futurology | [Video; UN: lessaofpern]

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[Video; UN: lessaofpern] | Rallying the wings

[Lessa has set her jaw as she looks into the projection of the network, grey eyes sparkling with unaffected warmth as she considers this strangely intuitive communication system. How like speaking to dragons it feels, and how strange.]

Good morning. I hope all of that merry-making last night didn't leave any of you completely indisposed, as I believe that we have a lot of work to tackle in the coming days.

I am Lessa of Pern. I am the senior Weyrwoman of Benden Weyr, Ruathan by blood, and rider to Golden Ramoth. Though it means little to those not from Pern, I can assure you that I have earned every last of those titles, and though I acknowledge that this team is a company of equals, I think we can all admit that if we want to find ourselves home sooner, we could stand to delegate and specialize to our strengths... not all of us want to retire to sandy beaches we know will decay into abandon!

I'd like to speak with those of you who are versed in ALASTAIR's values and practices, and those of you who have spoken with the Nalawi at length and have learned anything more than what we have been given prior to our arrival. Locations, traditions, values, any records that can be used to track the progress of this island's troubles... it could all be valuable.

[She affects to toss a lock of fine black hair from her face, thinking herself particularly clever for re-enacting the kind of proud-chested talk that her weyrmate has employed in the past.]

Please join me for a mug and a plate in the lower room of the inn. I'm looking forward to meeting you in person so that we can consider our options going forward together.

[Before she shuts her communication down, the proud, slight smile brightens suddenly with a kind of abandoned amusement, like she's come out of a spotlight on a stage... and that's because she has. Lessa has never been in a position where she could stand up and take singular charge before, and the thought that she might be able to now is a heady feeling. Watch her sit rigidly in the tavern of the Inn from the time the broadcast is over until the moment someone approaches; she's going to be on the edge of her seat expecting the outpouring of earnest team-members coming forward to hand her clues to go gallivanting off on.]

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That's a lot of ground to cover. [Her voice is light but the glint in her eyes is serious.] Is there any one place you'd like to start?

[Lessa taps the table in front of her.]

I want to start with getting to know who else here is willing to ask difficult questions and jump to hard work when the opportunity arises, because dancing and drinking and passing out will only get you so far.

[So maybe being dropped into the middle of a wild party after being briefed on a grave mission from a bored operative is grating on the Weyrwoman, but she's trying not to snap. In fact, she musters up the nerve to smile in as authentic a fashion as she can.]

Like I said, you can meet me at the central gathering room in the inn; the keeper is supplying a hearty breakfast and I've asked him to pull some tables together. I'd like to do this face to face.

They'll get you farther in life than will getting stepped out by mythical creatures dropping like weights from the sky.

[If there's a sharp edge to her voice, it's because she's been on edge for the past few months or so. After Anwick, after Chantes, after the atrocity of Oska-that-wasn't-really-Oska, Riza's more than ready for a bit of harmless singing and dancing.

But.

This woman has a point, and one she would be unwise to dismiss so early. So:]

I'll be there in ten minutes.

[And true to her word, she arrives some minutes later, ducking through the too-short door in a simple shirt and skirt, all the deerfolk could provide for the tropical weather of Nalawi. It doesn't take too long to spot and navigate to the appropriate table, though she doesn't immediately sit down.]

Lessa of Pern?

[Lessa is sitting right where she'd said she'd be, fitting in almost perfectly with the wee deer furniture. Rather than seeming some giantess, she merely feels tall: just a little bigger than life, which suits her fine. Dressed down to the basic ALASTAIR blacks, but looking somehow professional for all that with her severely braided dark hair, she can be found sipping from a tiny mug when Riza approaches her.

Lessa rises to her feet and offers an odd, slight bow.]

Please, call me Lessa. I believe you have me at a disadvantage, 'Hawkeye'?

[She gestures to a seat across from her, as the ground to Lessa's side is covered in rushes, which in turn are being laid upon by a gold dragon. Riza only gets the briefest look before Ramoth drops her head again, but Lessa seems intently focused.]

What was this about being stepped on?

[Lessa's bow is met with a slight dip of Riza's chin, enough to be respectful.]

Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye.

[Her own title's clipped on at the beginning to match Lessa's own, old habits slowly springing back to life after months of disuse. (A business ALASTAIR might be, but most of its recruits are surprisingly lax about such simple things as titles and ranks.) Introductions finished, Riza takes her seat across from Lessa, gaze drifting towards the reptile at her side. The last time she'd seen dragons had been at Anwick, many months ago. Their continued existence is still something of a surprise to her, along with most other creatures of a mythological nature.

