P:AE Group 2, Team Z83

Coral sighs as she gets out of the craft, taking off her flight suit and putting it back where it belongs. "Well, I feel ready for a good swim, if nothing else. What about you, Lakaida? You wanted to see me in action, didn't you?"

Pool?:

Flairvoyant was glad that the return trip was much smoother than the departure.  Upon hearing Coral Wrench's comment, "Well, I might as well join you two.  I don't have much planned at the moment so a dip in the pool should be fun."

You're getting the hang of getting around the ship... you'll need to take the lift to another level (Q to be exact) to find a pool, since there are not very many on the ship, and probably are only there to begin with ponies like Coral in mind.  

There's a chime and a message plays over the general intercom.  

"Attention, crew and passengers!  A short announcement.  We are making good progress in surveying Planet, and will begin sending landing parties within the day.  If all continues to go well, we should be sending down the first colonies in a day or two.  That is all."  

The chime repeats, signalling the end of the transmission.  


As you prepare to board the lift, a small blur whizzes from nowhere and stops to wait at the lift with you.  

"Hello!"  the small turquoise pegasus filly says cheerfully as she stops hovering and lands in front of you.  She doesn't wait for a reply and shifts her attention completely to the wall, and is energetically pressing the lift buttons (both the up and the down, to your dismay), as though expecting that will make one come sooner.  

You can see an out-of-breath blue unicorn with a dark green mane running from down the hall.  

"We really don't have time for this... Get back here you..ng lady!"  the exasperated stallion exclaims,

A lift arrives (you're not sure which way it's going, thanks to the filly calling the lift from both directions), and she sticks her tongue out at her pursuer and makes to dash into the lift.  

(I would like Lakaida, and only Lakaida, to make a perception check about something not necessarily related to the above post)

((Sorry I haven't posted.))

Appearance: Natural

Copper Rose wrote:Coral sighs as she gets out of the craft, taking off her flight suit and putting it back where it belongs. "Well, I feel ready for a good swim, if nothing else. What about you, Lakaida? You wanted to see me in action, didn't you?"

Pool?:

Lakaida had been lost in thought for some time, and suddenly snapped to attention now. "Huh? Oh! That would be wonderful! I wonder where a pool might be..."

As the young filly darted in, Lakaida simply moved out of the way.

Meta:

On the way to the lift, practically right after the announcement, Lakaida is stunned momentarily by a sudden influx of perceptory information. Everything is blurry for a moment: worse than seeing double, it's as though she's seeing dozens of copies of the corridor overlayed against each other at different angles. Not just the corridor: she almost thinks she makes out other places too, that look like they're on the ship but Lakaida doesn't think she's been there herself.

Her sight is not the only sense to go haywire: all of her senses are overstimulated in that moment, the other noticeable one being the sound. There's a persistent droning hum, which lasts even as her vision clears. It sounds like it's sure going to leave one heck of a headache if it keeps up....

Oddly enough, this sensation seems almost familiar: but you can't place why. As though it had been from a dream, or your distant past. You can't remember if you dreamed during stasis, you mostly just remember waking up a lot and feeling awful.

Coral puts a hoof on Lakaida. "Hey, you okay? You don't look so good."

Appearance: Natural

"Nnghh... Too much!" The changeling sat down and clutched her head between her hooves. "Rrrruuby..."

The now awake A.I. hovered in close, and a scan light swept across Lakaida' body, as Ruby began to diagnose the problem.

Lakaida could feel her vision begin to clear. But not much. "What... Was that?"

Healing:

"I am... not sure." Ruby sounds concerned.  "I am not detecting anything physically wrong with you.  Perhaps it would help if you explained what happened from your perspective?  It may be advisable to see Doctor Salve about this."

You seem to be seeing clearly again, and the awful humming has tuned down- but is still there, as background noise in your mind. It doesn't seem to be interfering with your actual ability to hear.

