rekindledtitan | Excerpt 002: Traveler's Rest

Entry tags:

Excerpt 002: Traveler's Rest

TYPE: Personal log

LOCATION: The Last City, Earth

PARTIES: Three [3]. One [1] Ghost-type, [1] Guardian-type, designate Blaze-37, Class Titan [

rekindledtitan ], One [1] Unconfirmed, designate Willis, Verity [

brave_heart_verity ]; [other parties redacted]

ASSOCIATIONS: Multiversal Nexus; Verity Willis; Earth; The City; Vanguard; Blaze-37; Glass-smiths

An Exo ought to be good at waiting. They're soldier and machine both, trained for stoicism and designed for tireless analysis. Blaze sometimes thinks she’s the only one built who ever gets bored. (Aside from Cayde, maybe, and he makes it sound like he's had a very long time to learn.)

Her patrol concluded without much incident, she paces back to the Forum, guns still dozing at her back and her Ghost zipping curiously from one side to the other ahead of her. It murmurs its observations to her in passing, and she responds gladly. A fight would be better, but she’ll take the idle chatter. Her memory is brimming with new half-processed data, even from one patrol in the Nexus – odd discussions heard and alien kitchens smelt, the weird spiky grass in the park crunching under her boots, so many- one hundred and forty-three new faces since the last trip, ninety-one human by visual-

But she isn’t one for dwelling on things. So she circles the Forum to take in the sights, cutting her route through the spot where she and Verity last spoke to make sure of spotting her friend.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only | Expand All

Humans do the same kind of thing for fun. They just need a little more special equipment to make sure they survive. It doesn't seem so weird to her, although the people on the ground might not find it so funny.

The spontaneous dance numbers, on the other hand... this, she must see.

"Makes sense. Everyone needs a place to practice."

She gives the doctor a shy but friendly smile when he appears. The accent doesn't throw her, although she wonders about it. Growing up in New York, she's heard all sorts of accents; it's always a little strange to not recognize one. Still, it's English, and that's a relief.

"Verity Willis. It's nice to meet you." Do they shake hands in the City? Or is that not allowed before she's had her shots?

The doctor hesitates a very little, but hides it well as he shakes hands. Sometimes best quarantine practice needs to take a backseat to gaining a new patient's trust. And from the way his eyes flick to Blaze and her Ghost, he trusts one would warn him if she were carrying anything exceptionally virulent. Instead, Blaze just gives him a friendly nod.

"The pleasure is mine, to welcome you to the safety of the City. If you'd like to come through, I'll just give you a quick examination. The Guardian here can stay if you like."

"We may be able to help with explanations," Ghost suggests.

"Weren't planning on going anywhere," Blaze agrees (perhaps missing the doctor's intended senstivity toward his actual patient).

He's going to feel silly for that hesitation when he finds out. Or maybe he'll feel silly for letting her touch anything. Hard to say really.

"It's fine if Blaze wants to come. And like Ghost said, they can help explain some things." And keep Verity from saying too much, if that's a concern. She should have asked about that before. Stupid space views distracting her. But she sees no reason to be shy, she doubts there will be anything new or interesting seen by her friends during the exam. "What sorts of tests will you be doing?"

"That will be helpful, thank you- ah, both." He means it, especially because a Ghost on hand is very good for data analysis. Dr Saab shows her through to the little examination area, which is somewhat larger to allow for his workstation, the adjustable bed and space for people to crowd around the patient. While he explains, he motions an invitation for her to sit up on the bed, and starts fetching things out from a set of airtight drawers.

"We'll do some very simple tests to start with, okay? First I'm just going to take some swabs from your skin and throat, then I'll draw a little bit of blood from you if that's okay. Those will help me to understand what kind of diseases you may have had before compared to the ones here in the City. It will also tell me if there are any substances here that you might have a bad - that is, an allergic reaction to." He steals a glance at her face: he seems to be struggling to decide at what level he ought to explain all this. She seems very comfortable in the clinic (also, very clean, properly nourished and well-dressed) but there are exactly no guarantees about what medical knowledge a person born on the outside might have.

He doesn't offer Blaze a seat, maybe because she very promptly assumes a position against the far wall, leaning casually against it. She's watching with an air of curiosity for the moment, the Ghost hanging back beside her.

