9973/Eye in the sky

Eye in the sky
Date of Scene:	09 November 2019
Location:	Breakstone Lake - Xavier's School
Synopsis:	Schannon surveys the ground by air using a wearable camera while Triage stands by in case of castrophe that never comes.
Cast of Characters:	Triage, Nightingale

---

Triage has posed:
The weather has become chilly. The grass has withered to a drab brown. The wind has shaken the trees until they dropped their leaves. None of this has delayed the mission. Chris strides across the backyard and through a gate onto the stretch of ground beyond the wall that separates the school from Breakstone Lake. His medic's pack bumps his left hip and another small knapsack bounces on his back. He wears a warm jacket and his well-worn quarterstaff balances easily in the crook of his left arm.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon has dressed a little more lightly, with her cream colored tunic sweater, jeans, and caramel suede boots sufficing; there would be plenty of activity flying to keep her warm. However, she does also sport a pair of... oh lordy, are those leopard print earmuffs? Yes, they are, loud and proud! While her wings are missing a few feathers from molting over the past couple days, she has not lost enough to prevent flight--it just looks a little funny. As always, she has her brown leather pouch tied to her belt, with the runes worked into the leather, her own version of a first aid kit, to those who knew. She's not far behind Chris at all, and seemingly in better spirits for doing something productive and constructive. At least she's not molting today.

Triage has posed:
Chris plops the backpack on the ground and unzips the compartments. He unpacks a large insulated bottle that has a rechargeable battery at its base, ideal for keeping beverages hot or cold. Beside that, he places a sturdy paper bag that exudes the faint scent of fresh, home-made gingersnaps, and a pair of binoculars. From the next compartment, he removes one of the stars of the show - a sleek, small camera suitable with a strap suitable for wearing.

Nightingale has posed:
     It also looks like the camera has a clip on the back for additional security, should the neck strap fail. Given what was planned for it, that was probably a good thing. However, the smell of the gingersnaps was too tempting to ignore for long, and Shannon can't help crouching down to root around in the paper bag, fishing out one of the sweet treats. She gives a sheepish little grin, like a little child who got caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

Triage has posed:
Chris grins and waves to the bag. "Help yourself," he encourages. "I did bake them for you. You'll need energy for the flight." He inspects the camera carefully, removes the protective cover from the lens, depresses the power button, and points the lens at Shannon just after she has stuffed a cookie in her mouth. "Say 'mac 'n' cheese'!" he instructs.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon brings her wings up quickly to shield her face, not about to look like a total fool with crumbs on her face. But, she still does giggle, making quick work of the cookie despite the desire to take a moment to savor it. Hidden by her wing, she laughs. "Mac 'n cheese!"

Just then, her phone goes off, and the message on the screen has her brows furrowing. "It's go time," she murmurs....


<<<A COUPLE DAYS LATER....>>>


Finally, with particularly urgent matters out of the way, and a day of clear weather once again cooperating with the pair, Shannon heads back out to the lake with Chris, almost strutting as she does. She's kept quiet so far about what was said to who, but it was clear that whole encounter did wonders for her confidence, and the smile was not coming off of her face anytime soon!

Triage has posed:
Chris trots after Shannon who seems almost ready to take flight after recent events cheered her and the others who joined her to welcome their guest. Again, the backpack and medic's bag bounce, and his staff swings in his left hand. He wears jeans, hiking boots, and a mock turtleneck sweater in bright fall colors. "If you haven't seen Cannonball lately, you should!" he calls after her. "Show him that it's not anxiety, only seasonal molting." Then he adds, "Don't take off just yet! We need to set up the camera and be sure that it works."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon giggles and nods. "Oh, I just saw him a little earlier this morning. Shot the breeze for a bit, made some plans for Christmas presents for the clan, talked about a bit of this and that. He came knocking when I was just finishing up one of my Christmas presents." Slipping her phone from her pocket, she swipes through to a picture of a stunning quilt in red, white, and blue; it's not hard to guess the intended recipient! "That took me a couple months. Wasn't sure I'd get a chance to give it, but... well, now at least I can be pretty sure. Especially since I -did- warn the Captain I wasn't going to be so silent around the holidays."

