2677/Path of the Meister: Collaboration

Path of the Meister: Collaboration
Date of Scene:	06 July 2025
Location:	The Shed
Synopsis:	Wanting to analyze the loot she'd collected from the Arthrafall that brought Souma to Earth, Rashmi has a brainwave; why not include fellow techie Ami Mizuno? What follows is a series of deep discussions, fortunate selections, and in the end the two become fast friends.
Cast of Characters:	Rashmi Terios, Ami Mizuno

---

Rashmi Terios has posed:
With the wedding *on the Moon* done, New Bad News in the first stage of Being Sorted, and things more or less returning to a much more manageable amount of stress, Rashmi decided to treat herself. Ordinarily, 'treating herself' would be 'finding a quiet place with a book, lychee boba, and proximity to Chrono.'

But recently she scavenged Mid-childan medbay sensors! So that's a new kind of treat.

Eight desks have been shoved together, and a beach towel laid over them, as she sets out widgets and wotsits, one by one, to begin her initial analysis... And then a thought strikes her. << Nicomachea, >> she thinks. << Send a text to Ami-san? >>

    << TXT to AMI MIZUNO: Hi Ami-san! I don't know if you have time or not, but, I remember you being *really really* interested in Device technology, and as it happens I am about to suss out a whole bunch of stuff I salvaged from a medical bay. I remember hearing that you wanted to be a doctor, would you be interested in coming to the Shed so we can nerd out about alien magic gizmos? >>

Ami Mizuno has posed:
The reply wasn't far off;

    <PHONE> TXT to RASHMI: That's great! I'll be along very soon!

And that might well have been an understatement. Maybe ten minutes later and the senshi was making her entry. There was every possibility that she had still been in the school, dressed for classes as she was, and her hard-shelled backpack slung over shoulders. At least until she had properly completed her ingress and it slid free to settle by the door, popped open only long enough for the Mercury Computer to be retrieved.

After all, if she was going to oggle some tittilating new tech, she was going to include her own analysis in the mix.

"Rashmi-san!" Ami was smiling already.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Ami-san!" Rashmi answers, straightening to wave at the bluenette. "I'm not making you skip out on homework, am I?"

Of course that would be a concern; between Ami's consistent standings at the top of her class, *and* the likelihood that she's helping Usagi catch up from her... misadventure... away from school, the last thing Rashmi wants is to threaten the stability of either of those things.

That said, while she absolutely *would* understand if Ami had to go... she *is* setting out an array of bottled teas and sodas, and an armful of snack packages, all plucked from her Device. "If it's okay, then c'mon over! I will be happy to answer *literally any question* you do or will have. Also take your pick, Device Mages seem to run on calories as much as Usa-chan does so I *never* go without snacks."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh no, my homework is fine." Ami laughed a little to herself, because of course it was.

There was never a day that went by that she didn't set aside at least some time to get her own study out of the way. It wasn't always the easiest thing to work in, but she'd had quite a lot of practice by this point.

"Plus, what could possibly help more in working towards doctorates than studying Device Mage healing technologies?" She was making her way closer to the machine, eyes running all about, a little unsure of where to even begin.

Ami hummed. "I'm sure I'll have questions soon, but I'm not even sure where to begin just yet. Maybe something simple? What's the outside made of?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Nicomachea, a trifold tome the size of Rashmi's entire torso, looses a cheery *bing!* from where he floats behind Rashmi's shoulder.

    << WHILE EXOTIC COMPOSITE MATERIALS EXIST AMONG THE ADMINISTERED WORLDS, >> says the book, in the computer-distorted voice of a warm, engaging professor, << ALLOYS OF STEEL OR ALUMINIUM COMPRISE MOST OF THE SHELLS OF TSAB TECHNOLOGY, SUBJECT 'Ami.' >>

"Oh good," Rashmi laughs, "you got him started early."

