04:25 <Crion> "Richard, I'm going to install the network switch for my server, PC, and microscope/scanner setup behind this desk," says Aster, suppressing a grunt as he finishes sliding said switch into place. "It's not meant to go on the wider network, so please don't plug anything into it. Slap the hand of anyone else who tries to plug anything into it. It doesn't get internet anyway, so it won't help 04:25 <Crion> them." 04:27 <Crion> He's been fiddling with this setup and bringing equipment in all morning. Separate from the workstation he's setting up, Aster also has a normal netbook-type laptop, which is on the wifi. 04:29 <dammitwho> "Righto, though I wouldn't rely on any of your equipment staying network-isolated simply because nothing's been plugged in. The grey box likes to have everything interconnected." 04:29 <Crion> His mouth presses into a thin line. "Of course it does." 04:30 <tom> If Aster's watching the wifi network, he'll notice a new device: firewalker42069 04:30 <Crion> Aster's been here since an hour after sun-up, when he installed his coffeemaker in the ersatz kichenette they're building, and has been moving through all morning, almost exclusively minding his own business. 04:30 <Crion> To the extent he notices the new device, it's to block it. 04:30 <Crion> He's been doing that all morning too. 04:30 <dammitwho> There already was a coffee maker, though if Aster really wants another one that's his business. 04:31 <tom> In the next room over, Bob curses quietly in frustration and restarts his reticle. Shit is getting buggy. 04:31 <VoxPVoxD> Did Haldane bring an electric kettle or did Willie have to supply one? 04:31 <Crion> The man seems to appreciate his individuality, though he hasn't, like, barred anyone from using his. 04:33 <dammitwho> Of course there's a kettle! How will we make the tea without a kettle? 04:33 <Crion> Aster may not have administrative privileges to the network -- and it's bad etiquette to boot co-worker's devices off the network even if he did -- but no one's up-jumped Google glasses are connecting to his machine. Completely moronic, sticking bluetooth devices in anything that holds a current. 04:34 <Crion> As standoffish as the former VASCU lab technician is being, this is actually a step forward; in between the time he signed on with Sourjack's little adventure and their first mission together, Aster only visited the safehouse twice, for briefings, when directly summoned. 04:36 <tom> Bob's slowly working through what is by now a cold cup of coffee. He's got another wax block he's chewing up- although there's no question of what he's working on this time- the long sweeping threads curling around the cylinder's axis immediately betray it as a rifling guide to those in the know. 04:37 <Crion> Aster gave it an appraising look when he last came over to refill his own cup, but said nothing. 04:38 <tom> "How's the nose?" 04:38 <Crion> Aster glances up to see who Bob's talking to, and only after a second or two realizes it's him. "Oh." 04:39 <Crion> "The nose is fine, thank you." 04:39 <Crion> After a moment: "How's the entire upper body?" 04:39 <Crion> Difficult to tell if this is mockery or awkwardness. 04:39 <tom> "Guess who got *yelled at* for jumping in front of a tractor." He chuckles. "I can take my lumps good. You got hit? I don't know what spookies can do." 04:40 <Crion> Aster, fiddling with the back of the scanner machine: "I did not get hit." 04:40 <tom> If Aster is returning to his workstation with the coffee he may notice the other man get up to follow him. 04:40 <Crion> He does, with slight if visible annoyance. 04:40 <tom> "Nerves then? It's okay man. Mission 1. I seen guys puke without doing anything." 04:41 <Crion> Mainly he visually tracks where Bob's coffee cup is set down. 04:41 <VoxPVoxD> Someone buzzes Willie in. The hunters-in-residence get distracted greetings. She's only brought sandwiches today, and all of them are meatless: there's falafel, egg salad, and toasted cheese-and-tomato. She unpacks them without preamble in the common kitchen area and beelines to the kettle. What time of day is it? She's got to fish around a bit to find her herbal teabags; we need more 04:41 <VoxPVoxD> organized storage space. 04:41 <tom> He's holding it in his hand, taking measured sips between words. "I mean you were on the rifle on phase three so you did something." 04:41 <tom> "Not trying to freeze you out." 04:42 <Crion> Aster: "Nerves? Whoever heard of getting a bloody nose from--" 04:42 <Crion> He sighs. "The rupture of the capillaries in the naval cavity is a common side-effect of employing the Wintergreen Process." 04:42 <Crion> "At least to begin with." 04:43 <tom> "Oh, yeah. I knew a few guys who did that." 04:43 <tom> "The Gorilla Mind Smooth never did anything for me though." 04:43 <Crion> Moving along to the network port. "The what?" 04:43 <tom> "The brain pills?" 04:44 <Crion> Aster: "The Wintergreen Process is not simply brain pills. It--" 04:44 <Crion> He pauses. "...Is proprietary." 04:44 <tom> Bob sips his coffee. 04:44 <Crion> "And non-disclosure is a condition of my post-employment settlement. So." 04:45 <tom> "Oh, sorry." 04:45 <tom> "They at least cover your medical? From the galaxy brain process?" 