Mass Logs [Closed to the following in the cuts]

[vaudevil]

Date & Time:Jan 7. Jan 9, Jan 10, Jan 11
Location: (in order) The City Black Market District, Hold Training area, Lee's Workshop, Lee's Workshop
Characters: Collette, Margulis, Ghost, Billy Cranston, Taicea and Lee
Summary: All this week Lee has been booked pretty solid with people he's either just met, or people that are curious about his work. One of them is a date. Threads will be separated for organization.
Warnings: It's a semi-open log, but if any of the threads start to go in a direction that needs some privacy, they may be moved to a musebox for comfort.

Jan 7 Monday (Market Place)
Lee had agreed to meet Collette at the appointed time even though he didn't know her name. His geosynchronous watch was never wrong. 4:05 exactly on the dot, he waited patiently for her to arrive. She had his picture, and he had nothing to go on other than he knew that she was a Transport and nothing more. Blind dates were exciting but at the same time the possibility of being stood up were much higher. Even if nothing came of it, it didn't matter. He would still buy the chocolate.

Jan 9 Wednesday (Hold Training Center)
Lee was in a funk from his break-up with Leliana and his date with Collette left him with mixed feelings if it would work at all. His flirtatious banter with Blaine and a few others left him wondering if he was ever going to find happiness on a personal level in this place. The scientist-spy started in on his stretches that were a lot more advanced that resembled more a gymnast than a martial artist. It was something he's done many times throughout his life. Tumbles, flips and passes on the mat helped him keep his focus. He stood at the corner of the training mat and took in a deep breath before he made another pass. Little did he know that Margulis had been watching him. The two still awaited for their orders on their mission and both men were feeling antsy.

Jan 10 Thursday (Lee's Workshop)
With the discovery of Ghost's helmet being smashed and his cannon almost complete for a formal test, which still needed a lot of work, he couldn't let his friend be without the one thing that she needed most in this place. Lee had his own purpose but the way he chose to remain hidden was just the opposite. He knew how to obfuscate. If he didn't want something discovered, he wouldn't mention it nor tell anyone about it. The cannon was now out. He made a promise and he was going to keep it.

Jan 11 Friday (Lee's Workshop)
Taicea wanted to see the cannon, Billy was going to help him refine it. The vortex cannon was being tooled and scrutinized by now two very keen minds with the third being curious with her eagerness to learn everything she can. It was a good day for Lee. Not to mention, the serum he made for Billy was going into the right hands in case he has a relapse. That was a secret he never wanted revealed. Plans were laid out along with notes, mathematical formulas, and several pages of miss trials that he kept tight watch over. Lee knew that it would take more than just himself to make it work into perfection. With the fabricated tool in his hand, he tightened up the bolts that held the gas lines in place while he waited for his guests to arrive.

Comments

Collette and Lee

[vaudevil]

[whatsupcroc]

Collette hadn't bothered with a description. If he really cared, her tag was all over the network, and she video-posted enough to make it obvious what she looked like.

Besides, today that part wasn't going to matter so much. The kind of ground they were supposed to cover was tiring on her usual wheels, and with no magical motorized wheelchairs appearing from nowhere, using alternate means of travel was more practical.

So it came that a coyote was dodging between legs and calling out, not sure if she had the right time or not. Her stopwatch was glinting stainless steel around her furry neck, close enough to a collar that those who recognized her from slipping around the edges of the city on her haunts just glanced past her when a whistle or a hand-rub and a "here boy" drew no response.

< Mister! Am I late? >

Thought Speak projected into just his mind, Collette focusing on Lee in particular. She came to a skittering stop in front of him, ears flicking forward and head coming up as she sat up, paws tucked in to her chest. Distinctly odd canine behavior tended to point out just how unusual she was, when she wanted attention drawn to the fact.

[vaudevil]

Lee looked around at first for the voice at first then looked down the moment he saw the wolf. After some time looking at the network and drawing his own conclusions, he put two and two together. "Amazing." He said softly.

"Not at all." He smiled. "Collette, you're right on time." He knelt down in greeting and to check the collar just to make sure he got the name right. "I must admit that this will certainly be handy in sniffing out the good stuff."

[whatsupcroc]

He'd be disappointed if he expected to find a name, though the stop-watch (or was it a pocket-watch? Whatever it was, it did keep time.) around her neck bore evidence of harder use.

< Just don't ask me to try any of it out before I'm back to normal, > she quipped, leaning her head to the side so he can get a good look at her watch. < This isn't a collar, you know! Like I'd wear one even if I had one. >

Her mental tone rang with her laughter, canine equivalent showing as she opened her mouth and let her tongue loll out one side.

< Where to first? >

[vaudevil]

"No, no, of course not." He spoke softly and rose to his feet to look around before choosing a destination. The stop-watch did catch his attention and the lack of name wasn't really a huge concern. It was for the better to keep others from becoming suspicious, or so he thought.

"You're point is well noted and taken. My apologies." Lee was certainly corrected and his smile stayed.

