Personification Life: EPIC (IC Thread XI) [CLOSED]

[Swith Witherward]

DINING ROOM

The conversation was becoming positively painful for the poor little construct. It wasn't so much the amount of people talking... it was that they were all thinking so damn loudly. She suppressed a shiver and made an honest effort to clap down her sensory fields. The disjointed thoughts and bullshit thudded against her brain nonetheless. Buttons withdrew from the window, equally troubled by the cacophony and, for a brief instant, Nila fought the urge to jump out the window after her.

"Stop, stop, stop!" a tiny, reptilian hand slapped the table to get everyone's attention. She had drawn closer to Romulus, mostly because he was the largest thing in the room now that her exo had run off.

Not caring one jot whether or not people minded having their thoughts read, she commandeered the conversation.

"You, Nathan!" she pointed at the man trying hard not to look like he was approaching. "Come and sit down. My name is Nila. It's nice to see a new Resident."

But the little anthropomorphic lizard wasn't finished. "You, Mr. Arab person, don't think about elephants! Now what's your name?" And, of course, the brain is dreadful when prompted by nonsense then asked a question. It was a simple trick that always worked if only because humans were just so damn predictable. "Sully, then. Welcome to you, too. Please sit and join us."

Golden eyes turned towards the babbling brook that was Rmwtyliin and her critter. "Sully and Nathan, this is Rmwtyliin." She pronounced the name slowly to allow others to hear the unique ring of the 'm' and 'w' coupled together. "She doesn't speak English well yet, so that rat thing on her shoulder translates. His name is Duncan. And Rmw, Romulus is a very nice person. I'm fond of him, really."

But that left the odd fungal bear-otter. "Venla, Bold Person, welcome to you, also."

Satisfied that at least some harmony could be gained now that all the doubts and hesitations coming from others weren't slapping her mind into utter numbness, she exhaled and folded her hands in her lap. "Now what's this about going someplace cold?"





/CoOP tool mode
OOC

[Holy Lykos]

Well, that was odd... The creature's apparent ability to read minds, and quickly got everything orderly again, as people filed in. Only few, a few more humans. More normal sized ones too, unlike the giant general. Suddenly, she had an audience. Not quite the group she'd have chosen off her own, but it seemed good. The prince likely would have the skills of a diplomat. Hopefully the rest could be diplomatic too. The little reptile certainly knew how to be one.

"Nice to meet you Nilla," Venal told her, giving a soft nod to the short reptillian creature. But then Venla onto her question, since it was the thing that Rwm and she had been discussing for a while. So she prepared to give a little speech, to sum up all she had told Rwm to bring everyone up to speed, plus a little more to give Rwm something to learn too.

"Cold place? Yes, Xo'Lokako is cold. Its mostly tundra, or arctic, in climate. As I believe the term is at least. Three major continent groups, one to the south, and two split to the east and west with the major oceans in the center, south, and between two distant continents. They've colonized every major landmass by now, along with most of the island chains. Most are isolated onto their continents, but trade and international politics are starting in a primitive form. The species living there, the Xo'Lokako are a race of anthropoidal sapients who are in a late iron age society, slowly transferring to a feudal one. While this is normally a very chaotic time for any race to transition through, for some reason its causing them extra trouble compared to most races. To the point of smaller nations being wiped off the face of their planet with almost no trace after aggressive wars.

"I was stationed in the research station on the moon orbiting their planet. We used to have a few on the surface but the Zaan Collective decided we were interfering too much since they evidently didn't wish to be elevated to our technological level. That's a common thing for my people to do, offer primitive sapients the chance to be elevated to the galactic stage, and render aid to those who wish to stay in their way of life but maintain contact. The Xo' wanted neither, fighting off the delegations we sent to their main nations in some cases and in other cases simply telling us to leave.

"The way they're starting to act is going more and more against how our initial observations recorded their overall cultures. Warlike nations are common during earlier, more primitive times of course, but rarely outright genocidal ones. I do know that they are at a time you can't draw many comparisons between their nations, of course, due to being so culturally isolated. But the strangest thing is that they actually are becoming increasingly similar despite the differences. Something is affecting the species as a whole to force their societies to develop into a certain kind of society, one that could potentially wipe out the species as a whole through constant total war and breakdown of societies.

"I was starting to look into this issue, alongside the normal observation of their species. I brought this trend up to my superiors and they agreed that it existed. I was about to head down to the surface to get more close data about what was going on but I ended up here instead. I do wish to go back to finish up my job, and see if this is something we can rectify and put them on their normal path again. Other races down agree with these interventionist sort of policies, but we very well can't let a species wipe itself out through some unnatural method. Especially if its something we can stop."

She took a breath, her tendrils waving a bit in the air as she searched for words for a moment. It also gave the rest time to process her explanation as she resettled in her seat, the large alien getting herself comfortable again.

"I was planning on going it alone, even in the original plan as we aren't supposed to change native society at any real measure, but I feel this is an emergency. Something that could lead to the extinction of their race at worse or the collapse them back into the stone age at best. I'd rather they not kill themselves off."

[Swith Witherward]

TECH PRIEST WARREN

Marcus glanced at the girl from the tail of his eye. He didn't blame her for wanting to know more about the arm. And it wasn't exactly fragile, so she couldn't possibly break it.

"Mhmm," he pushed it slightly towards her. "Runs off a fuel source located in the shoulder, see here?" a finger tapped an empty hole, "But my mother removed it. It's stored. But the hand is what makes it so unique!"

The lad rolled up a sleeve to expose his own augmented arm. It paled in comparison to Confederation designs, but it worked well enough to get jobs done. Marcus teased coiled wires from a small compartment concealed in his own arm's sleek surface. "Power," he shrugged before toying with the empty socket. It wasn't nearly enough juice to power the entire auxiliary part, but it was good enough to cause a soft glow at the arm's end.

"See, it doesn't have an actual hand," he explained. "Instead, the hand and its digits are holographic. But they have substance. It's really remarkable what the Confederation has done." The glow intensified to form a hazy outline of the intended body part. "But I don't have the energy or programming necessary to do anything with it, or to make it solid. For now, it's just light. my father was able to twist it into just about anything, I suppose. And, of course, the whole thing can be switched off. Then the end becomes a plasma weapon. Genius, really."

He paused. Brows furrowed. "I wonder if it's his own design? He was very inventive. I- I wasted a lot of time instead of talking to him. I was sort of afraid he'd reject my presence. But... well, it's not like he knew I was his son."

The light died as Marcus retracted his power source. The topic was about to become painful again. Instead of giving in to it, he focused on the girl once more. "What about your father? I guess you feel cut off from him now that we're all stuck here. What's he like?"



GROUNDTOWN

"Let's hope the tools work, madam," Rache solemnly nodded. "And if their leadership can't be half arsed to attend a summit, then I'll track down old Hurricane to represent them."

His eyes latched upon Yuna. "Why don't you help these good mares?" Rache tore off a tiny bit of his personal Being, then tucked the remnant into the girl with a soft bump from his snout. "You'll be fine." Of course she would. If she put up much fuss, he'd slap her into Compliant Host mode.

Yuna smiled, not fully understanding exactly what he'd done, and then stepped away to allow Rache and Aegis to get on with their work. "I'm sure Golden Cornucopia will be fine with my friends," she assured Puddinghead. "I don't mind helping you and Skywishes."

Rache shot Aegis a dark look. Ponies really hadn't much understanding of possession and craftwork, he supposed. Aegis was aware of it. Chances were high that the Luxan was undoubtedly pondering the risks involved.

"Yuna, don't speak of matters you can't comprehend," he frowned. "Aegis and I will do our best to help him but, considering how badly he's degraded, I'm afraid even remaining in captivity might prove too much for his heart. We will do everything we can, but there's a risk that even simple questioning might be too extreme."

His gaze fell upon Puddinghead once more. "I can't guarantee that the cure won't harm him."

The last thing they needed was to be blamed for the young pony's death.



