Dan's Thread

"Ohhh.....ohhh yes now I see not a soliloquy of solitude but, a dirge of despair" Jeanene grimaces as she sets the scope further along the space junk's path "Larissa could you come up here and tell me what you see?" She asks descending from the seat and taking her spot nearer the door "Queen are you still here?"

Janean gives a tired nod "Yes thank you Larissa just wanted to confirm it's been a stressful 30 hours can't totally trust the evidence of mine own eyes" She replies before turning back to the speaker "Ahh Hundred Twelve E welcome back could you tell me the current date and year on Earth?"

Janean nods "I see I see" Staring out the window a moment she turns back "Are we at least recording for celestial abnormalities has there been any major solar fluctuations?"

"I suggest we join them," John says.

Wildcat and Zarv exchange a glance before they both walk off without a word. Texas shrugs in an overly dramatic fashion and follows. Only Sammy, Anne, and Mikoto stay back in the main room, just a moment to exchange a few quiet words before following after.

"Are we at least recording for celestial abnormalities? Has there been any major solar fluctuations?" you hear Jeanine asking as you enter.

The door opens up and reveals a large, circular room with a domed ceiling. The walls of the room are lined with charts and charts and charts of stars and nebulae and things. A pair of small telescopes (and maintenance equipment, wrenches and screwdrivers and the like) are sitting against one wall. A projector on another wall is pointed at the ceiling and has a small library of slides to choose from. The very center of the room has a small chair suspended from the ceiling and a stool to climb into it, complete with joysticks in the arms and a telescoping eyepiece.

Larissa and Jeanine are standing near the chair, speaking with AI-112-E. The AI answers in its usual monotone. "We are monitoring, yes. There was a minor solar flare earlier, but, as designed, the lava tubes shielded this facility - particularly my lower core - and its occupants from any potentially harmful effects."

"Well that's a fine bit of technical mumbo-jumbo if I ever heard it," Texas says. "We got tired of waitin' for ya'll, so we came t' say hi. Figured we oughta share what all we found. First of all, my lab was down to the... south, if my bearings are right. It's got a few trinkets. Tasers - trainin' ones that don't actually fire electricity, watered down pepper spray, cuffs 'n' stuff like that, a few lassos of course. And a firin' range with some paintball guns." Texas twirls what looks like a six-shooter out of his no-longer-empty hip holster. "Nice, huh? So, uh. Anyway. Already had a accident, so let's all make sure we don't walk out onto the range without a heads-up?" You all notice he's also attached a golden, metallic star to his vest, complete with five small balls on the points. "And on the subject of safety, don't try to use one o' these things if y' ain't trained. I don't mind teachin' anyone that's bored, but remember these ain't toys. They may only fire paint balls with compressed air, but they could still do some damage if y' shot someone in the eye. Alright, that's enough from me. Who's next?"

zer0 crosses her arms. "I'd kinda like to hear what Jeanine was talking to my waifu for laifu Twelvey about."

Jeanine hesitates for a moment, a look of mild concern on her face. "Oh, well, the stars bring good news in the form of the fine room you find yourselves in! With all the charts I could ask for, some handheld scopes, and a beautiful VLT."

"That stands for Very Large Telescope," Larissa explains.

"I was hoping to find some more conclusive evidence of our terrestrial situation but, well... Whither it is a highly accurate artificial starscape or the legitimate article, the greatest technical achievement of the international scientific community - the ISS - has been reduced to burning space junk. Without any information from earth and with no cosmic explanation provided by 'Twelvy,' I cannot say if this is evidence of some unknown disaster or just a conspicuous way to cover for the failure of the simulation." Jeanine ends with a dramatic flourish.

After a moment, AI-112-E cuts in. "My designation is one hundred twelve dash E."

"She's, like, so adorable," zer0 says. "So, anyway, I checked out the first aid room. It's, like, totally stocked with stuff. All the usual stuff, y'know, headaches and runny nose. And Twelvey's got some harder stuff locked away that she can pop open if we're, like, dying of some weird disease. Those water bag things and the arm-hose-needles, splints, some weird machine that can, like, do complex procedures on its own. And some beds to rest in. Oh, duh, and it's, like, totally soundproof when it's closed up. So, yeah. Who's next?"

Jeanine is startled by Anne's wrapping but, pats her head gently after a moment while replying to Texas "Yes the International Space Station if we assume for now this is not a simulation has been destroyed..... I'm not sure how are of it those here not scientifically minded are but, the ISS is a Multinational endeavor that" Jeanine starts to descend into technobabble but, suddenly catches herself "well the important parts are it's the precursor to bases like this and it's destruction would be an international incident"

Jeanine tenses up hat drooping over her eyes "It's...it...was you you're the one the stars warned me of that's..... you can't... where and how would you have even gotten and set enough explosives to destroy such a sophisticated facility?"

"Would everyone calm down?" Zarv demands. "Before anyone makes any rash decisions we need to think things through carefully."

Mikoto bristles. "Wildcat! What are you asking all those questions for!?" she demands. "You can't seriously be thinking about going through with it, are you!?"

zer0 hops back and puts her hands on her hips. "OK, fine. I'll play this little game. What, like, cool props and special effects? Some big, fancy stream? Yeah, sure. This'll get some big views, I bet. So, like, are you all in on it as actors or are you, like, other streamers?"

"ZER0!" Mikoto yells.

"What stops you from just poisioning everyone's food and winning by being the last man standing then?" John asks.

"JOHN!" Mikoto yells.

"Oh, how bloodthirsty. A single killer is restricted to two murders before a voting session. Additionally, between a murderer being discovered and the voting session, any other murders will be considered null and void for the purposes of escape." AI-1c-e shakes its head and shrugs. "Though if you managed to kill everyone at once? I think I might make an exception. I prepare all meals on request and sized appropriately to maintain participant health in order to minimize food waste."

Calum glares solemnly. "No further questions here."

Wildcat walks over and leans against the wall. "Great. So, what now..."

"I swear to you all. As long as I live I will make sure everyone will live and escape," Zarv declares boldly. He turns to AI-1c-e. "If this is some sick challenge for the Ultimate Escape Artist, then know this: challenge accepted."

Larissa leans back and points dramatically at AI-1c-e. "You think we're just going to sit back and do what you want? Act like a bunch of sheep instead of fighting back?"

"Oh, the escape artist is trying to weasel out of things and the battle top master is starting a revolution is she?" The AI smirks.

Larissa grimaces and Zarv looks unimpressed.

"Would you like to see what happens when the sheep start fighting back? Because some of The Carpenter's group decided to try something. I can pull up the footage of the execution if you want to watch. It's just about to start." The AI seems excited.