[AR-ORP] Organization is the key!

[DivineSaturn]

To sort or not to sort? That was the question, but Aquarius didn't have an answer. "Honestly, I'll let you guys decide how you want to do it. If you've got a system, that's awesome. If you want to just stack them out of the way, that's cool too. All I'm going to ask is that if you do organize, do it the same way as everyone else. If we have fifteen different methods, it'll be like they're not in any pattern at all."

The "we" was sneaked in at the end to imply that she would be helping too, though she had no idea how much she would be able to do. There were other tasks that required her attention, and only so many things for these people to do while they were stranded. Even less if able-bodied senshi turned up to help, but Aquarius wasn't about to turn down a free pair of hands. It also served as a reminder that she was supposed to be helping, so she shut the book on her lap and switched it with the one underneath it.

"An inheritance would be a good way to describe this place." True, they had effectively inherited it from themselves, but otherwise it felt right. "It's not exactly a deal though, and not all Senshi have outposts... you do ask the tough questions, don't you?" This time the rhetorical question was asked with a grin. Aquarius liked people who thought beyond what they could see, and challenged her to do the same. "I think you would need a history lesson to explain properly, and history is so not my thing." If only Libra was there, she would have been the perfect candidate. "Let's start with an easy statement: we're the good guys. Good guys with bad publicity, but good guys nonetheless. All the monster attacks and terrorist goings-on you see on the news? That's caused by the bad guys. Their press isn't any better than ours, but they don't care because whatever they want, they take. Energy? Grab it. Lives? Yep, those too."

She paused for a moment, both to take a breather and to make sure her audience was following her. It was a very simplified version of events, but she wasn't comfortable with getting too specific. Friends today could be enemies tomorrow.

"That said, I do think you were sent here for a reason. More than that, I do think you- we- are all connected. Not by an obvious thread like age or race or occupation, but there must be something, or you wouldn't be here, Jarold." Aquarius looked at the man as she spoke his name, trying to affix one to the other. "Menthe. Arga- that's an interesting one. And... Arsinoë, was it?" Rather pleased with herself for remembering, she folded her hands in her lap. "So, what's the verdict? How are we doing this?"
 

[Appeal]

Cameron Reid had spent half a day at the Virgo Outpost and he had been astounded by the results of what had happened. It was like magic, and most certainly was, that the gash on his arm had started to heal almost immediately and after an hour the deep wound have been completely gone without a scar in sight. The skin was just as innocent as it had been before he'd been so thoughtlessly pulled out of his room with just his boxers on and then put on some sort of spectrum of light road in the middle of space.

There wasn't much that Cameron could do as his dislocated shoulder healed, but when it felt better he had begun to look around the outpost. Other than the healing the outpost provided him, the young man was absolutely bored and in need of any kind of mental stimulation but he certainly wasn't going to get any from all of the injured idiots all around him. This lead the young man out into the world and toward Aquarius Outpost where he found himself a little more at home.

Aquarius Outpost had much more interesting things to do compared to the Virgo Outpost but it was unfortunate that there was a terrorist here as well. In fact, was that another one? He thought he'd seen another one. Perhaps this was actually some sort of terrorist meeting place? It was a bit of a disappointment to have found himself wrapped up in the terrorists' problems, but he couldn't really forget that they had helped them. His fingers touched his arm as a reminder of when they'd treated his wound but this wasn't enough for his trust or alliance and he'd do whatever was best for his survival even if that meant fraternizing with terrorists.

He stepped into Aquarius Records and was absolutely stunned by the sheer number of books. Not only that, but there were quite a few civilians in here as well. They seemed to be organizing books? He couldn't help but pick up one of the larger books in a pile, dusting off the cover in the process. Flipping it open, he couldn't understand any of the words? What language was this? It certainly didn't look like any language from Earth.

"What kind of books are these?" He asked, flipping through the book in the process.

 

[and be blue]

A flick of a look to Jasper, and Veer took a moment to jab an elbow toward his stomach -- well aware that the older man would have no problem leaning back out of the way, if he chose to. Or take the hit, if he chose to, without it actually hurting. It was really the thought that counted.

As the senshi spoke, and the rest of the group listened and considered, Veer's mouth split open into a slow, wide yawn. Good and evil, publicity...yes, everyone always said 'I'm the good guy' when asked face to face. Except for psychopaths, perhaps, and even then they might claim that the other people needed it. You couldn't take someone at face value when they spoke.

The books, however, drew more of his focus, fingers smoothing over the strange letters on the leather cover at the top of the nearest stack. He considered it for a moment, pressed a fist to his mouth as the yawn came to and end. His voice, when it came out, was still a bit sleepy.

