Iron Stars - connor

Jaxon Remington leaves his hab early in the morning, newly assigned to lead a second colony building team. With a central colony and now several small outlying settlements, an allocation of extra manpower was needed. Instructions were sent to report to the administration building

Jaxon takes in the cool spring air lighting up cigarette and makes his way down to the administration building taking in the colony as he knows he might not see it again for awhile.

Admin is busy but you’re let through, as your attendance is expected. Behind the desk a man named Franz is sitting, smoking a pipe and looking intently at a datapad. Twenty people stand in four rows of five against the side wall of the building, dressed in construction gear

Jaxon admonishes the man in his head for smoking a pipe indoors, but approaches the man coughing lightly to grab his attention.

3:32 PM

"Jaxon Remingtion; here to pick up my instructions for the new colony project"

“Ah the new building coordinator. Welcome to admin. I’m Franz, it’s nice to meet you”

"The pleasure is mine" Jaxon holds his hand out for him to shake "Yes I just started here, looks like you run a tight ship here in admin"

"We do, we have to, especially now with a war on. Well then, no major emergencies right now, this is more of a consulting role, we need someone out there working on shoring us up with some needed infrastructure. You came highly recommended"

(didn't know we were at war) "Well it's always nice to know when your work is appreciated. Am i assume that these men are coming with me?"

"They're your crew. Colony is going to take care of payment, we just need someone on the ground making sure everything runs smoothly"

"First rule of construction crews is nothing ever runs smoothly" He smiles "That's WHY they hire me. Fair enough though I suppose we better head out then."

"When you're ready. A colony survey was sent to your pad (the colonial needs handout). If you need support let us know"

Jaxon looks over the list for a moment "I see the survey indicates we need improvements to resource collection and processing, is this for the war effort? Also what are the major resource inputs the colony has. Finally in terms of transport are we speaking inter-colony transport or to outside sites."

"It's been made a sharper need by the war effort, but being able to stockpile the resources we collect from around us will help in peace as well. Intercolony right now is not so bad, most of what we are exploiting is close to home and we have rail lines connecting much, but moving the goods to our allies west on anything beyond the existing train is difficult"

Jaxon is looking in Franz general direction but is clearly talking to himself one hand stroking his short cut beard. "Expanding the rail is ambitious and vital in this time, but nailing down some where houses and processing plants is quicker, more versatile, and would even help with said rail expansion...." He looks directly at Franz now. "Thanks for the info, now if you'll excuse me i have some work to do."

9:10 PM

Jaxon gathers the men and strides out of admin a grin on his face as he has something to build his mind filing through ideas at a rapid pace

the crew sits idle by the three work vehicles assigned to you

Jaxon splits the men into teams some to survey the area near the existing warehouses looking for ways to possibly expand the existing ones (Jaxon goes with this team) Another to scout locations near the factories for additional locations for storage areas and the third to the outskirts to scout for new locations to add additional processing plants. Jaxon gives them each a vehicle to expedite the scouting

The warehouses can be expanded and should be fireproofed. The existing wood structures worked fine for early settlement but the colony can do better now. The factories have a railway terminal strategically placed in the center of them all. Shipping can’t get more direct than that. At the outskirts of town - north are the wheat fields and the barons bar, east are the factories themselves, West and south are civilian districts, with the large freshwater lake feeing the colony also in the south

After spending some time assessing the information given from the crew, Jaxon decides the warehouse expansion and reinforcement is the obvious choice. He begins to draw up plans for the expansion as well as reinforcing whatever he can with stone and metal trying to remove as much as the word framing as possible

7:01 AM

He also sends off a few workers with requisition requests for materials to admin as well as a note explaining Jaxons intentions

There is plenty of stone available, and cement, provided by the colony in whatever quantities you would need. They’ll be back with the materials in a few hours. In the meantime the remaining crew will begin disassembling the structures (fix/int)

[rolled 9 on fix] As Jaxon joins the crew in disassembling

With jaxons assistance the warehouses are deconstructed during the daylight hours, safely and with no damage to the goods within. There are no injuries reported.

8:06 AM

Sunset finds the warehouses neatly taken apart. Several colonists even begin approaching the construction site, asking if they can use the wood for fences and other things around their Habsburg

Jaxon takes a long draw of his cigarette contemplating the colonists requests before looking back at them. "Unfortunately I cannot commit any of the wood at the moment. My men and i need some of it for the framework of the expansion project we are working on as well as scaffolding and ensuring safe working conditions for the crew. However when we are done here not only will i give you any surplus wood that we have, I will personally begin working on the Habsburg Beatification Project with me and any volunteers from my men." he smiles being slightly grandiose so the workers can hear him as well. "I know we are in a war at the moment but i want to make this a place worth fighting for"

8:35 AM

With that he gathers his men at dusk congratulating them on a job well done and to get some rest as tomorrow we start with the framework expansion ad getting ready for concreete pouring

Everyone heads either to the bar or directly home after a long day. A handful of police arrive to keep an eye on the exposed goods during the night

Jaxon nods towards the officers and decides to head to the bar himself. Spending the night getting to know some of the crew but only has 1 drink as he needs to be in top shape for the next day

The harvest spirits is a rustic looking bar. A portly man behind the counter is in low conversation with a few of the farmers here also enjoying their evening. A shield with long tried blood stains hangs on the wall above the bar, surrounded by pictures of soldiers, workers, and scenes from early colony life

Jaxon spends a moment taking it all in before approaching the bar trying to get a sense of the conversation the man behind the counter is having with the farmers. And he also tries to order a drink while hes at it.

The parts you hear are nothing conspiratorial , just the re telling of a rather saucy and undignified tale. The drink menu is a blonde wheat beer, a fruit whiskey made from native pomegranate like melons, and something called ether dew that is adverted as a stimulant drink

He orders a whiskey and offers to pay for 1 roubd of drinks for the members of his crew present

50 credits sir” the bartender says. “Haven’t seen you in here before”

He grumbles to himself about robbery but pays the man 50 credits. "Yeah, name's Jaxon. I'm new around here helping lead some construction project around here. Whats your name friend" Jaxon puts out his hand to the man

“I’m the Baron. This is my establishment , but you’ll probably see me in the market most days too. It’s nice to meet someone interested in development”

"It's nice to meet you. I see this establishment has been here for some time so you probably know this colony better than most. Its always know to know your work is apreciated. Too many theae days are too interested in war and bloodshed... After all we lost you think we be more focused on building up our future. But Im rambling, if you need any development done just let me know."

“I could have used you a few months ago when I was getting my distillery together. One thing I will pass on, some organization brought to the fields and whatnot up here would help a lot. I walk the service roads out here quite often to clear my head and a lot of land is being misused”

He strokes his beard thinking. "Well im not the most competent farmer but im sure i can take a look at some point. I'd need someone who knew what they were doing and you seem to know whos who around here (he gestures to the farmers) any recommendations on who could help?" (edited)

They all look back at the Baron

He smiles at the situation grabbijg the drinks off of the bar. "Well sleep on it and get back to me i got a couple things in my plate at the moment but rest asured ill get on that in a couple weeks or so. Nice meeting you folks." Jaxon walks over to the crew unless the baron says something

He just looks to be thinking , not really noticing you walking away

Jaxon spends some time with the crew workers around the table sipping his wiskey (is it good?) He asks some of the members what they think about the baron

(It’s very good. Fruity and smooth)

1:03 PM

They like him. They know he’s a bit of a gossip but he’s a good storyteller and if you are respectful and pay your tab on the regular he’s a pretty generous guy

He makes a mental note about all of this then follows up, "so im new around here. What are your biggest complaints, your needa and wants here?" (Adressing the crew) "I think fixing up the Habsberg is a strong next move for morale but i want to know what you all think

1:33 PM

Takes another long sip of whiskey

The habs are fairly nice and are better than where most of them were living previously. But a sticker can always find something to fix. Organization and security seem to be the biggest things

Jaxon remembers hearing about the organizational issues and makes a mental note. "This is the first time im hearing about security issues around the colony. What kinds of problems are we having?"

There are some fortifications being built not just because of the current war but for peace of mind down the road as well. There’s been an uptick in terror like incidents as well

"I wasn't aware! Who's claiming to behind these attacks and what are their methods? Maybe we can help" (edited)

“Not sure who the offender is yet. They’ve been playing whack a mole as the problems come up”

"Good to know, I'll see what we can do. For now enjoy yourselves but get some rest. We have a lot of work to do." Jaxson finishes his drink and heads home for the night

Night finds a strange peace settling over the colony. Jaxon falls asleep, preparing to rebuild the warehouses the next day

In the morning Jaxon feels refreshed and ready to go. He goes through his morning routine leaving his house a bit after sunrise and makes his way to the site

The officers leave as the construction crew shows up. They chased away a couple people trying to pick lumber during the night. Nothing was taken.

"Men are you ready for another great day?" Hr smiles and begins to organize the men into teams to begin the expansion of thr warehouses

They separate into a few members on each, and begin driving pilings into the ground for support columns.

(Im assuming we cant get some type of mech to help with the process?) Jaxon watches over the men looking for ways to make the process go a bit faster or more efficient

(There’s a construction walker)

9:02 AM

(And you have three other construction vehicles)

9:02 AM

Two of the piling teams are arguing with one another about the correct placement of the support columns

(understood first things first though) Jaxon approaches the two teams bickering. "Gentlemen gentlemen we are on the same side here! What seems to be the issue? I have the plans for the column placement over on the table." He grabs the roughly drawn schematic and shows it to the crews (it outlines using more materials than probably necessary with shorter placements for a more stable structure)

9:19 AM

(in his mind he doesn't want to have to come back here in a year doing the same thing again so better out reinforce it now when resources are abundant)

)makes sense(. Looking at the plans both groups realize they are wrong and it’s quickly corrected. By midday the Skelton’s of each warehouse are constructed. All three are very large and with better materials are fireproof

Jaxon pilots the construction walker and uses the vehicles to prepare abd organize all of the materials to prepare for the concrete mixing and pouring. Once he is sure everything is in place to be efficient, he sends the men hone early for the day and goes home himself

They’re happy to have an earlier day, and the materials are brought in by evening.

1:33 PM

Some workers disperse for home. Others head to the bar

Jaxon makes his way home thinking to himself that he really picked quite a tedious job to start with, but its a solid one. He gets ready for the next day hoping to be able to finish this job quickly

The next morning arrives and a few of your crew are already there warming up the equipment when you arrive

"Wow... I'm impressed. I guess i should let you guys go early more often."

The crew finishes showing up over the next hour, and gets ready for work. "Alright boss, how should this look once we are done?|

"Hopefully like a warehouse." He laughs at his stupid joke before going over his plans with the crew "Cover the first 3 feet of every wooden post on the inside with concrete. if there's a fire i don't want the whole thing collapsing from the inside. I want 1 foot concrete walls around all these suckers with flat roofs, and make sure we get the gutter system in place to prevent flooding. These wont be pretty but damnit if they might not be some of the most secure buildings in this colony."

7:53 PM

"Lets get to work people!" Jaxon smiles and hops in the walker as his men prepare the concrete and helps in the molding / pouring process

(I think you've planned it out to the point where rolling doesnt really make sense) By night of the third day, the long awaited warehouse project is complete. Porters from the different factories are standing by to start carting their goods in.

8:01 PM

(3xp, 5000 credits)

(added the warehouses to the colony buildings handout, and 60 jobs for full time porters there have been made(

(cool! Lvl 2 raised Administer to 1 for my work here, know to 0 and trade to 0. Also took Authority so my Lead is 1. Probably the least flashy quest ive ever done but hey it did something useful.) Jaxon offers to buy the crew a round in celebration

(It’s solving colony problems and it made some jobs so life is pretty good)

9:47 PM

That night in the bar you hear that Judge ibrahim has returned to the colony, fresh from an expedition on the plains. He has mapped out a rail route he would like laid out to the more remote gold mining town he has taken up residence in

(Exactly its important work despite its luster no complaints) Jaxon perks up at the news and notes to himself to try to meet this Judge in the morning to see if he can help.

(Drop a message in judge thread so he sees it, see if we can get you two on a mission)

(Will do)

(Just want to make sure you saw it. You can answer in the judge thread if you have a reply for him) He looks down to his compad and gives a soft smile messaging back:

Message Sent at ████████
Hello @Johnny2Cs#6973, I would greatly appreciate your resolve to assist in laying down railing for the Dhahab Settlement. It would aid in our development of this cultural melting pot! Hope to meet you here where gold is produced and culture is excelled.

(I did see it but thanks! Do i know how I'd make it over to the settlement)

(Fly or take the train, but you’re both in the central colony right now if you want to meet and go over things. His last mission was surveying a rail route so he can tell you what was encountered)

(Oh i misread his message to mean i was meeting him over there. Thanks for clarifying.)

Jaxon makes his way down to admin to start coordinating labor and materials for the rail project

Franz is in his usual spot. It’s a quiet early afternoon and he is busying himself reading a report on a datapad

Jaxon approaches the desk. "Afternoon Franz, hows admin been treating you."

“Same as always. I saw what you’ve done out by the factories. Things are already running more smoothly”

"I appreciate that thanks. They are a bit of an eyesore truth be told but they are far more secure and organized. No time for a rest though we just got a project from Judge Ibrahim."

“Ah the rail extension? I’d heard some rumors about that since he got back to town. You’re heading that up then?”

"Yes as soon as i heard about his expedition i contacted him and offered my services." Jaxon looks over the files the Judge sent him earlier. "Seems like I'm going to need quite a bit of steel, lumber, and personnel, along with enough supplies for said personal. We can always get some more using the rail we are building but I don't want to impede our progress. Also is it possible to conivce someone to get a small security detail to come with us? Never know these days."

"We can assign a couple squads and their vehicles. If you start laying from the Dheneb (the gold town) you might even be able to use the train to pull supplies behind it as you lay"

Jaxon rubs his chin in thought for a while. "Yes that would work i suppose... Any idea on how long it woukd take to arrange materials and transport?"

It’s going to take more than one shipment but we can set you off with as many rails as we can make in a day”

"Well perhaps it's more purdent to have then start constructing raiks now and leave in a few days. That way we dont get stopped in the field with lack of materials if there are any hickups in production."

“Just the same. I’ll send word to the forge and have them get started”

"Sounds good. Go ahead and arrange transport fmto the settlement for the day after tomorrow if you will. I'll send you a full requisition list in the morning." He walks off and attempts to find the Baron

The Baron is in the marketplace today and you can smell a delicious pot of stew cooking long before you reach the bustling square. Several traders in stalls do brisk business

8:51 AM

The Baron peacefully stirs the pot, dolling out food and drink to customers

His stomach grumbles realizing he hasn't had anything today except for the coffee with the Judge. He gets in line for the stew figuring he'll be more likely to talk with Jaxon as a customer anyway

10:10 AM

Whenever he finally appraochea the front of the line"Hey there Baron, i didn't know you were quite the chef. I smelled this stew from a block away and had to come over."

“I’m a man of many talents” he smiles. The apron covering his stomach is stained. “How’s construction going today?”

He smiles back "I see that. Actually no construction today we are preparing for a rail extention and im leaving in a couple days. I was wondering though if you had given any though to my question a couple of days ago."

He is deep in thought for a moment. “You were talking about reorganizing the fields and farms. Correct?”

"Yessir! Though it'll have to wait till im done with the expansion. I wanted to spend tommorrow before i leave taking a look at the feilds and seeing what could be done. But someone with a green thumb can help me quite a bit."

“Well. I can come with you and give some pointers. Help you see exactly what is is you’re looking at”

Jaxon raises an eyebrow in mild surprise. "A man of many talents indeed. I see why you were so hesitant to name someone earlier then. Well if you think you can spare some time tomorrow, I would surely appreciate it."

"Just tell me the time and place tomorrow, and I will be there. The market will be fine unattended for a day"

"Fair enough then, 9am then at the north gate,and I'll bring one of our construction vehicles. Now what can we do about getting a guy some stew?" He smiles offering the Baron credits for some stew

He closes your hand back around the money and pours you a hefty bowl. It has chicken in it. Real chicken. Where he sourced it from you haven’t the foggiest

Jaxon..blinks.. hard for a moment his mouth instantly salivating "What the... Where the... How the...... Thanks Baron. I genuinely appreciate this." (i imagine is is incredibly tasty)

(Id say by today standards he’s a decent day to day cook but when most of what you’re eating is freeze dried this is probably rich to the point of you feeling full very fast)

9:30 PM

“So tomorrow morning. I’ll be there. Let’s see what we can do to get the fields more productive”

"Yes, I'll see you then Baron. Enjoy your day." Jaxon steps off realizing now he's held up the line quite a bit

The marketplace around you is bustling, the focal point being the grav bike dealer who proudly flaunts new models made by one of the colony’s Chief fabricators

Being a man who appreciates fine craftsmanship, Jaxon feels compelled to check out the grav bikes to inspect their quality

10:23 AM

He also wants to inquire about who this fabricator is

The fabricator is one of two in the colony, Kebore is the name on all his products( and his name) . The bikes are plain, but customizable, and paintable, and indeed those such services are offered

Jaxon gets lost for awhile thinking of the bikes (do i know how much they cost?)

(5k, right from the book, but I'd imagine he would be barking the price and there would be signs)

Jaxon sighs, and has to forcibly peel himself away from the vendor before he blows all his money. He heads home takes care of some errands before heading to the bar at night ot socialize a bit

There is less of a crowd there tonight, but the Baron seems unbothered. Midweek is always slower as people are between paychecks.

5:45 PM

A few crew members are there

+

6:30 PM

Makes sense to Jaxon, and he approaches the bar to order a whiskey. (As he scans the room would there be any way to notice is someone was from the psi academy?)

(side note: I find it hilarious and kinda awesome i look in the other threads and its things like: stopping terrorists, stopping towns from being ravaged by war, combat with giant insects. What's Jaxon doing? Damn right hes eating some stew, and getting ready to build a railroad :D)

(Maybe, I think unless they were using their powers probably not. Psi is tolerated and even embraced here, but with RONI operatives and such roaming around its probably not the best idea to flaunt membership)

8:36 PM

A glass of whiskey made from local fruit is passed down to you

(Noted) He takes his whiskey and chats with some of the workers for a while, asking about the town gossip and such

The town is happy overall that things are continuing to develop despite the war effort.

Good to know. After an hour or so Jaxon goes home to get some rest and meets the Baron in the morning.

The Baron is waiting outside the bar, a small scout bike in tow, with a side car. some surveying gear is packed into a trunk unit on the back of the bike.

9:54 AM

He is wearing a pair of old time dust goggles and puts a bandana over his nose and mouth.

Smiles and walks up to the baron "You never cease to surlrise me friend. You really came ready to go huh? I did thr outfit"

"It's dependable, and small enough to get through the service roads. Are you ready for a trip?"

"Oh im not complaining, let's do this!" His smile broadens and hops in the passenger car

'First I want to show you the ranch, I think things there are pretty well run, but you should see the types of animals we have on hand, and it might give you some ideas for future work"

11:32 AM

The motorcycle cuts northwest, out to the ranch. You get close, and begin passing kilometers of fence. A herd of lopes grazes on the open plains, further into the relatively flat paddock. You see a dozen terran cows also in the same area, grouped together in the shade of one of the sparse plains trees

The ranch itself comes into view, a slaughterhouse (small) a grain barn, and a new chicken hutch. 40 birds peck in their own large enclosure, a farmer throws them slop with fruit rinds as the bike pulls up.

Jaxon takes it all in not really used to seeing all these kinds of animals on a ranch before. He does his best to focus on the assets and building around him. (Whats the conditions of the fencing, buildings, etc?)

(Rustic, wood and stone, the dwellings for the ranch hands don;'t look the most comfortable either)

He makes a note to look into that as they drive by. "Is there anything in particular im loking for as we sr1ive past here?"

“I think once you see the conditions as a whole it’ll come to you. The ideas I mean. The fields are in worse shape. I’ll take you there next.”

Jaxon takes a final look trying to take in as much as he can about the landscape and buildings. "Alright then! lets go see them."

He cuts the bike back on itself, heading northeast now. a row of greenhouses and an orchard are passed , workers prune trees and check water pumps. The greenhouses themselves are placed in a row. The service road ends and you're driving on a bumpy trail cut through the fields. The boundaries are irregular, and the confusing grid of roads is not even a grid. You pass a field on the left, where several boulders were plowed around, rather than removed.

3:39 PM

Wheat is still short enough to see over, farmers homes and barns are sprinkled haphazard through the space

"I think I'm beginning to see what you mean about the disorganization! And these roads are total ass! At least the greenhouses are in order, but I'm guessing that's because they are more recent huh?" He jots notes of the problems he sees in his datapad

5:03 PM

"How is the farmland dispersed from a legal perspective? I think we might end up pissing off some farmers before we are done here."

“Well that’s just it. We planted as much as we could cover at the beginning, it was less about standards and who owns what and more getting crops in. The farmers are paid to work the land, and ideally they should live closer to the fields, but there’s no organized residence blocks in the north”

5:05 PM

“All the habs right now are west and south. Many have taken it upon themselves to just build huts out here so their commute is shorter”

"So the land is colony property then? That at least makes what i have in mind for this land a bit easier as i wont have to fight a bunch of farmers about land disputes. Yes i see what you mean about the Habs, definitely an issue we should look into. Are the farmers organized at all? I know unions are practically a myth but it would be nice if we could get them all together to help resolve these issues."