Concerned, Coral pushes a button to take the lift to the sick bay level instead of the pool level. "Swimming can wait, you need to get checked out."

Appearance: Natural

Lakaida recomposed herself. "Yes... Yes, I think you're probably right. Ruby, can you show the way? And let Doctor Salve know we're coming. Better yet, see if you can set us up for a call."

"Of course."

Tech:

Outside the lifts, Deck Z

The lift doors close just before the exasperated filly's parent (or guardian) reaches it.  He glares at you for letting the child run off, before giving Lakaida an odd look. "Are you okay, miss?" he asks.  To Lakaida's ears his words echo disconcertingly.  

Ruby manages to patch in a call to Dr. Salve.  "Oh my- are you feeling okay?  
I'll make an appointment for you right away."

Deck R Archives

The computer terminal is probably your best bet to get in touch with somepony quickly.  You send a message to the appropriate crew departments, and receive an automated response saying that your note will be responded to promptly.  

And indeed, you recieve a reply very shortly: in fact, a small video feed pops up on the screen with the face of a light blue pegasus mare with a yellow mane: Commander Lightning Strike, head of ship and colonial security.  She looks very serious and alert.

"Got your message:  What have you found?"

The video box shrinks and moves to the side, as another video call opens up- a darker blue unicorn stallion with messy purple mane appearing- you had actually spotted him briefly on your way here.  Professor Spellbind, former head of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns and currently Chief Magic officer.

"Lightning, what have I said about answering messages sent to other departments?"

"'s a matter of ship security."

"It is a matter for the Magical Research department"

Spellbind, who had been looking slightly to the side, presumably at Commander Strike's image on his own screen, turns to face directly at you (well, into the camera on his end in any case)

"Sorry about that, what exactly have you discovered?"

"I'll help you with that too. I'm sure Lakaida can handle herself with the doctor, but a foal on the loose? That could take the entire ship!" Coral hits the button to open the lift doors where the filly escaped, intending to follow in whichever direction she saw her go.

"It might be best for one of us to stick with Lakaida. Pretty sure I can find the foal with ease." Flairvoyant then turned her attention to the stallion. "To do this, I will need her complete birth name. A simple detection spell but it needs something to focus on."

Appearance: Unwell

Lakaida sat down on the floor as the stranger spoke to her. Apparently it wasn't done yet. She thought she heard a suggestion that someone stay with her and help her to the doctors...

"Y-yes please," was about what she could manage...

Ruby, being a robot, was a little clearer headed. "Miss Tattersoul is never alone if I can help it. But I cannot adequately assist her in reaching Doctor Salve's office. I believe if Miss Wrench would help...?"

"Oh, I didn't realize it was that bad. Sorry. Anyway, you can lean on my on the way there, though you probably know your way there better than I do. If you're light and really can't walk, I can probably carry you with my telekinesis, but I'd rather not do that if I don't have to." Coral moves to help Lakaida to her hooves so she can get moving and be at the doctor's office sooner.

Lakaida, Ruby, and Coral leave to find Dr. Salve. Lakaida can walk, though is still a bit dizzy from the experience, and concerned about having another episode.

The green unicorn responds to Flairvoyant. "That would be greatly appreciated! She's always wandering off: bad enough now, I can hardly imagine what she'll get up to once we land." He didn't seem to be looking forward to dealing with that.

He seems to pause in thought before responding with her name. "Ardor, just Ardor."

Dr. Salves Office

The doctor sees you in right away, as you are the only ones in her sickbay at the moment. She motions for you to lay Lakaida down on an examination table.

She starts doing some preliminary scans as she speaks, concerned enough to drop any attempt at rhyming.
"Could you please explain what happened? There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, but perhaps the symptoms will help me locate the cause."

Deck R Archives
Spellbind seems excited at the prospect that the anomalies were caused by an intelligent being.
"Fascinating! Could this finally be evidence of extra-terrestrial life? Perhaps an energy-based lifeform?" He seems to be getting ahead of himself, with the limited information you've gathered.