"Do you have a decoder ring or something?" It was addressed toward Aquarius. Not terribly respectful. "Or, you know, a pile of cracker jack boxes we can open up in search?"  

[Melodine Cantus]

Ah, so his stab in the dark of trying to describe the place was apt. It made things clearer, but the full picture was still pretty hazy. And hey, he had all the time in the world while being stuck here to debate and pull information out of her! He had to resist pulling out his phone to add to the notes; after realizing there were no power plugs or a charger to make sure his battery would not die on him, he had promptly switched it off. He needed it to still work when they eventually got home to Destiny City after all. Jarold Rivera had to be the first to report on this disappearing and reveal all the inside happenings. How sensational!

He, like Veer, wasn't exactly very convinced by her words; he was sure the other side would claim to be the good side, as well. If they were both fighting so strongly, they had to believe in their cause, right? Either that, or they had been brainwashed. Still, Jarold was more polite, choosing not to yawn, or she might get offended and not answer any more. "How exactly to they take energy? Are you talking in the terms of the massive coma that hit the City a few months back?"

Well, if there was something that connected them, he was going to find out what it was. He tilted his head over to Menthe. "I say you decide how we sort things. You were here earlier, anyway."  

[DivineSaturn]

The fact that most people didn't take her explanation seriously was unsurprising. Disappointing, but unsurprisingly so. People just couldn't accept what they couldn't understand. Aquarius could hardly blame them. Just a little while ago she had harassed someone trying to help her because she was confused. It was no wonder they were in the same boat. Knowing that didn't make it any less frustrating to deal with, though.

"Research books, I think," she said, glancing at the newcomer. "Beyond that, it's hard to say. I don't really remember what the... the person who lived here, what he was researching." Not in terms that were at all helpful, anyway. "Clearly not anything about a way to keep out dust, or the Dewey Decimal system." How could Soldier Aquarius have been so disorganized? She was disorganized now, and that was okay with her, but she had always pictured her past self as a scholar, not a slob. It was funny, the things she was learning about herself. A shame she wasn't more amused by them.

She started to laugh at the idea of using cracker jack boxes to help, but stopped abruptly. "Hm. That's not a bad idea, actually. There's all kinds of codes we could try, of course, but it would be best if, while we cleaned, we kept an eye out for anything that might act as a decoding device. There must be one somewhere." From what Aquarius could tell, there were innumerable codes at work throughout the outpost, but a key to even one of them could be the clue that they needed. She shared the frustration of her guests, with a whole library at her disposal, yet no way to read any of it. In a way, she was even more angry, because she knew that she was supposed to know more than she did.

"You'd have to ask them for the specifics on energy stealing. I haven't had the opportunity to grill one myself. I think it's the outfit," she added dryly, "that keeps them from wanting to chat with me." Not that she'd encountered any agents of Chaos recently, but admitting that would make her seem weak. Still, she was enjoying the discussion- until he brought up the coma epidemic. "I don't know the specifics of the comas. Kind of hard to investigate when you're affected, you see." To this day she still wasn't sure what bothered her more: going into a coma just months after her return from death, or missing out on one of the biggest scientific events ever.

Aquarius closed the book on her lap and looked up again. "It's becoming clear that we need to set a procedure for doing things- how to organize, who does what when, that sort of thing. But before we do, are there any more questions? Comments? Concerns?" Not that she wouldn't continue to be sidetracked, but maybe if they all said what was on their mind first, the distractions would be minimal.
 

[Iris_virus]

Oh dear... was he talking to her? Wanting her to make such an important decision? The book she was holding was pushed against her chest with both arms, eyes falling softly to the floor in an attempt not to see if the attention of many of them fell onto her. Even with as subtle as the pink tinge was on her cheeks it stood out against the paleness of her skin.
"Oh um.. We should..."

She paused, thoughtfully, rocking her foot gently in it's heeled shoe. "Whatever you guys decide is fine really."

"I'm happy to do whatever you guys want to do." A weak smile was offered in reassurance of her words.  

[and be blue]

The girl's lecture didn't have some magical effect; it didn't make him cool down, didn't leave him ashamed or working to snap into line. Instead he turned to yawn again, right in her direction this time, huge and deliberate and rather obviously unimpressed.

In his opinion, holier-than-thou attitudes were way worse than a little laziness. At least laziness wasn't harping on other people.

