"C'mon . . . " Juniper stuck her tongue out and craned her neck to look as she braced the tool against her middle finger and manipulated it by resting her finger on the tip of the handle. Using her thumb, she lightly rolled the tool, looking for the sweet spot as she did so. This had all gone much faster when she'd been able to simply squeeze from the cuffs, but at least she knew what she was doing. It would take time, but she didn't doubt she could get loose.

"Puppies?" she asked, smiling a bit, "Oh yes, I am definitely a dog person. I mentioned Bruiser earlier, and I raised him since he was only a few months old. We were talking about getting another dog before things went wonky back home, Bru's getting on in years, ya know?" she blinked as she heard the click. Gingerly, carefully, she turned tool until the lock loosened up and she knocked the manacle free. She nodded a bit and reached over her body, twisting her ankles in the lower cuffs so she could lie on her side and reach more easily.

"I mean, sure, they tend to chew on things, even things you'd rather they didn't, but there's something to be said for a pet who's always happy to see you, right? Someone who'll be with you, thick or thin, when you're in a bad mood or already cheerful. Heh, though people who assume any dog is a watch dog are in for a rude awakening one day." she chuckled a bit at that. Dogs had a certain tendency to bark at, well, just about everything, so much dog owners learned how to tune them out in short order. A dog might make plenty of noise, but they won't usually do much to actually stop an intruder when their "pack" isn't being threatened. Funny the things you learn when you make other people's business your career.

"How about you? Have you got an opinion on pets?" she asked, smirking a bit as the second lock came loose. It had gone much faster than the first, now that she had the ability to move her whole arm instead of focusing on just her finger tips. She grunted a bit as she pulled herself into a sitting position, trying to bend her knees and scoot lower though the way her ankles were held in place that mostly just ended up hurting. Finally, she relented and bent forward, reaching with the full length of her arm. Taking shallow breaths, she swore that if she ever got out of here she was going to bust ass and trim up again . . . her lazy summer was coming back to bite her in ways she'd never have expected before.

Finally, she slid off the cold metallic table, hitching up her pilfered pants as they tried to slide over her hips. She looked at the Tinman for a long moment as he crouched by the door. He'd done practically everything but take her out the front door himself . . . she shifted her weight a moment and felt guilty about the notion that he was plotting something from where he stood by the door.

"Thanks for the game, big guy. Maybe we can play again some night in more casual circumstances." she stood up on her tip-toes and reached up to pat his shoulder, ducking under his arm as she dashed passed him. Third door on the right, a lift in the lab, second door on the right passed the lobby . . . then, the elevators she'd been grabbed at before. She wondered if the pale-skinned Tri-Clops would still be there . . . and quickly hoped not. She was relying on speed rather than stealth here, and Rena would know she knew the quickest route now. Hopefully Tinman's rampage fo fun and entertainment meant that they wouldn't be able to corral her this time.

It was looking for a simple yes or no answer. That was to make sure that it had enough coolant to make it to the mainland but a few minutes was not going to hurt either way.

It listened to the tale that she offered up though it never had a pet before so it had to analyze that question closely.

“UNCERTAIN. I HAVE NEVER ACQUIRED A PET BEFORE AND THERE ARE NO ANIMALS ON THIS ISLAND SO THE ONLY BEINGS CAPABLE OF SERVING IN THAT FUNTION ARE SENTIENTS AND SENTIENTS CANNOT BECOME PETS BUT SLAVES BY DEFINITION AS DESIGNED BY BALNAB. STILL, I WILL PROCESSS YOUR QUESTION HYPOTETICALLY AND HAVE AN ANSWER FOR YOU SOON.”

Tinman answered her question as best as it could at the moment as it wanted to process a hypothetical situation first.

She patted it's shoulder, sensors telling it that she made contact though of course it did not feel it. She pressed by, apparently eager to get away. Boosters kicked on, Tinman burst into action throughout the corridors. ”AFFIRMITIVE. UNTIL NEXT TIME.”

Rena had been pissed, pissed enough to deviate from hunting her down. She was going after the big “guy”.

Making her way along she was able to get to the lobby. There was no Gersham and the elevator shaft was open. She'd probably have to climb given that the elevator was up at the top floor minus a floor at this stage.