ASCALON

The old assassin's ears were extremely sensitive. However, he had learned long ago that prying questions only served to annoy... ergo he kept his finger on the Building's gossip-laden pulse via BOB. At least now he knew where all the wine ended up. That part had puzzled him for a while.

His silvery orbs (and other senses) scanned the street as the women chatted. Luckily, nobody had noticed the holstered weapon. Julia needed to register anyway. Perhaps after dinner they might stop, depending upon the time, to fill out some paperwork.

"I believe it was an American public servant named Eric Holder that summed up certain elements best: You've got to deal with the underlying social problems if you want to have an impact on crime - that it's not a coincidence that you see the greatest amount of violent crime where you see the greatest amount of social dysfunction." He offered a polite shrug to Julia. "Rather than deal with the problems, the city chooses to squelch everything. This results in places like the Uppers, and in criminal organizations providing services and dabbling in protection. They compound the social problems. They don't address them nor fix them."

He paused as he mentally reviewed his last visit to Ascalon with Residents in tow. "As long as things don't go balls up when I'm in town, I have no complaints. Let's all do our part to portray ourselves as polite, law-abiding guests of this fair city."

That was rich coming from the grizzled cyborg, but he had a knack for flashing a disarming smile or tossing out niceties like breadcrumbs for trigger-happy pigeons wearing badges. His ruse only worked if the others in his group were equally meek.

"Where to first, Amanda?"

[Fraire]

Dining Room
Nathan's eyes widened for a second. They had noticed him, hadn't they? Well, that was his plan, so...

But then, someone opened their mouth. Nathan stopped breathing at the mention of his breath. They were inviting him over. On the bright side, this meant they didn't recognize him as a freak who runs around naked. Nathan started to breath again, slowly and carefully. He slowly turned his head and let out a stream of speech disfluencies. There were a few strange people around the table. Nathan's eyes wandered from face to face and a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face.

Nathan suddenly came to his senses. "O-okay." He slowly walked over and grabbed a seat. The chair creaked under his weight. He leaned back carefully studied each individual's face. A lizard, a tall beast of a man, a mostly normal-looking man, a child with a rat, and a gross...otter? Nathan had no idea what it was, but it freaked him out. Nathan swallowed and tried to relax his shoulders. He had to get used to people like this if he were to live in the apartment long.

[Torsiedelle]

Warren

Torii marveled at the arm even more. Holograms, like hard light? It was a theoretical technology back home, still in the realm of science fiction, for all the progress science was making still. Its many functions and design choices were impressive indeed. Torii couldn't help but feel a twinge of envy; she was fine with her arm attached, but if she had to have cybernetics...

"What's he like?"

Her mouth twitched. "Pa? I miss him.", She nodded. She thought about it carefully. "Papa's my hero. He always had faith in me.", She got out. It was a hard question to answer; she was choking up. "I mean, he fought for me. Literally, he fought to make sure I even existed. He took me when my own Mom didn't want anything to do with either of us, and when I was taken, he chased and fought to get me. He still owns the rifle he used to do it today, though he never did get to me; the Army did first."

She still remembered those years. She was just a kid. Why did people have to involve kids in their sick political games? "I never really got to live with him. I was put in a foster home for a while, out in the country, out of the way. We got to spend time together sometimes, and when I did manage to run away, we'd spend the days together going fishing, or camping, or he'd teach me how to shoot and how to cook. He treated me like a son."

She was like a son to him. Her tomboyish behavior was well learned. She clicked her old boots together. "He bought me these boots. He got me my old sundress and my jacket, too. He was always spoiling me.", She chuckled, misty-eyed. "I was really happy to spend time with him this last year, when I went home. I was worried for him, after the accident. The reason I went home was a state of emergency - terrorists attacked a manufacturing plant in Kalmykia, my home province. Wasn't even a day later we had boots on the ground down south; we were prepared for war for a long time. Anyways, he got minor injuries, took a few weeks to recover. I'm glad he got out before they started rounding up people for the camps. I mean, I doubt he'd ever be mistaken for anything other than Russian, but still, I worry about him.", She snorted. "He's silly. Didn't let some shrapnel in his leg put his old ass down."

She covered her mouth to suppress a laugh, obviously remembering something. "But yeah, I miss him. He wasn't like my mom, all stuffy and mean. He did mechanic work, farming, carpentry, stuff he enjoyed. I took that from him."

[Saldinado]

-snip-

[Chedastan]

Dining Room

Before he could get a word in to the other arrivals that had just showed up to them, or pursue into Rmw's odd behavior and weak answer, Nila had then intervened into the conversion and brought order to it via what he guessed was mind reading, much to Romulus' relief onto wanting to get on track after a so far unproductive day for him. Though he wondered now what exactly Nila meant by being fond of him, as he wasn't sure by how much she was implying. Either way he'll likely find it flattering or appreciative to whatever her fondness was regardless. But of course there were other more important matters to worry about, like what Venla was proposing to do.

He quietly listened to what the infested mammal had to say in regards to her former position as a researcher to an alien planet full of hostile anthropoidal primitives, and to the extent regarding it and why she needs to return back to it to fully investigate the suspected unnatural phenomenon and try and save the species there.

At first the General had little concern for her predicament, as he had long since been used to other species wiping themselves out with little care, as he was used to the idea that if it didn't concerned the Imperium, there was no reason to worry. In fact he was more concerned with why Venla's empire was that persistent on mingling with such primitives and trying to uplift them, seeing it as unwise if not outright dangerous for them to do so. And he wasn't so sure about what Venla meant by 'normal path' either.

Though he thought about it again, and realized that he could at least understand and appreciate Venla's dedication to wanting to solve her own dilemma, even if he potentially saw it as misguided to try and fix. And maybe he had curiosity too as to what the Xo'Lokako could potentially provide from their planet that could serve the Building, as it was only fair that he at least made an effort to evaluate possible resource providers for Resident-use when they come up. Of course he had his strong doubts, but he wouldn't know for sure unless he asked if they had anything they could find use for in the coming War.

"I suppose that is a noble cause to some degree." He said, nodding towards the Otter. "You'll need to run that mission proposal to Myra though, she's the small girl that operates the controls in the Gatehouse, you'll need to take a tub to get back there." He said again, then remembering his own interest to want to do something. "Pardon me, I guess we then will have to take tubs. Now I fully understand that this mission is intended to be diplomatic and investigative, which I can assist in if need be, I'm a General, not a killer." He said once more, looking down at little Rmw with a suspicious brow, wondering if that's why she was acting so strange around him.

He looked back up at the Otter. "I would also like to ask, as the Building's more tactical leader, as to what resources does the planet provide, as well as what it's host species can do. This is just to evaluate whether I can justify allowing around half a dozen Residents to help your cause if the Xo'Lokako are as violent as you say they are, as I think no one here wants possible fatalities if the risk just isn't worth it." He looked towards the regular humans from among them, honestly doubting their abilities for such a delicate situation, but he hope that he'll prove himself wrong in his judgement though if the mission does decide to take place.

[Primordial Luxa]

Ground Town

Aegis nodded along with SkyWishes supporting all of her suggestions and gave Rache several approving looks. He was strongly convinced at this point that they were dealing with some ponified version of an ice spirit or a cannibal demon and reckoned that attempting some form of Gut Magic might elicit a response to tell them more. That and he would need to see how much Rache magic worked in this realm as he was very hesitant to use any of his own. He reasoned he would need to try and cast his spell at a weak level before they could progress very far, just to see it’s effectiveness.

“Agreed,” Aegis replied to Rache, “Possession at a stage like this rarely ends well. At this point I doubt there's anything of Golden Cornucopia besides the body. We will see if there's anything salvageable but truth be told I think we will focus more on learning about the nature of this possession than a solution at this point. It’s almost like a disease really, he might beyond saving but by studying the symptoms we could potentially find a cure for other ponies and see if there’s a way to detect it before it gets out of hand.”

“However what seem’s very clear to me from talking with my feathered friend here is that talking with the other tribes might be an excellent way, not only to solve this blasted weather but also understand...this.” He said pointing at the mangy looking pony chained up.

