Just getting this handled in advance

[itbelongsinamuseum]

1
[Somebody new has taken over one of the shooting ranges at base. A fairly small girl who looks to be in her mid to late teens wearing her hair in a pair of long braids and observing proper safety protocols by wearing earmuffs to block the sound is practicing shooting with handguns She's pretty clearly a complete beginner, though, not only firing does she have bad accuracy even at the short range she's shooting at, she's observing all proper stances with the kind of uncertain focus common to people who have only just had how to do something explained. Disturb her to give advice, figure out who she is or something else?]

2

[Using the tv in one of the common rooms, Alex is watching the World Cup. One of the teams just scored and from her reaction, it's pretty clearly not the one she was rooting for.]

What was he thinking? Leaving an opening like that?

3

[One of the tables in the cafeteria has been taken over for what looks like a major research project including a big, heavy and above all dry scholarly book in German, a notepad for writing down information that's so far conspicuously empty except for various random doodles, a phone, possibly used to look up dictionaries and an empty mug with dried coffee stains at the bottom. Alex is bent over it, starting to look rather tired of the whole thing.]

Why am I even trying?

Comments

1

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

[Your efforts are observed by a short girl who wouldn't recognize proper protocols if they smacked her in the face. She is not terribly impressed.]

... You're pretty bad at this, aren't you.

Re: 1

[itbelongsinamuseum]

[Lowering her gun, Alex pulled off the earmuffs.]

You commented that I wasn't very good at it, right?

[zenbuzenbuzenbu]

Oh? You could tell?

3

[whats_a_good_end]

Well first...

[Ana knows a little German, but not much. Russian on the other hand, sure... but that's no good here.]

What is it you're trying to do?

Re: 3

[itbelongsinamuseum]

Researching this. [She reaches down to lift the alabaster pendant she's wearing around her neck slightly. It's cut in the shape of a snake double helix.] It's the symbol of the Sumerian god Enki, or Ea in Akkadian, and it apparently holds his power or something along those lines. I want to learn more so I can better prepare for the next time I get attacked by weaponized mythology.

[whats_a_good_end]

And I'm guessing it's not going so well though.

[What with the empty notepad.]

Though I thought.... wasn't that weird snake design Greek?

3)

[in_over_his_head]

... Because whatever it is, you just feel compelled to figure it out? Just a stab in the dark here.

[Calvin sits opposite of Alex, looking over the mess... including the book. He felt a sudden tic forming at his eye but supresses it as hard as he could. Just because it was really OLD looking doesn't mean its some kind of crazy mystical tome that's probably going to cause him hell over the next few days! The fact that the person researching it doesn't look at all insane kind of helped that reasoning out.]

Just what is that book anyway?

Re: 3)

[itbelongsinamuseum]

It's an old, German Assyriology book focusing on the mythology of the Sumerian city states and the period of the first Assyrian empire. All other books on the topic refers to this as the book to read.

...But I can barely read it. I haven't had German since high school and this is really dense, academic writing.

[in_over_his_head]

[INTERNALLY SCREAMING]

I... see...

[He flinches lowers his head.]

No no... Calm down Calvin... its just a book on mythology... there's no way any of the stuff there could possibly cause me any problems-

...I said that all out loud didn't I?

3

[sexygodofscienceandwar]

[Roads has felt the pain of a student before. Once, long ago...]

Rough time with research?

Re: 3

[itbelongsinamuseum]

Yeah. For some reason nobody thought to make an English translation of one of the main works in an entire field of academia. And of course it's the field I need.

Re: 3

[sexygodofscienceandwar]

What's it about? I might know someone who could help, she's just a bit grouchy.

3

[crusading_angel]

[Looking over the girls shoulder Alison reads briefly before responding.]

Kaufmann's research on Assyrian Mythology, that's pretty heavy reading for someone to have out for anything casual. Any particular reason you're needing to pull this up for reference?

[Alison is maintaining a friendly facade but knowing the potential danger in that line of research is wary of the girl's intentions.]

Re: 3

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I'm an actual archaeologist...Well, a student but still.

The problem is that I don't really know German. Or ancient Sumerian and Akkadian, but there's a lot less of those here.

Re: 3

[crusading_angel]

Oh, another student then! So nice to see people continuing their educations even in times like these. Archaeology too, that's a rare field to pursue in this day and age with so many finds already complete.

As for the issue with the German perhaps I can help, I have a passable fluency in the language. So what are we studying?

2

[savagelinks]

[Another girl is watching the match as well. She's nowhere as enthusiastic about what's happening on screen, though.]

Won't there be a riot somewhere if this goes on?

Re: 2

[itbelongsinamuseum]

Probably not. It's a pretty good match, I doubt it'll drag out all that many hooligans.

[savagelinks]

Sorry, I'm just finding it all a bit silly when it gets to this level.

3

[jianai]

[Ren glances through the research material, trying to be inobtrusive.]

Do you believe in the divine?

Re: 3

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I didn't use to...But it's hard not to wonder when gods and demons attack you. I'll leave it to theologians to determine whether they count as really divine or not, though.

[jianai]

Many people take refuge in faith of a higher power that watches over them. But that belief can be shaken when similar beings are active in this world, and so malicious.

I'm not distracting you, am I?

1

[brought_it_back]

[The other person in the shooting range at this time, another girl, pays Alex no attention. When her targets come back, the bullets are all very close to the center.]

...

Re: 1

[itbelongsinamuseum]

[Alex stopped for a second, just staring in awe at the other girl's accuracy. After a bit she takes the earmuffs off to talk.]

You're really good at this. Got professional training?

3

[delouser]

Are you finished, miss? Can I clean up the mess now?

Re: 3

[itbelongsinamuseum]

I guess you can clean up the cup, yeah. Don't touch the book or the notepad, I'm still trying to get through this.