Spotting a table at the corner of his eye, he decided to check around there first to check out the storefront. Of course there was nothing of real value on the table that was worth noting but inside was generally where the good stuff was kept.

"Let's try there first." There was no way in hell that he was going to talk at her like an animal. Her intelligence was far greater than that even if he did earn a few strange looks from the Natives milling about with one that muttered how strange Transports were.

[whatsupcroc]

Strange transports with their strange companions. Dogs still weren't part of the general culture, so Collette in morph stood out in a different sort of way. Some people were afraid, and others endlessly curious.

She sniffed around the objects at the table, leaping up to balance on her hind legs in order to investigate one that smelled like cinnamon. < Are you planning to be the chatty sort? I can handle the adventurous sorts who like new experiences. Say you'll let people pet the dog if they'd like, only wink or something so they know what you really mean. >

Collette wasn't even sure what she really meant, but she ducked around an outstretched hand from the merchant and slipped behind Lee's legs with all the nonchalance of someone who feels they know exactly what they're doing.

[vaudevil]

What Collette said made Lee chuckle in his throat. Yes, it was true he talked a lot when he had something to say and he really didn't think it was all that strange. Adventurous was definitely something he could get behind but for now, he had to play it casual.

"Oh, don't worry." He faced the merchant while he straightened his torso to face the proprietor from his twist from watching Collette's action. "She's the curious sort." He smiled as pleasantly as he could muster to keep up with the appearance he wasn't talking directly to her canine form. "Be gentle." He winked as he then picked up the can of cinnamon to inspect it with a slight turn to his body. It was small enough to slip inside his jacket without much thought.

It was much too expensive for his currently meager budget and being reduced to petty thievery was something he hadn't forgotten how to do since his childhood years on the streets. It was a necessity now and he certainly loved his cinnamon.

Margulis and Lee

[vaudevil]

[misplacedxsheath]

Margulis had taken note of Lee's practice in the middle of the first pass, but waited a short while to interrupt. He had to admit to himself, it was impressive. Lee's movements were smooth and practiced, the mark of a skilled athlete. But after how Lee had been acting lately, Margulis couldn't help but worry. He'd been uncharacteristically irritable and, though Margulis hadn't pried about the exact reason, he knew that he preferred his roommate in a better mood.

That was why he came walking over during Lee's second pass, crossing his arms as he watched.

"Well, at least you haven't lost your ability to focus entirely."

[vaudevil]

On the final pass to his dismount, his concentration broke in a split second that was just enough to cause him to slip and fall flat on his back on the mat. He broke out in a laugh and looked up at Margulis. The laugh sounded darker and not as light as it would have normally been.

"I think I proved that part wrong just now." His chest heaved from the heavy exertion and the ache he was feeling all over.

His aging body was beginning to feel the effects of the lack of sunlight. Still, for a man approaching 50 in a few months, he was surprisingly spry.

[misplacedxsheath]

The embarrassing display earned a smirk and a laugh from Margulis as well, somewhat mocking but lacking the bitterness Lee had hear earlier. Evidently, he was capable of laughing from actual amusement.

"It seems your next exercise should be in splitting your attention."

Still, despite the taunting, he reached out a hand to help Lee to his feet.

[vaudevil]

Lee lifted his hand to Margulis and clasped his wrist to stand. He certainly wasn't going to argue the point that he needed a bit more than just a few exercises and the one on multi-tasking wasn't something that Lee had too much trouble with, just on those rare occasions where his right brain didn't want to communicate with is left.

Once on his feet, he straightened himself and smirked. "Yes, yes, you made your point." He looked to their clasped hands and grinned. "I don't know what happened, to be honest."

[misplacedxsheath]

He let go of Lee's wrist once he had him hauled properly to his feet.

"Oh? And here I had assumed that the fact that you made a public fool of yourself was obvious."

The insult was a deliberate attempt to get under Lee's skin, to prod his ego so that he got riled up over something harmless. If he was huffing over a minor blow to his pride, then odds were he wasn't thinking about whatever had him in such a sour mood lately. And aside from that, maybe what he really needed was just a chance to blow off some steam.

Ghost and Lee

[vaudevil]

[ghostling]

Since her day out in what passed for a park, Ghost had been trying to get out more. Without her helmet to hide behind it was difficult. She also couldn't very well go out in her uniform without her helmet, not without possibly being recognized so she had to actually stock up on a few civilian outfits. Bits and pieces from here and there, really none of it looked like it went together. But it worked for her.

She gave herself one more once over in the mirror to make sure the energy of her arms didn't show through her sleeves or that any skin save that around her eyes was showing. She didn't bother being fully bundled up this time since she had no intention of being outside longer than it took to get to Lee's lab. She stuffed her busted helmet into a bag and headed out.

Sometime later she knocked on the door to Lee's lab and waited.

[vaudevil]

The chair creaked under his weight as he moved to answer the door. He knew who it was but a personal response kept him from feeling too stiff behind the desk. His body was starting to feel the effects of a developing condition that was caused by the lack of sunlight. The last thing he needed was to break a bone and have it not heal properly.

