Prelude: An Invitation from Jean (Barazephyr and Maledriel)

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

One of the boys, a tall, muscular boy with the olive tones of Greek ancestry shakes his head. “It’s not about being scared; it’s about changing course mid-stream. We already won local, district and regionals with our tracked design. We know it can handle most of the challenges. If Kali wants to do a hover design. Cool. We can do that next year, after we have time to plan, build, and test it. We only have a few months before state. Now’s not the time to switch things up.”

[shaidar]

{Mal}

"Ah, I see, we'll that does complicate things. That's a difficult one, and something that you guys need to work out yourselves." he glances over at Diamini "All I will say is that it's not easy being the leader, taking in all the options and trying to make what you hope is the right decision for the right reasons." he then widens his gaze and looks at each of the group members "Sometimes when you're in a group you won't get the decision you want, but you have to accept that, move on, and still do your best for the group." he smiles "OK, I'm almost done boring you, one last thing... Have fun! Winning is great, but you won't always win. So just enjoy the journey and learn from it either way, ready for next time. "

[Juramenta]

{Barazephyr}

If Mal decides to move on after blessing them with a tidbit of wisdom, he simply adds a little thumbs up with both his thumbs. ''Cool bot'' he quickly throws out as he walks off following Mal.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{Mal}

"Ah, I see, we'll that does complicate things. That's a difficult one, and something that you guys need to work out yourselves." he glances over at Diamini "All I will say is that it's not easy being the leader, taking in all the options and trying to make what you hope is the right decision for the right reasons." he then widens his gaze and looks at each of the group members "Sometimes when you're in a group you won't get the decision you want, but you have to accept that, move on, and still do your best for the group." he smiles "OK, I'm almost done boring you, one last thing... Have fun! Winning is great, but you won't always win. So just enjoy the journey and learn from it either way, ready for next time. "

{GM}

“Who are you?” Diamini asks. “Did Coach Allen send you?”

The others nod and look at Maledriel with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion. .

{Barazephyr}

If Mal decides to move on after blessing them with a tidbit of wisdom, he simply adds a little thumbs up with both his thumbs. ''Cool bot'' he quickly throws out as he walks off following Mal.

{GM}

The tween girl who spoke first glances at Barazephyr. “Thanks, mister,” she says. “But the hover bot will be cooler.”

[shaidar]

{Mal}

{GM}

“Who are you?” Diamini asks. “Did Coach Allen send you?”

The others nod and look at Maledriel with a mixture of curiosity and suspicion.

Mal smiles. "No, the coach didn't send me. I'm Malcolm Alexander, a reporter for Houston Online Today News. I come here a lot to cover interesting tech and science stories and I always enjoy meeting young engineers and seeing what they are up to."

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM]

“HOT news?” the almond skinned girl says. “You’re not going to put our bickering on the net, are you?"

The boys look back and forth at each other, oddly not meeting one another's eyes.

[shaidar]

{Mal}

Mal shakes his head "No, don't worry, I wouldn't do that. I was just passing by."

Can he try to read the odd look?

[Juramenta]

{GM}

The tween girl who spoke first glances at Barazephyr. “Thanks, mister,” she says. “But the hover bot will be cooler.”

Bobby glances casually across the station, half-listening to the girl’s response.
''Hover is pretty sweet, no doubt. But walkers? Way more technical if you want them to move faster than a snail. Now, if you had both? That’d be next-level.'' He pauses, gesturing with his hands. ''Picture it: the walker struts onto the stage, then boom! the top detaches and hovers away. First prize, guaranteed.''

He starts to turn away, then stops and shrugs his shoulders with a playful smile ''Or not. I’m not the judge. I just like cool bots.''

[Charybdis Richelle]

{Mal}

Mal shakes his head "No, don't worry, I wouldn't do that. I was just passing by."

{GM}

The boys look visibly relieved.

“Okay,” the leader says. “Good. Thanks.”

---

{GM}

The tween girl who spoke first glances at Barazephyr. “Thanks, mister,” she says. “But the hover bot will be cooler.”

Bobby glances casually across the station, half-listening to the girl’s response.
''Hover is pretty sweet, no doubt. But walkers? Way more technical if you want them to move faster than a snail. Now, if you had both? That’d be next-level.'' He pauses, gesturing with his hands. ''Picture it: the walker struts onto the stage, then boom! the top detaches and hovers away. First prize, guaranteed.''

He starts to turn away, then stops and shrugs his shoulders with a playful smile ''Or not. I’m not the judge. I just like cool bots.''

{GM}

“Walker robots are pretty cool, but that really wouldn’t be feasible with the parts we have or could easily machine,” the girl agrees. “But a dual-propulsion bot would have twice as many ways to approach challenges.” She nods; her brow furrows in thought. After a moment, she nods. “Now that would be something for next year,” she says, turning to her partners. “After we master the hover bot this year.”

“Kali’s not going to let this go,” the one Maledriel implied was the leader says. “If we don’t give her her head on this one, she’s likely to build in a design flaw on purpose.”

The other two boys nod.

Kali chuckles. “Now, would I do that?” she asks, semi-rhetorically.

“Yes!” all three boys chime more or less at the same time.

Kali laughs harder. “So, I take it that mean I win, Diamini?”

Diamini, the boy Maledriel noted as leader, sigh, “Yeah, I guess so.”

