The Logical Conclusion

Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]

Tue, 15 May 2012 22:26:44 -0400

Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]:

rex-salazar-rp:

evowhisperer:

“Rex!” Caesar cries, lunging forward to rescue the papers, even though the damage is already done.

“Look what you did—it’s all over my notes!” he scolds, removing the top papers to keep the damage from seeping through. Then he stands, picking up the soccer ball and holding it out to Rex, giving him a sympathetic, but stern little frown.

“I know you’re bored and that we’ve all been getting a little tense, but it’s only for a little while. Until then, you need to let us work! I have an entire set of forced-nucleation sequences I wanted to outline before lunch, and I can’t do it while you’re here distracting me.”

Rex didn’t expect Caesar to get mad, and it startled him when his brother suddenly stood up, handed him the soccer ball, and basically told him to get lost. Huffing angrily, he took the ball, slid off the stool, and stood peering over the desktop for several moments, glaring.

“Fine, do your stupid fork-noodle thingamabobs, I’m gonna go find somebody who’ll actually talk to me!” He stuck his tongue out at Caesar, turned, and stomped out of the room, leaving his half-eaten lunch sitting on his brother’s desk.

When he’d turned the corner down the hallway, he stopped, kicked the soccer ball against the wall in a tantrum, and watched as it bounced back. As it did, the sound of raised voices from the nearbly lab reached his ears.

“Give me one good reason not to have you fired right now, Sable, and I will give you three good reasons why you are wrong!” Violeta snapped, inches from the other woman’s face. She pointed at the mini reactor in the middle of the room, which was currently running full power in the middle of a very unauthorized experiment, and shouted, “That is reason number one! That is not what we are here to do. We are making medicine, not weapons!”

Unnoticed, Rex had slipped into the room. At the sound of his mother’s angry voice, he jumped, startled, and darted behind the nearest console to hide.

In the heat of the moment, Violeta’s glasses slipped off her nose, and hung awry from one ear. Flustered, she struggled to put them back on. “Turn it off!”

Black Knight looked down at the small woman barking ferociously at her. She crossed her arms as she waited for the woman to finish up.

“Well, Violet. You want a reason? Well here’s a reason!” Black Knight’s eyes squinted into a harsh glare, “You and I both know who funds this project, and you and I both know that they have no concern with medicine. Right now I’m on their good side, unlike you and your little family.” Black Knight leaned in closer to Violetta, “So don’t threaten to fire me little girl because they won’t allow it. I am NOT turning it off.”

“You’d better turn it off,” said a voice behind them, low enough to undercut the fury of the argument but forceful enough not to be lost. “You’re in their good graces now. Will you still be there if you break their multimillion dollar machinery in an experiment you failed to execute properly?”

Rafael Salazar stepped around his wife, fixing Black Knight with a hard glare. “You need to re-check the maintanence schedule, Señorita Sable. This reactor was not in use today because it was due for a microcoolant adjustment. The high use it’s had has begun to corrode its directional valves. Soon you won’t just be getting bad data, you’ll overheat its processors. Turn it off.”

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “I didn’t find him.” Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar...

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:32:42 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “I didn’t find him.” Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar...:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

evowhisperer:

“I didn’t find him.”

Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar Salazar was never a good liar, but as before, there’s no defiance to his words. Not just that, but what has he chosen to lie about? A short run out to visit estranged family? He’s still under some control. Not…

“There’s nothing worth reporting.”

Caesar has made up his mind, and his answer doesn’t change. Rex is safer away from Providence, and Rex’s safety planted itself right at the top of Caesar’s priorities list the moment he found out he was alive, right up there with ‘keeping the world safe’ and ‘preserving as much of humanity’s population as possible’. Black Knight’s threats don’t seem hollow, but if he has to risk her wrath to satisfy his top objectives, then so be it.

“Okay. I believe you.” She really didn’t. If Caesar wasn’t going to tell her, then she would have to figure it out herself. She knew she would eventually get her information one way or another, even if that meant speaking to Rex about it. If she wanted to meet with Rex, then nothing would stop her. Especially a deal like the one they just made. If there’s one thing anyone should know about Black Knight, it is to never make a deal with her. Most people learn that the hard way.

“If that’s all Caesar, then you may leave.”

Caesar has not yet learned that lesson, apparently.

When he receives the dismissal, Caesar inclines his head a little, just enough to be polite. “I’ll keep in touch.”