    << INDEED, SAVE FOR CERTAIN PRODUCTS OF A CRYSTALLINE NATURE, AND THE ABILITY TO MANIPULATE OBJECTS IN MORE THAN THREE DIMENSIONS, THERE IS LITTLE ABOUT DEVICE TECHNOLOGY THAT CANNOT BE COMPENSATED FOR WITH TERRESTRIAL MATERIALS. >>

"...Which is honestly good for me," Rashmi says feelingly, "because it means I'm not limited *to* whatever happens to fall out of the sky. I just need that for the really important stuff."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami's attention was captured by the tome for a moment.

"Thank you, Nico-sensei." She even offered the floating book a small bow.

And then the Mercury Computer was flipped open, a few taps away, and she rounded the machine slowly. Ami's eyes flicked from computer to device and then back again.

"I could imagine that would make any repair needs much easier." Ami agreed with Rashmi. "I would also suspect that the more core-components would be where the exotic materials find themselves with greater use, given it'd be their specific properties that allow whatever mechanism is the goal."

She was musing, audibly. Probing verbally.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Things like emitters, regulators, Core crystals, yeah... pretty much anything that needs to interact with magic on the level of micro-electronics, including the circuitry."

The scan of Nicomachea is... interesting. On the one hand, he looks vaguely book-shaped, though a book that could have been a Gundam toy. On the other, there's a *lot* about his construction that seems *impossibly* layered, with pieces of him seeming to trail off in unknowable directions.

"Part of the reason I salvaged this stuff is, Nicomachea identified most of it as one kind or another of medical diagnostic. And given his *purpose,* I figured if I could upgrade his sensor suite, I'd be able to get a lot closer to helping Entrapta-chan with her project... And a couple of my own to boot. But lemme show you part of why Hannah-chan had to teach me so much about Device technology to begin with... Nicomachea? Display screen please, this is gonna need visual aid."

She glances back at Ami, and smiles wryly. "I *badly* needed the visual aid myself... math is hard, n-dimensional math I just try to get enough to understand how to think spatially."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Oh, I've always found it much easier to think of arbitrary-dimensional tensors in terms of matrices." Ami stated almost absently. "It simplifies that mathematics a little bit... Nico-sensei is very interesting, too."

Even the Mercury Computer was having difficulty finding an intuitive way to express complexities meaningfully. Fortunately, that just seemed to deepen her intrigue further.

Ami took a slight step back, setting herself a little closer to Rashmi, as she kept her attention in Nicomachea. She shook her head a little.

"I'm sorry--I'm still a little out of touch with some things." The senshi grimaced slightly. "A lot of my focus was set pretty firmly on New Moon and Wicked Lady for, I feel, obvious reasons in the end. Did you need help with some of these projects? I'd be happy to."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
Obligingly, the Device forms a yellow-bordered, but otherwise transparent, holographic 'screen' above his open pages, as Rashmi shakes her heas. "Ami-san I am the *last* person you need to apologize to about that," she chuckles. "She's my friend, yeah, but she's *your* Princess. And you're dating, I think I heard? Trust me, the whole Molly-chan nightmare kept me pretty out of the loop on the Black Moon Clan for most of it so I really do understand. And I would *love* for you to have at least a passing familiarity with Device technology. I'll even have Chrono give you examples of the code if you want!"

"But to explain... Nico-kun? Show us an apple in three dimensions."

And lo, there was an apple on the 'screen.' "Now in two dimensions, three millimeters off-center."

Next to the apple, an irregular circle appeared, with a couple of black specks and a thin red outline.

"That, is an approximation of what a three-dimensional object looks like, when viewed from a two-dimensional perspective. Nico-kun, rotate on all three axes?"

The apple begins to tumble in space, the 'slice' seen in 2-d warping and expanding and contracting, in much the same way as an extremely drunken CT would look as it was performed.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Yes, it's not quite a projection but more like a specific slice that represents the intersection of the three-dimensional object in two-dimensional space. It's part of the trouble of representing objects with four or more dimensions in three-dimensional space." Ami nodded slowly. "And, I'd definitely like to get a good pick over anything code-related."

Because, of course she would. Ami would spend an entire afternoon, at the very least, poring over it. Probably much more. Properly familiarising herself with these things was both useful to her place amongst the Senshi, but also just really really cool.

