ANNOUNCEMENT 012

[intercom_voice]

[Whoops. She's running a little late it seems, for today, the intercoms buzz into action a little late.]

Ahem. Attention, students!

[The husky voice of - well, the Voice that speaks over the intercom - echoes through the halls.]

Now that we're all done with our bout of spring sickness, it's time to buckle down to our studies! Remember that tests may appear at any time, and it would be such a shame if you were all to fail and be kept back another year.

And don't forget to be welcoming to our new arrivals, won't you? They're quite behind the times, after all.

[Click.]

Speak to the Voice
General Mingle

Comments

Poor Niko. You're not spam

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[She's silent for just a second too long. The smile's still there, but her eyes have an odd light to them.]

Nah. Even though I like the cities, but I am still a courier. Just can't help but wander. Though this'll be a new record for how long I've been gone. Last time I really dropped off the map was only for about a week. Felt like longer, though.

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[When the woman's voice broadcast over the PA, Sibyll simply ignored it. She never really had anything of consequence to say. Instead, she continued to read her book, stretched out along the edge of the fountain. For once she had abandoned her armor for a light, cotton sundress. The only thing that ruined her breezy look was the omnipresent gun belt around her waist. The book she was studying intently was on Cleopatra, of all things.]

[shadowscall]

[Kai's eighteen but acts younger, so it works out? Somehow.]

Karasu's sure worth it. [At least Niko knows where he gets things from. Kai has no idea what his biological father's like, so he tends to assume most of his behavior issues are inherited from his mom.

It's pretty close to the mark, actually.]

That's a big 'if'. I'm not sure how she felt about me before I screwed up. Maybe I had a chance then, but I kind of doubt it now. [So does that mean he's just going to give up and not bother? ...Doubtful.] 'Sides, I can't even hold her hand without going three different shades of red and-

[Wait, back up, condoms? Oh Light. Kai stares hard at Niko, the blush from earlier coming right back. Geeze.]

I, uh. Um. There's...yeah. [Coherent thought. This is something he knows how to do...once he's done getting his brain to reboot, anyway.]

The nurse's office. Stumbled over some when I was raiding for painkillers once. [And then he'd died a couple deaths and put them back before getting the hell out of dodge.]

[vengeance_driven]

[He raises one of his thick brows at that.]

What happened the last time you drop off the map? [He... tries with English. He should switch back to Serbian but the fact is he's worried he'll get out of the habit.]

[trumpeting]

[He purses his lips as he fills up the cabbage bowls with his freshly cooked stir-fry. Managing to fill at least three, he scrapes at the skillet to finish off the batch. He places the empty pan in one of the near-by sinks.] Another planet.

[Setting a dish aside for Sibyll, he leaves the rest next to the stove, and he moves to collect his accessories. The hat's put on first, followed by the red shawl, and then the boa. He waves the end at the woman with a playful wink.] They're actually quite resilient! This particular one has taken fire damage and come out unscathed.

[vengeance_driven]

Yeah, I know it might seem kind of embarrassing, but is better to have one on you just in case. There is a very fine line between "good idea" and "bad idea".

[Niko has a lot of trouble telling "good ideas" from "bad ideas". It's a chronic condition.]

Maybe it doesn't do me so much good. Not many ladies that are my age around here.

[It's like March of the Dicks. Jesus.]

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

What?

[Anything else Basco said was completely missed at the mention of his origins.]

...Another planet?

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[At the memories of the Sierra Madre, Sibyll's eyes light back up with an almost fevered gleam. Her grin goes from an uncertain mask to a sharp, feral edge in a fraction of a second.]

I made a man very, very sorry he thought about trying to enslave me.

[Her desire for revenge may be her undoing, but Sibyll doesn't regret trapping Elijah in his tomb for a second. She still clearly takes pleasure out of it.]

[trumpeting]

[He smiles at the look she gives, clearly amused.]

Space pirate turned privateer. You make so much more that way; it's hard to say no.

[vengeance_driven]

Too bad you didn't meet some Russians I knew. [He would have liked to have seen some of Bulgarin's "stock" turn on him. Niko hadn't liked his job, hadn't liked Bulgarin, and still resents that the man is allowed to live. He only leaves it because his cousin told him to. But if he has his way-]

[liquid_serpent]

[Liquid just had a surly look on his face at the announcement. She was going to....test them with papers? What next? He turned around to stare intently on a water fountain with a woman stretched out along it. He recognised her immediately. Sibyll. He sauntered over, or rather, swaggered as he did, to speak with her.]