[Monfrox]

Brit was shocked, to say the least. This dinky little ornate slingshot seemed to be more than she thought. However, that wasn't enough. he watched the others and how the Umbrum shadow attacked. Together, yes, but resolve to your actions and commit. That's what she needed to do. She almost thought about ordering to fall back when that giant wall appeared, but feeling confident in her weapon, she took the stand. She rolled onto her back and held the slingshot out with her hooves, chomped onto the ammo trap, and pulled it back as far as it would go before letting it go.

"EAT SHIT!" She shouted as she lined up another shot and did the same thing. She'd be damned if all their effort was going to be in vain.

[Northwest Slobovia]

"Where to first, Amanda?"

"We should cut a block over towards the university." She answered Thaddeus' question, but it was mostly for Julia. She looked at her after speaking her first sentence. "This area of the Littles is a shopping and restaurant district for undergrads at UGA. The next two blocks over have more shops than this one. It may be a little down-market for your tastes, but it has the advantage of being one of the least expensive shopping areas in Ascalon."

Amanda turned, beckoned for the others to follow, and started walking down the block at a measured pace. She'd take the first turn -- easily visible at the end of the block -- and expected the others to catch up. After all, they were taller than she was and should have longer strides. Over her shoulder, she added. "There's a three-storey shopping mall in the university tower, too, but it's not the cheapest place to buy things. The prices are jacked up because they know they're the most convenient for students too lazy to leave the tower."

[Swith Witherward]

Warren

A jealous pang rippled through the young man. Fishing and camping? Learning things? These were the experiences he'd always craved when he was much younger. Thaddeus wasn't a bad father, but the long hours spent on research left the young boy with very little face time. Marcus' gaze drifted to his own mechanical arm. He would have exchanged it for a week-long camping trip with the old cyborg.

The jealousy passed, now replaced with a tiny fragment of resentment towards both Thaddeus and Septimus. He promptly vowed to never do anything like this to his own son, then cringed as, once again, he was faced with the fact that the only girl he would even consider marrying was now deader than a doorpost.

"I need a scotch," the grumble, so reflective of Thaddeus' own, unleashed itself without any thought behind it.

"Sorry," he blushed as he apologized to Torii. "It's been a rough week. But hey, I didn't know we had something in common. Your father and old Thaddeus. They both would go to the ends of the universe to reclaim us." It was flimsy, but it would have to do. Marcus wouldn't lie to himself; Thaddeus had indeed put himself in harm's way on his behalf.

"Hey, there's not much to do with the arm. Maybe we should work on the teleport project? Or maybe hit up the village?" The latter would at least get him away from it all for a while. No smiling picture of Giovenith reminding him that the sunshine was gone. No cast-off extremity to cling to in the vain hope of knowing his actual father. No Warren walls pressing in on them. "Maybe hit up the pub. Get some coffee. You can tell me more about your Pa."

[Torsiedelle]

Warren

"Hey...I get it. I could use a drink, too.", She said. She remembered getting drunk the week before, and she hadn't laid off of the stuff since, though there was only so much alcohol in the apartment, and Katya refused to support her sister's unhealthy habits. Torii didn't care, though. It eased the pain.

Her eyes flitted to the arm, the walls, the boy next to her, to the picture on the table...she swallowed down her own anxiety. "I loved her, too, you know.", She said again. "I guess that makes two things we have in common. Dad's who aren't always there and...well, nevermind.", she trailed off. That was right - Marcus had found his happiness. Torii was just the third wheel.

"Hey, you know what? Let's hit up the village. Can we work on the teleporters there in any way? If not, then maybe stay here. I'm not going to push either way.", She shrugged. "I just want to work with you."

[Cerillium]

SOMEWHERE

Klaus heartily, yet silently, agreed with the Greater Being's assessment of her daughter's considerable growth. He eyed the godling as she covered her face with drawn down sleeves. She was childlike at times, yes, but all the best gods were. Hers was an innocence that he often wished he could capture in himself. He withheld his comments on the matter for Giovenith's sake however. No sense embarrassing her further.

They left the path and stepped into tranquility and, for once, the avatar found himself at a loss for words. The soothing blue light bathing his skin at once brought to mind the seaside caverns where he and Minerva had finally met face-to-face. A drowned Jewish rat scraped across the crumbling sand and stone to rise before him. She bounced her broken aviator goggles off his skull. He crumpled and feigned death as he fell into the salty depths, and the waves consumed him as she screamed her rage for all the heavens to hear. Ah, good times!

"It is an honor to meet you, Most High," Klaus remembered his manners as Haletrynx spoke, bowing his head in kind. War's avatar was but a fragment of that god, nothing of consequence compared to the godling at his side and the god standing before him. His eyes left the pool to alight on Giovenith - a friend? That, too, was an honor.

"Any help you could offer would be appreciated. We're looking for Mr. Demens' private playground, Gallimaufry," he began. "It's well hidden from the Devourers. A transcendental shoal mimicking a dead heaven, perhaps? I've never seen it from the outside." Had anyone other than Elohim and perhaps Pearlelei? He strongly doubted it. Demens was an ass, but wisely didn't trust any gods and very few Greater Beings. "If we perhaps find a way to contact the Guardian of the Fringe, Bhatnagar? It roams outside the dimension. Very reasonable entity. Fond of ridiculous riddles, but I'm sure he'll deviate from the norm if we explain the situation to him."

[Holy Lykos]

Dining Room

Dining Room

Before he could get a word in to the other arrivals that had just showed up to them, or pursue into Rmw's odd behavior and weak answer, Nila had then intervened into the conversion and brought order to it via what he guessed was mind reading, much to Romulus' relief onto wanting to get on track after a so far unproductive day for him. Though he wondered now what exactly Nila meant by being fond of him, as he wasn't sure by how much she was implying. Either way he'll likely find it flattering or appreciative to whatever her fondness was regardless. But of course there were other more important matters to worry about, like what Venla was proposing to do.

He quietly listened to what the infested mammal had to say in regards to her former position as a researcher to an alien planet full of hostile anthropoidal primitives, and to the extent regarding it and why she needs to return back to it to fully investigate the suspected unnatural phenomenon and try and save the species there.

At first the General had little concern for her predicament, as he had long since been used to other species wiping themselves out with little care, as he was used to the idea that if it didn't concerned the Imperium, there was no reason to worry. In fact he was more concerned with why Venla's empire was that persistent on mingling with such primitives and trying to uplift them, seeing it as unwise if not outright dangerous for them to do so. And he wasn't so sure about what Venla meant by 'normal path' either.

Though he thought about it again, and realized that he could at least understand and appreciate Venla's dedication to wanting to solve her own dilemma, even if he potentially saw it as misguided to try and fix. And maybe he had curiosity too as to what the Xo'Lokako could potentially provide from their planet that could serve the Building, as it was only fair that he at least made an effort to evaluate possible resource providers for Resident-use when they come up. Of course he had his strong doubts, but he wouldn't know for sure unless he asked if they had anything they could find use for in the coming War.

"I suppose that is a noble cause to some degree." He said, nodding towards the Otter. "You'll need to run that mission proposal to Myra though, she's the small girl that operates the controls in the Gatehouse, you'll need to take a tub to get back there." He said again, then remembering his own interest to want to do something. "Pardon me, I guess we then will have to take tubs. Now I fully understand that this mission is intended to be diplomatic and investigative, which I can assist in if need be, I'm a General, not a killer." He said once more, looking down at little Rmw with a suspicious brow, wondering if that's why she was acting so strange around him.

He looked back up at the Otter. "I would also like to ask, as the Building's more tactical leader, as to what resources does the planet provide, as well as what it's host species can do. This is just to evaluate whether I can justify allowing around half a dozen Residents to help your cause if the Xo'Lokako are as violent as you say they are, as I think no one here wants possible fatalities if the risk just isn't worth it." He looked towards the regular humans from among them, honestly doubting their abilities for such a delicate situation, but he hope that he'll prove himself wrong in his judgement though if the mission does decide to take place.

