thebastion | Day 242 [Open]

Entry tags:

paarthurnax

Day 242 [Open]

Who: Bon and anyone else
Open: Open
When: Day 242
Where: Near the path to the Skyway, on the north side of the Bastion
What: Bon is getting ready to go out on the Skyway, and having a group with him would be good
Format: action
Warnings: none

[In the morning, Bon can usually be found jogging around the Bastion, getting his morning workout in. Today, though, he is dressed for the Skyway, and he is carrying his usual assortment of weapons.

Should anyone approach him while he is getting ready, he will tell them the same thing.]

I'm going back to the mines, to see if I can find anything useful there. Want to go?

--------

[However, before all of that happens, Bon will go visit Colin. Because he wants to ask Colin something, and early morning is the best time to bother people!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

<Sure.>

[He's not too thrilled about going underground, but he will if he has to.]

<You could probably use a scout, anyway.>

[Birds are not so great underground, but that doesn't mean that Tobias doesn't have something he can do.]

Definitely, especially up top, to keep an eye out for monsters. Those birds last time were a bit problematic.

<Yeah. I could always change into something big enough to scare them off if I have to.>

[They don't seem to be very impressed with his screeching otherwise.]

What, you can't fight off birds as a bird?

[He might sound a little amused as he says that too.]

<I can, but I'd prefer not to get blasted out of the sky.>

[Pecking order is serious business, Bon.]

[So serious.]

Good point.

...actually, do you have any forms that can deal with rock-throwing birds?

<Hork-Bajir, elephant, polar bear, bull... I could probably take care of them as a Taxxon but Taxxons... can't tell friend from foe very well and I'd rather not eat you.>

...why in the world would you be able to turn into something like that in the first place?

<They're like giant earthworms. We needed to dig into a cavern in a short period of time, and with a bigger tunnel than what you'd get from something like a mole.>

<Though if you mean more 'how the hell did you get one', the Yeerks use them as hunting dogs and cleaners. They're sentient, but barely. They're sometimes infested but not usually since the hunger is too much to deal with.>

...I'm going to be honest here: a few of those words sounded made-up, and I'm not sure if it's the translator trying to translate a word that doesn't actually translate into Japanese. But regardless of that, what you just described sounds horrible.

<Yeerks are the parasitic brain slugs we're fighting. They infest people and you can't tell who's a friend and who's not. They have access to the person's memories so they can replicate their behavior. They're aliens.>

[There's a lot of aliens involved in this mess, Bon.]

Aliens that are not here, right?

[Please oh god he can't handle brain-controlling slugs right now.]

[That's a little reassuring, at least. Though Bon has no idea how they feed, so he's thinking they might still be out on the Skyway.]

If you come across any signs of them, let us know right away, okay?

[Yukio's always made a habit of being prepared, and he's been even more diligent since the Bastion almost took a dive on them. He's missing his long coat when he approaches Bon, he's carrying everything else he could need for a surprise trip to the Skyway.

Eyeing those weapons and the lack of people already with you, sir. You weren't planning on going alone if no one wandered by, were you?]

It's worth another look. I'm sure some things got left behind in the rush to look for cores.

[Not alone, of course not! But waiting here is the best place to find a group to go.]

Yeah, I'm thinking we can take our time to comb through the easier to access areas. If nothing else, we could pick up some shards.

[Ah, excellent. Sorry, Bon, but Yukio's trained to assume a lack of common sense. Kinda comes standard with his sibling.]

Sounds like a plan. I haven't been out there much lately. Except for the obvious necessities, of course.

[You know, the looking for cores and stuff. Yukio spends most of his time being the nerdiest bookworm.]

You probably should go more often, you're likely one of the more qualified people for Skyway trips.

[Qualified in that he is an expert at killing things, that is. And problem-solving.]

[Well you make it sound so unpleasant, thinking of it like that. Not that it's not true, but whatever. Yukio shrugs.]

You're probably right. I've been spending a lot of time in the hospital lately.

[And considering the amount of notes he brings home some nights, Bon probably doesn't want to see what his office looks like.]

Still working on things for that sickness?

[Even though they had found a cure, Bon is still glad that Yukio was here. Having a doctor around really helped.]

[Thank goodness the cure came in when it did, because doctor or not, Yukio wouldn't have been able to do anything more for those infected.

Shaking his head. ]

There are some residents who came in with preexisting conditions, some of which are prone to complications that could require future surgery.

Surgery?

[He was not aware of that, actually.]

