outer_divide | [Video] Week 52: Saturday Morning

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[Video] Week 52: Saturday Morning

[A pleasant backdrop of green fields and sunlight can't mask the concern that's pursed Pepper's lips and given her expression, always attentive, an added layer of sharp attention.]

Does anyone have information about what's going on with the sky? Has there been another attack?

I can't seem to raise Tony, so any information would be appreciated.

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[Rumple's not too busy right now. Nobody's died yet, after all. He does look a bit distracted, as the communicator is sitting to one side while he works on building a spell. It will look to Pepper a bit like an old fashioned and cobbled-together chemistry set (which, really, is pretty much what it is, aside from a part of two from his spell case).]

It appears one of the mountains has collapsed, actually. I'm uncertain whether the dust is actually displaced dust or something less predictable. I'm inclined to think the latter.

[Sharon's seen the blast, and it's...familiar.]

It looked like someone set off a high end nuclear payload. Have there been similar attacks?

[Belle is in the library, which should probably surprise no one.]

I don't think there was an attack - or at least, not a deliberate one. It might have been something left over from the war. I haven't been close enough to be sure, but all the vehicles I've seen were converging on the mountain, not one of the cities.

[Pepper's not so distracted with worry that she doesn't tilt her head slightly to try and get a better look at the archaic chemistry set plus add-ons. She is concerned enough that it's only a brief look.]

That's... unexpected. If it was a severe earthquake I would have expected to feel shockwaves here, and I didn't think there were any active volcanos. Was there any sort of industry at that mountain? Mining?

[Pepper's old enough to remember the last fifteen years of the Cold War in good detail. 'Nuclear payload' is a phrase that leaves her looking grim for reasons more personal than the mere fact that her company used to make weapons.]

Not in a couple centuries, from what I can gather from history here. There was a satellite crash a couple months ago, but that was a fireball and a localized impact. Nothing like this.

Your grumpy guardian angel [For so, apparently, and with a bit of dry humour, has Pepper named Rumple] said that it looked like one of the mountains had collapsed. We have no view of that here, obviously, but do you have any records of old mining complexes or military complexes in the area?

[Sharon can relate, after a fashion. She's seen what nuclear devastation can do.]

Then what sort of attack were you asking about?

Also, I want to know more about that satellite, if you don't mind a tangent later.

[Pepper studies Sharon for a long moment, trying to first place her and then figure out whether new arrivals could be so new as to miss the bone creature attack. She comes down on the side of yes, and proceeds to explain.]

A couple weeks ago, a pair of creatures attacked the town's market square. There were a lot of casualties, and while the creatures were eventually brought down, a lot of people were throwing around a lot of very different sorts of firepower, and some energy weapons as well.

I was worried that they'd gone after the town again, and someone had brought out something really big.

Oh, that. I heard about that. Sorry, didn't realize, and I'm sort of new. I crashlanded a little over a week ago, myself.

[Since she sees you studying her.]

The town's fine. The explosion was several clicks away, but it definitely removed a mountain.

Jesus. [is not one of the deities of the Colonies, but the tone carries the meaning even if the word does not.]

Do they know what went up? I've heard speculation about leftovers from the war...

[She's willing to assume that it's some sort of deity, yes...]

Not that I'm aware of. But it looks like the locals are mobilizing and going to investigate now. There haven't been any alerts that I know of, though.

I'd guess that someone set off something big inside the mountain, but I couldn't say why.

No mining complexes - I gather the area isn't very mineral-rich - but there's been mention of a few subterranean storehouses and research facilities. Not much in the way of precise locations, but I'd be surprised if no one built into the mountains. It would be easier than keeping something on our level from flooding.

I've been doing some sifting through the restricted archives - I can see if there are some more precise records from the war in there. I don't know how much good it would do in the short term - between your trip and the group off hunting those monsters, there aren't that many adventurous sorts left in the city.

[Here, have a much closer view of the now-collapsed mountain, everyone! Of course, for the handful that can see Sandy, his upset, worried face is blocking some of the view. He's been scouting the wreckage and digging through in the hopes of finding someone alive. He hasn't even found bodies.]

!!!*Bomb*! *mountain* = *mushroom cloud*! *pile of bones* *skeleton* !!!

[There's pictures bursting over his head, too, as he types, but too quickly to follow. He's trying his hardest to explain. Really, he is.]

Not that anyone can tell me. And I have asked around.

[He drops a bit of something into a round beaker, and it puffs a little with purple smoke before betraying a rosy sort of glow. He frowns at it, then looks back at Pepper.]

The local authorities do seem to have taken an interest in things out there since, but they seem a bit reluctant to take along curious bystanders.

Not unexpected, if a little unfortunate for those of us who want to know what's going on and aren't officials ourselves.

Thank you for taking the time to let me know, though. I don't want to distract you from your work.

[She's taken video calls from Tony mid-labwork before. The risk of unintentional explosion isn't actually that much higher, but she still worries.]

Have there been any communications disruptions reported?

[Maybe, just maybe, the reason she couldn't raise Tony was down to simple interference.]

If it was a nuclear detonation, I know that EMP can mess with unhardened systems...

Not that I've seen. This communicator works just fine.

[And she didn't register any EMP. That might've caused some issues. But she's not so unsympathetic as to ignore someone trying to get in touch with a loved one. She got that.]

Tony as in Stark? I'm sure he's fine, in that suit of his.

...run that part about the group hunting monsters past me again.

[Pepper has a sudden theory, and by her expression it's not one she likes very much.]

Who went, do you know? And what kind of monsters?

[What Pepper sees is that unobstructed view, with symbols popping up below it. Her expression is... not reassured.]

Akito? Is that you?

[Why Akito would be using symbols all of a sudden is something she's just not questioning. Invisible people are strange.]

Are you saying that a bomb went off, and that's what happened to the mountain?

Yeah, about that...

[Looking grimly worried indeed, Pepper adjusts the angle of her communicator's camera pickup, tilting it to reveal one Iron Man suit settled on the grass near her, looking as alert as a mechanical guard dog.]

He's sent the suit to me before, to protect me, [Albeit in another reality than this one.] but I haven't heard from him directly.

The monsters that attacked the market.

[It's a little subdued. She still isn't quite over that whole dying and resurrecting thing.]

I don't know everyone who went - Mr. Lyall's original broadcast was public, but as far as I can tell, the majority of the planning wasn't.

X

S A N D M A N

[Sandy's been trying this letter-symbol thing, okay? Especially since it's an emergency.]

*check mark* *bones* + *monster*? *bomb* = *bones* + *monster* + *tombstone*!

*dotted outline of a person* ?

[Bone monsters dead, people were missing. Was that clear enough? Oh, he hoped so.]

So. He's...it's...

[Her eyes shift uncomfortably, and she looks away.]

Frak me. I'm sorry, ma'am. I should've kept my mouth shut.

No. [And on this part, Pepper is quietly firm with the steel strength behind her eyes that says she's made her share of hard calls before.]

Never apologize for something like that. I would much rather have that knowledge. I... I can work with knowledge. I can't work with ignorance.

[Pepper's expression softens at the subdued tone, but she offers her sympathy in the form of not drawing attention to it.]

I'll see if I can raise the professor, then. I'm not surprised about the off-comm planning, really -- he's from an era where distance communication definitely didn't include videoconferences.

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