Participants:
| Scene Title | Broader Implications |
|---|---|
| Synopsis | Faron gets to know one of the Little Green House's other occupants and a fellow member of Messiah; Ling scouts someone for her own plan in the making. |
| Date | June 16, 2010 |
3 days. 3 days straight of nothing but gun repair. Well, of course, with eating and bathroom breaks and sleep and…well, okay there had been SOME deviation for Faron for the past 3 days, but mostly his time was devoted to repairing the large amount of guns that had been found under the water. And boy, he had his job cut out for him.
Thankfully, his power made things a lot easier, and he was able to diagnose some of the problems nearly instantly. Indeed, his last crate was just started as he pulls a shotgun from the chest. He looks over at the nicely-arranged pile of guns off to the side with a smile. Wow, that many already? Pumping the shotgun, he realizes the problem right away: rust and the firing pin. That was the main cause of the problems. Opening the pump, he slides the barrel free of the rest of the gun. The first step in the process.
“This seems a bit excessive.” The voice is Ling Chao’s, watching from the doorway as she has been for several minutes. Arms folded across her chest, she’s been rather interested in what, exactly, was planned for all the guns and ammunition that had hauled back from their underwater excursion. “I can’t possibly imagine anyone will need this much, even knowing what Messiah has been up to out of late.” Ling’s finally all caught up on her paper reading from when she was in her coma. Oh yes, Messiah has been busy.
She takes cautious steps into the room, a certain confident sway to her step as she walks. “Or perhaps you just need the busy work?” It’s actually a genuine question, Ling’s eyebrow arched as she approaches. “I can understand the need.”
Faron isn't too surprised to hear Ling's voice. Actually, it's not so much that he was expecting her, but more that he was far too enraptured in the shotgun. However, his brain does seem to let the fact that Ling was watching and when he realizes it, he turns around to see her. "Oh, uh, hey Ling." He takes a second to go over what she said. "Oh! No, I don't really know what this can all be used for." He turns back around, pouring some lime juice and salt onto a cloth. Odd combination. "Mostly, I do this for the busy work. When I hold one of these in my hand and it's…it's like they were, it feels wrong. Like a sin against nature that needs to be fixed now." His eyes look a bit confused, still rubbing the solution into the cloth. "…It's really odd, I know. But it's not like I have anything else to do."
Faron’s explanation only raises her eyebrow a bit further, Ling rounding around him, towards the other side of his workspace. Arms slide down, hands moving behind her as she walks, posture straight. “I… see.” Sort of. “From what I’ve heard of Melissa’s conversations with you, and this…” Eyes linger on the guns, and then up to Faron. “I surmise that you fix things?”
Faron shakes his head. "No, it's more than that. I can sort of…see into machines, but it's more. Like, they become an extension of me. Something I know as well as my hand or foot." He tilts his head in thought. "…It only seems to work with mechanical things. By just touching a machine, I can explore and know every part of it. But I don't have that ability with any kind of software, like computers, though the hardware works just as well." He blinks as he realizes he's ranting. He blushes and quickly shuts up.
The eyes linger on Faron momentarily before drifting down to the guns again, Ling nodding in affirmation that she understands. “I see. I imagine that must be useful. Particularly in this line of work.” She turns, taking steps and beginning to pace, making the beginnings of a circle around Faron. “And what, if I may ask, are the limitations of such an… ability?” Her gaze is focused squarely on Faron, and it’s almost as if a shark has begun to circle prey. “You mentioned computers. If one is non-functional, can you repair it, assuming there’s no… software damage, as you put it.” Eyes drift momentarily down to the guns. “You work well,” she adds, with no real lead in or out.
Faron shakes his head even more. Wow, he must be a bobble head! "Honestly, I'm still coming to terms with it. It's only been surfacing for the past half year, and even then, I still don't know it's limits. I actually tend to be able to sense machines at a very limited level from a distance, and if I'm around too much powerful machinery, like a car garage, then my head hurts. And if I don't concentrate hard enough…I go a little crazy if I use my power." Seems he can't turn it off just yet. "It doesn't have any practical use, either, except as the local tech guy. I feel kind of useless otherwise."
He looks up at her, with a bit of a question in his eyes. "What about you? What makes you special?" He might be an open book, and he's hoping she is a bit as well.
“No practical use?” Ling replies with a scoff. “Clearly, you haven’t thought of the broader applications. I wonder…” She still circles around him, noting how his gaze is now as focused on her as she is on him, “Can you disassemble as well as you assemble?” A very devious grin slides across her face as the question is posed, and she falls silent, continuing to walk, at first doing very little to acknowledge his question.
But by the time she’s made her way back to his side of the workstation, the change in her is noticeable, wisps of smoke trailing behind her, gradually but quickly building into a wafting billow, from the edge of her clothes and her hair and moving inwards, until her whole form gives away into smoke before his very eyes. And, she noted, if there was any benefit to applying her ability in a more controlled environment, it was that she finally had enough confidence and concentration to convert her clothes with her this time, not leaving a messy pile on the floor.
Broader implications? Faron cocks an eyebrow at her, watching her as she circled around him. What's she doing? However, even in this dark basement, he can see the smoke trails. He can see her seem to evaporate into the air. His face takes on an odd mix of amazement and fear. He stands to his feet, looking around as she disappears, watching for her. "Ling? Ling, where'd you go?" His words are filled with stupidity, probably from the aforementioned amazement towards her ability.
“Oh, I’m here.” Ling’s voice is quiet and ethereal, as if carried on the wind itself, tendrils of smoke sliding upwards, lacing up around Faron from the floor, a mass of smoke moving across the floor in the same path Ling had been taking moments previous. It undulates and thins out, harder to see but to someone who’s aware of its presence, clear enough to still be able to see.