"Usagi-chan is my girlfriend, yes. So, that had some very personal worries, as well." Ami cleared her throat. "Regardless, you helped us a lot and that's the sort of favour I think I should be repaying."

Another pause, then a quick nod. "As your friend."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Exactly," Rashmi says, bobbing her head. "Which is why it's so hard to replicate Device technology... outside of the whole magic thing. There's a *lot* to him that we just don't see, because he exists in five dimensions. Same with these sensors, and I would *love* for you to learn how they work right alongside me. See... In the TSAB, magic isn't *just* technology. The Heart Crystals, a Puella's Soul Gem, and all the other 'maybe-but-not-definitely-the-soul' things? To the TSAB, that's all variations on a 'Linker Core.' It's a whole entire *organ,* that gathers and stores mana... partially from the air, but also from calories, hence the snacks. And right now..."

She rests a hand on Nicomachea's display crystal, giving him the kind of fond smile one might normally see directed at Luna. "Right now Nicomachea's got a great sensor suite, but it only applies to analyzing magic in the... active sense, I'd guess you can say? Like he can map the flow of mana in your body, or mine, but all that really does is show a map of a circulatory system, and report what 'frequency' it's tuned to. Device Magic, Senshi Magic, Dark Energy... With these..." she taps the largest sensor, something that clearly once was an arm mounted to a bracket, possibly suspended from a ceiling. "I hope he can get a more... *interactive* look at magic, and people."

With that, she beams at Ami. "And it's the sort of thing that's fun, but *even more fun* with friends. Not even a favor at all."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
She was tapping away even as Rashmi spoke. Listening, but taking notes as well. Partly for her own reference later, but--and if Rashmi were to peek--almost directly in relation to whatever she had noted on Nicomachea already. It was almost like a quick reference guide of some kind.

"Alright." Ami offered slowly, turning her attention back to the larger medical device. "Five dimensions, okay."

That, too, was going to take a little bit of work. Hyperdimensional objects weren't the sorts of things that were easy for pretty much anybody to visualise, at least that was her immediate gut feeling. Running through the mathematics of it certainly help with the intuition.

"I guess my Visor is somewhat similar to that, too. it's paired with the Mercury Computer, too, so the more I know, the more I can integrate into it's ability to analyse things on the go." Ami glanced now to Rashmi. "So, what are we specifically looking for right now?"

A nod toward the medical machine. "With regards to this, of course."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Nicomachea?" Rashmi answers, nodding to the Device.

    << *BONG!* >> << DEPOT INVESTIGATION >>

The screen bwips away, and the book lowers itself closer to hip level, producing a flat disc above itself, and a series of 'screens' ready to display information to the very best of their ability.

"Now, Nicomachea finds its part number, and tells me what it's *supposed* to do, and if it's something we can use? We go hunting for the sensors, and *that's* the part that's fun. Meantime... I've been *really curious* about your computer-- I mean, *all* the Silver Millennium stuff really, but I've always felt like it'd be, y'know, *prying* to ask."

The part is laid upon the disc, and loops of ribbon-like spell-tape form, passing up and down over the item as the screens erupt with numbers and bars and waveforms, all constantly in motion and all apparently at least meaning *something.*

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Ah--and the part searching could take place across five dimensions while you're forced to try to find those things by rotating through three dimensions? kind of like trying to align it all just right within our space to get to the bit you need." At the very least, Ami thought she was following things relatively well.

She was also still trying to orient herself in that new hyperspace.

Ami moved yet closer again and turned a little, settling the Mercury Computer beside Rashmi on the table. There wasn't anything particularly sensitive on display just now, aside from whatever readings and notes she'd been taking on the medical device moments ago.

"It is a computer capable of quite a lot of analysis out of the box, for the most part." She grimaced. "And it doesn't have a lovely voice like Nico-sensei. It is orders of magnitude more capable than any single computer currently in use by the general public, with component sizes that definitely fall below the quantum threshold. Even then, I've always thought that it was supposed to be paired with something else, but I've never quite been able to determine what."

A pause, before Ami clarified further.

