domo arigato, mr. roboto

[thorny]

Date & Time: Oct. 17-19
Location: Beijing, China IN THE PASTFUTURE IDK TIME TRAVEL
Characters: Rose Lalonde (thorny), Oz Vessalius (velveteened)
Summary: Rose and Oz attempt to find a useful mission to embark on and wind up roped into GRAND THEFT ROOMBA instead.
Warnings: Future roombas. They've got Furby eyes, man.

[it hadn't taken much convincing to get Rose to agree to taking on a mission - as much as she didn't care for the Initiative, it was a way to get off this godforsaken moon base and maybe collect a little information of her own. a win-win situation for everyone, right?

what she hadn't counted on was the depths of stupidity that the remaining Initiative members could reach. requesting a 'useful mission' from the man working the transporter had somehow translated into 'THIS MOON BASE NEEDS FUTURE ROOMBAS' by the time it pierced his thick skull and hit what little brain matter left; the worst part of the whole mess was that he'd only thought to mention this after they'd both clambered onto the transporter, leaving no time for anything but an undignified squawk from Rose before they were whisked away into the future.

she can feel the scowl etching itself across her face as she takes stock of their current location. this was going to cause a migraine, no doubt about it]

I can't believe they seriously consider this a legitimate mission.

Comments

[thorny]

[hhhhh. you know what, Oz, she's not going to even bother correcting you. instead she will follow alongside him, moving with practiced ease as if she were meant to be exactly where she was thank you very much.

once the crowd thins a little she'll pull her laptop out of her sylladex and see what she can do about a map]

Assuming that everything goes smoothly, of course.

[velveteened]

( other things he's not going to question further include how she just did that, and also what a laptop is in the first place. or rather, since that's not a term he has any familiarity with, what the rectangular device in her hands is.

rose has the best possible partner for this mission, clearly. )

Ah, that's always the caveat.

[thorny]

Some things never change.

[if she knew about that then Rose would have a brief flicker of doubt at her usual stance of GO WITH ANYONE WHO WANTS TO DO DANGEROUS SHIT REGARDLESS OF BACKGROUND

as it is, she begins fiddling with her laptop in search of an online map of some sort]

But I think we may get a break for once, as it's a simple map that tourists would need to access on a regular basis.

[velveteened]

Good point.

( glancing around the city is enough to give him an idea of how many tourists it likely sees, both from its size and splendor and the sheer number of overpriced knickknacks visible on sale in the storefronts and stalls. some things really do never change.

they can always ask as well, language facilitated by some initiative technology or other, but no need to draw attention to themselves as interested prematurely. )

Have you found something?

[thorny]

I believe so. Have a look.

[she moves to the side of the street a bit to keep out of other pedestrians way and balances the laptop on an open palm, using the other to point out the pertinent areas of the map she's pulled off the Beijing government website]

They've labeled most of the buildings, so it's really a matter of getting our current bearings and heading out.

[velveteened]

( he moves with her, peering over her shoulder at the map in question. )

That's convenient.

( technology, man. he looks from the screen to the buildings around them, looking for some sort of obvious landmark. )

I think we're...

( trailed off as he glances back with a slight frown. so many buildings that look alike, geez! but then he thinks of something else, checking for street names. )

[thorny]

The character-based language barrier dulls the convenience a bit, yes.

[she follows his lead though, looking for street signs with characters she can actually remember long enough to match to the ones on the map. her finger taps at the screen, moving every now and then as she attempts to readjust for more accuracy]

[velveteened]

Ahahah, it's better than nothing.

( though it's...not exactly easy. he finds himself double-taking every time she readjusts — technology, man — but doesn't complain. )

...here?

( he gestures at a string of characters on the screen and then a nearby sign. )

[thorny]

[Rose looks at the aforementioned sign, and for a brief moment her face screws up into a baffled expression that belies her age. then she shrugs lightly, plastering calmness over it once more]

Close enough. If we find ourselves straying we can always check the map again.

[velveteened]

( he almost laughs at the expression but checks himself, though he can't quite help the (not unkind) smile. )

Exactly! No one in an adventure ever knew exactly where they were going all the time.

( HOW REASSURING. in any case, he looks back at the map, reaching out to trace a line of one of the roads.

and possibly accidentally zooming in oops. )

[thorny]

[and then Oz was me using a smartphone

Rose lets what she's sure is his condescending (in her mind) laughter at her pass since the sudden view of an incredibly pixelated bit of Beijing is far more amusing. she smiles a little herself and nods, making the executive decision that for the time being that there has been enough technology poking and prodding and gently closing it down for the moment]

Then let us begin the critical portion of our journey which involves only a vague understanding of our path. Hopefully there won't be too many dragons waiting to block our progress.

