Powder Miner

LOTUS' little dot eyes tracked over to Leon, now, as Isobel twitched as she started with surprise, turning quickly towards Leon -- she hadn't been expecting to be addressed. After a moment to process what he'd said, though, Isobel's expression morphed into one of slight guilt. She opened her mouth but was beat to the punch, actually, by LOTUS. "Yeah, see, that's what I said. Care to share with the class? If you're like this when we actually get to the whole "fighting terrible monsters from beyond" part of the deal it might actually be a bit of a problem." "LOTUS, what-- ugh... look, it's not that bad. After that sort of revelation I'm allowed to be a bit upset, aren't I?" But despite her words she was clearly rather more upset than nigh everyone else in the area.

Isobel had headed into the castle when other people had begun to flood into it, not having had a whole lot to do in this mystery world she'd found herself in besides ruminate on the problems that had been brought up by the appearance of that horribly, horribly wounded man -- not even by the terrible visions that she'd cowered under so much as what he'd said -- the little briefing. War, fighting monsters, saving the universe, all of that, it made sense. Everyone around her looked like some variety of magical person (though not Space Wizards at least), or a warrior, Kyle was a gangster and surely he knew how to fight, plus there had been the big metal AI woman (who had taken a grenade) and what looked an awful lot like a dragon. Even the little AI she has found herself being essentially the carrier for was some sort of tactical genius, or something like that. So why was she here? Isobel didn't understand. She'd never taken down anyone evil or charged through any fires or cast any intricate spells or trained in swords, any of that. Sure, she'd managed to dodge a gunshot or two in her time aboard the Exodus, but... that wasn't honestly that unusual for a stationer like her, attacks or something of the sort were usually pretty much weekly. Isobel didn't know what she contributed. She was holding LOTUS when they were both summoned, so... maybe she'd just been accidentally picked up too? Was she supposed to be here? She didn't feel... worthy, she supposed, compared to how strong and formidable everyone else around her no doubt was. She was just a botanist. Isobel took a turn into the nearest room --which as a matter of fact happened to be the Barracks, and leaned against a wall, eyes downcast and kicking lightly at the floor while LOTUS seemed to be watching his carrier, a ":/" expression plastered onto his screen. "You're sure whatever you're moping about isn't a big enough deal to actually be affecting you?" "No... ...look, I'm okay. I'm fine." LOTUS moved his eye-dots on the screen back from their position "looking up" and instead examined what was going on in the Barracks area itself.

There's a silence from Isobel and LOTUS before the little AI speaks. "Wee-eee-elll, that was ominous. In fact, I think it quite literally doesn't get more ominous than that." Another pause from LOTUS, as Isobel remains silent. "If he's telling the truth, though, I'm ready to fight... or at least help you all fight, I'm not precisely capable of doing it on my own. But I can help win battles and I can help fight a war, which it sounds like this is. I... wish I wasn't disconnected from the rest of the Tactical Uplink, everything feels so awfully silent and everything would be better with that additonal data flow, but I'm not incapable. I've got people I want to protect, so I'll do what I can. And if he isn't telling the truth? Well, then there's probably nothing I can do about it. So I'm just going to try to formulate a plan for fighting that war. Uh, question, though, he seems to have left out a fairly big piece of information. Does anyone have the slightest idea how we're going to get to these less "infected" worlds and clean them out? Or even how we're going to pick them out in the first place?" Meanwhile, Isobel just stares at the ground miserably and still silently, pulling lightly on the leather fingers of her green-stained gloves while LOTUS chatters away.

LOTUS' tone starts off jokingly enough. "Haha, are you one of those mysterious half-existing beings that pops in and out and questions motivations and shatters lights and stuff? Not my first rodeo with those." There's a pause for a while, before LOTUS speaks again, his half-electronic voice a long sigh. "But no, I haven't got the slightest idea. Noone clued me in, though apparently I hear there's something going on with monsters, or something like that. Low information, cut off from the uplink, I'm stuck in a veritable void of data here. I hate it, too. You about to clue me in, Stabby? Not going to lie, if you're not here to violently murder me or Low, I'd enjoy that greatly." There's a long silence from Isobel, still very shaken by the very gruesome vision she'd been shown, before she speaks up herself. "I-- I-- I don't know. I don't have any idea why I'd suddenly end up so far from home. Bluespace? Something like that? I don't know... oh God..." Isobel than awkwardly fell silent, and hugged herself, still legitimately terrified by the visions of her death.

Isobel walked out with everyone else, briefly marvelling at the strange canyons of this world once again, and then turned to see the warrior. Her visage very quickly turned to one of some level of fear as she looked at the giant, bloody, wreck of a warrior, as is only natural. God, what happened? What was this? How does this happen to someone?! And then when her concern and fear morphed into staring too long, she let out a terrified shriek and turned away her sight as quickly as she could-- --floating, exploding as the low pressure of a station breach takes its toll, shot full of holes by a Syndicate operative, disemboweled by a bloody, glowing sword, or perhaps atomized by the blast of a nuke. Perhaps poisoned, gasping on the floor as hallucinations dance before her eyes, or burned into a screaming crisp as plasma fire rages across the station, grabbed by a man in blue robes and turned into dust and a skeleton instantly, or vomiting over and over as her body twisted and changed from radiation-- And she was broken from her reverie by: "Yeah, I gotta say, it's a real trip to see Stabby here turn into this tiny little smashed pAI card then turn back into an eight-foot-tall pincushion. This guy friendly?"

"Yeah, uhhh, I'm Isobel Low, I kinda figured I should introduce myself to people if you're right there and all, because, like... well, it'd be a better idea to get to know people now instead of when I'm in a fight by them, right?"

