Downtime 1: A Quick Dip

Amp enjoyed swimming, it was like her movements were automated. The lessened weight of her cybernetics and muscles, the way sound was damped when her ears were underwater - the fact that she could hold her breath for minutes and just go back and forth back and forth. It was the perfect way to go over everything in her head, from legal documents to her green division's next assignment to who she needed to make contact with next. And of course, analysing the days events.

As an agent of some calibre within Iyo she had utilised swimming pools whenever working inside a spire. It wasn't the highlight of those trips, by any means but Amp had developed an affection for it all the same. Which had led to her here, having worked out to her hearts content and now pantomime drowning Prince. It was funny, for both of them (mostly) and it wasn't like she wouldn't get a replacement if something really went wrong. "... Well we're about to find out if you're waterproof, aren't we?"

While not confirmed by any external testing body, the Iyo Elite Assistant Droid's waterproofing proves at least good enough to resist the vicious waves and crushing pressures of a standard swimming pool.

Corva, dressed in a black swimsuit similar to the one worn by Lazard when the station leader entered the pool, was hard to notice at the bottom of the deep end. The artificially cleaned water felt weird to breath in, although admittedly it was nicer than some of the bodies of water they had swum through. Chlorine was far nicer than factory out pipes.

They noticed Amp entering the pool, but were careful to avoid her. Something about the woman made them feel weird. In a telepathic sense that is.

Amp seemed pleased by the results of her experiment and finally let the flailing Prince float free. As she returned to her laps the lawyer decided she was done with waiting. "You wouldn't happen to be avoiding me, now would you Corva?" A smile tugged at her lips as Amp continued her dolphin crawl and she continued before the... former Aledik operative had a chance to reply, "Or is dwelling beneath comforting?" The Iyo agent had meant to sound teasing but her voice softened and became more sympathetic as she realised that yes, it most likely was comforting to the young person, so far removed from everything Corva had known. Figurative and literally.

There was a movement below: Corva had forgotten about the smeaker system they now had installed in their head, and the sudden sound of Amp's voice in their head made them jump.

After a moment, they managed to get the smeaker working and replied. "Yes to both. I find the experience of being underwater comforting, and I am avoiding you. I will admit, I am not entirely clear why. It may be linked to why the Colonel wanted you to forewarn her?"

Amp shook her head, another perk of being an agent. "Ah yes. Honestly before this, I never even knew I'd met a psychic." At this the agent returned her focus to swimming, falling smeaker silent. Prince 'chose' this moment to fill the air above the pool with 'classical' beats.

"Ah. So the issue is to do with telepathic capabilities?" Asked Corva. "I have not encountered these problems before."

Having been spotted, they curled out of their corner and moved around a bit at the bottom of the pool, using a strange but efficient looking stroke.

"Apparently," the lawyer was still digesting the news herself. "Would you mind describing how it feels for me?" Amp continued her laps up and down the pool.

Corva took a while to respond. Amp could see them moving around at the bottom, bouncing around the deepest area of the pool far more energetically than Amp had seen them on the surface. After a while they responded.

"Suppose you were near someone who you knew would grab your arm if you attempted to move it. You can still do things as normal with your other appendage, but you are constantly aware that you may not be able to move your muscles. It's like that, but with less deliberate action on your part. I believe the Colonel does not want you to accidentally grab her. Metaphorically speaking."

Amp contemplated this for some time.

"... I can see how that would be unsettling, to be sure."

The lawyer finished her current (hah) length and pulled herself up out of the water. "Well, thank you for the chat Corva. And if you ever want to talk, remember that you don't need to be near me to do it."

The deep dweller would be able to hear the smile in Amp's voice. Although whether it was genuine would be difficult to tell as Amp's back was to Corva.

"Goodbye." Said Corva simply, still at the bottom of the pool. They waited for the other agent to have left, and for the slight mental pressure to disappear, before rising to the surface, lying on their back and staring at the ceiling of the pool, deep in thought.