"Don't care if it's a pony or a magic cloud." Commander Strike says, scowling. "Seems we've found whatever's been messing with the computers."

"Now now, Mr. Gearick here has only found evidence of files being accessed, not messed with."

"Doesn't matter. The culprit's methods are alarming, and point out some serious flaws in our computer security. I'll send a security team to room R89, but I suspect that's a false lead."

Spellbind's eyes move about, clearly looking elsewhere while you're talking, doing some research of his own.
"Interesting, this doesn't seem to be the only case where computer use and anomalies coincide. There was an anomaly on takeoff and arrival in the cargo deck of the very floor you're on now."

"Not sure what that tells us, though." he admits

"Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to look into this some more."

Lightning strike nods curtly as well. "Keep us informed of further developments. I need to check some things out myself."

The two wait a few moments to listen to any reply by Gearick before signing off.

Flairvoyant stretches a bit to limber up. She then started to wave her horn in the air.  "Across the worlds and within my mind, there is something I must find.  Where is the filly named Ardor?"

OOC:

Appearance: Unwell

Curunir wrote:Dr. Salves OfficeThe doctor sees you in right away, as you are the only ones in her sickbay at the moment.  She motions for you to lay Lakaida down on an examination table.  

She starts doing some preliminary scans as she speaks, concerned enough to drop any attempt at rhyming.
"Could you please explain what happened?  There doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you, but perhaps the symptoms will help me locate the cause."

Lakaida managed to crawl up onto the table, assisted by wing power and Ruby's telekinesis. She was beginning to feel a little more coherent now, but not much. "No rhymes, doctor?"

"Of course. We had returned from a short-notice air mission to survey Planet's surface. We stopped at an elevator, and Miss Tattersoul began complaining about a noise. Nobody else could perceive it; my own scans revealed nothing wrong except a forming migraine, presumably from the sound she heard. Considering her recent history, we deemed it best to bring her here."

Flairvoyant senses that the filly is up a couple decks- she's in motion, so it appears she's gotten off the lift at least, though she doesn't seem to be going anywhere in particular, rather running around aimlessly.  

(I would let you use the power a second time to get a clear trajectory in this case, if you wanted)


-----


"There's not much point to rhyming, dear,
if it makes one speak less clear!"  

Salve gave a brief reassuring smile to Lakaida before returning to concentrating on what Ruby was saying, and her readings.  

"I'd normally say the flight's to blame,
but were it so, the symptoms wouldn't be the same."  

She motions for silence for a few moments, as she waves a scanner over Lakaida's head.

"There's definitely something that she can hear,
though it does not seem to be through her ear!"  

"You do seem to be receiving various perceptory inputs as far as I can tell.  
Though not through normal senses, nor in the manner of hallucinations.
Your brain seems to be handling the situation well-
you already seem to be mostly tuning out the extra information."  

Salve shakes her head, and ceases rhyming again to explain herself more clearly.  

"Like I said, nothing's wrong per se.  It would appear this is actually a normal function of your brain.  I'm afraid there's just so much we still don't know about Changeling physiology- thus why we were taken off guard by your and others' reactions to the stasis... and were terribly unprepared.  We barely had enough supplies to treat you all.  If I had to guess what was happening, you and the other changelings aboard may have developed a slight psychic connection while being on the ship together for 40-odd years, though I wouldn't have thought we have a high enough changeling population to warrant that."  


-----


"Well, while you're down there, if you could do some scans on the cargo deck and see if anything's up there that would save me some trouble!"

"Don't take too long: I've got a feeling I'm going to need to ask everypony back to their quarters to confirm or deny some suspicions I have."

"Forgive me for not knowing much about changelings, but does this mean one of them is going to become a changeling queen or something?" Coral says, eyeing Lakaida.