Triage has posed:
Chris steps close to Shannon and tilts his head to see the image on the phone. "Impressive," he agrees. "You did that in your room? That's cool and I'm sure that he'll like it." Still smiling, he shifts his eyes from the phone to Shannon. "I don't know if you noticed but the mall has a fabrics and crafts shop. If you need materials, we can go there again with a little care," he offers.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon rolls her eyes, facepalming and shaking her head. "Forgive me if I'm a little gun-shy of going there for a while," she mutters. "Besides, early mail got here and it looks like my folks sent most of the rest of my fabric stash from home, among other things. So the worst of it is going to be getting batting and small sundries for projects, and I've got a pretty good idea where I can get those online. I do know the craft shops there at the mall, though."

Still, even the mention of their recent trip to the mall can't keep her mood down for long, not today. She's soon twirling around again, almost--but not quite--in the air, giggling and giving Chris a giant hug. "Okay, so. Let's make sure this camera's working, and get this aerial survey done before the weather -really- turns, and the ground's completely covered with snow."

Triage has posed:
Chris frowns for a moment when Shannon recalls their last trip to the mall. "Well, you're right about that," he admits. "But we shouldn't stay away from a place due to one bad memory. Remember the music room?" He returns the hug until she steps back. "We'll go when you're ready for that. For now ..." He shrugs the backpack from his shoulders and again unpacks the camera. Offering it to Shannon, he instructs, "Familiarize yourself with the controls until you can manage them without looking. I don't want you to crash while trying to deal with that. Also, I bought a second card for the other trip that we have planned."

Nightingale has posed:
"Maybe not," Shannon concedes. "But that one's still pretty fresh. It took me a couple months to go back to the music room." While she's examining the controls for the camera, she also gives a sidelong glance to Chris' backpack, trying not to giggle--and failing. By the rumbling in her general vicinity, there's a pretty good idea to where her thoughts are straying. "Don't suppose there's any of those gingersnaps in there?" she asks, a hopeful note in her voice. "I ummm, sort of forgot breakfast, finishing up that quilt."

Triage has posed:
"Other people finished that batch rather quickly. That happens around here," He chuckles. "Of course, that didn't prevent me from baking more." He returns to the pack and produces a plastic container with lid. He pops the lid back and offers the container to Shannon. "Eat all that you want. You'll need energy for the flight if this goes well."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins, her hand darting out like a serpent striking its prey as she roots around for the -perfect- cookie in that container. Which, of course, happens to be the one right on top. Because, cookies! She nibbles on the delectable disc of golden ginger goodness, looking for a moment as if she's in heaven. "Okay, it's official, you've put me out of a job baking," she teases, grinning over at Chris. "Thank you again... these are /fantastic/!"

While munching on her 'energy treat' (insert the words 'calorie-laden cookie' here), she's going over the controls, both with the device facing forward in her hand, and again, with it clipped to her and the strap around her neck. "Seems pretty straightforward. Record button on the side... tap once and hold to record, tap again to stop. Button for still images on the top, like a traditional camera. Doesn't seem like there's much to it."

Triage has posed:
"The companies try to make them fool-proof because some fool is likely to buy one and then sue if it doesn't work properly," Chris explains, grinning both at Shannon's eagerness for the cookies and her interest in the camera. "I haven't put you out of a job but I'm open to a cooking partnership. Also, Jay seems to know his way around a kitchen. Between us, we should keep the kids in good supply through the holidays." He pauses and smiles. "That's why the last batch disappeared so quickly. Some kids heard that I had them in the office, and we had a rash of minor sprains and cuts." He chuckles again. "Clearly self-inflicted."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon bursts out giggling at Chris' inadvertant pun, rolling her eyes. "A 'rash' of minor sprains and cuts? Here, just to prevent another pun like that!" She plucks a cookie from the container and pops it in his mouth, laughing. "Hmmm, a possibility on the cooking partnership, though. We'll have to get with Jay on that." She smiles some, and does seem to sober just a tiny bit. "I was just telling Cannonball I plan on staying here through the holidays. Discussed it with my folks, we'll work out a time when I can go visit them, but when I told them there were going to be a lot of lonely kids up here who really had no family to be with, they understood."