"Aside from my Visor, of course. It'll handle pretty much any analytical task I can put to it and has its own functional sensors, multiple communication options--" Ami smiled to Rashmi. "I set up my own mobile telecommunications network with it, too, which currently hosts a few phones to keep certain things a little more secure. We can't have every blue haired genius who might drop in from the future able to hack our phones, after all."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh cool!" Rashmi says, bobbing her head. "...Yeah one of the first things I did once I got *really* familiar with how Nico-kun works is, basically linked him to my phone. Texting is a *lot* simpler when you use a telepathic interface," she says, bobbing her head. "That's *amazing* though, how do you even *make* subatomic things? ...I mean I don't expect you know personally, just a general 'how' for the universe in general. But that is weird, about it being paired with something... I wonder... Has it even *not* been able to do something you asked it to do?"

The question is shortstopped, however, when Nicomachea looses another cheery *bing!*

    << ASSEMBLY CATALOG FOUND, >> he declaims. << SERIAL NUMBER DX-MC5201-S -- MANA TRANSFER-TRANSFUSION ARRAY. >>

"Aaaaaah," says Rashmi, nodding slowly. "So it's a kind of life-support system. ...Which is *useful,* and I think cracks a wall I've been running up against in other places, but it's not quite a *sensor.*"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Well, I can't just track things quite arbitrarily." Ami confessed. "Such as certain things in orbit right about now."

A very furtive glance was given to the ceiling, almost as though she thought there might be some chance of staring through it to see the Black Moon Clan's ship high above. Unfortunately, there was no such luck to be had.

"Other than that, I'm sure there's other limitations. I've also given some thought about where it might have been made." A short shrug. "Maybe somewhere in the city around the palace where we just had the wedding? But, also, it's not the Lunar Computer so..."

Really, there wasn't much else for her to manage on this point except offer another shrug. Of course, there was a fairly reasonable explanation that probably lined up very nicely with the thing it might also pair with, but those were discoveries or another day.

Today, they had medical equipment! And Ami returned her attention to that.

"Mana transfusion-transfer array..." Her computer was in her hands again and she typed away rapidly. "Even so, that is also very interesting and conceivably useful at some point. Almost like a technological Mamoru-kun for when he's unavailable."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Kiiiiinda?" Rashmi hazards. "So I do have a... fairly basic kind of first-aid spell, and a whole lot of Boosts, and all of those are based around transferring mana... But in a very specific, purposeful way, and in the case of the healing, extremely limited. Just enough to take the edge off exhaustion, maybe get back in a fight for a little bit. If I could figure this out... maybe do something a bit more universal, like actually *charge* things instead of doing a really elaborate siphon like I've been doing. Let's try..."

As she takes the arm off the disc, everything seems to drop back down into standby. Screens blank, magical circles vanish, and it's just the basic setup. "...Actually you pick, Ami-san. And while you're choosing; I was asking, because if you try and get it to do something it *can't,* but provides as an option... that might give a clue to what it was supposed to pair with? It's just... Molly-chan's Device had actually been taken apart for refits before the ship it was on... exploded. So it was constantly trying to access stuff that wasn't physically attached to it, throwing errors, and compensating by assuming it was never supposed to be a thing he could do. Like reaching for something but forgetting you don't have arms, then kicking it across the room and acting like that's what you meant to do."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It's almost more like--" And she pondered for a moment, Ami's eyes narrowed slightly. "If this were a network and there's a link to some portal that might provide some extra functionality. But, without accessing that portal you can't tell what that functionality even was in the first place. Oh! I've got it a USB peripheral--it could be anything, but you can't tell what until it's plugged in."

Only without the actual physical plugging, of course. Whatever it paired with was remote in some way.

"So, the options to even start poking around aren't even being presented. Just a device not found notice in the system settings."

It was, of course, some measure of simplification as all things were when dealing with ancient, but super-advanced technologies.

She picked something up from the table, something that could best be described as a glorified and gilded hook. One end was rod-like, the other curving almost all the way back upon itself. Ami looked it over.

"This one?" The senshi still managed to sound a little unconvinced with a grimace. "I suppose that's one thing. The Mercury Computer doesnt really know things until I've already identified it in some manner. I can't just ask it questions quite like that."

