>>5176003“November, I’d like for you to escort Amara, Nerada, and the ghosts under her control to meet with the Conduits that Paloma’s sent our way. Sweetie, I’d also like to borrow a few of your Joyous, if you’d be so kind.” You announce, casting a furtive glance between the jagged, rib-like spires that stretch into the distance. “I know Paloma vouched for her little team, but the less eyes on this thing-“
“The better. Got it.” November affirms, ducking low to let Amara hop astride the cyborg’s broad shoulders before jogging off to the Geschoss, with Nerada lurching her way after the pair in time with her shadowy legion.
“And as for us, darling?” Francine asks, watching her friend duck inside the Geschoss with Sir Fuzzbuzz and Marco close behind.
“We’re going to phone a friend.” You reply, a swarmling no larger than your thumb flitting out from your hive and up to your right ear. “Tailor, do you copy?”
“Ohgoodnessthisisapleasantsurprise.” Rattles off the eccentric tinkerer not a half-second after you open the channel. “IheardyouwereoffdealingwithaparticularlypowerfulAmalgamsohaveyoudealtwithitsosoonafterleaving?”
“Yeah, but now we’ve got a problem of a different kind—let me fill you in.” You sigh, staring down into the pit as you recap the last few minutes with as much detail as you can recall. “…so, you think you could swing by if you’re not too busy and-?”
Francine lets out a small yelp of surprise when Tinker Tailor practically blinks into existence beside you.
“…so at what point in my retelling did you-?”
“Seventeenwordsinsothisisthefragmentyes?” Tailor interrupts excitedly, a thin woman of tightly-coiled wires capped off with an inscrutable gas mask practically pitching herself into the pit, held up only by the balls of her feet. “OhmyohmythisisthelargestfragmentI’vesee thusfartrulyafascinatingspecimen.”
Her head snaps to one side, the smoky goggles of her mask reflecting your own face as she asks;
“Whatwasgoingtobethesubjectofyournexttest?”
You blink.
“…Honestly? I was thinking about throwing a rock at it and seeing what happened. No biomass, just mineral.”
“Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhaahahhahahahahahahahahahaohmygodyour’reserious.”
“Do you think that would be ill-advised?” You ask, a little offended by the other girl’s abrupt fit of machine gun laughter…and, for once, she pauses before giving her reply.
“…ItisnotabadideanowthatIthinkaboutit.” She admits, staring back into the pit. “Basedousaidwhenyourswarmlingtouchedthesurfaceyouhaditpullback,yes?”
You nod, and she clarifies; “Sothereplicationphenomenaonlystoppedwhencontactceased. Meaningthatifcontactdidnotceasethenreplicationcouldhypotheticallycontinueunabated."
"I was thinking the same thing.” Francine chimes in, catching the Flesh Artisan’s words a bit faster than you’re able.
(Continued)