Seemed only the general had any questions at the moment. Rwm was quiet, simply sitting there and listening with attentiveness. The rest seemed quiet enough, but she had a question! She always did enjoy fielding questions after speeches, and this was just about the same.

"I will ask her, of course. And for the gain, I would say its more of a moral win than any true material one. These Devourers I've heard about would most definitely wish for a species to destroy itself. It'd also ruin the credibility of my nation and some of our enemies could use it to justify attacking us because, as they say 'We've meddled with nature too much'. If we caused a disaster like this it would lend credence to those claims. Its possible these zealots are pushed from behind the scenes by those who wish to cause as much destruction and death across the multiverse as possible." The Huvidu-Zaan replied with gusto, while trying to think of all the reasons it could be actually useful.

"Aside from that, its always good trying to save a species. We might be able to get material and technology from my home if I could requisition some for our use here. Aquaculture is a thing my species is good at, and the building has plenty of ocean near it. It could help food supplies here, and aside from that we do have advanced weapons. The species themselves used to have great unity, which was one reason we wanted to uplift them. They would have fit into our culture amazingly and prospered as part of our Collective."

Her stout-muzzled face turned into a slight grimace, and she let out a gruff grunt, that almost sounded like the sound of an annoyed bear. "Its a job that I need to finish. I might not be able to get my doctorate until after this Devourer business is dealt with, but it would not be good to be known as the one responsible for the death of a sentient species through inaction. The Xo'Lokako were not as violent as this even a generation ago. Something is changing them. Most of them shouldn't be an issue for a human to fight, as the only advantage they would have would be numbers and their claws."

She placed the thin tablet she'd brought down with her on the table nearby, projecting the image of the Xo'Lokako and their planet next to her so the others can see. The species was put next to a silhouette of a human for size reference, only a bit taller excepting the long antenna. They were chitinous, that was obvious enough, looking like a bit like a humanoid shaped cross between ants and mantises. strong looking mandibles in a triangular shaped head, though their upright bodies went at a slant after the hips to go to what seemed like a more traditional insectoid thorax, though small only with two pairs of legs. The upper pair of legs had converted into hands over time, the grasping limbs long much like a mantis's arms.

The planet was as Venla had mentioned earlier, the true color image showing the lack of jungle or sand deserts, ice extending further south than on most worlds they likely would have seen. Just as one might expect from a more tundra or arctic world. No real city lights shown on the dark side as it slowly turned, the few dots here and there being along coasts or major rivers, and sparse at that.

"I don't expect you all to think it's a good idea, many disagree with my people's policy to primitives and the resources we put into bringing them up to an interstellar level. But I don't want to see a world die on my watch."

[Fvaarniimar]

Dining Room

Rmwtyliin had listened attentively to Duncan, nodding and gesturing in support of Venla at seemingly rather odd points, expression carefully blank at others. Most of her properly timed reactions had been to visual cues - the projection of the Xo'Lokako, for instance, had elicited an involuntary gasp and several moments of very wide eyes.

"I do have questions. First, Romulus, Venla, how dangerous do you believe this will be?" Purposely the young woman stood, walking to the window.  "Romulus, are you advising or commanding that we stay?" Either way, it was a potential excuse.  As Duncan translated, she opened it and tossed her apple core onto the lawn.

It wasn't that the girl didn't care.  It wasn't that she didn't want to go. She was scared. Romulus held a Corps-like position.  If he said to get to safety, Rmwtyliin would comply.  If he declared a place or situation unsafe - this included - Rmwtyliin would be slow to question orders to leave, or advice to not go.  She truly did fear his capacity for bloodshed - an odd lizard's endorsement counted for little, and the girl was tempted to ask Romulus if he'd killed.  Provided that violence was not being called for, however, the man's opinion was respected in matters of defense and not many orders would override his.

"If I do not understand, I am sorry, but if you think someone is causing this - those unfriendlies, perhaps?" Rmwtyliin took her seat again. "Perhaps we need to think like those opposing us. We cannot quickly assume that the Eaters All Sucking are responsible." Yet she couldn't usefully guess at spacefaring enemies' methods, much less capabilities. I know not even what Venla's people can do! - if only she had an advisor - her proud grin was wide this time, but quickly replaced with a respectfully sober expression.

I need only ask Venla! She is the expert. "Has anything like this happened? Why? If your people wished to worsen the Xo'Lokako's attitude towards each other, NOT that you would, could you? How? Is there similar information which we might find useful?" Am I forgetting anything? Rmwtyliin glanced at her pad - the possibility of fighting them was of concern. "Additionally, could protection from their claws and weapons which harms none be provided? Perhaps unbelievably good armor which can be hidden? It could prevent your needing to attack them to defend us, hence it could save lives. I too believe that to be worthwhile."

[Cerillium]

WARREN

"Hallo, Troublemakers," Rudolf's eyes gleamed from the scant shadow cast by the arm. He surveyed Marcus and Tora from his own gloom. "Tsk, sequestering yourselves! People will talk!"

Scratched and scarred hands shot from the shadows to palm both their faces. "Süße Träume, Troublemakers!" The world heaved and pitched as the pair were hauled from their stools and sucked into the depths. There wasn't anything to see. Rudolf would never dream of exposing the girl's mind to Madness in such a brutal fashion. Raven's wings beat against their bodies as they rocketed through the tunnel. The world pitched again, and the pair sailed cleanly through the air to land on hard kitchen linoleum.

"Ist es möglich, uns dazu zu bewegen, angenehme Träume haben, und somit vermeiden, was Stress? NO!" Rudolf wheezed at them from below the stove. "Now take this package to the lizard, boy." The small box, casually tossed by the cultist, landed in Marcus' lap. "Get on with it, damn it!"

The faint toot of a paper whistle indicated the passage had closed. Marcus and Tora were alone in the Building kitchen, sheltered from the dining room by long counters and cabinets.

A lifetime of dealing with Rudolf's ilk had trained Marcus to not dawdle. There wasn't any reason to comment on the change in locale. He didn't dare to hope Neste was about. Instead, he presumed the cultist meant Nila.

"C'mon, Torii," he sighed. "I think-"

Venla's voice carried in from the dining room, drawing Marcus' eye. He rolled into a crouch and peered over the counter to find an odd assortment of people gathered around the table. Romulus and Nila, and that weird girl that spoke poor English, and some odd otter-dog entity.

"Great. Lovely. Come on," he pushed through the door with Tora in tow to present the box to Nila as unobtrusively as possible.

Nila, never one to be rude, gestured for the pair to join the group at the table. Marcus shrugged at Tora before claiming an empty seat.




ASCALON

Thaddeus caught up to Amanda at the corner. "Will they have what Julia needs?" he raised an eyebrow. He wasn't certain what the young woman lacked. Food or clothing perhaps?

His eyes surveyed the area, pausing his gaze now and then to study the various buildings and vehicles. "I wouldn't mind picking up a few books. Maybe some scores."

[Northwest Slobovia]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaufry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

"Sorry, I don't sell such equipment, too bulky for customers to lug out of my store, not to mention the cost of maintenance while it sits on the shelf until the next buyer. You'll have to look elsewhere, I'm afraid. At any rate, I'll draw up the paperwork and -oh Oecammi there you are, see to these items for packaging," Lumba said with a grateful tone as she didn't need, or want, to be peppered with further information on body modifications.

Sandy's face fell. "Oh. Would you be able to tell us who might be able to provide such services? If they're unusual services, that could be valuable information. Which... we're prepared to pay for." But hopefully at not such high prices. Magic, sure, or information about it, costs the earth, but 'which way to the nearest gene-fixer?' shouldn't. I hope.

Sandy noticed Oecammi starting to gather the cameras and accessories, and he held up a hand. "Just a moment. I was hoping to be able to buy everything we need in one place, so if couldn't afford it all, we'd... um, know that, and be able to decide what we'd have to leave out." Well, that had been his plan before he realized how badly priced out the market he was. He'd never considered that mere technology, even imported technology, could be so expensive; it was simply outside his experience.

