methods and tools

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

The gate opens in an small space. Through a doorway ahead is a mid-sized room, scattered with chairs. One wall, directly across from the doorway to the incoming gates area, is made of some clear material. On the other side of it is another room, with a metallic floor raised slightly above the first one's, with a half-dozen complex diagrams and space for many more.

The way into there appears to be through a decontamination room to the left. There is a door on the right into the rest of the base. Embedded in the wall to the left is the door to the outgoing gate area.

Both rooms are windowless and otherwise minimally decorated.

(Observant guests may note that the gravity is about a third of what they are used to.)

Comments

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

"Oh," she says, still sounding confused. "It is more that... I do not understand why it became such? Aisilian made some sense, because he saw--" she cuts herself off, shaking her head slightly. "Lack of pain aversion -- has its benefits, yes. And as for the OTC -- I said we checked. There is an application of Symmetry that--" she briefly explains stasis indicators, "--and when I tested with a good order of magnitude more takkarash-minting than that it barely reacted."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[dotted_lines]

He frowns and fidgets with the sleeves of his tunic, then deliberately relaxes. "All right, that's good then. Do you know if it'd be safe to look at?"

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

This results in a concerned look and a slightly tighter hug, but if he does not want to talk about whatever it is she is not going to push at the moment, not after how that went earlier.

Then her timer pings again, and she tenses slightly for a moment as she flicks her minting kit up to 90 tkr and back. (The table, out of sight, acquires another stack of takkarash).

After a moment, she says, "I would not expect the OTC to be unsafe for you to look at, though I would prefer to ask Aisilian to be sure they do not have any aggressive wards."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[dotted_lines]

He hugs her a little tighter when she tenses, but doesn't ask why.

"Thank you. I'll check as soon as I know if it's safe."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

Thorn nods, and starts to compose a message to Aisilian. A little way in, however, she stops.

"Um," she says. "It occurred to me earlier, among other things, that I do not know what you prefer to be called."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[dotted_lines]

"What?" He pauses to think. "Oh! My name is Steve. I am okay with either way though, Steve or Dotted Lines."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

"Ah," Thorn says. "...Um." She seems vaguely awkward, and after a moment starts to swear under her breath, before concluding, more audibly, with, "--you already know I work for Firewall, you could probably even find out how I joined if you wanted, this is in no way a security matter. Um," she continues, more nervously, "The, um, the name I was given when I was born was Melanie Thorn."

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[dotted_lines]

Steve smiles.

"Which do you prefer to be called?"

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[onwhatwingswedareaspire]

Hugs.

"Hm. --I am more accustomed to being called Thorn? --You did not say, do you prefer one?"

Re: Thorn and Dotted Lines

[dotted_lines]

He thinks for a moment. "I like Dotted Lines. Both are fine though."