Reconnaissance, Rapid-Response, Revenge

Kellyn Jiang | 26 | Engineering Student/Cashier at the Museum of Forbidden Technlogies | Desert Creek

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

verina-hypatia:

“Sorry, can I watch? I’m very interested in…science.” 

“Of course, though it would be more useful if you joined in. I have to find a water source, and I’d prefer to find it sooner rather than later.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

“I don’t want any of that.”

“Only because you haven’t seen the designs yet. Just think of it! A security system, irrigation, and a self-perpetuating battery, all in one! You’ll be the envy of your friends. Or, if you have no friends, you’ll be the envy of people who wish a delightful grad student chose their home to be the grounds of her latest brilliant project.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

“Why would you do any of that? Why me?”

“Number one, because it’s a miniature project to help me work out potential issues for my irrigation for the drawbridge. Number two, your home is far enough away from the city and in a natural basin, making it ideal as a research area. Number three, because you live in a house in the middle of the desert with no neighbours or friends, and maybe if your home was also an interesting and fun to visit landmark, that might change. And number four, because Sarah said I could.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

“Wait- What?”

“Irrigation system. You know, to make the soil less arid. I’m doing it in a labyrinthine design to allow the water to build up kinetic energy. Then I’m going to make a hydro dam, or possibly a water mill. Do you have a preference? Maybe a wind and water mill. Use both types of energy. There may also be fish. How do you feel about koi? They’re decorative, and generally pretty easy to care for. I was thinking it could all feed into a pond in the back. Maybe some water lilies. They’re very good for water oxygenation. I could even transplant a tree for some shade once the irrigation has made the soil more rich. Unless you want a Baobab. I could probably swing that.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

In Training | Kellyn and Sarah

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

Sarah was quick to extract her elbow from the intern’s grasp, insisting to them that she could follow the sound of their feet on the ground. She made her way to the train, again refusing assistance when it was offered to her.  She climbed up in the car, not expecting that anyone else would be there.

She was quick to raise her arm when the light was shone towards her face, attempting to block the light with her hand. She squinted, judging from the words that it was someone from the college. It was a moment later when she put together that it was Kellyn.

“Maybe enjoy the darkness for a minute.” She suggested, reaching out to push the flashlight so that it pointed towards the ground. She took a seat, propping her boots up against the edge of the window. “Isn’t that the whole point of this thing?” 

Kellyn sat back, making a bit of a face, but sighing and nodding. “I suppose. But it’s just so - inefficient.” She said the world like it was some sort of obscenity. She clicked her flashlight off and then waited while her eyes adjusted to the darkness. 

“How long have you lived in Night Vale, Sarah?” Kellyn wasn’t entirely sure how to go about asking her questions, because they weren’t really the type you were supposed to ask about. But she was a Girl Scout. They asked questions, they found things out, they took things apart to figure out how they worked, and almost always put them back together again the proper way. There was that incident with the squid. Ink everywhere. 

“I’ve been working on my irrigation project, and the weird thing is, there’s plenty of groundwater, if you know how to find it. There’s just none above ground. And ... there isn’t anywhere the water should be coming from. At least I haven’t found any sign of it yet. I assume there’s a glacier somewhere, but you’d think we’d have a river then. I’m just trying to understand why -” she paused, knowing she wasn’t supposed to bring it up. “You don’t think it’s because of the mountains, do you?”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

“You should be careful. One mis-twist and you could hit us with a tornado.”

“Don’t be an idiot. I’m not doing a rain dance, I’m doing a water dance. It helps me figure out where to bore down and locate ground water for the irrigation system I’m installing around your property. Don’t worry, I’ll do the digging myself.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

“Do you mind? I’m doing a water dance. It’s very scientific.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

Kipp nodded, resting the half-empty flask between his knees and leaning against the back of her office couch. He closed his eyes to rest for just a moment, thinking about the drive home. Her words mulled together into a hum, his head nodding as resting his eyes quickly turned into him falling asleep.