[velveteened]

( touchscreens are really hard okay.

it's maybe with a bit of relief that he watches her shut down the laptop for the time being. it's with some wryness he answers, remembering most of his encounters with dragons (not especially pleasant) — )

I hope so too.

( he's energized, though, starting off in the direction to their intended destination. let grand theft roomba begin. )

[thorny]

[and off they go! thankfully their ability to recognize characters isn't as shit as they'd thought, and after a modest amount of travel time the roomba factory looms up at them from across the street. Rose pauses to stare at it, shading her eyes slightly against the sun to get a better look at the upper levels]

I believe this is the prime moment to begin sorting through our strategy ideas.

[velveteened]

You're right.

( he echoes her gesture, aiming to see what he can of it. there aren't any especially visible security measures that jump out at him right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything. )

Do you think there'd be more information about it on the internet?

[thorny]

Not anywhere we could access or understand, I think. Factories aren't exactly hot tourist destinations.

[she sighs a little]

But then, neither are ones which produce automated cleaning supplies particularly large targets for thieves. We may not actually have much in the way of security to navigate.

[velveteened]

( WAIT

A

SECOND )

...automated cleaning supplies?

[thorny]

Yes. Did I fail to mention their use?

[of course she did and of course it was kind of obvious that Oz didn't know what they were. Rose's smirk is good-natured, yes, but it's still teasing]

[velveteened]

( he — you know what, he laughs it off. no wonder she was so irritated by the mission. )

A little! I guess keeping the base clean is as important as everything else.

[thorny]

Yes, I can just see the board meeting which resulted in base hygiene tying with military expenditures for the most budget funding allocated.

[aka THIS WOULDN'T SURPRISE ME THE PEOPLE IN THE INITIATIVE ARE BASICALLY AS INTELLIGENT AS BRICKS]

If that's the case then I suppose we ought to do our best to acquire as many as possible. It shouldn't be too difficult so long as we can get in relatively smoothly - I have quite a few cards left in my sylladex.

[velveteened]

Your sylladex?

( what is that WHERE DO CARDS COME INTO IT.... )

[thorny]

It's how I store things. Quite convenient for hauling around bulky objects such as our target as well as grocery shopping.

[you know what she's just going to leave it vague and magicky because she doesn't think she can explain it well enough here]

[velveteened]

( vague and magicky works, and he nods. HAMMERSPACE, HE CAN GET THAT. )

So transporting them shouldn't be hard. That's good to hear.

[thorny]

Well, I imagine that there was some reason beyond a cruel sense of humor that I was chosen for this mission.

[...probably]

The only remaining obstacle, then, is settling on a method to get ourselves inside. I suppose it's a toss-up between stealth and brazen bluffing.

[velveteened]

Don't worry, don't worry! I can handle that.

( by a bit of both, honestly. helps that they're both young and fairly innocuous-looking, to allay suspicions. )

[thorny]

I sincerely hope so. Should anything go wrong, it will be you who suddenly develops an acute case of appendicitis.

[aah, if only they both weren't so blonde this really would be the perfect crime]

[velveteened]

( the blonde hair is to lull people into a false sense of security...! in any case, he only laughs at that, and without further ado moves to approach the building.

there's no immediate need to worry about skulking around, not in broad daylight; it may be amusing and dramatic, but acting as though they belong is what's going to serve them well at this moment. )

[thorny]

[thankfully acting like she knows exactly what she's doing at all times is one of Rose's specialties. she strides forward with practiced ease, not even hesitating as she reaches the door and holds it open for her cohort.

does she really have a background story prepared for if they're questioned? not particularly. but she'll work it out when the time comes.]

[velveteened]

( he nods in thanks as he strolls straight in, hit immediately with a blast of air conditioning. ah, cities.

there's a front desk with a secretary at it, who looks up at the two visitors who've just let themselves in. she doesn't question them just yet, only offers a greeting that gets automatically translated for them by some initiative technology, but keeps her eyes on them. )

[thorny]

[Rose smiles pleasantly and inclines her head in the secretary's direction, returning the greeting with very little unease. with no pause she moves past the desk, not quite ready to attempt to make her way towards anything that visitors shouldn't be touching yet - they still need to size up the inside of this place]

[velveteened]

( oz keeps pace with her, nodding in the direction of the elevators — there's a convenient color-coded mini-map on the wall between them, presumably to help new visitors and employees know where they're going. )