Honorary Officer Mims beams with eagerness.
"Friends in need of help? Of course! I was told to take all nufriends to see Lieutenant Yiwin. He just showed up today, but he's the boss now! I'm sure he'll help you find your friend!"
He pauses slightly before continuing.
"...Unless your friend was a criminal. Lotsa new criminals coming in today for some reason. New bosses, more criminals, so many people needing help."
Mims shrugs before turning and beginning to walk to the north.
"Would you please come with me?"
"Thank you for helping us."
Falling in behind the skittermander, Puzzle asks, "So, a new boss arrived just today - where's your previous boss gone? How many officers work in this precinct? I think you're the first I've seen wearing the uniform."
"Lukcy us, new boss arrived. I am certain that he would be in a good mood." says kasatha
"Tell us Officer Mims, with all the new criminals coming in are you able to contain them here? Are you still using the detention rooms over there?" asks pointing at the Eastern doors.
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As Honorary Officer Mims walks, he responds to your questions.
"Oh, lots of new bosses and people today. I don't know how many, but they're from the Sunrise Collective, and they said they were in charge now. I don't know where the old police force went. They were deploying east of the city to help out with the government office, but I haven't heard from them. Maybe Lieutenant Yiwin knows.
"Also, the prisoners aren't kept in there. They're just to the east of the room we're going to. You can see them through a one-way mirror!"
With that, Honorary Officer Mims opens the northern door.
Before you is a large room with doors on all four sides and a long conference table running down the center. Lockers line the walls. A hologram projector in the table's center shows a 3D model of Asanatown and its side-bubble, Clearlight, with several locations labeled in red. A window south of the door in the eastern wall looks into a small room.
A male ifrit of lashunta descent, dressed in Brass Dragons attire and armed with an ember flame doshko and a flamethrower, stands as you enter.
"Greetings, sir!" Honorary Officer Mims exclaims. "These people came in looking for someone, and since we..."
The ifrit cuts the skittermander off. "Mims! We're trying to deal with a very delicate situation, and you..." His eyes turn to the group. "Be very quick. Who are you looking for, and why do you think I'd have any idea where they were?"
"You don't know who in your station?" Kit shrugs, then grins. "Thought you was the boss."
With no better story coming to mind, Puzzle recalls observing that the truth (or some portion of it) often yields better results than fabrication alone.
"Thank you, Officer Mims," the android addresses their escort before turning to the ifrit. "Lieutenant, we were meant to meet a friend of ours, but she never arrived and we've been unable to make contact with her. In light of the looters and rioters we saw on our way, we are worried for her safety."
"Given the Collective and Dragons are the only source of order and their affinity with lashuntas - and our friend Nib is a lashunta woman - we hoped she may have made her way here or encountered one of your patrols."
Nomyra tries to help out, adding in Lashunta, "Yes, we really need to see her."
Vedrir seeing where Puzzle is going with it, again stab the android in his leg.
Thinking about the situation:
"I need to figure out a better application for it. I can't stab people whenever they try to initiate conversation, someone will notice and wonder what is happening. Maybe putting them in chewing gum or bottle of water. "
Lieutenant Yiwin seems tense and under stress, but you don't detect any specific falsehoods with what he's told you so far.
The ifrit looks you over.
"Nib? Yes, actually, there was a ysoki woman named Nib who we arrested a few hours ago. She made her way here alright; she was interfering with the orderly operation of the checkpoint. She's in there," he says, nodding at the small window to the east.
"You're welcome to go in and talk to her, but she needs to cool off a little bit before she gets to go home."
Looking through the window to the east, you see a small room with two chairs and a small table. A large inset mirror (that you're looking through) takes up the upper portion of the western wall. Other walls depict a cheerful park scene of lashunta children playing on green grass beneath a sun that fills the entire sky. A ysoki woman dressed in pink sits in one of the chairs .
You notice a skittermander resembling Honorary Officer Mims playing in the corner of the mural with a lashunta child. The signature "MIMS" is written just below the skittermander.
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Puzzle turns to regard the ysoki through the window indicated. "She's safe," the android says, relieved. Addressing the lieutenant they continue, "Interfering? In what way? Maybe when we speak with her we can help her cool down."
"Yes we can help her cool down and take her off your head in an instant"
Turning to skittermander he asks.
"Officer Mims, do I see correctly that you are present on that mural over there?" Says Kasatha, wondering what does it mean.
If possible, Nomyra sends a telepathic message to Nib. Hi Nib. I'm Nomyra. My friends and I came with Dr. Taeress to meet with you. We're going to try to get you out of here.
