pullmeoutalive | And another one of these!

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

[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.

[ 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?

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.

[ 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. ]

[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...?

[ 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. ]

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.

I will.

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

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.]

[ 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.

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.]

Exactly what I said. This town is empty.

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

... 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]

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. ]

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.

[ 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. ]

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.]

[ 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. ]

It... would appear that all of our energon problems have... been solved.

[How could an organic planet produce energon in this manner? It doesn't make any sense.]

[And if there's one thing he can't stand, it's things that don't make sense. But the energy readings are accurate...]

[Like any good ~~idiot~~ scientist, he reaches out to touch one cube.]

[ It's real, all right. Real and solid and not totally going to make him... I don't know, take a nap after refueling. ]

Is that energon? But I thought you said it didn't grow on trees.

It shouldn't. By all rights, all laws of natural order, and physics, this shouldn't be possible.

[So... what happens if he tries to remove it from the tree. Surely the illusion vanishes then.]

[ Oh no, it's real. Removing it from the tree doesn't effect it in any way. ]

Is it some new species of tree, maybe?

[He turns it over a few times in his hands.]

No. Energon does not appear naturally in such a state. It's impossible.

[Well. Only one thing to do. Test it. By refueling.]

[ Still totally normal, but Angel doesn't know that and has a minor panic attack ]

Perceptor! Is that- I don't think that's very wise.

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