[JAUNT] About a millicycle after the second attack

[breakaleginhalf]

01001101 01101111 --tḫ̩͈̖̻̗͐͗͜e̼̬̗͎̠̦͈ͤ̾͡r-- 01100110 --uc-- 01101011 01101001 --ng so-- 01101110 --ȍ̵̘̬̝͈͎͔ͩf̮̖̺̼̭̼̒ a-- 00100000 01100010 --iͮͣͪ͌ṱ̺̣͔̺͊͋̅ͣͧ͊č͍͛͋͛h--


[The voice that comes through, hours after the second attack, extremely abruptly, is heavily tinged with panic; but also nigh incomprehensible at first.

But slowly, Gil's voice comes into focus.]

01010010 01100001 01101001 Rai R͇̳̺͕͋̍ͥ̑̇ͥ̅a̳ͦ͋͐ͧ̋͌i̡̞͉͍̭̖ͥ͆̉ Raidou I'm ȯ̹̬̌̓̓k̨̡͈̬̦̼̇͒ay͍̫̰̏ okay I promise, I just
ju̹̺̘̥̫ͧst
just got a ā̭̳̳̯̞͎͑̐͝ a̩͌̓̍͡ a bit tied up.

As in- Tho̬̝̠̣͙̦̾ͣ̇ͧͣͫr̵̰̬ͨͮͣ̋̒͆n͕͖̼̰̘ͫͦͧ̄e Thorne has me strapped to a table somewhere. Not sure whe̴̺͚̒e̯̞̻̪̒̓̒͑ͤ͆è̗͉͆ͯ-e̋̏͏͇͈̜re where.

Comments

[youandyoualone]

In a Gemini Tower where she keeps her lab, I suspect, or so I have been told she does. I am currently elsewhere in one, playing bodyguard to Alcuin's Infiltration.

Are those numbers the binary I have been told of? But how do they equate to words?

[breakaleginhalf]

It's a kind of coc̒͌ö́̄̀̀ͯ͆c̘̜͍͚̑̇̈͆̈͌́o̴̻̭̭̎c̶͖̞̫̣͇ͅo̦͚͓̅ͮ̃̇͆ͭͯd͎̺̬̤̼͌̄͡é̫̥̳̔͑ͩ̐͋ͬc͓̫̜̖͇̾ͩo̵̫̻͔̓ͪde code, the numbers represent syms̭̬̥̉̋ͨ̀y̪̱̫͎͈̠̎̇ͦmb̹̻ͮ̓͛͗̔͌͘o̢̯̮̝̜̦͎̲͑̍͂͋͂͐͂l̼̻͊̀̃s͖̱̲̮̭̥̣͌̉̿̆͘ symbols. One letter pe͖͚̠̙̺͔̫̾̅̉̈́̀ͪ́r number.

[youandyoualone]

Ah. That makes sense.

Is this the enjoyable kind of being tied to a table or do you need someone to secure your release?

[breakaleginhalf]

Don't bother. I can get out myself but Riddi͕̾ͪͣ̔ͅi̝̪̼̟̙̺̯i̿ͅȋ̴͇͎̮̹̰̼̹̆ͩͥ̎̾̚i̻̦̞̥͖̥̬ͧ̋̓͌̑ͧi̲ͫ̄̐ͨ́i̡̪̍ͯͫ̄̑͑ck Riddick's on guard duty. He ca̢͎̣͖̯̰̖n̨͖̹͇͒̾͆ ̨̫͇̣̠͎̭ͭ̏̓́̒c̟̓͆͌ä͖̼͍̮̟̥̺́̉͜ń̔͘ ̟̰̹̼̽͑c̘͘an probably knock me out in one p̳ͯ͑unch.

[youandyoualone]

[So not the enjoyable kind of being tied to a table.]

How did you get there? Do you know?

[breakaleginhalf]

I mean I'm gon̞͇̺͗͛͊͐̇̄̍n̨̞̗͛̑̍̆ͪn̪̈ͯ͛̎n̞͓̍͆ͦ̆ͪ͋̏a assume that I turned grey and attacked them. Seems t͉̳̙͡ͅh̢̼̗ͬ̋ͣe̬̰̼̞̤ͬ͗̆͝ the most likely.

The table's a sur̴͇ͯ͊͋͑̊ͩ̽p̘̱̮̃̄̆ͅr̳̜̱̼̉̈́ͬ̈ͭ̾ͪi̗͇

s͇ͣͪ̄͆̀ͦ̌u̲̯̦̫̼̩ͧͪ̓ͤ̓r̲͍̫͟p͂́̃̽́͜r̲̤̗̍̍̐͗i͇͍̗̮s̫͚͓̟͑̍ẹ̮̱̤̬̹̜

surprise. Fuck.