The ifrit nods. "Fine, go ahead and speak with her. I have enough to deal with as it is. Mims, go with them and make yourself useful. Supervise."
As Honorary Officer Mims walks to open the door, he responds to Vedrir, "Oh, you're right, that's me! I painted the mural. I read that soothing imagery helps witnesses feel relaxed, so I painted the scene. Couldn't resist adding myself in!"
As the door opens, Nibs head perks up. She begins to shout, "This is an illegal..." before hearing Nomyra's voice in her mind.
The ysoki switches from shouting to a smile. "Oh, Dr. Taeress sent you. Good, I'm glad she got the message! If you've come to get me out of here, I'd really appreciate the help. Bit held up right now." She moves her hands under the desk in her lap, which give off the sound of manacles.
"I don't know what they've told you, but these loaf-heads... no offense, sir," she glances over at Honorary Officer Mims, "are setting up check points all across town and harrassing anybody isn't a lashunta. So when one of the thugs said that 'all the good scrap's off the station now', I called him a 'flame-brained carbuncle', and here we are. That's it.
"If there's anything in the data that provides a clue to the big psychic 'bam!' that hit everybody earlier, not only is this detention illegal and a waste of everyone's time, but it's keeping one of the only people on this station--me-- who can figure what's really going on in a lashunta child's bedroom!" She exclaims, looking around the room at the mural. "Again, no offense. It's been a long day," she says to the skittermander.
"So, ready to get me out of here?"
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Kit laughs loudly at 'flame-brained carbuncle'...until he notices that no one else is laughing. "What, no one like funny jokes?"
Vedrir chuckles inside when hearing expressions like: 'flame-brained carbuncle' or 'loaf-heads' but he keeps it to himself. He looks at Kit with interest thinking to himself
"I've spent with Kit months but I still can't imagine living in a society that would allow me to laugh out loud from such jokes."
Turning to Nibs he says:
"Newly set official said that you might go home when you cool off. Would you say that you already did that, in which case we can discuss with Honorary Officer Mims your long-expected freedom? "
Nib responds with a laugh. "Cool off? Of course I've cooled off! Can't you tell?" She flashes a sarcastic grin. "Never been cooler."
Telepathically, "Would you be willing to apologize to the officer? You don't have to mean it, but it would probably let us get out of here. I will admit, I'm somewhat ashamed of how my brethren are behaving, psychic pulse or not."
Nib telepathically responds "Sure, I'll apologize to whoever. And it wasn't one of yours; some of these Brass Dragon goons are behaving just as bad or worse without any of the psychic paranoia."
Her smile shifts to something more sincere. "Honorary Officer Mims, I regret saying the bit about 'flame-brained carbuncle' and all the other bits about how I got here. I can sincerely say I will no longer provoke or respond to provocation from Collective or Brass Dragon guards at check points. Can we agree I'm not a danger to the public?" she asks as her manacles clank against the underside of the table.
Honorary Officer Mims looks around the room before saying "Let me go get the Lieutenant. He's the one you hafta convince!" Honorary Officer Mims scurries over to Lieutenant Yiwin, who begins walking over to the room.
"Mims tells me the detainee's had a change of heart. Convince me."
"That's correct, Lieutenant," the android begins. "Nib was just telling us how - now that she's had the chance for her anger to subside and to think about the circumstances more clearly - she realises the difficult position and thankless tasks the members of the Collective and Brass Dragons are currently forced to deal with." He turns a stern look on the ysoki.
"She has been made full aware of the consequences and swift action dealt to any who jeapordise the order and safety within the community."
"We will vouch for her."
"It's true. She understands the error of her ways."
"Plus, then we leave and not bother you no more!" Kit 'helpfully' adds, a big toothy grin looking up at the officer.
Lieutenant Yiwin waves his hand dismissively and turns. "Fine. Mims, get her out of here. The rest of you, this had better be the last time I see you around here. After the lockdown is lifted in a few days, it'll probably best if you find another bubble to occupy. I think most of you won't really fit in to Asanatown."
Honorary Officer Mims takes a key from the Lieutenant and unlocks the manacles on Nibs. "Have a nice day now!"
After Nibs is released, you're able to leave the station and begin to head back to Dr. Taeress's aparment.
Nibs is extremely thankful to you for her release. Once you're out of earshot of the checkpoint, she says "Thank you so much for your help in there. Way to stand up for justice - just like Iomedae herself!"