Then he turns, walking out at exactly the pace he walked in.

Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]

Wed, 09 May 2012 00:12:02 -0400

Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]:

rex-salazar-rp:

evowhisperer:

rex-salazar-rp:

The daily ritual had played out as usual - about noon, someone would look up at the clock, exclaim, “Time for lunch!” and the entire facility would empty as a stream of white lab coats crowded out the doors and headed into town to grab a bite to eat at any one of about five local pubs.

The boy…

Rex’s first words sound like he’s talking from a great distance, and at first, Caesar simply tunes them out. The new sound that accompanies his next words, however, is one that he’s trained himself never to ignore: the sound of a soccer ball on any indoor surface.

Dragging his attention away from his work is like climbing feet first out of a swimming pool, but he manages, and he puts a hand on the ball just before it reaches his work. Only a single pencil holder has been knocked over: either Caesar is learning to keep his work desk tidier, or Rex has actually improved in not spreading mayhem throughout the work place.

“Rex.” Caesar frowns at him. “¿Que estás haciendo? You know I can’t play while I’m at work.”

A single pencil rolled across the desk; Rex flicked it away, watching in boredom as it rolled back across the table to Caesar. He lay his head on the desktop and stared up at his brother, mustering the best puppy dog eyes he knew how to make.

“But,” he whined, “but Mom and Dad told me to go away, and Nino won’t talk to me, and all the scientists went to lunch, except the ones that are locked up in the lab being all secret, and everbody’s mad and nobody will say why!” Seeing fit to reiterate the main point of the conversation, he added with a huff, “I’m bored!”

His untouched sandwich and juice box still sat on the desk. He squeezed the juicebox, watching as an arc of apple juice shot across the table and spattered on some of Caesar’s papers. “Can’t we do something?”

“Rex!” Caesar cries, lunging forward to rescue the papers, even though the damage is already done.

“Look what you did—it’s all over my notes!” he scolds, removing the top papers to keep the damage from seeping through. Then he stands, picking up the soccer ball and holding it out to Rex, giving him a sympathetic, but stern little frown.

“I know you’re bored and that we’ve all been getting a little tense, but it’s only for a little while. Until then, you need to let us work! I have an entire set of forced-nucleation sequences I wanted to outline before lunch, and I can’t do it while you’re here distracting me.”

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “I didn’t find him.” Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar...

Tue, 08 May 2012 23:56:16 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “I didn’t find him.” Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar...:

evowhisperer:

“I didn’t find him.”

Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar Salazar was never a good liar, but as before, there’s no defiance to his words. Not just that, but what has he chosen to lie about? A short run out to visit estranged family? He’s still under some control. Not…

“There’s nothing worth reporting.”

Caesar has made up his mind, and his answer doesn’t change. Rex is safer away from Providence, and Rex’s safety planted itself right at the top of Caesar’s priorities list the moment he found out he was alive, right up there with ‘keeping the world safe’ and ‘preserving as much of humanity’s population as possible’. Black Knight’s threats don’t seem hollow, but if he has to risk her wrath to satisfy his top objectives, then so be it.

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:45:00 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

evowhisperer:

“Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time I saw him,” Caesar acknowledges evenly. He deliberately does not react to her sweeping gaze, though she might notice his thoughts in how much he doesn’t respond: he ignores her look, and ignores any emotional response he…

“That sounds acceptable.” He’d planned to keep working for Providence anyway. And when his work finally finished? Well, he’d get to that when he’d get to it. For all he knew, Providence wouldn’t even be around at that point.

“I do have one condition for this, however,” Caesar says, and now he brings his gaze up to meet hers. There’s no obvious defiance in his look, but there’s no submission in it, either.

“Considering that I’ll be taking responsibility for Rex’s actions towards Providence property, I would like to be assigned to handle future encounters with him—particularly where there is the threat of further damage.”

Black Knight took a moment to think over Caesar’s bargain. She obviously wasn’t on speaking terms with Rex, so maybe letting Caesar handle encounters could be beneficial. It certainly seemed like it’d be less of a…disaster. Caesar hadn’t yet pissed Rex off, as far as she knew. “Fine. But, you will have to let me know what these encounters are about, when they are happening, and where they are happening. I will not allow any hidden or secret meetings with Rex as long as he’s with those rebels.” She exhaled loudly and sunk back into her chair, “It’s a deal then?”