But, to business. Her hands rest in her lap, her spine held straight.]

The conclusion of our previous mission in Chantes brought with it numerous creatures called chimera, summoned by a magic-wielder bent on exacting revenge. They were all the size of large buildings, several stories high, with three heads and a tail.

[She pauses, letting the image solidify itself.]

We defeated them all, but not without casualties.

[Lessa sits with Riza, hands folding at the edge of the table as she listens. To her credit, her brows rise only slightly, but cordiality and an attempt at familiarity are put on hold for now. This is the sort of danger she's to expect?]

An ignoble end after such promises as we were given... somehow I had not expected active hostility, though I should have, in retrospect. I'm sorry for your losses.

Was your initial arrival in Chantes received with the same kind of lax good humour as I've seen so far, here?

[It is what it is, and after too many years of watching bodies fall lifeless to the ground, Riza has no time to spare on soft sentiments and regrets. She's quick to move on, answering Lessa's questions in the order that they come.]

Our arrival in Chantes was met with more suspicion than our arrival here, though I believe that was in part due to the already high tensions running through the city and the constant state of darkness.

[—Ah, right.]

We were unaware of it at the time, but magic had been cast to conceal the sun and blanket the city in endless, so to speak.

[Lessa shakes her head slowly, considering.]

If the organization I see here was in effect under those circumstances, I can understand your hesitance. But magic comes up now and again in my conversations with others. Is that what you suspect these Nalawaians gifts are considered, or how Nalanni did her work?

I was given to think that the upset in the land had something to do with an absence or an arrival, such as this Nalanni figure leaving or being held at bay by some other force... but if it's a matter of her refusing or failing to produce magic, we will need to consider a wider range of tactics to root her out.

[At the mention of magic, Riza offers half a smile.]

We don't have such a thing where I come from, so unfortunately my own knowledge on the subject is limited. [There's quite a number of subjects in which her knowledge is lacking, much to her dismay.] But from what I understand of it, that appears to be the case here

[Although, now that she thinks about it, her mind starts to wander down other paths. Magic she might know little about but in the sciences she has a greater base, after so many years of exposure to those fascinated by its many facets.]

It's also possible that their bodies react in same way to volcanic activity, allowing them to perform the feats they're capable of, in which case the source would be rooted more in biology than in magic.

[Unlikely, but it's a possibility all the same. Regardless, Lessa's original point still stands.]

Do you believe in the presence of deities then?

I'd never heard of one before arriving here, [Lessa admits, though she's stashing that note of biology for the very short-term.] With everything else I've had to open my mind to, though, I can't dismiss the possibility. Our Innkeeper speaks of Nalanni fondly but says he's never seen her--and I don't mean because he can't see past the end of one of his game boards. The others I've spoken to have the same idea, so whether we can disprove her presence or not is going to take more sleuthing, perhaps in the lava tunnels, or up on the volcano peaks.

Tell me more about this idea of biology. Do you mean an instinctive call of some kind?

[She leans back as she frowns.] How does our team even begin to test for that? We've not been given any specific tools, are we expected to build them up from scratch?

[They're all a bit out of their element here, one way or another. Riza's of no mind to place her faith in any deity as a powerful and real being, but she can hardly discredit the idea either. Safter, then, to remain on a subject she at least has some faith in.]

In a way. I admit I'm no doctor, but my father put quite a bit of time into researching reactions of a similar kind. The cells and components within our bodies react to other components in various ways. It's possible that the presence - and now lack of - volcanic activity was triggering reactions inside of the natives here.

[....She's not a very good teacher, when all's said and done. (Had her poor explanation of alchemy to Melan been proof of that?) That said:]

If you're interested in the sciences and human biology in particular, you might want to speak with Sieglinde Sullivan. She knows far more on the matter than I ever will.

Sullivan, [Lessa repeats. She looks pleased.] I'll keep my ears open for her.

Riza, if I find others who are interested in testing this hypothesis, should I send them to you? What kind of a team would you need to carry out some tests?

[There's a moment of blank surprise when Lessa shifts focus to her, marked by the sudden stillness of her frame and the widening of her eyes. As much as she'd love to help...]

I'm afraid the sciences were more my father's forte than mine. I don't know that I have the knowledge required to carry out the necessary tests.

[But she manages her best smile all the same, unwilling to let this path of investigation drop so soon.]

But I have been around long enough to have met most of the recruits. If you find people who are interested, I can at least reach out to others and set up a meeting.

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[Video; UN: lessaofpern] | Rallying the wings

video; un: hawkeye

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