04:45 <tom> "I guess that's NDA too huh." 04:46 <Crion> Aster: "I can say that with the coverage come a substantial number of strings they can use to continue to control me. Even in the so-called private sector." He looks around. "So far there hasn't been much private about it, hmm?" 04:46 <tom> Infuriatingly, Bob is still standing there, giving no indication that he's preparing to shuffle off. 04:47 <tom> "So what do you do?" 04:47 <Crion> Single conversation with this man is unsustainable. Any life raft in a storm. "Welles--- Willie. What sort of sandwiches are those?" 04:48 <tom> Bob's attention is temporarily diverted as he turns to follow Aster's words. 04:49 <VoxPVoxD> Willie settles down at a workstation with her macbook, an egg sandwich, and some tea. "Falafel on pita, egg salad on baguette, and toasted cheese and tomato on country bread. Do help yourselves." 04:49 <Crion> Aster will take a cheese and tomato. "Thank you." 04:50 <VoxPVoxD> "What are you working on today, Mr. Aster?" 04:50 <tom> "Is there a place nearby you keep getting these?" Bob has been getting into falafel recently. 04:50 <Crion> Aster: "In between fielding young mister Goreman's -- apologies, Sergeant Goreman, or whatever's -- questions about my nosebleeds, I am attempting to set up a forensic workspace with some modicum of network security." 04:51 <Crion> "Richard has informed me this will not be the case." 04:51 <Crion> "But I'm paid to try." 04:51 <tom> "Oh, I never made it past Corporal, but thanks." 04:52 <dammitwho> "Oh, there's a decent barrier between here and the outside world, if that's what you're worried about. As long as nobody inside does anything silly." 04:52 <VoxPVoxD> "Ah! Sensible. Yes, it seems like Jack's fixation on connections extends to this place. Or... perhaps the reverse...? I'm not sure." Willie looks up at Bob. "Yes, there's a little place in the city centre, right on St. Peter's Square. You know those dark kitchens that aren't real restaurants and only exist as online storefronts and a handoff spot for delivery apps?" 04:52 <VoxPVoxD> While typing: "Some mad woman makes all this in her kitchen." 04:53 <tom> "We hit a place like that once, yeah." 04:53 <Crion> Aster, despite himself: "'Hit?'" 04:53 <tom> "Wow, well she's doing a good job. Maybe next time she gets a take." 04:53 <tom> Bob gestures with an invisible rifle. "You know, scoot n' shoot." 04:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "A 'take'?" 04:53 <tom> "From the job. Her food is fueling the whole operation." 04:54 <tom> He swallows his food. "You know, maybe we should get like a poison detec- are those real?" 04:54 <Crion> Aster snorts at the preposterous idea of giving anyone else a share. 04:54 <VoxPVoxD> Maybe it's not just stress. Maybe Goreman simply cannot perceive sarcasm, the way a bear can't sense movement. 04:54 <VoxPVoxD> *can only 04:54 <tom> "I spent three months with a fucking plastic box and two television antennas looking for traces of vampire blood before I took the damn thing open and found an empty box." 04:55 <tom> "FUCKING D.O.D." 04:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "She's already getting a take, in fact." 04:56 <Crion> At the very least lunch seems to have worked out precisely as he planned: with a delicious meal waved in front of him, Bob no longer cares about the 'galaxy brain,' or what have you, and Aster can get back to work. 04:56 <tom> Bob doesn't get it but also doesn't comment on it. 04:56 <tom> Instead he grabs another falafel ball. 04:57 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I had a whole pile of marinated chickpeas left over from the hummus yesterday. I certainly can't eat that much alone." 04:58 <tom> "I'm actually starting to think we might make it. God help us." 04:58 <Crion> Aster, fiddling with more network cables: "A hundred and forty thousand pounds sterling will buy a lot of takeout." 04:59 <VoxPVoxD> Is it both of them? Is this some kind of American thing? A deliberate bit? Are they doing irony at me? 04:59 <tom> "Yeah I'm not actually sure what to do with my wad now. It turns out College Debt isn't a thing here." 04:59 <Crion> In fairness, Aster is doing that thing where he's only half-listening and also just talking about himself. 05:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Not like it is in America, anyway. But it wasn't long ago it was more or less free." 05:00 <VoxPVoxD> "Tuition fees were only institute in my lifetime." 05:00 <VoxPVoxD> "If just barely." 05:00 <tom> "I guess it's going to hell everywhere huh." 05:00 <Crion> Aster: "Well, first off. You can't go flashing it about. Not unless you want to figure out how to report it as income, for tax purposes." 05:01 <Crion> Aster: "I, of course, will be laundering it through my lab." 05:01 <tom> Bob's fingers flick a nonexistant cigarette. "Yeah yeah. I know what I'm doing. Getting back into Crypto." 05:01 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "If you like I can put you in contact with the Swiss bank I'm using. Or perhaps a different one. I don't know how much we should be fearing forensic accountants." 05:01 <Crion> Aster simply pauses slightly when Bob says that, then continues his work. 05:02 <Crion> To Willie: "Mm. It would be excellent to have the option, at least. Yes, thank you." 05:04 <tom> "I'll stay out. I think it's better if we don't put our eggs in one basket. Distributed asymmetric warfare baby." 05:05 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Distributed asymmetric warfare against... banks?" 