“Deal,” Caesar says, pouncing on the word like a cat finally catching its mouse. He regrets his haste almost as quickly: the response was too eager. Caesar isn’t as manipulative as Black Knight can be, but even he knows that he just tipped his hand.

The harm is already done; there’s no way to take it back. With nothing else to do, Caesar offers a bland, harmless little smile, folding his hands behind himself. He looks rather like a prisoner before a firing squad, and why shouldn’t he? There’s still that entire other question Black Knight wanted to ask. He never did really address it.

“I’ll set up a protocol that can be used to alert you at the first confirmed sighting,” he says instead, with affected calm. He can’t leave without a dismissal, and even though he’s not being particularly subtle, maybe he’ll get one regardless.

The deal was settled, but Black Knight wasn’t quite satisfied. Her dark eyes glared into Caesar’s. The room grew quiet. She still hadn’t forgotten about her original question, and she wasn’t going to let that man leave until she got the answer.

“Caesar,” her voice was harsh, “Where did you go on that unauthorized trip?”

Black Knight cocked her head slightly, crossing one leg over the other. Her other foot began to tap rhythmically on the tile floor.

She could undo his work with a single wave of her hand. This knowledge makes his heart pound faster and harder, though Caesar does his best to hide it.

“I was out searching for my brother,” he says honestly. “Today was the first chance I’ve had to see him for over six months. Where else would I go?”

Where else would he go. That was what she was concerned about. So hee went to see Rex, that could be good or bad. It was now Black Knights mission to find out. “Well Caesar, I’m not too happy with that. Seeing though, with this deal that has just been made, I would like to know where you met up, and what you spoke about.” Her foot began to tap louder and quicker.

“I didn’t find him.”

Bad, perhaps, but how bad? Caesar Salazar was never a good liar, but as before, there’s no defiance to his words. Not just that, but what has he chosen to lie about? A short run out to visit estranged family? He’s still under some control. Not completely, but then, was he ever entirely under her thumb? She needs Caesar, and as long as he’s the only one who can do precisely what he does, he’ll always have that freedom.

“I spent the whole time looking for him, but the trace radioactive indicators from my lab weren’t strong enough to lead me to his current location.” Caesar looks down for a moment, before his gaze slides back up to hers.

“Wherever he is, he’s long gone.”

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

Mon, 07 May 2012 01:14:05 -0400

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need:

evowhisperer:

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

evowhisperer:

Caesar’s grip on the tool tightens as she steps forward, and after a moment takes a step to one side. He knows he can’t take whoever this is at close range; he may have the advantage of…

Something akin to surprise eases lines around his eyes, and his smile tips just slightly towards an expression that’s real.

“Thank you. I’ll keep an eye out for them.”

He doesn’t stop watching her leave—that would be too friendly—but the tool by his side powers quietly down as she goes. She’s too far to be a threat anyway—and that warning… The circumstances aren’t anywhere near where he can stop doing what he does, but he will remember her.

As soon as her footsteps have faded, Caesar scratches a sample-collecting tool on the nearest stalagmite, and then goes back the way he came.

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:55:27 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

evowhisperer:

“Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time I saw him,” Caesar acknowledges evenly. He deliberately does not react to her sweeping gaze, though she might notice his thoughts in how much he doesn’t respond: he ignores her look, and ignores any emotional response he…

“That sounds acceptable.” He’d planned to keep working for Providence anyway. And when his work finally finished? Well, he’d get to that when he’d get to it. For all he knew, Providence wouldn’t even be around at that point.

“I do have one condition for this, however,” Caesar says, and now he brings his gaze up to meet hers. There’s no obvious defiance in his look, but there’s no submission in it, either.

“Considering that I’ll be taking responsibility for Rex’s actions towards Providence property, I would like to be assigned to handle future encounters with him—particularly where there is the threat of further damage.”

Black Knight took a moment to think over Caesar’s bargain. She obviously wasn’t on speaking terms with Rex, so maybe letting Caesar handle encounters could be beneficial. It certainly seemed like it’d be less of a…disaster. Caesar hadn’t yet pissed Rex off, as far as she knew. “Fine. But, you will have to let me know what these encounters are about, when they are happening, and where they are happening. I will not allow any hidden or secret meetings with Rex as long as he’s with those rebels.” She exhaled loudly and sunk back into her chair, “It’s a deal then?”