You finally reach Dr. Taeress's apartment. Dr. Taeress is overjoyed to see Nib safe. After the two greet each other and Dr. Taeress offers her thanks to you for bringing Nib back safely, Nib exclaims "The stupid lunk-heads are committing a coup. When they were bringing me in there, I overhead some of the Brass Morons talking about how they had 'councilors locked up in Horizon House'. Most of the scholars at the DCI aren't lashuntas - if those jerks are in charge, we'll have to relocate our entire campus!
Nib continues, "But first, please tell me all about this Far Portal, fire whale, sinking into the sun, all of that. This could be the biggest find in the Deep Culture Institute's history since... well, ever!"
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Wyrd looks at Nib
"uhrm...even though we're happy to tell you all about our experiences so far..so you really think this is the time to go into that? The area seems to be under martial law and you did just mention something about a coup...maybe we should get out of here and somewhere save before we tell your our stories?"
The android gives a slight shake of their head. "I don't know if we have much all that much to share, beyond more questions. But we certainly have the data the scientists provided."
"Wyrd is correct though - perhaps we should find somewhere safe first before we end up like those councilors."
Kit looks around the apartment. "This look pretty safe to me..."
"It is not the apartment itself that is unsafe, Kit," Puzzle explains patiently. "But the immediate vicinity, and beyond, into the other regions of Asanatown that have been occupied by the Collective and Brass Dragons."
"In light of their apparent manifesto..." the android continues, at length and in the same patient manner, to outline the various social and political implications of the current situation.
Vedrir sits on a chair and closes his eyes for a moment
"That was a couple of long and tiring days. It seems like the situation here is serious and stops us from departing. Due to that, I am not sure how safe this place is. It might be wise to prepare for a situation of Brass Dragons trying to take this apartment."
Comments kasatha
"But we can't leave bigger vicinity now anyway. Brass buttheads close the port, remember?"
Nomyra gives her description of the Far Portal sinking into the sun and the terrible psychic pulse that she felt.
Dr. Taeress and Nib mostly listen as the party discusses the political situation, and Nib pays particular attention to Nomyra's description of the Far Portal sinking, combined with the psychic pulse.
When there's a break in the conversation, Nib speaks up.
"It's really incredible! There's so much here to go over, and I have weeks of data to go over with Dr. Taeress. But, the only way we're going to make any headway on this is having a functioning Deep Cultures Institute, and that's not going to happen as long as the Sunrise Collective is running Asanatown!"
Dr. Taeress agrees. "The Sunrise Collective says they want everyone to come together to solve... I guess the oppressive psychic feeling lashuntas have here, but the few scientists that could actually do something about it here are much more racially diverse than the Collective has been tolerant of. Even if the take over is successful, it would take weeks to... no, we can't wait that long."
Nib speaks up again. "Dr. Taeress told me she was coming to Asanatown with some personal protection, but you all seem capable of much more than that. How would you like a permanent job working for the Deep Culturues Institute? I can offer you pay and benefits, and work solving very exciting problems, but there's one catch. For there to be a DCI to hire you, we need Anasatown's duly elected representatives back in charge. For that to happen, you would need to go to the Horizon House and convince the Stupid Collective and Baby Dragons to stand down. You seem pretty good at talking, so that might even work again, but I wouldn't count on it. Think of it as a first assignment."
Dr. Taeress nods. "We're stuck as long as the Collective is consolidating power. It will be dangerous, but it's the quickest, best hope we have of being able to be in a position to get back to solving the real problems here that could threaten everybody in the Burning Archipelago. What do you say?"
"I'm in! Let's get Asanatown back to normal."
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Hearing the mention of steady pay and benefits Wyrd perks up
"...well of course we would like to help, it's only the proper thing to do after all"
before swallowing
...we might have gotten a bit lucky with the being good at talking part though....
While thinking to himself
"...the Stupid Collective and Baby Dragons...? Those are the actual names of the parties involved?"...
Vedrir nods hearing what Nomyra has said. It sounds just to help the people here. Having a steady pay is just a cherry on top.
"Agreed, however, I don't think that sufficient arguments exist to convince the current parties in power to give it up. Peacefully at least."
"As much as we'd like to assist you, we are just a delivery crew," Puzzle replies as Dr. Taeress and Nib outline their proposal. "We helped out at the Station because we really had no choice. We've been fortunate here, but the risk is increasing rapidly."
The android determines it logical to decline the offer, and is about to indicate this, when his companions begin to offer their assistance.
Kit shrugs. "Better than sit around do nothin. We gon' hav' to fight buttheads to get ship anyway, better to get paid, I say!"