[youandyoualone]

Indeed. I did not think she was in the habit of strapping men to tables.

[breakaleginhalf]

She wouldn't withͧ̽ m̼̻̬͓̰̩ͯ̿͑̑̚ę̿̚ ͪ̈ͦ̎͛̽ͥ͘m̼͈̩͓͒͑̒ͅè͔ͣ ̪̳ͧ̑͐m̘̩̥̗̹̈̔̑ͩ̆ͩ͘ẻ̦̘͙͖ ̴̫͙m͓̀e͏̭͇̤̗͉̞ͅ ̣͈͉̝̪̥̿ͣͮ̓ͮͩ̚m͖͙̦̮̖̟ͣ͊̊ͤe͏̪̤ me.

[He's too gay to bed her and she knows that. Or, as herself, she does.]

I thin̬͓̻̥̄ͦ̂̐͆k̈ͣ̈ ̩̞̣͕̌̓t̐̀͐ͦ͛̊̈҉̺̞̜̹hiͤ̓̅͏̤̭̞̯n̡͍̩͖̻̙̬ͯ̚k̵̝̯͈̩̰̣͒̔̀ ̼̱͌̍ͨ̌̎͝tͮ͌̐͒̎͐h̻̺̩ͮ͑̂͒̈́ͣ̓ͅȉ̦̬̫̫ͩͩni̹̘͋̾̎͂n̖̗͉̐̓͆̓ͩ͐͠iͫ̍ͥͪ̚͏̪̘̪͖ị̬̯͐̄̎̃ͥ̔͘iͭ͊̅҉͉̖͔̝̗i͍̖̘͍͙̍͊̈́̒̎i̤͓͉̙̲͙ͅF̢̞̦̼̭̗̦̟͇̹ͩ̑͌͛ͭ͌̆̿͝ͅȔ̵̢̢̱͇̝̪̥̱̻̘̻̰̤̈͌̓̑C̸͐ͬͤͫ̉͂̒̓̏̇̈́̊̈͌҉͜҉͏̣̺̫̹Ḵ̶̳̘̣̙͇̥͇̠̄ͮ̉̒̊͂ͤ͛ͧͫͯ͜͡
01000001 01000001 01010101 01000111 01001000

[Pain flashes through the connection, here and gone again in an instant.]

...fucking ḫ̪ͪ̾͊ͅḧ͎̭̩́hell.

[youandyoualone]

[Thank you for livestreaming your pain at him, Gil. Not.]

Are you quite sure you don't need rescue?

[breakaleginhalf]

[Look he's not trying to.]

I can br͕̟ͮ͆̽ě̶̞̣̘ͯ̈̚̚̚b̮͈̱̜̈́́͆̓͞ͅre̳̞̙̎b̺̼͔͎̳͍̘̾̊͑͆̒̇͜r̥͈͉̲̟͔̙͌ͯ̓ͫ͌́́e̟̼̣̪͖͍̲̋̏̃̚b͉ͩ̉̓͝reak out when they're not watching me. Don't put yourself i͖̠ͤ̔͗̿͆̆n danger.

[youandyoualone]

All right. But tell me if you find yourself needing aid after all.

[capital_asset]

[Strapped to a table by a Thorne in Mad Scientist Mode. No, that is not remotely reassuring, especially since Raidou is pretty sure he can guess what Gil was doing during the second attack that got him strapped to a table somewhere.]

She was supposed to be in one of the I/O towers, unless she's moved since.

[Private; Psychic Protection I]

I can be there in a few hou-millicycles, if you need me.

[breakaleginhalf]

Oh shit, I'm bac̛̩̜̉̂̋ͣk̐͂̑b̘͚͉̞̫̆̐͒a̋͊ͬ̌̄̋͌͜c̭͕̱̏̈́͑ͨ̕k͊̿̋͂̔ͨ͒͡b̯̹ͮͮͪ̄͞ack in Gemini?

[He'd gotten distracted and missed Delaunay saying it. To be fair, look at this shit.

He manages to up the privacy on his end, but he can't protect it. Hell even this much was making his headache worse.]

You'd ha̩ͪ̆ͥ̕ă̬͈͕͕̜̊̈aa̧͎̭̯̳̗̮ͅą͍̱̞̃̃̌ave to be careful - it's not just Thorne, MÄ̟̥̎͆͌T̯̤͕̤͉̫̻͌ͨ̏͋̓͟H̳̘͔̏̓̑̌-̅̀̎̌̓͗͢Ṳ͋͂̉̒̆ͮ̄ ͙̞̖͙̻̺ͦ4̩̤̟ͦ͒͗͋̈́̉ͅN͏̳̻̜͙̮ͅG͎̗̙̗̥̠̰ͦͭ̎ͨͩ́̊3̈́̋̕L͉ͪ͂̎̑̑̉͞ͅZ̞̩ͣͪ ̗͎͍͉̳͈͗̇̈́͗M̨̹̏̒ͧͬ̾ͥ̔atthew and Riddick are in the room too, everyone's infiltrated.