05:05 <dammitwho> "Our employer assures me that your pay will be entirely disregarded by HMRC. Though you specifically, Willie, may want the Swiss account nonetheless. Being higher profile than the rest of us." 05:06 <Crion> Aster: "That's very generous of Her Majesty, but Bob and I have the Internal Revenue Service to outwit." 05:06 <VoxPVoxD> A little loudly: "Yes thank you, Mr. Haldane. That's very good to know." 05:06 <tom> "I mean as like a mindset." Bob smiles nervously. "You know, like.. you've thought about it right." 05:06 <tom> "What we do isn't like.. that much different from uh." 05:07 <Crion> "Living overseas is no excuse to shirk your duty to dodge the tax man, after all." 05:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "From terrorism?" 05:07 <tom> Bob gulps. 05:07 <tom> "Oh shit we still have to pay taxes? But I don't even live in-" 05:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "I mean, let's not be coy about it. We have the same word for groups of hunters here as you do over there." 05:08 <tom> "Right, right. I just.. you know, that's always when it really sinks in, when you start thinking about that." 05:08 <Crion> Aster: "I have no intention of dying for what I believe in, Wellesley." 05:08 <Crion> "A key difference between myself and a terrorist, among many." 05:08 <tom> "But you still have to believe." 05:09 <tom> "That's the key thing." 05:09 <dammitwho> Richard sighs. "No, Bob, you don't have to pay taxes." 05:09 <dammitwho> "At least, not on what we pay you." 05:09 <tom> His composure's back. 05:09 <Crion> The IRS likely thinks Bob -- "William" -- is dead anyway. 05:09 <Crion> Aaron Aster is very much alive and registered as an overseas national. 05:10 <VoxPVoxD> 'Higher profile'. Pfah! It's not like she's opening an account at Alfie's Swiss bank. She got the referral from Alfie but she's not stupid enough to park her for-profit vigilante money at her brother's bank. No, it's going to her godfather's bank. 05:11 <tom> "I just mean, there are easier ways to make money using that smooth ass brain of yours that don't involve getting bodied by angry farm equipment." 05:11 <tom> "I assume?" 05:11 <VoxPVoxD> Maybe they didn't notice. They must not have. They still think the food is takeaway. God this is like being high, isn't it, in a room full of people you aren't supposed to be high around. Bone-deep convinced everyone knows and everyone's just quietly being anxious about their own thing. 05:13 <Crion> Aster can't figure out whether Bob thinks 'smooth brain' is an insult or a compliment. 05:13 <tom> Sometimes it be like that. 05:14 <VoxPVoxD> There's a lot of axes to be curious along. 05:15 <Crion> Aster: "I do forensic parapathology because it's what I'm good at, because I find it interesting, because it has made me a very rich man, and because at this point I am invested to the extent where if I did anything other than retire to a beachfront somewhere, a man in Philadelphia would get very suspicious and have me blackbag renditioned." 05:15 <tom> "I don't see any good beaches around here." 05:16 <tom> Bob suppresses his laugh before it's more than a little jump in his chest. "Kudos dude, welcome to Team Renegade." 05:16 <Crion> Aster: "No. You don't. Because -- and no offense to Richard and Willie -- I am not retiring to Manchester, England." 05:17 <tom> "Doesn't seem so bad. It's quiet, and none of those Snake River assholes are here." 05:17 <Crion> Aster shrugs. "I don't see what's renegade about it. We hunt monsters, we operate with the blessings of the local power structure...as long as we don't get into a shooting war with the Human Office, we'll be fine." 05:17 <tom> Bob, with worrying sincerity: "Noted." 05:18 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You'd have to drive to Anglesey to get a proper beach. That's in Wales. Maybe... 100 miles? Couple of hours." 05:18 <VoxPVoxD> "Unfortunately neither of you are racist enough to retire to Wales." 05:18 <Crion> Narrowing his eyes at Bob: "...Or the Chieron Group. Or other members of the Lucifuge." 05:18 <tom> "Oh no dog I like the Welsh." 05:19 <tom> "What happened to those nice people?" 05:19 <tom> He's speaking to Willie. 05:19 <tom> “C’mon man you don’t know LGC like I do.” 05:19 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Nothing. The Welsh are perfectly lovely. It's all the English baby boomers taking their pensions to buy dreary little cottages and vote Leave and scowl at passing Sikhs." 05:19 <tom> “Boomers gonna boom.” 05:20 <VoxPVoxD> "A hundred thousand clones of... I don't know who the American equivalent of Jeremy Clarkson is." 05:21 <tom> “Oh that’s a tough one. Most of our guys like him aren’t that funny.” 05:22 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "You only think he's funny because that kind of man only exists to you on the telly." 05:23 <tom> Bob’s heart pretty much bursts at the word ‘telly’: ”Yeah I guess I only ever saw him eating shit in shitty cars.” 05:24 <tom> “Hooooo.” 05:24 <VoxPVoxD> "It's like—" Her voice drops a bit even though he's not here. "So you've met Mr. Hughes." 