She looks amused. The doctor is kind and seems to have a good bedside manner, and she can appreciate that. But when he's done explaining, she looks to Blaze without really responding. She's either asking for permission or giving a warning.

Probably the latter, since she's just going to tell him now. "Dr. Saab. I'm not a refugee Blaze found wandering outside of the city. I'm from an alternate dimension." Really man, how many refugees have shiny new glasses and sweet ink? "So yeah, you're probably going to want to do all kinds of cultures. I don't know of any allergies, but it's probably a good idea to double-check since things here are so different. And yes, you have my permission for a blood draw. I'm not really afraid of needles."

Blaze shrugs at Verity's look, equally amused - and when she lets the thrall out of the bag, the Exo breaks out in a positive chortle (though the Ghost flashes in alarm). The doctor's rummaging comes to an abrupt halt and for a minute he just stares at her. Then her escort. Look, he knew he didn't have the whole picture but... but...

Well, he couldn't have seen that coming.

"I- I'm afraid I don't understand," he says, straightening up and looking helplessly perplexed. "This isn't some sort of practical joke, is it?" Blaze gets a suspicious look.

"No," she answers, in a tone of such easy certainty as to leave no doubt. "Genuine alternate timeline, pre-Golden Age by our calendars. Ghost'll confirm that."

"I'm not sure if we're supposed to-" the Ghost murmurs, but Blaze cuts it off with a snort.

"He's a doctor. He'd put it together anyway. Holding out on him will just make his analysis less complete."

She smiles faintly as she watches the exchange. "Ghost, we don't want him to miss something because he didn't know. I have no way of knowing what's on me that might hurt someone here. And if I wasn't supposed to tell, you should have told me that earlier."

While they debate she'll roll up a sleeve, good patient that she is.

"You ready, Doctor?"

The doctor in question shakes his head but washes his hands with sterilizing gel and pulls on some thin disposable gloves. "What have you Guardians been up to?"

"Come on, doc," Blaze chuckles. "Verity's still not the strangest thing you've seen around here."

He doesn't deign to dispute that, but he's still getting to grips with the situation. "It's just the implications-" No, he's a professional, his work comes first. "All right. Let's see. Most infectious diseases from that time are no longer active in the local population, but we have quite good records- and open wide, please." He takes throat and cheek swabs, sealing each into clear slides, to be slotted into an array hooked up to the computer. "And a rather broad selection of immunological profiles with origins in different time periods, of course."

The blood he takes after swabbing her arm, neat and painless.

Verity's a good patient, doing as she's told and not fighting the doctor. There may be a time or two when she's gripping the edge of the table to keep from jerking away from things going down her throat, but instincts are instincts and she's sure the doctor understands.

"I should probably tell you I've had immunizations in a different alternate future. And also I got some new gut flora. So... I have no idea what you're going to find." She's pretty sure the magic wouldn't show up in any tests, so that doesn't need to come up just yet. "Are there any other tests?"

"I'm afraid so." The doctor has recovered from his shock enough to smile a little, despite all the frowning and 'hmm'ing. That's just him trying to decide how to handle all the new information. He picks up what looks like a handheld scanning device from its cradle and changes some settings.

"I'm going to press this against your arm for a few moments and give your tissues a quick little scan. This is a reconstruction of a Golden Age diagnostic tool, so it's a bit limited. But it's perfectly safe, and it can pick up some things, like microbes and signs of toxin exposure that the samples can't show us. Then I'm going to take a look at your eyes and ask a few questions while the samples process. Okay?"

"Okay." She can hold still for the scanning. She has nothing to hide and can appreciate how much more comfortable most of this has been so far. It might be a bit boring, but she's used to lots of hurry up and wait where doctors are concerned. And it's better to be bored than for the doctor to find anything interesting.

Poor Blaze must be getting bored.

The doctor's working with brisk efficiency, taking his readings and relaying them to the computer. But Blaze already seems subtly restless - she's not outright fidgeting, but her attention flicks from doctor to Verity to computer to a speculative look at the desk-frame, and she shifts her weight now and then, giving the impression she's ready to move any time.

"My Ghost can help with that," she's quick to volunteer when Dr. Saab sets up the computer analysis. He gives her - and the Ghost - a quick nod and thanks, letting the little bot float in to monitor the process as well as speed it up.