[capital_asset]

So it would seem.

[Private; Psychic Protection I]

I'll cope.

[Not that he particularly wants to see Riddick/R1DK; in fact, he very much wants not to. But he can't not go, either - not when Gil's stuck there.]

[breakaleginhalf]

Geeze. I must've been oo̳̗͖̦̓ͭ͊͗̂̈̚͟ụ͙̬ͬ̿̀ͦͅȍ̢̠̤̩ͮ̚̚u̘̥͈̱͐́o̳̹̖̹̾ͤ͆u̶̜̲̫̺̜̬͓̐͑͛́̉ǫ̗̳̜͙̠̪̉ͅu̫ͬ̾t͍͎͍̬̟̺̍ͨ̉ͩ̊o͑̿̿͛̀̓͒͘ut for a while.

[Private, no protection]

Al̷̼͔̟̠ͤṛ̲͔ͤ̓ͭi͉͖̥̬͟g̻̣̞̱͎̩̃̆ht. Just-- yeah. I've still got enough Ĝ͍̲̦̥̻̇l̞͕̻͂̈́ͬ͆͐̎̎a̲̯̘͉͕̙̟͒̋ͣ̑m̵̩̮͈͖̪̐̃ͅ Glamour that I can break out if you need me.

[It's not enough for much more than that, though: the Trojan had gone through a lot.]

[capital_asset]

It's been about a millicycle or so since the second wave of attacks.

[Private; Psychic Protection I]

I'll remember.

[Though Raidou's fairly formidable in his own right, even without taking the demons into account.]

You sound exhausted.

[breakaleginhalf]

...shi͔̖̝̥̗̝̮ͩ̀͂̅̏͗t. Sorry for disappearing for so long.

[Private, no protection]

[It takes him a long moment to reply. He can't exactly lie and say he's fine when he's very obviously not, but the urge is still there.]

...I have no idea why thi̪̟̟̩̩̺̣̽ͮ͟s̢̱̳̪̾t͇͋ͩ͒͊̀͊ͪḥ̪̠i̧̯̩̜̜̹̯̩͒̑̈̃s̮̹̲͚̦̭ͫ͡ͅt̟̠̥̽̒ͣ̈͋h̖̪̼̝̼̹̼ͩ̾ͪ̿ͮ̚i̬͉̠ͫ͑̇ͅs̙̹̄̒͌̾̃ͧͣt̙͍͙͊̎̍ͧ͐͟h̺͒̐ͫ̈́̌ that keeps happening. It's giving me a headache.

[capital_asset]

You didn't exactly have a choice in the matter.

[He wonders what kinds of memories this is bringing back for Gil. Probably not anything good.]

[Private; Psychic Protection I]

It might be related to how they subdued you.

[He's not going to ask about that now; for one thing, he's not sure Gil will even remember.]

[breakaleginhalf]

[The fact that he hasn't woken up with someone stitching his limbs back together is still better than he expected.]

I'm still pii̊̃͗ͪ͠i̦̙̫̪̩ͧ̑̈́ͩ͛i͈̙͉̖̻̙͋͒ͭs̄ͯ̏ͦͥ́s̙̲̺̱̣͓ͧ͛̃i̷̱̰ͬ͂̍̈͆lieve I got caught by a fucking backs͖͛̋̈́̾̆͞t̛̗̹̫̥͗abbed.

[Private, no protection]

I t̸̟̤̺̗͉̳t̬̐ͧ͐t͌̂̈hink I stas̩̩̱͕̺͑̑̍ͯ͞tͩͫ́̒̚a̒ͥ͂҉̩̮b͇̻̝̰̣̈̿ͪ̚s̴̩ͩ̽̈́̿t̢͔ͫ̌̄͂͒͆ͦa̶̬̰̹̩̼ͯb͓̟̠̏ͬͫ̍̽̑s͔̠̈́ť̷̳͈͈͔̘̠͂̏ͦͩͅa͉̝͕͇̲͎͈ͮͤ͋̃̐̅̚ did something to Matthew. But fuck if I know how that made this happ̢͈͍͒eͭ̒̎ͦ͗ǹ͍̫̩̺̖ͫ̂pen.

Private - Psychic Protection I

[capital_asset]

[There's a short but noticeable period of silence.]

I'm sorry I couldn't get to you in time.

[Yes, he's still blaming himself for that.]