“Deal,” Caesar says, pouncing on the word like a cat finally catching its mouse. He regrets his haste almost as quickly: the response was too eager. Caesar isn’t as manipulative as Black Knight can be, but even he knows that he just tipped his hand.

The harm is already done; there’s no way to take it back. With nothing else to do, Caesar offers a bland, harmless little smile, folding his hands behind himself. He looks rather like a prisoner before a firing squad, and why shouldn’t he? There’s still that entire other question Black Knight wanted to ask. He never did really address it.

“I’ll set up a protocol that can be used to alert you at the first confirmed sighting,” he says instead, with affected calm. He can’t leave without a dismissal, and even though he’s not being particularly subtle, maybe he’ll get one regardless.

The deal was settled, but Black Knight wasn’t quite satisfied. Her dark eyes glared into Caesar’s. The room grew quiet. She still hadn’t forgotten about her original question, and she wasn’t going to let that man leave until she got the answer.

“Caesar,” her voice was harsh, “Where did you go on that unauthorized trip?”

Black Knight cocked her head slightly, crossing one leg over the other. Her other foot began to tap rhythmically on the tile floor.

She could undo his work with a single wave of her hand. This knowledge makes his heart pound faster and harder, though Caesar does his best to hide it.

“I was out searching for my brother,” he says honestly. “Today was the first chance I’ve had to see him for over six months. Where else would I go?”

Start the Revolution: Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:44:11 -0400

Start the Revolution: Measure of a Beating Heart [ Open, Pre-Event ]:

rex-salazar-rp:

The daily ritual had played out as usual - about noon, someone would look up at the clock, exclaim, “Time for lunch!” and the entire facility would empty as a stream of white lab coats crowded out the doors and headed into town to grab a bite to eat at any one of about five local pubs.

The boy…

Rex’s first words sound like he’s talking from a great distance, and at first, Caesar simply tunes them out. The new sound that accompanies his next words, however, is one that he’s trained himself never to ignore: the sound of a soccer ball on any indoor surface.

Dragging his attention away from his work is like climbing feet first out of a swimming pool, but he manages, and he puts a hand on the ball just before it reaches his work. Only a single pencil holder has been knocked over: either Caesar is learning to keep his work desk tidier, or Rex has actually improved in not spreading mayhem throughout the work place.

“Rex.” Caesar frowns at him. “¿Que estás haciendo? You know I can’t play while I’m at work.”

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:24:00 -0400

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need:

evowhisperer:

Caesar’s grip on the tool tightens as she steps forward, and after a moment takes a step to one side. He knows he can’t take whoever this is at close range; he may have the advantage of height, but this EVO is an unknown. Even the vague familiarity of this person’s appearance…

There’s a beat of silence. Caesar lowers his still-unnamed tool, though he doesn’t power it off; the corners of his mouth may have turned up, but the rest of him is still tense, like a quietly coiled spring.

“There’s plenty of caves here for both of us to explore,” Caesar says simply.

“Let’s go with the first: You walk away, I walk away. Nobody has to get hurt.”

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...

Sun, 06 May 2012 23:49:34 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

evowhisperer:

“Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time I saw him,” Caesar acknowledges evenly. He deliberately does not react to her sweeping gaze, though she might notice his thoughts in how much he doesn’t respond: he ignores her look, and ignores any emotional response he…

“That sounds acceptable.” He’d planned to keep working for Providence anyway. And when his work finally finished? Well, he’d get to that when he’d get to it. For all he knew, Providence wouldn’t even be around at that point.

“I do have one condition for this, however,” Caesar says, and now he brings his gaze up to meet hers. There’s no obvious defiance in his look, but there’s no submission in it, either.

“Considering that I’ll be taking responsibility for Rex’s actions towards Providence property, I would like to be assigned to handle future encounters with him—particularly where there is the threat of further damage.”

Black Knight took a moment to think over Caesar’s bargain. She obviously wasn’t on speaking terms with Rex, so maybe letting Caesar handle encounters could be beneficial. It certainly seemed like it’d be less of a…disaster. Caesar hadn’t yet pissed Rex off, as far as she knew. “Fine. But, you will have to let me know what these encounters are about, when they are happening, and where they are happening. I will not allow any hidden or secret meetings with Rex as long as he’s with those rebels.” She exhaled loudly and sunk back into her chair, “It’s a deal then?”

