EQUIPMENT ORIENTATION ♔ monday evening

[badexample]

WHO || Andrew Gatewood and any/all Knights who haven't attended an equipment orientation yet
WHAT || Equipment Briefing
WHERE || Knights Headquarters, the Dragon's Hoard Laboratory
WHEN || Monday, October 7th, 7:00pm
HOW || actionspam

Andrew fidgets while he waits for the squires to show. He's waiting inside the lab, behind its "Biohazard" labelled doors. Once people begin to show up, he offers a stammering greeting and does his best to seem like he knows what he's doing. The sad part is, he DOES know what he's doing... He's just bad with people. People are free to look around at the grand library while he waits for the proper head count. Once he thinks everyone has arrived, he takes them up the steps. A great deal of models are suspended from the ceiling that look like space age designs for jet planes, cars, boats, and any number of other things. There are other objects that are much more inexplicable: a giant silver ball, suspended by several rods, for example.

There's another set of doors at the end of the balcony, and he swipes his access card through a reader beside them. They depress with a space age hiss. revealing a clean white laboratory, with rows and rows of tables and lab equipment set up. Numerous knights buzz around in white lab coats, working under microscopes and on computers, conferring over a number of projects.

"Just a bit further." He says with an awkward smile as he waves to a few of the lab techs that he knows. There's a door on the left side of the room with a panel that he presses his hand to, causing the light to change from red to green, unlocking the door for the group.

Beyond is a very long room, with rows of labelled cases and cabinets with transparent glass revealing what's inside. Andrew moves to shift from one foot to the other on the other side of the stainless steel table.

Comments

[bittersweeter]

Fine. [She shoves her phone at him.]. Fix this. You can orient people on how to rescue my text messages from it.

[But wait, is that even a phone? Or is it a mangled blob of crushed plastic and glass? MAYBE IT IS BOTH. Maybe Lila dropped it and drove over it and then put it in the microwave and then flushed it down the toilet. It's actually just the first two, but it looks like it could be a combination of all of them. And maybe that she shot it...]

[badexample]

[He cradles the poor mangled former phone in both hands, looking down in shock and horror.]

What did you-?! [He can't even finish that sentence. THIS IS NOT HOW WE TREAT THE NICE THINGS WE ARE GIVEN.]

[bittersweeter]

I told you it was an emergency. [Duh!]

[badexample]

[More blank staring]

...Yeah. Yeah, okay.

[Because he is a pushover, but oh my god this is going to be so freaking difficult.

...Or maybe not when he gets a 38 total repair check. Still, while he plays phone surgeon, he glances over at her.]

So... you know Zero?

[bittersweeter]

Uh-huh, I'm calling him Zero, aren't I? [You know, instead of Sir Hughes.] I even know why it's his nickname. [Ooooh. She tones the attitude down a bit now that she is a little confident he is going to save her text messages. She would be sad if they were lost forever into the ether.] You're part of the geek squad, I take it?

[badexample]

What? [He glances up because he sort of gets absorbed in his work.] Oh... yeah, I mean. I'm in the Hoard, if that's what you mean?

[bittersweeter]

[She rolls her eyes a little, but it's kind of adorable.] Yeah, that's what I meant.

[badexample]

Learned a lot from Zero, actually. He was my mentor back when I was a squire.

[Somehow, it is easier to talk to strangers when you are staring at a broken phone.]

[bittersweeter]

That's cute. He'd probably have killed me by now if I was his squire. [S she is probably lucky that Eric is stuck with her. She fiddles with one of the magic watches as he works -- don't worry, she isn't going to laser anyone,

She just likes watches.] How long have you been a knight, then?

[badexample]

[Watches, huh?]

About three years. Give or take.

[bittersweeter]

[Yeah, she likes watches. X-( ]

That's darling. [She isn't mocking, really, she's just not paying attention.] So who was reading James Bond when they invented these? Or was Ian Fleming a knight?

[badexample]

I could tell you, but I'd have to kill you.

[That joke should have been delivered all suave, but Andrew just cannot pull that off.]

[bittersweeter]

[He is the definition of adoramonster. And she thought Aurelius was a hot mess.]

Yes, I can see that, I can totally see that happening.

[badexample]

[He knows he's not even slightly convincing. You don't have to rub it in, Lila. Still, he's on a high from this whole thing going pretty well so far.]

Have you tried many of 'em out? The gadgets?

[bittersweeter]

No, I prefer to just shoot people.

[badexample]

[He just... freezes, mid tinker.]

[bittersweeter]

[Giiiiiiiiiiiiiggle.]

We all have our skill sets.

[badexample]

...Suppose that's true. [And he turns back towards the phone.]

Helping you get these texts back doesn't make me an accomplice to something illegal, does it?

...Does it??

[bittersweeter]

No. [Bluff nat 20, 40 total. Yeah, it probably does. Like very probably.] Don't you think they would notice if one of their squires was running around as the ring leader of the gang of teenagers that steal from rich people's houses? Please.

[badexample]

[Yeah his sense motive of 16 is getting him nowhere.]

Well... good. [And he steps away to go grab a spare phone. Because sure, they are also in this room. Why not? Now it's time perform the transplant...]

You can't just do this again- you know that right? If I can save it, it'll be a fluke. [Naw he's just that good okay. But also modest as hell.]

[bittersweeter]

I didn't mean to! If I did it on purpose do you think I'd be freaking out about my texts? [She makes the most suspicious expression.] You're not going to read them are you? You're not going to clone the new one and just stalk my messages, right?

[badexample]

What? No! [God he is appalled at the accusation.]

I'm just trying to help!

[bittersweeter]

Good. Because it's personal and shit.

[badexample]

[He gives her another wary look before completing his transplant and fitting the back plate back on the phone. He holds down the power button to boot it up and holds it out for her.]

There. Just... tell me if anything's missing.

[bittersweeter]

[She flicks through the screens in that terrifyingly fast manner teenagers have, eyes flitting across the screen as she speed reads her texts -- many of which are benign, fret not, Andrew, she really isn't going to recreate the Bling Ring.]

You lost my high score on fruit ninja.

[Because she can't just say thank you.]