Sentients cannot become pets, but slaves. Juniper chewed on that statement a bit as she made her way down the halls at a dead run. She'd had a few minutes to rest, the worst of her fatigue had bled off, but as she put her head down and pumped her legs she could still feel where she was sore from her previous run. At least this time she knew where she was going, running a hand along the wall to force Aegir to deal with another sense if he ended up running interference on the reporter again. On the upside, she thought she'd managed to cheese Rena off to the point that she'd stop asking about her benefactor . . . on the downside, she'd cheesed Rena off.

The first elevator ride was . . . harrowing. She was having trouble trusting them when she knew they could be shut down remotely, but it seemed that no one was focused on her at the moment as she reached the first landing. She glanced out and around cautiously at first, making certain there were no storm troopers rushing to cut her off . . . but there were no alarm klaxons, no sounds of dozens of hardnobbed boots clomping down the halls. Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to run once again down the halls, jumping through the bent and broken remains of a metallic wall that 2179 had smashed through earlier as she followed the most direct route.

All alone, for the time being, she took the last few steps up to the open elevator doors, cautiously craning her neck as she leaned in and looked up the shaft. Swallowing, she looked up the great, dark shaft that stretched up above her, picked out with emergency lighting as it was. For just a moment, she regretted unloading the handgun on the instrument panel for the elevator. . . with any luck, she'd have shorted out the remote controls as well.

"Who only installs one elevator shaft for a major thoroughfare?" she grumbled to herself, looking around and finding no other lifts. There was no cable to grab hold of this time, exactly how was she going to climb up? A splash of caution yellow caught her eye, however, and sure enough she found a maintenance ladder. She supposed she shouldn't have been surprised, a long shaft with no intermediary stops along the way? Repair crews would need some way to get to the car if it ever got stuck partway up. She shimmied carefully along the ledge ringing the base of the shaft that the car would settle down into and grabbed a firm hold of latter.

Faced with a dirth of other options, she started climbing her way back up, trying to sort out how she was going to get through the door when she finally arrived at the top.

For the moment she was safe for Rena's ire was on both 2179 and her but she sought to clear up the insubordination first. She left Aegir to deal with Juniper knowing that the task was all too simple for the telepath as he could just control her and get her to return to a confined area without even leaving the control room he was in.

After all he was already tapped into her senses well before the climb the added sensation to monitor wasn't even a challenge for him. It was always amusing when someone tried to shut him out in some fashion. Sometimes he had pretended that it was working too such as the case with his dealings with Asao.

But as she climbed the elevator shift and got to the doors of the next floor they simple slid open as if she were expected though there was nothing there, just a sterile white corridor full of obscuring mist brightest at the end of the corridor the light source indicating a way out perhaps though there was a chuckle that reached her ears.

It's been fun but I cannot allow you to go any further. Do not make me have to do this the hard way. As it is Rena is already quite furious with you and Tinman, however, she believes you to be so beneath her at this stage that she isn't going to implant you with a slug or two preferring to make you suffer.

It had taken a bit of squeezing, but ultimately she'd decided to climb up over the elevator car and slide in through the cieling hatch once again, rather than risk hand-over-handing her way up through the floor that Tinman had torn through the floor of the car. Dangling her legs for a few moment, she swung back, and forth, and back again to get the timing, then slung herself for the edge of the elevator landing on the balls of her feet. She grit her teeth as she started to tip back, grabbing hold of the handrails along the interior of the car and clinging tightly for a few moments as she tried to get control of her breathing again. Studiously avoiding looking down, she let out a long sigh and closed her eyes, shimmying her way over to the door. Which opened automatically at her approach.

"God dammit." she swore, looking into the sterile white depths ahead of her. She had no doubt that she could walk down that corridor forever and never get any closer to the light source. So, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Tried to focus, tried to find where he was in her head. It was like looking for a clear gelatin mold dropped in the sea. She could only sense what he wanted to sense of him . . . the bemused chuckle, for example. Still, she blindly traced her fingers over the control panel for the elevator, opening a panel and pulling the switch for the door's emergency release, reaching forward to pry doors that already seemed to yawn wide open.