05:24 <Crion> "Clarkson is the TV blowhard, and Corbyn is the communist, yes?" 05:24 <tom> “Yeah. Sharp shot with that .45. Not as good as Badawi, but she’s cheating.” 05:24 <tom> “Is he gonna be.. a problem?” 05:24 <VoxPVoxD> "America has some equivalent of the type of man Mr. Hughes is. Is there an insecure middle class man who is famous for pretending to be the sort of man the analogic American Mr. Hughes would be?" 05:25 <VoxPVoxD> Cheek-puffing exhalation. "I don't know." 05:25 <Crion> With disdain: "There's Joe Rogan." 05:25 <tom> “Joe’s an honest dumbass, don’t drag him into this-” 05:25 <Crion> Aster: "I rest my case." 05:25 <tom> “Gah.” 05:25 <VoxPVoxD> To Aster: "Clarkson is the blowhard, yes. Corbyn is..." She makes a small uncertain noise. 05:26 <VoxPVoxD> "I shouldn't editorialise. I'm biased." 05:26 <Crion> Aster, to Willie: "...a favorite of the local vampires, it seems." 05:26 <Crion> "Jezza this, Jezza that." 05:26 <tom> “I told myself if Hildog won the primary I’d go completely mountain coot and I’ve just been tunneling ever since. It’s a good pain.” 05:26 <VoxPVoxD> Willie grins a bit. "Really? That's... I find that very amusing." 05:27 <Crion> Aster: "I make it a policy not to get involved in your politics. Your media is deranged." 05:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Have they done the White Stripes bit?" 05:27 <VoxPVoxD> "You have no idea." 05:27 <Crion> Aster: "The football chant? Yes." 05:27 <VoxPVoxD> "It was rather catchy! For about 48 hours. Four and a half years ago." 05:28 <tom> Oof. 05:29 <tom> Bob, whos brain has broken out exactly perpendicular to everyone else’s and is rapidly disappearing through the hedges: ”So Badawi can go invisible?” 05:29 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "But yes. Mr. Corbyn was the Leader of the Opposition for several years. Venerable old Bennite. Rather like your Bernie Sanders. A devout pacifist." 05:29 <VoxPVoxD> "Sweetest man I've ever met." 05:29 <tom> “Nice guys don’t last.” 05:29 <VoxPVoxD> A small frown. "It really is a shame." 05:30 <tom> “No use crying,” Bob adds, hopefully, 05:30 <Crion> Aster, checking his monitor. "Well, clearly they do. The man's quite sprightly for his age. The vampires were so impressed at his bicycle and his garden." 05:30 <Crion> To Bob: "Yes, she does seem to have that ability." 05:31 <tom> “So... can I get in on that? Is she also a wizard? Are you assholes holding out dossiers on me?” 05:31 <Crion> "With that and the Soviet surplus rifle, perhaps she can keep a civil tongue in Rolf's mouth." 05:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Luckily I don't think she's under NDA, so feel free to speculate." 05:31 <tom> “Where the fuck did she get a SVD?” 05:31 <VoxPVoxD> Dryly: "Where do you get Soviet surplus pepper spray?" 05:32 <tom> “I have been hand-loading .22LR with a dremel and primers made from matchboxes for three months.” 05:32 <Crion> Aster: "Somewhere, I imagine, where procuring such things is more touch-and-go than bounding up to her in the common room and asking, 'Where did you get the SVD?' A point on approach to take under advisement." 05:32 <tom> “But I have a burning need!” 05:33 <VoxPVoxD> "SVD?" 05:33 <tom> “Dragunov. That big-ass sleek rifle with the- Mmm, hand-molded wood furniture.” 05:34 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is that a particularly good one?" 05:35 <Crion> Aster: "Honestly? Not really." 05:35 <Crion> "I mean. It's fine." 05:35 <tom> Bob is aghast. 05:35 <tom> He chokes it back down, completely out-alpha’d: ”I think it’s pretty good.” 05:36 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What is the best... are these called sniper rifles? I don't know if that's a term for guns outside of video games." 05:36 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, you have to adjust for being in northern England, with the gun laws as they are I suppose." 05:36 <tom> “It’s just a rifle. ‘Sniper’ rifle just means someone kerplonked a big-ass optic on it.” 05:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Optic meaning... a thing you look through?" 05:37 <tom> “But yes, it do shoot seven six two by fifty-four rimmed, and it will punch through every bag in NATO’s kit to this day.” 05:37 <tom> “Yes’m.” 05:37 <Crion> Aster will cede this little bit of Willie's American education to the man who really gets a kick out of it. 05:39 <tom> Wounded, not really able to argue the point in light of day, Bob resorts to asymmetric warfare. ”I mean it’s good enough the Islamic Republic is still making them.” The conversation has moved on and his parting shot is characteristically weak. Bob fumes. 05:39 <VoxPVoxD> "Seven-six-two by fifty-four rimmed. That's a gridiron play, isn't it? When the striker gives orders to his midfielders before anyone starts moving." 05:39 <tom> “That’s a rifle caliber, ma’am.” 05:40 <tom> “Seven point six-two milimeter width at the longest point of the neck, and the fifty-four milimeter casing.” 05:40 <VoxPVoxD> "That's quite a large bullet." 05:41 <Crion> Aster: "The SWAT commander for VASCU's dedicated unit made sure our marksmen were trained on the Accuracy International L96, or whatever designation it has when not in military service. L-something. This only sticks in the mind because of how incandescently irate he would get when one of the new buzzcut jocks just in from a military discharge or Philly SWAT would go 'oh, the AWP!'" 05:42 <tom> “AWP is king.” He pronounces it ‘Awp’. 