Triage has posed:
Shannon's timing is perfect. She lands the cookie between his teeth at the end of the last word. He bites, almost losing the treat, but his hand comes to his mouth to save the second half from falling. "And some have families but shouldn't go to see them," he reminds her. "Even so, we'll have a fine holiday. We could prepare a traditional feast for them, have some games, and show some kid-friendly movies in the rec room or dining hall, depending on how many are here." He munches the other half of the cookie and offers the container to Shannon so that she can help herself to more. "I don't mind sharing them with the group but I baked them for you. Unless I miss my guess, we'll have a huge amount of video to review, and then we'll need to plan hikes to places where there might be trouble."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods slowly. "And we won't have quite as much time as we thought to do it. Have you seen some of the weather reports recently?" Her mood brightens considerably at the prospect of a traditional holiday feast, going for another cookie herself and munching on it. "We'll have to see who among staff has that planned, and see if they'll let us help. Can't see why they wouldn't, make a little less work for them."

The matter of the amount of footage they were likely to record from this flight does have her tilting her head, considering how best to attack the problem. "I was thinking of starting with an overall view of the entire grounds, then making two or three circuits clockwise, at varying altitudes to offer a few different points of view. In my head, I've sort of got the whole thing divided up into quadrants, with number one being the mansion itself, two, three, and four in clockwise order after that. Sort of dividing up the grounds as evenly as possible. Maybe it'll make it a little easier to describe potential trouble areas when it comes time to discuss all this with Logan. Does that make any sense at all?"

Triage has posed:
"It makes good sense," Chris agrees. "We should set the camera to collect location data, too. If all goes well, we should be able to plot everything on computer and provide a rough simulation." He shrugs. "It won't eliminate the hiking but it will help us to spot weaknesses that need immediate attention."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods and smiles. "The hiking is still essential. There's things you see from the ground that an aerial survey just won't pick up. For example, low-altitude flight can be a bit of a pain, especially close to the treeline," she points out, finishing her next cookie.

Triage has posed:
Chris nods when Shannon mentions the problems with an areal survey. "That's one reason why I suggested a hike," he explains. "Seeing a problematic spot is one thing. Going there, poking at it, and actually knowing what else might be waiting there is another. Your survey will be a great first step. With that as our starting point, we should know if anything needs particular reinforcement." He frowns. "I suspect that we need more than that, but it's a start. we might need a network of sensors to detect intruders, too."

Nightingale has posed:
"That also depends on what measures are already in place, too," Shannon points out. "Those are things to talk about with Logan when we go over the video. If he doesn't know, chances are pretty good he'll know who to ask at least." She slips the camera on around her neck and clips it to her sweater, going for one more cookie to fuel her flight. "Maybe that's something I could train in the DR over the winter," she muses. "Agility courses, speed, and maybe low-altitude flight as well."

Triage has posed:
"People might need to make reservations to use the DR if winter becomes as bad as some of the meteorologists say," Chris predicts. "Beside the need for training, cabin fever might inspire some folks." He circles behind Shannon and checks her wings, something that she might not be able to do without a mirror. "Looking good," he concludes, patting Shannon's shoulder. "Are you ready? Tie back your hair and let's get some good data."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods and ties her hair back, making sure the camera, her earmuffs, and everything is secure. At least she hasn't lost too many feathers; a bit ragged her wings might be, but when she beats the air with strong downstrokes, up into the air she goes. She flies out right over the lake, at a fairly high altitude, turning on the camera for the first overall look at the grounds. To save space on the card, once the shot is taken, she turns off the camera and heads towards the mansion, quadrant 1 in her mental map.

Triage has posed:
Chris drops the container of cookies into his backpack and then stands, shading his eyes and following Shannon's ascent. For a moment, he watches her while she hovers in midair with the precision of a hummingbird and adjusts the camera. Then she zooms overhead. He continues to follow her movements.

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon turns the camera on again, beginning her first circuit of the grounds. Her flight is far from her top speed--in fact, it's rather slow, not even enough to make her hair stream out behind her. The breeze of her passage only ruffles her hair a little bit. Each time she flies around the grounds, she spirals lower and lower, offering a view of each section at different altitudes. The final lap is just below tree level, the winged girl challenging herself to a game of aerial 'Limbo', to see how low she can go!

Triage has posed:
Chris continues to watch Shannon's slow dance through the sky. He knows that she will not hear him, but he instinctively encourage, "Good. Nice and slow. Give the camera time to catch everything." When she descends to a lower level, he nods. When she drops again to buzz the trees, he watches more keenly and frowns. "Mind the treetops," he murmurs.

