And another one of these!

[makeshiftwings]

General musebox post is go! ... Again!

Comment here with a location in the subject line (The Thor, some alien planet, Pandora, etc). You can come up with a scenario or leave your comment blank and I'll do that for you!

Comments

[makeshiftwings]

The only way to really find out is to take a look. Let's get through these trees.

[sciencetank]

Very well. Do hold on.

[Because the tank is about to indiscriminately smash through the trees.]

[makeshiftwings]

[ She gives a little squeal of surprise, clinging to his shoulder for dear life. ]

[sciencetank]

[He probably should have warned her better, but oh well.]

[In no time at all, they're reaching the edge of the forest, and the big scientist is... comically ducking down behind a rock. The better to observe.]

... What a wretchedly primitive little settlement this is.

[makeshiftwings]

[ She looks. Smoke from the chimneys, yes, but the lights seem electric. There might be "fuel" for them both here. ]

I guess... I guess I'm going to have to go take a look.

Do you have something that I can contact you with?

[sciencetank]

Of course.

[He's just going to hand her something small and round.]

A basic two-way receiver, designed to be placed in training modules for encryption work. It should serve your purposes.

[makeshiftwings]

[ She takes it from him, turning it over in her hands. After a moment, she closes her eyes and her tattoos begin to glow. ]

Can you hear me?

[ Yes, that is her voice on his comm lines. No, she's not moving her lips. ]

[sciencetank]

[He looks at her. Tilts his head. Taps the side of his head, as if to clear his audio receptors.]

Indeed.

How...? Is it you managed to...?

[makeshiftwings]

[ Her laugh sounds on his comm before she opens her eyes again, the light fading from her tattoos. ]

I don't really understand how, myself. It's something I've always been able to do. I'm what we call a siren- I have special abilities. The other sirens I've met can manipulate reality. Me? I manipulate technology.

[ As she says this, she takes one of the laces out of her shirt... vest. Corset. Thing. And ties it around the little device, making a sort of makeshift necklace for herself. ]

SOME ALIEN PLANET... that the Thor is currently circling!

[lockednloaded]

[The Planet of the Month was perhaps eerily similar to that of Pandora, but a bit less muted in its color palette. Still, the crags and the dry heat and the unmistakable atmosphere of a not-completely-civilized planet were not unfamiliar to Maya -- nor was the pesky native wildlife that just wouldn't get out of the way--

--of the rented (and a little worse for wear) hovercraft that she happened to be "piloting".

Consequently there's a loud thud and subsequent jolt as some ill-timed four-legged creature becomes... well, roadkill. Any passengers riding with Maya will definitely not have missed that much.

She 'tsks' under her breath and calls back:]

What ever happened to looking both ways before crossing the road?

[Not that there are exactly any roads here.]

[sciencetank]

Fascinating. An organic being capable of interfacing with technology in such a way...

[He trails off, pulling out one of those datapads he seems to keep on himself like spare change.]

Do keep in touch. Just in case.

[makeshiftwings]

[ Angel lets out a little yelp at the sudden noise, clinging to her seat a little harder. Sure, she's seen the way the Vault Hunters- all of them- drive, but this is her first time actually riding with one and not just watching. ]

Maybe you should slow down?

[makeshiftwings]

I will.

[ A beat, then: ] Can you let me down?

[sciencetank]

Let...? Ah! Yes. A moment.

[Excuse him while he just picks her up in one hand and sets her down. Like she weighs as much as a pillow.]

[makeshiftwings]

[ WELL, she's not exactly a big person. One on the ground, she makes the short trek to the town.

A while later, Angel's voice sounds over the comm again ]

Perceptor? There's no one here.

[lockednloaded]

[Slow down, Angel? Surely you jest! This silliness of such a notion is easily heard in her tone, which is both a little dry and a little teasing.]

And why would I do that? [Maya glances over her shoulder at Angel, looking a little amused. (Though she may notice that the hovercraft does slow down just a tiny bit. Of course that doesn't make the bumps and slight jarring any less frequent.)] Too much for you back there?

[makeshiftwings]

No! [ It comes out a little too quickly, and she snaps her mouth shut, shaking her head as she tries to reel in her nerves. She can do this. She's tough!!

Okay, so she can't remember having ever ridden in a ground-based vehicle of any kind her entire life, but she's totally got this. ] I mean, slowing down would help you not run over the wildlife, right?

[sciencetank]

What do you mean?

[As he asks, his head pops up from behind that rock. With a small shrub stuck to the top of his helmet.]

[makeshiftwings]

Exactly what I said. This town is empty.

[ Lights on, fires burning, dinner cooking. It's actually a little creepy. ]

[sciencetank]

... Odd. Any sign of a cause?

[Regardless of her answer, he steps out of the bushes, making his way into the town.]

[stomp stomp stomp]

[makeshiftwings]

Not that I can tell, but I'm still investigating.

[ She does hear him coming and steps out onto the main street, a loaf of bread tucked under one arm. ]

[sciencetank]

Hmm.

[Time to check the air for potential gases lethal to organic systems. And scan the area for corpses, signs of violence... anything.]

Decidedly strange.

[makeshiftwings]

[ When he's in town, Angel's glow fades and she speaks to him normally ]

Do you think they left?

[ As for his scans- nope, nothing. It doesn't even seem to indicate that people even lived here at all. The bread in Angel's hand is real and safe enough, though.

Also, there are energy readings coming from a large tree at the edge of town. A tree on which there appear to be growing energon cubes. ]

[sciencetank]

Difficult to say. Observations aren't in line with an evacuation or...

[That's about when he notices that tree.]

[And shuts up. Completely. He's too dumbstruck by what he's looking at to form a coherent sentence. Which is some kind of miracle for the scientist.]

... I don't... believe this...

[Excuse him while he heads for that tree.]

[makeshiftwings]

[ That concerns her! He doesn't exactly... well, shut up a lot. ]

Perceptor? What's wrong?

[ She follows his gaze, but she's not quite sure what she's looking at. ]