He slid the door away to the side and stepped aside. "You didn't have to knock but I'm glad you came. I apologize for the mess." Tools and parts littered the floor with labels on them and some had colored tabs.

"Careful where you step. I still need to organize my things. You're welcome to take a seat. Would you like something to drink? I have plenty of purified water." He wasn't about to mention the amount of toxins he managed to get out of it.

The cannon he was talking about took up a huge portion of the workspace with the barrel facing toward a door that had been recently repaired.

[ghostling]

"Migh've been a li'l weird if I jus' slipped on through the door." And she meant that quite literally, she wouldn't have bothered to open it at all.

Once inside she looked around. "Almos' reminds me of home." Well, a portion of home. Techno's lab to be exact. Only Lee's lab was missing a lot of the more advance looking stuff.

Ghost debated briefly on where to sit before settling on an empty bit of the workbench. She placed her bag to the side and worked to unwind the scarf from around her head. "Water would be nice, thanks."

[vaudevil]

He went to work getting her the drink by picking a glass bottle and lightly warming the bottom with a Bunsen burner that he made from a pipe, a valve and a tube that fed the gas from a tank that was hidden from view. He tipped the bottle over to heat the mouth and inside of the glass to sterilize it and allowed it to cool. Shutting off the gas, he moved to another bottle that was suspended above a condenser tube and pulled it off the seat.

He tested with his fingers the temperature before he poured in the fresh water was the purest he could manage to make. "I have this sort of fascination and boyish wonder having my own little workshop that is on the edge of clubhouse to an actual workshop. It's very low tech, but it works well for what I need in experiments that would otherwise cause an incredible amount of damage. It's a hike, but it's my second home."

Electricity was provided by a windmill and a waterwheel in the back that powered his generator from scavenged parts. It worked for what he needed. He handed her the bottle and moved toward the back by pulling open a heavy metal door that contained his molding chamber.

"Let me see that helmet of yours."

[ghostling]

Ghost watched as he worked on getting her some water. It was kind of interesting to see. Once the water was in hand she took a sip and gave a thoughtful hum.

The water was set aside as she worked on getting her helmet out of her bag. The physical damage was fairly minimal, one good sized crack to it and a couple of the latches completely busted. However the crack traveled along the visor making it impossible to see out of and many of the electronic component had been fried by her own abilities flaring out of control.

"Here," she handed it over with a sigh. "I don' think anything in it still works. Between the crack and m'powers doin' a number on it..."

Billy, Taicea and Lee

[vaudevil]

[oncearanger]

Billy arrived at the workshop that day in renewed spirits, ready to take on a challenge. It might have taken his almost-death to force him to appreciate life again, even in the strange form that life in Exsilium took, but he definitely wasn't going to waste it now.

He knocked quickly, then bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited. The trip here had been a good jog, but now he was ready to cool down and get to work.

"Mr. Chaolan? It's Billy," he said softly.

[vaudevil]

Lee wiped his hands with an old but still useable work towel and stepped toward the door. Sliding open the door, he greeted Billy with a smile. It was nice to finally meet the brilliant young man face to face.

"Welcome! Watch your step. I'm still organizing." Lee's tone was exuberant despite his age.

Along the floor were labeled parts, some with colored tags, others were placed in bins off to the side. Everything was scavenged. Since being in Exsilium, he was challenged and pushed. Having someone of a like mind to help would make it so much better to work.

[nonedible]

Taicea had actually meant to be a little early but she got a little distracted and then lost along the way. So instead she ended up a little late.

She slid the door of Lee's lab open and peeked inside. "Sorry I am late!"

[oncearanger]

Billy was more than used to messy interiors. The lab reminded him of his own garage lab at home. The one he'd been neglecting ever since he'd decided to spend half his life in the Power Chamber, he thought with a guilty twinge. But all of that was in the past now. There was the present to consider.

"All right, so let's get to work on this cannon," Billy said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. He looked around for a moment, then turned to the door as a woman appeared. Huh.

He waved to her awkwardly, then looked to Lee for an explanation. He hadn't mentioned a bigger team effort---not that Billy minded, but he was curious.

[vaudevil]

"Billy, this is Taicea. Taicea, meet Billy. Taicea is wanting to learn as much as she can and she's rather curious. She'll be helping us with an extra pair of hands such as fetching tools and bringing us things when our hands are full." Lee then turned toward his condensation collector that had fresh water in the jar above the coils.

The workshop was split in three parts. One is where they are now with parts and tools, the second was the smelting chamber for mold work with the third acting as the power room that had his generator that worked by using water and wind power along with some collection tanks for various gases on the far side away from the generator. Very little was wasted here.

"It will only be the three of us working." Lee reaffirmed.

He moved toward the cannon and pushed open the door that lead outside for ventilation. "This is Big Bertha. So far, I had tested her using the gasses that naturally occur in the ground such as methane and propane. While they work, the problem is the mixture hasn't generated enough power to get past two thousand feet before dissipation."

Cameras and sensors added his research but he needed something stronger. Much stronger.