05:42 <Crion> "A British weapon, if I'm not wrong. Perhaps get your hands on one of those." 05:43 <tom> “Nah I think I’ll respect Badw- Badawa- Fuck.” He reaches into his pocket. 05:43 <tom> https://i.imgur.com/dwEySal.jpg 05:43 <tom> He takes out his felt-tip and marks another box. 05:43 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Do you think it would be disrespectful to buy a second rifle? Is it like showing up to a party in the same dress as someone?" 05:43 <tom> “She has niche protection.” 05:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "What's that?" 05:44 <VoxPVoxD> She means the paper. 05:44 <Crion> Aster: "Oh, is that why you're rifling a barrel? Out of respect?" 05:44 <tom> He’s trying to quickly stuff it back in his pocket. ”Ah, haha, you know. “ 05:45 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Oh come on. You can't just make a note on a mysterious bit of paper and then shove it back in your pocket like nothing happened when the subject of enormous deadly weapons comes up." 05:46 <tom> He sheepishly uncrumples the card and scoots it onto the table with a finger. https://i.imgur.com/zx0W1Ky.jpg 05:46 <VoxPVoxD> Willie leans forward. 05:46 <tom> “It- it’s an old Snake River tradition, okay.” 05:47 <Crion> Aster snort-laughs when he sees it, then takes a step back. "Ah. Ahem. Excuse me." 05:47 <Crion> "When did you have time to make this?" 05:47 <VoxPVoxD> Is that what American bingo cards look like? 05:48 <tom> “In the van on the way to the farm.” 05:48 <tom> “Totally ghosted my mind until we ran into those Cabal fuckheads.” 05:48 <VoxPVoxD> Willie finds all this very amusing until "Hang on." 05:48 <VoxPVoxD> "You made this before the farm." 05:48 <Crion> Gesturing at the markings. "What's the difference between a checkmark, an X, and a slash? Is there one? Has Willie been scary thrice?" 05:48 <tom> “Y-yeah?” 05:48 <tom> “Any red mark means filled, yeah?” 05:49 <VoxPVoxD> "But you didn't know about the blood until at the farm." 05:49 <VoxPVoxD> "So what, precisely, did you expect me to do that was scary when you made the card?" 05:50 <Crion> Aster: "Good luck with that one, Bob, my man." He turns back to his workspace. He's finally got the microscope displaying on the monitor. 05:50 <tom> Bob gulps, takes the pen, and adds another mark to the card: https://i.imgur.com/r2dN7Gz.jpg 05:51 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "How is that scary?? It's a perfectly reasonable question!" 05:51 <Crion> Over his shoulder. "Oh, Bob: the tractor exploded." 05:52 <tom> “Hhhey look I’m sorry, it’s just for- Oh, god damn you’re right” 05:52 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, you noted it with your third check mark." 05:52 <tom> “Usually the POG’s don’t see the cards, you know, it’s just for the tacteam goons. But we don’t r-really have a tacteam, know?” 05:52 <VoxPVoxD> "You had to have drawn the pentagram after the farm as well." 05:53 <tom> “Yeah I added that one on in the van to the last site.” 05:53 <VoxPVoxD> "She politely overlooks the, uh, abortive attempt. 05:53 <tom> “I just doodle, you know.” 05:53 <tom> “Keeps you off your nerves.” 05:53 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Have I been frightening you the entire time? That's quite the opposite of my intention, I assure you." 05:53 <VoxPVoxD> Well. It was before. 05:53 <Crion> Aster: "Don't take it as a sign of sentimentality, but I'm not particularly interested in you getting Bingo in either the top horizontal or leftmost vertical. Or the diagonal." 05:54 <tom> “Well, all I need to do is trip balls and die to win, seems easy enough.” 05:54 <tom> The card now, as he replaces it into his pocket with an unsteady hand: https://i.imgur.com/R53bdwh.jpg 05:55 <tom> At Willie, Bob can only chuckle. 05:55 <tom> “Sorry I’m not- you know. But guys get weird shit in their heads when women around.” 05:56 <tom> “Especially when the adrenal’s hitting, you know?” 05:56 <VoxPVoxD> Willie blinks very slowly. 05:56 <VoxPVoxD> "...I trust the box was not ticked until the farm?" 05:56 <tom> Bob’s eyes are widening very slowly under his sunglasses. This is it, this is the moment he gets ethered in one look of disgust- 05:56 <tom> “Yes ma’am.” 05:57 <Crion> Aster can only just shake his head slowly at Bob's profound exegesis on women." 05:57 <Crion> -" 05:57 <VoxPVoxD> Her nostrils flare, then she looks down and sees the database she was trying to search locked up and she has to go back and input the string again. "Well... I suppose that will have to do." 05:57 <VoxPVoxD> "Also, just so we're clear: I make the food. I've made all of the food." 05:58 <tom> “Shit, k- why didn’t you say so?” 05:58 <VoxPVoxD> She slaps the table and yells just a bit. "I was making a joke!" 05:58 <VoxPVoxD> "Do you not have jokes in Missouri?" 05:58 <Crion> Aster: "Well, it's quite good." 05:58 <VoxPVoxD> Beaming at Aster: "You're very kind." 05:59 <tom> Bob choke-starts a laugh. 