“I think that’s why they wanted me to do this with you. I know them all by name. They all come into my bar since I chose the north district to build it. If they had a spokesman it would be me”

5:11 PM

“There will be tough edges for me to smooth out no matter what you do, but if it’s not too extreme I should be able to ease any problems”

"Ah so they volunteered as it were, and here i thought you saw it fit to volunteer yourself." He smiles "Makes a lot more sense this way I presume, but honestly how many pockets do you have your hands into?" (his tone is joking and tries to make it clean that it's a rhetorical question) "Well once i formulate a plan id like to gather the farmers and speak to them myself as well. Not that you don't make a great representative, but for the long term prosperity of the colony i think its important they organize themselves to a degree."

6:00 PM

"Anyway I'm rambling on about things that don't matter right now. What else do i need to see around these fields? How's the irrigation around here? Figure ill have to pull up the pipes?"

"You'll probably have to reorganize the works once the fields are reorganized. The stuff closer to the colony is a bit more planned, that won't be as bad, you might not have to change some of it at all, but the further out we go, the more hodgepodge it becomes"

He pulls out his pack of smokes and lights one. Taking a large draw as he contemplates this job, its a big one and he knows that it won't be easy especially when the colony doesn't even have a surplus of food to fall back on. But it's vital to the future of this colony to get this resolved. "Alright then. While I'm gone ill see what admin can do about sending me a map of the area with farm locations noted, as well as get field reports of the types of crops grown around here and the conditions each crop needs. I also need to get schematics of the irrigation system to find out what can be salvaged and what should be scrapped, not to mention find a way to get new Habs built on the north side of the town to house the farmers... Should be easy right?' He laughs "Am I missing anything?"

7:49 PM

(Also what time of year is it right now?)

(mid spring, so planting will start soon)

8:02 PM

"I think those three things are good starting points. I know admin, its going to take some time to collate all that, by time you return from building your rail link, we should have all the information in hand"

He nods mulling over all the information. "I hate to say it but we might have to hold back doing the housing until summer, any sort of serious reorganizing, we should try to get done before planting. Might even have to do this projects in stages depending on how fast we can get progress down. I'm happy I decided to look into this before we left. Against the clock on this one im afraid. If you help admin get me that info ill do what i can to get preperations in place before my return."

"I'll have it sent to you, you'll probably be on the rail build already but it will give you an idea of the task ahead|

He nods. "Sounds good! Well i guess its time to head back then. I still have to pack for the trip and you have every business in the colony to run."

He winks at the last remark, and the bike pulls up to the bar before shutting off. “I’ll have the information to you in a day, maybe two. If you think of anything else give me a call.”

7:44 AM

(3xp, 5000 credits)

(Nice! I rolled a 6 on hp... So my hp stays at 6. I raise my fix to 2 and bank 1 point.) "Will do. Will do. I apreciate all your help even taking time away to do this with me. You must really care about this colony huh?"

(It goes up by one to 7 for hp I belekvr)

9:16 AM

“I do. Not just because it’s the reason for my livelihood but because I’ve grown fond of the people here. It’s a dark universe we have inherited”

"Heh. Thats putting it mildly. Still, i think thats why its important, maybe now more than ever that we stand as a beacon for what we can be... No matter how imperfect this universe and we are." He nods and begins walking home. "Thank you for your service Baron, Im glad to know we fight for the same cause."

He waves and heads inside the bar. There’s a cheer from within and his hearty laugh as the farmers are happy to see the only man in town selling alcohol.

He laughs at the raucous behaviour and heads back to the Habsburg and prepares to leave tomorrow

Rails have been loaded on train cars when you awake in the morning, along with ties made of wood and two entire box cars full of spikes and fittings. An engine and a small series of cars is ready to depart. The final three are passenger cars and a caboose with extra food and water for the crews

3:18 PM

(Your construction vehicles are coming too on flatbed cars)

Jaxon does a final check if his bag and equipment thrn takes a moment to apreciate the amlunt of effprt and focus to have this happen in a day. Shaking his head in near disbeleif he smiles and boards the train

The train passes rolling countryside, lowlands, hills, and swampland on its way through rebirth, then hooking east to the town of dahab. Dahab is a small town notable for its gold mine. Only a handful of people live there currently, including the judge. The homes are brightly colored and many have murals on side walls.

(How long is the train ride?) Jaxon apreciates the ride getting to see the countryside and fiddles with drawings and schematics for the farm project during the travel. He thinks the murals are interesting but a bit if a waste being more of a pragmatist. Jacon messages the judge when he arrives (i will leave the message in the judge channel)

I will help organize the people get the supplies off the train and get them ready to start the project. (I had administer 1 and im guessing we are starting with a rail station here?)

(Yep. Rail station here and it’s about a day. The hexes are each a very large tract of land on thisnworld, 200 miles)

The workers quickly form up into work parties and begin offloading goods. The foremen are asking what the terminal should look like.

Incoming Message from Judge al-Mansoor
Thank you graciously and please, keep me posted.

Jaxon smiles when being asked this his mind racing through grand ideas for a rail station. He pulls out his data pad and messages the Judge again.

Incoming Message from Judge al-Mansoor
My input on the design of the station will be thus: Make sure it has Arabic undertones in its design, little features that would make it unique to the eyes. We're currently deciding if we have any gold to spare, and if we do then we'll certainly ship it over to you as soon as reasonably possible.

A solid ton of gold arrives, the warehouse just a short walk away from the rail terminal site

Jaxon begins to design the train station. He wants it to be large with a high ceiling made a mostly out of stone but wood for furshings and decor. He will use his datapad and inquire with his workers about making it have a slight arabic feel to it with respect to the culture. One thing he wants to stand out is a large archway over where the train comes in. On the archway it is carved in Arabic "The best road to progress is unity."

A small minaret is proposed for the outside, or built into the structure somehow where speakers can be mounted, allowing warnings or useful information to be broadcasted settlement wide easily, even in the event datalinks go out

(So you’ve got the choice on if you want to build that or not, everything else will be done). Several of the miners in their spare time come out to help, knowing a new rail station and shorter link Home might mean more reliable supplies and services

(Jaxon is still shitting himself that he got a literall ton of gold for thr project)

(Gilding stuff takes a lot, plus needing it to re-cast mistakes)

He listens to the people though and works on designing 2 minarets built into the front of the station next to the front door which is a large wooden double door with gold inlay (of a golden horse if i heard about the statue) and 2 4 more built into each corner of the station.

12:20 PM

Jaxon also thanks the miners for thier efforts and asks them if there is anything they wish to see added. He might not take thier ideas but he does want them to feel like this is theirs

12:23 PM

While he is designing the station, he dies get the workers to begin driving in steel beams that will help reinforce the concrete / stone

The miners only recommendation is the judge trying to get a statue made and being unable to get the mold correct. A skilled craftsman is needed

"Oh well i know a thing or two about crafting molds. Tell the judge ill be there in an hour

12:34 PM

Jaxon finishes organizing the unloading and foundation groups and goes to the admin building here to find the Judge

(Let’s jump into that channel)

(The judge channel?)

(Yeah)

Jaxon emerges from the storage building where the mould was poured. "Hey boss, we didn't think this out coming down here. The train...|

7:55 AM

You see what he means almost immediately. The engine should have been swapped toward the back, letting the flatbed cars full of timbers and rails go first, so workers can have materials right there. "We can try to hoist the engine and move it with the cranes, or we can try to take it apart. or we can leave it, but it might slow us down"

"Ugh crap..." He walks up to the train thinking intently about his next course of action. He lights up a cigarette and turns to the worker. "Lets examine our options, how many cranes do we have and what sizes?"

"Each of the three construction vehicles we have has a small one, it'll barely clear the boxcars if we use all three. Real thin margins"

Jaxon rubs his chin in thought. "Well deconstruction seems safer but it will slow us down significantly, not only does it require more man power but time that we could be getting this rail built. Whats the ETC on the rail station?"

“Just a couple of days for things to finish here if we split labor. They could be done around the same time”

Jaxon sighs pulling out his data pad and reviewing the crew and equipment available. "Alright im assigning you 10 workers and one of the construction vehicles. Get this done by the time the rail station is and there will be bonus pay. You ready for this kind of task?"

They seem to be as ready as possible, and set off to try to hoist the engine

8:09 AM

It will take a few hours at least, and the construction detail seems like it is coming along fine. The mold should be ready

Jaxon joins the men and aids with the building first hand. Making sure he handles the high detail parts personally.

7:01 PM

(you said the judge will handle the statue from here, or did you want me to finish it?)

(You can assist with the pouring if you like but it’s not mandatory

(yeah i would like to oversee the process personally, jaxon realizes this is important to the town and the Judge)

The station Is expected to be completed by tonight and the crane operation to lift the engine has so far gone smoothly

Jaxon goes and checks on both project breifly before he starts getting things fready for the rail itself to be built

Both seem to be going according to plan thus far, the workers are highly motivated and the construction vehicles have greatly been helping the process along. Nightfall arrives, and aside from some painting and decorating- which the town can handle- you are ready to lay tracks in the morning.

1:31 PM

(d10 for nighttime)

(I got a 4)

The night passes with no trouble. Some overly inquisitive townsfolk get a little too close to the engine at night, but the engineer blasts the horn, scaring them away

Jaxon awakes in the morning and goes about his normal morning routine.

Judge, having scouted the path before, the beginnings of the rail line are already surveyed.

6:26 PM

The engine car has been placed in the back and workers make ready to get the rails laid. They just require instruction

Jaxon reviews the survey from the judge and begins having the men set down rail.

For the first two hundred miles the terrain is pretty gentle, but coming up after that is a grassland where large herds of game beasts are known to gather.

(Im not sure but i think i requested a security detail with us yes?)

(Yep. They’ve been a pretty regular feature around the fires at night)

(gotcha) Jaxon sends a couple (2-3) guards up about a mile ahead if the crew. Thier job is simply to scout for herds and radio in ant sightings that would interfere with the rail. They are not to engage or harm any of the animals unless they are in danger. But they shouldn't even be that close to begin with

They will take one of the personnel carriers as well, so they have a way to get back quickly as needed. The workers break and begin laying rails. (fix/int for your assitance)

Makes sense i wasnt sure if we had vehicles to spare or not. (Nailed it with a 15!)

12:09 PM

(Double 6s +3)

Today, the work goes very smoothly, and 30 miles of track are laid. You're still close enough to Dahab where it is feasible to spend the night in town if it is desired.

I have the crew stay out for the night, not wanting them to lose any time in the morning getting out here. Jaxon huddles the men congratulation them on a great first day of work, and to remind them to keep up the effort!

Night falls on the camp. Around 1am there is a thunderstorm on the plains and with each flash of lighting the scouts see a herd of lopes on the nearby hills growing larger.

Jaxon orders the scouts back to just keep a tight perimeter around the camp. Thier primary directive is to guard against any sort of stampede from the frightened animals

The security detail gets into position, and there is a terrific crack of lighting. The herd begins braying and bleating loudly

9:37 AM

A driving rain begins to fall

Jaxon dawns his rain gear and joins the security detail, armed with his laser pistol. He also quickly affixes a tarp to some extra poles we have lying around to provide cover fore some of the security and to increase visabitly

10:32 AM

"Listen, I dont want to hurt any of these animals if at all possible. I strive to have as little impact on the natural world as possible, but if they come within 500ft of the camp i want you to try scaring them off with some warning shots. If they get within 300 ft you have permission to start hitting them. I will not jeopardize the lives of the workers here."

Floodlights on the vehicles begin sweeping the footlands in front of the camp. Lighting cracks again and the herd begins moving

"Son of a bitch... get ready men!" Jaxon makes sure that his orders listed above are relayed to the rest of the men and make sure all available security personnel are pulling the veicles inbetween the animals and the camp to atleast have some cover

"Should we send up some flares?" the leading corporal asks

(does he mean for the flare to scare off the lopes or to call for help?)

(hopefully scare them off, no real help can get to you fast enough but if it doesnt scare them ill atleast give you guys more light)

1:52 PM

(It'll)

(yeah thats what i figured) "yes but make sure to save some for if they get closer. I don't like how dark it is out here."

A trio of flares lights up the footlands as the beasts pick up speed, heading closer. The soldiers fire warning shots, and some scatter, but not the critical mass needed to disperse the herd

(how far away at they are this point?)

(500m, just beyond the max effective range of weapons)

(how far can i shoot out a flare?)

(Like, at the animals like a gun?)

Well more like right over the animals

7:03 PM

i want to shock them and maybe temporarily blind them

You’ll be in range

Jaxon attempts to fire the flare as described

The herd pauses, and splits around the camp, a steady stream is fired as the soldiers follow your lead, dispersing it.

8:07 AM

They stampede by for ten minutes, shaking the ground tremendously.

Jaxon tries to hold his composure the best he can but is terrified. This is the closest to a real combat situation he has ever been in

8:19 AM

(are we far away enough from Dahab that we don't have to worry about the stampede heading there?)

(yes them keeping cohesion like that for 30 miles would be a pretty insane feat)

(hey many I saw lion king! Those zebras fucked people up!) Jaxon finds some 2 or 3 security guards to begin going through the camp seeing if anyone is injured or anything is damaged

One of the tents was kicked over in the stampede and two workers have moderate injuries. They both promise they can do light duty still like putting rail fittings into place

Jaxon orders both the men to take tomorrow off and rest. Then he checks with the security team that everything is alright and (if it is) drags himself exhaustively to bed.

Things seem fine aside from the injuries.

Everyone gets back to sleep and dawn brings a scene of trampled land. There are a few lope bodies, the slowest trampled by the rest of the herd but otherwise they seem to have moved on

Jaxon shakes his head looking over the camp. That was a close call and we were lucky that it wasnt worse. Tired and groggy he gethers teh workers and prepares them for another day of track building

(Fix/int for the day)

(11) Jaxon attempts to rally the workers to shrug off the events of the night before. He helms one of the crews himself to help lat down some of the track

He does so, finishing the remaining track in this hex, and moving on to the actual grazing land where the herd from the previous night originated

(it looks like there are so many hexes to go... what can possibly go wrong) Jaxon wishes to make sure there are scouting parties going out keeping track of herd movement etc

(I haven’t drawn anything and won’t until it’s done so the line is clean and all in one peace so don’t judge by the map)

(Fair enough, though it was scary and fun to deal with that herd) Jaxon pushesthe men to get an extra mile or two done before we make camp

The scouting parties don’t see any large groupings of animals like the one you ran into the previous night. The security detail recommends sleeping inside the ring of vehicles just in case

"Yes I agree, we don't want to be caught flat footed like last night. Are there any other threats we should be worried about out here from the Judge's scouting?"

“Just one. Keep an eye on your Geiger counter. You might want to ask him for the full report”

(was there mention of excessive levels of radiation in the report the Judge gave me?)

(Yeah, the monster has some that it emits but there’s a uranium field coming too)

(what monter?)

(Judge and Malak encountered a monstrous creature in the forest there. THey killed it but werent sure if there were more)

(welp.... didnt know that) "Yes according to the report, there are some areas that have uranium we should be mindful to build around it so if they ever decide to mine it we wont have to re work the rail.

“Right. I’ll make sure the scouts mark the field. Or where it’s boundaries are. For now we camp. We are about halfway there”

"Agreed. We are completely alone out here; no room for error. Let us all do our best and prey for good fortune." With that Jaxon makes some rounds around the camp mostly to be seen by the workers as a sign of goof faith and morale

The weather holds and the herds have moved off , there are no incidents during the night. “We should be closing in on the Uranium deposit come afternoon. Might be good to build some warehouses near the tracks there, get a mining camp together”

Jaxon spends some time thinking on this. "I'm afraid we will have to come back for the warehouses. We are on a tight timeframe here. I still have to get back to the colony and reorganize the fields before the planting begins, and I don't see this has high enough priority to stop our efforts. Rest assured, I will coordinate with admin and the judge to get a mining operation out here when time permits."

8:03 AM

Jaxon ponders how he has only been in this colony a short time and is already being pulled in so many different directions

Afternoon arrives and sure enough the counters begin to growl and chirp.

8:17 AM

“Rads. Light enough where we can make it if we are passing through. If we stay we will need suits”

Jaxon nods "Let us do our work quickly then and move out of here." Jaxon will personally assist to expedite the work.

(Fix/int)

(13 Specialist OP) He attempts to quickly push through the irradiated area to give the workers minimum exposure

An extraordinary level of progress is made that day. Everyone is exhausted by nightfall but the danger is passed.

Jaxon gathers up the works by one of the trucks at the end of the day. "I just wanted to take a moment and thank you all for your tremendous effort today! As most if not all of you know we were dealing with a potencial hazard and needed to clear it to ensure everyones safety. I want everyone to rest well tonight, we will begin tomorrow 2 hours later than normal as a personal thank you."

)won’t have an exhaustion penalty for the following day(

)woop!( Jaxon quickly eats a meal with the crew and heads off to bed, exhausted from the days labor

The sun is fairly high in the sky once you wake up, allowing for the two hour delay. Everyone still seems a bit tired, but not to a level where their work will suffer in quality. Being close to the comforts of Greenbriar Central also seems to enliven them

Jaxon also feels emboldened by the thoughts of being back at the colony. He stretches his slightly aching back caused by sleeping in a tent and nurses a cup of coffee contemplating the day ahead

The remaining distance to the colony passes some heavy woodland, before panning out into flat plains for the home stretch. You hear native creatures hooting and whooping within.

Is it possible to pass arond the wooded area or is it just too massive and inconvenient?

It will add another day onto the project and lengthen the commute time by about an hour but yes

Done. Jaxon wants to try to conserve the environment as much as possible in his efforts, and beleives starting his rail line through the woods will lead to its deforestation later (edited)

The revisions to the plan are handed down to the crew and as night falls you end up halfway around the outside of the heavily wooded area

During the night, the hooting sounds get louder, and a strange creature is seen at the edge of the forest

7:29 PM

Jaxon poitns out the the creature. "What in the hell is that! Guards! Get over here." Does it apprear to be approaching the camp?

It is approaching the camp at speed, making a direct beeline for a gap between two of the transports

(welp.... fuck....) Jaxon shouts for the guards to attack this crature, pulls out his laser pistol and fires!

(Lets go into initiative)

(initiative 6)

(6 for the balvarine, you're up first, the soldiers will use their turn getting into position)

(are there any more of those flares around?)

(Yes)

Jaxon thinks to grab the flare but decides to try to shoot the creature with his laser pistol

9:41 PM

(13 for 2)

The shot burns a slight wound in the beasts skin. It bounds forward as quick as it can. (It’ll be inside the vehicle ring in its next turn). (You’re up. Then soldiers)

In this moment, Jaxon wishes he spent more time at the shooting range. He shouts to get an alarm throughout the camp and fire again at the beast.

8:09 AM

(13 for 2 again)

8:10 AM

He attempts to get behind some cover if he is able to end his turn (edited)

(Yep you’ve got your move still)

8:16 AM

Three of the closest soldiers move to firing positions around you and fire their combat rifles at the approaching beast

8:19 AM

(12 damage in total. One crit one hit). Two of the soldiers firing find their mark, one shooting one of the beasts large horns completely off. It bounds over you and the gap in vehicles, heading into the camp (in range of first workers tents next time it goes. Jaxon is up)

Jaxon grimaces at what he believes it going to happen next, and feels powerless to stop this beast. He desperately fires again in an attempt to slow this thing down

8:36 AM

(8 for 5)

The shot falls short. The soldiers open fire next.

Jaxon curses at himself for missing

They each miss, struggling to target the fast moving beast.

11:17 AM

It tears into the first tent, collapsing it beneath its weight. You hear a cry of pain from within. (Back to Jax)

"Damnit!" He curses "Men surround this fucker and take it down!" He fires again at the beast, scanning the area for any way to trap the thing or quarantine it to an area to minimize injuries / deaths"

11:41 AM

(7 for 3)

Two trucks with machine guns head over alerted by the danger and the rest of the security personnel likewise open fire on it

11:49 AM

(The heavy machine guns already got it). The heavy weapons stitch the beast repeatedly, clouds of blood spray from multiple heavy weapon hits before it slumped over dead

Jaxon sighs thanking god he ordered the extra security detail. He immediately dashes over to the tent he saw get mauled and check for survivors.

Both workmen in it were flattened and mauled by the pouncing beast, even a bioscopic would fail to put them back together

Jaxon grimaces, silently berating himself for letting this happen. He orders the worker's corpses kept safe so we can hopefully preserve and bring them back to the colony for burial. He then goes and checks in with his security team to try to figure out what the hell this thing was

They’ve never seen anything like this before and it’s not in colony records

"Ughh... What a nightmarish creature, probably for the best we didnt wander directly into the woods then. Id hate to fight this thing on its home turf. Do you know the names of the two men who passed?"

“I’ll find out” the camp admin heads off to talk to the other workers and get some information for next of kin

Jaxon nods and begins sending a message to the Judge

8:49 AM

(sent in his channel)

Incoming Message from Judge Ibrahim: Understood Jaxon, we will have gold-lined caskets for those fallen in the attack, and I will personally make an appearance with you to speak with their next of kin.

(edited)

Jaxon sighs reading the message and gathers the workers and security to address them all. "People of the Colony and Dahab! Tonight, we were attacked. A beast most fowl came from the woods and dared to attack our camp. It deeply saddens me to announce that we lost 2 of our own in this attack. However, it is thanks to the heroic efforts of our security team that we were able to neutralize this beast and save the lives of many more. This however does not take away from the loss of life we have experienced this night. This is my project, and I take full responsibility for those deaths on my watch. It is my promise to you here and now, that I will continue to do everything in my power to keep you all safe. If anyone needs someone to talk to or time to grieve, let me know and they will have it. But in honor of these brave souls, i urge us to continue quickly back to the colony. Not only for the pride and good of the colony, but so we may honor these men properly as they deserve. You are dismissed."