She ended up stepping into the corridor as if there was nothing in her way at all, and when she looked back the elevator door was closed. She let an angry puff of air out through her nose, standing in place and looking at the corridor around her as the mist began to roll and swirl around her legs, looking for cracks, seams, inconsistencies in the vision around her. She supposed a blank white wall wasn't particularly difficult to imagine . . . if anything, putting cracks in it would probably take more effort.

"Look at where I am." she said to the air around her, squaring her jaw slightly, "Do I look like someone prone to taking the easy way out?" She hammered one fist against the wall, checking to make sure that it was solid, and then started walking into the fog towards the defuse light at the end of the corridor. She tried to focus on the feelings of her legs, tried to measure whether or not each step was real.

Are you calling in your marker? she thought, hammering the palm of her hand against her temple as if the force from the blow might somehow dislodge him, to make the illusion shudder and jump and maybe give her a glimpse at what was real. She wasn't expecting much in the way of results from that approach though.

Most of it had been real. The fog wasn't, the damp nature of it had been chilling at best, concealing things but what. Each step brought her closer to that light source though it became clear that his hold on her mind was absolute. The ancient telepath had not budged, nor did any inconsistencies appear that she could exploit.

I suppose not but you must realize that Rena is not going to let you go, nor can I for that matter. If I can't handle one girl then that makes me look rather inept, surely for you to pass this point then they'd know I had let you escape.

You've seen the total disregard it has for property damage and Rena approved of this. Well not the jumping down the elevator shaft or your games with it, I got a sense though your mind even without cameras such as in the elevator shaft itself.

You have a way of digging your heels in and attempting to piss off your foe enough to fluster them, you have been successful in that though the result may no be good for either of you.

He paused when she mention the marker as if he were considering something. No. The agreement was for three codes, you got two, granted there was nothing too interesting that you wouldn't have figured out for yourself but the deal was for three. Regretful, but I have not lived up to my end of the bargain yet. And I tend to follow the spirit of an agreement rather than the letter of it, fewer tricks were everyone gets what they want at the end of the day.

Of course, nothing is really hard but you'll find I'm incredibly lazy most days when not doing something to fulfill a bargain of course.

"Ow. . ." she deadpanned, rubbing her forehead. The voice echoing in her ears didn't so much as stutter from the blow . . . which was about as good an implication as she was going to get that pain didn't do anything to ward him off. She didn't doubt that she was caught, once Aegir had snaked her way into her mind everything became suspect after all. She was, instead, taking the opportunity to explore the condition of being under his influence. Looking for inconsistencies, weak points, anything she could use to deduce when he was present in her mind, or something she might use to slip free if she ever had cause. Of course, the octopoid had literal centuries of experience. if there were gaps in his technique she wasn't going to discover them with a few minutes of poking about.

"Is it okay for me to feel bad about exploiting him so openly?" she asked the air as she moved through the fog, each step carrying her deeper into the blank hallway, but also moving the fog higher and higher around her, "I mean, sure, he's an unfeeling mechanical engine of destruction who needs to regularly feed upon the bodily fluids of defenseless young women, but . . . well . . . he's kind of a product of the environment he was raised in, isn't he? I kinda got the impression I was the first person to just talk to him, instead of screaming and running or bossing him around." she shrugged her shoulders slightly. It was kind of like a sheep worrying about the health of a wolf cub, but there was something about the machine's naivete that just brought out her protective Big Sister instincts.

The other marker. she thought, with a brief struggle to maintain composure, Simple exchange? You get Rhaine to safety, and then I'm supposed to submit when you ask. she chuckled a bit, Okay, I might only be asking because I want to hear you say the word, and I'm half curious what you'd do if you didn't have leverage on me. A bit deeper under her surface thoughts, the notion peaked that she didn't want to fold too easily and have him claim he hadn't cashed in his debt for that particular favor yet, though it seemed to be chasing an ongoing internal discussion about whether or not he'd do such a thing.

"Hey, if you're gonna go, go all out, right?" she shook her head, still chuckling to herself, "Besides, what else can I do? She's made it pretty clear that it doesn't matter whether I cooperate or not. That's, essentially, a free license to be as uncooperative as I bloody like, and it's not as though she doesn't react spectacularly to it. I'd normally have to pay five bucks and threaten a clown with a severe water logging for that kind of entertainment." she actually barked a short laugh at that, though her foot steps slowed as she felt the cold, clammy fog against her neck.

