A Diving Expedition

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, Jonathan Sims and Tony Stark
WHERE: The Flood Plain
WHAT: When one has rebreathers, one does underwater exploration
WHEN: A few days after being freed of Calibration hell
WARNINGS: N/A, will update as necessary


It was decided rather unanimously, and perhaps unsurprising given the time that had been spent in confinement. After being cooped up indoors with little place else to go, the opportunity to finally go elsewhere is a welcome one, and there seems no point in waiting. Besides, Cal can use the distraction. While he's not certain of exactly how many of their number have been sent away, it's difficult to miss at least one presence, strong in the Force as Altair was. Hopefully he would be back where he was meant to be.

Cal's looking forward to the outing, however, eager to be about and exploring with friends. Given the chosen venue, one might never guess from the way he's prepared. He's dressed as he usually is, BD-1 perched on a broken bit of wall, both beside the shallows of the eastern-most inner curve of the large lake that's taken up a good portion of the southwestern corner of the city.

It's a lot of area to cover, and the more he looks at it, the more he wonders just how deep it can be. The couple of times he's gone in probably haven't even covered very much of anything, and with so many places to look, he'd been practical and stuck to where he could make out the remnants of buildings. That seemed to be the most ideal place to find anything, anyway.

Glancing at his droid friend, he tilts his head. "They should be here soon. You ready, BeeDee?" The little droid borbles, wiggling eagerly, making the padawan laugh. "Yeah, it'll be a nice change of pace after all that." He turns, looking out towards the main road again for any signs of Jon and Tony.

Comments

[out_of_order]

Cal politely declines the offered death stick, deciding he'll just quietly suffer through the aftertaste. BD-1 borbles at Jon and then goes hopping off and splashing back into the shallows, presumably to help gather more dead things.

"Something to drink sounds good in general. And maybe grab something to eat when we can." Swimming works up an appetite! Cal nods at Jon. "It's...kind of hard to put into words. But now that I can think about it, it doesn't really bode well for us if whoever left such impressions were in the same position of us."

He glances between both men. "They felt trapped in the situation they were in, having to be of service. But beyond that, I couldn't pick up any who's or what's, exactly." He tries not to be bothered by Tony's stare, turning his focus briefly to bring over his boots and his utility vest. Being able to sense echoes through the Force isn't a common ability even among Jedi, so far as Cere had told him. As it is, he's not sure how people might take it, especially after what they'd gone through in those Calibrations.

"...I haven't yet. But I haven't really tried sensing echoes until recently." There's a brief glance towards Jon as he admits as much. The padawan's been working through a lot since he'd come here, but he's finally gotten over that hesitation he's had in really putting his skills to full use. He may not have a lightsaber, but there are other things he can do.

[beholding_archivist]

"It's my suggestion as a man that just escaped becoming a snack." Jon clarifies towards Tony while handing the lighter to the man after lighting his own cigarette and proceeding to pull a small bottle of water out next to hand that one to Cal first. He hasn't packed any food, though some plain water had seemed reasonable. Though Cal isn't entirely wrong. Actual food may not be a bad idea. At least for Cal and Tony.

Though listening to the description of what Cal has sensed makes Jon frown. Especially when put in direct comparison to their own situation. Trapped. That does indeed seem to be how some of those that were brought here feel about what happened to them. Not that Jon can blame them. In a way, they are trapped. Trapped and more or less forced to do what their kidnappers demand of them.

He dwells on that silently for a bit.

"Do you plan to... Keep records? Of what you find- What you experience from those echoes? Mark down their location, maybe?" It's something he would do, but can't exactly expect of others right of the bat.

[in_extremis]

It hadn't occurred to Tony yet to find this talent of Cal's invasive, considering it more of an archeological tool under the circumstances and how it could be applied to get them answers about this environment, not abused to get into people's heads like the Calibrations. The staring was still unsettlingly cold, but not deliberately, flicking to the way Cal was moving their stuff around on the shore with the same intent calculation. With his cigarette lit, though, he slowly tipped onto his back with relief, stretching his legs out to splash blindly at BD where he could reach the water. It didn't quite cover the aftertaste, and Tony could tell he was going to be dealing with some wretched burps, but it was satisfying after the the cold tension of their brush with watery death.

"If they were trapped," he muttered idly to the sky, "they had a lot more instruction than we did. We don't have shit we're supposed to be working on, it was just, here you go, you're here now, figure it out. Except the ships?" He went still, almost sitting up again, but that wasn't nearly a solid enough connection to give up his position. Was it? "Did kind of look like the ships," he finished, quieter. Giving up his squinting at the sky at least, he rolled his head to look to Cal again and say, "You've put your filthy hands all over those by now, surely."

[out_of_order]

Jon's certainly more prepared than Cal had realized. He smiles gratefully at the Archivist, nodding a thanks as he takes a couple of gulps of water before offering it back.