Do you know what kind of tests she means? It's pathetic. [He crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his eyes at her.]

[lumineinfinitus]

It could be that it's just not reorganized from everyone looking through... but it could be that too.

[For once, they're synced up in thoughts. X goes to start sifting through the books, looking for a map or anything else useful.]

[moderndaydragon]

You could say that about anything though. Planes are bad when they're falling. Buildings are bad when they're burning.

[She's teasing, but she pauses in the card house making for a moment.]

I want to fly over the ocean someday.

[moderndaydragon]

[She smiles back a little, nodding.]

Yes! Pictures and cake and cooking lessons... I'm all free for you and Ryou.

[vengeance_driven]

I've been around many burning buildings and crashing planes. I've only been on one sinking ship. [There's an unfortunate seriousness to his tone. He's normally pretty light, but the truth is there's not been very much "good" in his life at all, not having lived through the war that he did.]

The ocean is nice, though. And flying is much quicker. It took me seven months to reach America.

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

Hmm? [The Courier glances up from her book to blink at Liquid.]

No, no idea in the slightest.

[After a moment's deliberation, Sibyll goes back to her book. Liquid seemed to thrive off of attention, so denying him that would entertain her.]

Don't even know what she'd expect us to write. My idea of ancient history is your time. Don't suppose I could cheat off of you when it comes to a history test?

[She does pause in ignoring him to give the clone a wink. Then it's back to the book.]

Not like anyone from my time even has formal schooling, since schools don't really exist anymore. Closest we've got are the Followers.

[liquid_serpent]

[He noticed the wink and raised an eyebrow.]

You'd really cheat, would you? Of course, I'd pass every test the old hag could throw at me, as my IQ is practically off the scale. No one can beat me. [Of course not, Liquid. Just don't mention a certain annoying brother he has...]

Who are these Followers?

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[Just when she thought she was getting the hang of this place, someone throws her another curveball.]

Space...pirate...


How? I... think people went to the moon, but that was long before the Great War. And since then, nobody's gone back to space. So how did you get there?

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

Why not? It's not like anything she talks about matters. So why would her silly tests matter any more. Besides, if she's a computer like you think she is, what could she do to us? As long as I've been here, she's never really enforced any sort of punishment. Someone tried burning the place down and all we had to hear was her whining about it.

[Hmm. He didn't notice the feigned disinterest, or he saw through it. Time to needle him on something else.]

And since you brought it up, your smarts found us a way out of here yet?

[trumpeting]

[He arches a brow, amused by her reaction.]

There are habitable planets aside from Earth, you know.

[Basco grabs one of his stir-fry bowls and leans back against the counter.]

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

There are? Where?

[Sibyll struggles to even remember the basics of astronomy. Most of what she knew was simple use of stars as navigation. What very little she knew about the other planets in the solar system were that they were uninhabitable.]

...So you're... not from Earth at all? Like an alien?

[trumpeting]

Bingo! I'm from outside of the Sol system.

[Allowing that to sink in, he takes the time to grab a bite of his food. When he swallows:]

About... 10.5 lightyears away? Rough estimate~.

[liquid_serpent]

She is a computer. What else could she be? We've already decided on that. [He waved a dismissive hand at her.] If someone tried burning this place down then why didn't it? [He was disappointed to hear it was still standing.]

Do not mock me, woman. It is hard to orchestrate any kind of escape when I have little resources or men under me to do such a job.

[agentmiller]

[Matt's been in the library, reading some old Nyte Blayde comics so he happens to catch the question. ]

I'm fairly certain that we don't make it out of here if we fail. The tests are unknown variables. They could differ from person to person; we have no real way of knowing. The woman over the intercom won't tell us, either.

[wildcard_of_the_desert]

[She shrugs nonchalantly.]

The damage repaired itself somehow. Not sure who did it, but one night there was a huge hole in the building. Next morning, it was like there was no fire.

[His next venting just makes her laugh.]

Resources? Men under you? Don't you investigate stuff for yourself?