The work teams petition to keep going through the night, and of their own volition draw up a shift schedule for round the clock work, those off shift sleeping in empty train cars

12:15 PM

They await approval

Jaxon looks over the petition in surprise. He knew of the workers conviction, but did not imagine it would extend this far. "Fine, I will approve this petition, but you are to tell everyone to be very careful, I will not tolerate any injuries as a result of this. And... put me on the schedule too, we will begin immediately!" Jaxon walks tall as he strides out of his tent, lighting a cigarette. "Lets get to work"

7:27 PM

Jaxon begins organizing the crew for this 'shift' and begins working on the track with them

Those not working head to their train cars to sleep. Those on shift begin working hard to get rails laid

Jaxon is simultaneously exhaustiveness invigorated at the same time and begins to work on the rain with the workers.

It’s an additional three days before you make it back to central. In that time the families of both build team members have been notified of the losses. Despite the sadness there is also great celebration as once again man triumphs over the harshness of the frontier , and the more direct route places Dahab nicely as a preeminent town

10:35 PM

(9xp, 20,000 credits)

(wow thats enough for the double ding! Lvl 5. Obtained the Henchkeeper Foci (rasing Lead to 2). Using the points (2) I banked before plus new ones I ranked Administer from +1 to +2, Shoot from 0 to +2, Notice from +0 to +1, seemed appropriate to the events of this. HP increased to 11)

5:44 AM

Exhasuted and beleaguered, Jaxon makes his way down to central to give a report. He shakes the tiredness from his eyes as he tells himself he just needs to give a report before he can go home and sleep

Franz is in his usual place behind the desk. Rail routes are projected onto one of the walls and a group of engineers are debating amongst themselves on the best schedule for the route. You see a large increase in traffic is planned

He flicks the cig right before he goes in. Slowly walking up to the desk, exhaustion across his face. "Good morning Franz"

“Good morning. Good to see you home again0

"Thanks, it got rough out there, but the workers held strong through it all. I'm here to deliver my report, and find out the information on the next of kin for the two that passed."

“Do you have a shift schedule or anything I can compare it to?”

9:00 AM

“We can see who departed against who isn’t on it now”

Jaxon nods and transfers all crew data from his datapad to Franz

10:30 AM

"heres everything i have stored in relation to the crews, shift changes, which foreman lead what crew, etc."

“Alright. I’ve got the names here. I’ll get them to you and judge once next of kin gets notified. We will have a public burial”

"Thanks, the Judge requested he be there to speak to the next of kin, if we can get transport for him as well that would be great. Also what does admin want with that monster that came through out camp? we have it bagged on one of the trucks."

“It’ll be sent to the lab for dissection. Anything left over as far as bones will be released to you if you want a trophy”

"No... No im okay, those men died on my watch. I don't want any part of that thing near me. Give the skull to the security team, I'm sure they'll like it."

"I won't be surprised if I find it hanging in the barracks over the next month or two. Well, I'll reach out to the judge and bring him in if we need to."

Yeah that sounds about right for them. Anyway the workers and I were working around the cloxk to get here so im heading off. Thanks for the help Franz

"Of course, I'll plan the ceremony for a few days away, give the families time to get their affairs in order, and some time for you to rest"

Jaxon nods. "Alright then I'll leave it to you then." Jaxon makes he way back ti his hab

There’s some daylight left as you make your way home. In the distance another lander from the Pillar of Salt up above makes its way down to the tent city outside town

He notes it but notices the time of day and decides to get a drink from the Baron before heading home

The baron produces a crystal-glass bottle of something from the back wall as you enter the bar, waving you over

Jaxon is curious and approaches thr bar. "Evening Baron, glad to see everythings in one price even though its only been a week."

“Long week for you. Sit. Drink. How did things go out there?”

8:10 AM

The liquid smells like peaches and once poured colors swirl in it like a supernova

"Long week indeed friend, he admires the swirling colors for a long moment before responding. Honestly, it went well over all, the train got built faster than expected, even managed to the help Judge Ibrahim build a horse statue made of solid gold if you can believe that! But we were attacked on our way back here, I tried my best with the team to take down that hell hound. And honestly speaking the attack could have been ALOT worse, but we lost 2 fine people. And those people were MY resposiblilty, so its my burden to carry for now."

8:34 AM

he takes a pull on the crazy looking drink infront of him

Shriven walks up to the baron and the person sitting in front of him. “Baron, can I get another bottle of this most excellent beverage.” Shriven grins then stumbles into the seated patron. “I’m sorry sir, for spilling a portion of your drink. Please let me buy you another.” (edited)

Jaxon nods "By all means, never say no to a free drink friend."

“Baron get, ummm.” Shriven pauses and looks confused. “What’s your name?”

"The names Jaxon Remington, kinda new around here. And you are?"

“Shriven, Shriven Emaje. Former fighter pilot now I’m going to try and re-establish contact with Asta. That’s a planet or so the map says.”

5:00 PM

MarkdownContext { Depth = 1 } Shriven shrugs at the lack of hard info.

While shriven is waiting for baron to grab the new bottle, “Anyways, I just got back from a quick foray into the hell divers old city and let me tell you that is not a place I’m looking forward to going back to. What have you been up to?”

"Huh, Atsa you say? Never heard of it but sounds interesting. What are these hell divers? I just came back from Dahab, build a fresh rail station." You see as he mentions the rail line he takes a long pull from his drink

“Ahh So you are the Engineer who did that I heard it was done way faster than the rail to Vapormills. The sitrep on the hell divers were the faction of what I guess would be called Tranhumans? Former humans who downloaded their brain into robots from what I figure. I’m not sure though. But about Asta I have no idea what is going to be there I just signed up 2 more for the crew to go there. I have a free spot. I’m full up on paid crew but if you want to tag along....”

Jaxon shakes his head for amoment at the description of tranhuman, "Sounds wild, yeah the crews are the ones you have for that, they worked their asses to the bone. And whats the mission?:

“Spend a week jumping there, (It is a new route so instead of 1 day it takes 7.) figure out what is going on there and make a few contacts and head back. Thats about the whole mission. Hopefully turn a tidy profit with the 15 tons I have in the hull. Oh and I have a workshop on board Incase you want to mod anything.”

Jaxon barks a short laugh, "A workshop? Don't threaten me with a good time kid." He winks. "Yeah... fuck it... I could do for a change and some good old fashion mechainc work would be good for a change. When we leave?"

“Day after tomorrow at noon. Give everyone some time to get things settled and then we can head out.”

“Oh and here is my com info and the berth is Anamem. (The ship.)”

Jaxon nods. "Sounds good kid, I have a funeral i have to attend tomorrow and need to buy some gear. I'll be there though."

“Roger, I’m heading over to the marines that i just recruited if you want to drink the rest of the night away with us. Will probably be full of old war stories.” Shriven picks a bottle up from the bar and heads back to the table.

"Thanks but if I'm gonna be stuck in a ship with yall for at least 2 weeks.... I'll enjoy my moment of peace." He offers a smile though and goes back to his drink

The drink is surprisingly good, and you begin having fond memories of home, and of childhood while you drink i.t

9:13 PM

it almost feels like youre the only one in the bar.

As the general din of the bar seems to fade, Jaxon is reliving childhood memeories. Spending evenings learning how to tinker and build. He smiles slightly and lets the emotion and peace wash over him.

As you come out of it the Baron is there smiling. “That was the last bottle of a very special drink. They used to make it in Vapormills but don’t anymore. Something about the process used makes it stimulate memory centers when its sipped”

Jaxon shakes himself out of his stupor. "but...why?... Why give me something so special?"

8:24 AM

(Also where is Vapormills?)

(The Taros City out west the rail line goes to)

8:26 AM

“They told me to keep it safe until someone deserving came along. You saw some bad stuff out there and gave up a lot of mental peace to make a vital rail link for us. You brought new life to the people of Dahab with your project too. You deserved it”

Jaxon contemplates this for a long moment in silence. "Thank you... It means alot. But there is so much more work to do. And apparently I'm heading off world for a bit. Hope you don't mind me pushing back the farming project for a bit, but i feel the itch to get back to my tinkering and mechanic roots for a bit."

“Well. I can get things started if you’re going to be off works for a while. It’s a race against the season now but our survey has given me some ideas.”

"I understand, I feel bad for leaving like this, but I feel like its something i need to do. I spent much of my downtime going over the surey notes we took and the scans of the areas." He smiles a bit "And happy to report that this workaholic already plotted out all the land usage for this season. I'll send you a revised copy in the morning and forward a copy to admin. Hopefully this will get you going. We wont be able to work on the water lines until next season anyway, and We can start the farming hab when i get back."

“Sounds good. Be safe out there. I’ll keep the rest of the bottle for when you get back”

He nods and gets up and leaves heading back to his Hab. The weight of his exhaustion catching up to him

Jaxon falls asleep easily and the next morning, he awakes on the day of the funeral. @Hoef McHoeffington arrives early in the morning having set out from Dahab the night before by train, now a much shorter journey

Ibrahim arrives with an assistant, both dressed in Neo-Arabian clothing with gold-linings.

Jaxon wakes and goes about his morning routine getting ready, trying his best to look nice, and greets the Judge at the station

4:39 PM

"Your Honor. I'm glad you could make it, even if this occasion is anything but joyous."

He bows to him, "Of course. It is one of my own. I always will attend." (edited)

Jaxon returns the bow, "Well shall we go then? If memory serves me right, Franz let the next of kin know we were coming. I don't particularity relish meeting them but it is the least I can do"

"Of course." He gestures forward, "Lead the way Mr. Remington."

The next of kin along with mourners and other guests are gathering at a small hill west of town, near the solar power project. The burial cave is tucked serenely into the back of a foothill, and a lone, bent spore tree keeps vigil like a silent sentinel.

If its safe to assume that i know what the next of kin look like from Franz i approach them with the Judge. "Hello, my name is Jaxon Remington. I was in charge of the rail project from Dahab to the colony, and this is Judge Ibrahim Majeed al- Mansoor. .... I am so deeply sorry for your loss."

He bows solemnly to the next of kin, with a calm, but torn, look upon my face. "I've come on behalf of the people of Dahab, to see your recently departed. I, along with Dahab, stand behind you and are prepared to aid you in these difficult times." He bows once more just as solemnly as he did before.

The windows seem pleased by the show of support. "Our loved ones died doing something that will improve life not just for Central, but for the residents of Dehab as well."

"They did, and I can attest to their passion, their dedication. They cared deeply about this work, anything I can do to help... anything at all... Please do not hesitate to ask."

"The colony provides a pension for workers killed in the line of official business, we are taken care of financially"

He steps forward and takes the widows' hands. "What must be done to ease this difficult time?"

7:38 PM

"You ask, and you shall receive."

"Just use the rail line. Don't make this for nothing"

"Nothing else?"

"Npot

8:38 PM

"nothing else" they smile

They nod, "Then we will uphold your wish. This railway will be named in honor of our fallen brethren."

This seems to comfort them. Franz takes the stage and begins lauding their accomplishments. The golden caskets are slowly lowered into the ground. Several other minor governing figures speak but keep their comments short and related strictly to those lost.

9:19 PM

(If either of you want to speak you can)

I want to speak to them.

Jaxon sits uncomfortably in his seat. He looks like he wants to get up and say something but cant bring himself to do it

9:20 PM

hes a mechanic not a public speaker

Judge takes the podium next after a brief address by Mayor Katya, flown in from the port for the service

"I thank everyone for coming on this day. A day that not will only serve as a reminder about the hardships founded in this new age, but will also serve as a step forward in Dahab's future. These two men gave their lives for the cause, and they will be rewarded for their bravery in bringing Dahab to a time most crucial. I will say to the family, and everyone here today: We lost two but gained many. They will not have died in vain. As such, as Mayor of Dahab, I declare this day, in memory of the two workers who lay here and the completion of the station, Workers' Day."

(I’ll add a colonial holiday handout. So month 4 has workers day. We can decide how that’s celebrated as the years go by )

Nekosmash 10/16/2018 9:36 PM

(Heard)

Jaxon looks on the speech in wonder

He bows to everyone once more before taking his seat.

(Yeah that pins for me to remember tomorrow night when I get back to a computer) (edited)

9:39 PM

This seems to be a good sentiment. You see several of the colonial reps making appreciative gestures at the idea.

9:39 PM

Another call for speeches is given but Everyone seems to be talked out

9:40 PM

(3xp to both for rp, and a re roll token each)

(wooo)

After the ceramony, Jaxon heads into town a bit later to get some gear for for his trip

Ibrahim will speak with colonial representatives.

(Lets go back to judge for you judge). Jaxon departs the service for the marketplace to stock up on supplies

(So if possible i want to purchase a backpack, laser rifle, combat field uniform, and a pretech toolkit)

7:44 PM

(oh and one of those grav-cycles i saw to get around town better)

(They dont have anything pre-scream, but they do have post-tech)

(so everything but the toolkit then?)

7:46 PM

(everyhting else is TL4)

(Correct, and you can sub in post tech if you want/dont have)

Shriven coms Jaxon

Hey, with the recent news about Sumati I’m thinking about changing plans and heading there instead. Unless you have any objections.

(I already have a post tech kit but thanks I have subtracted the 6,350 credits from my sheet)

It’s not difficult to find the adventure gear you need. Lifter service to the space platform takes place every hour

Once he has his gear, he heads out to the platform to meet up with the crew

The Anamen is docked in one of trivedi clouds maintenance bays. Shrivens recent pilot and security hires are already there

Jaxon nods to the crew and approaches them, taking one last look at the colony as he sets off on this mission

(Jaxon, we can come back here and begin personal business)

(Sounds good) I suppose Jaxon will go find the Baron and see whats been happening with the farming projects while he was gone

The farm has been complexity reorganized. The only break in the now endless grids of grain is a small compound around the harvest spirits. The remaining grids stretch from the greenhouses to the west, all the way to the orchard in the east. Current projections have the farms rising from barely substance to being able to support 40,000 people

(Damn they got along just fine without me lol) Jaxon will head to the Baron's bar anyway. He needs a drink

(well, pet project of his)

9:11 AM

(if the farms are doing well, management doesnt come poking about)

9:12 AM

The bar is quite busy, and you see several people inside- the baron is not in tonight, in town at the brewhaus, but his second-in command is behind the bar tending as usual.

Jaxon will have a few drinks, not TOO many, but deffinitely wants to get a nice buzz going. He will try to talk with some of the local workers about whts been going on in the colony while he was gone

The main work is getting enough homes made for the new refugees coming into town. A lot of people are upset at Dank Crew for knocking down a hab block in the middle of the city for a concert venue with the housing crisis already in swing, but their leader has promised to replace the block with a higher capacity hab tower.

"A concert hall? Here? With all thats going on that seems to be a strange thing to construct. More so to knock down an entire hab block.... Are these people high or something?"

"You'd....You'd be correct in that assumption. Well, with you back, things'll clean up in no time"

He sighs....deeply. "I don't know who these Dank-Crew people are, but they officially made my shit list. I guess I"LL be the one in charge of getting housing built. I was meaning to work on additonal housing for the farmers anyway, but this is infuriating."

The patron nods, and pays your tab, feeling a bit guilty for being the bearer of bad news

10:42 AM

(so right now, the housing is not very efficient as far as space used. This is a nice chance to make greenbriar a bit of your own, if you want do a housing redesign-even just as far as ascetics. The north district is farms and east is the factories, that won't change, but you can change how the sprawling habs are set up in the west and south. )

(YeahI was legit thinking this would be a good time to doing a housing project. I mentioned doing that while building the warehouses too. so this seems like a good opportunity seeing as the demand is definitely there. We also brought back 15 tons of home goods with us right?)

(yeah shriven is working on getting it sold, I know he rolled on the trade table, you may want to reach out to him to see about your cut)

10:50 AM

(I think he is just waiting for a hot minute to sit down and actually do the math)

(Lmao thats fair I'm more worries about the goods getting on the market so we can use them in the hosing project.)

He thanks the guy for giving him the information, and heads home, exhausted from his endeavor and heads home to rest. He'll go to admin tomorrow and coordinate this new project

Franz is waiting for you the following morning, inviting you into his office. You see no evidence of your meeting there the previous day

"So.... you knew I'd find out about what happened then? Didn't want to be the bearer of bad news yourself?" He chuckles taking a seat

"No, not entirely. Once we had begun reviewing the data you'd returned, my first priority was to get the information to Kincaid. We were in meetings most of the night. You're here though, so bad news delivered, let's discuss your next steps"

"How did the meetings go? Figure anything out? As far as next steps, it would seem we have a major housing crisis to contend with, now that this 'dank crew' group tore down a major section of the Habs"

"We're reaching out to our space forces and army groups. We may need to take the offensive rather than reacting to their movements. We seem to be losing that early momentum we gained"

12:16 PM

(two major victories in two months, along with a few decisive skirmishes)

12:16 PM

"I think we need to use this time to shore up the home front, so I'm glad you're in here today"

"Shore up the homefront in what ways? I'm always open to suggestions for projects, and ofcourse i wish for this colony to prosper as well."

"Housing, as you said for now. We have another 5000 refugees expected to be making it here by weeks end. Kaleb may even go for more after that"

12:20 PM

"Things on Rawhani are quite bad for them, and they seem willing to work hard here in thanks for saving them"

"Never heard of this Kaleb fellow before now, but if he's bringing in this many refugees, things on Rawhani must be dire indeed. We are definitively dealing with a housing crisis, and frankly the Habs are disorganized and inefficient . I think this is a good time to adress this and make sure we plan for future living all in one move. What kinds of resouse can we dedicate to this task?"

"You've got the full weight of our fabricator behind you, I'd like to see something that uses space productively but does not give our residents the feeling of living in a shoebox

12:26 PM

"And something with clearly laid out roads, so we can better serve those areas with our public transit"

"Agreed, I'd also like to do some quality of life renovations on some of the older Habs in addition to the new ones. We don't want people upset about unequal living conditions. Also this gives us a chance to impart proper infrastructure to help us maximize the space available. This colony is getting too big to be without proper roads"

12:31 PM

"I think my first priority is to get Habs set up near the farms first. They just underwent a huge reorganization, and have upgraded their capabilities. Not only do we want to maximize their efficiency now that we are in growing season, but I'm sure plenty of the refugees can help with the farming tasks."

"There has been a lot of use from them all around. Some went out with Malak just this morning to see about some new forms of wildlife we can domesticate"

12:35 PM

"but back to the point. I'll authorize our full productive might to get behind your effort to reorganize the habs"

Shriven comms Jaxon

Hey, I wanted to offer you a split on the profit from our run on those housewares. I found a local buyer and got a good price your split of the profit would be 9,900 what account should I send it to?

(a lot of profit was eaten by the initial friction on the trade)

(Yeah the whole intro to that mission got them real peeved real quick)

(oh trust me i remember VERY well)

12:51 PM

@Rey (Shriven)

Thanks, I appreciate you splitting the proceeds with me. Let me know fi you need anything built in the future. (sends account info)

Franz begins putting the permits together, and pressing some keys on his terminal to get supplies moving

"Also, I'd like to think of myself as a decently component engineer, but my building tends to be more practical than homely. You know anyone I can reach out to for the interior design and such? If we want these places to feel nice we dont want me doing the interiors. My place is as spartan as it gets."

"Exterior is fine, we can have someone else go back for the insides. That's how we always build our holdings at home too. Any questions for me before you get started?"

"Not in particular, I'll go scout out the areas today and start coming up with designs. I'm sure you're busy though, so i'll let you go. Be in touch soon."

Franz passes the permits towards you, and shows you out

(Franz is much more impatient than i remember lol) Jaxon makes his way over to the spaces available for the Habs to collect data and to see the space for himself

(He's a bit busier than normal with a possibly unhinged AI coordinating Remnant battle plans)

2:44 PM

To the southeast, the colony has its massive freshwater lake, meant to provide the city with everything it needs. The extreme west, at the edge of the city, there are foothills where the solar panels that first powered the colony have been installed. The farm is mobile, and at the moment is only providing a tertiary level of power- as the colony has use of a salvaged fusion reactor, and Val's crowning achievement, a tidal generator plant situated offshore in the nearby lake

2:44 PM

(looking at the colony like a clock, the lake is at 4 o clock, habs going from 4ish to about 9 o clock, and then 10-11 is the solar farm, 11 being the new border of the fields/greenhouses)

(yeha i figured as much so the 4-9 is where the existing habs are or where the space for the new habs is?)

(4-9 is where they are now, but they can be remodeled/rebuilt, its late spring right now so the weather is fine, people wont mind being displaced for a few weeks)

(Sorry been really busy the last few days) Jaxon plans to start on the new land to potentially move the displaced until the renovations done. He wants to spend the rest of the day paying some workers to go around to the Habs and ask the community for ideas or recommendations (not that he will follow them all but he wants to know what they think)

The community is fine with higher buildings but they don’t want the amount of space to go down. Four person families can live comfortable lives with the current floorplans. If a complete remodel is being done they’d like something with green space

He takes the reports and compiles them. He goes home and starts to design tower esque Habs. Making sure they all have gardens on the roofs of each building and a central park area

(fix/int, for the planning)

10:53 AM

(You won't have to supervise the day to day construction- unless you want to, but the crews are capable in your absence)

7:41 PM

(This drawing is awful and not to scale but the idea is 4 large buildings with tiny plants / foliage on top that colonists can relax with on the roofs. A garden in teh middle with a fountain as well. And there are bridges / walkways between the buildings)

7:41 PM

(also i rolled a 10)

The plans are pretty geometric, and the workers are able to put together some details for how things will be done. (How tall are the buildings)

(The idea is to be simple but elegant, much like Greenbrair , and how big are the buildings here on avg? And how big are teh Habs in Habsville?)