Meanwhile, the doctor has Verity take her glasses off for a quick retinal check (with appropriate murmurs of 'okay, very good'), then picks up a tablet. "Okay, so, just a few quick questions now. You said you've had immunizations from the, ah, from another future. And a new suite of gut flora, correct? Was this from another doctor? And how long has it been since then?"

Oh, fun with lights. Her favorite. She's glad when that's over.

"There were doctors involved, yes. About two months ago I was helping a friend with something and picked up a nasty case of food poisoning. When I got better she took me to get treatments so it wouldn't happen again. That's why I also got the gut flora. Although they're quite useful even when I'm not time-traveling. I process food more efficiently, and I don't get hangovers anymore, that's really nice." She doesn't get really drunk anymore either, which she's sure is supposed to also be a good thing.

The whole adventure gets a 'what are ya gonna do?' shrug. She's adapting quickly to this mysterious new lifestyle of hers. "Are you going to need to check those too?"

"I would like to, however-" he might glance at Blaze, being quite a proficient reader of body language, "I don't think I need to subject you to that." It's not a fun procedure! "I should be able to give you a supplement without them interacting. If you do experience any side-effects I want you to contact me immediately.

"The same goes for the vaccinations, of course. I'm going to check your profile first, but I expect I can give you the standard set of shots. There are four of those, and you'll need to come back for at least two more rounds, depending on how long you're staying in the City."

"No problem there," Blaze says, giving away her expectations on that point.

"Thank you. I didn't love the idea of that." There's only a few ways she can think of for him to get those samples and all of them sound terrible. "I could... ask my friend for some of the pills? Then you could study them without having to have me here?" She's reasonably certain Samus will agree, and that they can work out the payment somehow.

"Uh. Okay, just let me know when I need to come back." She doesn't love shots. It's not the needles so much as the burning. Blaze can tease her about the faces she'll be making later. "Blaze, if it comes to it, I'd like to officially request a prince carry instead of a potato sack."

Verity, you just made the doctor's day. He looks delighted. "If that's possible, it would be wonderful. Thank you! It's been a long time since we had microbes so versatile. The boost it would give us, in the long run, would mean a great deal to us."

Can you tell the microbiology end is his specialty?

Blaze chuckles at her request. "You sure? I just got all this new padding on my shoulders..."

"I don't think it's as comfortable from the outside, somehow."

"You're welcome. I'm sure we'd both be happy to help." How could Samus turn down two friends at once? "What you're doing here is really important. And I mean it about wanting to help however I can."

Verity gives Blaze a smirk. "Yeah, but it's so much more romantic my way." This is the most obvious joking in the history of jokes. A neon sign could not make it more obvious.

The doctor doesn't hide the curiosity that tugs at his expression, but he doesn't dare to ask what else she might in fact be helping with. With all that's been said so far, he thinks it best to watch his tongue.

"Is it? Huh. Never thought of it that way." Blaze sounds amused. Of course she's kidding. There's definitely no way this will come back to haunt Verity. She shoots the doctor a frown, though. "These shots won't really knock her out, will they?"

"Erm, no. Hopefully." He's saved her scrutiny by a chirp from the computer, and swivels his chair around. "Ah, okay, let's see how your profile's looking."

"Almost clear on the allergy chart," Ghost announces.

That's probably for the best, she doesn't want to lie. And her innocent look needs a lot of work.

"Well, that's how they do it in the movies with the princesses, and you know if there's anything I've always wanted to be, it's a Disney princess. Oh, wait, you probably don't have Disney movies here... erm. Cartoon fairy tales." Do they have movies? Do they have cartoons? So much to learn.

So long as it's Ghost doing the haunting, she can live with it.

The announcement of results makes her adjust her glasses and lean forward. She'd have been so good in a lab if life had turned out differently for her. Good, and possibly radioactive and/or superheroic.

Seems they have both, to go by how the doctor's curious glance shifts to understanding. Blaze has other priorities. "If it's the kind of story where I get to fight a dragon, I'm in. 'Course, it might be hard to find a live one."

Everyone gets to crowd around the screen, although Dr. Saab moves over to show the results to Verity. They're getting the allergens out of the way first. "Thank you, Ghost. This is about what I'd expect. You're showing a probable allergy to dregplate - which is a kind of cheap construction metal used in some parts of the City. Not very surprising, so don't worry. About four humans in five have that one. You probably won't actually come into contact with it, but that's just something to be aware of, hm?"