Kali grins. She turns to look at another girl who is sitting a ways away at a computer and flashes her a thumbs-up. The girl at the computer nods and then goes back to whatever she is doing.

[Juramenta]

{Barazephyr}

He has no opinion on the value he should place on who won or lost the argument. Looking over their design, he hopes they will work faster than they did before. Mal helping them settle their discussion might help speed up the process. A focused group is a fast group that can get things done. He gives a little nod to Mall as if saying ’’job well done’’
Barazephyr is ready to step into the portal but won’t go until he is certain Mal is ready to move forward. He can always rush it in case they run needs out of time, so he isn’t all to worried.

[shaidar]

{Mal}

Mal smiles "Great! I'll see if I can get assigned to report on the finals, I'd like to see how you do. Now, we need to get going, or we'll be late for a meeting. Good luck!"

Once any goodbyes are done Mal is happy to follow Barazephyr.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

The kids make their goodbyes, somewhat relieved that the strange adults are moving on. However, they return to their tasks with a renewed sense of purpose.

Barazephyr leads the way, sensing that the actual Tether is housed on the third for. Following his instincts, he and Maledriel take the elevator and reach a set of offices dedicated to electrical design and innovation. Reaching what seems to be the central one, Barazephyr opens the door and steps in.

A slender Asian woman wearing a floral silk blouse and wide, baggy black slacks covered by a long lab coat looks up as you enter. She approaches with a small tablet in hand.

“May I help you?” she asks.

[Juramenta]

{Barazephyr}

Bobby happily walks further into the room.
In a cheerful, upbeat tone, he responds to the Asian woman.
''Thank you for asking, but no need, lady. We know where we need to be.'' as he passes her by.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{GM}

Bobby walks into the room and then is at a loss for where to go. He knows that the Tether is beyond the far wall, but it looks to be a solid wall.

The Asian woman mutters something under her breath that Bobby doesn’t catch.

Malcolm, however, hears it and has to struggle to keep from gaping.

With a professional smile, the woman ignores Bobby and turns to Malcolm. “Were you looking for… rooftop access, sir?”

[shaidar]

{Mal}

Mal smiles at the woman "Ms. Yo, or may I call you Xing Xing?" he does his best to pronounce it correctly "My friend and I are here for a meeting with our superior. I apologise for his rudeness, he is always in a hurry, it's his nature. I would be grateful if you would show us the way."

[Juramenta]

{Barazephyr}

Bobby turns around and heads back, still sporting his innocently cheerful smile, although with a hint of confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?" meanwhile he looks at the woman with more interest this time. Now searching for a name tag or any other way to figure out how Mal managed to know her name and what her role is.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{Mal}

Mal smiles at the woman "Ms. Yo, or may I call you Xing Xing?" he does his best to pronounce it correctly "My friend and I are here for a meeting with our superior. I apologise for his rudeness, he is always in a hurry, it's his nature. I would be grateful if you would show us the way."

{GM}

Xing Xing’s professional smile becomes more genuine. “Xing Xing is fine, sir,” she says, subtly correcting Mal’s pronunciation. “May I have your name, sir, so I can see if you’re on the schedule. If you’re not, I will have to get authorization.”

{Barazephyr}

Bobby turns around and heads back, still sporting his innocently cheerful smile, although with a hint of confusion.
"Did I say something wrong?" meanwhile he looks at the woman with more interest this time. Now searching for a name tag or any other way to figure out how Mal managed to know her name and what her role is.

{GM}

“No, sir,” Xing Xing says in a completely professional tone. Her innocent smile matches his own. “Of course not. Since you know the way, sir, I wouldn’t want to keep you.” She speaks her mild rebuke with such perfect sincerity that a Seraph would be pulling its hair out.

[shaidar]

{Mal}

Mal nods "I am Malcolm Alexander and this is Bobby Hasted, although we might be listed under our...nicknames. I was wondering, Xing Xing," (he tries to improve his pronunciation) "what was the language you spoke when we first entered the room?"

[Juramenta]

{Barazephyr}

Bobby refrains from answering to Xing Xing noticing Malcolm responding to her.
He still stays in his positive vibe since originally receiving Jean's message. He simply stands silently next to Malcolm with a big smile on his face.

[Charybdis Richelle]

{Mal}

Mal nods "I am Malcolm Alexander and this is Bobby Hasted, although we might be listed under our...nicknames.

{GM}

“Malcolm Alexander and Bobby Hasted,” Xing Xing says more to herself than to either of them. She looks at the datapad she’s holding. She swipes and taps a few times and nods. “Yes, here you are… Pre-authorized.”

She taps a few more times, and a hidden door pops open in exactly the direction that Barazephyr knew he should go. "Feel free to head in. It will be the second and third doors on your left once you enter. Enjoy your trip home, Mr. Alexander, Mr. Hasted.”

{Mal}
"I was wondering, Xing Xing," (he tries to improve his pronunciation) "what was the language you spoke when we first entered the room?"

GM}

Xing Xing smiles as Mal works to improve his pronunciation. “Close,” she says. “Very good for an… American.” She repeats her name one more time, though Mal’s ear doesn’t quite catch the difference. Wasn’t that what he just said?

Xing Xing raised her eyebrows at Mal’s question, and her smile slips into a mischievous grin. “Oh, that?” she says. “It’s Enochian, sir. “ Her eyes dance.