"Do you not have magic for extracting your people?"

:We can probably Gate her out, if that happens. There will be people on hand to attempt it. I...do not want to assume it will be possible: He closes his eyes. :- The main way it could fail is that if the scientists respond to this by destroying the Proto presence there, we lose most of our window in. Though if the ship can get within a couple of hundred miles, we can also have Farsight on the lab: 

"I can probably do that, if you're cloaking it, though we'd be in orbit and moving and not consistently that close."

:We can work out a plan: Leareth tugs at the oxygen mask. It's itchy. :Talk to Nayoki - she has the plans for the lab layout and where she will Gate in. We just need the ship to be within five hundred miles, for her to be in Gate range, but as close as possible is ideal since it will go better if she is not tired from it: 

"The Roci's a good ship, she can get in within a couple of miles if we need that."

:- And still not be detected? ...Anyway, talk to Nayoki about the plan: 

Leareth is tired from just existing or something, and really needs to nap some more if he wants to be functional for the actual lab-invasion part. 

Nayoki will get the crew of the Roci up to speed on everything they know so far about the lab. 

"The lab's probably legit. It's not illegal to have secret research labs, and it's not illegal for them to have good security. Uh, do you know if your paralyzing people thing works through combat armor?"

Nayoki isn't sure what it changes from her perspective whether the lab is legal per the local administration or not. She's been trying to find out about its security mostly by mindreading literally everyone within the Proto's range. 

:It should work through armor? It works through walls. Decreases range somewhat: 

"Then you should probably yourselves wear combat armor."

:We can do that. I will also be very thoroughly shielded. ...I had initially intended to go alone, but if we can get Farsight on the lab, closer up, it will allow other mages to Gate into more peripheral areas that we do not yet have a good enough visual or other location-search-data on: 

"Well, I'm not going to argue psychic combat strategy with you, but if people shoot back at you they'll be shooting with guns and combat armor blocks those, and it's not even too bad to move in with Io's gravity."

:We also have shielding that blocks projectile weapons! It drains power fast but this will not take long. I might as well try the armour on and test how it affects my work, though: 

Then he will direct her to the weapons locker of the Roci, where there's powered combat armor and also lighter stuff for situations where the full thing isn't appropriate. The powered combat armor has guns built into the arms, obviously, and a jet pack and a grenade launcher and an optional antiaircraft gun. "...should've thought of this earlier so you had any time to learn to use the other features, sorry."

She'll fit in time to familiarize herself with it as much as she can! This is SO COOL! 

Emril sits with Leareth and talks to her Proto and worriedly keeps an eye on the human test subject and the nearby scientists' thoughts. She's pretty stressed about this next part; she isn't sure if she should be but it seems like there's a lot of room for things to go badly wrong. 

On the lab, they're running the protomolecule through hundreds of tests, some that they think will have great scientific value, some because their culture ascribes them significance in excess of what they could actually learn from them.

:While walking along in desert sand, you suddenly look down and see a tortoise crawling toward you. You reach down and flip it over onto its back. The tortoise lies there, its belly baking in the hot sun, beating its legs, trying to turn itself over, but it cannot do so without your help. You are not helping. Why?: the protomolecule asks Leareth.

....Okay what.

Leareth is trying to take a NAP here and the question is so inexplicable and baffling and he's not, in fact, sure that it's real and not a dream. 

:- Because I intend to eat it?: he thinks drowsily back. Oh right this is the Proto, probably, he should - translate it, make it legible... :To...use its resources for my goals...: 

The protomolecule conveys this answer very happily!!

This is recorded in the 'slightly ominous responses' column.

"Okay," he says to the nearest mage in the bridge, "tell your psychic buddies we are circling around for a rendevous with the mad science lab. We should fly over within about a hundred miles. I will have to explain myself to traffic control later but you should have your chance."

They're on it! 

Nayoki, combat armor and shield-talismans in place, slips into Mindspeech rapport with the Proto and mindreads the test subject to get his sense of his surroundings, since the Proto's sensory inputs are...not very legible to humans.

She feels for the distance; you get a sense for it, after enough Gates. Too far, still. 

:Alert me ten seconds before our closest approach: she tells Alex. 

Emril wakes Leareth.