(4 floor buildings. I’d say like 1000 square feet since they’re designed as one floor family dwellings)

(Oh damn thats tiny, there must me so many Habs which makes the names habsville make a lot more sense. Id say each room is probably 1000 - 1200 sq ft for now buit these are basically apt buildings. But i did some rough math. To hold 5000 people in 4 buildings putting aproximently 20 rooms on each floor (which is the avg # of rooms in an apt building in the U.S) takes 15 floors)

9:44 PM

(TLDR; Four 15 story buildings) (edited)

9:46 PM

(wait actually given the fact this is a potencially a hot zone this isnt prudent. I'm going to resigned this in the morning at work because ive set my mind to it lol)

(no worries, have fun with it)

(Oh i will. How big is the space i have to work with? Also whats the public transit like in Grenbriar)

(high capacity busses, a lot of people walk, motorbikes and grav bikes are becoming more popular)

(im realizing now how many people 5000 is to house lol)

7:51 AM

(doing IRL research and number crunching)

(total colony population is about 20k once kalev gets back)(

8:03 AM

(and naturally will be growing more)

Jaxon works feverishly on his plans, and the colony building machines stand ready.

10:01 AM

(If you wanna just give me a fix int we can move on, your builders can finish things and you can do missions)

Connor Radcliffe reads through the morning news, finishing his routine with a light hearted story about a colony notable named Jaxon having a bit too much of the adventuring life, and deciding to retire back to service on the colony build team. The photo is of a smiling Jaxon holding up a Usean Air Force medal for making Ace, now proudly fastened to a display case.

(still working on character creation, I was struggling over the build i wanted. Should be done soon.)

(no worries, just wanted to set it up while had a minute)

(whew finally done https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yb8iDMIz0F6_0QuYeZZSAvi28tEyFlptgKCAJfVb1Cw/edit?usp=sharing )

Connor Radcliff Level-log / Backstory

Character Creation Bio: “I was born on Earth, back in the good old days. Had a life some kids would dream of, good parents, couple brothers and sisters, lived a comfortable life. He was even lucky enough to be gifted with the ability to Teleport. Ma and Pa were so fricken...

2:07 PM

(I wrote out a log of everything i did as i leveled to keep track and purchased to be approved etc. i think everything is in order but if you could look it over id appreciate it)

(I think it looks great)

Connor takes a long sip of his coffee, wondering if this Jaxon guy is the reason there is all this racket but the Habs lately. But still makes a mental note to follow up on the intel report from Sumati, seems like a good time to establish contacts on the ground

Shriven Emalji is the only person listed as having traveled there recently, though is currently listed as still off world.

He finishes his morning routine getting dressed in his intel unifrom (basically just a suit, but he hates the way the collar feels on his neck with a tie so the top button is undone and no tie) and heads out

(So i guess an endeavor to start with would be the colony ones, so 'Recruit a foreign agent in TWO Taros city- states that Greenbriar is not cooperating with' Unless Connor knows of any missions that are pressing)

)endeavor is a good start! I’m about to do a news story so hang tight(

(Sil has spent a shitload of time in taros cities lately. He’s got the best info on them). Franz has sent you a message asking about the status of the intelligence effort. He recommends speaking with Silvano both to advise him you are psionics and secondly to see his thoughts about how agents can be turned in the taros areas. He has done extensive field recon in the days leading up to the recent unity vote

5:26 PM

Although the measure passed it was not done so willingly by some of the participants

I fire off a quick message to @Masacio

 Hello Mr. Silvano, my name is Connor Radcliffe. I'm a recent refugee of sorts and have been assigned to assist Greenbrair on the intelligence front. Let me start by offering my congratulations on your efforts on the Unification bill that was passed. While the bill as a whole was a success, the margins were a bit slim for all parties involved. Hence, I have been tasked by Franz to secure some agents from the factions that do not actively work with us. I would appreciate any intel you could give me into the city-states and/or contacts i could start off with for various factions. In addition, Franz said it would be helpful to note that I do have MES, with it manifesting in the translocation field.  I hope to hear from you soon.

8:12 AM

After sending the message I sit down with a coin and concentrate on my Spatial Syncrony Mandala, physically imprinting it

(sil should be awake in a couple RL hours)

"Greetings. Pleased to meet you. So, Franz recommended you to recruit agents in Taros? That's good to hear, I was going to suggest that to him myself. We need to watch some of those cities. And you are a psychic? Excellent. There is lots I have to tell you on that front. I have some things to do here still, but shortly I should be able to meet with you."

Franz does forward the 'colonial intelligence report' Sil gathered before the unity vote. (its in the handouts, but it has his observations about the different cities)

(Where in the handouts in is neko? My phone brokes today and im out of stste for thanksgiving so ky repkies wikk be a it limited)

(the colony folder)

3:18 PM

(I can copy the contents to the chat when I get home if that helps too)

(If you could that woukd be great. I cant get inti roll20 atm.) Connor sends a reply to @Masacio.

I beleive suring up our connections in Taros will be a strong move in making sure we are able to combat the Remnant. And I look forward to meeting with you some time and discussing things. I hear we have you to Thank for the psychic academy here. I will keep you posted on my progess as I move forward.

(edited)

Sil replies, "Yes, if you are a psychic, I will invite you to join, and give you the run down. I look forward to talking with you."

Democracies: Vapormills- 300,000 Caninhold- 1,500,000 Oligopolies: Golgis- 750,000 Egons- 800,000 Theocracies: Stratopoli 1,000,000 Bladonna- 400,000 Unknown: Atrovia- Data unavailable Agent Esperon is contact in Vapormills. Egons Look: blonde hair, short beard, pale skin, pointed ears, build that fit the work clothes. Fake display implant into the palm of the hand. Name: a number Excursion, first day Sil went to Egons, met some people on the street, they took him to a dinner, which was clearly a meeting of resistance and revolutionaries, who then went out to hit various targets around the city. No sure of what everyone hit. The group Sil went with hit a police station. Sil tried to minimize loss of life while ensuring victory for the rebels. Police were locked in their cells, and then their vehicles, weapons, and two suit mechs were taken into custody. At that point, a report of a convoy under attack was received, and so the mob with their new gear headed to help. The security forces were defeated and captured. Prisoners sent to the jail. Then knowing more security was coming, the mob dispersed. One mech was destroyed. The other they let Sil take since he said he could hide it. They also gave Sil a small brass cog, and told him to show up in two weeks to the dinner again. Sil then brought the mech back to Kelbore in Greenbriar.

11:41 AM

Stratopoli Look: black short hair, clean face, and thin. Tattoos appropriate to work class. The design is a coil that bands around each arm, and an aggressive looking downward slash extending from forehead, across the right eye, and down the cheek. Name: Zerekinal Excuriosn, first day Met people in the poor area out of town. They think Sil is savior returned from the spirit realm. Apparently, the tattoo design was the exact design the old religious figure used... THe inquistion kills people who aren't faithful or criticize the high priests. Has heavy mechs guarding the gates that are more advanced than Greenbriars. Need an indenture pass at the gate apparently. Took the old man, head of two companies he claims, on a tour around Gudrun to teach him to be a better person. His name is Forpa Ser. He has agreed to work to unite Taros, to convince his leaders, and to help things more fair for the lower classes. Golgis City of miners, oppressed with long work and low wages. Look: darker hue Taros skin, long pointed ears, shaggy dirty brown hair and beard. A bit heavier, making the work outfit tighter.

11:41 AM

Name: Erasmus Met with some miners. Said those who protest or complain get arrested and taken to camps. Out in the desert or city center. They get beaten, branded, and hard labor. They are forced to help 'robots' mine. Apparently these robots are Helldivers. They said recently the robots stopped coming to take people. We know because we defeated the Helldivers. Now apparently, the people are taken, and return, in a mentally degraded state. Spoke with one returned miner. He had a scar on his temple. Could only speak very simply. Telepathy and EK showed limited brain activity. Talking to Mr. Lyonaise, the boss or foreman of the mine. He's friendly, and warning me not to tell anyone what he tells me. He said if you misbehave they put a metal spike into your brain. He doesn't know what it does, just that it makes you compliant and able to work still. Lyonaise is dissatisfied with how things are going, and wants to protect his men. He said he would spread the word, and join in when the time comes. From Taros council meeting, brain spiking is called "nerve stapling".

11:42 AM

Bladonna Militant Theocracy "Esperon is very concerned about this one. The city is divided into several districts and a special pass is needed to move between them. Citizens carry about a veritable sheath of paperwork just in case they’re stopped. Implants have not been used yet here." "The districts are divided into the function they provide for the city, food, medicine, minerals, manufacturing, and trade. In the center of all of it is a sinister cathedral called “the spike” due to its very tall spire. It’s the center of government for the city and is itself secured within a heavily defended compound" Look: light color hue skin, dark eyes,longer blond hair, pointed ears, shorter and stockier. Name: Kardin Entering city, talking to farmer in the food district, they are poor, if people complain, the Prefects come for them. They take them to the Spire, and they don't come out again. A group SIl talked to in the Food court started protesting, and Sil learned the government was sending helicopter gunships to suppress them with gas, and if necessary guns.

(Is there any way to see what the status of the relationship of each city state and Greenbriair?)

(Atrovia, Canninhold, and Vapormills are friendly. Bladonna is warming up, they made some productive dialogue during the unity vote. Golgis, stratopoli, and egons were all not directly hostile but very cold)

(I now have a working phone and will be able to communicate!)

2:42 PM

Reading over the mission brief and intel, Connor decides Golgis the mining town would be his first stop and messages Fran’s asking for how to get there

"Ah so you planned to follow Sil's footsteps then?"

“You mean because he visited the city state? My reasoning is that it seems the least hostile of the unfriendly cities with the most material wealth. A good asset for us.”

"There are several mining camps, run by different smaller corporations all situated around Golgis. If you wanted to follow up on his intelligence report, you'd be looking for the camp on the eastern side of the city"

“From what you can tell this Erasmus guy is reliable at the camp?”

“Erasmus was the fake name sil used when he was walking around the camp in disguise. His contact there though, Mr. lyonnaise, is trustworthy”

(That makes so much more of the report make sense lol) “Understood, what’s the sit rep on the ground there, I doubt I want to be walking around looking like I just came from off world” (edited)

(He never revealed his actual identity or even that he was human to anyone. Fake personas only, so the look section is how he moulded his body with psi powers)

(How did he mound his body with psi powers?)

(It’s one of the techniques. One of the bioscopic ones I believe)

(Ah yeah I remember now) “Well if you could provide me with clothes that would help me blend in I’d appreciate it but I’m not exactly a master of disguise Fran’s, I’ll make due.”

“Of course. We actually have some of the outfits he was using. Hang on a minute here” You hear some shuffling beforehand bag is produced

5:51 PM

“we can use makeup and stagecraft to re create the body mods”

“Well if you could help with that, it would be great. Sometimes I wish I was born a full psychic you know? Then maybe I could fix this scar”

“You should talk to Siegfried or Melora, or sil when he makes his rounds back this way. Any of them would be able to help you”

8:29 PM

“As for the disguise, head downstairs and they’ll fix you up. From there we will fly you out, and you can teleport to the ground when we are close”

Connor nods and starts to walk “good idea, the less people who see me arrive the better. Thanks for the help Franz. He goes down stars to get prepped for the mission” (edited)

(I suppose we can jump to me landing in the city in disguise if that helps)

(Sure, it never appeared that i had a messag ehere, my bad)

10:51 AM

The VTOL lands a few miles outside one of the mining camps, coming in low under Golgis city air defense radar

10:51 AM

The area is forrested, and gently rolling, it is almost sunrise when the craft takes back off

(I have the ‘make up guys’ do their best to make me look like a relative (maybe cousins) of Sil’s persona)

11:18 AM

He starts making his way into Golgis on foot, revisiting the urge to jump as it maight draw attention

Emerging from the woods you find yourself at the edge of the mining company camp. Cooking smoke from the central cookhouse and saloon is already wafting skyward

(So before I go further, what exactly am I looking for an agent to do or provide for us? Basically, what does it mean to have someone be an agent) (edited)

(passing information to Greenbriar reliably about what is going on in the city and its surroundings. they dont necessarily need to be very highly placed but they at least need to be in a position to observe what minsters are doing what, what the security forces are doing, ect)

(Gotcha, good to know) Connor shuffles his was slowly down to the central cookhouse first, trying to overhear passing conversations and get a feel for the general demeanor of the camp

4:41 PM

He does his best to keep his head down and look beleaguered and unimportant

There is a good deal of optimism in the camp. The unity vote recently passed and there is rumor of the cities conditions being mentioned during the talks. The workers are hoping things improve

He makes note of this and grabs some food from the cookhouse, and if he can subtlety integrate into a conversation with some of the workers he will, his goal is to try to figure out who’s the center of things when it comes to the community. The person(s) people look to for guidances and such

"Good morning brother!" one calls out as you walk back from the front of the cookhouse line, bowl of steaming porage in hand

"A fine enough morning it is," he calls back taking the porage and trying to put a slight twist on his voice to match the man

5:08 PM

"Heard the news about the unification brother," He asks trying to match the demeanor of the rest of the crowd

"Won't mean anything for us" one sniffs. "Wheel's gonna keep turnin' , just another hand at the crank|

"What makes you say that? Only been a day man! This is progress aint it?"

"Aye, suppose you're right. Just hope the city eases up a little. These 18 hour days are too much"

5:44 PM

he gets quiet, as a pair of security officers walk by. They eye the group for a moment, batons twirling idly in their hands, before moving along

5:44 PM

"Close one" he says, quietly

Connor nods to the man waiting for them to get a bit away. "I know what you mean brother, We hardlyh living here at all, just working, but you cant be givin up hope that easy. Or nuttin else ever get better, that's what he always told me anyway."

"Thought the creeps might be a little looser now that we'r all workin together. guess not" he scoffs

"Gotta give it some time i suppose, but perhaps creeps always be creeps. You know, with all this buzz going around, its hard to get a straight answer about whats really going on these days you know."

6:55 PM

"Know anyone whos a straight talker who actually knows the fuck goin' on round the camp?"

"I'd try Lyonaise, I duno if he will give you an answer though"

6:56 PM

"Keeps most of it to himself I expect"

"Why you figure he keeps it to himself?"

"Tries to protect us, and himself surely. Less rumor and buzz about the camp, less likely you are to get hauled away"

Connor lets the conversation dissolve into small talk and such as to stop drawing attention to himself and after a while of eating with them he leaves (edited)

They see you pass and mark it without comment

After the meal, Connor heads to the saloon and gets a drink

The saloon is a rustic building made of rough cut wood. A man sits on the front porch, in a rocking chair, looking off into the distance. He rocks gently and seems oblivious to his surroundings

He walks up to the man in the porch curious, “Hello there friend, you doin alright?” He studies the man

He makes a sound, that you take to be an affirmative, but does not move, or look at you

He shakes his head and moves into the saloon, and up to the bar and gets a drink. Scanning and trying to get the demeanor of the place like he did with the cookhouse

The bar is a bit rowdier and more lively. Someone plays a sad song on a keyboard while a game of cards is thrown down on a table

4:54 PM

The bartender looks half asleep but the patrons are all in animated conversation

Connor heads over to the table where they are playing cards, is it a game he recognizes?

It looks like a variant of hold em, but some of the scoring seems different , as far as what cards are considered ideal

(Do these people play with credits or do they have their own currency out here)

(credits)

Connor heads to the table then and asks to join them for a few hands

"Morning brother" the cards are passed over to you. (I didn't have like a game set up for this or anything, trying to think of an equivalent skill since revised removed the gambling one, but we can RP as the game goes on)

(It’s okay my plan I to throw a few hands and play pretty badly so they think I’m unassuming)

12:01 PM

“Fine morning it is ain’t it?” He immediately over bets on his hand

"It is. About to go on shift, or coming off?"

“Going on... coming off? It’s hard to even tell the difference these days huh brother?”

they all laugh. "These 18 hour days, until further notice" one sighs "I think we'll all have been worked to death before the unity government gets its head unstuck from its ass and puts the pressure on these city leaders"

He grunts in acknowledgment, “Damn straight, well what does Lyonaise have to say bout all this unity stuff?”

"Seems pretty happy about it. Says things might get better if we keep our heads down and just trust the system. City center ain't happy about it though, mostly because it means we gotta get paid more"

8:08 AM

one of them jokes about the others being able to lose more credits to them

He laughs too at the joke. “Well speaking of which, I actually owe the guy a few credits... if you can’t tell I’m not exactly the best at cards.” He chuckles at his own stupid joke “Where can I find Lyonaise these days?”

"Camp office, guards will usuall y let you in if youve business"

“Thanks, well I actually am on shift soon so I better go if I’m to square my business. But to show I’m no sore loser I’ll buy a round for you brothers. A little kindness goes a long ways these days.”

(10 creds)

8:30 AM

They appreciate the gesture and your cards are deftly reincorporated into the deck

(Got it) he shambles out of the saloon purposely looking like I’m trying to avoid a bit of swaying from my cups, then walks normally to the camp office if I can find it easily.

The camp office has a small fence around it and some guards patrolling. Miners are let in and out in groups of 1-2, as the come in for or conclude business. At the gate, one keeps watch with a datapad

8:38 AM

"Purpose for the visit?"

“I’m here to pay an old debt to an old friend brother.”

The guard eyes you warily for a moment, but the gate goes up and you're permitted inside. The office grounds are open, the fence meant more to be an obstacle than a deterrent. another two troopers stand guard at the front door, but open it for you, presuming it safe since the gate guard cleared you

He nods to the guards and heads inside

The inside of the building is made of smoothly milled wood and has a lodge like appearance, The hallways are a bit winding, passing a parlor, a sleeping room, and finally you arrive at Lyonaise's office. A silver crest and two crossed picks hang on the wall over his worn, high backed chair. The desk is awash in paperwork. Leave passes for town, quota completion reports, disciplinary documentation, and endless spools of tonnage reports

“Uh... hello? I tentatively ask, stepping into the office. I scan the room looking for Lyonaise.”

"Good morning! Come on in"

6:39 AM

He looks tired, but pushes out a chair for you with his foot

“Thanks, I appreciate you taking the time to meet with me.” He moves to take the seat

8:55 AM

“Word ‘round the camp is you’re the guy who knows all about what’s going on in these parts. It’s apparent from this office that perhaps that theory is correct, but what exactly is your role here if you don’t mind me asking?”

8:56 AM

He leans back in the chair, knowing he’s being brazen and probably letting on he’s not actually from here

"If you have to ask...." he comprehends after a moment, thinking. "You're from the outside help we were promised. Aren't you"

(Was I made aware of any promise made to help. I didn’t read that in the report)

(Yeah, Silvano promised them all outside help was coming and would be contacting them soon) (edited)

(Ahh, makes things easier then) Connor gives the man a smirk, “I wasn’t told much about promises, but I’m here to explore a mutually beneficial relationship, yes. You can call me Matthew.”

"Nice to meet you Matthew. I am He'san Lyonaise. So, what can I do to further this arrangement?" He looks out the window, holding up a hand for silence as guards walk by, and closes it once they round the corner

“Why don’t we start by you telling me what’s really going on here? The workers seem pretty skeptical about the unification.”

"They've got a right to be skeptical. Golgis central has promised reform, changes, everything, so many times, and either not delivered, or worse, made just a token effort"

11:32 AM

"This seems like just yet another ploy to tantalize them with"

“So you agree with them that this won’t change much?”

"I think without a change in how Golgis city-proper itself is run, they're going to delay, and stall. Unity might come, well, it has to come, the vote passed, but all we will see from it is scraps"

“So how can I help?”

12:13 PM

“It’s not like these leaders will listen to me if I tell them to stop treating people like crap unless you want me to threaten them, but I usually try to be more subtle than that.”

"If labor stops, the factories in the city will grind to a halt without ore. The problem is, they've used deadly force to get the mines open again in other places, and it may happen here too. We need to organize with the other camps, and find a way to defend ourselves if it comes to that"

“You don’t think using force will just cause them to retaliate? Though it sounds like peaceful protest hasn’t worked in the past.”

“They’ll come and stop the strike with force even if we don’t use weapons or force. If we stop work they’ll come at us”

(How far am I from Greenbrair by the way?)

1:52 PM

“What kind of comms do you need? Not to sound ignorant, but would a couple of compads do to help you all communicate or do you need boots on the ground?” (edited)

(Several thousand miles, you're across the continent.)

“Well I can help with organization, I can travel to the other camps quickly and discretely once I go there once, arms will be a bit harder. But if I get approval for such a thing, I can smuggle them in relatively easy. But we have only discussed the five of this relationship, and we need to also talk about the take.”

A free golgis can contribute more to your fight against the Remnant. The current leadership is at most a grudging partner of the new unity government”

“I couldn’t agree more, and I know you are good, hardworking folk. I’m not here to shake you down or to make your lives harder as the dirty official have. I simply wish us all to cooperate. But that being said, my main duty to the colony is information, and that is why I’m here specifically talking to you. We do not want to interfere in anything that would help this city what so ever, I just ask you be my eyes and ears here in return. Does that seem fair enough?”

"It's what I've been doing as-is" he smiles "I can certainly keep doing it, but act soon. Please."

Connor smiles, "Kind of the point friend, but you'll be reporting all new and relevant intel to me if that's alright. Who's in charge of the guard here by the way?"

9:15 PM

He pulls out his compad and begins typing a message to Franz. I fill him in on the conversation with Lyonaise so far and asks if its possible to requisition some guns for the people of Golgis. I can teleport them in covertly if they bring them to the clearing they dropped me off at

He's going to need to run the issue up through President Kincaid "The guard captain lives in a cabin just outside the camp1

URGENT MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR AL-MANSOOR TO @Johnny2Cs

This is Director Ibrahim Majeed al-Mansoor, standing Judge for the Colonial Judiciary Court. I'll be filling in this role in standing of Franz, as it is pertinent with the establishment of a intelligence agency. With you being the first of many agents in the field. I would like for you to give a me status report on your latest findings as soon as physically possible.