"I hadn't planned to? But...now that you mention it, maybe that's not such a bad idea," he considers. If anything he picked up could help gain a better understanding to the situation, it probably wouldn't hurt to know where. The Agrii certainly weren't forthcoming in information.

BD-1 makes a squawk-like beep when he finds water being splashed his way, more out of surprise than getting wet. He pauses from his fish gathering to kick a foot in the water back in Tony's direction.

Cal draws the rest of their things closer while he's at it. He gives his toes a test wiggle as he tries to decide whether to pull on his boots yet or not. "The ships? I haven't done much work on them. The only time I was even aboard one was when I helped Teddy load things up for the trip towards the mountains, aside from heading out with Poe to investigate the storm while it was out there."

[beholding_archivist]

Jon accepts the bottle back, but sets it down between the three of them to leave it readily available. As far as he's concerned, keeping records of all their findings is a given. Naturally he will later make a personal recording on tape as well. On their trip - And a separate one on the fish they encountered and the process of making an antidote. But that's for later.

He gets briefly distracted by BD-1's little noise of surprise and watches the droid return Tony's splashing as he takes a drag of his own cigarette and listens to their finding being likened to those grounded ships back at the hangar. Well, it's not wrong?

"Jesus. Don't tell me there's a wreck of a space ship down there." It's a little more than a mutter and Jon looks over to Tony, nodding towards the gauntlet. "You mapped that thing out, right?" If that's what they have been looking at, they might face a whole new set of questions.

[in_extremis]

Tony hadn't expected the droid to retaliate, and sat up on an elbow to watch him with a smile, eyebrows raised with a challenge Tony didn't think the little guy really wanted to take on. He gave another experimental kick BD's way. They were definitely going to have to find out what Cal could 'see' on the ships and compare to what he was getting from their poor salvage operation, but in general it sounded like they should have been following Cal around the city watching him touch things and getting his impression. That might be able to show them more about the people who lived in Temba than their kidnappers ever did. And by 'they' Tony did think it would be Jon and his tape recorder, making him mumble around his cigarette very unhelpfully, "You guys are going to be busy."

Right, only Cal had seen the results of Tony's work. He shifted to stretch his arm out behind Cal, palm up to project the map with a shake of his head to the connection Jon was trying to make. It wasn't a complete render by any means, but Tony could still offer with confidence, "It wasn't all one piece, I wouldn't assume it was a spaceship. I'd put money on it being from the same place, though, so why'd it be down there when the rest are in the hangar, perfectly serviceable? Those were put there."

[out_of_order]

"I don't know if its another ship, but we can't really rule it out. The design is similar to something we've seen before. But if it's not Agrii-originated, then who built it..? And why is it here?"

BD-1 shakes his head off when Tony splashes at him again, perhaps considering whether it was worth the attempt at that challenge. One can practically imagine the little droid squinting at him.

The suggestion that things were going to be busy for him and Jon made Cal give Tony a flat look. It's tempered with a faint smile, and lastly a shrug. He supposes there's no arguing it, even if he were inclined to.

It's while Tony brings up the projected map that BD-1 retaliates, using his rear rocketbooster to hover long enough to use both his legs in a quick spatter of water at the man.

[beholding_archivist]

"...busy." Jon echoes with a frown, which mostly results from him trying to fully figure out that three-dimensional scan. Which isn't exactly the sort of display he's used to. Outside of video games and movies he doesn't necessarily watch, maps on his Earth still happen to be primarily two-dimensional.

Of course thanks to him leaning closer to the map, half of BD's little splash attack hits the Archivist's face much rather than the intended target. Granted, he hasn't really dried up yet, but... It does cut out any commentary he might have had in favor of raising his brows at the little droid. He even opens his mouth to say something, but... Doesn't.

Instead, he leans away a little again and just exhales, settling for the obvious observation. "Right. We obviously need more information." More data to work with. More examples. More... Basically everything. That's encouraging.

[in_extremis]

Their displeasure with Tony was noted and disregarded with a crooked grin, impenetrable, because it wasn't like they could force him to participate in their boring note-taking. He'd be back for the practical exercises, the fun part. It was gone as the droid started hovering, just enough warning for Tony to throw his other hand in front of his face to protect the ember of his much too precious cigarette, a position he couldn't maintain as he had to devote his abs to the coughing laugh of delight caused by Jon taking the brunt of the attack. Of course he did, Tony shouldn't have even been worried.

Tony was still trying to catch his breath, snickering in the grass, as Jon came to the best conclusion they were going to get out of this excursion, and tried to nod sagely, definitely still worried about this, he was participating. "Can you feel your toes yet, sunshine?" he asked Cal, bringing his golden hand up to pull the suit back enough and check what might have been going on with him under there at this point. He had been saved the swelling that plagued the other two, but his skin did look, generously, gangrenous. At least it didn't immediately start itching. "Oh, that's gorgeous," he admired, then sat up on his elbow again to check how it was interacting with the gouges he knew were in his shoulder from being jammed through that anemone's hidey-hole. It wasn't actively bleeding, no one was going to lose a limb today, probably. All around, a success.