He switches over to the combined antigen/microbe analysis - and Verity might be interested to note that most of the little ID tags on the list are highlighted in green and flagged as match. Most of the rest are in yellow and flagged as 'derivation traced'. The doctor makes a lot of 'mmhmm' noises as he scrolls down, stopping to check the yellow flags as he goes. These all seem to be bugs Verity has had, or ben immunized against - or in the case of a mild flu strain, carries - that are identified by probable relatives or descendants already in the database.

"Might be harder to find one who wants to kidnap me." Dragons are used to princesses, not sass talking weirdos.

"Dregplate. Sounds charming. Why use it if so many people are allergic?" There go her dreams of getting into the construction business. "I'll be careful."

The analysis does have her interest. It's so neatly organized. She's not a medical professional and never wanted to be one, but she appreciates a well-crafted computer program. "Derivation traced? That was so fast. Wow."

"Oh, yeah." Sorry, Verity, she's completely missed the intended implication. And also mixing up her bedtime stories, because legends about dragons are slightly different here. "You'd be pretty hard to trick into a bargain. Could still punch them for trying, though," she adds thoughtfully. The doctor stifles a smile.

"

At some times, especially early in the City's history, reliable building materials have been very scarce. Dregplate is a catch-all term for recycled alloys that contain some proportion of metal from salvaged Fallen ships. It's actually the impurities from melting down large chunks of alien scrap that cause the reaction. Nowadays City regulations require it to be painted over and limits where it can be used at all. The Tower doesn't use it, for example.

"

"But don't rest bare skin anywhere the paint is peeling down in the City," the doctor adds. "I used to get terrible rashes as a kid from that."

Verity's appreciation draws a smile from him. "We have our friend the Ghost to thank for that. And ah, I think this will be your other set of vaccinations." This refers to a large set of antigens highlighted in blue - unidentified but friendly, so to speak. Dr. Saab studies them with some fascination before switching windows and highlighting things as he sets up a comparison. "I want to double-check there won't be any reaction with our immunizations, but at a first glance I don't see any conflicts."

That's not a story she's familiar with, but she's barely familiar with stories so she files it away as "something I haven't got to yet". "It's nice to know you'd be so valiant a defender of my honor. Thank you."

Ghost's explanation gets a thoughtful hum. She can't really blame them for using whatever they could. A rash is the lesser of two evils. "I'll be careful. Thanks for the warning." Not that she expects to be let out of the Tower soon, or ever.

"Thank you, Ghost." Ghost is awesome. There is again the urge to try petting him, but again she refrains. Not something to attempt for the first time in public like this. She looks over the blue section, but having no real idea what any of this is, she can't make much sense of it. When he starts setting up the comparisons she leans back and stretches. "Oh, please, take your time. Better safe than sorry."

"Ah, any time." Blaze chuckles happily, although if Verity ever does have an impertinent dragon on her hands, well, the Titan was being quite sincere.

"My pleasure," Ghost replies, still hovering over the computer, waiting to help with the next comparisons. "It's interesting to stretch my biological protocols once in a while."

The doctor nods to Verity's latter remark. "It's better not to take chances in our situation."

The analysis takes a couple of minutes with Ghost's help, but after examining the results, Dr. Saab pronounces himself satisfied. After a few general-health questions, he'll be able to prep the shots for her. Blaze perks up at this sign of progress, although personally she doesn't envy her friend all that getting punctured. It looks much more uncomfortable than just opening an access panel.

Oh, it's really only a matter of time before Verity pisses off a dragon or something. Being her friend is bound to be endlessly rewarding when it comes to these things.

"Well, we wouldn't want you to get out of practice." She's sure there's all kinds of interesting biological things to examine in the Nexus. People and plants and probably the furniture sometimes. Even the rocks are sometimes gargoyles.

Shots are so much more uncomfortable. Needles are not great fun. But, needs must, and Verity holds out her arm when the time comes and closes her eyes. Deep breaths. Staying calm will help it hurt the least.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

As of right now Ghost is totally getting a tiny bedsheet costume for Halloween.

Yay! :D :D

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject