Nexus. Sanctuary and Nexus Mall. Transport.

[firra]

Continued from here.



Aoife: Well, that covers the "home sweet home" or "bless this house" picture.

Adrian: *eyeroll* More like ''do not disturb''.

Lorraine: Be nice.

Aoife: *bites her tongue to keep in the snark* Alright. I'm afraid you can't have a human size gyro craft here.

Adrian: What, now there are rules?

Lorraine: Be nice. *back to Aoife* Then what's allowed?

Aoife: Various balloon craft and flying animals. *isn't smiling. It's hard*

Adrian: *deadpan* All of these options sound awful.

Lorraine: ...Ground transport?

Aoife: Bikes, waggons, trikes, scooters, crawlers, unicycles, skates, and various animals. And all the options but animals come in motorized versions or versions that let you get your exercise. *looks down as Rose pokes her* Oh right. There are some cybernetic creatures too.

Rose: *satisfied. Goes back to sleep*

Adrian: *looks to the wife* Can we please do something with a robot. Animals are so...

Mittens: Maaw?

Adrian: Not you, obviously.

Aoife: *is holding the snerking inside*

Lorraine: Well I don't want to clean up after some large animal either-

Adrian: So, robots.

Lorraine: Robots.

Adrian: Robots.

Aoife: Actually. I don't think we've got transport with AI here. The area's just too small to need it. You need to steer the motorized transports yourself.

Adrian: That's fine. Steering's fine. I can steer.

Lorraine: Arguably.

Adrian: You be nice! *back to Aoife!* Steering's not an issue.

Aoife: *nods, then turns and glances over the edge of the roof* There's a self powered trike at work.

Denpup: *riding one of those kangaroo trikes. Someone small is CURSING in the carrier*

Aoife: That's a pedal powered minivan. But I don't think Adrian would fit in the cabin.

Lorraine: *peering over the roof* Nnno, let's not.

Adrian: *muttering darkly* What, the *bleep*ing child can curse and I'm stuck beeping like a venomous coffee maker?

Aoife: *blink blink* *SNERK* Nika was born cursing.

Rose: *nods without opening eyes

Adrian: Well, bully for it.

Lorraine: *gesturing from over his shoulder, mouthing something about the computer in his skull*

Aoife: *nods* -I can sense it.- *aloud* Oh, there's the taxi. You can grab that and get to the mall. *is pointing to a dark-haired boy child in skin clothing who has stopped to eat a flower down below*

Lorraine: *understanding, switching channels with a huge grin on her face* -It's been doing that. We don't know if it's the crash or this place. It's never gone rogue like this.-

Adrian: What, the kid?

Aoife: -Probably the place. The Backwater's got a mind of its own.- Yes. The little boy. Go tell him you want to go to the mall.

Lorraine: -We were told there's some kind of anti-violence field? I think it's to do with that, somehow.- *somehow whispering in her own head* -It's hilarious, isn't it?-

Adrian: Yeah, I'd rather not, at the moment.

Aoife: -I love it. And it gives me so many bad ideas.- *frowns up at Adrian* The other taxi's a mammoth. Who loves kissies.

Adrian: *blanches, glances at Lorraine* Remember when this place seemed so nice?

Lorraine: Robot rights, honey.

Adrian: Ugh. The things I do for this marriage.

Aoife: *vanishes and then reappears by the boy*

Anne: *zooms back, a roll of paper tied under her little vehicle and a happy grin on her tiny face*

Adrian: Aaaaand she's gone. *shrugs* This place, I swear. *Anne reappears* Oh. Tiny robot for you, darling.

Lorraine: Hey, Anne!

Anne: Here's your present! *more smile* I asked for advice.

Lorraine: On the gift, or... this seems like the kind of place where 'advice' would be the gift...?

Anne: On what to get you. I know you don't like the same kind of things as me. *hopeful* Untie the poster and see if you like it?

Lorraine: Ooh, ok. *reaches one arm over Adrian's shoulder and takes the poster, unrolling it with the arm still around his waist*

Adrian: You could let go, you know!

Lorraine: No. I'm feeling wifely.

poster: *shows a supernova. Words say "Bless this Mess"*

Lorraine: *laughs* Oh! Oh, thank you, I like it very much.

Anne: *happy little cheer, but then she perks and looks over the edge of the roof* Oh. Aoife is waving to you. I think she wants you to come down and see her.

Adrian: Ugh. Stairs.

Lorraine: *dryly* I could jump. You'd live.

Adrian: And break your fool ankles?!

Anne: D: I have a wish.

Lorraine: *rolls her eyes* We can just use the stairs, Anne.

Adrian: I'm just saying, we've only got so many spare parts!

Lorraine: Go put this inside, you idiot. *puts the poster in his hands and scoots him towards the ship*

Anne: *tiny voice* Oh. Okay. *bumps the bell on her vehicle and startles herself* *itty bitty meep*

Lorraine: You shouldn't waste things on his lazy self.

Anne: *looks up* Scattor makes lots of wishes. *glances toward Aoife, Rose, and the boy* He's Aoife's big brother.

Lorraine: Still. Don't waste things on him. He's just lazy.

Adrian: *coming back out with a his shirt and jacket finally on, a hat in his hand* Heard that, wife.

Anne: *uncertain look, but then perks* I bet I can get down before you! *zips toward stairwell!*

Adrian: ...Well I'm not racing your tiny robot.

Lorraine: *instead of answer, Lorraine proceeds to throw herself off the side of the building*

Adrian: *horrified shouting*

Anne: *zips back and squeals, but then flies down to the ground*

Aoife: *dryly, from where she's standing next to the grinning boy and holding a Rose with a disapproving frown* You forgot to mention race rules, Anne.

Lorraine: *kicks off the wall once on her way down to slow herself, then lands heavily (and exceedingly dramatically) on both feet and her good arm*

boy: Did he pee himself?

Aoife: Eww. No.

boy: Darn.

Lorraine: *straightens up slowly as the dust clears* I win.

Anne: Are your ankles okay?

Lorraine: *crosses her arms and grins charmingly* My husband like to conveniently forget that this body is the best money can buy and he can build. I don't have squishy little fluid packs in my knees, or fragile, uncased ball joints in my ankles. He's just an old fussbudget.

Anne: Oh. Okay! ^_^

boy: Aunty Aoife says he doesn't like being around anybody, but you guys are looking for a ride to the Mall. *holds up a card a bit longer and narrower than a common credit card, and with four differently coloured squares on it. Card has a clear plastic strap at one end to loop over the wrist or wherever* Forty dollars will buy your own ride to the mall, and the Black Dog, and the Library, and your house.

Lorraine: That's very-

Adrian: *comes roaring out of the building, shouting what we're sure are very interesting curse words when they're not, uh, beeping* YOU!

Lorraine: Oh here he is.

Anne: *darts behind Lorraine*

boy: *deep scowl as he sees Rose hide too* You're right, Aunty. He's a jerk.

Adrian: You: shut up. *Back to the wife* YOU, you, you silly idiot! We have no idea what kind of backwards, awful tripe they sell here, you don't know what we can get you if you break down, do you, do you want to be broken? In this backwater? Do you want to go back to being a ship all the time? No mobility, no senses? You stupid, you, you, *he devolves into a string of beeping*... android! Glorified navigation program!

Lorraine: Don't you talk to me like that in front of my friends!

Aoife: *sotto voc* Says the guy whose stuff is built of clunky junk.

Anne: Be nice.

Adrian: *getting in Lorraine's face, one fist balled and the other hand gesturing wildly* Sit. Down. Now. And show me your blasted ankles or I swear I, I'll-

Lorraine: *laughs* Or you'll what?! What are you going to do with me? Why are you even bothering, you stupid, posturing, fat-

Adrian: Because I am worried about you!

Lorraine: *stops. dead.*

boy: *hands over mouth*

Rose: *huff*

Lorraine: *deadpan, wide eyed* Well this is unexpected.

Adrian: *not really listening* You come here to this blasted *bleep*hole, and all you do it throw yourself off of things and put fluids in your fuel line and, and, and break yourself, you psychotic robot! *points to the ground* Sit on the *bleep*ing ground and let me look at your stupid ankles, for all you deserve it. *finally winds down, breathing heavily*

Anne: *tiny giggle fit is audible from behind Aoife*

Aoife: -Yech. Mush.-

Lorraine: *deeply disturbed by this admission of anything approaching affection, she actually sits down* -I'll, uh, I'll get him for it, uh, later, I...-

Aoife: -Think you broke him?-

Adrian: *sits down in front of his wife and grabs one of her legs, swinging it over his shoulder and pulling up her pantsleg to the knee with all the grace and tenderness of someone opening the hood of a car*

Lorraine: -I... might have?- You, uh, you can keep explaining this. *holds up the card*

boy: Oh. It's a teleporter.