(edited)

"Good to know... Maybe I'll end up paying him a visit."

Message Reply @Hoef McHoeffington

Your Honor, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Here is the sitrep; my mission is to establish contacts within two non friendly Taros city-states to further the unification and our fight against the Remnant as a whole. Based off the reasearch given to me by Silvano, I decided to start here in Golgis. I was not made directly aware of a man named Lyonaise eho seems t be someone who has their finger on the pulse of the city. There was a promise made to him while Silvano was in his persona of aid to thier city. Upon talking to him the deal he wishes to strike is as follows; we supply him with the ability to have the people of Golgis strike against the oppressive regime here in the city-state (being in the form of arms and the ability to organize) and we not only make this into an alliance the colony can be proud of, but also have a strong foothold in. Hence if this is a plan the colony as whole wishes to go through with, I have requested arms to be dropped outside of the city and i can very easily smuggle them to the appropriate parties with my teleportation. If not, I will find another way to broach an agreement.

(edited)

(also @Nekosmash I saw the mission about discrediting or silencing the ciricts of the unification, are any of those targets here?)

(One of them is in Golgis, you can probably get a name from lyonaise)

"So Lyonase I sent word to the appropriate parties regarding your request. If we get approval, we can move forward quickly. I must ask though, is there any prominent figures here in Golgis that were severely outspoken about the unification?"

8:15 AM

"You said there was resistance to this plan overall."

"Well, the city leader himself, obviously. He himself voted no, but he is bound to honor his part since the measure passed. There are a few city Aldermen who also have a lot to lose in terms of wealth if the conditions out here improve. I think they're truly what's preventing him from making any changes"

"So you think if the Aldermen changed thier tune, the city leader would? Cause I imagine even we somehow got rid of the city leader, another one with the same veiws would take his place right?"

"Change their tune, or find themselves discredited"

"Tell me more about these Aldermen then, if we work to undermine them before we go forward with marching, it will weaken the oppositions will to resist change."

Each of them is a business and civic leader, usually pretty involved with the factories. Better conditions, more money, more voice, out here, means quotas fall, they don't produce as much and they see profits call"

"Why is it always the corporate scumbags," He sighs making a note in his compad, "You'd think after the universe went to shit people would stop this nonsense. Which of the Aldermen is the most outspoken against the changes."

"Erizo. Certainly him"

11:42 AM

"Hes got the most to lose"

“Why? What’s his game?”

"He runs the transportation services that bring the ore from the camps into the factories. If there are fewer tons being mined due to shorter shifts, its fewer trucks, and far less money for him"

2:27 PM

"Unity is going to mean some sweeping business reforms"

“Hmmmm,” Connor muses rubbing the stubble on his chin. “Well apparently he doesn’t care if all the workers drop dead and no one is left to mine anything. You know of any weaknesses to his business or rumors of some skeletons in the closet? I think crippling his image then moving on the march in one fell swoop is our best chance! Cause a sort of controlled chaos and hopefully we can get the city lord to bend.”

He thinks for a long minute. “There were some irregular deliveries. I stumbled on this by accident I don’t even know if this anything. Some strange barrels. We weren’t to ask questions. We just broke up some rocks , put the nuggets in a barrel. Sealed me up and loaded em. Lots of security. Not regular”

5:57 PM

“They said it was something secret for the army but. It felt wrong”

5:58 PM

“Only had to do it a couple times. Ended as soon as it started”

"Thanks definitely weird, do you know where these barrels are being held?"

"The local security forces carted them off a long time ago, I'm not even sure what was in them, but the clearing isn't far from here"

9:40 PM

He opens his desk and pulls out a waxy sheaf of maps, showing projected routes of ore veins

9:41 PM

He takes a grease pencil and circles the grove, 5km from camp

9:41 PM

to the south

“It’s worth a shit to check it out I suppose, I am no geologist though but maybe I can get a sample to analyze. Can I borrow that map friend?”

“Of course” He rolls it up and places it back in the waterproof sleeve he pulled it out of.

“Thanks here take this and hold onto it for me.” He hands him an oldish looking brass AA medallion. It’s scratches beaten up with Hope Faith Courage in one side and 1 year on the other. “My wife gave this to me, lose it and I’ll have to kill you.” He laughs, his smile saying ‘I’m only kidding’ but his eyes say ‘I’ll actually fucking gut you if you lose this.’

9:53 AM

(It’s the coin he is connected to with his spatial synchrony mandala, so he knows where his is within 1000km and can teleport within 3m of him)

(That’s pretty awesome) “I’ll keep it safe. I promise”. Lyonnaise locks it in one of the heavy desk drawers.

(Yeah I gave it some thought its one of the few mementos he has of her, and hes been sober for 5 years...somehow)

2:42 PM

He smiles a little more genuinely now, "Not even going to ask why? I'm liking you more already. If you have to leave in a hurry for any reason you MUST take this coin with you, I can come and help you in moments if you move away from here with haste. Anyway im off, wish me luck." He turns to leave and heads off where the maps tells him

The map location is a grove of twisted trees, their black fingertip branches reaching up to claw the skies. The clearing is surrounded by shallow hills on all sides and you can see the ground in the miniature cleared valley has been turned. Not recently, but the earth looks fresher and less packed down than its surround

He rolls his eyes realizing he doesnt have a shovel but now that he has seen this place his teleports back into the hallway of the office

Mining tools are everywhere, the only real possession most of the people have

He grabs a shovel and ports back, (i have effortless apporation by the way so this shouldnt cost me effort) and gets to work unearthing the barrels keeping an eye out for anyone coming into the area

(It doesnt! You're right!) The shovel bites into the soil quite easily despite its appearance, and you only need to dig for a few moments before the metal shovelhead strikes a barrel

(yeah becasue i sunk all my points into my psy powers, and suck at most otehr things XD)

6:18 PM

He carefully checks to make sure the barrels arent booby trapped or anything, then pulls it out. Is there anything written on the barel?

The logo of the Erizo overland transport company is stamped into the lid of each.

7:07 PM

Something rattles inside it as you manipulate it

He carefully prys open the lid and checks the contents inside

A faint peach colored haze begins sifting out of the barrel. Just smelling it makes you feel a bit more happy. (You weren’t in game yet for this but it would be in colony records. This is a drug called Trance. If you drink it, it makes you re live good memories. The Marshal service bent over backwards to wipe out the ring)

Connor is stunned there for a moment. The faintest memory of his wife, drifting through his mind, and he feels the smallest scratch in the back of his mind to take a drink. To even ignore his responsibility and live in happier times. But after a moment he steels himself and shuts the lid of the barrel, shaking his head.

8:32 AM

( so just to be clear, this barrel is from the Alderman Erizo's company and is filled with an illegal drug? )

8:33 AM

( also is there just the one barrel in this pit? or did i just only unearth one so far )

(You’re correct about the barrel and point of origin. And the entire ground around here looks like it’s been disturbed more recently than the surrounding area. You’ve only unearthed one so far but you can surmise there are probably more)

"Well I'm not sure this will be enough on its own," he muses to himself, "but its a damn god start." He closes his eyes and focuses on the coin is it still in the office?

8:48 AM

(if it is he teleports back into the office with the barrel spending one effort to for his burdened apporation)

The coin has not moved, and Connor appears in the office before a somewhat startled Lyonnaise

Connor is somewhat used to this when he first reveals his powers to people, but chooses to ignore his startled reaction. Instead he smiles at the man "Glad to see you held onto my coin well enough, does this barrel look familiar to you?"

“Y...yes. It does. That’s one of the ones we had to fill I think.”

“Well what if I told you this is filled with an illegal drug named Trance? The Marshals have been going nuts to try to get rid of this stuff.”

“It makes sense now. They wanted to dispose of their stocks. Transport company is good cover...” He doesn’t realize the dataquill has fallen out of his hand

“You think this is enough to shake up his image? I was personally thinking I might need to visit their office and see if i can’t discover some documents tying him to this. What do you think!”

3:08 PM

(So am I only support to report into the judge now? He never did respond to my last update and request.)

(Judge And Franz. Franz is Vice President and judge is directing wider intelligence efforts so both of them knowing would be good so they can each support you in their own way)

3:41 PM

“It might. The very storied and revered distillery in Vapormills was shut down because of it. If it was enough to bring down an institution like that it should work here”

"But how do you suggest we go about this? Ideally we would like to disseminate this information without it leading back to us, people most deffinitely cannot know someone in my position is helping the cause either."

"I understand that, the knowledge of outside forces aiding this hurts us all. Security would likely move in. I'd probably even be shot as a spy. Perhaps getting the information out to Vapormills, Canninhold, or your colony. News will still spread, other cities will stop doing business"

"Seems fair, at the very least I need to give my superiors a status update on this. We need to be careful in how we proceed."

THIS IS A MESSAGE TO FRANZ AND @Hoef McHoeffington

This is Connor Radclife with an updated mission brief. After making contact with a potential informant in Golgis, I came to believe the best way to achieve a beneficial result of this operation is to kill two birds with one stone as it were.  I have found that one of the Adermen named Erizo who owns a transport company, had been dealing with the illicit substance of Trance. I am currently in possession of a barrel of this and know the location of several buried in a field. I would like to disseminate this information out to the people so we can undermine is authority. This man is one of the main critics and undermining his authority will further efforts to unify us all. I'm unsure of how to proceed with this however, as it can not be lead back to myself or my informant about this intel. Please advise about how to proceed. Also still waiting to hear about approval for the arms to be used during the workers protest. I would like to start the protest shortly after the information gets out to strike while the city is dealing with the Alderman.

INCOMING MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR IBRAHIM MAJEED AL-MANSOOR TO @Johnny2Cs

This is Director al-Mansoor. If you have this information, it is advised that you anonymously leak it to a news network or publication or perhaps some sort of pirate network. As for your request for approval, I'm currently working with manufacture to ensure that these arms aren't traced back to us. Your arms request will be approved momentarily, so maintain radio silence until then. If any additional complications arise, please report immediately.

"We do. Any word from your helpers at home?"

“Yes, they are working on getting us the armaments we requested. They want us to attempt to disseminate this information to news organizations and the like. Do you have a competent front man we can use to approach them?”

He thinks for a moment. "Front man, no, but if the evidence was to appear and be publicly displayed....they'd have no choice but to run it"

“To appear you say?” Connor smiles a wicked grin. “You got an extra copy of this map I have have?”

"You can have that copy. I have a feeling if this goes according to plan we won't be needing it anymore." "Did you still need me to keep that coin?"

MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR AL-MANSOOR TO @Johnny2Cs

MISSION UPDATE: To ensure nigh-total anonymity in Greenbriar's affairs in the Taros, it is requested that you gain access to a small case of mining equipment and explosives. This is to cast doubt as to the origin of the weapons being used in these armed rebellion. Once you've smuggled these materials out, I will personally come to retrieve them at a designated location of your choice.

"Yes I suppose we wont, I just need something to write on it with if you would be so kind. Also my superior has requested a small crate of mining gear and explosives to help cover our trail with these arms." (edited)

6:22 PM

Rely from Connor to @Hoef McHoeffington

Acknowledged, transmitting coordinates now I be be at the DZ at a moments notice. (the  dropzone is where they dropped me off orgininally Neko)

(Sounds good). Lyonnaise thinks for a few moments. “There’s some tools meant to be sent back home in the storage shed behind the house here. Used up. They’re due for pickup at the end of the week. Whatever’s happening needs to happen fast”

"Can we wait until tomorrow for the protests? We will need the night to organize the different camps and arrange getting arms to them all. But what I'm about to do to get this to the news network is going to leave me spent."

“We have a few days before anyone’s coming by for inventory”

"Well we can move those out hopefully tonight, depends on how fast the higher ups can move those guns. While we are waiting to hear back from them, is there a news station in Golgis?"

“The state paper is in the city center. You can’t miss the building. The sign is considerable”

"Thanks be back in a bit, want anything while im out?" he smiles coyly at Lyonasie as Connor knows hes basically taken over his office at this point.

"When this is over, a long vacation. In the mountains. Maybe do some fishing..." he thinks with a smile

"you'll certainly have earned it friend." he returns the smile, and heaeds out. His man goal is just to literally see the inside of the lobby to the state paper office. and grab some dinner on his way back as hes waiting for the response to get the weapons

(They need you to bring the tools to the drop zone so pops can fashion them into weapons. the plan was if the weapons get captured and are analyzed, greenbriar has a level of deniability, since its all made from local material, miners could have done themselves)

(Oh i misunderstood that, then I'd get together a crate of tools and explosives and teleport them to the DZ if i can)

8:03 PM

(i still ahve plenty of effort)

@Hoef McHoeffington , advised materials are coming from earlier in the day, books transport, arriving at the DZ late in the evening

Ibrahim will walk off the transport, scanning around for the field agent.

Connor uses a small pocket flashflight to flash it a couple times to signal the judge staying the cover of teh near by trees

I wave to the pilot to shut off the engine, and calmly walks over to the trees leaning up against the trunk, "Agent 01. Do you have the materials?"

He nods, pulling a crate out from behind a nearby tree. "Its all the defective equipment from the camp, it would make sense they would cart these off to fashion into weapons."

"Most certainly," he gestures towards the transport for two armed men to step out and attend to the crate. "Pops suggest that he'll have the weapons finished within three days of receiving these materials. You've done well so far Agent 01, I'm impressed."

(for reference, the weapons will be returned the day of the planned protest)

"Thank you Sir, then tomorrow the state paper will have the barel sitting thier office with a note leading them to teh otherrrs non the wiser who it came from."

There is a chuckle and smile, "Keep up the good work Agent 01, I'll be hearing your full debrief when your mission is over."

He gives a smile and a salute and blinks out of sight as he teleports back to hs coin

He walks back to the transport and he leaves for central with the materials.

"Good news! he says to a probably startled Lyonase, We will have the arms and they will disguised as the mining equipment we gave them."

"Really. Well...that was more than I was expecting. How long before we are armed?"

"We don't do half measures friend. They should be ready by the time we organize the protests and get the information to the state paper. I think we aim to do this for the day after tomorrow barring any hiccups."

"Alright. Business as normal here in the camp until then. I'll even try to see if we can stage a few fights or something so security doesnt get suspicious of 'too good' behavior out here"

8:12 AM

"There was a time where they cut the spirits shipment to the bar, without people getting addled there were no fights or arguments, started carting people off for being 'suspiciously well behaved" Lyonnaise says, exapserated

He nods, "Yes but we don't want anyone on high alert that is key. Meanwhile i believe this barrel will be the talk of the town for all of tomorrow." (Did i get a change to look into the lobby of the state paper before i went to the meet or do i have to go back there?) (edited)

8:17 AM

"I cannot believe the way these people have been treated, its utter tyranny. Hopefully the work we are doing will help change that."

(didn't get a chance yet, but you've got a couple days before the actual strike is planned, so if you're out of effort we can fast forward to next day)

(I got 2 left which is exactly as much as I need, but I really want to be a show off and pull this stunt during the day hours so I’ll scope it out the next day)

Lyonnaise brings you to a guest room "The guards do patrol in here at night but its not uncommon for prospects or trainee miners to spend a night or two in here until they're assigned a work crew. If you keep quiet and to yourself they shouldn't bother you"

"Noted, I'm going to need that coin back though... No offense I just feel safer with it. Call it superstition i guess."

"Oh of course" you hear a heavy wooden drawer slide back into the desk, and he steps back into the side room,handing it back to you with a gentle press into your palm

He holds it in an almost reverent way as he slips it into a pocket. "Thank you, I'll see you in the morning and wont say anyone if i can avoid ot."

He nods, and heads out of the office. The heavy door closes to the outside

Being exhausted from a teribbly long day, Connor flops onto the bed without taking off his clothes and passes out.

The open window brings the sound of birds and the smell of the first meal of the day, being made by the cookhouse

He wakes up groggy and checks himself in the mirror sleepily before he goes (is his disguise roughly holding up?)

10:26 AM

Afterwards he heads out of the room trying to find breakfast, his stomach rumbling

(Yeah for the most part, you probably have to make a few small adjustments come morning but nothing serious)

(fair enough) he tries not to scratch at the itchy wig he wore overnight as he heads down the street to get some food

The cook tent has some frying meat on a very long cooktop, and almost everyone in the camp is waiting for their morning scoop of runny gruel , and flank of meat

He grumples to himself, trying his best to fit in as a disgruntled worker and simply listens in on the conversations around him in the line. Trying to still feel the pulse of the workers

Everyone in line seems quite discontented. The food especially is a problem for them (edited)

What are they saying about the food?

The complaint mostly is that they are not getting enough, and what they do get does not hold them

He makes a mental note to see what he can do, even though he realizes he is way past he orignal mission parameters. 'when the fuck did i turn into a fighter of justice or some crap' he muses to himself. After waitng for his food he eats quickly, not talking to anyone if possible and heads to teh state papers office

Everyone seems too tired to make much conversation. (do you need to see the place to be able to teleport to it?)

(yeah i dont know if im allowed to just walk in there but thats what he tries to do. I have to been in that spot or see it with my eyes currently unless its with my coin)

11:52 AM

(There are limitations about jumping onto /into moving vehicles and such (mainly i cant) but none of that should matter for this bit)

(Knowing you were planning on heading there lyonnaise would have written you a pass to enter the city, so we will pick up there) A bunker with a heavy machine gun watches the roadway before the main city gate heading into Golgis. A team of civic defense troopers is interviewing people in line waiting to get in. Others are panning a mirror under a truck that is waiting at the large gate to get in

(Cool i didnt know i needed a pass but now i do) Would i know if i need a specific reason to enter the city? Or is the pass enough?

(they are allowed to come in to visit family and whatnot with a pass. Sil had a couple very basic questions asked to him while they reviewed things but they didn't press him too hard)

(gotcha) Then he just walks forward and waits his turn to be interveiwed

the guards eventually bring you to the front of the line. "Good morning citizen. Business in the city today?"

He nods meekly to the guard. "Its muh cousin sir. Came down with something fierce, just comin to check on him make sure he aight' sir." (edited)

1:54 PM

He hands the guard his pass

"Alright, inside with you. Hope your cousin recovers. I'll make a note for civil health services to follow up" the guard asks, opening the postern gate for you

He nods and walks inside, praying this guard is as forgetful as he looks. He makes his way to the paper's office if he knows the way or asks for directions from a commoner if he doesnt (edited)

The building is quite large, and easy to walk to, as it is one of the tallest. The state run news agencies, and conveniently, the government offices themselves, are all located within it

Very convenient indeed. Do they do any broadcasting in here by any chance?

On the roof, there is a very large radio mast where the daily news program is syndicated to the city, and adjacent mining camps

(fuckkk my urge to hack that with my black box is strong but its too obviously traced to outside help lol) Connor walks inside and looks to see if he can find a news radio station (edited)

On the ground floor, aside from a bank of elevators, there is a newsstand, and several smaller shops

2:29 PM

A trio of guards stroll through the lobby, one twirling a riot baton

(Im guessing there isnt a directory at eh news stand?)

(directory as far as what, like people?)

(as in the list of places in this building, im trying to find the office of the radio broadcasters without asking the guards lol)

(oh that kind yes) On the wall, etched into a brass plate, the directory shows the radio offices at floor 3 (edited)

He nods to himself after looking it over, and heads to the elevator bank to get to the 3rd floor.

The brass doors open as a large cog on the front sprins. The doors open, more cage than solid door, and a pair of well dressed men exit, heading to the street door. The car is empty now. Stepping in, the 3 lights up as the button is pushed and you’re brought up to a chaotic office where dozens of people are furiously typing at computers

(are these people all part of the radio offices?) (edited)

(Yes)

I walk through the office observing the people seeing what the chatter is about even though i must stick out like a sore thumb

7:30 PM

look like you belong and people might not notice lol

Almost everyone is too busy to notice. Some of the conversations are talking about the murder of magister Egons, others are talking about speculation as to where most of the Greenbriar ships left orbit to go to, a few are silent, too engrossed in their work to bother with the wider scene of chaos

7:47 PM

at the head of the desk rows, the editor sits, feet up on desk, long cigar in his mouth, he is looking at some photographs (picture two rows of desks facing each other with a hallway down the middle, between the elevator and the head desk)

7:47 PM

(and no theyre not pictures of spiderman)

(you fucking read my mind lmao i was 100% going to go in there and say my name was peter parker)

7:49 PM

Once he sees the inside of the editors office he does he best to find a bathroom stall so he can teleport back into the guest bedroom he was given

You hear the sound of running water, and a red faced Taros, a bit on the portly side walks out

He keeps his head down and doesn't make eye contact as he tries to slip past the man into the bathroom

Connor enters the slightly stinking room and the door shuts. It’s a small bathroom, meant for 2-3 people at a time, but there is enough space to fit the needed contraband

(oh you think I'm dropping the barrel in here? cue the evil laugh) He smiles in the stinking bathroom and teleports back to his guest bed room

The room is quiet and looks to have remained undisturbed. You hear Lyonnaise settling into his office for the morning's work

(The barrel is still in his office?) Connor sits on his bed and writes on the back of the map, “This barrel is full of the illicit substance known as Trance. Alderman Erizo used his transport company to burry several of these barrels at the marked location.

A concerned citizen”

(edited)

(Under some sheets but yet)

(Even better) I walk into Lyonaise’s office smiling, “well are you ready to completely trash an Aldermans reputation?”

He shoots a furtive glance at the window, and looks relieved when it is closed still, "Yes. What were you able to do?"

"I found a way to quite literally drop this barrel into the editor of a state radio company's lap, and hopefully no one will not see much more than a blur. I haven't done too much testing on this side of my ability."