Kellyn leaned in and expertly caught the flask before it spilled water as Kipp started to fall asleep. “See, this is what tenure does to a person. Makes them vulnerable.” She dug around and pulled out a fire blanket, draping it over Kipp and shifting his legs, even dragging off his boots, since she didn’t want the couch getting dirty. “I’m going to take another look at those diagrams. Just you wait! I’ll have a much better argument tomorrow.” But she whispered it and tiptoed away.

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

Kipp took the flask from her, his brow furrowed a little. He wasn’t too tired to want to fight, but he was willing to pick it up another time. He shook his head as she offered for him to stay on her office couch. “I sleep better at home. I don’t trust Sarah.” He admitted, forgetting to thank her for offering.

Kellyn shrugged. Trusting Sarah probably wasn’t that good an idea. At least not when she had it out for Kipp. She felt kind of bad for him. She wasn’t willing to sign on to the theory of pyramids just yet, but he had kind of a rough go of it lately. “Fine. I guess I’ll walk you to your car. Or however you got here. There’s feral dogs around, don’t want them getting the jump on you before you finish explaining your - theory that might have the potential to have merit. Not that I’m agreeing with you or anything. I still think you’ve had too much sun. I’m just saying it might have merit. Maybe.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

In Training | Kellyn and Sarah

@sarah-sultan

Kellyn was interested in trains. Locomotion was more than a little fascinating to her, and given the chance, she’d happily take the whole engine apart to work out how to improve it. But that was frowned upon. And they’d already blocked her from going in once, so she was sitting, trying to rig a new system to run the lights off of the energy built up as the train ran. 

She was planning on visiting her family later in the month, maybe. They were a bit weird. For one thing, none of them seemed to care about how things worked, or how to make them better. She’d once watched them use a semi-broken toaster for six months, despite her offers to fix it. She’d been four, but she still thought she could do it.

The rest of the Girl Scouts were spread out along the train, with instructions to behave and try and learn something. If the train broke down, they’d be expected to fashion a new one out of the wreckage, and they knew it. 

Hearing the door slide open, Kellyn turned, her pocket flashlight in her mouth, shining the light mostly down at a pair of very recognizable shoes. She put her pliers and cutters back in her tool belt and held the light up to see Sarah’s face. “Hi, Professor. Just trying to get things lit up a bit. How are you?”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

call-me-kipp:

It was late. Much later than Kipp had realized. He leaned back in the office chair, covering his face with one hand as he rubbed his temples. “I think we have to call it a night. I’m tired. I have a long way home.”

Kellyn was exhausted and she’d just been watching. And asking questions. There may also have been some arguing in there and competitive use of whiteboard space. But still. She handed Kipp the fourth flask of water she’d distilled. “Here. Drink.” Staring at the whiteboard, she narrowed her eyes, thinking. “Let’s say I don’t completely disbelieve you. You can crash on my office couch if you want. Just don’t tell Sarah.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“You mean besides running this entire place? Not much. You lot keep me busy.”

“Well, now that the semester’s over, and the funding battles are done, you’ll finally have some time off. Speaking of, I think I hear undergrads in my lab. I should get going.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“Derangement wears many masks, Kellyn.”

“Well, I guess you’d know best, what with running the school and all. What’re you working on?”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“Or maybe that’s what he wants you to think.”

“I hadn’t thought of that. But if he’s capable of that level of subterfuge, wouldn’t that imply he’s sane?”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“Maybe he wasn’t thirsty. Or maybe he’s a crazy person. Either way, you can’t be too careful.”

“I guess you could be right. I promise to treat him as a potential threat. But I still think he’s soft. Maybe living in the desert mellowed him.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“I meant more along the lines of him chucking a grenade your way.”

“Who gave him access to ordnance? Whatever. I’ll bring the body armour. He was such a baby, really. Wouldn’t even drink Diet Lime Coke. I don’t think he’s that much of a threat.”

[kellyn-jiang-blog]

sarah-sultan:

“I’m telling you, Kipp is potentially dangerous. I don’t want to lose you to that madman.”

“Please, he’s soft. I mean, he has tenure. I don’t think he’s been in a fighting pit in years. If ever.”