2659/Peridot Ponderances

Peridot Ponderances
Date of Scene:	21 July 2015
Location:	The Citadel - Research Facilities
Synopsis:	Souji meets Peridot, helps straighten her out, and makes an offer that might not be in anyone's best interests.
Cast of Characters:	627, 836

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Peridot (836) has posed:
    On a table in the research lab rested what appeared to be a giant mechanical virus. With a diamond head, coiled body, and long spindly legs splayed and dangling over the side. The coil segment appeared to house strange alien looking technology with transparent casing around it. The casing appeared cracked, and overall the device looked like it had been badly damaged recently. Standing next to this monstrosity of magic and science loomed Peridot.

    The green skinned woman looked like she had seen better days. Though anyone seeing her for the first time perhaps lacked a frame of reference for the other-wise calm, collected gem with geometrically perfect shaped hair. The Petidot you see now is a shadow of that woman of cold reasoning. She had dark green circles under her eyes, her diamond shaped hair was wilted, with strands falling out of place and into her eyes. She looked like she had not slept in a week.

    "Blasted... gem tech. So fragile." She grumbled, as her disembodied fingers interlocked to form her holopad, her free hand begin tooling around in the virus machines innards. "Never works right when you need to. Always breaking."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji has seen many research facilities. Those of his homeland are not so different from these. Similarly... Chaotic, perhaps... But there is a certain flair that exists here in the Confederate research division that cannot be found anywhere else. That ozone tang of danger, perhaps...

The sound of dress shoes walking with a firm stride across the tile floor is heard before the voice is, a smooth, inquiring tone directed towards Peridot. "This is an unusual design." Should she turn to look, she will see the immaculately-dressed corporate heir, Souji Murasame. He does not seem to judge Peridot's ragged appearance at all, simply looking between her and the gem virus with a curious expression. "Is gemstone required for the panelling? Crystals are classically useful and powerful, but very brittle."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    At first, Peridot seemed to pay him little mind. Or perhaps more accurately, she was completely unaware that she wasn't alone anymore. Focused as she was on her task. Her visor becoming momentarily opaque as one of her floating fingers levitated down to a circuit board, and begin to jolt the device with a little buzz of heat and energy. As Souji begin to speak, she gave no immediate indication that she heard his comment about the unusual design, it wasn't until he asked his question that she seemed to wake up to the world around her.

    "Of course gemstone is required for the paneling you clod! What else could be-" She then stopped, and looked to him with surprise; even jolting upright a little that someone had managed to sneak up on her so easily. She looked him up and down for a moment, taking the time to also catch her breath before inhaling deeply and continuing again. This time, more calmly. "Yes. Gemstone is required." She ran a hand through her hair, in a feeble attempt to get it back to the perfect tetrahedron shape it normally occupied- to little effect.

    "And yes- It is useful, powerful..." She leered at the machine innards. "And infuriatingly brittle." She then squinted at him. "Who are you, human?"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Calm, cool, and collected, the stonefaced corporate heir does not jump as Peridot looks to him. "Have you considered perhapes setting it into an armored casing of some kind? The gemstone can remain, you will need to just account for incoming attacks."

Souji gives a short bow to Peridot. If he was insulted by the response from the tempermental woman he gives no sign, "Souji Murasame, of the Murasame Zaibatsu. A pleasure to meet you, miss...?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
        She watched him bow, but seemed unsure what to make of the gesture. She merely let him introduce himself, and then responded. "Peridot." She then seemed to return to work, zapping the circuit board with her finger as her visor became opaque. "Rejoice human, Souji Mura.. Zabats.. Mura-whatever-Earth name. For you gaze upon what is quite possibly the last of gem-kind in this universe. A rare treat, I'm sure."

    Though seeming somewhat impatient she did appear to consider his suggestion. "Unfortunately, the nature of this machine requires careful calibration of it's functions. Armoring it could work- but the circumstances of its damage was..." She paused searching for the word. "Anomalous. Therefore, armoring it would interfere with its primary function; even it would protect it from these unusual scenarios as it is not a combat vessel."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"A pleasure, miss Peridot." Souji says without missing a beat. Maybe he's used to dealing with this kind of thing. "Gem-kind?" Souji replies. "You did seem quite different from others I have met, to be sure." He states in a casually neutral tone.