“Deal,” Caesar says, pouncing on the word like a cat finally catching its mouse. He regrets his haste almost as quickly: the response was too eager. Caesar isn’t as manipulative as Black Knight can be, but even he knows that he just tipped his hand.

The harm is already done; there’s no way to take it back. With nothing else to do, Caesar offers a bland, harmless little smile, folding his hands behind himself. He looks rather like a prisoner before a firing squad, and why shouldn’t he? There’s still that entire other question Black Knight wanted to ask. He never did really address it.

“I’ll set up a protocol that can be used to alert you at the first confirmed sighting,” he says instead, with affected calm. He can’t leave without a dismissal, and even though he’s not being particularly subtle, maybe he’ll get one regardless.

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...

Wed, 02 May 2012 13:44:00 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: “Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time...:

evowhisperer:

“Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time I saw him,” Caesar acknowledges evenly. He deliberately does not react to her sweeping gaze, though she might notice his thoughts in how much he doesn’t respond: he ignores her look, and ignores any emotional response he…

“That sounds acceptable.” He’d planned to keep working for Providence anyway. And when his work finally finished? Well, he’d get to that when he’d get to it. For all he knew, Providence wouldn’t even be around at that point.

“I do have one condition for this, however,” Caesar says, and now he brings his gaze up to meet hers. There’s no obvious defiance in his look, but there’s no submission in it, either.

“Considering that I’ll be taking responsibility for Rex’s actions towards Providence property, I would like to be assigned to handle future encounters with him—particularly where there is the threat of further damage.”

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: She’s good. Caesar takes half a beat to reorganize his...

Wed, 02 May 2012 01:26:44 -0400

Providence HQ: evowhisperer: She’s good. Caesar takes half a beat to reorganize his...:

evowhisperer:

She’s good. Caesar takes half a beat to reorganize his thoughts, rechecking his own story and tracing back to his original expectations for how this was supposed to go. It takes longer than he likes.

“Though connected to my unexpected excursion, the one I was referring to was…

“Rex did seem to have changed a lot since the last time I saw him,” Caesar acknowledges evenly. He deliberately does not react to her sweeping gaze, though she might notice his thoughts in how much he doesn’t respond: he ignores her look, and ignores any emotional response he might have felt. The more reaction there is to ignore, the more he ignores both sensation and gaze.

“I would like to apologize for my brother’s actions, and take full responsibility for the damage he caused. If you send me the figures, I will arrange a transfer of funds to cover the costs immediately.”

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:49:00 -0400

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need:

evowhisperer:

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

evowhisperer:

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

evowhisperer:

There’s something distracting about the silence pressing in around him, Caesar decides calmly….

Caesar’s grip on the tool tightens as she steps forward, and after a moment takes a step to one side. He knows he can’t take whoever this is at close range; he may have the advantage of height, but this EVO is an unknown. Even the vague familiarity of this person’s appearance means nothing; he’s probably seen a variation of their mutation before, but mutations can come with all sorts of unexpected side effects. At this point, Caesar knows this well.

“If it’s all the same, I think I’ll take the option where no one has to die.”

Before he moves anywhere, he gives her claws an impersonal sweep with his eyes in the dying light. They don’t look like scales, or slime—they’re more like glass. A form of obsidian, most likely. Obsidian doesn’t camoflauge well in this environment; it’s a volcanic glass. If this person had mutated to adapt to these caves, chances are highest that they would have changed to something that didn’t glitter in the light.

Caesar blinks. Rock covered hands; the sight is too familiar. All at once, her voice, stance, and mutation click into place, and the faint lighting should just barely be enough for her to see his gaze dart back to hers.

“So you did escape.” A beat. The complete leap of subject doesn’t seem to even register. “For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re alright.”

Providence HQ: What tangled webs we weave

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:55:00 -0400

Providence HQ: What tangled webs we weave:

blackknight-rp:

evowhisperer:

evowhisperer:

Caesar looks at double doors for a long, taut moment, though he never pauses in his step. The hall before her office is long and drawn out—probably to make the walk up towards them exactly that, as long and drawn out for unpleasant thoughts as it can be. Caesar slides his…

Caesar doesn’t wait for this his eyes to adjust the sudden darkness, knowing enough of the room to navigate it half-blindly.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I didn’t see your summons until only a few minutes ago.” Not a complete lie—he’d turned his phone off. Or ‘run down its battery’, as his hasty cover story goes. Caesar stares guiltlessly in the direction he thinks her eyes are in, stopping some feet away from her desk.