05:59 <Crion> Aster: "It simply didn't occur to me that food preparation was something British aristocrats busied themselves with." 05:59 <tom> “You gotta teach me how to make falafel balls, Bee tee dubs.” 05:59 <tom> “I know someone who would really appreciate ‘em.” 06:00 <VoxPVoxD> Eyebrows up a bit. "Alright. You can pay me back by teaching me about guns. I need something besides..." She waves her bandaged hand around. 06:00 <VoxPVoxD> "It wasn't a problem at the farm, but, that was open, insured ground, with no buildings for it to leap to." 06:00 <Crion> Aster: "I was going to ask about that. The exercise of your blood is self-destructive?" 06:00 <tom> “Yeah you- do you gotta bleed yourself?” 06:01 <tom> “Is that a thing or are you just sad?” 06:01 <Crion> Just sa--? Good lord, Bob. But it doesn't reach Aster's face. 06:03 <VoxPVoxD> Willie glares. Okay, now even she'd have to admit she's a little scary. "No, Bob, I'm not just sad. When the blood is in me, I can bless myself. But if I want to curse the world, then it has to come out." 06:03 <tom> “Christ.” 06:03 <Crion> Aster: "No, He's the child of the other one." 06:03 <VoxPVoxD> "Try again." 06:03 <Crion> Aster: "You're probably not going to want a firearm, to be honest." 06:04 <tom> Bob tries very hard to hide his eyes bugging the fuck out under his sunglasses, but his Odin jumps alive as the friendly green box wobbles over Willie. 06:04 <tom> “No way, man. I think she’d do okay if you got her a Twenty gauge.” 06:04 <VoxPVoxD> "What do y— ahem. What do you suggest? You're well-trained as well, yeah?" 06:04 <Crion> Clinically: "With your propensity to set yourself on fire, carrying cartridges on you is a -- pardon the phrasing -- non-starter. They'll either dry-fire or otherwise burn out the primers." 06:04 <tom> “Maybe a colt for waving in asshole’s faces.” 06:05 <VoxPVoxD> "Perhaps not so enthusiastically." 06:05 <VoxPVoxD> "That's a very good point." 06:05 <tom> “You could use electric primers.” 06:05 <tom> “There’s still a few guns that do that.” 06:05 <Crion> Aster: "What you want, and what your ancestors likely were quite snitty they couldn't carry, is a compound bow or crossbow. The problems there were obvious in the past...but materials science has progressed." 06:06 <tom> “That’s a good idea, hm.” 06:06 <VoxPVoxD> Willie giggles at this. "Like an Amazon?" 06:06 <VoxPVoxD> Her expression gets a bit dreamy. Like an Amazon... 06:06 <Crion> Aster: "Essentially, you want a collapsable bow-type weapon that, when you're on fire, only ignites what you want ignited -- say, the tip and payload of a bolt or arrow." 06:07 <Crion> "All of which should be permissable under some sort of hunting permit scheme." 06:07 <tom> Shit these are all extremely good points that Bob can’t refute. 06:07 <Crion> "Unlike my Glock which, frankly, feels more useless by the day." 06:08 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Bow ownership is legal, though bow use is essentially not. You can bring it to a club with ranges. Hunting's been outlawed for 30 or 40 years." 06:08 <tom> “A 20 gauge would give her a greater weight in payload and is less delicate than a bow. Plastic melts at high temperatures.” 06:08 <VoxPVoxD> "Definitely an edge over a shotgun." 06:09 <Crion> Aster snorts. "Plastics. This instrument will require carbon-fiber and ceramic construction." 06:09 <Crion> "Likely very expensive, and a much higher barrier-to-entry on skill than a shotgun. No reason why you can't use both." 06:09 <tom> “You wanna see how fast I can bang out a factory-spec Twenty?” Bob is already getting up to move back to his workstation, an evil glint in his eye. 06:10 <Crion> "But you'll want to remember you're carrying live rounds before lighting up." 06:10 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That's true. The point is something for a situation where I can't start a fire." 06:10 <VoxPVoxD> "But training in both sounds wise. It's the same basic idea, right?" 06:11 <Crion> Aster: "From far enough away, certainly. But one is a much more physical discipline. I was always a shit archer in the Boy Scouts." 06:11 <tom> Bob’s hovering around his work station. New cup of coffee. Doesn’t need it. He rolls out a large piece of butcher paper and begins making marks with a felt-tip. 06:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie can't suppress a grin. "You were a Boy Scout?" 06:12 <tom> He puts on his headphones and the rest of the world, mercifully, recedes. Shh, no time for sad. Time to go hard. 06:12 <Crion> Slightly softer so Bob doesn't hear: "I think I put him out, and now you're going to have to have a shotgun." 06:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods in quiet agreement. 06:13 <VoxPVoxD> Not the most physically uncomfortable thing she's done to avoid unduly bruising a man's ego. 06:13 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. It was simply the thing that was done for white Methodist boys in the Philly suburbs in the early 90s." 06:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Did you enjoy it?" 06:14 <Crion> "You'd go away to camp in the summer, and there were all sorts of unpleasant male bonding rituals that either culminated in a fist fight or in you, improbably, for a short period of time, actually enjoying each other's company." 06:14 <Crion> "Not often, not in the moment. But I'm glad I did it." 06:14 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Ah, that does sound properly manly." 