Aftermath [CLOSED]

[mind_of_the_sky]

Characters: Jade Curtiss and Miles Edgeworth
Content: In the aftermath of the spider crisis, Edgeworth makes a sweep of the ship - infirmary included - to check for damage.
Time: A few hours after the end of this log.
Setting: Jade's private office off the infirmary.
Warnings: Smarm, grump, references to Hurricane Peony.

Comments

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth's legs were sore, his clothes were damp from melted ice, and he just spent the last several hours either chasing away mechanical spiders, beating down mechanical spiders, cleaning up the messes left by said spiders, and herding confused crewmembers to where they were needed most. When added to the other ship debacles (from rappigs to boatswains) and his usual amount of sleep (none), the result was a very tired first mate. Not exhausted, not worn out, but certainly tired.

He reminded himself that there was no rest for the wary, and the ache in his back would go away soon enough. Edgeworth still had work to do, and places to investigate. For now, his priority was the infirmary. Edgeworth heard no tales of disaster from Curtiss or Takano, but it was still best to check up on them in person. He neared the room, and knocked against the door. "It's Commander Edgeworth," he announced.

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade slid his gaze over to the door at the knock and stood up. He straightened out a few wrinkles in his collar as he strode forward, then opened the door with his classic expression of bland politeness. "Good afternoon, Commander," Jade said, habitually adjusting his glasses, "I assume your presence means the spiders have been exterminated?"

[edge_of_honor]

Well, at least Jade seemed to be doing as well as always. Edgeworth nodded slowly, and said, "Most of them, although there were a few small ones lingering about. I trust the infirmary's been doing well?" He moved a strand of dull gray hair away from his eyes, and resisted the urge to yawn in front of the doctor. There'd be time enough for rest later.

[mind_of_the_sky]

Briefly, Jade took in the First Mate's appearance - not surprisingly, thanks to the spiders, Edgeworth seemed run more ragged than usual. His usually steady gaze had taken on a hint of listlessness, not to mention the tired lines around his mouth.

And of course, if Jade knew the Commander at all (and he didn't, but he did know his character), the younger man would likely continue working until he dropped from exhaustion. That simply wouldn't do - bad for moral, after all.

"The spiders, at least, have left me quite alone." He spoke calmly, then paused for a moment before speaking again. "If you've the time, would you mind sitting down for a moment? I have a few questions about what's been going on up above."

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth nodded, and said, "I can spare a moment or two. Just tell me what you need to know." While there was still much to be done, the situation was more or less stable now. Whatever work that remained could be handled by the other officers, and Edgeworth doubed that the ship would collapse without his presence. There was no harm in taking a few minutes to inform Jade of the situation.

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade quirked a small smirk. "Anything, really. The information flow didn't quite reach me this time around, I'm afraid."

He stepped back from the doorway and gestured for Edgeworth to come in, then turned slightly to the right. "My study is just through here, if you'd care for a seat."

[edge_of_honor]

"Thank you." Edgeworth followed Jade, and walked slowly to the door in front of him. Inside was a small room, that was neat, tidy, organized, and filled to the brim with a rather thorough collection of books and medical texts. He took the good doctor's suggestion, and sat down in the chair in front of the desk. "But first," he started, "tell me what you already know, if you would." There was no good wasting Jade's time, or his own, for that matter.

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade continued walking around the desk over to a side table with a small hotplate, on which a kettle was piping merrily. "I know that the spiders are mechanic and self-replicating," he said, setting up a tray with cups and saucers, "Hence their scavenging habits. As for their movements, I've heard rumors that they may have been using the ventilation systems, and that there was some sort of swarm attack earlier, hence all the commotion."

Tea poured, Jade brought the tray and himself back to the desk, setting the former down atop it and settling himself into the high-backed chair behind it. "As no one has contacted me, I assume there were no major injuries." He gestured at the cups between them. "And please, help yourself to some tea. It's quite good~"

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth glanced at the tray, before he murmured another "thank you" and grabbed one of the teacups. He stirred in a small amount of milk and honey, and blew away the steam; it was still too hot to drink.

"You're right," he said, "there are no major injuries, thankfully, although there have been a few minor ones. I suspect they'll come banging on your door for antiseptic this evening." Edgeworth frowned slightly, and looked down into his cup. "However, it wasn't exactly a swarm. They were building more than just miniature copies of themselves."

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade picked up a cup of his own an stirred in a bit of sugar. "Oh?" he asked, genuinely interested - it was a rare thing indeed for self-replication machines to actually improve themselves, after all.

[edge_of_honor]

"I'm not sure if you noticed," he started, "but since their arrival, they started get larger and larger. The originals were small, and looked uniform - like a professional product - while the ones that followed were larger, clunkier, and looked like they were patched together from god-knows-what. I'm sure you can guess where they got their building materials."

[mind_of_the_sky]

"Hmm," Jade muttered, "I suppose that means there will be problems returning the appropriated objects?" He took a cautious sip of his tea - still too hot, but close to drinkable. "Assuming you all were fighting against and likely destroying them up above."

[edge_of_honor]

"That depends," he replied. "Some of the objects should be easy enough to recover, once we find them - we've already uncovered some books and other objects during our recent sweeps. It seems that their main interest was in metal. If you had something made primarily of metal, though..." Edgeworth trailed off, and shook his head. "Then any recovery is doubtful. Keep in mind, though, that they would still be difficult even without our ...efforts. The machines did a nasty job breaking the objects apart and jamming the scraps together for their 'children'."

He tapped his finger lightly against the rim of the teacup, and sighed. "There's still more to the story, however."

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade frowned a bit and made a small, almost frustrated noise. "I see. However?"

[edge_of_honor]

Edgeworth risked another sip of tea, and found that it had cooled just enough not to burn his tongue or lips. Jade was right - it really was quite good. The aroma sharpened his mind, and now more fully awake (not that he wasn't before), he lowered the cup and cleared his throat.

"Remember how I said they had grown larger and larger?" he asked. "Recently, they had taken that trend to ridiculous extremes. A rather...tall version of the pests was being constructed in the engine room, while one of the abandoned showers had the joy of hosting a metallic crab...thing." Edgeworth took another sip of tea, and said, "I believe there was only one other - something snakelike that was constructed in the vents. Fortunately, all three have been taken care of, along with most of the smaller machines."

[mind_of_the_sky]

Jade took a slow sip of his tea, set the cup down, and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "...As the ship is still running, I'll assume there was no major structural damage, but I imagine the mechanics crew will be running some late nights." He paused for a moment, in thought. "I don't suppose I could take a look at one of the smaller ones? Their complexity is...intriguing."