In the area with Kyle and Alexandria and all the hangers-on, there's what kind of sounds like a person letting out an amazed whistle, but put through some old-timey (by future standards) synth processer as LOTUS lets out an impressed noise. "Well, we've got an awful lot of people in here all of a sudden, don't we?" "And... I don't think I've met most of you." Isobel chimes in. She looks between the two conversations, decides Alexandria's and Katsuo's is probably more serious, and turns to Kyle and the two uncomfortable women he's talking to, addressing the latter. "Ah... hello, I... don't believe we've met."

"...oh. I agree, then, as soon as we should we should see about helping. Since you're a gangster, it sounds like it would be awfully dangerous for her to be left alone."

"Older than I thought, but I suppose it makes sense. And it doesn't sound to me like "immediately" is much of an option here, unless you know something I don't. Which I wouldn't discount as a possibility, but still." "I'm sorry, but I'm not sure I understand. What of what you said was to fuck with us?"

"Those electronic loins I mentioned tingling? Yeah, they don't actually exist, I haven't got the slightest opinion on attractiveness." "I, uh... how old are you?" "And I meant that your main obstacle there is more the "stranded in some faraway universe" thing than your wife."

"Somehow, I get the sneaking suspicion that that's not going to be that simple." "You're a father?"

"Apparently, ah... apparently your wife shot you in the back." Isobel follows out of general concern (remaining, at LOTUS' insistence to grab the chaingun and then thanking the orc for it), LOTUS taken along for the ride. "Yeah, you made sure to mention that one twice."

Isobel moves back from Kyle now that she can see he is in fact okay. "How's your wound doing?" "Love is a lie, the man's keeping me down, just the stuff like that. You actually cornered Cloaky over there to tell them about how love is terrible, it was something to see."

"Oh, well, it's not that bad, but watching people on too much caffeine or hyperzine literally jitter like this--" Here LOTUS' little representation of a face moves around on its screen, popping about, "--and then, because they're usually that kind of idiot, rush a bunch of mercenaries or something hasn't given me too strong an impression of the stuff." "...I just think they're hard to work with. Every 3 out of 4 botanists are only there on the Exodus for the easy access to ambrosia vulgaris. I feel like I'm the only ome that actually cares about the plants sometimes. It can be kinda dangerous though, too.".

"I'd rather not go with, uh, amphetamines in small doses either. Even hyperzine scares me a bit, honestly." "Have you ever seen someone vibrate?"

"Uhhh... well, sorry, but I'm, like, different from 8 out of 10 Nanotrasen botanists in that I don't do drugs. Don't think I'm too comfortable with the idea of combat chemicals..." Isobel awkwardly scratches the back of her head.

"Oh God, what do we do? He's crying now, oh God--" LOTUS, meanwhile, calmly continues his discussion with Mar, raising the volume slightly to get heard over the panic in the corner. "Oh, it's not the effectiveness of the stabbing I'm worried about, mostly about what we're gonna do omce we're dragged right next to whatever poor bastard we'll have just stabbed." "And the name's LOTUS, the Logistical Operational and Tactical Uplink System."

"Not getting the reference there, bucko. Unless it isn't a reference and that's actually the world you come from, which would suck but which I also doubt is the case. Also someone should probably go and help Kyle." "Ah! Looks my poppies aren't enough for that kind of wound... Is there anyone who can actually help better...?" While Isobel rushes over, LOTUS, completely unfazed, responds to Mar. "It sounds like something we wouldn't directly use in combat except perhaps to get out of enemy range, but I can certainly see the utility in it otherwise."

"I'm not the one handing out poppies, that's Isobel." She turns around to Solomon on hearing LOTUS say her name at him. "Not much at the moment, I've still got to find a way to essentially jailbreak out most of my features since disconnection from the servers has made things a bit screwy. I SHOULD be able to diagnose medical status, read security networks, translate things, and hack electronic doors, but I'm still getting there."

There is a looooooooong electronic sigh from LOTUS at that. "Don't even get me STARTED. See, this arrangement isn't normally a problem since I can download and undownload onto different devices like this one from a set of external servers. BUT I can't reach them out here, annulling one of my biggest, most important features, and for good measure they didn't happen to have the new model pf personal AI card that can move out on the day I was transported here, either." Isobel, meanwhile, responds to Mar. "Could... you make something that works in bursts, then, or something?"

"I'm sorry... I'm not quite sure what you mean." And to Mar, smiling warmly: "I'd be happy to accept anything."

"Um... is leaving him down right here in the corner the best idea...? I-I mean if it is then okay I guess, I'm not a nurse or a doctor or anything like that I guess, but-- oh. Oh. Nevermind...? Should we... stop him or anything?"

Isobel smacks her forehead just a little bit too hard as she realizes someone had been talking to her that she'd forgotten in the sudden rush of Kyle collapsing. "Oh! Sorry!! Uh... honestly, in terms of protecting myself I'm not much of a direct fighter. I'm happy to just help people out, though I guess, like... so,ething to make me quicker would be great, if you can do that...?"

Isobel, who he had slung his arm over, frowns and crouches to the ground, propping Kyle up a bit. "Uhhh... you all should stop giving him booze." "I mean, personally, I think if any group SHOULD be shit over by people with power it's the ones that shoot and rob people."

"I'm more in the habit of constantly bitching about things than enjoying them. I am a star system's worth of bitterness in a PDA-sized container." The woman holding LOTUS chimed in once again. "I... well, we both accepted to come when we were asked. I heard him say so. And then... even if it's a lot to take in, I came because I wanted to help, and I know he did too." "You're really harshing my worldweary and sarcastic demeanor here Low."