It could be something intrinsic to his overlay.

Private - No protection

[breakaleginhalf]

It's not your f̘̗͍̠͈̣ͮa̙u͔̦͎ͬ̅ͭ̄ͭ͟fault, Raidou. We got outnumbered.

[He's still trying to be reassuring even when he's going through all this.]

It's probably gotta be̜̼͓͍͕̟̐ͨ̉͝ ̶̜̮̌̀b̯͖̣̹̺̫ͅe̙̠̞ͫ̈̅ͥ̓̐̀͞ ̖͇̼͈ͅb͈̩͗ͅe̊ͦ̿̇͠ ̶̼̼̭̿ḇ̷̯̱̜̩ͤ̓̌̍̀̚e̩̻͈̖̗͚̅̏̎ͅ be. When we got attacked by the greys they didn't really do anything.

Private - Psychic Protection I

[capital_asset]

I should have thought to time-freeze the damned wall before it landed.

[Never mind that he'd been a bit busy at the time.]

They did enough.

[There's a pause, and then something like a sigh.]

Sorry. I'm just... I hope we can find the source of this soon.

[photonicfighter]

...oh. You're coming around? That's good! And yes, you're in one of the I/O Towers. You were part of one of the waves that attacked us.

Er... you still sound a little rough. Are you sure that you're alright?

[breakaleginhalf]

Wait what. How̋͐̓̔ͧ̓̂̚͏̡̣̼w̻͙̩͕͓̖̻̗̼̎͛ͤ̍̾̋͊͘w̦̳̣̟̽̊̾m̩̜̫͓̺̻͌ͤ̔̍́n̮͎͖̺̱̱̬͊ͣ͛ͩ͆̅͐̚͟y̨͓͈ͤͮ̈́͋́̐͗̎m̴̰̞̬̩̩ͪͦͧ́ā͓̜̗͉͍̖̙͌ͥͩ̈́n̬̜̪͉̑̿̊̄̽̉͛̃̕y̵̘͎̭̰̝̺͙͐̏̒w̢̛͕͎͔͇̘̪̻̦̉ͭ̒̿̓̈́͋̑â̡̗̮̤͚̱̼͈͙̐ͯͮ̏͘͞ẃ͎̰̙͔̃̂̃͑̀́ȧ̸͎̝̔͒̃͋̂ͯͤ̾̀͞aves were there?

Also I don't know what happened to me, so l͉̰̤̭̤͂͌ͤ͊i̭͓͍̲̣̔̔͐ͪ́ͅk̺̰̈̏eͫ͂ͫ̊̅͂̎͏͚̪͓̟̫͔̹ ̧̞͖͙͈̺ͤ͛͛l̋̅̽̔ͨȉ̇̅̎҉̮̲̲̺k̳͇̙̲ͬ͒e̵̪͙̤̰̳̭̥͎̟̾̾ͦ̽͑ͦͮ͌̉̉ͬ͂ͤ͜ͅ l̶̥͇̜̠̍̆̇i̪̗͎̯͔̍͒̈̂̅ͥ́ke.

I'm not doing great.

[photonicfighter]

There were two of them. And the second one was a lot bigger.

[She sounds very tired.]

We'll get you fixed up! ...er, well, if THORN-E doesn't manage it, there are people in liminal working on a solution, too? You'll get sorted out!

[breakaleginhalf]

[Team Tired!]

S͇̬͎͐̃ͪ̑̐͘ǒ̵͖ͬ̈́̾š̙̲͙̼͊̓̂̑̑͊͡oͤ͌ͭ̆s͕͍͍͕̪͉̀s̡̰̲̻̭̒ͪ̄̑̑̔̅š̜̞͖͚͎͖̏͢orry. Partly my fault, probably.

[And there's a pregnant pause as he looks at THORN-E again in the real world.]

You kno͎͖͓̲̣̓ͅò̯͋̆ͯo̜̝͆̉ͩ̄̑͊̌́ͅo̺̝̮͓͕͍ͬͦō̡̺̱͉͂̊̆ͧ̅ö́̃҉̜o̘͖͌̈́̑̒̍̇̚ô̞̻̰͔̭̭̄̾̓ow what, I don't think she's feeling vv̞͇̣̫ͮ̌́̾̇̀ve̚͟ŕ̫͈̯͕̂ͧy̳ ͍͂̅v̶̞́ͩ͂̿ͧ̎̑ȅ̲̳̥̑r̛͈̖̝͛͗ͩ̾͑̊̑ͅyͯ̊ charitable to me right now.

[photonicfighter]

It's alright. It's a jaunt. Things happen?

[...she can make a guess as to what that pause was about.]

If you... need someone to come distract her for a bit, I can try?