06:15 <Crion> Aster: "Yes. Well. Not to put too fine a point on it, but sometimes it reveals itself why men of my generation turn to whining on Facebook like Rolf." 06:16 <Crion> "As long as he keeps that energy focused outward, though, he seems a fine addition." 06:17 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods again, lips pursed. "He is a bit of a shaped charge of a man, isn't he?" 06:17 <VoxPVoxD> See? She's learning, Bob! 06:18 <Crion> "Yes. A claymore. Though I suppose originally those were Scottish." 06:19 <Crion> Aster: "But do look into the bow thing. At the very least it's quiet. Which is one advantage my bullshit has over yours." 06:20 <VoxPVoxD> "Yes, I had that thought." Slightly lower voice: "And you have no lingering side-effects? No headaches, blurred vision, anything?" 06:22 <Crion> Aster: "As long as I'm operating within recommended tolerances, the Talon module is ambient effect level zero some three or four hours later. Something more taxing, like the Codex or Postcognition modules, then we're talking simulated amphetamine crash combined with damage to mucus membranes body-wide. Translation: bleeding from the gums and nose. A bit more profuse." 06:25 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "That sounds very taxing, but given the line of work we are in... I am very glad to have you, Mr. Aster." 06:25 <VoxPVoxD> "How are you taking to Manchester?" 06:26 <Crion> Aster: "Likewise. It's necessary to have someone in this group that both enjoys talking to people and is good at it." 06:27 <Crion> As for the follow-up: "I am...looking for long-term housing." 06:27 <Crion> "I don't know about rendering a verdict on enjoying it." 06:27 <Crion> "But I am tolerating it." 06:27 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Then... you have grasped the spirit of Manchester, I think." 06:27 <VoxPVoxD> "Particularly insofar as you resent our boss." 06:29 <Crion> Aster: "One gets very particular about men popping up inside your mind once you'd made it your business to do the same to others, and see what it can accomplish." 06:31 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Understandably so. My own experience is far more limited... and all as object, rather than subject." 06:32 <VoxPVoxD> "Had I had your introduction, I would have not reacted with your grace." 06:33 <Crion> Aster: "There's a certain amount of fatalism that sets in when you realize you've been compromised like that. The first thing I did was secure my pistol in a time-lock safe." 06:34 <Crion> "Framing a suicide is hard work in our business, when the investigators know what to look for. But guns make it substantially easier." 06:35 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Were you still prepared to defend yourself if it went the other way? I suppose you were, given what you were able to do to those spirits at the cost of that nice Henley shirt." 06:36 <Crion> Dismissively: "It was a cheap knockoff. I switched before the mission." 06:36 <Crion> "But yes. Though it would have been much more difficult." 06:37 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Ah. You really are a self-made wealthy man." 06:38 <Crion> "You're very lucky that you didn't seem to be his transmitter -- he broke the link as I stepped from the elevator -- and that, well, I was intrigued. Or else I would have started blasting." 06:39 <Crion> "With my mind." 06:39 <Crion> "And I suppose in that case, I'm lucky too, as are the proprietors of that hotel, and that shitty little college runt." 06:39 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes, I was not prepared for that. I think I would have had to run. Burning down the Lowry would not be worth staying out of the hospital, in terms of the kind of world I would wake up in afterward." 06:40 <VoxPVoxD> "Even if the Lowry is a dreadful, gaudy wreck. Manchester's five-star hotel, in bloody Salford." 06:40 <Crion> Aster: "The staff were disciplined and private enough for my liking. You understand, I'm from Philadelphia." 06:40 <Crion> "Can't be judging on architecture." 06:41 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Is it not a pretty city? I know very little. The Liberty Bell, the cheese steak, and Danny Devito." 06:42 <Crion> Aster: "It is a city that takes a genuine and perverse pride in its ugliness." 06:42 <Crion> "That is one of the things for which it is most respected." 06:44 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Ah! The sort of city one is proud to be from, but not particularly happy to live in." 06:44 <VoxPVoxD> "Again I say, welcome to Manchester." 06:45 <VoxPVoxD> "I really do enjoy the prospects this work opens up here... but I will not weep when the time comes to return to London." 06:45 <Crion> Aster smiles thinly. "Yes, there are some parallels." 06:46 <Crion> "London...now there is a city." 06:46 <Crion> "Quite the hassle to get around in these days." 06:46 <Crion> "But the things I can do with the cameras." 06:47 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes. I used that to my advantage. I got very fit biking to and from work. Now I need a couple of hours on the stationary every morning while I'm responding to emails." 06:47 <VoxPVoxD> "Oh goodness. Can you... well England must be quite a bonanza." 