Maybe it had, at one point, access to a much larger database of information. She really didn't know.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"That... makes sense," Rashmi muses, brows drawing together. "Has it been looking *for* a signal? I don't suppose there'd be a Settings menu to help track it down... Well if you find something let me know too, okay? Helping friends has been the best thing *about* having friends, so I'd *definitely* want to help figure this out."

As Ami selects the hook-wand-thing, Rashmi grins. "Well that's always the most frustrating part, isn't it? You can't know what you don't know until you know it. Put it on the pad, I'm *curious* now. I know it's not an actual *Device* device, Chrono has the Chief Medical Officer's Device himself. He's even had to use it a couple times, and he makes a pink nurse's outfit look surprisingly good!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"Maybe he could wear it when Halloween comes around." Ami mused with a very slight giggle, following Rashmi's direction and setting the hook-thing onto the indicated pad.

Then, as before, she was tapping away on the computer as she got things ready to record whatever findings came out shortly. Her own little scans and recordings taking the data in.

"I think that it might, but I haven't been quite able to pinpoint a direction beyond up, honestly." Ami wrinkled her nose because, really, that wasn't at all helpful. "I'll keep you updated, though. Anything new I figure out, it'll probably be the sort of thing you'll find interesting."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Up... Huh. I wonder; what *kind* of up?" Rashmi muses, as the scanner scans, and the screens scroll. "Would it be a different kind of 'up' if you took readings from the moon? Two points isn't really *great* for triangulation, but, it's definitely better than nothing? And given how the Earth orbits the Sun... Take a reading every couple months from the Earth and the Moon, you might get something you can work with?"

    << ASSEMBLY CATALOG FOUND. SERIAL NUMBER DX-MR1304-B -- BIOFIELD RESONANCE MAPPING TOOL >>

Rashmi blinks, tapping one screen and, with a gesture, expanding it and placing it atop the rest. "Well that's interesting... Says here it's for reading... auras? Like it can take a baseline reading from someone, then if anything about their condition changes it can, like... tell noninvasively? Huh, pocket magic MRI..."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Oh! Yes! That was actually a very clever idea.

"We just need a wide enough base and some nice distant point, to approximate a nice zero, and we'd have enough to calculate a triangulation." Ami could have slapped herself for having not thought of this herself. "The distance between the Earth and the Moon might be large enough, and the journey is easy enough for us that we wouldn't have to wait and then also have to incorporate the complications of orbital mechanics."

It was exciting stuff for the blue haired senshi. Not only was it a potential step to memories she still didn't quite have access to, but it was mathematics and we all know how she felt about that. Though, it didn't dominate her thoughts quite so much that she forgot about the strange rod she'd picked out.

The Mercury Computer recorded away. She tapped a little with her own quick notes, based on what Rashmi observed.

"Oh, that might be useful if I can replicate it with the Visor." Ami mused now. "I wonder if I can even do that."

Maybe?

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I mean," Rashmi considers. "Maybe! I don't know what-all kind of sensors your Computer--" and yes, she does *pronounce* the capital letters, because a Devicer *never* underestimates the feeling of magitechnolectronics, "-- has, but if it can scan magical signatures with enough detail to make *comparisons,* I expect it'd be more a matter of technique and protocol than ability. *Definitely* gonna hang onto this one, Nicomachea could use a little more resolution himself..."

Setting the rod aside, she hovers over the remaining bits, dithering... likely because there's *much* more than just the technology on her mind. "So... I know I've been talking *about* Molly-chan, but... Did you ever get that whole story? And it's okay if you haven't," she says in a rush. "But I think there're questions you're gonna be better equipped to find answers for than I am, so... If you want the full explainer?"

While waiting on Ami to answer, she selects something cuff-shaped, with a circular 'clasp' bearing a round scarlet crystal on its inner face, and drops it on the disk.

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"It can." Ami confirmed for Rashmi's benefit. "I think I've got enough information here to start playing around with a solution. This has already been really, really educational."

From anyone else, that probably wouldn't have carried quite the same weight of honest compliment as it did with Ami. There were few things that she appreciated more than a good, educational time.

At the mention of Molly, though, the senshi shook her head a little.