"So, if we're going to have go someplace else for part of what we want, I'd like to..." Sandy's pause was barely a second, but he needed to find the phrase he wanted. "...leave a deposit on these things to hold them while we find out what the biology work will cost. This is such amazing equipment, I'd hate lose out on buying it while we're finishing our preparations. Is there a way to arrange such a deposit or hold? Um... paying rent on it without taking possession?" Amanda would know a half-dozen ways of arranging this transaction, but as with the cost of the gear, it hadn't occurred to him he'd need her experience.

As Sandy worked with Oecammi and Lumba, Primordial was having a very interesting conversation with the cat curled around his neck. “A very interesting idea Nick,” The Baron replied in a clumsy telepathic manner, unused to Nick’s special brand of telepathy, it was a much less painful and emotional style than the typical telepathy used by certain Luxan’s.

“Should I share that idea with Sandy?” he projected to the shocked feline.

<It could work?! Seriously? Yes, please - but maybe wait - interrupting wouldn’t…> Wouldn't be nice, might make everyone look bad, could be awkward, could throw Sandy off - all that came through.

“A deposit?” Lumba blinked, a bit nonplussed by Sandy’s proposal. It wasn’t an alien concept - after all she rented items out at a ‘reasonable’ rate to ensure the product would sell once returned; but a deposit to hold said merchandise was definitely something she hadn’t considered before. Customers came in, purchased and left; and if they were happy with their goods it was likely Lumba had a regular client that meant a steady cash flow.

Added that possibility to the information Sandy wanted, Lumba did some quick math on her datapad to justify reserving the items. She stopped her pacing and looked up from the angular device, “That’s close to Rs1000, not including the information you’re asking for. Should you decide to purchase, the deposit will be deducted accordingly per item held. Should you not purchase the items, there is no refund.”

Before he, or any in the group could say anything, she held her hand up, “I’m not in the habit of holding items when other customers would likely pay, or rent, it out here and now. It’s simply not done, but since you seem invested in purchasing, I’ll make an exception.

“As for the information you want,” Lumba went back to pacing, her thick heels didn’t make a sound and her oversized ears looked pensive before she stopped in her tracks, “I know of a practitioner dealing in genetic modifications. He’s a bit of a recluse, but won’t turn away a prospect if the money’s worth it. Hmm… 500 for the information, and that’s me being generous.”

Sandy nodded without expression. That amount would just about wipe out his and Amanda’s cash and credit. He could move up some deliveries, but that meant he’d be busy tomorrow. Hmmm. “Just a moment, let me make the funds available for transfer.” Sandy pulled out his phone and brought up a couple of apps. He drew against their credit line, and got the money ready to send to Lumba’s account. He glanced at the datapad that indicated her city identification, company details, and the account tied with it, as well as the contract details of the reserved items.

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly. “Oh, and do you drink? Um, alcohol, I mean. Or do any of your steady customers? If you’re looking for something unusual, I… might be able to meet those needs. I’m in the business.”

Without going on the specific details, Lumba quickly informed Sandy of the key details within the contract, “It’s a modified waiver contract stipulating items that will be held for the exact amount of time and the consultation for a total of Rs1500, all liabilities as well as my standard clause releases us both of any obligation beyond what’s currently agreed on. As for how long I’m holding these items, due to the irregularity of the request, will be one standard Earth month. Do the math yourself, but the reserve won’t last long. After that, the items are either renewed with another deposit or sold to whomever gets it first.”

[Tiltjuice]

Somewhere

Ms. Jerid's hand reached out and pat Giovenith's snowy white head.

"You're embarrassing her," the goddess said with a small laugh at her daughter's shrinking form. "We have heard many things about the accomplishments of her and her many friends in that funny place you all call home, and we are very proud of her. She has taken the things she was taught since she was small and used them in ways that none of us could have imagined."

Giovenith for her part covered her face with her sleeved hands, feeling vulnerable at all the praise.

"There," the godling in blue suddenly pointed up ahead to a small wall of rocks. The group made their way of there, and Ms. Jerid gave a few raps on the stone, which promptly twisted open ever so slightly into a pitch black passage out of which a man's voice came.

"What? What? What do you want?" the owner of the voice demanded, peeking just enough to see them but stayed just far back enough to stay concealed.

The greater being didn't seem offended. "Honey, can you please check around to see if there's any way we can get your sister and her friend back safely to where they came from?" She asked it as sweetly and simply as if she was asking him to pick up some milk from the corner store.

There was a pause, probably as the person considered the two. "They can't get back themselves?" they asked with skepticism.

"They've both clearly had a rough day, it's the least we can do," Jerid reassured.

"Mmmmmmm..." a thoughtful groan. "One second."

The rocks twisted close and the rest were left waiting in silence for about a minute before they opened again, this time much wider.

"Please come in," the voice encouraged.

With more reassurances to Klaus, they all walked into the dark and only a few steps ahead were greeted by a cool blue glow emanating from a large ethereal pond in the middle of a cavernous opening. The owner of the voice quickly emerged from the dark, an adult who seemed to be in his late 20s to early 30s with dark hair and goldish eyes, sharply dressed and giving off the energy of a fully grown god instead of a godling. He surveyed the group with expectation but also mild confusion.

"Mister Klaus, this is my oldest son, Haletrynx," Ms. Jerid introduced casually, smiling as she pulled a twig from her hair. "He's my psychopomp and god of routes and passageways. Honey, this is Mister von Klaus, an avatar of the Chaotic war god, he's one of your sister's friends!"

The older child looked between his mother, his little sisters, and the Chaos avatar, apparently not entirely seeing the sense in the situation but accepting it anyways. He gave a head bow to the visitor. "Very honored to meet you, Most High. You wanted to see if we could help you return to your Building? I'd need any information you can offer about where it is."


Caer Gloriana

The dark enemy that had once been content to taunt Brit through mock-casual conversation was no longer wasting energy on formalities. It'd gone from personal to primal, the monstrous shadowy forms raging and blending together to form a kind of storm along the cave ceilings, eyes and teeth flickering in and out like light against churning waters. The three ponies below were dwarfed, unable to escape their gaze - but that was okay. It was time to face them head-on.

Brit's pebble didn't do any good - which sounded like a bad thing at first until you realized that the pebble was no good because much like the princess' bow, Ariel the slingshot was capable of producing pulsating energy balls of shimmering light that exploded upward with enough force to shove the young woman backward several feet. Yay magic! Said light shot upward and seemed to burn a whole through the slithering shadows, drawing a wounded screech from the mass before it slowly began to refill the hole Brit had given it.

"That which call yourself the Umbrum!" Platinum pointed upward with her bow at the dark maelstrom. "I command that you return to where ever it you came or face punishment! This is your only warn-"

Quicker than any of them could blink, a tendril snapped down and lashed at the princess, causing her to gasp and stumble back out of the way. Fine!

"Now!" the princess ordered, shooting out another shimmering arrow.


Meanwhile, in the tunnel, Clover the Clever's small form lay curled up in a ball. She was not unconscious, she could hear the noise from the battle beyond, but she was also not completely sober. There was a murmuring from somewhere in the back of her head and at first the young mage feared that her enemies were attempting to sabotage her once again. But no, as the voice become clearer, something deep in her inner light told her differently.

"O sunshine, my lovely sunshine," somepony sang. "You fall down from the Heavens, stirring my ladybugs from their slumber..."

A blink, and the cloaked unicorn girl was standing in her own illusion. No, not something so manipulative as that - a dream, a very kind dream. She stood beneath some gazebo of marble, and all around her stood shifting, shimmering forms of crystal and light. She'd been here before. This was the inner place that prophecy was received from.

"Come one and all, clap your hooves with me in song, and throw yourselves about in dance."

"That's your song," Clover said, looking ahead. "Those who walk beyond have heard it before."

"I sing it often," a bright pink light manifested in front of the magician. "And I will continue to, though maybe not always the same way, or in the same form."

