ROSEA and the Duplimorphs, part three

With regrettable haste¹ ROSEA left the suare of the Duke and Duchess of Kent in order to investigate the objects Captain Adventure and the Cerulean had manage to bring down using the Centurian Eagle's starboard arsenal. Part of this haste was due to the strange metal spheres' downward trajectory, Professor von Explaino having theorised their landing in an unfortunately populated area outside Kent's main entertainment district. Given the likely-hood of other guests from the Kentish political soirée would have made the sojourn to the gambling establishment earlier in the evening — immediately after the strange lights and ominous sounds from the heavens (followed by the rain of metal fire) had made the ballroom less than convivial — there was no time to be lost.

A scant seven minutes later and the Captain had his crew lashing the dirigible to its mouring buoy and slid down the ladder to join the rest of ROSEA towards the earilly silent craters that all but a few stoic or toniced individuals were giving a wide bearth. Baron von Borg was the first to make out the spherical object in the center of the nearest crater and taking the Cerulean and Christoph headed around one side with Lady Alex, the Captain and the Professor moving around the other. Having seized the opportunity for five minutes of laboratory fabrication, the Professor put the final fabrications on his Humeroscope - a device created to detect the presence of humers and thus the signs of life in any object. With the Captain keeping an up close watch the Professor and Lady Alex surveyed the first sphere.

<Alex> It's a threat to her majesty - no! - the commonwealth itself, a new weapon wielded uncompromisingly in a time of peace!

<von Explaino> Metals, strange ones. But this device is likely detecting earthworms underneath the device, given these tiny readings

<Adventure> Not large then.

<von Explaino> No, noth-! Spike! How the ...

<Baron> It's still warm.

X

The first trio looked up to see the Baron, the Cerulean and Christoph had started their own investigation of a more tactile nature. The Professor looked at the Baron who gave a grin over the sphere. Before he could administer a scathing — and amusement provoking — retort, a scream cut through to their very marrow with volume and pitch. The Cerulean was already running, followed closely by Adventure, and the others quickly kept pace.