ARRIVAL LOG 008

[larkers]

WHO: Everyone
WHERE: New Amsterdam
WHEN: Night of October 5 to night of October 8
WHAT: The eighth arrival
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Coercion and loss of autonomy, alcohol usage. Further notes at end of log.

> ARRIVAL LOG #008

Awareness comes to you in blurred snatches, cloudy fragments of sound and light, color, sensation. Hazy and difficult to grasp on to, but slowly aligning into focus. A series of regular, rhythmic beeps. A medicinal, astringent smell. The sensation of movement, a low hum and accompanying vibration under you. Your eyes are heavy, hard to keep open, but in the glimpses between slow, dark blinks you see four people in black body armor seated opposite you, as well as a man in dark gray scrubs.

You realize there are others next to you. All of you in blue short sleeve shirts and ill-fitting jeans, hair recently cut but at various stages of growth, restrained by straps across your chests, arms, feet, holding you to the bench under you. To your left, an armored interior door, two more people visible, the movement of streets passing through a windshield. You try to open your mouth to speak, but it's as if your tongue is coated in tar, and you manage nothing more than an empty parting of lips.

The vehicle stops. The guard opposite you stands and comes to unbuckle you from the bench, helping you to your feet. Your limbs feel wooden and heavy, slow to move. One guard opens the back of the vehicle, and false, colored light, illuminating the streets in the distance will first alert your senses of being somewhere else, combined with warm air that's only cooled with the setting of the sun. The nurse moves to stand at the back, checking each passenger over one by one just before they're helped out of the vehicle, quick and methodical. He doesn't climb out after you, moving to sit as the last passenger is unloaded.

The guards keep their heads down. Their actions are quick, firm, but not entirely unkind. Once all the passengers are out, they climb back into the vehicle and close the doors. The engine powers up again, and then the bus is gone.

You're left alone in an alley, with no idea of where you are or why you've been brought here.

Around the corner of the alley, there is the smell of beer and a weird yodel-like sound – no, wait. That is definitely yodeling and beer. Further movement forward will lead to you finding yourself in a busy area filled with multiple people carrying reusable cups full of liquid. You've just shown up at a party with a bunch of people wearing nearly identical clothing. The good thing is that everyone is probably too drunk to notice.

◉ Though entirely capable of independent action and thought, new characters will find themselves completely, unquestioningly compliant to any verbal statement which could be taken as a command or request.

> OKTOBERFEST

The message from El comes the same as usual: insistent, not waiting for any active attempt to open it. Scrolling within your vision as if being written while you're reading it.

I'm starting to think that the arrests last month mean that our friendly delivery men have had to change up what they're doing. Either way - the group waiting for you this time is huge. The get up? Blue shirts, all around. Let's see how long that lasts. Anyway. Arrival #8. You know the deal, don't you? I bet you're all already out there having a good time.

Although New Amsterdam is a mish-mash of world cultures, there are certain traditions that took root in the city as it began to form its identity. Yes, one was Anime Naexpo. Another? Oktoberfest. Hoping to capitalize on the heritage of the region, businesses throughout New Amsterdam pushed for the continued celebration of Oktoberfest. In fact, the only time it wasn't celebrated was during the Xelkoven War, as the fight between humans and AI meant that any celebrations were put by the wayside.

Perhaps even more so than having to work during an anime convention, Oktoberfest is not a fun time for customer service workers. All around, various different cashiers, food truck chefs and drivers, rickshawers, couriers and more find that they don't have a choice but to dress up in Dutch costumes recalling times of the past. These costumes are typically pulled out of some back closest and generally assigned to the employees, so some of them won't fit all that well. The problem is that it isn't cool enough to be dressed in these as the days cool off, and the only saving grace is that they get to work at night rather than the day. The early parts of their shifts are miserably hot, and things don't get better from there. If your character is a customer service employee, they can expect some uncomfortable days ahead.

Somehow, the discomfort of the various workers doesn't come in the way of the loud and festive activities. All around New Amsterdam, various tents go up selling a lot of different wares, many of which are probably second hand junk that people are trying to sell off for a few credits. This is the time when the Black Market stops working underground, instead opening temporary store fronts in tents that are far too nice for the wares they're providing (but at least they're trying to be a less obvious money laundering front). If someone's looking to get in good with the underground or get a sense of how to find these places for some actually illegal goods, Oktoberfest is a prime place to start.

Otherwise? Oktoberfest is likely full of what anyone would expect: a lot of beer, funny looking Bavarian clothing, a lot of live music, and a lot of opportunities for drunken folk to put on a good show. If your character is the type to look for an opening to grab some attention, this is the place to do it.