06:48 <VoxPVoxD> "Fortunate is the man with a vantage to look over Big Brother's shoulder." 06:48 <Crion> Finishing the final touches on the workstation: "They made a video game that was quite like what the Tag module is capable of, and VASCU had an outside firm investigate us for possible leaks." 06:49 <VoxPVoxD> "Were there?" 06:49 <Crion> "But no, at least given what we were told, they simply thought being able to ride the security apparatus of any major metropolitan city like one great web was also a pretty neat idea." 06:50 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Parallel development." 06:54 <Crion> Aster: "Just so." 06:54 <Crion> "What about you? Any other tricks besides setting the barn on fire?" 06:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Setting the barn on fire, not getting set on fire... you were probably too far away to notice, but at the last site, with the Cheiron operatives, I was able to invoke the Rite of Babel." 06:55 <Crion> Aster: "Confusion of speech, or...?" 06:55 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "The opposite. Omniglossy." 06:56 <Crion> Aster: "Sounds like an Instagram brand. But I suppose yes, it would be that, given the purview." 06:56 <VoxPVoxD> "Well. Not quite omni. But rather more robust than Poly- would imply. Any spoken language of mortal ken and purview." 06:57 <VoxPVoxD> "And then of course there's the proper demonology. That's the most difficult and technical bit. A lot of reading. Abramelin, Al-Hazared, Torchia, Trismegistus..." 06:58 <Crion> Aster: "Yes, I read the dossier -- you've been visiting these...these gamers?" 07:00 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "Yes. Although they are quite unlike the bêtes infernales my training prepared me for. Most demons want to be anywhere else but Hell, or view themselves on a temporary excursion which will end inevitably and, they hope, rewardingly." 07:00 <VoxPVoxD> "The Alpha Strikes are hell-aspirant." 07:01 <VoxPVoxD> "Something of a Miltonian in medias res. Imagine an angel who had fallen... but not yet landed." 07:01 <Crion> Aster: "'The Alpha...' Is that that--" He gestures. "--Masculine thing? That gym shirt thing? Are they going to furiously head to the garage and make you shotguns like poor Bob?" 07:01 <Crion> "Just trying to figure out how lively things are likely to get around here." 07:04 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "No, not at all. At least not that I've seen. I won't say they're harmless, that would be a dangerous and unsupportable presumption. But they are, or seem to be... geeks. A bit awkward, a bit ill-kept. A bit unruly. But... decent. Passionate. I'm not sure I understand what they're doing, but whatever it is, they're really trying. And by all appearances they do not intend or enact 07:04 <VoxPVoxD> harm." 07:04 <Crion> A slight frown. "Well that's something, at least." 07:04 <Crion> "At least you're not actively working for them." 07:05 <Crion> "Or sleeping with them." He glances at Bob, bopping away in his headphones, here. "This cell is...quite entwined, locally." 07:07 <VoxPVoxD> Willie doesn't skip a beat. "I wouldn't even begin to know how to work for them. Their goals seem quite abstruse, bordering on nonsensical." 07:07 <VoxPVoxD> "One thing Milan is quick to instill is the basic understanding that, if you meet a demon on the road, you outrank them, and they know you outrank them." 07:08 <VoxPVoxD> "And to carry yourself with a certain... auctoritas." 07:08 <VoxPVoxD> "An advantage of breeding." 07:09 <Crion> Aster's noticed she uses that word in a much more literal way than most of the English he's encountered do, who like to fancy it a pure euphemism for manners and how one was raised. But then, blood of Satan, seventh generation, etcetera. 07:10 <VoxPVoxD> Also a neat little bit of misdirection, because she also means the other thing. 07:10 <VoxPVoxD> Americans aren't all bad. 07:11 <Crion> A good American is rather useless in the wider world. It denotes a lack of skill. 07:11 <VoxPVoxD> But a not-all-bad American... worth his weight in gold 07:12 <Crion> Either way: "I think I've gotten this fully installed. I'll come back in and test it tomorrow." 07:12 <Crion> "For now, I've got some forms to fill out." 07:12 <VoxPVoxD> Willie nods. "Very good. I am done with my lunchbreak and must return to the office." 07:12 <VoxPVoxD> "Do feel free to take any extra sandwiches home with you. Mr. Haldane won't eat them all." 07:13 <Crion> He collects his jacket, nodding. "Give some thought to the bow thing. I can't build one for you, obviously, but you're hundreds of thousands of dollars richer now." 07:13 <Crion> "And dollars is likely what you'll be buying something like that in." 07:13 <VoxPVoxD> Willie smiles. "I do appreciate having such a diversity of experts to learn from." 07:13 <Crion> He'll not-as-subtly-as-he'd-like take a tomato and cheese for the road. 07:14 <Crion> "Don't patronize me," Aster says, but with the sort of blustery harrumph that makes it clear he's fine with being patronized a little bit. "I'm no archery expert. It's just the sensible thing to do." 07:15 <VoxPVoxD> Willie: "So it is. Thank you, Mr. Aster." 07:16 <Crion> "Good afternoon, Willie." And he'll step out into the dour Manchester afternoon. You know what. It is a lot like Philadelphia.