Aoife: *eyes slightly narrow as she studies Adrian*

Anne: *peeeeking*

Lorraine: You can explain further than that.

Adrian: *slides his thumb along her ankle, rolling her foot around with his other hand. A seam appears, and the flesh breaks away smoothly in a long strip. He pushes the panel aside and takes a good look into her exposed insides* *mutters to himself, something about it looking ok*

boy: *curious peeking at ankle* Huh? Oh. Non portal type. It just brings you where you tell it to go. The ride makes some people sick, but I've never had any trouble.

Lorraine: That information's handy to have. *smiles*

Adrian: *poking around inside her ankle, moving things and generally checking for obvious damage*

boy: And they'll only go to those four places. You can reprogram your house coordinates, but you can't change the other ones.

Lorraine: Good to know. And very helpful. And it works from anywhere?

Adrian: *closes up her ankle, slides it off his shoulder, and grabs the other one to repeat the whole thing*

boy: Yup. Even from outside the nexus.

Aoife: Though it's got a safety feature, doesn't it, Colt?

boy: *is Colt!* Well, yeah.

Adrian: *might have muttered something about safety features, don't listen to him, he's in a weird place*

Lorraine: *gently bops him with her foot* What kind of safety feature?

Colt: Once the home coordinates are set, it won't work for anybody but two people. So make sure you 'n him are the ones that touch it after the programming.

Aoife: It's nexus weirdness.

Colt: *impressed* The 'Jacks got that to work for them?

Aoife: Yup. *slight grin*

Colt: I knew they were cool!

Adrian: *frown* You can't just explain everything as 'it just is'.

Aoife: No. But that's the only way you can explain some things.

Colt: *quiet now as he watches the adults talk, though he seems to be waiting for something

Adrian: Hmph. *gets that wire placed correctly*

Lorraine: Anything else we should know?

Aoife: *calmly* Shouting around a Nagi can be very unpleasant, even here. If I hadn't been holding Rose, she might have struck out in instinctive self defence. Since she wouldn't have been trying to hurt you, you would have gotten a very large dose of a highly hallucinogenic and very deadly venom. And trust me, you would be wishing you were dead before you healed. Also, your fee just went up for scaring my kid.

Colt: 0_0 *mean lady*

Adrian: *looks at Aoife. Finishes poking the inside of Lorraine's leg. Snaps the panel shut. Gets her leg off his shoulder. Waits a second.* ...What.

Aoife: You came out here, raving and yelling, with no thought of your surroundings or the people around you. *lifts a brow. Eyes are grey*

Adrian: *the dryest man to ever dry* Let me get this straight. You're threatening-stroke-extorting me. For yelling at my wife. For throwing herself off of a building. With no regards to her safety.

Aoife: She didn't scare anybody but you.

Colt: And Anne.

Anne: I don't think I really count, Colt. Lots of things scare me! ^^;

Adrian: It's really not my concern if no one but me cares if she breaks. I care if she breaks.

Aoife: So did she break?

Adrian: *gets up, readjusts his jacket* Knocked a few things loose. Nothing permanent. That's not the point. Putting undue strain on a system - any system, is dangerous. This - *points at Aoife* -is called 'disproportionate retribution'.

Aoife: You just said it yourself. Putting a strain on a system is dangerous. Are you going to pay?

Adrian: Yeah. I am. But not your 'yelling' fee. Your pup's fine.

Aoife: You pay it all, or you don't get any of it.

Colt: *mean lady. Gonna go hide behind... Anne!*

Anne: 9.9?

Adrian: *blinks* Then I walk. *shrug* You really don't have as much power over me as you think, Miss.

Aoife: You. Walk? *snigger*

Adrian: *bitter little smile* I don't take well to extortion. And cheap shots? They betray your lack of creativity.

Lorraine: *huffs* Oh, by the Maker. *eye roll* You two.

Continued here.