trans_9 | Better Living Through Reckless Experimentation [Open]

Brainiac 5 hasn't been outside of his area of the labs much of late, preferring to keep working if at all possible and finding it easier than most others since he doesn't need to break for food or rest nearly as often as organic crew members do. Not to mention that the last few times he'd ventured outside, he'd gotten caught up in an altercation and, earlier, run into a particularly irritating girl who'd compared him to a vegetable of all things.

Therefore he's determined to stay in here where the company is infinitely better and continue working on his experiments in power sources. He's not, despite what others might think, sulking. He's simply working on something that requires a lot of concentration and--

His sensors beep faintly. Apparently his work requires slightly more attention than he's been giving it, because it's about to overload.

"Oh," he says. He has just enough time to throw up a forcefield around the device, his work station, and, by proxy, himself, so that nothing else in the area is going to get damaged. And then it explodes.

He thinks that the forcefield contained the worst of it before it gave out, but he's not entirely sure because he's busy describing a near perfect arc through the area before colliding heavily with the door. Which promptly opens and dumps him out in the hallway.

"Ow," he mutters. This really isn't turning out to be his day. Or week.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Jeka smiled at him, although it was still tight around the edges.

"As I said before, you're a Legionnaire. That, and what I've seen of you since we met, tells me enough that I can trust you." The fact that he'd been willing to set aside his obvious curiosity about hypertaxis energy -- or at least offer to -- was also a large number of points in his favor. After all, what could be more irritating to a Brainiac 5 than unsatisfied curiosity?

Well, both of them could agree on the topic being less comfortable than they'd like, so she was willing to accept the change as well. "I'll get some distance then. I don't think the shielding unit will be necessary, I trust that you're capable of containing the explosion, if it does occur. Unless you have a shielding unit you'd like me to test?" She was sturdier than she looked, in any case.

"That won't be necessary," Brainy says. "I've had my own forcefields for years now, and while I may consider upgrading them in the future, I doubt it's something I need to work on right away."

He finishes the last of the modifications on the device and tweaks a couple of settings. Then he glances over to check that Jeka is clear. "Ready?"

"Ready," she answered, having slithered behind a piece of equipment for cover. She peered over the top of the machine and gave him a thumbs up.

Brainy flashes a quick smile that he hopes is more reassuring than it feels, then he activates the device.

As all the times before, there's a brief moment where it looks like everything's working perfectly, and then--

BOOOOOM!

Lying on his back on the floor again, he was starting to wonder if this was an experiment in creating an energy source, or a subconscious training session in getting forcefields up quickly.

Jeka reflexively turned away, protect her head with her arms and a length of her lower body.

"Brainy? Are you all right?"

Well, at least he hadn't gone through the doors this time?

"I'm fine," came a slightly shaky voice from the other side of the room. He just felt like lying down for a moment or two. Actually, part of his head felt like--

He glanced up. Yes, there was a slight mark on the wall above him. He must have hit it and bounced off.

He sighed and pushed himself up slowly. "My systems are just repairing the damage, but I'll be fully functional in a moment."

"Perhaps you ought to take a break," Jeka said, slithering out from behind her makeshift shield and inspecting the resulting damage. "Pounding your head against a wall isn't going to do any good."

She offered him another hand up, and noticed the mark on the wall. "Metaphorically," she added.

"I was thinking of heading over to the sensoriums later," he remarked absently, rubbing the back of his head and accepting the offered hand. "But I might try just a few more changes before then. I think I have an idea of what's going wrong now..."

"Your counterpart demonstrated that the sensoriums can actually affect things, so if there are other tools that you need for this project, it might be best to visit them earlier rather than later," Jeka said, pulling him to his feet and inspecting him for obvious dama-- injury. "I've certainly been reveling in the fact I can have sonic showers instead of being 'cleaned' by the tentacles in the Clothing Chamber."

Brainy shrugged. "My body maintains itself in that respect, though the information is useful."

He smiled up at Jeka. "Maybe some of my own laboratory equipment would be more useful, and I also could to test how much I could get the ship to create for me."

He glanced back at the mark on the wall as his systems finished repairing the last of the damage. "...not to mention there may be better safety devices in place," he added.

"I was relieved to find it out myself," Jeka said. "It meant the difference between feeling clean and feeling like a layer of pod goo is still clinging to my scales."

She smiled back. "Better equipment and better safety certainly sound like grand benefits in the overall scheme of things. Shall we? If the power source is particularly heavy, I can help you carry it."

That actually got a faint chuckle from the Coluan. "I suppose I'd feel the same in your situation."

Brainy frowned at his project, debating Jeka's offer. "It's not heavy, but maybe some other time. I think I'll try a few more things here first," he decided eventually. "But thanks for the offer."

"Well then, I--"

Jeka's omnicom beeped, and she pulled it out of one of the pouches on her belt.

"--I'll have to meet up with you again later; I'm needed on a patrol."

She slipped her omnicom back into its pouch. "You'll have to tell me how this works out, Brainy."

"Alright," he answered, privately disappointed but hiding it well. "I'll see you some other time then."

And then he turned back to repairing the equipment again, figuring he'd get in one last try before giving up until later.

"I'll be back later," Jeka called back over her shoulder, and left Brainy behind to his experiments.

Better Living Through Reckless Experimentation [Open]

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