She sighed a bit, looking at the halo of light that still shone through the pale fog, trying to gauge the distance from where she was currently standing. He was the one who'd said that the only rule was what there were no rules . . . she could still make a break for it. Though there was the question of what good it would do, just because she got through that door didn't mean that she'd slip his telepathic range. He very well might just cause her to turn around and walk back under her own power.

Tsk--so, if I do give up, what do you want from me? Down on the ground and hands behind my head? Drop into a knee and clasp my hands behind my back, what? You've gotta know I won't just walk back into the lion's den this close to the open sky. . .

Of course Aegir could sense the fact that she was looking for something she could use, anything, though he had assumed that she would do so on her own accord. He had regretted having to violate the fact that he had agreed to stay out of her head for a few days though there was no real agreement between them, just something of a bonus he had agreed to.

I cannot read Tinman but it strikes me as a work in progress, a product of this environment rather than your typical rapist that does so out of ear, sadistic pleasure or other wise though you're probably the first to speak to it as more than a tool and based on the impression I've seen and read in your mind he seemed to be coming about, especially your talk towards the end there where he all but freed you, it would be my guess that it took something you said to heart and decided to leave rather than stay for whatever reason. I can surmise a few things.

It is so use to being in the background that Rena grew to think of it as no more than a tool and was not expecting you to dialogue with it or perhaps she assumed it would simply ignore you though as you discovered it was under no orders to ignore you. I do not think you need to worry about it, though such budding emotions will be taken advantage of.

Now it could be argued with he other little things that he had done from time to time that he made up for the marker that had been established though he would keep to his end, provided that she did not state that it was already paid in full he would get her a third code one of these days perhaps. It was clear that he like watching her struggle through matters and seemed to get far more out of her than he otherwise would.

She was on his list for different reasons of course but she had just eked into his Fav Five and was the only one there that he had yet to have physical dealings with. He would one day no doubt but not now. Not yet.

Aegir what her from further down the hall, he slithering forth as she approached. I ultimately got Rhaine out of here though it was mostly your efforts and the fact that Rena is so fixated on you that Rhaine was less than a priority. If I let her leave then Rena might overlook it in the heat of things, but if you were to get away she would be all over it. She could get all over my case about Rhaine but she was so distracted with you that she never relaid to me orders in capturing her, of course I nudged her mind a little, too much and she would suspect something though, or someone else might think she was behaving out of character and figure it out.

But getting Rhaine out of here is probably going to be the extent of your victory, that and getting beneath Rena's skin that is. I could always make you do it but I am trying to stay out of your head too much, I haven't been able to do it much while here but I am quite capable of having you turn around. But that is a far exchange, is it not. Rhaine's freedom for yours, after all I'm sure you knew from the star you could never truly escape. Rena wouldn't allow for it but she would let you try just that. I thought she would hunt you down herself, the thrill of the chase and all but she changed her mind last minute and sent the machine instead.

What I would do? Well if we had no prior arrangement I would likely form some sort of bargain with you so you could take something away, maybe even allow you to keep a memory. I am here no doubt to burn the last twenty-four hours away, maybe even further than that, he shrugged, his silhouette showing in the fog. Of course there would perhaps be some sort of carnal payment for that privilege but I digress. But we already have an arrangement so I would likely just stick to that one until it was completed of course then after that may another, or maybe I would just watch you for a bit knowing that eventually you'd need something and enter into a new bargain to get it, I cannot say at this stage as to how eager I would be one way or the other as far as deals go.

Aegir considered for a moment as she thought how he'd have her, how she refused to walk back. He drew closer to her, a tentacle stretching out to rub against the softness of her cheek before drifting down her left arm and coiling around her wrist. I shall carry you there.

"Mmn . . . yeah, I know I'll probably have to settle for the consolation prize." she said, opening and closing her hands a few times as she continued walking through the cool, clammy fog. She paused briefly to glance over her shoulder, not wanting to fall for such a simple misdirection, but when she turned her eyes front again she could see the sinuously slithering shadow of Aegir's form making it's way over towards her. "But that doesn't mean that I'm going to stop reaching for the brass ring. Getting to have my cake and eat it too is just too tempting."

