[cue poor unfortunate souls, or something]

[rebells]

Who: RECON TEAM ASSEMBLE
Where: the toxic seaweed Uvi lair
When: backdated to early Day 33 (8/9)
Open/Closed: if your character can fly and would gatecrash, go for it! otherwise ping prospit and I'll see what I can do for you.

[The flying fish were not precisely expected, but at that sign that the Uvi are preparing to head back to their base, it's time for TEAM RECON to assemble. Members would at least vaguely know one another and may have made tentative ride-sharing plans, but people have undoubtedly gotten mixed up during the night of fighting and there may also be one or two late additions . . . .

Either way, Jay can act as telepathic intermediary if you can't fly and need to hitch a ride. Time for a fishing expedition . . . ?]


((INK IS DECLARING THIS POST THREADJACK-FRIENDLY BY DEFAULT please be courteous and ping if people are off in their own extended thread but otherwise go wild!))

Comments

HITCH A RIDE / OFFER A RIDE

[rebells]

[rebells]

[Jay himself can be found near the edge of the city, looking up at the retreating Uvi and around for--someone, it isn't clear who, but he may be more of a presence via telepathy, as he sends out a message to all the members of the recon team:]

Time to move. If you need someone to carry you up, give me your location and I'll send you to the nearest person who can fly.

[splinten]

So I'm a taxi service now?

[It's the thought before Dirk's presence; swooping down from the air and then dropping in front of Jay.]

Piggyback, princess, or potato sack. Your choice.

[rebells]

I did say piggyback was fine, didn't I?

[He seems incredibly awkward about this whole 'carrying' affair, for some reason.]

And I don't actually know what a taxi service is, but yes.

[splinten]

Maybe you went through a series of life altering events in the past few hours and changed your mind.

[He turns around and crouches. Hop on, bro.]

[rebells]

[He snorts and, after a moment's pause, climbs onto Dirk's back; there's a flash of--hesitance, discomfort, overlaid with a thudding come on, come on urgency: someone hasn't quite gotten his powers under control yet, it seems. But it fades out after a bare moment.]

. . . let's go.

[splinten]

[It washes over him, but he was ready for it, and he doesn't comment. Instead he shoots off into the sky after the Uvi.]

Even if we can't stop them now, if we find their lair we can come back to it and stop them then. The fish they drop from might be key as well.

[There are options. There is a chance.]

[rebells]

Yes. The important thing now is to gather as much information about the Uvi as is possible. As of right now, we're striking out blindly.

[splinten]

[Dirk agrees, of course. As they reach the water level, Dirk keeps flying but asks,]

How are you going to handle the water?

[rebells]

There's Moon and Mikleo, and holding my breath. [He says that last part dryly.] But I don't have gills or anything. What about you?

[Hey, stranger things have happened.]

[splinten]

I used to do a lot of deep sea diving.

[And like, the space-breathing thing possibly carrying over???? I don't think we've decided as a cast yet let'S STICK WITH THIS FOR NOW]

[rebells]

Were you looking for something?

[oneandmikleonly]

[there is a very eye-catching dragon here if you want a fancy ride, angling a wing out from his body so someone (you!) can brace a foot and swing yourself onto the part of his back that has no spines]

C'mon, up you get. We'll need to go fast.

[deem]

[It's impossible to tell, what with the opaque nature of his goggles, but 9S is certainly staring up at this reptile right about now. He's never seen a dragon before, and yet there's some small measure of recognition if only because he's seen a very crudely rendered drawing of one]

...You're a dragon.

[Look, some things simply need be said here. But if this guy can talk in his head, then that means he's one of them? Who knew dragons were capable of human speech? Not this unit, that's for sure]

Um...I'm a little on the heavy side. I'm not gonna injure you, am I?

[oneandmikleonly]

[Mikleo wrinkles his nose at 9S, which makes a weird expression on a reptile face but is his attempt at a smile]

I'm only shaped like this once in a while. I can carry a reasonably large weight with no problems, but if you're heavier than a normal human, then...

