her head or on in her life that weren't worth talking about, for vastly different reasons. Why tell him hr schedules? He'd figure them out or he wouldn't. That's at least easy... and heck, he probably sorta knew half of them anyway. Let him know before she does dangerous stuff?

... Well sure! Though recounting what dangerous things she's done in recent memory, most of them were spur of the moment. Is she going to have to check herself before she rushes into things? She's not... so good at doing that. )

< That'd mean dropping a note off before I go running out to look for survivors during bombing barrages with lung-destroying gasses throughout the streets? >

( She plays that like it might be a joking statement. It's easier, since he wasn't around for the bombings, and only one person knew how often she'd gone out. Barnaby wasn't around to remember her yelling at him over the exact same thing. )

[quisling]

[ He's gotta wonder if this is gonna end up looping back to the ship soon... ]

Right.

[alwaysruns]

Be right there.

[And true to her word, in about 20 minutes, she comes striding in with an air of purpose, wearing her BDUs and hands on her hips.]

Let's get to work.

[ganking]

[ shruuuug. ]

And you need to get a bit more creative with your insults. Or was that part damaged in your little accident, too?

[whatsupcroc]

( She grins. )

You want me to get more creative with insults?

[ultimate_coordinator]

[ The dog ... is talking. The dog is talking to him. He used to think that things in this world couldn't get any stranger. It seems that it just did. ]

Before that ...

How are you able to talk to me?

[whatsupcroc]

< Thought Speak! It's kind of like telepathy, but only one way. I've got no idea what you're thinking, and I can't hear you unless you're a telepath talking to me, so you've gotta keep it verbal! It's a feature of morphin gbuilt in by the engineers and scientists. >

( She holds herself still, mouth opening to allow her tongue to loll out. She looks a little like she's laughing. )

[whatsupcroc]

This is part of that. It really is! That, and figuring out what makes the transport pads stable, to send people back instead of wait for them to be pulled back and to disappear out of here entirely.

[ganking]

Even you gotta admit they're a little lacking.