4/16; group text to ivan, gregor & bel

[forwardmomentum]

We have a problem.

[ attached is an image of a case of 18 fast-penta hyposprays...except it's empty for all but one. ]

Please tell me you guys have the rest.

Comments

[whatdidisay]

Not a damned one ended up in my mail this month. Maybe that's all that got sent?

[forwardmomentum]

Ivan, look at the last seven months. Are you really willing to bet on that luck?

[whatdidisay]

No, but I wish I could.

[forwardmomentum]

You'd be a terrible gambler.

No, I'd much rather play this worse-case-scenario, which means the rest of these are probably scattered across the ship with God knows who. You know how the mail is around here.

[whatdidisay]

Who needs to gamble for a spare mark with a face like mine?

Oh, good. It's not like there's enough paranoids on this ship. Now we've just given them a truth drug.

[forwardmomentum]

Not we. The Ingress. Now, I think we can agree that the quieter this is kept, the better. This ship's too damn big these days. The last thing we need is anyone catching on to the fact that they've got a truth drug, it'll spread like wildfire.

[whatdidisay]

Why is it that all of the awful stuff seems to come from universes where there's plenty of people to blame, huh?

[forwardmomentum]

I'd take another kitten tree over this.

But such is our fate, and we must face it bravely, my faithful cousin. So if anyone mentions anything about a mysterious hypospray, take note and play stupid.

[whatdidisay]

Not me. Nothing's worse than that, Miles. Including the decapitated head that showed up with your mother. Which is still here, by the way.

I've been told I play a convincing idiot more than once in my life, dear coz. Don't you worry.

[forwardmomentum]

Oh, I'm counting on it. Play to your strengths, Ivan.

Shit. Is it really? I guess that makes sense, but what happened with it?

[whatdidisay]

( he's not dignifying the first statement with an answer. )

Kitchen freezer. Loki has it.

[forwardmomentum]

Seriously? Go figure.

Well, I don't see any reason to move it. Unless it's to hock it out an airlock. I'm tempted.

[whatdidisay]

Isn't it a historical artifact?

[forwardmomentum]

Do you see Duv Galeni around here?

[whatdidisay]

What do you think he'll do to you if he shows up and finds out?

[forwardmomentum]

He'd be too preoccupied with the potential security disasters around Gregor, because that'd make him the ranking ImpSec officer and it'd officially be his problem. So I'd imagine he'd go all red in the face and sputter out some incredulous editorial before he ran off to have a heart attack in the line of duty.

[whatdidisay]

Next time you wonder why none of your COs like you, and several have attempted to kill you, I want you to come back to this moment.

He probably would, though.

[forwardmomentum]

I didn't say I wished it on the man. Actually, if Galeni showed up I'd feel kind of bad for him. A Komarran ImpSec agent in charge of Gregor's personal security with no infrastructure and very little in the way of support? I'm fairly certain that is one of his very specific personal nightmares.

[whatdidisay]

I'm pretty sure knowing you expanded his list at least ten-fold. He wasn't a bad CO before you came along, you know. Just a man with a giant stick up his ass.

( ivan actually liked him, and galeni didn't think much of anything towards ivan one way or the other except occasional exasperation. which ivan's ok with, on the whole. )

[forwardmomentum]

I didn't think he was a bad CO, not once I got to know him, anyway. What, that stick hasn't loosened any since I left London?

[ he liked galeni too. there really was something about the mutual confinement and torture that built a certain bond between two men. not his preferred method of bonding, but hey. ]

[whatdidisay]

Oh yeah, he was a lot more friendly after everything went down. What do you think, Miles?

[forwardmomentum]

I don't know, I thought it might have knocked a few walls down. Camaraderie under fire, and all that. Well, after the fire, I guess.

[whatdidisay]

I'm pretty sure he was too busy sorting through the remains of his life, his identity, and the paperwork to do much bonding. And he shoved half of that last part on me, no thanks to you.

[forwardmomentum]

That's a shame. I was hoping he'd loosened up a bit after that fight with the Cetagandan attache. You should've seen him. Did I ever tell you how he smashed that Ceta's head right against the hood of a groundcar? Kind of terrifying, actually.

[whatdidisay]

Probably deeply satisfying for him, too.

[hellsbel]

What the hell??

[but unfortunately the hell is fairly obvious.] I don't suppose there's a chance it was empty before it came here?

[forwardmomentum]

That's what Ivan said, but either way, I wouldn't want to bet on it. Would you really characterize us as lucky these last few months?

[hellsbel]

Ha. All-points bulletin, then? Or do we start sniffing around everyones' lockers?

[forwardmomentum]

We keep it quiet, is what. If anyone on this ship has one of those hyposprays, the last thing I want to do is let them know they're holding a truth drug. Keep an eye out, but let's not spread the word.

[hellsbel]

We could tell them it's a laxative. [you should be imagining a smirk right now.~] So, what, keep an ear out for the giggling? That should be fun.

Medbay should hear about it, though. With that many missing, someone will get dosed eventually.

[forwardmomentum]

If we say anything at all, it'll draw attention to it, and that's what we can't afford. It might've been easier to deal with a few months ago, but consider the size of the crew now. If we start dropping hints, even those pointing in the wrong direction, the hearsay is going to get beyond our reach very quickly. Let's just...keep this quiet until I figure out what to do.

[hellsbel]

[sigh]

No betting pool on who gets drugged first, check. I won't let it out.

Recommend a hint to Lady Vorpatril, though. She'd be discreet. [and potentially right on the scene in Medbay if anyone who's hit turns out to be allergic -- if anyone deserves a heads-up, she does.]

[forwardmomentum]

It'd be a very small, very private betting pool, and those are hardly any fun.

You might be right on that note, though. I suppose she's more likely to find out by Ivan running his mouth than anything else, and then I'd have to explain why I didn't tell her.

[hellsbel]

Too bad.

...Heaven forbid. Better let her know right away, then.

[lets_see_what_happens]

No. No, I do not.

This is, indeed, a problem.