ataraxion | 9th Marker

[Oh hey, he's actually showing his face for once, because he looks kind of grim. SERIOUS BUSINESS FACE. He also seems to be fiddling with some sort of... box of connected wiring and parts down in the engineering deck, but he's less focusing on that and more the video screen.]

So I've heard talk of mazes and lists and people wanting to scout. Now... I'm not going to say that's a bad plan, but you better know what you're in for.

I told you all I was on a ship like this once - and it's getting similar by the day -, but there's a few tricks and tips that you might want to keep in mind, everyone who's ready to go investigating.

The first point should be fairly obvious: Don't go alone. We have no idea what this smiley character is planning on, and last I checked, most people don't have eyes in the back of their head. Having at least one person to tag with you if you're going to explore is a good idea. Groups of three are best - but if you want to go larger, by all means.

The second - find something to defend yourself with. It doesn't matter what it is. A nice left hook, something heavy enough to swing, or... [He holds up something by his side, which looks like it could be a cross between a pistol and some sort of welding torch.] Good old fashioned power tools. Either way, you need something for one the off chance things are going to go wrong.

The third is probably the most important. Don't panic. There is reason to be worried, without a doubt, but you need to keep a cool and level head when it comes to dealing with a crisis situation on ships like this. Keep in touch with the ship's communication system. Be cautious, but cool-headed. There's plenty to fear, but if you panic, it just makes it that more hard to reason through what Smiley's wanting us to do.

Those are just my two cents, though. Feel free to disregard them. [He shrugs a little, as if he's not expecting anyone to listen regardless.]

Clarke out. [And there goes the feed.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Huh.

[Alex is quiet for a moment, then.]

Wonder if I could modify one to fit on my wrist.

[Use his own powers to focus it and create a smaller beam.]

I don't know. Should be straight-forward in terms of how it works, but I have to use cartridges in order to keep it fueled. Got about a dozen or so charges.

Nah that isn't a problem for me.

My body creates plasma.

...Really now.

[CONGRATULATIONS. YOU HAVE ENGINEER CLARKE'S ATTENTION.]

[And Alex can definitely tell. He isn't sure if he should feel uncomfortable or not.]

Yes. I can fire it from my wrists in large blasts, but if I could work with a cutter, I could make something even more finely tuned.

[Don't worry, Alex. He's Neutral Good. Live and let live. All that fun stuff.]

...So let me see if I have this straight.

Are you asking me to cobble together wrist-mounted cutters. that you can use in order to more precisely use these... plasma blasts?

[HE'S CONTEMPLATING IT. YOU AREN'T GOING TO GO MURDERING WITH THEM RIGHT.]

Yeah. Right now it's just--large blasts, and while I can control the strength, it still expends a lot of energy.

If I had something precise, I could cut through doors, walls--if something happened to someone and we needed to get to them quick.

Cutting instead of blasting is handy in those situations, yanno?

[No. Maybe kill people, but only if it's in the line of defending others. He tries to avoid killing at all costs. Done it too many times before.]

I'll--I believe in fair trades. You do this for me, I owe you something.

[You can almost hear Isaac hmming to himself.]

...Alright, I don't see why not.

Might have to wait for a little bit. A lot of spare materials are tied up right now, but I can probably figure out something to help you out. Won't be my first jury-rigging.

Dude, really?

[You can almost hear him smiling.]

Thanks.

By the way--name is Havok.

[He switches to video, and pulls his hair up, revealing a scar down the side of his forehead.]

There is another guy here, named Alex, who looks like me. But he doesn't have the scar. Look for that.

[He's raising his eyebrow, but he's nodding.]

No problem. Just be careful. Trust me when I say this kind of stuff can cleave an arm off if you aren't paying attention.

[...Mostly because that's kind of what he ended up having to do with it. BUT DETAILS.]

I'm sure there's some stuff here that'll let me make something like the Cutter for your arms. So.. is the plasma actually -in- your body, would I have to plug this into you in order for it to work, or...

[He's thinking now. HE APPRECIATES YOU HAVOK.]

And my powers can do worse, naturally.

[He says it as stoic as he can, but there is an underlying darkness there. The first two he killed, accidentally--all they had were teeth to identify them.]

Here--

[He lifts up his arm, tapping to the metal panel round his wrist--around both wrists.]

This allows me to channel the plasma down my arms and out from my hands. You should be able to plug in there.

This will at least allow you to manage the energy a little better - there's only so much you can set a standard plasma cutter blast for.

[He looks at the metal panels around the wrist, nodding.]

Now that I can definitely work with. That's going to make this a lot easier.

Edited 2012-06-08 22:05 (UTC)

Well, at least the energy would be more narrow.

[He smirks.]

Good.

Also--I don't know if it would work, but I could try charging the spent batteries or whatever you use for the things. Don't know if it would transfer, but it's worth a shot.

Yeah, narrower beam should mean less energy consumption. I might be able to give you some sort of trigger mechanism to work with it, too.

...You might need to soon, but I've got enough right now. I'll let you know if you can help change them, definitely.

Edited 2012-06-08 22:15 (UTC)

That would be amazing.

[Means if something happened and he got drained, he'd have a precharge, at least.]

Awesome. This--I appreciate this, really.

Look, it's no trouble, really. If people with good heads on their shoulders know what they're doing, far be it from me not to help them, you know?

[He's almost laughing. Just another day on the job.]

That's implying that you trust that I actually have a good head on my shoulders.

[He isn't saying that he doesn't, but it does seem a bit trusting.]

Well, so far, so good, right?

[Isaac is kind of bad at trusting people before he gets to know them. It's a problem.]

Yeah.

Hopefully it will stay on my shoulders, too.

Here's to hoping.

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