"Very good. This gives the news today to write the story, and spread it, and tomorrow morning they'll find us miners armed, and ready to protest our treatment here"

"Thats the plan.... So shall I go ahead and make headlines?" He takes off the sheet from the barrel and puts it over himself, knowing this makes him look silly

"I think it's high time. With his reputation ruined, and strikes in the camps, the city leaders are going to have to soften their approach"

"wish me luck, ill literally be back in a second." He puts the map ontop of the barrel, grabs it, and uses his Rift Reduplication and Burdened apporation at the same time. The idea being in an On Turn action I Teleport right where i was standing in front of the editors office (covered in my white sheet) with the barrel, let go of the barrel with the map on top and Rift reduplication takes me back to where i was standing before all before people have time to react to my presence Costs 2 effort

Your mind strains as the MES channels come alive, depositing you in the editors office

(Idk if this is right but according to rift reduplication this should all be happening super fast) He lets go of the barrel and the map and lets the Reduplication pull him back into the office

(It is, I just didnt want to take the oppirtunity away from you if you were doing anything in betwee)

(i figured as much im just making sure im not missing somehting lol cause that would be something i would 100% do, but yeah this is already flashy enough for Connor

)

12:39 PM

"Urgh, that's gonna be a headache," he grunts throwing off the cover and grabbing his forehead as he comes into the office (edited)

"No doubt you;ve made a similar headache for whoever ended up taking possession of that barrel. There should be a newscast tonight. In the meantime, I think we need to begin planning for what happens if the military does come and use deadly force"

He nods and sits down, "Yeah no idea how they are going to explain a barrel miraculously showing up in their office. Most jumpers cant do that sort of thing... Takes a lot of you. But you're right, about the military. Do you have any ideas that doesnt involve us all becoming martyrs?" (edited)

"Depends what they bring to the table. The camp is pretty compact, so I don't think we are going to have to worry about armor"

"Do they have a central comms relay or something to that effect? I've become pretty proficient in hacking and disrupting communications can do wonders for us."

1:27 PM

"But im not a military strategist, just a former Spec Ops solider. I can fight, but bringing down their entire military isnt something im really capable of."

"I'm not sure. I'd imagine the soldiers here would be given their orders ahead of time"

"maybe i should contact my superiors and see if they have any ideas on how to deal with the military threat."

"More information couldn't hurt. Those weapons should be about due back as well"

Incoming message to Franz and @Hoef McHoeffington

I have just come back from dropping the barrel and a map to the location of the additional barrels of Trance leading back to Erizo's company. Hopefully soon the airwaves should fill with this news. I find it dubious at best that there will be any leads back to our operations here. However upon speaking about the protest with my contact we realize that we do not have a clear plan on how to deal with the military should they mobilize during the protest once it commences. The weapons will surely help against local law enforcement but if the situation escalates, they will most likely be wiped out. Please advise on how we should proceed and if the weapons are coming along smoothly.

(Judge will know this, but weapons are going to be done on time)

(I'll personally be delivering them XD)

6:56 PM

INCOMING MESSAGE TO @Johnny2Cs

Military intervention will definitely be an issue if, and when, the protest does escalate. It is preferable that you debilitate military response teams. Slowing down the military's response is crucial in giving the protesters ample to respond and retaliate. If you cannot manage that Agent 01, it is advise that you bug out as your mission will quickly become compromised. The protest, itself, should cause enough of a stir to get the rebellious civilian machine revving.

(edited)

I will attempt to gather intel on the potential military response and see what i can do.

7:01 PM

He turns back to Lyonaise, "what kind of military response do you think we are likely to expect if any?"

"Police first, foot patrols, non lethal methods. After that I really don't know."

7:51 PM

"I do know there are only a few easy routes into the camp"

"You where where those roads are? and where is the local police station?"

'There are three, one heading north, the main ore transportation route from the city to here. The big haulers use that one only. There are two other service roads, one linking us to the saphire axerank company's camp, heading west, and the other heads east, to another mining site no one has claimed yet"

"Hmm interesting. Obviously you all have access to explosives, but what about remote detonators? If we can rig some to some trees or large rock, we can obstruct the road which at the very least can buy us some time."

"Plunger and cord, so we aren't right in the mine, but we are close. Nothing wireless"

"Well that will do i suppose," he sighs. "Luckily i can jump around to the different places and set them off one after another. We want to wait until the protests starts to set them off, but hopefully i can obstruct all the roads within a matter of moments if we prepare them in advance."

7:23 AM

"So where is this police station? I want to see if there is a way i can slow them down, or make them less effective in stopping us."

"There are two that might reply to the call, there is one in the center of town, near the radio station, the other is near the western city gate, they might sweep through saphire axerake to check for calm before rolling over us."

"Alright, i'll go check on those then," He says standing up. "See you soon with hopefully some great news."

8:03 AM

He heads towards the station at the center of town first

The station at the center of town is the size of a small office building. A pair of mechs, a few armored carriers, and normal looking police cruisers sit idle in a parking lot next to the building, walled, and protected by guards. There are several patrols walking the building, and marksmen on the roof. The small attack on a similar precinct in egons is still fresh in memory, thus security has been increased for a time

(Well fuck ofcourse they are on high alert -_- I'm not trying to start a fucking war here but i feel like its going to turn into one lol Im so far off from my orginal mission parameiters its not even funny)

(It's from Sil and the rebels in Egons knocking over a police station a couple weeks ago)

He scouts around the partimeter doing his best to blend in with the crowd of workers. Lookng for an access point to either a Comms tower, or power grid (edited)

(they stole mechs, emptied the armory, and attacked a government supply convoy, so naturally news spreads to other states)

(oh yeah... i rmemeber that now)

10:10 AM

(yeah yeah i thought for some reason they wouldnt also be so high alert but ofcourse they are)

There is a comms tower on the roof, with a thick rubber wrapped cable hanging off the side, down into the floor below.

Can i try to follow it and see where it goes? or is it not accessable from where i am?

You can visually following it off the roof, but it looks like it goes into the building

he takes a moment to memorize what the roof looks like, just in case (you said there is a sniper up there right?) and he heads off to the other station (edited)

(There was one person up there yes)

The other station, near the western gate, is smaller, and less well defended. A pair of guards sits out front, taking in the morning air and speaking to one another. They seem jovial. This area of town is sleepy in comparison

He also takes a walk around the station, looking for access to comms network and the power grid. are there cars and mechs here as well?

12:21 PM

(side note, do i make a lot of noise when i teleport? the rules dont really say at all) (edited)

(I had a VERY long conversation with Sil about that once and we both came to the conclusion that its silent and doesnt make light. I think the only thing that would probably happen is super close people feel a slight breeze from your sudden appearance displacing some air)

12:47 PM

There are no cars outside, and there is a vacant suit mech under armed guard in a short-walled parking lot. There is a very large power box in the parking lot, outside the building that leads to an antenna on the roof

(Haha yeah i think its one of this things left up to the GMs discretion. But i wish they said something about it as its a question thats obviously going to come up often)

1:00 PM

(also the protest is happening tomorrow?)

(Yes)

(ok) then Connor goes back to the office and asks for some explosives and a plunger with cord, he tells him hes going to set it on some trees out by the nornthern road for tomorrow and he'll jump back when he needs some for the other 2 roads

"Alright, explosives...." Lyonnaise rifles through some papers on his desk "Storage barn 2 right now. There will be guards. Should be plenty of what you need i there"

"But you should have an easy time blocking the roads. Even cutting some access, and arming us, we might have a chance"

( @Johnny2Cs

(Hey I’m sorry I was doing all my finals/papers this weekend. My brain is a potato but I’m alive)

9:18 AM

“You have any suggestions on how I can get past those guards? I only need a way in”

(Glad you're alive!) "They patrol the outside, I don't think anyone is ever on the inside. at least not lately"

(physically anyway -_-) "well lets see what i can do," He shakes his head at how complex everything has become and goes outside to scout the sotrage barn

there is a patrol of two guards, and a domesticated wolf-beetle on a chain leash passing the front of the building. Both guards are armed with rifles, but they seem to be the only guards here.

(a domesticated what the fuck? lol) Are there any windows or such into the barn?

(theres a picture on r20 in the gudrun animals folder)

11:33 AM

There is one glass window in fron

11:33 AM

t

Connor would find a decent hiding spot that is infront of the barn, walk around the barn, giving it a wide berth to the guards dont see him, find a large rock and chuck it at the barn. Once it hits teh barn and makes a loud noise he would teleport to his hiding spot in the front

The wolf-beetle chirps angrily, leaping for the sound, and the guards follow it around the corner

Connor uses the opportunity to walk up to the window of the barn and teleport inside

Several loosely packed wooden boxes full of straw, and mining explosives are stacked in the space

he places his hands on 2 of the crates and pops back into the guest bedroom, throwing a cover over the 2 crates

Lyonaiise, now used to the teleportation, just chuckles quietly as he hears you fumbling around in the side room

He smiles entering the room, "And what exactly so funny?"

“The exploding ghost you’re making in the other room”

4:49 PM

“I checked the time. Your shipment should be in the air, friend”

“Got a better place to hide these things? Besides I don’t plan on keeping them here long. And good to hear, I have to scout out spots to block the roads while there is still light.”

"A better idea, no I do not, but you're right, they won't be here long. Do you need the map again?"

"Yeah, I kinda gave the last one to the editor of the state radio, any word on that by the way? I know its only been a few hours."

"All the traffic has stopped. Something big is happening up there. That almost never happens."

He smiles, almost devilishly so. "I do LOVE causing a bit of mischief, even better its to bury some shithead corporate scumbag. Well, I'm off to scout out the locations, don't wait up on dinner for me." He winks playfully and heads out of the office once more with a spring to his step

(Which road were you visiting first, north or west)

(north)

The northern road is a paved, wide strip of highway heading south to the mining camp. It is well maintained, and strong enough to support armored vehicles

Looking at the map he provided to me is there any bridges or chokepoints along the way?

The highway does eventually end, and turn into a one lane service road where the vehicles would have to single file to make it into camp

(Perfect) Connor looks for a good spot with some big trees along the road if possible

the sides of the road are heavily forested, and it is not difficult to find some thick trees

Once he finds a suitable spot, he teleports back to the room and walks out onto the west road

The western road is thinner, made of dirt, and winds through dense woodland, sweeping toward the camp from saphire axerake's camp in the west. The road was designed more for civilian light traffic, workers moving between camps to resupply, collect mail, visit, rather than military incursions or heavy transport

He walks down the road untill he fines a spot where he can crate a similar effect iwth trees or a cliff to block the road

It is not difficult to find a place, and the traps look as ready as they are going to be

(fair enough) he goes back and finds Lyonaise, "Well, I think we are as ready as we are going to be friend."

"Your shipment should be in place as well, when you're ready. I've spoken to the men, they'll be arriving at the cook hut tonight for dinner, and each of them will have some of the weapon parts buried under their food. tonight at lights out they'll clean and assemble, and will subdue the guards

"So the jist being, assemble the weapons, disable the guards, start tthe protest as I activate the road blocks and attempt to disable the police comms?"

9:36 AM

"I can also attempt to disable any snipers or long range support quietly, but I'm not trying to start a massacre, the police arent the enemy here."

'We probably wont know there are marksmen out there unless people start dropping but hopefully it doesnt become necessary either way. You have the general gist though."

"Well ill be on the outside looking for trouble while you all are protesting, but this plan is stupid enough to work I think. Anything else you need me to do before tomorrow?"

"I think we have it now. Just get some rest, and lets watch the news tongiht to see how our little plan worked"

He lets out a yawn, realizng how much he has actually done in one day, "good idea, I'm going to relax for an hour or so before the news come one. See you then." he heads off to his room until later to watch the news

The newscast comes on a few hours later, Lyonnaise gently waking you. This, is GNR, Golgis News Radio Tonight, a scandal, as new evidence brought directly to our offices fingers the executive of the nation's biggest transporter in an elaborate drug running ring. He could not be reached for comments, but even now, stock prices of Erizo Transportation Inc have plummeted

12:55 PM

The chairman could not be reached for comment, but sources have reported seeing his family loading their personal belongings onto a plane, heading further west, out of the city

He chuckles a bit watching the broadcast, "Its never the innocent ones that flee in shame, isnt it? They didnt even question where that barrel came from i bet." Hes smiling wickedly

12:58 PM

"Kinda crazy how easy it was to completely destroy a man's life with an afternoon's worth of work."

"The fact that you can be anywhere you want with just a thought certainly makes it easier"

He rolls his eyes, "Hey its not easy doing this you know, not only is it straining, but if i mess up i could literally wipe myself out of time-space. I dont know about you, but that sounds unpleasant. Besides, most jumpers can only go a couple meters, takes a ton of practice or long distance."

"Nothing like this, at least nothing more than urban legends has ever been done among my people, so its interesting to me, you;re magical almost.

"Well luckily that makes my job easier," he says still grinning "When people know how it works, they make it much much harder to pull off these kinds of stunts. But magic? Nawh. Closer to a freak of nature with a SERIOUS mental condition. People mention all the flashy cool stuff MES comes with, but not the grueling hours of mental conditioning, medication, and spastic psychosis that comes along with it. Surprised we all arent wearing straight jackets honestly."

1:27 PM

"That being said... it really is a lot of fun sometimes."

'I'm glad you're not in a straight jacket" he smiles. The newscast cuts out to show government troops taking the vice executives of the transport company into custody

"No, just on a leash really, but thats for the best im sure. Get to help good folks this way." He stands up, stretching slightly. "We need to get some rest. Big day tommorrow."

"Yeah. suppose you're right. Operation starts at 0400, right before first meal. We subdue the guards, issue demands. I expect by afternoon they'll be rolling in on us"

He nods, "Ill knock out the comms first then if i can, then move to block the roads, whole thing should be done in an hour or so. The gifts of being wherever I want, as you put it."

"Good. I think that's as much as we are going to be able to do until this happens. I'll be out there too, with the rest. Lets get this done"

"I cant be out there with you if i can avoid it, orders are to make sure im seen as little as possible. But ill be watching, and jumping in if necessary. Good night, and good luck."

"Goodnight Connor" He says, before retiring to his own room

He heads to sleep and gets up at 0300 and gets ready for the day

there is a muffled shout under the window as the guard on patrol is knocked out by workers with tool halfts

(what time did that happen at?)

(Right as you woke up)

3:28 PM

(They’re early)

He sighs slightly, getting his clothes on. "Too early is almost worse than too late. The best you can do with amateurs," he grumbles to himself. he groans, putting on his boots, and teleports outside the central police station where he was hiding the first time. (edited)

The police have not yet begun to respond. News has likely not even reached them. Two are out front, throwing a small ball against the front of the building, and taking turns catchig it

(Anyone in the roof)

(not tonight)

Connor teleports up the roof, and attempts to find the cable from the comma tower he spotted yesterday

It is in the same spot, and is pretty easy to find

He smiles, taking out his mono blade and slicing the cable. (Does there seem to be any effect on the tower)

There was a slight background static, that was probably always there, but you notice it now, because it is not there anymore

(are there people still guarding the parking lot with all the cars?)

(all you see outside are the two police playing that ball game)

Connor blinks down behind one of the squad cars and uses his mono blade to slash the tires

9:07 AM

(do i need to roll stealth?)

(sneak dex for sure)

(13)

The slash is timed with the ball strikes against the wall perfectly, and the guards do not hear a thing

(how many cars or mechs are there in this lot? lol)

(3 patrol cars, only one mech right now)

Connor jumps over behind the mech, looks for some sort of hydrolic line or something of that nature that he can disable this thing from walking

It's difficult to tell what does what given the complexity of the mechanical unit (if you want to try doing know/int and see how succesfful in guessing you are)

9:30 AM

(not sure what kind of mechanical background connor has is why im being a stickler)

(yea thats fair, Connor has programming skill but i dont think he has any particular mechanics background) (edited)

9:37 AM

(8)

Connor severs some wires he think look important, there is a hiss as pressure vents, and fluid begins spilling down the side of the vehicle. The ball stops bouncing out in the street

Hope to hell that worked, he thinks to himself and teleports outside of the other station

The other station is completely quiet. There is one light on, in an upper room. Its window is open, you can hear the sounds of someone typing, a radio squawking, and the faint smell of smoke drifts out into the street,

(There werent any squad cars or mechs here right?)

(No this was a possible rally point for a move later though, and it has a more accessible comm dish)

(hopefully not for long >:D) If he doesnt see anyone ontop of the roof he wants to teleport up there and head to the access port he saw earlier and try to hack in with his black box

The frequency is matched after reviewing it through the pad for a few minutes

(Is it possible to just have it stuck transmitting the news report about Erizo non stop on a loop? I know its only to the other police stations but itd be an effective way to disable their comms)

(Yes you can certainly have it just repeat the newscast)

(Done) After he does that he heads to the north road and sets off the explosives

The explosives go off as planned, felling several mighty trees to block the road

He waits a minute for the ringing to stop in his ears before going over to the other road and do it again

The second set of explosives likewise goes off, on time

"Easy Peasy," he says to himself, fingering his ear instinctively as they ring from the explosions. "Now to sit back and watch the fireworks.' He takes a moment, making sure his mag pistol is in working order, and stows it before teleporting back to his room.

The pistol looks fine, and teleporting back to your room is seamless. Outside, there are shouts of alarm, as workers have begun openly moving against security

He sits backs and waits, as per the Judge's instructions. Hes only going to step in if the workers start a riot or it looks like the workers are in a lot of heat

The workers begin assembling in the middle of the compound , security nowhere to be seen. A small, portable antenna is brought out, and Lyonnaise, with a knot of armed men around him, begins delivering a short address, stating their demands for the strike to be over.

Connor would try to get onto the roof of one of the nearby buildings and scan for any trouble (do the demands seem reasonable btw?)

(Yeah, basically hey can we be off work more than just the six hours we get for sleep, better conditions, more safety, ect)(

(unreasonable!!!!)

8:27 AM

He sits on the rooftop and watches the show, hoping he has done enough to minimize any confrontation

A few hours of tense silence pass, miners making some last minute adjustments to the ad hoc fortifications around the camp. Chainsaws bark from the woods around 11am, as the response encounters the roadblock

Knowing this is potentially very risky, he is going to attempt to teleport near the road with the roadblock and see if he can get eyes on what they have coming for us

8:39 AM

preferably sneaking while doing this of course

There are three armored personnel carriers in police livery, and firefighters are cutting the tree apart to allow the vehicles to get through.

8:41 AM

There is an armored staff car protected by dismounted officers at the back of the convoy, making 4 total cars

(is the fire truck or whichever is in the front of the convoy blocking the entire road?)

(well, the vehicles wont have enough room to get around them)

(yeah thats what I meant) He sighs pulling out his monoblade, knowing this is a really really stupid idea. He uses his rift reduplication to get to one of the tires of the front car stab it, and gtfo hopefully before people can notice he is there (edited)

there is a loud hiss as the tire begins losing air quickly. You are not noticed, but the results of your work are. Shouts of alarm from the sentinels draw attention to the rapidly draining tire, and scattered gunfire barks into the woods, but none of it is aimed

"holy fuck, these guys are trigger happy," he mutters gripping his forehead from the slight headache that maneuver costs him. "Time to double or nothing i suppose." He draws his mag pistol this time, and using the rift reduplication again he tries to get to the back of staff car and shoot the back axel of the truck before getting the fuck out again (down to 2 focus)

(Can you do mag pistol damage for me, you'll hit, but its armored, so i need to know what the actual damage should be)

(yeah i figured id have to roll no worries)

9:35 AM

(11 dmg)

(6 goes through) The back end takes some damage, but not enough to impede its working

He grumbles to himself. checking the sight of the pistol clearly (and wrongfully) blaming that, but doesnt want to risk going back in having pushed his luck enough

9:39 AM

(are they still firing around like lunatics?)

(yeah, especially now since something else happened. They know for sure now something is out there)

(yeah i figured) He shrugs at the very least buying some time and ports back to the roof he was on to see how Lyonasie is doing

Lyonaise is helping dig a pit for the old looking heavy machine gun to be set up. Three miners lug pieces of it over- the tripod, the heavy receiver, and the last one is coated in bandoleers of ammunition

"where in the fuck.... this is escalating...." he blinks back to his room and walks out to talk to Lyonasie

9:55 AM

"Isn't that overkill friend," He asks, walking up the group of men

"Well, their representative was speaking to us, I'm assuming from whatever is coming down that path. He ordered that we disperse, or we will all be arrested for assembling without a permit"

9:56 AM

"The dice are cast now, even if we do disperse, they'll just move into the camp and make arrests anyway"

"So youll mow them down in the street?!" he hisses quietly to him stepping up so he is practically in his face. "Do you know how hard ive worked to keep blooshed out of this? If you start going on a killing spree, you'll be painted as a bunch of radicals! Not the good hardworking men and women demanding justice."

"We don't want to have to shoot, but if they sweep in and start making arrests, we aren't going to just take it. We just want everyone to be able to go home tonight"

"And you think gunning down these folks, will make it so everyone leaves you alone? I thought you had more sense, besides i already disabled the convoy for a while longer"

"You're not listening to me. It's a precaution"

10:22 AM

"We aren't planning to shoot first, but we want to be ready if they do"

He spits off to the side, "call it what you will, you're escalating this to places it doesnt need to me. Do what you want, but if you all start doing dumb shit, know i won't be a part of it. And so help me.... if you endanger one innocent person's life ill put the bullet in you myself." he storms off aftr that

The afternoon begins passing, and the beat of rotor blades against the air disturbs the tense quiet that has fallen across the camp. From the west road, the sound of heavy engines also breaks the quiet

10:37 AM

Two helicopters, which appear to be fat bellied transports, begin coming into view

He considers going out to the west to delay them but the helicopters seem more pressing. He gathers his spike thrower from his back in his room and watches from afar

10:45 AM

bag in the room*

They both bank, and appear to be unarmed, coming in for landing at the northern edge of the camp.