◉ There will be a lot of beers available in pretty much every single tent. The drinking age in New Amsterdam is 18, but it's equally unlikely that anyone will be checking implants with how busy everything will be. The most popular beer this year? "We're Lucky We're Not Cyborgs," an extremely hoppy IPA made by the most popular brewery in New Amsterdam. All of the beers are available in bottles that you can return for more, as businesses no longer sell alcohol by the can. Think of growlers – but in a far more manageable size! Feel free to come up with the cyberpunk name of your dreams for the beer. Or people can just drink the New Amsterdam River – which is the name of the beer with a picture of the man-made river on it. It's cheap, but reliable. Oh, and for those of you that don't like the taste of beer, there's cider and mead on tap at most places as well.

◉ There will be various stages all over for acts to perform, but the schedules will not be full. Before long, the characters will know that Oktoberfest is where some people plan to get discovered. And … it's also a place where some people become social media sensations, in either good or bad ways. Need to propose to someone? Need to show off your abs? These stages are the place to be. If someone's not up there, take the chance and make it your time to shine. Or … go down in infamy.

◉ Most of the food throughout the festival will harken back to its German heritage, albeit without a whole lot of success. There are sausages, but much like the hot dogs of today, it's likely better that you don't ask what's in them. A safe bet is the large array of potato dishes around. These are delicious – and cheap!

◉ There are some competitions, too! Virtual fencing – albeit in a very, very amateurish way – and virtual crossbow competitions happen throughout the three-day event. And then there's yodeling. One of the stages will be dedicated to this the entire time. Yes, people practice to win big, but that doesn't mean that everyone has to practice.

◉ Like with Oktoberfest of the past, celebrities will have their own VIP tent right in the heart of the financial district. If you have a favorite music, film, or movie star and they have a penchant for partying, this is the place to be. Sneaking in will be hard – but not impossible. Though some will find that they might have to work this tent. These celebrities can't go without their coffee or beer, after all.

> SAFEHOUSE

Access to the safehouse is a hatch hidden behind stacks of empty storage shelves in the back of an abandoned supermarket in an outer district of the city. The immediate area is similarly abandoned, empty stores, flanked by several blocks of dive bars and clubs which cater to more niche tastes. A place where people can come and go unseen, or, if seen, not spoken of. A dark haired woman called Gaby is ready to greet the new arrivals and get them settled in, brusque and no-nonsense – she'll be open for in depth questions later, but will advise everyone to ask the people who brought them in for the beginning bits of information.

◉ The safe house is a large open space, filled with rows of basic cots set up to sleep a large amount of people. Basic, but outfitted with everything necessary for daily life. A few doors lead to back rooms for storage, medical care and a large communal bathroom, and past the long rows of cots there is a communal kitchen, fully stocked, and an eating area. Privacy is at a minimum.

◉ New characters will be asked to pick their beds, and provided with a change of (second-hand, mismatched and somewhat threadbare) clothes and basic toiletries.

◉ While there were previously also NPC occupants of the safehouse, natives to New Amsterdam, these people have now been moved on to somewhere safer. A few of their belongings remain, discarded or accidentally abandoned.

◉ Gaby will make it clear to all new arrivals that if they have any requests or queries, they should contact her or El.

◉ There will be shifts when Gaby isn't present in the safehouse because she's shorthanded following the UNA attacks in our January event. New characters will find that if they try to open the hatch to leave during this time, it'll be sealed shut for anyone without a registered implant.

◉ The drugs making new characters compliant will remain in their systems for a few hours after their arrival at the safehouse before finally beginning to fade. They will be gone entirely after a night's rest. In the meantime, they may want to be careful of what others say to them.

◉ New characters will be given rudimentary access to the network on arrival in the safehouse, but will not have their ID set up yet. They will be able to make posts and replies, but their messages will be anonymous and they do not have inboxes yet.

◉ New characters will not be allowed to leave the safehouse until OCTOBER 9. These 4 days are for them to adjust, learn about the world they've arrived in from their fellows, and for El to speak with them and work on setting up their IDs.