Concentrating on where Ling was, Faron grinned, seeing her ability in full bloom. "Smoke. You can turn yourself to smoke." He nods. "That could be very useful, especially when you can dissolve you clothes like that." He smiles, sitting back down, looking around at the undulating smoke around him. "I gotta say, that's a lot cooler than what I have. I know coolness isn't exactly looked upon for consideration, but I can't even begin to the imagine the practical uses of becoming completely intangible."
“I made a great deal of movement forward in my previous life spying on business meetings, conference calls, marketing sessions, and beating people at their own game,” Ling says, the smoke filtering through the air until it’s once again opposite Faron, rising upwards and coalescing into a much more humanoid form. “Not totally intangible.” Even in it’s quiet, ethereal form, there is clear bitterness when she speaks again. “I found that out, recently, that if I get careless, some things can still get through.” Slowly, the smoke begins to solidify again, and in moments, Ling Chao is standing before Faron once more. “The clothes are a hazard. It requires too much concentration in any situation of stress to take them with me. I used to ahve measure to prevent that.”
Frowning, Faron looks up and down her, watching her re-materialize before him. "You can still get out in an emergency, though, which can be useful. Even without clothes, you could still improvise." It's obvious his mind is not on anything lewd; his is in more of a practicality mindset. "But what could hurt you in that form? I can only thing of maybe radiation and perhaps heat, or lack thereof." He stands up, pushing a chair for her to sit.
“I confess that I am unsure of the answer to that question,” Ling replies after a moment, eyes narrowed. “What I do know is that a man caught me with a taser while I was in a half solid state, and that I am not wholly intangible. I do not simply pass through walls and people. There must be some sort of opening, just as with normal smoke.”
Ling's tone seems to be a bit off. A touchy subject, maybe. "Ah. Still, very practical, I have to say. And it's pretty cool to boot." Faron smiles at her, very willing to drop the subject. "So! Ling. How do you Melissa?" What an inquisitive young man!
Ling looks at Faron, and appraising look in her eyes as she begins to pace again. “I know Melissa through matters of circumstance,” she says, still keeping a careful eye on Faron. “Peter helped me out of a… hard place, and I met Melissa through him. She has given me a place to stay, as you can see.”
Peter. Faron had heard the name before, but he didn't know where. Another member of Messiah? "I guess we both owe Mel. I have nowhere else to go. I…I uh, gave everything up to see this whole thing through." He doesn't need to elaborate on "this whole thing." He had put all his chips in on Messiah coming through and making the world a better place. A foolish endeavor, probably, but one that he can't be faulted for being devoted to.
To that, Ling remains silent. She is probing, with reason, and her motivations and reasons for being present are not information she is willing to share. Not in any meaningful capacity, at least. “I have my own reasoning for coming in alongside… something like this,” she remarks with a very matter of fact tone. “I have my own goals as well, and Messiah will help me to accomplish them.” And then that devilish smirk returns to her face. “I’m sure there’s a part for each of us.” And this time, she doesn’t mean in Messiah’s plan.
Faron nodded in acknowledgement. This woman, Ling, was quite profound. A woman with a mysterious past and an even more lucritive power. Quite intriguing. "We each have a part to play, regardless of our bias and opinions." He leans forward, still looking at her. "However, we also have a say in what we do, or at least I'd like to hope so. We can create the change that we and this world needs." After a tense moment, Faron smiles. "I really don't like to think about those sort of things, as integral as they are, though." He leans back once more, reclining in the chair. "Anyways, I'm sorry if I annoy you."
“Some of us cannot afford to not think about such things,” Ling intones darkly, finally coming to a stop back across from Faron. “Of course we have a say in what we do. An organization like this is fragile by definition. Attempts to constrain it’s followers would only result in undue fallout.” A sigh and a shake of her head. “I imagine this is why Magnes was allowed to leave despite his temper tantrum.” Several moments pause follows, and Ling nods. “You do not annoy me. You act… casual, but civil. Not like a spoiled child or someone who doesn’t know better.” A thin smile curls across her lips. “Someone I might ask for help, should I need it.”
At her smile, Faron can't help but blush. Cute. "I'd give it. I'm more than willing to help out comrades and friends alike." He looks a bit sheepish. "I'm still young compared to a lot of people, especially here, but I'm trying to keep up." He looks back as the dismantled shotgun. "…I'm gonna go take a breather. You in the mood for some pizza? I still have some money left from before I came here." A crude food, order out pizza, but good nonetheless.
“No. I am fine.” Once again stated very flatly, Ling pulls up a chair. It seems as Faron is going, she’s staying. “That is good to know, Faron. Perhaps I will join you shortly.” She slips down into the chair, eyeing first Faron, then the guns. “Enjoy your fresh air.”
Faron lets out a chuckle at her sitting down. Playful a bit, isn't she? "Alright, I'll get a large anyways, and you can snack off that when you're hungry." He smiles at her, making his way out of the room. Ling can hear him leave the house, possibly to get a small walk in before food.
It’s only once Faron is gone that her smile takes its full berth, wide and scheming. Smoke tipped fingers raise in a steeple formation as she sits back, smug expression on her face. It had been a long time, too long, since she had been able to feel someone out so well, so smoothly. It was a feeling she missed, that thrill of having bested someone without them ever once knowing it. A laugh escapes from her, a small shake of her head. Yes. He would do, he would certainly do, if it came to it.
Because it never hurts to have a backup plan, in case something goes horribly wrong.