"No, I don't think I've heard much at all." Ami glanced up from the Computer to watch Rashmi now. "But, I would like to. I certainly meant more than tinkering with amazing Devices when I offered to help, even though this is more fun than I've had in a long time."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Well I'm glad for that," Rashmi says, beaming as *the top student in the Academy* calls fiddling about with *her* tech stuff 'educational.' "And I'm glad you're having fun too! But..."

Rashmi draws in a long, deep breath. "So around the beginning of the year, one of the Witches 5 -- Viluy -- had opened a portal to the Dusk Zone, and was basically *feeding* civilians to some kind of Daimon generator on the other side. Of course we couln't let that stand, so a bunch of us -- Molly-chan included -- went to go stop it. It... was *rough.* The youma was bad enough, but we had to go *into* the Dusk Zone to save the people, and all that magic and life energy was attracting... natives. Molly-chan fought really, really hard to give space for the rest of us to get out... Then she destroyed the machine making the portal. From *inside the Dusk Zone.* So... she cut off her own escape, while being surrounded by monsters, while being trapped in a world only a little bit different from the place where the Black Moon Clan comes from."

"We even called Norie-chan and Riventon, and *they went and looked* and couldn't find a body. So... we were pretty sure she was dead," Rashmi says softly, keeping her eyes focused on the screens. Even now, it's still hard to remember *just six months ago* without wanting to burst into tears. "And then a while later... We found out she wasn't dead... But it might have been a *lot* kinder if she was."

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Her attention did not return to the Mercury Computer. Not for this. While she might not have been in the loop of Molly and all that was currently happening there, Ami knew enough to catch the tone of things fairly quickly, and she aligned herself to that. It was to the point where she se tthe Computer down to step a little closer to Rashmi, hands now clasped at her chest and lower lip caught between her teeth.

"I can't imagine losing someone to something like that." Ami said gently, but that was a lie.

She had imagined precisely that over the past few weeks. Quite a lot, in fact, when she'd thought Usagi was missing and Chibiusa was running about as a supervillain. It was the sort of untruth that was made paperthin by the empathetic knit of her brow. Of course Ami had a fairly solid idea what that worry looked like, she'd felt it for her girlfriend.

"I'm gathering she's been found at this point, though?" Ami asked tentatively. "In some manner or another."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
As the Mercury Computer is set down, Rashmi turns... and smiles gently at Ami's commiseration. "...Yeah you can," she says, shaking her head. "New Moon...? There's not a lot more difference than degree there, in any direction."

But the call-out carries no upset, or accusation... just one intelligent and creative mind to another, sharing the curse of deeply powerful imagination about people they care about. But then Ami guides the explanation along, and the redhead nods. "Yeah," she sighs. "Except... well... Turns out the Witches 5, their ultimate mission? To wake up a, like... super-daimon, named Mistress 9. And *Mistress 9* was supposed to bring *her* overlord here from across the stars. So we found out that Molly-chan was... being used as a host for a *servant* for Mistress 9, named Seriss Nyx. I don't know what they did to Molly-chan, and I don't *want* to know, but... Now my best friend is out there, wearing the body of an adult, trying to bring Mistress 9 back so they can do that whole mess *all over again.* Which would be bad enough... But Seriss is a *sadist,* and since she's got Molly-chan's body, she's also got her Device."

She starts to go on, but Nicomachea *bings!* once more, interrupting the train of thought.

    << ASSEMBLY CATALOG: PARTIAL MATCH. SERIAL NUMBER MX-521-B, PART VR-DELTA -- MEDICAL BED RESTRAINT FIELD EMITTER 1 of 4 >>

"Oh," Rashmi says, disappointment coloring her voice. "...Well the parts'll be useful at least... You wanna pick another?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami smiled gently at Rashmi, an expression of accepting the other's awareness of her own recent struggles as well as the empathy that brought for Rashmi's current ones. Even so, she nodded to visibly confirm things. "You're definitely right about that and I should know better than to hide those things from friends."

And yet, she still often did. People tended to expect a pleasant, happy, and studious Ami, so that's what she often gave them.