He nods again, then, deferring to Peridot when she corrects him. "I see. It is my mistake for assuming that it was intended to be a combat machine. What was its intention for its primary purpose?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "At the moment." She went on. "Its sole job is to piss me off." She said, pausing in her soldering to give one of the virus machines legs a swift kick with her own armored boot. A loud metal clang ringing through the room. But after the somewhat childish display, she stopped to take another breath and continue soldering. "But when it's not doing that..."
    "It's called an injector. It's actual function is to ensure that I don't always bear the burden of being my species sole survivor. Seeing as gems are not beholden to biological... mammalian-esque reproduction." She made an uneasy face. "These kick off the natural processes of which a gem such as myself can be born. I can make more, but given my limited resources; It might be far easier if I can simply some of these broken ones back to operational statu-" Something appeared to go wrong, and short-circuited jolt of electricity arched over her from her finger, hitting her exposed shoulder, leaving a little sooty mark with a loud POP sound.
    "OW!" Peridot jumped, and covered her arm- wincing. Then all at once, the barely contained rage boiled over. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" She shouted, and begin kicking the main body of the device, smashing more shards of gemstone on the ground until the machine topped off the table onto the floor in a smoking heaping mess. For such an important piece of machinery, she didn't seem to treat it very well. And it appeared she wasn't finished, as she walks over and begins stomping on it mercilessly.

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji looks over the device and frowns to himself for a moment, as Peridot explains what the Deal is."I see. you are trying to propagate your species using these devices..."

When Peridot gets zapped, Souji's placid and yielding demeanor suddenly shifts, his voice ringing out in an air-splitting, "ENOUGH!"

He lets it hang there for a moment, and then he simply looks at Peridot. "You have a great burden on your shoulders. You cannot afford to allow yourself to be lost in such childish responses. Pull yourself together and /focus/ on the task at hand." He kneels next to the object and looks it over, considering for a moment. "Even do, it does not need to be accomplished alone. If you desire assistance, it can be provided. I count many geologists, Geomancers, and scientists among my employees."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    She had done a fair amount of damage, until he had shouted. She does however, stop when she hears it. She sunk slowly onto the floor next to it, sitting on her boots. Her head sunk low, as she leaned over, supporting her upper bodyon her forearms. She looked the at wrecked remains of the injector. Her expression shifting from angry, to forlorn. He was right, she thought distantly. She was a scientist... The fact that a human was lecturing her stung more than she thought it would.
    
    "This was never supposed to be my job." She grimaced- all the anger, and frustration had seemed to evaporate instantly into a vapid steam. "I am a seeker. I am an invader. I hand worlds over to Yellow Diamond. There is nothing... Even if I conquered this miserable planet- who would I give it to?" Slowly, she began to pick apart the innards. Not in a feeble attempt to repair it, but rather she was now trying to salvage the important parts. "I was never meant to save our species...but, you are right. This job has fallen into my lap, and it's too important..."

    At the offer to assistance, it gives her some pause. For a moment, she seemed to consider it. She knew he didn't know exactly what he was volunteering for. He didn't know what an injector.. what a lot of injectors would do to the host planet. It would be exploiting a kind offer, in a cruel world. There was a voice in her head that gave her some pause, unfamiliar as it was. But, she went back to his own words- as she thought earlier, he was right. She had a great burden on her shoulders. She pushed herself back up to her feet, and dusted herself off.

    "...And what exactly would you be expecting in return?"

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
When Peridot seems to pull herself together, Souji folds his arms and nods. Better. It seems he has taken the measure of this scientist. "Often we find ourselves taking on more than we ever thought we could hold." Souji replies. "Weaker people break under the stress. You do not strike me as one who would be as brittle as your machine."

He gives Peridot room, and allows her to work unimpeded. She knows mer machines far better than he could, after all. He is no engineer, nor a scientist.