He remains standing; there is no chair.

“I also have some things I wanted to ask about. This wouldn’t happen to be about the recent ‘disturbance’, would it?”

Black Knight stayed seated at her desk. “Disturbance? Well if you wouldn’t mind telling me Caesar, what exactly is this disturbance you’re speaking of?” Black Knight tended to enjoy having her visitors confess why they thought they were there, before she did anything. “I was simply going to inquire you about your recent unauthorized trip. But please do tell about this… disturbance.” She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms. “Unless this disturbance is in fact the trip? I’d love to hear about that.”

She’s good. Caesar takes half a beat to reorganize his thoughts, rechecking his own story and tracing back to his original expectations for how this was supposed to go. It takes longer than he likes.

“Though connected to my unexpected excursion, the one I was referring to was the escaped EVO from before,” Caesar says carefully, arranging the words like samples on a dish. His eyes finally find hers, and gain a subtle edge.

“Considering Rex’s role in the breakout, I would have thought he’d be at the top of your list of things to discuss.”

And with that returning salvo, the ball is back in her court. For all that his tone is deliberately level, there’s an undercurrent of accusation to them that Black Knight can’t miss.

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

Tue, 01 May 2012 00:11:07 -0400

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need:

evowhisperer:

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

evowhisperer:

There’s something distracting about the silence pressing in around him, Caesar decides calmly. There’s no hum of distant ventilation from his office’s silence. There’s no sounds of traffic…

Caesar just barely manages to catch himself from staggering, so great was his haste to dodge. His recovery from the stumble fast, and he draws a tool out of seemingly nowhere, aiming it at his attacker.

“Stay back!” Whatever the tool is, it whines electrically, and a teeth-rattling pulse shivers the air teasingly. Caesar adjusts his grip, and the object’s pitch audibly heightens.

Well. At least he’s not calling in backup.

“Whoever you are, don’t make me use this.”

Providence HQ: What tangled webs we weave

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:45:06 -0400

Providence HQ: What tangled webs we weave:

evowhisperer:

Caesar looks at double doors for a long, taut moment, though he never pauses in his step. The hall before her office is long and drawn out—probably to make the walk up towards them exactly that, as long and drawn out for unpleasant thoughts as it can be. Caesar slides his…

Caesar doesn’t wait for this his eyes to adjust the sudden darkness, knowing enough of the room to navigate it half-blindly.

“I’m sorry to have kept you waiting. I didn’t see your summons until only a few minutes ago.” Not a complete lie—he’d turned his phone off. Or ‘run down its battery’, as his hasty cover story goes. Caesar stares guiltlessly in the direction he thinks her eyes are in, stopping some feet away from her desk.

He remains standing; there is no chair.

“I also have some things I wanted to ask about. This wouldn’t happen to be about the recent ‘disturbance’, would it?”

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:17:31 -0400

Through The Obsidian: Call it what you want, call it what you need:

evowhisperer:

There’s something distracting about the silence pressing in around him, Caesar decides calmly. There’s no hum of distant ventilation from his office’s silence. There’s no sounds of traffic from a city scape. There’s faint rustles and scrapes, all just at the border of his…

Glowing water in a new little sample jar? Check. Glowing spider in a jar? Check. Three different kinds of chipped rock samples, in three different jars? Check, check, check. When he’s not paying attention to the undoubtedly serious nature of the work that goes into sample collection (almost everything in there is fascinating!), Caesar almost feels like he’s a child again, poking at tadpoles in a back yard. All in all, it’s hard to not be in a good mood.

Caesar swings his scanner around, strolling around another winding corner. The task of calling up a program that should start mapping his route for him calls his attention for a few seconds, and he forgets to check the ceilings above him for dangling plant and insect life this time around, leaving Asta completely unnoticed and himself in plain view.

There—that’s done. The scanner turns back to its previous settings, and Caesar’s pace suddenly slows. The man is frowning, and glancing around with a new caution. Heads up, Asta: if you’re going to do anything, do it now, because Caesar knows something is up.

What tangled webs we weave

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 00:09:39 -0400

Caesar looks at double doors for a long, taut moment, though he never pauses in his step. The hall before her office is long and drawn out—probably to make the walk up towards them exactly that, as long and drawn out for unpleasant thoughts as it can be. Caesar slides his attention back to the situation at hand carefully, determined to not let it bother him. He has bigger things to deal with than Black Knight’s cheaper mind games.