Can you really do surgery here?

In theory, yes.

[Yukio's not usually a terribly expressive person unless Rin is involved somehow (and then the expression is generally anger or frustration), but there's no hiding the uncertainty lurking in his eyes. In theory, yes, because theory and excessive studying are all he has at this point.]

Anything's possible, in theory.

[Which is Bon's way of saying that he doesn't think theory is enough in this case, especially if Yukio himself isn't sure he can do it.]

...maybe we'll come across more doctors, before it becomes an issue. I would say that maybe that camp of Ura knows some surgeons, but I'm not sure how 'modern' they are with their medicine.

[Maybe if he had some way to practice he wouldn't be so worried, but even then, this isn't the field medicine he's used to. All the research in the world could never prepare him for something like this.]

That's what I'm hoping. [Yuki's not the type to push responsibilities off on others, but in this case? Please let someone come and take this responsibility from him.] It would be worth looking into, at least. Zulf-san might be able to give us some details.

[Fortunately, Colin is definitely not the kind of person to be put off by mornings. In fact, it's when he gets a lot of his best work done. In fact, there he is in his workshop, dutifully working on some device or another. His doors are open, as per the usual, and he doesn't seem to be working with anything dangerous at the moment. Bother him all you want.]

[Perfect. Bon will go right over to him, then.]

Sorry to bother you so early, but I wanted to come when I was sure Rin was asleep. Can I ask you for a favor?

A favor's no problem. But since you don't want Rin to know, you've got me curious. What's up?

Got a prank in mind? Or something romantic?

[Colin sets down his tools to give Bon a look of curiosity. Sorry Bon, when secrets are up, his mind tends to go towards pranks immediately, rather than anything else.]

[Bon scowls a bit at the word 'romantic'. Sorry Colin, his love life is private.]

Neither, actually. See, I know Rin likes to read manga, and we haven't had much luck at finding anything on the Skyway.

[They have about five assorted volumes of manga total they found. One is in Korean. None are from the same series.]

I was wondering, since you have movies on your computer, do you have manga too?

[Sorry, Bon. That earns a smirk from him.]

Not romantic, huh?

Anyway, yeah. This library is extensive. I've got a sizeable manga library on here.

[He pats his wrist.]

The trick is getting it off. The pads aren't exactly the optimal way to do it...

Not romantic at all.

[Even though he and Rin are romantically involved, this is for non-romantic reasons.]

What if we used the monument to make some of them into actual volumes of manga?

[Sure it is, Bon. Sure it is.]

[But you've got his attention now, and the wheels are turning in his head.]

We... could probably do that, actually. Would take a nice amount of shards, but we could make several volumes together for the same cost of making one. Simple programming trick, really...

[Yes, Colin's been learning the ins and outs of the monument and learning how to abuse loopholes in it...]

I've got plenty saved up, so that's not a problem, if we can figure out how to do it.

See, Rin likes manga, especially cheesy romance ones. I figured it might cheer her up a bit if she had something new to read.

[Bon. Bon plz. You are making it SO HARD not to rib you about romantic gestures.]

I've actually been considering purchasing a print shop and paper, because we've got a LOT of people who want a LOT of books...

But to purchase a manga collection on its own, I think.... it'd just be a matter of a proper interface with the monument. Not terribly difficult, I've been tinkering with that for a while actually.

[You know who can't fit into a mine? Grampa can't, on the basis that Grampa is a dragon.]

[But still.]

I would be glad to bring you there quicker, and protect you on the journey there. Greh... I have actually been curious to see this place myself.

[When the Bastion was in danger of falling apart, after all, he stayed behind.]

That's right, you didn't go last time, did you?

[Actually, Paar might be a good person to take, he could definitely hep with digging.]

I did not. I thought it best that I remain here... Just in case the situation became worse.

[Besides, he had trust that those who were sent off would do admirably enough. The people here have shown themselves to pull through in times of disaster.]

[Bon nods in agreement. If the Bastion starts sinking again, then a huge dragon who can carry people would definitely be the best for a speedy evacuation.]

Well, the mines themselves aren't pretty to look at, but there's tons of shards in there, and some large shard-things that aren't quite as big as cores. If nothing else, we might be able to grab some of the big shards to have more power reserves for the Bastion.

Assist me with my saddle, and I can carry whatever you need back with us.

[It's one of the things he doesn't often get to use in the Bastion, but it has proven handy since the Festival.]

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Day 242 [Open]

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