She continued to listen otherwise, nodding here and there to indicate that she was actively absorbing things. Nichomachea binged and Ami turned her attention to the parts to pick out another. It almost looked like a simple winged bolt only it bore a semi-transparent and glass-like gem on top. It was, of course, set on the disk for analysis.

Then she returned to the Mercury Computer. Ami should probably continue to take scans and notes as she could as well.

"So, you've got something terrible trying to wear your friend and do evil things." Ami summarised, mostly for her own benefit. It wasn't to diminish, it was more a vocalisation as she began working the problem in her head. "Do we have any solutions for exorcising the servant from her body? Do we know whether that will cause Molly-san more harm than good?"

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"None to speak of," Rashmi sighs. "But I figure since it was the girl who'd become Sailor Saturn that was at the core of all this, maybe Silver Millennium technology might get us closer to an answer. Just if you *are* in the area when she strikes, be careful. She's a *lot* less passive than your average lieutenant, and she's got a *lot* of throw weight to support her monsters with. ...And I recently upgraded her defenses for her. On purpose. You probably have questions."

She cannot help but blush at the admission, because she *knows* the gamble is a risky one, and will lead to a *more difficult* enemy in the time between gamble and possible payoff.

"The short form is... Molly-chan's soul is *still alive* in that body. And she succeeded in passing word before Hotaru-chan could get captured, so as punishment Seriss locked Molly-chan in her dreams. We're planning on rescuing her... but the person I went to, needed Seriss to be holding somethng the person had handled. And I figured... what better way to make her accept something without question, than to make it something she'd want?"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"No, I can see the logic." Ami agreed.

It was a good first-step in a trap, even if there was a little bit of a gamble in it. There almost always was, particularly with an enemy you couldn't quite deal with head-on. The fortunate part was that Ami was very, very good at not dealing with enemies head-on. Strategy, tactics, and misdirection were all within her wheelhouse.

"So--and I'm just trying to confirm that I'm understanding things properly--we would need to recover Molly-san's soul from a dreamscape before we can make any attempt to purify the Nyx out of her body?" Ami hummed a little to herself. "We might also consider asking Masa-nii's advice as well. A little bit of light possession was well within his set of abilities back when he was evil Nephrite, he might have some insight."

Already, Ami had set aside a new set of entries in the Mercury Computer's database--something she set at doing while talking and before Nicomachea could identify the thing. Enough lull to start collating information on Molly and Seriss Nyx.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"...That's an *excellent* idea," Rashmi says, eyes widening. "Though I'll have to be careful about asking... Mamo-kun's boys got *hurt* by their bad old days, from everything I've seen, and I don't like bringing up that kind of damage if I can help it. But that's a pretty good summary; we really, really want to be sure Molly-chan's soul is *safe* and *free* to reoccupy her body when the time comes. And in the meantime, we have to stop a super-daimon who has her own giant-monster-*generating* minions from kidnapping a girl who used to be the Silver Millennium's 'in-case-of-existential-failure-break-glass' superweapon. And is now just the sweetest little cinnamon roll you ever met."

    << *BONG!* >> << ASSEMBLY CATALOG FOUND. SERIAL NUMBER MS-75413-VK -- SPECTRAL MANA ANALYSIS SENSOR. >>

"Wait, is that--"

With a wave, Rashmi brings what must be the user's manual up, and ornate text that could *almost* pass for English -- if one was drunk, and possibly clubbed on the head -- begins to scroll up and up and up, accompanied by diagrams and charts, and Rashmi's eyes grow wider and wider. "--yes! Ami-chan you found it!"

    << UNIT IS DESIGNED TO ANALYSE AND CATALOG MANA AFFINITIES AT SUB-MICROSCOPIC RESOLUTIONS, >> Nicomachea explains. << IT IS A FIELD DIAGNOSTIC TOOL, REQUIRING PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH SUBJECT, BUT SIMULATED USE CASES ANTICIPATE A WIDE ARRAY OF APPLICATIONS IF ADAPTED TO DEPOT-LEVEL ANALYSIS. >>

Overcome with excitement, Rashmi briefly lunges to hug the bluenette, letting go after a moment and bowing her apologies. "Sorry, sorry... But this is *exactly* what I was looking for!"