For example: Black Knight shot Rex. Immediately after his return, Caesar tried to call up the footage of that particular exchange to get a better idea of what had happened. There was nothing; either his usual access and low-key hacking just wasn’t enough to cut it this time around, or the files had been outright removed. How to address this without revealing Caesar’s ‘investigation’, Rex’s new location, and the fact that Caesar knows his location, however—those are the real questions.

Call it what you want, call it what you need

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:43:11 -0400

There’s something distracting about the silence pressing in around him, Caesar decides calmly. There’s no hum of distant ventilation from his office’s silence. There’s no sounds of traffic from a city scape. There’s faint rustles and scrapes, all just at the border of his hearing, and while they haven’t produced anything harmful so far, the sheer call of the unknown repeatedly draws his gaze away from his hand-held readout.

At least the cave has its own natural lighting, such as it is. Caesar holds his scanner-camera combo up at a shadow that scurries away before he can get a good look at it. Part of him is tempted to follow it, but then self preservation and common sense reassert themselves, and Caesar safely hangs back and waits for backup to arrive so that proper protocol can be observed and life and limb safekept.

… No, sorry, that was someone else. Caesar promptly follows the first large shadow he finds, striding quickly to reach the stalagmite the creature had disappeared behind. When he reaches it, unfortunately, the whatever-it-was is gone. There is, on the other hand, a very likely looking cave starting at about waist height, leading deeper into the caverns.

Caesar considers the opening for only a beat before climbing up and through. His modified GPS hasn’t given any signals of being unable to penetrate the surrounding rock so far; wandering away from the rest of his team should be—well, if not absolutely safe, then at least within acceptable margins of tolerance.

Thicker than Water [Closed, Caesar]

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 23:09:28 -0400

Thicker than Water [Closed, Caesar]:

rex-salazar-rp:

evowhisperer:

The faint surprise showing through Caesar’s lifted eyebrows is only the tip of the emotional iceberg: That hurt. Squashing down the reaction immediately, Caesar forces himself to look at it from Rex’s point of view. Considering the status of EVOs today, and perhaps even some of Rex’s status as an outlier among EVOs, then yes, it stands to reason that he’d feel like a freak. Who knows what problems Rex has had over his EVO-status while Caesar wasn’t around?

Caesar stays where he is as Rex puts distance between them, taking advantage of the moment to collect his thoughts. When Rex breaks the brief silence, Caesar turns the corners of his mouth up, though his eyes are sad.

“Anger is a perfectly reasonable reaction, Rex. The nanites may have saved your life, but there’s no arguing with the fact that they also set you apart.”

“Even so, I think you should know this now,” Caesar continues, turning towards him. The smile is gone, and he gives his brother an intent look, as though willing him to understand.

“You have never been a freak to me, Rex—you’ve only ever been my little brother.”

For a few seconds, he didn’t look at Caesar - he sat on the concrete, staring over the edge at the long drop to the ground, frustrated. He wondered why everything had to be so complicated. He couldn’t ever have anything simple, could he? Not his feelings, not his job, not even his family.

He glanced back at Caesar for a second, then away, drawing his knees up and slumping tiredly against them. There was a long pause. “I just wish I remember what it was like, being your little brother. It’s like talking about somebody else’s life, somebody who isn’t me,” he said quietly after a few moments. “I’m just Rex, and that’s all I know. Rex Salazar is some kid I’ve never met, from some other place, who had a family and a life and a head full of memories.” He knocked on his skull and added, “Nothing but dust up there now.”

Rex glanced over his shoulder, and hesitated before saying anything more - Caesar had already said he’d have to leave, and how soon he couldn’t say. Finally, he plucked up the courage to ask hopefully, “Would you tell me about them? About Mom and Dad, and what we used to do - what it was like before, you know…” he gestured vaguely, “all of this.”

Again, Caesar listens in unreadable silence. When his brother finally ends with questions, however, Caesar stirs, stepping towards the dam’s edge beside him.

“Of course,” Caesar says effortlessly. It’s as though his answer were the only one in existence, and saying it out loud was redundant. In a long folding motion, he arranges his tall frame to sit beside Rex’s. Like his brother just now, Caesar seems to have no qualms with dangling both feet over a lethal drop.

“There’s too much to tell all at once, but we can start now, and continue where we leave off later. What do you want to know, first?”