IC Contact Post [Hadriel]

[mismanagement]

This is Maketh Tua. State your business.

Comments

[voice] -> [action]

[circumitus]

Be there soon.

[Immediately after she disconnects, she goes to grab a bottle of emergency whiskey.

[Not long later, Rey arrives at Maketh's door in a timely manner, cleaned up since her bear hunt and presenting a fine, unopened gift.]

[mismanagement]

[For her part, Maketh has bothered to get dressed and little else. Her hair is loose, hanging down to her waist, and dark circles ring her eyes. She's not wearing shoes.

She lets Rey in with narrowed eyes, eying the bottle, and holds her hand out for it.]

Out with it.

[circumitus]

[Rey hands the bottle over to Maketh and steps inside.]

Have a seat. Will get some glasses. [As she says this, she helps herself to the cupboards in the kitchenette.

[There we go. The obvious location.]

[mismanagement]

[Apparently it's good whiskey. The kind that requires glasses.

Maketh just sighs. She's not going to like this conversation.]

All right. Fine.

[circumitus]

[No, she isn't. Which is why alcohol is probably better company for this sort of talk.

[After a prolonged silence, she returns with the glasses and sets them on the table. Mostly for Maketh.

[Still no words. Rey just begins pouring them some whiskey before sliding the second cup towards the other woman. Totally not awkward at all.]

[mismanagement]

[Maketh takes the glass like a challenge and downs half of it right there, staring at Rey.]

Out with it.

[circumitus]

[Something tells Rey that Maketh is less than likely to take any excuse at this juncture. No "Want to kill some time with a hand of blackjack?" will do.

[Once Maketh has had a drink, Rey's mouth just tightens into a thin line.]

Made an agreement with Tranquility to fix the damage done to the HQ.

[mismanagement]

[There's a pause then. Maketh sets her glass down deliberately. She is not going to yell. She's going to be professional about this.]

And what did you bargain with?

[circumitus]

[Waving her fingers mystically as she speaks in a deep, foreboding voice:] My soul.

[Cough.]

No, just killed a couple zombie bears, is all.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh just groans.]

I see your sense of humor remains as it was.

[She's quiet a moment.]

All right. I understand that I -- do not always see things clearly when it comes to the gods. But this was....important.

[circumitus]

Pretty bad. Am aware.

[Not like she needs to be told this, but she has been told.

[It does come as a relief next that Maketh resigns to reason in this case.]

Yes, it was. And it was also my dead ringer that caused it. Makes sense who should be the one to clean up that thing's mess. [Rey logic.]

[mismanagement]

Mine didn't help matters.

[Maketh just shakes her head and pours herself another drink.]

The gods are getting--clever.

[circumitus]

That surprise you? With every new one that gets revived, we're just shooting a different sort of bullet in our collective feet.

[mismanagement]

Surprise me? No. [Maketh rubs her face with a groan.] I dislike knowing so little about them. It makes understanding their tactics harder.

[circumitus]

Well, might have learned something... interesting, recently. From Sorrow.

[She hesitates, but doesn't wait for Maketh to ask before she continues.] Back when shit was just popping up from our worlds, something from mine wound up here. A type of weapon that interested even the gods, apparently.

[mismanagement]

[Maketh leans back in her chair, watching Rey. Something from her world?]

Continue.

[circumitus]

[Continue she does:]

It's a masergun. Emits blasts of microwave radiation. Can leave holes through solid stones and metals, and handy if you want a kill without a big mess to clean up after.

[Some people like their mess, but that's besides the point.]

Sorrow said he's seen a similar weapon, but on a "bigger scale".

[mismanagement]

[Maketh considers the prospect with a frown.]

Such weapons are not--unheard of, in my world. At least in concept. Though it was never operational in my time.

[She meets Rey's gaze uneasily.]

Did he say who had control of this weapon?

[circumitus]

[Considering that Maketh's people are spacefaring by her time, Rey would be surprised if the notion of radiation weapons wasn't a thing, even as a theory. One less thing for her to have to explain.

Rey shakes her head.] Don't know. Could make an educated guess and say that it might be whatever killed them, though.

Would make sense, since Sorrow said he wanted to "study" it.

[And such would not be necessary if the gods already had any inkling as to how such a weapon functioned.]

[mismanagement]

[Silently, Maketh reaches for her cup again and takes a long drink.]

Then it's possible we have something in our possession that could truly hurt them. Perhaps for the first time.

[circumitus]

If it is related to whatever killed them, then it's possible. He did offer a trade for something else, so it's apparent that he doesn't want it in our possession.

[Even if he seems to think of Rey as one of the "more reasonable ones"... It's all pretty sketch.]

[mismanagement]

[Maketh shakes her head.]

No. If there's a chance it could hurt them, we need to explore it. Do you mind if I consult someone else on this? He's---not a good man. But a good engineer. It's possible we might engineer something out of this.

[Loathe as she is to involve Hux.]

[circumitus]

[She pauses for a few seconds, and then shakes her head.]

Fine. Just be careful who you share specifics to. Nick is the only other one who knows everything and we don't want it getting around that we might have something that the gods consider a threat. Otherwise we could have people trying to take it. [She scoffs.] It was bad enough trying to keep it out of Sato's hands when he initially found it.

[That could have ended badly, especially in light of his attempted attack on the Guard.]

[mismanagement]

I understand. I'll be cautious. [There's a great risk here, one that they both understand.] How much does Sato know about it?

[circumitus]

Well, he knows what a maser is. Already fired off a few shots before reclaiming it from him.

[Obviously he didn't just hand it over out of the goodness of his heart. Simply because someone like Sato doesn't have such a place in him.]

Doesn't know about the gods' interest in it, and it's better to stay that way.