[he's not worried about injury, but he does lower himself almost all the way down to a lying position, so 9S won't have to climb up him and possibly pull him over, in the weird magic equivalent of tipping a vending machine]

Try now.

[deem]

[Only once in a while... 9S can only wonder what that means for the rest of the time. But though his thoughts tend to wander, they don't really have the time for that]

Sorry for the trouble.

[He steps closer so he can climb on, cautious as he does so. For his size, he's over twice the weight one might expect for a human, simply because he isn't one.

At least riding giant boars gives him some experience with sitting atop creatures he looks entirely too small for, but this is different. Once he's seated himself, he glances around, looking for any signs that he's causing injury or discomfort]

...Is this okay?

[oneandmikleonly]

Oof.

[it doesn't SOUND too distressed, though Mikleo visibly has to exert an effort to straighten again; he can carry two ordinary adults, so he can carry 9S, but it's approaching the upper limit of his strength. still -- he looks up towards the ocean in a questing sort of way. all right. as far as flights go, it's not a long one, and 9S is on his back, not hanging awkwardly below him in his claws.]

Yeah, you're all right. We'll lag behind a bit in the air--but once we're in the water itself I can make up the distance. Just hang on tight. Let me know when you're ready to fly.

[his wings spread out slowly on either side of 9s, raising themselves, testing the air]

[deem]

[9S wonders briefly if perhaps his disclaimer should have come with his precise weight just to be safe, but he doesn't seem to have caused injury at least. At two hundred and eighty-five pounds, he weighs a fair margin less than 2B, but that's quite a lot to condense into one small body.

He'll take the dragon's word for it, though he's watching carefully all the same. Part of that is a given concern, and the rest is a natural curiosity inherent in any Scanner model. And he is recording, just for the record]

So you're swifter in water? [Somehow he wouldn't have imagined that, but it's certainly interesting. In any case, he supposes he's delayed them long enough] I'm ready anytime you are, you don't have to worry about me.

[Holding on shouldn't be much of an issue, but he leans closer to the dragon's neck all the same. He's been in a flight unit, and he's made long descents with the aid of his pod, but wind resistance is a concern here]

[oneandmikleonly]

Let's just say water isn't as much of a problem. You'll see the details when we're up there.

[he's curious as well as to why 9S is so heavy and dense, but it'll have to wait until a less pressing time; for now, his muscles bunch, and his wings downsweep, and he's launching off into the air, arrowing up an an angle towards the sky ocean. it is indeed a slow, weighed flight, every stroke of his wings creaking noticeably, but it does the job.]

[deem]

[It's very different from using a flight unit indeed.

9S had naturally anticipated this, but the reality is still a surprise. He flattens as best he can against this sometimes-dragon, a hand pressed to his goggles lest the wind resistance tear them from him.

He'll steal a glance at the landscape below while he's at it]

This'd be like the desert zone... If not for an ocean in the sky.

[It's something he can't help but reflect on, watching the world below recede]

[oneandmikleonly]

That does make a big difference doesn't it? You don't see water in the sky where I'm from either...did you come from a desert, or just visit?

[telepathy fortunately doesn't require breath, he can labour them towards the sky and chat a little at the same time]

[deem]

My home base was the orbital Bunker, but I've been dispatched to the desert a few times. Usually, I've been there to gather data on some ruins, or pursue enemy units. That sort of thing.

[It certainly is convenient, being able to converse with just a thought. 9S always has been a talker, so he doesn't mind elaborating at all.

But he's also curious]

What's it like where you're from?

[lunala]

[If anyone would like to take the giant bat monster express, Moon is waiting for anyone who would like to accompany her.] I can take two or three people up with me, depending on how big they are.

[cadventuretime]

[Oh, that thing is SWEEEET.]

Shotgun!

[lunala]

Well, you can at least sit right behind me. [Sitting next to Moon would be difficult. Nebby cranes its neck down to get a better look at this new green person who will be riding it.]