He moves to get a vantage point on the helicopters but otherwise watches and waits,

The helicopters land, and a government official, along with 35 national guard troopers disembark

1:06 PM

The rotors slowly power down so he can be herd

1:10 PM

His voice carries, as it should for one trained in politics and being heard. "Miners of Golgis, your demands have been heard. I am here to tell you that this protest is unlawful, and you are all in direct violation of sections B through K of the Civic Tranquility Act. The punishment for violating even one of these sections, is death. I am however, authorized to cut a deal. Surrender your weapons, submit for processing, and we can have all of you mining here again within a couple of days. No punishments"

"Damnit, those arent much of options at all," he mutters under his breath, "Maybe Lyonaise had a point. And things might get real messy after all."

2:46 PM

He readies his spike thrower behind the tree he is using for cover and wait for the workers reaction before he blows off the head of the official

Lyonnaise steps forward, he and the official the only things between the throngs of armed men. "We cannot accept those demands. we know what processing means. A little tap or two on the temple, make us simple, and put us back to work. Our demands are reasonable, and do little to hurt the productivity needed for the city to continue operations"

2:49 PM

"And you know it!:

He will continue to hold (see what the asshole official does)

The official smirks. "Very well, since you know our playbook, you know what our next offer is going to be. I don't want to start a massacre here. You don't want to be massacred. I need to bring back some kind of a ringleader, and you are far too valuable here to bring home in chains. Give me a scapegoat, and this can all end peacefully"

"I knew the galaxy went to shit when I was asleep, but this?," He breathes deeply kissing the 1 year AA medallion and putting it in his pocket. "I'm sorry Jules, I really did try to find another way." He braces himself once more, refit reduplicates right behind the official and attempts to blow his head off with the spike thrower

(shoot/dex, DC 8, if you're trying to execute)

(now i also have asassin - 1 which says i cant miss point blank ranged attacks if they are surprised, does that apply with rift reduplication?)

(execute purposefully doesnt work with teleporting)

3:05 PM

(you need a minute to get set up, so you'd have to sneak up to them in the crowd or something)

(oh i wasnt even thinking of execution lol i was talking about atk rolls but ill roll for the execution)

(its really the same with with how low health most NPC's have)

(fair enough, got an 8)

The officials head vanishes in a red fog. His body falls to the ground, twitching, and a tense silence settles over the camp (edited)

He drops to one knee, head pounding something fierce. Praying thats enough to scare them into not killing each other

3:08 PM

(1 focus left btw)

3:08 PM

(effort not focus >.<)

The helicopters begin powering up, trying to get airborne, and the natiional defense troopers each extend and instapanel shield from their belts, locking them together in a shield wall

(what are the workers doing during that?)

(just watching for now)

Connor will hold his position unless the soliders take hostile action

Slowly, in organized lock step, they begin advancing on the machine gun pit, as the helicopters go airborne. Their rifles have remained on their backs, and clubs slowly extend from opposite hands, held behind the shield wall

(Do the workers look like they are about to fight?)

The workers raise their scrap carbines. One fires a warning shot into the ground, and the advancing shield wall halts. “You don’t need to do this” lyonnaise says to them. “We have the power to stop this right now”

Hoping against hope he reloads he spike thrower and sees if the guards back down

One of the guard sergeants steps out of the group. The shield wall parts before him. He raises a pistol and fires two shots, one striking lyonnaise in the chest. “Cmon boys. Let’s go home. I think we killed the agitator here”

6:29 PM

Lyonnaise falls to the ground, not dead but gravely wounded, the shot expertly placed center mass

He grimaces and grips his rifle tightly, the urge to start a massacre surging through him. Choking down the hate and malice burning is his throat, he thinks hard on his late wife, she was always so kind and smart. Surely she would know what to do, surely she wouldn't have let things get this far. He reaches for a hidden flask he has kept in his cargo pants and open it, the aroma of that sweet elixir inside. His hands start to shake as he contemplates taking a drink before cursing to himself and throwing it behind him. "Fuck.... maybe I'll end up seeing you sooner than I thought Jules." He ports himself into the crowd and steps to where Lyonaise is, locking eyes with the Sargeant. "WE ARE AS ONE, WE ARE GOLGIS!" he bellows into the silence, 'WE ARE AS ONE, WE ARE GOLGIS!" He chants again, looking for the others to join him. He rises his fist in the air and repeats this message, trying to use his presence to rally the workers to keep the protest

They continue, and the army begins re circling, their riot shields forming a wall once again.

7:57 PM

“This is your final warning, disperse now or we will open fire”

7:57 PM

Lyonnaise groans from the ground, a slowly expanding pool of blood spreading out under him

(welp we are all fucking dead) "Lyonaise, I'm so sorry." He gets down on one knee and tries to apply my only lazurus patch and not make it totally obvious buy covering it with a blanket

(Heal/int or heal dex)

(12! woop near crit lol)

He coughs as the life saving compounds begins flooding his system

9:30 PM

The miners, angered at the senseless violence, begin opening fire on the national guard troopers

"HOLD YOUR FIRE!" He attempts to stop the bloodshed but draws his mag pistol

The shots thus far have impacted on shields, and not hurt anyone. Both sides seem transfixed by the brave Taros (you) in their midst

3:50 PM

(You're still in disguise I'm assuming)

(Yeah i am still disguised) He takes a moment, standing up and holding up bloody hands as a sign of non aggression, taking a step forward inbetween the two crowds. "This is ENOUGH," He shouts to the people. "We are brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers, NO ONE NEEDS TO DIE HERE TODAY!" He turns his attention to the soliders, "We are not your enemy! We are all apart of Taros, and want to see this land of ours to prosper! To thrive! So we can live our lives! We dont ask for much... Just to be able to have liveable conditions for the place we call our home! For the place we spill our blood sweat and tears for every day! Let us talk.... As Taros" (edited)

(Talk/cha, going to lower the DC since you RP'd awesome)

(woo! yeah i out my soul in that one ^.^)

6:59 PM

(9)

"There been enough killing today" one of the junior officers says, parting the riot shield wall. "That's enough. We don't need to start a massacre here. We tell them we took care of the agitator, and we go on our way"

Not wanting to push his luck any further, he slowly lowers his hands and nods his thanks to the junior officer (edited)

(6xp, 10,000 credits, and 1/2 of the colony endeavor to have foreign informants is done)

(god that was soooo long but awesome hahah)

7:40 PM

(and 1/7 done killing/discrediting the critics of the unification right?)

(Yeah that one I updated a while ago, like mid mission for you)

(ah gotcha) He helps Lyonaise get back to his home after the commotion dies down

"Thank you friend" he smiles. "I'm not sure whats next for us. I'm a known agitator now"

"i'm sorry you didnt get the revolution you wanted. Hopefully something good came out of all of this."

"It's a revolution of sorts" he points to the news. emboldened by the defiance shown in one mining camp, the rest have also lobbied for similar demands. Although none of the other camps were given firearms, they'ce made due with mining tools and blasting camps. There is a tense standoff, but there headlines updated most recently announce city negotiators have been dispatched to broker a deal

He nods looking on at the news reel. "Hopefully we managed to do some good, and without unnecessary bloodshed. How on Earth am I going to report to my superiors that I Stood inbetween armed forced and a militia of workers and nearly got myself shot trying to get everyone to stop?"

"Thats on you" he coughs

1:18 PM

"but thank you, for everything"

He looks out the window, curtains open, as a government helicopter flies by. "I'm worried they might come for me, or my family, now that I've made trouble"

"I certainly hope not, is there any way we help with that? Keeping in mind ofcourse, technically we were never here."

"You told me your gifts feel like going through hell. What would it take to get me and my family out of here?|

"That depends on where you want to go?"

6:40 PM

"And how many family members you have."

6:40 PM

"Are you talking about joining the colony?

"I think that might be the safest place for me, its just me, my wife, and my daughter"

He thinks for a long moment, "Well my talents won't get us back to the colony, just out of Golgis to a potential evac point at most. I'd have to get permission from my superiors, and find a replacement informant here, that is my entire point of being here in the first place."

It is lyonnaise's turn to think. "You know, I think I have a solution that makes us both happy"

Incoming message to Franz and @Eye of Hoef#1909 

This is Connor reporting in.  Today was the rally of the workers of Golgis, following the aftermath of slandering Alderman Erizo's company. Using a variety of guerrilla tactics, I was able to delay the arrival of government personnel to Golgis without any casualties. However, it was inevitable the Taros would escalate matters and sent in air reinforcements to quell the protest of the workers. The official was being unreasonable and unwilling to listen to reason, so it was to my regret I had to eliminate him in a show of force using my powers. Fortunately I have been practicing techniques that made it so the surrounding guards were unable to notice me in time. Unfortunately, they were not persuaded to stop, and shot Lyonnaise on the spot. Admittedly I took a rash and bold action, outside of my parameters and left the safety of my cover a couple dozen meters away and healed Lyonnaise with a Laz patch, making sure no one saw me use it. I then managed to rally the people into protesting and convinced the guard to back down, thinking they had dealt with the offender.  Overall, the protest seems to have some success as our (minimally)  non violent protest has gained traction with the other camps. However, Lyonnaise is compromised as an asset to the colony, working on a way to remedy this. He is seeking asylum within the colony for himself, his wife, and his daughter.  I am requesting evac for the 4 of us if possible, and will head to my next destination to establish a contact once i have reafrimed one here.

6:59 PM

He looks up from his datapad after writing the report, "And whats that?"

"I've still got friends in the city, even from your colony, I could easily organize in information ring here, provided they're supplied with the necessary tools"

Incoming message to @Johnny2Cs

Ibrahim responding. Evac is permitted, head for the designated dropzone on your PDA. Your mission is complete. Good work Agent 01.

"Well get in contact with them and gather your things, I just got the permission to evacuate you and your family to the colony."

7:21 PM

"Once we get there, talk to Franz about getting the equipment you and your friends need. He's essentric, but a good man/"

Lyonnaise , leveraging his time supervising work crews of hundreds, begins rallying the family to quickly pack heirlooms, clothng, and other essentials. His wife struggles, packing several family pict albums into a canvas duffle.

(I'll be personally meeting this informant, but I will be wearing an owl mask.)

(Im sure it'll bea hoot @Hoef McHoeffington )

After fifteen minutes of packing, the family is ready to go, the house looking like someone has burgularized it

Once they are all settled and ready ill meet them in Lyonnaise's office. "Alright everyone is ready to go? This might be uncomfortable for you all, but its the safest way out of the city. Let's make this real simple, all of you hold hands, close your eyes, and try your best to keep your bodies relaxed."

7:37 PM

Once they comply he uses the last of his effort for the day to use burdened apportion to get them to the DZ

They appear, along side you in the clearing. It will be a few hours before the extraction helo arrives, this plan b eing a bit spur of the moment

(I figured it would take a while, but getting them out ASAP was critical) "Alright, now we just relax and wait, how is everyone feeling?"

Everyone seems fine, nervous, but unharmed by the jump.

A few hours of tense silence go by, before the VTOL comes in for landing, lights off, and flying nape of the earth

Ibrahim will step off the ramp and into the zone, looking around for his agent and the informant; the owl masked dawned.

Lyonnaise keeps his family behind him, looking at connor, a confused expression on his face

Ibrahim will bow to the Tarosian family before connecting with the father via the mind. "I assume you are our informant that has helped our agent? If so, then please embark. We do not have much time to waste."

"Is...Do you know this person?" Lyonnaise asks connor.

"That's my superior Lyonaisse, he's a good man you can trust him." He says putting his hand on his shoulder and motioning for him to get on

The family climbs aboard the VTOL, bags in hand. The ramp closes behind them and the craft lifts off

10:09 AM

(if you want to talk now, you can, or we can fast forward to returning home)

"Thanks for coming to get us," he says as he passes the owl masked judge "Things are deffintiely a bit hot on the ground right now."

The news continues playing, miners protests now spreading to the camps surrounding the city, and the police unable to effectively respond.

10:44 AM

The newscaster is predicting government capitulation, but the situation is still tense.

He sits on his side of the VTOL nodding along.

"You said you wanted to talk to me?" Lyonnaise yells over the engine noise

"Yes. Also you can speak through the mind. All you must do is think of talking. In anycase, I was hoping to hear from you as to who you plan to replace with yourself defecting to Greenbriar."

I've become friendly with the other mining camp supervisors, and with the central mine planning chairman in the city itself over the years. I know their goals, and my goals align, and I know if given a way to communicate securely, they'd be willing to report on conditions or matters of interest in the city. They are highly placed, and beyond a good deal of the normal scrutiny

"Hmm. We will establish communications with these supervisors. For now, you can breathe easy."

The VTOL finishes it’s several hour flight, landing in the greenbriar airport

12:55 PM

A staff car is waiting

Ibrahim will escort the family to the staff car, speaking with them about the amenities that will be prepared for them here in Central. After securing them, he returns to his agent and relinquishes the mask from his face; smiling softly. "Good work Agent 01. Your efforts have been proven exemplary." (edited)

"Thank you Sir," he says earnestly. "Sorry to say it took longer than expected for a simple informant mission, but i'd argue we not only strengthened our bond with the people of Taros, but strengthened Taros as an ally to us all."

"Yes, but there are still detractors at their highest levels. This was made aware to me over the unification meeting they had between the city-states. My assumption is that they'll cause problems. So we'll need to deal with them before long." (edited)

(The one from Golgis is handled, so youre 1/7 for completing it)

(Okay, cool. We'll be working the Taros for the majority of this.)

10:46 AM

"However, as you might have guessed, our more notable citizens have gone off to fight a battle against the Remnant. I believe the planet is Rawhani." (edited)

(yeah the other half of my current goals is to work on the critics)

(once youre ready to re-deploy to another city, give me the name, and ill give you more info. That Taros intelligence report has a lot of information in it too)

11:25 AM

(Take advantage of someone esle having done a bit of the work for you)

"Yes, I heard of said venture, though I was indisposed at the moment. What target should I hit next? I can attempt to dothe same thing of establishing a contact in the city, while also targeting a critic of the unification, though I don't really know who the critics are currently."

"That would be beneficial. However, since we don't really know who these critics might be it would be best to draw them out into the open. Which shouldn't be too hard considering their power structures. Maintain the same stratagem as before, but alter it when situations come to be difficult to maintain. The next Taros city-state you'll be hitting is Stratopoli."

"Understood, I'll re-delopy as soon as we can arrange the transport, time is of the essence here."

"God speed Agent 01, all of Gudrun is counting on you." He walks off after that.

He gives a quick salute and heads off to finally be rid of his disguise and talk to Franz about transport to Stratpoli

It's late but Franz is awake. He always seems to be awake. A small model ship is carefully being constructed in a bottle, with care, but he looks up as you enter his office

"With how much you work, I thought you'd be asleep, not burning the midnight oil on hobbies." He walks in smiling gently

"It's the only time I can burn oil on hobbies at all. I'm going to regret this in.....oh 5 hours when I'm supposed to be awake" he smiles. "Welcome home by the way. You've done some good work out therE"

"Thanks, doesn't really feel like it to be honest. Feels like I made more of a mess of things, but what can you do. I won't bother you to do anything during your precious free time, but while youre regretting your life decisions in 5 hours if you could arrange transport to Statopoli and forward me the intel we have on it, I'd appreciate it a lot."

1:36 PM

"What kind of ship is that by the way? He nods towards the ship in the bottle."

"Sixth-Rate. Age of sail line ship. Like a modern corvette. THat was a whole different age. Even war had manners" he sighs

1:38 PM

"I'll have a plane waiting for you, same deal, you'll have to be dropped close, low observable. They're not on friendly terms with us at all:

"A man of fine taste I see, and yes the world atleast seemed alot 'cleaner' in those days huh?" He smiles and makes his way to the door, "And ofcourse not, they wouldnt be sending me in if we were pals would they? Atleast try to get some rest friend, maybe once the war dies down take a vacation or something."

"I might do that. With people like you out there, I have no doubts of it ending sooner than we think"

"You flatter me, we all have our roles to play. But that being said, don't go to Golgis... place is kind of a dump right now." He chuckles and leaves

"I've heard. don't need any more reasons to get in trouble"

He heads back home to his Hab and tries to get some rest

The rest is long, and well deserved. A gentle buzz of your compad lets you know that the aircraft is ready, and waiting on your convenience

8:16 PM

(also, if you need any supplies, lets buy them now)

I just need to re up my emergency laz patch and I’ll be good to go!

(book price, colony has enough of them around where quantity wont matter)

Medical supplies grabbed, The VTOL to Stratopoli lifts off, connor aboard. The pilots make little conversation on the way, focused on their below radar envelope flight. Trees rush past, a couple striking the wing or belly on the way past. It is late morning by time the VTOL gets close enough. "Ready back there?"

(Where can I find the intel report for this city?)

9:16 AM

“As I’ll ever be, just get me close and don’t get spotted!”

(Should be under the Greenbriar colony folder, there should be a colonial intelligence subfolder)

(Gotcha)

12:01 PM

(I’ll read it at soon as I get home) once we get close to the ground I’ll teleport to the ground at the DZ

(No problem!)

12:02 PM

The drop zone is a rocky carin, the torn up land the evidence of some past geological upheaval. Moss clings to outcroppings of rock across the broken grassland

“Well,” he says surveying the area, “didn’t think the DZ could get worse than Golgis but here we are.” He chuckles to himself, securing his pack and makes his way into town

A small, unobtrusive van, rusted and on the verge of falling apart rolls up to the DZ, and flicks its lights twice for you to enter. The cupped hands around a chalice symbol of Forpa Domestic Foundries is stamped on the hood. You remember from the report that a man named Forpa Ser promised he would work with the colony, believing Silvano's disguise so heartily, he thought the psychic was the prophet zerekinal, returned to them.

AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM DIRECTOR AL-MANSOOR ( @Johnny2Cs )

I've identified the detractor.. It is the Undercardinal. Focus your efforts on getting him to yield. If he does not, then you have full authority to eliminate him.

"Cant tell if working with religious fanatics are a step up in this senario," he chides to himself as he makes his way to the van and hops in

12:42 PM

@Hoef McHoeffington Aknowledged

Inside the van there are three taros workers in their manufacture uniforms. A small gift is sitting on a seat for you

"Hey there," He gives a nod as he gets into the van and opens the gift

“To: Connor From Santa”

12:43 PM

(Hang in gotta copy)

12:45 PM

Flowing Sand Sigil This glyph takes the form of an small case formed into the shape of an intricate mandala. When opened, the case is shown to contain perhaps a kilogram of pale golden sand which cannot be removed from the case by any conventional force. When the sand is traced in the pattern of the mandala on the case, it begins to flow and rise in a basic mimicry of the surrounding terrain and structures, forming a crude map of the environment. The map is sufficient to give a basic idea of a building’s layout or the general lay of the land within a day’s march of the user.

"Holy hell?!? Where did you guys get something like this?"

"Some weird guy in a red suit said he was a friend of yours"

12:59 PM

"He didnt have time to stay"

"Odd, but alright. So where are we going?"

“Into the city. The undercardinal has been marked out as a detractor and we are to help you resolve the issue

"Whats the situation like currently? I only have limited information."

"Your friend judge was out here talking to the city council, offering the same deal as the one in Bladonna, a temporary freeze on elections in exchange for time, for the council of cardinals to make actual reforms. Any kind of change at all seemed to displease the undercardinal, and we are thinking that even if Siprian, his lord divine himself, tries to reform on his own, the undercouncil will veto

"What is known of this undercardinal? Aside from the obvious ofcourse."

8:59 AM

(merry xmas btw if you celebrate it!)

“He runs the finance and tithe committee, notorious for collecting taxes more than what’s needed”

9:00 AM

“It’s an open secret but he has the city prefects on his side”

"Well, my orders are to discredit or eliminate him. Discrediting is the preferred option, as it draws less suspicion... and is always more personally satisfying. I'll try to snoop around, see if i can digg up any dirt on him. He does sound like the kind of clegryman to have some side dealings at the very least."

“If that’s your plan we will drop you off outside the main rectory. You should be able to follow him easily enough from there”

9:12 AM

The van flashes a badge of somekind at the guarded city gates and it permitted to enter without a search

"Sounds like a plan, hopefully this goes a bit more smoothly than the last mission i had," he smiles shaking his head

The van pulls up to the curb outside a small apartment building. “2G. It’s a company apartment for visiting guests. Let us know what you need and it’ll be brought. Should be able to see the main rectory from the roof”

"I appreciate it thanks, I'll keep you updated with my progress." He steps out of the van and sets his pack down in the room before heading to the roof

The roof has a perfect spot, perched between two tall buildings , overlooking the main rectory building. There’s s fantastic line of sight

Feeling particularly brazen, He tries to find a secluded spot on the roof and teleports over there.

You teleport into a collection of environmental processors, keeping the climate inside comfortable. A handful of guards patrol the roof but their focus is out, not in

(What is the demeanor of the guards? and what are they wearing?)

(they're bored, if anything. They have the city equivalent of combat field uniforms)

(Also i know we kind of glossed over the arrival but am i disguised at all?)

(I figured isnce its been working you'd have kept it)

(Yeah I would have changed the disguise itself if thats alright though) (edited)

(It is. How’s it look?)

