* Hi!
{INServ} [[Hi. very well, here is the situation. It's been several days since Ian's abrupt report, and since then a cargo ship has arrived on the usual schedule. Interestingly enough, there were a few crates of equipment on it that were NOT on board when it departed Rhadymanthys. Yes, even though the cargo manifests on both ends and the ship say they were. Your friend the Songs of Correspondance and Motion at work. They were soon intercepted by your friendly Kyrio of Lightning in the form of a cargo worker, and sent to certain cabins. And so, one late night when Tina's off-shift, she finally has an opportunity to place some of the items requested...]]
{Tina} [ Moo haa haa. Smoked safety glasses time!]
{INServ} [[WEll, most of the items won't require being super-mechanical
{INServ} [[To install, that is. Start in Tina's rooms, then?]]
{Tina} [[Right!]]
* August 21st, 2071 on Citidas Station. And in a small suite of rooms on the executive level, a certain Programmer-slash-secret agent of the LORD is rooting through a recently-arrived crate.
{Tina} {muttered} okay....there's that bit, and that bit....hope they had assembly instructions and that they're not in English translated by a Korean by the way of some Swahili....wait, who am I kidding.
* A black and white hamster on the bed snickers. She glares at him.
{Tina} Don't even start, buddy boy.
{Tau} Moiiii?
* The instructions are all clear and precise. This is what one gets when one's organization has efficent and friendly Mercurians to write the user manuals.
* Tina mutters and ignores him pointedly, getting some of the uncovered components and a (very efficiently and clearly stated) instruction sheet, starting to put things together with a practiced hand.
* Tina finally gets things together into a very, very elegantly compact configuration, that can be stored unobstrusively in a pocket. "There we go."
{Tau} Pocket time?
* The devices themselves are very, -very- innocuous when assembled together -- the better to fool casual and non-casual observers, given they're actually monitoring items built out of cutting edge (but very HUMAN) technology. The better not to be confused with Lightning's own devices if captured.
* Tina's terminal pings.
* Tina nods. "Yeah. Stick a Force or two in it when I-- wait." {she heads over to the terminal}
* You've Got Mail!
* Tina reads any new shtuff.
* FRom: gsheffield@rogenku.dcl.uiuc.edu {Gwynn Sheffield} To: tmperez@citidas.triop.com {Tina Manoa-Perez} Subject: Semester's About to Start!
{Tina} ....oh poopie. That's right.
* Tau mrfs at the from tag.
* Hi, Tina! Damn, it's been a long time. How's it going out there in the boondocks? We're starting to buy stuff for fall semester; There's some itneresting GRadcourses this year in the department that I think you'd like... hopefully there'll still be seats open whenever you get back. When DO you get back, anyway? *g* Everybody misses you, especially Officer Mansfield -- how're Harvey and Dent doing? Pitor threatened to build a Warp Drive to go and fly us up to see you... I don't know if he would've succeeded, as Zoe had to pacify him with threatening to use his 'People's Kumquat Revolution' books in her next project as padding.
{Tina} ...Kumquat? Been a long time. {tiny smile}
{Tau} {wryly} Dent is doing just damn fine, thank you.
* Anyway, hope you're doing well, Tina... and if you don't make it back for the start of Fall Semester, we'll just assume you and your Boooyyyyfriend decided to steal a shuttle for a love-cruise around the solar system. ^.- TTFN! -- Gqynn.
* Tina reflexively thbbpppts the screen, then sits back, a slightly sad smile on her face.
* Tau nuzzles her hand
{Tina} ...Thanks. Damn. It's getting close to the end of my internship, isn't it. And no sight of things clearing up any time soon.
{Tau} Talk to Boss about it. Maybe he'll think of something. Or you could get hired here permanently.
{Tina} Yeah. But I'm torn. I've got friends a few AUs away, Boop and Paul a few AUs away....this sucks. Damn good I'm not an Elohite...
* Tina absently scritches Tau.