The senshi's suggestion, though, set him into motion, digging through piles of papers in a somewhat careless way, cracking open the front of several books in search of something that could be used, something that indicated order and organization. Neither his favorite thing. That's why he got machines to do it for him.

...and on that note...

"If you had a computer, lady, I might be able to put some of this s**t together. At least keep track of all the letters we got. Input what's on the covers, what pictures we find inside. You know, work a little magic. But without one..." He shrugged. His handwriting was illegible. Pen and paper wouldn't work for him.  

[TheMadHatter]

He looked around the room again and at all the books that were written in languages that he couldn't understand. "Well ... I'd suggest maybe trying to sort books into the languages? Some of them are strange enough they should be easy to group."

It would also meant hey knew where all the English books were too so they could actually read them. "The stuff we can't use for research would be out of the way like that."

He picked up a book that was titled in strange symbols. ".... Aquarius. Is there any possibility that our phones could scan the books for anything? I have no idea what all they can do." The Zodiacs might have had a better grasp of what their technology could and couldn't do than anyone else he'd spoken to  

[DivineSaturn]

She was losing her audience, she could feel it. Aquarius sighed. No matter how much energy and passion she brought into a meeting, somehow it never felt like enough. No matter what she did, she couldn't crawl inside their heads and change their opinions. She was stuck on the outside, trying to get a glimpse into their minds. But glimpses weren't enough. Perhaps it was best if she left answering further questions until she'd figured out a better way to do it. Sometime after the twelfth of Never, perhaps.

"If I had a computer, I wouldn't need help," she snapped, then instantly regretted it. She was stressed. They were all stressed. If they saw her as an enemy, they would never get anywhere. "I'm sorry, I'm just tired. I don't know what sort of electronic devices are here, and even if there are any, the odds of them working aren't the best. I would bring my computer, but it's not a laptop, and there aren't exactly standard outlets up here. So we're going to have to do the best we have with what we're given. Everyone has different fields of expertise. Together, I'm sure we can figure something out."

It might have been an inspirational speech, if Aquarius didn't have her hand over her eyes the entire time. She had never been prone to headaches before she was a senshi. Now they were practically chronic.

"The phones are worth a shot, I suppose. They're the best tech we have to work with at the moment." Everyone's reliance on technology made progress even harder. Aquarius was a tech junkie herself, but she wasn't whining about the lack of internet or microwave ovens. At least, not yet. "I admit, I'm not very well-versed in their use, so I wouldn't be much help in that department right now. But if you find anything, please let me know how I can assist you." Her, assisting a complete stranger- a whole group of complete strangers- with making public the secrets of Aquarius. For a moment she wanted to kick all of them out. The moment passed quickly, and she reminded herself that she had to be realistic. Everyone had to do their part. And if they could make progress where she could not, wasn't she lucky to have their help?

The whole situation was a headache and a half. Aquarius rose from her chair, placing her books atop a nearby pile. "For the moment, I leave the decisions to you, as long as you don't throw a wild party or form a demolition crew. I'm not going to dictate your schedule here." Mostly because she was way too lazy to bother. "If you need my assistance, I'll be around, but there's something I need to look into. I'll be back shortly."

With that rather lame excuse and a wobble in her step, Aquarius slipped through the curtain into the rest of the outpost. She felt bad, but she really did have something to check: whether the supplies they'd been brought contained aspirin. After dealing with angry guardians, stranded civilians, and her own feelings of inadequacy, she needed one more than ever.
 

[and be blue]

No computers, and then the senshi left; Veer tipped his head at that, staring at where she'd been, then to the others. A snort easily conveyed his opinion of this mess, and exactly what he was going to do to change it. One last prod of book, not quite knocking it off the stack, and he headed for the door instead.

No gaolers? Cool, then, he'd go slack off somewhere else. He fluttered fingers at Menthe as she passed, on his way out. "Good luck. Looks like you get to be in charge."  

[Iris_virus]

There was a very soft sigh that escaped her as things seemed to deteriorate. No one was taking charge.. and even the senshi was apparently leaving! Maybe at least it'd stop the semi aggressive (at least to someone so timid as her) questioning would end.

She gulped a little as Veer left, teasing(?) her as he left.

But what could she do...?

"I'm going to start putting similar symbols together in the same stack.. I think it's as good a place to start without know anything more.." Her gaze momentarily touched Arsinoe, silent thanks for his suggestion before she set back to work.

Making her way over to a lone book strewn across the floor she picked it up, wiping it softly before she made her way over to the pile, looking at the other covers mildly in an attempt to match.

It was going to be a long long day. But at least if she was busy working... she didn't really have time to worry about other things.