Even in this gentle dream Clover had to shield her eyes from the intensity of the light. "You are the Heavens?"

"I am one of them. I am their Love."

"Why do you speak to me now, my god?" the girl lowered herself. "Have you decided to lend us aid in our quest?"

The light flickered in intensity and turned itself into gentle strands that played among Clover's hair, tail, and robes. "Yes, I have. For Day and Night already walk in your realm and Concord has long too awaken fully, so it is I who come to guide you now. But only just as much as you need, and no more."

Well they sure needed a lot regardless, in Clover's estimate. She had received communications with the Heavens before, but never before quite so forwardly, and never in direct words. This must have been dire.

"Little Clover," Love continued. "You stand at the beginning now of a very long story, and you witness the prototypes of events yet to come..."


Mirare lit up in its own to block off the first attack upon Chrys from the dark storm above, and unlike Clover, the Conservator received a much less warm message in her own head.

"Where did you come from?!" it demanded in that low, monstrous voice. "Did you come to replace that scourge queen?! Tell us!"

An invisible force seemed to grab hold of the mirror sword and yank it side to side in an attempt to pry it from Chrys' grap. The voice went from angry to amused, giving a chuckle.

"It doesn't matter what you intended. We'll kill you like we killed her..."


White energy flooded her veins, small pops were felt all throughout her body, and she would have screamed had her disintegrated lungs been able to pump air.

"Argie!"


"Yes, that. That'll be you."

A large wall of the shadows formed above them all and began racing downwards to squash them flat.


Groundtown

SkyWishes was quick to back up Rache and Aegis.

"The others have already been suggesting it, Chancellor," the young pony insisted. "Even if one of them is doing it, it can't do any more damage, can it?"

Puddinghead slowly looked from the inn server to interns to the pegasus who insisted on not being judged. He was the strangest of them all. She had been before quite certain that there was no such thing as a pegasus who was not shackled mind and soul to that damned city, and there had not been one before who had made anything above minimum effort in being corgile to her. It did not offend her because that's the way things were, yet it offended him? Why?

"Calling the other tribes' attention isn't simple a task," the leader finally said. "The pegasi live high up and there is no non-magical path into the unicorns' city, so we can't just simply send messangers. Whenever there is a need to call a meeting, we use the special tools located in the south community storage. Hopefully they'll still be functioning with the weather."

It took SkyWishes a few moments to realize what that meant. "Then, you will call them?"

"You want me to, don't you?" Puddinghead turned to the youngster. "I can't do all the work on my own."

"Yes!"

"As for this one..." she turned to Golden Cornucopia. "Aegis, Rache, if you want to test him you can, though I doubt you'll get much. SkyWishes and I can attend to the other matters meanwhile. And you too Miss Yuna, unless you happen to be a grim girl as well."

Chrys was lost now. All the times with Hans, Nick, Dora, Dia, Luce scattered, extinguished by the shadow and her own raging powers' response. Conscious thought silenced by the red glow that the other ponies had sensed, back before they'd left to confront the Umbrum.

But if it hadn't, she would merely have said, If that is your will, then I who am about to die salute you; I who am from everywhere and everywhen.

Steam began rising from the air around Mirare's hilt, and the smell of slowly scorching flesh drifted through the chamber as Chrys' powers did what they could to bind the mystical sword more closely to its wielder. Her widened eyes, again solidly, insanely white, followed the trail of Brit's energy ball and the Princess' glowing arrow - and the wave of shadows that was coming for them.

"Princess!" she/they called out. "Will it work, to meet this shadow force with the force of nothingness and decay? Or will your sling, Brit, fare better?" She stood ready, with Mirare, rocking back and forth on her hooves, tense to spring into action as soon as the answer came.

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ascalon, The Littles

Thaddeus caught up to Amanda at the corner. "Will they have what Julia needs?" he raised an eyebrow. [...] "I wouldn't mind picking up a few books. Maybe some scores."

Amanda waited at the corner to let the others catch up, looking down the block. "They should have everything she needs. These streets are where the more frugal of the undergrads shop, and they don't seem to want for the basics. There's a bookstore close to the UGA tower. It's mostly used books, things Gatejumpers decided they no longer needed. The natives are largely content with e-books; those you can get online."

Deciding at the group was sufficiently caught up, Amanda turned the corner to lead them down the short block to the shopping street. She looked back at the new Resident. "You'll need to get your phone set up for Ascalon, and get it added to our network. And is there anything you do need? More clothing? Something to remind you of home, perhaps?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaufry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

<Now?> Apparently, Nick now rather doubted that interfering would worsen the situation. Primordial nodded supportively encouraging Nick to go ahead and speak up about his plan. <Sandy knows I don't go around -> “Maa-aow!” <- meowing. I think. Lumba doesn't… Maybe... I should pass this on - sneakier than talking!> Primordial might wonder just where the sudden music, a slightly misremembered version of the James Bond theme, was coming from.

The haggling and sideways glances in the store were interrupted by movement at the door.

A man stumbled in, stubble clearly several days old and oily hair matted from the hat that was missing atop his head. His eyes were glazed over, though they achieved a certain clarity at seeing the large-browed saleswoman and some familiar-looking faces from outside the city.

“Lumba! Sandy!” his smile revealed grimy teeth, “Just the people I wanted to see.”

Stumbling over from the door - though carefully so as not to disturb any prized merchandise - he sniffed and rubbed his nose with a gloved hand before shoving a finger passed Lumba’s face, “Hey, you still got that pair of x-ray goggles I was looking at last week? I got the cash.”

While he waited, casually drinking out of a rusty-looking bottle, he turned to Sandy and offered a nod, “How’s your day going? She’s got the best stuff, right? Little pricey, though.”

“Boris,” Lumba greeted with a friendlier smile, almost ditching Sandy for her familiar customer. He was drunk, but that never stopped him from making worthwhile deals. Lumba immediately nodded to Oecammi, the alien glided toward the back in silence. The Ferengi turned back to Sandy, “Excuse me a moment.”

Leaving the two, she rushed off to retrieve another datapad from the console while Oecammi reappeared with a slender mahogany box in her hands. The Tzenkethi placed it right next to Lumba’s arm as the Ferengi businesswoman quickly re-examined her contract with Boris. The conversation between the two customers barely drew her attention, and Lumba bit back a smirk as she casually listened in on them. Her eyes peered through the final details and feeling as though everything was accurate, she tucked the box under her arm and made her way back.

His voice lowered slightly, though it was clear he wasn’t bothering to hide his words from anyone, “Boss man sent one of his guards out to clear some shithead who was breaking into your car. I trust that went well?”

Boris’ sudden appearance left Sandy blinking at his question for what seemed an eternity. “Uh, yeah. Just what… I needed.”

Sandy struggled for a few more seconds to remember and understand what Boris had said before that. He can afford Lumba’s gear? How? He must be a bigger fish than we realized. He spoke slowly, with the honesty of being too confused to lie. “Things are going… oddly. Lumba is willing to make an exception and hold some goods for us, but… we’ll have to look elsewhere for some other things we need. Based on the prices here... and the apparently rarity of what we need, I’m… a bit worried we’ll come up short and have to do without.”

“Oh sure, sure,” Boris nodded, sniffing for a moment and scratching his nose before adding, “How much? I can spot you, if you can do me a favor. Well, a job, but we’ll get to that.”

“How much?” Sandy asked incredulously. Who had sort of money lying around? “Possibly some thousands of Roos.” A moment later, Sandy realized that the kind of person who had that sort of loose change in the Uppers was somebody rather shady, like a mobster. Who the hell was he talking to, and what kind of job would he want in return?

Returning to the two, she flashed a toothy smile and extended the datapad for her client, the box would be next, opened to reveal the goggles he had ordered, “Boris, your item as requested. If you’ll place your signature here, everything will be settled. Was there any other items you wanted, or needed?”

