Carth's magical adventure, ROUND TWO, MOTHERFUCKERS!

[Anastasia]

"Am I the Galactic Encyclopedia," Tir grumbles. "The ship's database should have that, why don't you get out of bed and go find out for yourself?" He again sits down on his wallcot. "As much as discussing our survival for the next few weeks interests me, I'm about to pass out."

[Carthrat]

"What a database says and what a government means can be two different things," notes Carthrat. "But I'll have a look. Anyway. Have a good one, and I'll see you in eight hours."

Carthrat heads off to look for Rachel..

[Anastasia]

Tir's response is rather colorful and amusing. In other words, nothing of note from him.

You find Rachel in the small galley, idly stirring a cup of something soupish with her spoon. "Hi, Carthrat," she says when you enter, not looking up from her hand's stirring and swirling motions. She sounds distracted, which is understandable considering yesterday.

[Carthrat]

"Hey," replies Carthrat, grabbing a pack of rations and starting to eat.

"How're you holding out?" she asks, simply.

[Anastasia]

To be fair, the rations here are far better than rations an Earth army would eat.

To be even more fair, they still aren't much past mediore. Ah, the joys of the army.

"I'm alright," Rachel says to the swishing of her soup. "I think we all just had a...really bad day yesterday."

[Carthrat]

"Ah, well. You get used to it," notes Carthrat, dryly. "We're alive, we're fit, and we're not dead. Can't ask for more than that in this age."

[Anastasia]

"I'd rather that had a clause about not being traveling with a soul eating....thing." Rachel says quietly.

[Carthrat]

"As long as you're referring to the thing on Tir's hand and not the man himself, I completely agree," replies Carthrat.

[Anastasia]

"About that," Rachel comments, putting aside her cup. "I cast an Aura Reading spell yesterday after you slept...the first time Selena ever granted me the incantation for it," she says, adding weight to her words.

"You're right. Tir...is aura, it's..." Rachel struggles for a word. "OLD. There is something unspeakably ancient about it...but it's also not evil.

That Rune, though..."

[Carthrat]

Carthrat shrugs, flashing back to an offhand comment of Tir's.

Something about a thousand years..

"He's more upset than you over it, I think," replies Carthrat. "I doubt he wants it for it's power."

[Anastasia]

"He'd have chosen well if he was lusting for power," Rachel notes, closing her eyes to visualize again what she saw. "It's extremely powerful, and he's entirely intuned to it."

Rachel doesn't immediately follow that up, instead being silent, only the gentle hum of the engines breaking the quiet.

"Have you ever seen a natural disaster kill and ruin? Could you call an earthquake or flood evil?"

[Carthrat]

"Evil.." replies Carthrat, gazing out a starport. "I don't know what the word means anymore.."

[Anastasia]

Rachel is silent again at that, letting Carthrat stare at the stars a goodly while in the echoing calm.

"The Rune is like a disaster - powerful and elemental, but it's not wicked."

[Carthrat]

"But Tir seems to have some control over it.." replies Carthrat. "And so it becomes a weapon.."

[Anastasia]

"Yeah." Rachel's voice is troubled at that. "A terrible weapon, a nuclear bomb to be used over and over. Carthrat...I think he wasn't using much of it's power yesterday."