She took a step back as the pale mists parted to show his mottled mauve form sliding over the polished tile. It probably wasn't really him . . . the effort he'd have had to expend to get ahead of her during her dash didn't seem his style at all. He'd self-identified as a lazy creature, but then, his abilities allowed him to accomplish much without expending a great deal of effort. A mental projection, particularly one back with telekinesis was every bit as "there" functionally as he'd have been himself . . . and possibly even more dangerous, since it lacked any meaningful body to attack.

She didn't recoil as one purple tentacle reached it's way towards her, the tapered end gently stroking against her cheek comfortingly. She still wasn't quite used to the way he felt, slick, cool, pliable, but if he was anything like his terrestrial counterparts those tendrils weren't weak. A few thoughts flitted through her mind rapid fire, her earlier suppositions regarding his light sensitivity, and the fact that he seemed to have little if any endoskeleton to speak of. That lead to the dual notions that his cranium was potentially comprised of thick cartilage, and that the telekinetic cocoon she suspected he was using to help support himself out of the water could likely be made rigid as a defensive gesture. A sharp blow to the head might inconvenience him far worse than her, and might stagger his psionic abilities . . . but she'd have to catch him flat footed to stand a chance with such a strategy. No easy feat when he was in her head.

Her muscles tensed as the tentacle slid over her shoulder and down her arm, winding it's way around her wrist. There was a brief flash of violence through her mindscape, paired with a thin justification of keeping up their supposed roles. Instead, however, she let out a held breath, wavered on her feet and pitched forward into him, going limp like a puppet with its strings cut. The benefit of Aegir's abilities was that she could "lose the fight" without any lingering pains or wasted energy on either of their parts.

You realize, of course, that this makes neutralizing you a priority if I get another shot at getting out of here . . ., she thought, eyes staring blankly aside as her cheek rested against his chest, Try not to take it personally if I fixate on that a bit.

If you manage to surprise me then no offense, I deserve getting beat but the likelihood of that happening without any outside assistance is virtually nil. We both realize this. He had considered how she might go about it. Her best option was using Tinman in some fashion when he was out of range of her thoughts because he was unable to read the machine but could she manage to assist it or rather get it to assist her.

Juniper made it easy on him. There was no wasted energy, no wasted movement. Her struggles would have done know good but he considered her words at having her cake and eating it too. It was one of the factors that made it so easy for him to watch her, she had amused him even if she knew of a certain outcome she was willing to battle against the status sou.

He had assumed if he were going to cash in his voucher she may have fought harder. It was so tempting with her so close, the fragrance of her shampoo in his nostrils, the softness of her body though it was hard in all the right places. He had supposed he could have taken her if he so desired, it was not as if she could stop him if he chose to do so.

But they had a deal and he would honor it, sometimes it was sweeter in waiting than to instantly gratify oneself though he went this way and that, certainly he was not returning her to that trashed room though as he went about he had considered caressing a thigh, though with so much aphrodisiac course through her it wouldn't have been fair to say the least.

Taking her into a totally different room than what she was set into Aegir lays her down on a table in this otherwise sterile white room

Rena shall be here shortly. He began using his tentacles to strap yer onto the table.

I'm going to remember you said that when I pull it off. she thought with a certain amount of smugness. Oh, not now, he was too close, paying too much attention. She'd have time though, and there were more ways to surprise someone than a quick kick to the family jewels. Oddly enough, the thought felt less like a threat, and instead carried overtones closer to friendly rivalry. He had the edge on her in this regard, but she was assuming she'd have plenty of opportunities to vary her approach to his presence in her head.

It was hard for her to keep up the facade of being out of it as he picked her up. Each tentacle moved around her independently from the rest, sliding slickly over her and encircling her body before they coiled tightly and held her firmly. Her pilfered uniform helped dull the sensation somewhat, though the slick coating around each limb made the thin white cotton shirt cling transparently to her flesh in places. She squirmed imperceptibly as one tendril wound it's way around her knees and hefted her up, doubting her earlier assessment that this was a projection as the air coming from one of the vents in the ceiling made the cloth plastered to her flesh chill her thoroughly . . . or if he were simply putting that much effort into sculpting her perceptions.