Ami Mizuno has posed:
Ami wasn't above hugs, though she was evidently a little bit surprised by the sudden clutch of one. She smiled anyway and let one hand depart the Computer in order to facilitate reciprocation, complete with its own little squeeze.

After all, she had considered it earlier when Rashmi had looked very sad.

"I did?" Ami beamed very happily, glancing at her little screen and tapping quickly enough to capture the readings she'd need for later analysis. "Oh--that's really neat, actually. I'm glad!"

Of course, she was referring to the little piece she'd plucked randomly from a grouping of other pieces. Maybe it was her lucky day? The other subject, however, was a little more sombre. But, Ami thought it at least as important--probably moreso.

"I don't think Masa-nii would mind." Ami assured her. "If something good can come from that time and the experiences of it, I think that's what will matter to him more. Helping your friend, especially after you did so much to help ours, is definitely something good."

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"I don't think he'd mind either," Rashmi says, smiling. "But it's out of *respect* for his feelings I wanna be careful. That's just as important to me too, y'know? Especially with that kind of hurt, it's really easy to accidentally step on their toes like 'your experience could be *useful!*' and all they hear is 'useful' and that leads to some awful places." Setting aside the sensor, Rashmi leans against the desks, tilting her head.

"I'm kinda sorry our circles didn't intersect earlier," she says. "But I'm *really glad* you could be here now, and that's what matters more. Nico-kun? Register: Ami Mizuno -- Guest Access."

    << *BONG!* >> << GUEST USER 'Ami Mizuno' REGISTERED, MASTER. >>

"Most people can talk to him," Rashmi explains, "but if we ever get... y'know, separated... It's helpful to have someone with permission to actually interact with him without me needing to be the intermediary. Usa-chan and Mamo-kun also have those permissions, but... I kinda get the feeling you'd almost be willing to skip extra credit to talk to a magical alien AI. ...*Almost.*"

    << *BONG!* >> << CONCURRANCE. AND AS MY PURPOSE IS TO ANALYZE, COLLATE, AND DISSEMINATE HELPFUL INFORMATION, SUCH INTERACTIONS WOULD CLASSIFY AS A PLEASURE, GUEST USER 'Ami.' >>

Ami Mizuno has posed:
"I look forward to learning from you, Nico-sensei." The senshi bowed respectfully to the Device.

She wasn't about to be rude or act any kind of entitled toward Nicomachea or his time. It was a very kind thing just being able to speak with him, let alone possibly be entrusted with his care in any unfortunate future possibilities.

Ami made a slightly hummed note before she turned and knelt down at her backpack. A quick search later and she rose once more with a SIM card in her palm on offer.

"I'm not sure how well this will help you, but it's keyed specifically to my little network." Ami explained. "Nico-sensei might benefit from quicker access to the Mercury Computer if I set up some similar permissions for him. He probably already knows everything in there and more, but just in case."

After all, it was Silver Millenium technology and that was nothing to sneeze at either.

"It doesn't really matter when we became friends, we were going to be that anyway. I'm glad that it's now, though." Ami smiled.

Rashmi Terios has posed:
"Oh that's *lots* easier than what I had in mind," Rashmi laughs, taking the card. "I was gonna tell you to text me, but preface it with Nicomachea, and since he's linked to my phone anyway he'd be able to talk to you without me getting notifications... Yeah this'll do a lot better! And you'd be surprised, honestly... Silver Millennium knowledge assumes a completely different model of reality than Mid-Childan magic, there's *lots* of concepts that'll be foreign to him. But with how *adaptable* your guys' stuff is, it'll definitely help us both out a lot."

For now, the card gets tucked into the Device's inventory space, as she turns back to the remaining doodads. "So what should we do next..."

With all the snacks and drinks, the conversation and analysis can last literally as long as both girls can, and Rashmi is *more* than happy to spend all the time possible with a kindred spirit. It was already going to be a good day even if she'd done this herself, because the discoveries open up wonderful possibilities.

But making out of a like-minded soul? That is *always* a wonderful day.