8:35 PM

No but really I would have it look like a im a middle aged man, I's try to act very unassuming. Probable greyish hair, a bit of stuble that kind of thing

(Alright. So you're in the middle of the roof of the main rectory, some guards patroling along the perimeter of it)

He goes back for now, and comms his new religious friends to see if they have any way of getting me access to some of their uniforms

There are some uniforms in the safehouse, left there for such an eventuality. There are three to choose from, corporate security, grounds keeping, and mechanical maintainer

He selects the maintence staff clothes and puts them back on and heads back to the roof

"Ah halt there" the guard says, rounding the corner. "This unit isn't scheduled for repair"

(crap my 3d printer arrived last night and i got lost in another world XD) " 'Ell that's all well and good," he says putting on a light accent, "But i aint here for repairs am I? Come round 'bout for an inception of the air vents and cooling systems. Unless ye like a spot of mld or some dead vermin to breathe in, I'd let me to me job."

“Alright. Let me know if you need anything”. The guard hefts his rifle and walks along his patrol route

He nods and pulls out his multi tool, opening up one of the air ducts in the roof and pretends to inspect it for a minute or two before heading downstairs

11:51 AM

(How big is this building?) (edited)

(20 floors, the air duct is easily big enough for a person, with some space to spare)

Well I’d like to head down the stairs like a sane person lol it’s draw less attention I think

(Yeah, just letting you know its big haha)

12:45 PM

There is a staircase, heading into the building

12:45 PM

and the first floor down looks to be a security and repair suite. Three guards look over video feeds from the surrounding streets. Another office has a quartet of drone controllers watching feeds of the outer districts. one of them looks to be in the process of calling in some kind of crime

12:45 PM

so city enforcers can be sent

(haha yeah i thought you meant i would do it mission impossible style while the guards who i just convinced are right there XD Deffinitely more of an Agent 47 atm)

(hahahahaha)

2:55 PM

at the end of the hallway, a door, protected by two guards,leads further down into the building

He tries to pretend hes fiddling with something in his bag as he approaches the two guards ( he tires to walk by if they dont move/say anything but stops if they do)

You go to cross their path "Everything look okay topside?"

"Yeah, some birds built a nest up 'in one of the vents, but nutin to bad." he nods at the officer "Damn bird tired to pack at me though."

He makes a sympathetic face "I'll 'ave a talk with Erasmus. See if we can't get on o them propane bird guns on the roof. Thanks for fixin er up" The door opens for you

4:12 PM

There is a metal stairwell running from this floor, down the length of the building (so you can stop off at any floor from here to the ground)

" 'Aye that'd be swell. Well don be working too hard mates." He gives a lighthearted chuckle and walks down the stairs (Is there any sore of directory / are the floors labeled at all?)

(Not on this floor, since if you're up here, you already work in the building and probably already know whats where)

(Yeah unless youre a fake repair man pretending to complain about birds that is!) He heads down to the next floor down

The 19th floor looks to be vacant storage areas. Some offices have been set up here but don’t look to have ever been occupied. Each comes with a terminal and a set of expensive looking but somewhat mass produced office furniture”

Not wanting to scan each floor he teleports back to the room he has and attempts to get in touch with his contacts and see if they can give him a floor plan, or an idea of where good spots to find intel would be

The security office on the top floor, the archive stacks on the 11th, and the office level on the 4th

He changes into the security outfit, and takes off the fake beard he was wearing and ports back into the vacant room he was in, and makes his way to the archive stacks on the 11th

There are a handful of drone-intelligent bots moving slates in and out of the datastacks. There doesn't seem to be any actual Taros on this floor at the moment

(Do the drone notice me / try to stop me if i move into the room?)

(Nope, they're doing whatever clerical work they were pre-programmed to do)

Connor surveys the room, are there any cameras or surveillance equipment around?

(Notice/int)

(11)

There are heat sensors in the corners of the room, but if the status lights are anything to go by, they are on 'idle' right now.

(So just to clarify walking into the room CURRENTLY wont set them off unless someone turns them on yes?)

11:18 AM

(or atleast thats Connor's insight into the matter)

(Right)

Connor walks up to one of the datastacks and tries to access it with his black box

The datastacks main archiving system comes to life as your black pad is plugged in. (You can ask it questions and if the info exists it’ll give you an answer)

(The undercardinal owns a trade company correct? What what is his primary business dealings?)

(He does). The undercardinal owns the state run import export business. The primary dealings are listed as agricultural products and light industrial products

8:17 AM

You also notice entries for cargo called ‘sentients’ moving between districts

He digs for more information regarding what these "sentients" are

The city uses a system of indenture, where workers from the slums outside attend the noble houses in various servant like capacities. It appears however, that there is a dirty secret. Once the indentures are signed, those people become property of the nobles, and are free to be traded to others under contract, without their consent, and without their voice agreeing to the terms

(so they are tricking the indentured servants to be slaves then? Brutal.) He transfers the data to his compad, but before he continues digging (you made a grave mistake letting me ask questions >:D) he wants to see if he can hack into and idsable the heat sensors

(Yeah essentially. Once you sign up, you never really get out again unless you get lucky or your noble patron is nice)

10:20 AM

(Family still gets paid and everything, but you never escape)

10:22 AM

The heat sensors have some anti tampering software attached to them (program/int to disable without an alarm)

(9) fingers crossed

A small alert opens up on the main access panel, and the archive bots shut down. A security detail from the 20th floor is being sent down to investigate

11:34 AM

(needed a 10)

11:34 AM

You estimate you have another moment or two before they arrive

(yeah makes sense) He quickly does one last search for the list of the most frequent recipients of these 'sentients' are and tries to back out of the system to cover his tracks before teleporting back to the apt.

The ministers own personal household seems to be among the largest recipient, and the family name is listed somewhere on most of the transactions at one time or another

He takes a copy of the information, and attempts to back out of the system to cover what he was looking for

covering your tracks is fairly easy, just deleting a few searches, similar to how colonial computers work. You hear the heavy pounding of booted feet coming down from the floor above

He debates just teleporting out, but realizes that would make the guards on high alert. So instead he runs out to the door to meet them, doing his best to look exasperated. Panting he approaches the guards, "Did you guys see anyone come from your way?"

10:25 AM

(Im wearing a security outfit this time i switched)

10:26 AM

"Connor RadcliffeLast Wednesday at 11:15 AM He changes into the security outfit, and takes off the fake beard he was wearing and ports back into the vacant room he was in, and makes his way to the archive stacks on the 11th"

(reton that. Sometimes when theres a few days between I forget)

10:29 AM

"Nobody coming up the stairs, we just cleared them. What did you see?"

(no worries its my bad my life has been bat shit crazy for the last month, thanks for being patient with me)

10:33 AM

"Nothing, looks like one of the sensors over there is on the fritz, one of those damn drones musta bumped into it or somehtin. I'd call maitence to fix the damn thing." He says walking back into the room with the other officers so they can inspect

The officers spread out, searching behind data stacks, looking in corners, and one even shines a light into the vents, looking for intruders. Two officers move to one of the bots nearby, one has a long tool that looks like a supersized key. "Maybe one of the bots saw something that can help us."

'son of a fucking bitch' he thinks to himself. He attempts to quietly make he way behind one of the datastacks where no one can see him and teleport out of there

Everyone is busy investigating, and a security officer making his way to check behind a stack is certainly not different than what everyone else is doing. Rounding the corner, you are out of sight.

Realizing its deffinitely time to get the hell out, he ports back to the apt, and tries to get in communication with his contact

The voice of the van driver answers. "Everything alright agent?"

"Good news and bad news. Good news is I got what we need, cant discuss it here. Bad news is they probably know someone what digging around in the archives, but I took steps to hide my identity."

“Can’t be helped I suppose” the voice says. “Let’s focus on what we can do something about. Do you need extraction, support? What’s our next step?”

"We should meet so we can discuss what I found, and decide what to do with it. I dont trust comms for this kind of thing." (edited)

"Meet us outside the apartment. Van will be waiting"

He hangs up the phone and changes back into his original desguise (as in no uniform) and heads down stairs

A van with the same industry markings pulls up, side door already open

1:42 PM

Two Taros in dark clothing and glasses are inside

(the same industry i just infiltrated? or the one that picked me up in the begining)

(one that picked you up at the beginning)

He nods at the two men and hops into the van

"I'll just drive us around for a bit while you decompress. So what happened in there?"

"The short version is I found my way into the archives, and i found that the undercardinal has been trafficking in 'sentients' which are basically indentured servants tricked into become paid slaves. Not only is he trafficking these people, he is the main purchaser of his own supply. His estates and probably filled with them. And i have the records to prove it all. However, as i was trying to disable the heat sensors in the room to give myself time to uncover more of the ring and the undercardials misgivings, i accidently alerted security to my presence. I was disgused as a guard myself so they didnt suspect me, but they are checking the footage from the drones so they deffintiely will know i was tampering with the archives. I made sure to cover my tracks before backing out of the system. So other than knowing someone random who they cant necessarily identify was looking through files we are in the clear."

"That;'s a relief there shouldn't be anything siccing the dogs on us, especially since no one saw you leave. Okay, so we know about this so called slave trade, that's a good piece of knowledge. I think we better bring you in to meet the boss. He might have a way to exploit this. What do you think?" you can sense they're making an earnest effort into making you feel comfortable, as this whole endeavor has been a bit more deception than anyone feels comfortable with.

"Yes, luckily I'm pretty cautious even when it comes to brazenly infiltrating an enemy headquarters. Yes, I beleive your boss could help us decide the best course of action for using this intel. We cant really go back there, as they will most certainly be on high alert, we need to make this count."

The van turns around and you begin heading for the main industrial complex in town, headed by forpa ser, who promised undying loyalty to help

6:30 PM

Thevan drives inside a large industrial bay where something like a city bus is being assembled. Your attendants help you out of the vehicle and you’re taken up to an office overlooking the production floor below.

6:30 PM

A patrician looking Taros elder is waiting for you there

"Hello, my name is Edward," he says with a slight bow, "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance (edited)

"Forpa Ser. It is a pleasure to make yours. Zerekinal (sil's identity here) said someone would come. I was starting to not believe it"

"Our apologize, as you can imagine if you follow the news, the Remnant has been keeping us quite occupied. Nevertheless, I am here to on Zerekinal's behalf to fufill his word. And i come bearing gifts." he smiles and hands him the datapad with the archive information i stole

He takes it and motions for you to sit down while he gives the contents a read. “This information would shake the city to its bones. Probably inspire a revolt from the out districts.”

12:40 PM

“So naturally this should be disseminated as far as possible. Even to our neighbors”

"I'm not from this area so you'll forgive my questioning, but are we sure an all out revolt is what we want? I had a hand in the Golgis revolt, and that nearly turned into a massacre. I agree that this information should get to the people, but we should be careful about how we do that and the narrative we put out."

"That is true, some thought should be put into how the message is delivered. Most importantly, we need to let the slum communities know that they can't enter this practice anymore. Even one more life lost into captivity, now that we know, is inexcusable"

"I couldn't agree more, we cannot allow this to continue. But this is a bomb, and unlike last time, i want to make sure it blows up on our enemies, not hit us in the explosion as well. Do you have any ideas on how to proceed?"

"I think the wider Taros Unity Council needs to be informed if we truly want to avoid the risk of this blowing back on us- but that will mean more enter indenture not knowing, and there's always the risk we won't get them back. Alternatively, we release it over the airwaves here, and risk the wrath of the enraged slum communities- but, no other families will be sundered" "I think this is a choice history is leaving on our shoulders" (edited)

"Well we must choose wisely then. So let us think this through. How long would it take for the Taros Unity Council to step in if we decided to give the information to them? Additionally, you know these people far better than i do, what would be a realistic response of the people if we release the news through the airwaves?"

“For then to send peacekeepers to topple the regime and then enforce order it would take a week or more. It may be faster if your colony offers heavy lift support. As far as the people here, there will be some mob violence but I don’t think they’ll get past the gate garrisons to the inner city

"but if theres mob violence... Ive seen how the Taros fight back against the mobs. The amount of people who will die and get hurt would be ludicrous. Maybe I can talk to my superiors to see what they can do about getting the Unity Council to mobilize."

“see what they say. An hour or two won’t tip the scales dramatically”

He nods and goes to write off the message INCOMING MESSAGE TO @Hoef McHoeffington

Status update from Agent 001
Sir, I have successfully infiltrated the undercardinals corporation and have uncovered a trafficking ring, taking indentured servants, and trapping them for life. Effectively making these innocent people into slaves with minimal pay. I have brought this information and the outlying proof to our allies here, and they have suggested one of two options. That we either inform the Taros Unity Council and allow them to deal with the matter, or to disseminate the information ourselves. The outlying problems are that we believe that the Council will be too slow to unify and act, and that more people will be forced into slavery in the mean time. While disseminating the information could lead to mob violence. I have seen how the Taros deal with those whom defy the system, and im not sure if  I can pull off stopping a massacre a second time. If possible, i would request that the colony aids the council in mobilizing so we can quickly deal with the undercardinal in an effective and swift matter. As a third option, I can eliminate him myself, and that will slow things down for the Council. Please let me know how you wish me to proceed.

(This is in stratopoli, for clarification. Judge has just come from Bladonna, the other theocracy)

INCOMING MESSAGE TO @Johnny2Cs

The situation has presented a crossroads. The second option is preferable for we cannot afford to allow any more slaves to come under servitude. However, it is unavoidable that blood shall be shed. The massacre will serve as a watershed moment for the people of Stratopoli, uniting them under a single banner. As for further involvement, that is not necessary as I'll need you elsewhere. By dissemenating this information, you'll have done enough to damage the undercardinal's reputation. Understood?

(edited)

 REPLY MESSAGE TO @Eye of Hoef#1909  
Understood, it will be done. I can have the information over the airwaves by tonight. If no futher action is required, requesting EVAC for tomorrow morning.

10:18 AM

"Well my superiors have made the call, they want this information out now. I have a radio station in Golgis i used to dissiminate information before. Would you like a copy to give to someone in the city who can get this information out? Ive been instructed to make sure it is not known the colony was involved, so the less I handle personally the better."

"If we're distributing it here, I can handle that. You've already risked much by bringing it to us, and as you said, the less you handle, the better. We'll get you out of the city on one of our private aircraft, and by time the information hits, you'll be long gone"

"Understood, well I trust you will do your best for the people of this city. I wish you the best of luck Sir. Its been an honor working with you."

“The same. If we survive this feel free to visit anytime” he nods to your keepers thus far and you’re taken up to the roof where a corporate VTOL is waiting

"I wish you luck, stay safe friend." He goes to shake his hand before heading off with the keepers

The vtol pilots are wearing face covering visors and masks. The crew chief is similarly covered and waves you inside

He shoulders his bag and hops into the vtol

You're helped inside, and a mask and helmet are pressed into your hands. THe pilot looks like hes saying something, head turned into the crew bay, but you cannot hear him yet. He motions for you to put it on

He puts on the helemet and straps on the mask. "sorry what did you say?"

"We're going to be going up much higher than normal to evade radar detection. Keep the mask on or you'll run out of air real fast back there. We're going as far out as the outskirts of Vapormills. Officially, this aircraft is carrying the company's vice president for a meeting out that way, but of course..." he lets it hang "Let me know when you;re stowed"

He makes sure he is strapped in tight going over all the belts a second time. "Alright, punch it."

The VTOL opens its large jet engines and rockets skyward, forcing you deeper into your seat. Below, you see a handful of fires beginning to ignite in the slums closest to the city wall.

1:34 PM

A few hours later, you

1:34 PM

are about to enter the airspace around vapormills

He contemplates if this was really the best course of action as he sees what is happening. He closes his eyes and grips the AA medallion in his pocket and thinks for a while.

The craft sets down, causing the long prairie grasses to sway and a cloud of dust to kick up.

"Thanks for your help, good luck back in the city." he takes off the mask and the straps and hops out of the vtol

Vapormills has long been friendly to central and you’re not worried about finding help here. There’s a flight to or from the colony almost every day

He would purchase a ticket back to the colony if he was able to and try to lay low for the rest of the day, listening in on the news of the city if he can

(Yeah you're safe now, 6xp, 20,000 credits)

6:49 AM

(I updated the board last night, you guys are almost done)

(woop!) Upon arrivial back in the colony his first stop would be to see Franz and debreif

Franz clears his schedule, and as you enter his office you can see he is watching the trial of Malak-al Muta , volume on mute

he steps into the office, glancing over onto the screen. "Hows the trial going?"

"Such a waste of talent" Franz shakes his head sadly. "He really held promise for a while there, but he's far from the first person to fall off the path in exchange for credits"

2:06 PM

changing the subject, he looks away from the television, to you "I hear you've been quite busy, you and Ibrahim both"

"Yeah, covertly toppling decenters of the Unification and what have you. All in a days work really. I don't know how i feel leaving Stratoppoli to the flames of the mob though. I understand its what we had to do, but that doesnt mean it doesnt turn my stomach a bit. I nearly got myself eviscerated trying to prevent thing kind of thing on Golgis."

"Sometimes it can't be helped. Violence like that takes organization, and for it to happen, enough of them felt like it was a good idea. You can't take responsibility for everyone"

"Sure, I didn't stack the barrels of gasoline, I just found the match.... and gave it to an arsonist. Don't mistake my words to mean i don't beleive in our cause.... I guess I just wish the world could be better" (edited)

"If you want a story about an arsonist I'll have to tell you about Petra sometime" he laughs. "Anyway, back to task. You came for a debrief, and...orders? "

"Yes, I wrote a report on what transpired, it was overall a success. Only one minor hiccup, but as always i covered my tracks. Ready for redeployment."

"Well, the only place left, is a very, very strong ally of ours. The president is becoming a fast friend. The chief of staff there is making problems , and I can;t stress enough that we have to be careful on this one. I don't want to alienate one of our biggest allies"

"Fair enough, which place is this? And whos the asshole?" He says smiling

“Carinhold is the city. And you mean the one on tv?”

"I mean the one who i need to take down. Thats the mission right? Remove the threats to our unity with the Taros."

“Their Vice President. He has the tiebreaker vote in the council sessions, and he’s consistently shot down measures to mobilize peacekeepers to the struggling cities

"Hmm well thats certainly high profile. Certainly wont be easy, what do we know about him aside from his political views?"

"He was one of the voices that wanted the Taros to send an armed force out to our fledgling colony to annihilate it. He was cowed by more temperate voices.

8:30 AM

"He sees the inclusion of Seung and Silvano during unity talks as proof we are meddling in Taros affairs

"Ah, so there is practically no chance of being able to swade him then. Am i looking to discredit him or eliminate him?"

"I'd prefer just discredit. I don't want to be found with dirty hands- that would confirm a suspicion about us some of them already seem to have"

"Makes sense, well any idea where i should start digging?"

"I think looking into his voting history, and his web of political contacts might yield some results"

"A good place as any to look. Anything else i need to know before i head off?"

"Nothing that comes to might right now. I'll be open for advice as your time there progresses"

"Alright, well I'll head out first thing tomorrow then. Always a pleasure Hanz."

"you've been busy. Take a day yourself before you go. Maybe take in a concert or something."

He smiles an almost evil girn. "Ill take a day off when you do chap, what do you say? Bet i can score us some ticket to these new soccer games ive heard about."

“If you find any ill take a day. I don’t think central has a team yet but I heard prime is working on one”

"Ill see waht i can do, Get the transport ready. I'll takea day off when this is all settled. I dont like leaving things half finished. Have a good night friend." he walks out of the room

Franz gives a half wave, and you are not even out of the main admin center yet when a plane is already marked as reserved

He goes back to his Hab and rests up for his mission the next day

There is the colony's first televised practice soccer game on, a scrimmage, between two of the Taros teams, The Vapormills Brewers, and The Bladonna Axerakes, It ends in a 1-0 win for Vapormills

He thinks to himself how much he actually missed casually watching sports before the galaxy went and took a shit on itself

Connor falls asleep to the game, and awakens the next morning around when his alarm normally would have gone off

He shakes his head groggily, "Well atleast im a creature of habit i suppose." He then gets ready, goign through his morning routine, noting it feels nice not to be in some remote part of Taros for a change, and heads out

This mission is a bit different from what you're accustomed to so far. Carinhold is a friend and were one of the most open with the colony during the unity talks, their cooperation rivaling that of Vapormills even. The less disruption that can be caused there, the better. Ostensibly, you'll be openly entering the city as a diplomat from the colony, sent on a goodwill mission.

Well he better dress the part then. Surely Franz's disguise people would have no problem making me look like a refined diplomat.

Franz is on the spot, a wide selection of smart cut business suits, or comfortable formal robes laid out for you. (pretty much can decide whatever you want, he was just spitballing)

He definitely goes with some of the suits, picturing all the spy movies he watched as a kid

"Lookin sharp" Franz says, passing by the ready room. He has a small briefcase for you

10:01 AM

"I procured this from the intelligence agency armory for you, hope you don't have to use it, but if you do, it might save your life"

"am i free to open the case Franz? Not going to explode on me i hope."

"Not at all. I procured a flop pistol for you. Think of it as a taser you can shoot. Non-lethal to the victim, and will buy you a few minutes to act in a pinch

"ah lovely," He takes it out and holds it for a moment, making sure the sight is aligned and weight is good, before putting it back. "This way even if i have to defend myself, Im less likely to start an international indecent. Well done."

“Right. Whoever has a run in with you is waking up tomorrow. Maybe in a bit of pain but at least they’re waking up”

"Well lets hope it doesnt come down to that. Still a nice tool. Alright then, I think im ready to go."

A helicopter is waiting on the roof to speed you to the airport, and you're dropped off outside of a diplomatic looking plane. Two UNW special forces in business suits hold small arms and stand at the base of the ladder heading up

Being taken aback a moment by the vast difference in this experience, and tries to straighten his posture and make himself appear more important as he walks to the plane

Boarding, you find the plane empty, but for you. it is spacious and clearly not meant for ordinary passengers

there is a command suite aboard. From the air, you see the events of Cyrus's raid being beamed to the main computer

7:09 PM

He is deploying via comet chute. The pilot calls back "we can help them if you want"