{Tina} {lets out a breath} Screw it. Let's do what we got to do, sempai.
* Tina sticks the hamster in a pocket, and heads for the door.
* The door... opens! It's late at 'night' on the station, so there's not many people about; mostly just the various 'bots.
* Tina starts making her way for the Maintenence level, looking and feeling well and truly glum at this moment.
* Maintenance level is reached... the psuedo-samba music on the elevator does nothing to help alleviate her mood. Then again, it never does, anyway...
* Tina merely quietly, viciously, and even more viciously fantasizes about taking the sound system apart, piece by piece, with a small hacksaw. And laughing insanely doing it.
* The halls of Maintenance are quiet this shift. Only the occsional maint-bot trundles past, and the security cameras pan and scan like they always do.
* Tina looks like a cute, innocent lil' programmer who's got a bad case of the insomnias.
* Eventually, Tina is heading towards the storage closet door Brian indicated led to the Complex. So. How are you gonna keep folks from noticing you ducking in and not coming out for a while?
* Tina has no flipping idea. Other than perhaps having friendly neighborhood Kyriotate mucking heavily with the security cams to show her coming in and out quickly.
* Or not going in at all....that works as well.
{Tina} {m} okay, take the cameras while I do what I gotta do.
* There is the movement of a nod from her pocket. Tau reaches out to jimmy the security cameras with the ease of long practice.
* The cameras are taken with a handful of KyrioForces, leaving enough for the hamster and one or two extra.
* Tina nods again, in acknowledgement. Tina takes this opportunity to duck into the closet, provided nothing or nobody else sees her.
* Tau nodded.
* Nobody appers to see her. The storage closet is much like those elsewhere in the station... well, okay, save for the wooden Door in the back wall. There's JUST enough people to stand in the closet if they're nice and chummy, if the cleaning supplies are removed.
* Tina mutters, and starts to install monitoring equipment, with Tau lending the occasional helping 'hand' via Remote Control.
* er, we mean, just enough room for two people to stand.
* The devices are installed in such a manner so as to not be noticeable.. since this is an all-metal station, it can be blended in so that it's hidden within the air vent, the small light fixture. The transmitters for them to the receivers back up in Tina's cabin nicely fit in the space between metal walls with a little jimmying.
* Tina jimmies, baby.
* Finally, they're installed. Time to test 'em, with the assitance of certain Kyrios spread about the station and in her room..
* Tau uses one of his few remaining Forces to jump to the equipment on her nod.
* The equipment reports there is One (1) Human Female and One (1) Small Rodent standing in the closet, and that the Inner Closet Door and the Outer Wooden Door are both closed.
{Tina} {q} Good. It worked.
{Tau} {w} Yup. Cool beans.
* Okay, it's installed. Now what?
* Tina looks at the Door, pondering general depression, not wanting to go out and interact and be torn away from yet more things, but also knowing necessity.
* Tina takes out Tau, putting him in an obscure corner. {q} "I'll be back in a few. I need to assess the situation.'
* One pink wiggling hamster nose nuzzles her hand. {q} "Okay. I'll be here, kid. You take care." {if he notes her depression, he's not letting it on.}
* Tina nods, straightens, and....turns the knob.
* The Door opens, much like any door back on earth... and wow, there's a hallway beyond. A really LONG hallway, filled with many wooden Doors.
{Tina} ...whoa. {takes stock of the situation}
* There doesn't seem to be anybody passing by at the moment. The hallway is moderately lit, not gloomy but not bright either.
* Tina tries to take note of any distinguishing marks on the Door she came out of.
* Brian thoughtfully drew a TriOp logo on it.
* Tina hehs a little bit, touching it, then starts heading down one way, randomly.
* The Doors get progressively more and more marked with insignia, words, or large 'X''s. Finally she reaches a Door at the end, marked 'Taervac's Bar and Grill'
* Tina blinks, looking a little apprehensive. Then steels herself, and moves to open it.
* And from there she steps onto /2... where focus will remain for a bit until she comes back here.