Nightingale has posed:
Oh, no. Shannon's not buzzing the trees. She's flying /through/ them, dodging in between each one, just on the very edge of the treeline. She dares not go any farther in, not without further practice, but she's in just a spot to pick up on possible trouble areas where the woods meet clear areas of land. Upon reaching the mansion once more, she turns off the camera and returns to the shore, hovering near Chris--but not so close that she risks hitting him with her wings. "There, hope that's got enough footage for now. If we need more, I'm pretty sure Logan will tell us. Or we just ask."

Triage has posed:
Now that Shannon has concluded the pass and he'll not need to chase after her across the grounds, Chris removes the container and holds it aloft. "It's a better reward than bird seed!" he invites. "A few before dinner won't hurt. You've earned them."

Nightingale has posed:
The growling of Shannon's stomach is all the evidence Chris needs that the 'reward' is instead badly-needed fuel. She bursts out laughing, winging her way just a little bit higher to fly above his head, and pluck the container from his hands. Grinning, she opens the container, flying up a little bit higher; she plucks one from the little box and holds it out. "Heads up, see if you can catch it!". That's about all the warning Chris gets before she lets the cookie go, watching it plummet towards him.

Triage has posed:
Clearly, the first was a giveaway. Chris's legs flex and he springs upward, leaving earth for a moment to catch the cookie. He holds it overhead like a prize, but he grins and jokes, "You have me at a great disadvantage." Then he bites into the cookie. leaving a half-moon shape. "How did it go? I hope that the camera didn't cause too much drag."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon shakes her head and grins, laughing as she flies just a little bit higher to avoid being caught by the suddenly airborne Chris. "No drag at all, really. The camera's so small and light that I might as well have not even been wearing it. I'm pleasantly surprised how well it stayed put, though I also wasn't flying at my top speed. That's something we'll have to test before making the other video."

Triage has posed:
Chris nods. "Definitely!" He confirms. "That one should be more of a 'stunt' video to give them a real sense of your world." He muches the rest of the cookie while looking up to Shanon, smiling warmly. He looks at the surrounding sky and adds, "What do you think about making the other one on Saturday? We'll want to finish both soon while the weather is good."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon grins and finally lands next to Chris, the sheer joy of flight written all over her face. Okay, maybe it had been for a school project this time, but still, there is no keeping that smile from lighting up her whole expression. "That sounds good. We can do a speed test soon to make sure the camera will stay put when I'm doing seventy or seventy-five." She grabs a cookie to nibble on herself, thinking for a moment. "Oh crud, did we remember to move that radio out of the hall? We need to secure it so if our allies come knocking looking for it, we'll have it for them, preferably intact."

Triage has posed:
"We definitely should test he camera. We might even need to rig a different harness for it if it jostles too much at high speed," Chris agrees. He reaches to inspect the camera for a moment. Then he sighs. "You're right about the radio. Things have been too hectic. What about after dinner? We do have a palette truck, padding material, and bungie cables in the store-room for securing it to the truck."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon unclips the camera from her sweater and pulls the strap from around her neck, holding out the deceptively small bit of gadgetry to Chris, smiling. "Sounds good, we fuel up and then move the radio. Hopefully nobody's fiddled with the settings at all since then. The sooner we get that stored away, the better."

Triage has posed:
"We could put it in the garage. It should be safe there because fewer people have reason to be there," Chris mentions. "So, dinner and then moving." He reaches for the camera and adds, "Now for the tricky part. We'll need to find time to meet with Logan to review this."

Nightingale has posed:
Shannon nods, and smiles, slipping her phone from her pocket. "I'll send him a message, and failing that, I'll just hunt the school for him. Or see if any of the other teachers have seen him." A few quick taps, and the message is on its way. <<Survey complete. When would you like to review? --Shannon>>

Her smile widens a bit, and she lets out a light sigh of satisfaction. "We might not be able to prevent some things from happening, but well... it feels really good to be stepping up and doing our part. This is our home, too."

Triage has posed:
Chris packs the camera and the now half-empty container into his backpack. He looks at the darkening horizon. "Just in time, too," he notes. "Let's head back and see what's cooking in the kitchen." He zips the pack and shoulders it again. Plucking his staff from the dead grass, he is ready to return.