She tried to watch unblinkingly as the two of them moved through the halls . . . it was a different route than the one she'd taken to get here. No elevator this time, that was important. The blast shields seemed to be more intact as well, on the whole. She whimpered slightly and shifted again in his tendrils, his uneven slithering gait causing her to slide slightly in his grasp where he used the tentacles that lacked suction cups, the texture, friction, and closeness causing the drugs in her system to dance in her head. She still struggled to keep control of herself, but playing the part of deadweight left her nothing else to concentrate on, really.

You're kidding me, this is a room template!? she thought as he pushed her through a new pair of double doors into a fresh, new sterile white amphitheater. She let herself stir slightly against him, pushing against his chest with the flats of her palms, though the grip he had on her wrists made it child's play to pull them away and hold her still. He was more gentle about it than the guards had been, pressing her down against the metallic slab and holding each limb firmly in place with a tentacle as his digited manipulators set to work clamping each metallic shackle into place, Exactly how often do you people run these experiments!? she asked a bit incredulously.

"W-what . . . ?" she let the slightly confused word tumble numbly from her lips, blinking a bit and allowing more alertness into her poise at the sound of the manacle locking firmly, "The hell!? I thought this place was trashed!"

It certainly wouldn't be easy to fool him though it was intriguing that she thought she could. By instinct he read minds close enough to strike him constantly on the norm. There was Princess Octavia amongst the stars that was an enigma to him. He couldn't read her, well if he were more forceful he imagined that he would bypass her defenses though it was intriguing not to know everything all the time. She did have an empathic link though were her emotions were projected and he could work out her mood at least. Thus far he had not caught her deceiving him but she was perhaps in the best position to do so other than his kind. But the Princess wasn't human either.

Amongst humans … well, there were two that he avoided scanning, on not so much and the other never unless letting her enjoy one of his scenarios. She might hit upon this and surprise him that way or do something quite unexpected if he weren't paying too much attention. It was interesting to consider. They had plenty of time anyway though he sweetened the prospect.

Aegir liked being in control. He loved it but he was more often bored then not so the unexpected was worthwhile for him. He actually sought to encourage her a bit. Each month I will give you some time to look at catalogs of the latest digital cameras. I cannot let you keep the catalogs but I will hold onto them at my lair. If you manage to truly trick me or do something unsuspecting then I will let you choose a camera and I will get it to you. Cameras aren't contraband but I doubt there are many opportunities to get a hold of one. Now he didn't think that she could do it but he would make it somewhat interesting for her.

But as her thoughts shifted about this being real or a projection his mouth tendrils twitched. A little doubt never hurt when dealing with an investigator. Certainly she was taking notes upon him as he made note of her.

It could be that I am a projection. Your perceptions could be altered and either I'm controlling your mind to move you along or doing so through telekinesis. I can do either but I'll let you discern the answer yourself.

Her attempts to push away had been feeble as they entered the room. Actually this is only my second and my role is somewhat limited. I wouldn't be involved at all if not for Rena involving me. I am unsure about how many experiments are run here, Rena probably had the official numbers but I doubt she'll tell you. The first experiment I was involved with was with a test involving resisting electrical attacks which I was interested in. I have been to the labs several times to donate this sample or that but yes, much of this place isn't as it seems. Since Tinman has made a mess of the room downstairs we'll be making use of this one. It is fairly spartan though. He carefully secured her ankles, waist and wrists, then eyed her casually.

The satisfaction would've been enough, honestly. she thought, going through the now-familiar motions as she started testing her bonds, looking up at the wrist cuffs to see how they shifted as she twisted her wrists in their confines and pushed and pulled at the experimentally, Though I'll be sure to circle the one that's got my eye. It's not as though I can afford to turn down resources.

The belt over her waist was a new complication, keeping her back flat and her ass against the table. She tried to shift her weight from one side to the other, already a difficult prospect when she was splayed over the surface as she was, but sure enough she could barely manage to wiggle her hips at all. She glanced off to the side and lightly flicked her tongue over her lips, considering . . . so, it wasn't exactly the same kind of table. She doubted they'd added the waist strap for no particular reason . . . this table probably tipped upward to let her hang vertically in a pinch, she wagered. Take some of the pressure off of her wrists.

