Ætherglow #153

“I was watching. This is what happened,” you say. “Whoever was flying the missile completely lost control. It was on a direct trajectory to this very building, they nearly killed us all! Luckily Trisha here noticed what was happening and quickly intervened. From what I saw, they managed to activate an emergency fail-safe that was turned off for some reason. Then the automated hazard avoidance system diverted it away from the Moon entirely. It’s like he said, there’s no substitute for a technopath.”

“Est-ce que c’est vrai, Électricité?” DeLune says.

“Ouais, tout c’est vrai,” she says.

“That’s our candidate!” DeLune says. “She’s saved us all, thanks to her training at Cislunar Institute!”

On screen, the weapons contractor’s stock is plummeting, while Cosmosaïque’s is climbing.

“No! They’re lying!” the arms dealer says.

The lights are still on you and Electricity as expensive people surround you.

“And who is her sponsor?” a man with a terminal in hand says.

“This is Eros Tactical’s Electrical System,” DeLune says. The company’s line appears on screen, steadily climbing upward. “Eros Tactical is a loyal customer of Cosmosaïque’s technopaths. You won’t find skill like this anywhere else in the system!”

“Those are big words, DeLune, you better be willing to back them up, or is Ariane City really all talk like they say?” Iruma says, approaching him on stage.

“Cosmosaïque’s candidates’ talent can speak for itself! Unless you think your girl can do better?” DeLune says.

“You slimy Earthside earthworm, I’ll bet you 100 SpaceCoin right now that my school’s candidate would wipe yours off the face of the æther!” Iruma says.

“If you pay up in something valuable like MoonCoin, sure, it’s a bet,” DeLune says.

Iruma turns and stumbles off stage, toward your parents.

2254-08-02 18:24:33 Électricité > I don’t really get much of that but it sounds like trouble

2254-08-02 18:24:38 Aydan > it is...

Cosmosaïque Inc’s board member motions to the Electrical System.

She looks at you and rolls her eyes as she goes to answer him.

“Oh, no problem,” Ælita says to Iruma. “Our Aydan can handle it, you can count on Redshift!”

“Ah, Aydan, there you are,” Yelena says, walking up to you.

“What’s going on?” you say.

“It seems our presentation’s focus has changed a bit, at the promise of the Cybernautics rep to double our number of candidates at TLA next year if we agree. We’re now going to have a more direct demonstration of your technopathy, against the Cosmosaïque student, in a technopathic duel,” she says. “Non-lethal, I specified of course.”