thread ☆★☆ deceptions
CHARACTERS: Alcheregis Project → Vahe Param, Bethany "Eiswein" Param, Rylan Bian, MAYBE OTHERS
WHEN: Coincides with the family reunion
WHERE: Uisce Beatha; underground facility outside of Brix, near Pisang
SUMMARY: First Scientist sect thread! With the arrival of the Traydor's ship, a new plan may be put into motion.
WARNINGS: Read backstory for more information.
☆ ★ ☆
Bethany sighed, drawing her pencil across the report page and colouring in the round parts of the letters. She was waiting while her father compared the latest test results against those from the previous week. She doubted that he would find any changes; the readings had been steady for months now. Finally, he pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Vahe Param was an imposing man, dark-haired and dark-eyed with a piercing gaze that conveyed both intelligence and high expectation. There was no worse feeling, Bethany thought, than having that gaze turned on you when it was heavy with disappointment. As his daughter, she strove to give him no reason to look at her in such a way.
"Your calculations are excellent," he said. She breathed a silent sigh of relief as he continued, "Is there anything else you've noticed recently?"
Bethany nodded. "Target Sigma was acting unusually today. Her movements definitely coincide with the arrival of the ship. She seemed much more energetic and has increased interaction with other students. "
As part of the ongoing project called Alcheregis which her father was in charge of, Bethany regularly disguised herself as a student attending the Zinfandel Academy in Pisang under the false name Eiswein. Her mission was a simple one: to observe and record the movements of Target Sigma. This person was in fact Cielo, who went to the Academy as a special type of student. It was no secret that she was the Cajuzinho's sister and as such, was given every special privilege imaginable. It was certainly a mark of prestige for the school, who would do nothing to jeopardize their relationship with Quentão. The assignment for Bethany was not a difficult one. She was only 15 herself, exactly the right age to be attending the school, so no one gave her a second thought.
And yet to Bethany, it was like delving into a whole different world. She wasn't their kind, these native peoples with their odd names and strange customs and undeveloped technology. They were as good as aliens to her.
Param walked to a large screen upon which the inhabitants of Quentão, who were ordered in accordance with their importance. He tapped the picture of Cielo and then typed in some additional notes and spoke without looking at her. "You're doing very well, Bethany. Your assistance has been invaluable."
She beamed, basking in the praise. For years she had begged him to include her in his work, and he had finally obliged. "Thanks, Dad. I'm glad I'm helping you."
Param merely nodded, saving his latest additions before stepping back to review the board again. They had infiltrated Quentão only once, handsomely bribing a local monastical sect to let them tag along disguised as religious seekers wanting an audience with the Cajazinho and Caipirinha. Until then they'd had only secondhand reports of those who inhabited the massive white palace and now they had accurate descriptions. From that they had also learned of Cielo's visits to Zinfandel Academy, and so had begun Bethany's involvement in the project.
The arrival of the spaceflight capable ship had made the underground facility abuzz with excitement. For the first time in almost eight hundred years, a sign of technology that matched their own was right before them. In the last few days Param had hardly slept, racking his brain for a means by which to find out exactly what was going on inside the palace.
"Patience," he said to himself. "And opportunity will come knocking..."
WHEN: Coincides with the family reunion
WHERE: Uisce Beatha; underground facility outside of Brix, near Pisang
SUMMARY: First Scientist sect thread! With the arrival of the Traydor's ship, a new plan may be put into motion.
WARNINGS: Read backstory for more information.
☆ ★ ☆
Bethany sighed, drawing her pencil across the report page and colouring in the round parts of the letters. She was waiting while her father compared the latest test results against those from the previous week. She doubted that he would find any changes; the readings had been steady for months now. Finally, he pushed back his chair and got to his feet. Vahe Param was an imposing man, dark-haired and dark-eyed with a piercing gaze that conveyed both intelligence and high expectation. There was no worse feeling, Bethany thought, than having that gaze turned on you when it was heavy with disappointment. As his daughter, she strove to give him no reason to look at her in such a way.
"Your calculations are excellent," he said. She breathed a silent sigh of relief as he continued, "Is there anything else you've noticed recently?"
Bethany nodded. "Target Sigma was acting unusually today. Her movements definitely coincide with the arrival of the ship. She seemed much more energetic and has increased interaction with other students. "
As part of the ongoing project called Alcheregis which her father was in charge of, Bethany regularly disguised herself as a student attending the Zinfandel Academy in Pisang under the false name Eiswein. Her mission was a simple one: to observe and record the movements of Target Sigma. This person was in fact Cielo, who went to the Academy as a special type of student. It was no secret that she was the Cajuzinho's sister and as such, was given every special privilege imaginable. It was certainly a mark of prestige for the school, who would do nothing to jeopardize their relationship with Quentão. The assignment for Bethany was not a difficult one. She was only 15 herself, exactly the right age to be attending the school, so no one gave her a second thought.
And yet to Bethany, it was like delving into a whole different world. She wasn't their kind, these native peoples with their odd names and strange customs and undeveloped technology. They were as good as aliens to her.
Param walked to a large screen upon which the inhabitants of Quentão, who were ordered in accordance with their importance. He tapped the picture of Cielo and then typed in some additional notes and spoke without looking at her. "You're doing very well, Bethany. Your assistance has been invaluable."
She beamed, basking in the praise. For years she had begged him to include her in his work, and he had finally obliged. "Thanks, Dad. I'm glad I'm helping you."
Param merely nodded, saving his latest additions before stepping back to review the board again. They had infiltrated Quentão only once, handsomely bribing a local monastical sect to let them tag along disguised as religious seekers wanting an audience with the Cajazinho and Caipirinha. Until then they'd had only secondhand reports of those who inhabited the massive white palace and now they had accurate descriptions. From that they had also learned of Cielo's visits to Zinfandel Academy, and so had begun Bethany's involvement in the project.
The arrival of the spaceflight capable ship had made the underground facility abuzz with excitement. For the first time in almost eight hundred years, a sign of technology that matched their own was right before them. In the last few days Param had hardly slept, racking his brain for a means by which to find out exactly what was going on inside the palace.
"Patience," he said to himself. "And opportunity will come knocking..."