"I'd wager Telekinesis . . . I don't think I could strap myself into this thing very well." she said, though she supposed he could've split the difference and been waiting for her here while he telekinetically carried her to the proper place. "So, if the Tinman is determined to get out of here, do you think Rena could stop him? He's pretty fast, when he has a mind to be." she said conversationally.

Mmn . . . that's troubling. I honestly just kind of assumed you were around and got pulled into things. she paused a bit, looking up at the harsh light overhead and squinting before she shook her head and continued the though, But if you were called in . . . it must've been for a reason. Tinman would've been more than up to the task of restraining my physically . . . and frankly Rena seems like she'd delight too much in my panic for me to think you're here strictly for the sake of pacification . . . her heartbeat a few times as she considered, So what the hell are you here for?

The camera made things interesting. He didn't think that she'd get it but watching her she seemed to be determined to a fault. He considered her options and some pit falls that he would have to be mindful of though he doubted that he would need to pay this matter too much focus. If she did manage it, a new camera was a pittance for the novelty of being surprised. He didn't have to give her anything but he kept to his bargains and the terms of his games because that was the only thing that seemed to make life interesting these days.

Noted. Of course it will be challenging but you have at least four years to work on it. How she interpreted that statement he'd let her dance around things, perhaps there was grad work, perhaps he intended to be around her further, who knew what the telepath meant.

Maybe. I could use telekinesis through a node or even a surveillance camera. I could be doing this all remotely from a command room somewhere, you'd never know the true range of my gifts without such tools but with them … well there are limits but I'll let you figure that one out for yourself.

He considered his involvement. I can only surmise that I was requested for my talents, controlling minds and such … extracting information or some such. Rena has not said. She's used Tinman in a physical capacity, probably as a tool of intimidation that faltered with the two of you playing games. Tinman may be quick but it has a flaw that Rena can exploit. If worse comes to worse she could simply command it through the PA system.

But I surmise Rena has had enough of both you and Tinman given her though so from her on out she's going to go straight for business I think after punishing our mechanical friend.

"Huhn . . . is it just me, or is this table like . . . two inches longer than the other one?" she muttered under her breath, inhaling deeply and trying to pull her shoulders up slightly with no discernible success, "Who increments table construction on that kind of scale?" she muttered. After a moment, she settled back into place and closed her eyes, the light shining through her eyelids leaving her to look at a warm orange glow with the vague impression of veins running through them as she starting going over a running tally of her options.

Really, the talk about the camera was just good fodder for banter. Something to keep her mind off of the direness of her situation. She had no doubt that while she was here there was going to be no small number of critters poking around in her head for one reason or another. She was going to have to learn how to recognize when her thought processes were picking up an audience, to recognize when someone was twisting her logic train around their little finger, and more importantly how to hide such things from probing minds. Making a game out of it was simply gravy, it ensured she'd have someone to test her burgeoning theories and defenses against.

Also, ultimately, she intended to cheat like a baboon, though she was studiously not thinking about specific ways to cheat just yet.

Ah, but the impression I got was that your nodes need a biological host, and the way I've been tearing around through here I think I'd have noticed one by now. It'd be a good feint if I was still with Rhaine, don't get me wrong, though I still think I'd doubt. You seem to be rather careful with those things she smirked a bit, And while I'm willing to entertain the notion that you can use cameras to target indirectly I rather doubt that you can daisy chain your range that way. Otherwise, why the biological imperative for nodes at all?

"Though I appreciate the bit of misdirection. It's nice to know you're treating this seriously." she chuckled slightly, letting it slowly die off. It was true, Rena did still have her authorative hooks in Tinman, and because she hadn't been expecting him to basically hand her her freedom, she'd gone and blanked out his visual sensors so that he'd have to rely on audio output. Well played, Junebug, she thought, roughly knocking the back of her head against the table with a grimace.

"How does one punish a machine anyway? He can always turn off his pain receptors, and I'm not sure he feels strongly enough about anything for it to actually torment him to have it threatened." she said, clearly mulling over the notion, Which is probably for the best. I'm not sure sure I'm prepared to play Damsel in Distress to an adolescent machine intelligence.