...
The android determines it logical to decline the offer, and is about to indicate this, when his companions begin to offer their assistance.
"It seems the call of civic duty and the lure of financial reward offsets the potential risk of the venture for my companions," Puzzle says, gazing to each of his crewmates. "It appears, Dr Taeress, that you have a deal."
Nib and Dr. Taeress's faces light up.
Dr. Taeress's exclaims "Wonderful! As Nib mentioned, the best way to get the Sunrise Collective out of here is to restore Asanatown's duly elected representatives to their rightful places of authority."
Nib chimes in, "To get to the Horizon House--Asanatown's capitol building--you'll need to go through Clearlight Station. The Horizon House is actually in it's own little side bubble called Clearlight, so there're sure to be Stupid Collective or Butt Dragon goons guarding the place. Still, maybe you could use your delivery team cover story as a way to get through."
Dr. Taeress, who pulled out her datapad while Nib was talking, confirms that the station is open "on a limited basis only" though it doesn't define what that means. An alert warns the public of a "recently established safety checkpoint" at the station and advises all civilians to leave private armaments at home for the time being.
"If it's okay with you all, I think we'll just stay here," Nib says. [b]"No use in the goons capturing me again if one of them mouths off, and besides, we've got a lot of science to talk about."
Dr. Taeress agrees. "Please stay in touch via your comms. I can pull up a roundabout route that will let you avoid all of the checkpoints that we know about until you get to Clearwater Station, and please let us know if there's anything we can do from here. I'll try to find a map of the Horizon House - as a public building, with a little bit of time I should be able to come up with something, or you can look yourselves. Since you'll be walking, I'd imagine we have time."
Nib smiles. "And don't get yourselves nabbed or worse out there. Who knows what kind of delays that could impose on our scientific research!"
Kit starts rummaging around the apartment, searching for materials with which to disguise his rifle.
Kit slips a cardboard wrapping-paper tube over the barrel of the rifle and a cardboard box over the chamber, then wraps the whole thing in black electrical tape, leaving only the trigger exposed. He attaches a small saw blade to the end of the tube where it won't interfere with the barrel, and slings it over his shoulder . He wraps his pistol in a blanket and buries it in the bottom of his pack, beneath the rest of his tools. "There. Is sawzall! Me just humble house-fixer-person!"
"Looking good, Kit!" Nib comments. "How's everyone else coming along?"
"How about we make a parcel with chairs and tables that should be brought to Horizon House. Let's say that they asked for new furniture after changing the ruling party. We can hide our weapons in the crate. We can use some furniture from abandoned apartments." says Vedrir
"Alternatively I can make some weapons to be passable artificial limbs, but that would be more invasive and probably would require some more time to bring them back to working state. "
"A sound strategy, Vedrir," Puzzle commends their crewmate. "Perhaps, since we will be making this delivery on foot, we can intersperse some smaller packages."
The android sets up several boxes in the middle of the apartment floor before collecting some blankets and cushions to deposit nearby. They proceed to roll up a blanket, their dueling sword tucked away inside; strip their laser rifle down into the major components before secreting the pieces inside various cushions; and wrap a frag grenade inside spare clothing from their back pack. The clothing and grenade are returned to the back pack, while the blankets and cushions are placed inside the boxes.
Puzzle steps back and slips an autotarget rifle over their shoulder. "A red herring," the android explains.
While the others make their preparations, Puzzle hits the infosphere, trying to track down architectural plans for Horizon House, as well as a potential contact name for the delivery.
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"I _might_ be able to play the uninformed out of towner and have my knife confiscated if they don't allow me to keep it..but I think I should be pretty much alright without weapon........for a while. "
Wyrd burps in his hand and a little cloud of black smoke escapes.
"And maybe I can aid in smuggling someone's weapon inside. It has to be small..and tied to some cloth or painted cardboard or something. But I think I can use some magical energies to have to it hover above us disguised as a kids kite"
"An inspired strategy, Wyrd," says Puzzle, impressed. "May I suggest that in place of a kite - which may prove conspicuous in the case of no breeze - we instead manufacture some semblance of a surveillance drone? We can try to pass it off as company security policy." They turn to Kit. "Do you think you can scrap something together?"
"That is a good idea! " And Vedrir puts his needle rifle on the table to get hidden in a drone/kit disguise.
"I have also my hail pistol and a knife but my rifle should do. Can we have a look at the checkpoints if we can't skip them? Or smuggle weapons through the roofs?" asks Vedrir.