“No, this is plenty, thank you, Lumba,” he slurred out, whatever was in the bottle clearly having an inebriating effect on him. Signing the datapad, he fished out a hefty-looking sack of coins from within his bulging, lumpy overcoat. Beneath it, some coins jingled out from within his sweatshirt.

Turning back to Sandy, package in hand, he added, “I just blew what I had on-hand, but I can come back in a minute with more. But I’ll explain the job, first, so you can think about it.”

“Traders leave from Nouveau… whatever the fuck that place is called, the university,” he waved the bottle around as he searched for the words, “Anyways, they truck stuff up to and from Alessio. Stuff like these glasses, see?”

He poked at Sandy’s chest with the package, “Valuable stuff. Stuff maybe people want to steal - maybe dragons want to steal. You understand?”

Before Sandy could respond, he nodded with a lazy smile, “Of course you do! And Boss man has a… special… interest in this package. Needs to get to Alessio. He works with your wife, she delivers. I hear you deliver, too.”

Raising the familiar-looking bottle to Sandy’s eye level, he chuckled, “In fact, I know you deliver. So if you can deliver that package, then we’re good. Solid. I pay the fee. We split the profits. You buy your stuff. Everyone happy. Yeah?”

Primordial was a little surprised by the sudden entrance of Boris. Boris struck the Baron as the kind of person it wouldn’t hurt to know a little better, given the Luxan’s history and preferred vices, he bet that someone related to criminal activity would be a great source of future business and pleasure. Maybe Boris wasn’t the right person to be talking to about selling off brand magic and buying strange kinds of flesh, but he was sure the man could put him in contact with someone who did.

When Boris told Sandy about his offer to help with their payment, the Baron gave an amused smile at the cat on his shoulder and then Sandy with a sly look of mixed humor and interest. It was the kind of look that showed Primordial was more than happy to get a little extra cash procuring goods for Boris.

Lumba’s eyes darted from Boris to Sandy, while she heard most of the conversation from afar, it wasn’t until now that she understood a new deal in the works. It was none of her business in the end what the deal was, so long as someone paid. “So,” Lumba said simply, part question, part statement, the original datapad for Sandy was ready to be signed, she just needed his thumb signature and the confirmation of funds transferred.

Dora, hitherto quiet, broke the silence with a barely-audible exhalation. More or less they had the right group for this. A scholar with limited funds; a cat with a plan; an in-the-know techno-sorcerer; and a girl with a lot of time on her hands. Startups had been made with fewer people.

“How’s about this,” she offered, her drawl making a sudden reappearance as she put the pieces together. “You pay, Sandy buys, I do the legwork, and Prim and Nick and I all work with you on whatever else…?” She fixed Boris with an inquisitive yet challenging gray gaze.

“Sure.” Nick, disappointed and rather frustrated that his plan hadn't panned out - <seemed like I could contribute something -> looked up from grooming his front legs. If they could get the technology for their trip by conveying a mysterious package… The Bond theme started to play in Primordial’s head yet again as the cat came around to the idea. Having prior experience with rather stronger emotions involved, the Luxan likely would easily distinguish Nick’s amusement and curiosity from his own feelings.

<My eyes are impressive - lookout maybe? I kind of anticipate threats -> Primordial would understand that this had something to do with emotion, and that the cat suspected it to be causing his nervousness at that moment. Instinctively Primordial pulsed back that Nick would be a good lookout but it was accented by traces of curiosity and noncommittal due to a lack of understanding. Primordial obviously felt that it was too soon to start planning exactly what each of them would do until they actually saw what they were picking up, from who and where. Nick nodded. <We don't have much information.>

Primordial nodded along with Dora as she countered Boris’s plan with one of her own. “Yes, that plan sounds very amicable. Hi, Baron Primordial, acquaintance of Sandy. Hope i’m not interrupting.” At this point a sea of mixed hunger’s was spouting out of Primordial who was thinking more about what they would buy with the money and how Boris could facilitate him than what the actual job entailed. Nick got the sense that Primordial had a strong confidence that the team could handle any serious problems Boris threw at them.

Boris nodded, some disappointment playing across his weather-worn face, and sniffed, “I’ll show you the way. I need someone to deliver the package, anyways.”

Sandy finally remembered Lumba’s datapad, skimmed the contract -- as is, where is, it seemed -- thumbed it, and transferred the funds to LEL. He then switched his phone to the techpriests’ network, and sent Amanda a message letting her know he’d made a large purchase.

Confirming the funds were transferred into her company’s account, she flashed a smile at Boris while she hooked Sandy’s arm with her free hand, “Excuse us a moment, Boris.”

She calmly pulled Sandy toward her as they walked toward the back. In the meantime, Oecammi had interceded on Lumba’s behalf to occupy the customers.

Satisfied that they were far enough from prying ears, Lumba spoke softly and quickly, “I’m not repeating this so listen carefully. There’s a geneticist in the Outermark, one Doctor Cillian Mundy. Not a hew-mon, as I understand it, so don’t assume anything. He’s one of the best, as word has it and his services do not come cheap. I told you before, he’s a bit of a recluse, but I can forward a message to him to expect your arrival in the future. How you find him is on you, the good Doctor is not in the habit of giving his location just because he knows people. As for your prior offer, I’ll think on it, we’ll see if you can actually buy these items first and after that, perhaps we can do business.”

Lumba released her gentle hold of Sandy’s arm and turned around with a clap of her hands, “Now then, I believe that concludes our business. Oecammi, please see to our customers and make ready to close the shop. I’ll see to your items are properly stored until your return.” Lumba pressed her wrists together under her chin and curtsied quickly as a gesture of farewell.

Oecammi bowed her head in acknowledgment and turned back to her customers. She produced a business card and handed it to Dora. If she could smile, it would’ve shown her sincerity, but as with all Tzenkethi, the merit was conveyed in her voice, “This one will escort you all to the door. Please don’t hesitate to contact us should you have any questions. This one thanks you for your business and looks forward to your return.”

A slightly sardonic Nick actually replied. "This one hopes your day is...exciting, but in a good way. Your skin is very pretty -" He would lift a paw to wave to the nice assistant in question as Prim would exit Lumba's Emporium.

“You have a good day, Lumba, Oecammi! Thanks for the goggles!” Boris waved them goodbye with the bottle as he followed the others out, adding with a chuckle, “Don’t get killed!”

The group took Lumba's hint and departed her store, then piled into the Belas' jeep. The engine roared to life as Sandy turned the ignition, and he maneuvered through the crowd; this time it parted for them. He glanced at the gas guage as they passed the fueling pads, but he decided that topping off the tank could wait until later.

The jeep pulled to a stop at the Uppers-Littles Border Checkpoint. Cars were backed up for several miles as a result of there being only two checkpoints locations, and the group sat in silence for nearly an hour before finally being let through.

Nervous looks were thrown at Baron Primordial, though the rest of the group was shuffled through with little commentary. The usual rules were read off since some of the passengers were identified as first-timers: concealed-carry only, no drawing weapons, be polite to all citizens, obey law enforcement, etc. Sandy was also given a fold-out map of the area, though he already had one, and the guard at the checkpoint circled UGA and a few other common spots for recreation before Boris stopped him.

"We're here on business," the vagrant blurted out, "That'll do."

"Of course, Boris," the guard nodded before raising the barrier, "Have a nice day."

Sandy blended the jeep into the traffic flow on the highway, taking the fast lane as often as possible. As he switched back into the right lane, he lifted his hand from the gearshift and gestured at the overhead signs. "Which exit? UGA?"

[Altito Asmoro]

Ascalon, The Littles


Deciding at the group was sufficiently caught up, Amanda turned the corner to lead them down the short block to the shopping street. She looked back at the new Resident. "You'll need to get your phone set up for Ascalon, and get it added to our network. And is there anything you do need? More clothing? Something to remind you of home, perhaps?"

Ascalon, The Littles

"Something...to remind me of home?...not much. Been exiled from UK by my family because of an affair. And my South Africa's home is not really worth to remember. Although a brown teddy bear will be suffice for it, and few more casual clothing. And maybe the license permit for my handgun?" answered Julia to Amanda. Her home in South Africa is not the worst, but not the best either. She did got around, and always with condoms. Apparently she decided she is not prepared to be a mother, for now. Online, huh? She has yet to check about internet and stuffs.