[out_of_order]

Cal laughs. He tries very hard not to, but in the end it's a failed attempt, and Jon's expression just makes it all the more funny. BD-1 doesn't look at all remorseful for accidentally catching Jon in the crossfire, only pausing once he settles back in the water, head canting as though to ask the Archivist 'whatchu gonna do about it?'

They need a lot more things, but at least this recent discovery proves that there's probably a lot out there to find. The padawan nods at Jon. "Just add it to the list," he says, smiling ruefully. They have a lot to do, but at least they have things to work with. He fixes a look at his foot, reaching over to give a brief massage down his calf. "A little? I don't think it's spreading any more, anyway," he replies to Tony, wiggling his toes. It feels like his foot's been asleep, which is at least better than feeling like a lead weight. He stretches out his other foot to tug on a boot after brushing it off.

BD-1 comes back out of the water with his latest fish-corpse haul to deposit into Jon's bag. Perhaps it's a peace offering. Cal grins at him, then looks at the two men, smiling crookedly at Tony. "I'm surprised they even managed to get through that. You feeling better?" he asks before also turning a look to Jon, inquiring the same.

[beholding_archivist]

There really isn’t an awful lot Jon could have done to prevent the little droid from splashing around, but Jon still directs a slightly chiding look upon him as he accepts the fish and pats BD-1 briefly, if with a small sigh.

Tonys commentary on his own bites and Cal’s question get a nod from the Archivist. “I’m good, thanks.” One of the tolerablere side effects of turning into a monster. “If you two can stop by the library tomorrow morning, I should have the antidote ready. Some food and rest will do you good until then.” He pauses a moment before adding: “I will make sure it doesn’t taste as vile as...” And he lets that sentence trail off with a small gesture.

And then his attention turns more towards Cal. “If you don’t mind any assistance in gathering notes on your echoes, we can talk about that later as well.”

[in_extremis]

"Incredible, always," Tony assured Cal as the undersuit knit back into place, flawless as ever. "It's more of a...protective coating," he explained, enough to dismiss the concern without getting too specific. If Tony could get his actual armor powered, he would be more invincible. In the meantime, he rolled up onto his knees to search the ground for his clothes, gathering him over his shoulder and more than happy to follow the doctor's orders to go completely crash. If he woke up in the morning, he might make it to the library to find out if Jon was capable of making the antidote experience any more tolerable, which was doubtful, then maybe head back here himself to pick up those pieces left behind. With a ruffle to Cal's damp hair to leave it an undignified mop and a wink Jon's way, he bid farewell with all of the earnestness in his heart, "Don't call me."

[out_of_order]

BD-1 beeps happily at Jon, walking off a ways to shake off again before wandering back over to Cal.

The padawan shakes his head at Tony but grins, probably figuring he should have expected as much for an answer. "Yeah, we'll do that, Jon. And if you can manage to do something for the flavor, I'm sure we'd appreciate it." He's not sure how well that will go, given most remedies aren't made to be tasty. "Wouldn't mind the assistance at all," he adds at Jon's suggestion, nodding at the Archivist.

Turning to watch Tony gather his things, it seems that at least it's agreed upon that they get some food and rest, now that they're not playing chicken with the poison from their fishy encounter. Cal ducks his head to no avail at the hair ruffling, moving to run slightly numb fingers through his bangs. He waves a hand at Tony.

"We'll text," he adds with a smirk.

[beholding_archivist]

"And I will see you in person." Jon remarks in turn, casting Tony a single raised brow that clearly states that Tony better be there in the morning or Jon will come after him, potion in hand. Though to be fair, he isn't entirely sure yet what to do flavor-wise. Maybe condense it enough to make it possible to mix a comparably small amount into a cup of tea. Which at the moment is his primarily considered solution.

The raised brow for Tony turns into a smile and a nod for Cal. "And I will see you as well. I just... Want to record a quick record while I'm here and the memory is still fresh, then I am headed for the library." As he says those words, Jon retrieves his tape recorder from his bag along with two tapes, giving each a quick look before selecting one of them. But rather than placing it in the recorder right away, he turns to BD-1. "And thanks to you I have enough fish to properly work with. So... Thanks for that."

Yes, Jon will stay behind a little longer. And he will make a short report once both Tony and Cal have left. Then listen to one of his pre-recorded tapes to re-energize and help with his own healing. Unaware to him, Jon is having pretty much the same idea as Tony. With the small difference that Jon doesn't plan to wait until the next day. It feels safer now, that they have just driven off that horrible swarm of water-creatures. And it is his fault that they were attacked in the first place and lost those other pieces they found. Therefore, he will retrieve them - And prove that he isn't entirely useless.