He has /people/ for these things. "There are many planets out there. Some would be easier than others. If your Yellow Diamond cannot be found, would it not be reasonable to hold the planet in stewardship until they or a suitable heir is located?"

If he understands what this machine will do, it does not show in his eyes, as he looks down at Peridot and her work. The dark pools of his eyes seem to swallow things up and give little back. He watches Peridot as she gets back up and dusts herself off.

"I have not determined a proper price yet. I admit, I know little about your capabilities or what you would have to offer in exchange."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Fair enough." She answered, as she pulled a large gem from the core of the injector. This she handled far more delicately- even though it had survived her onslaught fairly unscathed. A little orb shaped-spider like device suddenly presented itself, as it crawled up along side the table and settled in front of Peridot. Like Peridot's fingers, its legs were not directly connected to it's body. The orb seemed to just hover, tethered by invisible energy.
    Peridot held out the gem to the orb, which took it without any manner of verbal command. Then skittered away on some unknown mission. On closer inspection, there were a few of these spider-like orbs walking about the room. Some were building what appeared to be individual injector machine pieces. Souji could see legs, casings- all manner of things. Though there were no other gems here, the sort of which Peridot removed from the broken one.
    "You can perhaps schedule a visit to my ship; and we can see what strikes your fancy. Though humans from the world I am from did not possess anything rivaling gem-technology, I've found the technology here does at least come close. But, rivaling it or not you have not likely seen anything quite like what we possess."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
Souji watches the process intently. The alien nature of Peridot and her technology continues to keep Souji's attention. "The core concept of our own technology is based on channelling Magic Particles through Patterns to create specific effects. Our vehicles use these patterns and particles, as do our entertainment, weapons, armor, conveniences, and other facets of society. Gemstones are particularly valuable in our technology in various forms, as well as a particularly pure form of crystal."

He turns to look at the injector machine pieces. "Your method is efficient enough. Perhaps it can be expanded, however, with the right economies of scale and access to resources. I can only imagine how you must have functioned at your height. You must have been a force to be reckoned with."

He turns back to Peridot. "I would be interested in a visit to your ship. While I am sure I have never seen anything like what you possess, I am sure we may have things of value to offer each other for mutual benefit."

He smiles faintly. "After all, the core of business is to determine the desires of others... And to satisfy them."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    She was accustomed to being a feared Gem on her homeworld. All of her ilk were. Seekers had been important, and they answered only to the three leaders of all gemkind who led a vast multi-plantery empire. Being made to be on the ground, and barter with the native species was a different experience for her, for she normally just took what she needed. But, so much had changed. Her mission, her position; her access to a vast network of resources. She practically had to start from square one. But, as her mission had changed, so had her game. She couldn't get what she needed via conquest. She had to forge alliances. Put herself amdist the humans.

    "It's called a gem warship. I keep it over a specific location out in the desert." As she spoke, a holographic image begin to project from the gem embedded on her forehead. It created a map of what appeared to be western america. There a little dot blinked several times, listing coordinates. "You may visit me here at another time of your choosing. This is where I am creating kindergarten. The nursery from which gemkind will spring forth and eventually become a valuable ally to the confederacy... and of value to its other allies."

Souji Murasame (627) has posed:
"A garden of gems..." Souji ponders this, rubbing his chin and nodding. "I will be sure to visit soon. Perhaps I will be able to convince some of my local science and Geomancy team to come with me." There is a flick of his hand as he records the coordinates on his mPad, which is withdraws from his suit. "Everything will work as planned, I am sure. We will determine the best way to proceed once we have a chance to examine everything in detail."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Agreed. I shall see you there." She semed about ready to leave before pausing. Peridot looked briefly over to the ruined mechanization that she had handily destroyed, before looking back to Souji. Apologizing to a human for flying off the handle felt alien to her- alien enough that she it felt too foreign to even attempt. But it also felt strange to not address it before departing.

    "...My robonoids will clean this up." She said, waving her hands, and the small spider like orbs leap into motion, and begin dismantling the machine. With that, the green skinned woman turned on her heels and left.