Not when her career is at the best.

"Ooh, probably also few coffee stuffs and few canned food for my room. The food in the village is not bad, but I can always use some varieties. Also, about the e-book...how do I know I can access the internet? I don't think there's an electronic thing beside the TV inside my room, Amanda."

[Torsiedelle]

OPERATION: ★Sonoran Jus- ah, fuck it, I'm done.

"Ciao!", Katya waved, strutting along. She was leading the way, all confidence, though...

Something tingled. She didn't know what, but...something was off. It was probably noticeable to the others as well - a certain static electricity in the air, a pressure that had them feeling queezy, their heads beginning to feel light and muddles, as if about to wake from a dream. Was it a dream? Katya didn't think so, but...

She came to a stop, and just as she began to ask Sakarias if he felt the same way...

darkness

As if everything instantly cut to silent darkness, unconsciousness, and then...

The jarring thud of her faces against the cold floor. First was Katya, with Sakarias landing square on her, then Kale, leaving the Dimitrov girl in a miserable state. Apart from the group, their other comrade lay face down in a corner, passed out. It was a poor sight.

---

Torii followed along, although she was unsure why, and questioning their purpose. She was a little annoyed that their personal moment had been interrupted, but at the same time...

"People will talk!"

She flushed red. She didn't need people thinking that she and Marcus had anything going. She was interested in girls, and only girls.

Was Nila a friend of Marcus's? She didn't know the difference between her and Neste or the other reptilians half the time. She hardly ever saw them, and - Holy hell, what was that alien?

[Chedastan]

Dining Room

Romulus listened as Venla answered his question and provided more information to their mostly quiet group. His opinion on the mission wasn't changed too much at first, but then he noticed Venla's mention of the Devourers, implying that she had understood what they were, or at least had some idea of them. But he had realized from that, that something bigger could be at stake if the Devourers are to be implicated in such a comparably small matter, and he didn't like any possibility that could come from it if they were involved, as nothing insignificant could come to pass.

He looked at the image of the Xo'Lokako that Venla showed, thinking only of the possible danger it could present. Insectoids were always a brutal type in terms of fighting, as their fighting style always involved some form of dismemberment or disemboweling, never anything clean or mercifully quick. Though this at least helped by the fact that from what has been implied already, the Xo'Lokako don't appeared to possess any weapons besides from their natural claws, and would only really be a threat in large packs or swarms.

That is of course only really a concern if fighting does occur, which was probably very likely given that the species is growing increasingly violent and genocidal, thus granting a stronger likelihood of a confrontation happening. He looked at Rmw when she asked if this mission would be dangerous, and if he'll make them stay or not. "Well clearly this mission will be very dangerous." He flat out said to the whole group and continued.

"It would be foolish and highly naive to assume this mission wouldn't produce casualties, if the Xo'Lokako are to be unreasonable, and if whatever is causing them to be that way are very determined to see their agenda through. Of course it's not in our ideal place as Residents to instigate any unwarranted violence if possible, but that doesn't mean we can't defend ourselves if we must." He stated wholly and shortly in regards to the danger presented in the mission.

He looked down at Rmw once more, seeing her as obviously still in her tweens, basically still a child to him. He didn't want her to come along, he seen how she reacted to a tense situation by making it worse, and he doubted her usefulness to this mission. And he has seen enough children killed already to last a couple lifetimes. He reminisced his time in the trenches of St. La'Beik quite fondly again.

He turned back to Venla, "Your mission will happen, I'll accompany you on it, along with anyone else. If only because I think there might be something foul in the works on the Xo'Lokako's home world, something deserving of the Building's attention, though I can't say for sure about what exactly. Hence the need for us to investigate with you." He nodded towards her, then looked back to Rmw.

"But I'm not sure if you should come along, Rmw. This could get very messy very quickly through no fault of our own, and I don't know if you should be brought into that. It would seem very irresponsible for me to let you come." He said with honesty to her, though he felt he may have been too arbitrary in that assessment, maybe he should give her some kind of chance? "Look, if you can prove to me you can be useful on this thing, I'll let you on, but don't think it's because I wanted you to... There's not enough damn people around in this building that are available right now anyway."

[Highfort]

RAIDERS of the LOST BOOK

OPERATION: BIBLIOPHILE
DIMENSION: Gallimaufry then 257P
LOCATION: Plotline All-Stops to Alexandria, Egypt
TEAMS: MU
RotLB

"UGA," Boris nodded, seemingly more caught up in finishing what was left of his drink and peering out at the Littles than on navigating, "Turn right on the exit. Gate on the second underground level where Littles meets the industrial sector. Merchants use. We meet on the ground level and they take you down."

Boris peered at the passengers in the vehicle and added, "The package in cryo-tube - sensitive to shock. Has to stay upright and on. If tube loses power or opens, package dies. All other goods irrelevant. Boss doesn't care about pots or glass."

The jeep pulled off the highway and found itself squeezing into tighter and tighter corridors as Boris haphazardly directed them toward the merchant loading area. Past the storefronts and the criers and the stalls and tents set up to hawk wares from Alessio, past the stacks of shipping containers and barrels and boxes - that was where they found themselves. They pulled to a stop in front of a group of armored men and women, the smells of the industrial district wafting over in the form of smog and soot across the way.

Hopping out of the jeep, Boris flagged down one of the rounder men. The behemoth over as he pulled up his gas mask, revealing a grizzled, whiskered face.

What looked like a rumpled business suit was covered by crude armor plates on his chest and shoulders. One of his arms appeared to have some kind of exoskeleton atop it, wired to a tank strapped on his back. His legs were similarly armored, plates and leather pads strapped to his trousers.

Kicking up dust with his worn leather shoes, the he nodded at Sandy, Dora, Prim, and Nick, "These are Judge's men?"

"Da," Boris raised the bottle for the fat man to read, "The wizard, he moves product. Good shit."

"Wizard?" the fat man's eyes narrowed, "I don't deal with magic types."

"You're not Boss," Boris retorted, "Boss tell me to move product. I move product. You take orders."

The duo went silent for a moment before the behemoth relented, turning to the group, "Captain Marshall Reigger, at your service. Do you know about route and package?"

[Northwest Slobovia]

Ascalon, The Littles

"Something...to remind me of home?...not much. Been exiled from UK by my family because of an affair. And my South Africa's home is not really worth to remember. Although a brown teddy bear will be suffice for it, and few more casual clothing. And maybe the license permit for my handgun?"

Amanda answered as she led them down the cross street. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear it." Amanda's sympathy was tempered by the double unfairness of Julia's situation. Cheating on her husband -- if that's what she meant -- was wrong, but chasing Julia out of her homeland for that was excessive. After a moment's thoughtful silence, Amanda went on, not wanting to let the topic hang in the air. "I'm not sure where we can get a teddy bear, but there are plenty of stores that sell clothing along this street. We'll take you downtown later for the license."

"Ooh, probably also few coffee stuffs and few canned food for my room. The food in the village is not bad, but I can always use some varieties. Also, about the e-book...how do I know I can access the internet? I don't think there's an electronic thing beside the TV inside my room, Amanda."

Amanda shook her head with a sad smile: she missed using the net from home, too. "There's no internet service at the Building, sorry. No TV or radio either. Physical law isn't the same everywhere in Gallimaufry, so we can't get signals from Ascalon. You'll have to buy a wireless plan for your phone to use here. There's some details you need to know about the city's network, but we can talk about them while I download references at the university." By which she meant: 'I should tell you about the dark net, but not in public.'

Approaching the corner, Amanda pointed out a large store kittycorner to them. "Gold Star Market is closest you'll find to a supermarket this close to the university. It's a little small, even for an urban supermarket, but it has a larger selection and lower prices than the convenience stores closer in. Shall we?" Amanda made to cross the street.