> WHAT DREAMS MAY COME

As everyone goes to sleep, a familiar stomp vibrates through New Tokyo on the other side of the world. The wall outside of the city is stable at first, holding up, but the vibrations continue. The creature this time is twice as large as the one that hit New Amsterdam – 800m high, yet not seen until right around when the vibrations began. It should have been, by all rights: New Tokyo is no less secure than the other cities around the world, with constant surveillance and a dedication toward maintaining an idyllic life for its citizens. Its behavior is similar: it slams its tail against the outer wall of the city before it gives way, the destruction nearly absolute. In a panic, New Tokyo's UNA forces and police force move into action to try to bring down the monster and protect its citizens.

At the same time, whether they're still awake or already asleep, something stirs inside of the displaced. Their chests will glow without anything to bring it about – no power drawn on, either innate or new, and no skin touching. This glow seems to fatigue any of them if they're still awake, and will send anyone already asleep into a deeper one. Once they're under, the stirring within will give way to unrest that foments dreams and visions for many of the displaced. If they had a dream while they slept, characters will wake up with a burning sensation in their chest.

As for New Tokyo: it will be left in ruins by the time the UNA soldiers there manage to take down the monster. Several sections of the city remain intact – almost out of luck – and the governor of New Tokyo reports that they believe this monster came from outside of the city, having been given life by the unsafe conditions outside of the megacity. Within a few hours, this statement will be revised, with the governor admitting that he doesn't know what the monster was or where it came from, only that their surveillance saw that it came from outside.

The three dreams below are what each character will experience, though you can feel free to assume they managed to jar themselves awake before the dream finished. To get a dream, please comment below to get an RNGed number for the dream that they'll be having. Since these are unnatural dreams, you can feel free to have your character remember it in its entirety – or not, if that's what you'd prefer.

If you have multiple characters, we suggest you only have one experience a dream, but it's ultimately up to you!

> DREAM 001

A blue glow illuminates the site – offering light on a foggy morning, with everyone having completed their journey to this final destination. A sense of fatigue and relief that washes over everyone there, but also an inner warmth that seems to radiate from the site itself. Huge rocks rise up on either side of the site, acting as shielding barriers for these followers and what lies ahead of them. Despite the lack of natural light cast through the thick fog, there's still a distant glow, leading them forward.

You find yourself among these people, well aware of the many miles you walked to get here, most of it on an incline. Around you, the clothes that people wear are worn, tattered, made from wool that's begun to wear down. How long have you all been traveling? It's hard to say – hard to guess, only that you know that you were all drawn here. No single story is the same. Some saw symbols: triangles that glowed when they saw them in the periphery, as well as bits of circles coming together. The tree of life. Perfect like nature in its finest form. Others could never put the words to what they experienced.

Each of you feel the draw now. It resonates within you, fills you up. Just ahead, there are structures that seem to float in space, and when you draw closer, a clear, light blue bridge appears. The walk forward requires a leap of faith – and there are some unwilling to take it. Afraid. They wonder if they've wasted their time.

But you haven't. You walk forward, and the bridge carries you forward. You can't tell if you're walking or literally carried, but eventually you come to an alcove where a strange circular structure stands. As you step closer, it comes to life, a mixture of lights and – no, not sounds. But the same resonating warmth.

You walk into it and –

– you find yourself somewhere else. Somewhere new.

> DREAM 002

– this is not where you belong where you've chosen to live – this is not it this is not it this is not it –

Your fingers spread, wrapping around the nearest metal instrument to drag it close. You test the edge against your skin, drawing out a sharp pain. You never asked for this particular experience. But every day, you feel it.

It's time to take back what you can. The walls around you are white, pristine. Somehow, you know that they weren't a day ago. One of the others you know got sick, doubled over after a bad interaction with a medication. You see them now, dark rings under their eyes, a shaved head. How do you know this? Your mind doesn't answer you. You just react. Someone in a coat as white as the room draws closer. Checking your vital signs. Your breathing picks up – your lungs hurt. You lash out with the instrument, cutting deep. A bright red spreads. A sick smile creeps over your lips. You know that color, deep within you. You know it.

And then there's nothing.

And then life moves on (your life moves on). Has time passed? The room is different. The person with the red splotch of color on their lab coat is gone, and your build is different. More gangly, uncontrolled. Deep down, you feel an unabiding frustration. You hear a shout: "Put them down!" It's too late. A fire erupts. The doors seal.

> DREAM 003

You recognize the walls. The building. But there's some barrier between you and it, a constant, subdued fog that lies between you and your surroundings. The lights are bright. Everyone moves in a single file, dressed in the same white scrubs. You're among them. The workers walk alongside you, occasionally checking your vital signs. Sometimes they make you grab each other's hands, noting the shift in reactions or responses.

The air here is cool. Stale. Your head is cold, recently shaven. Like everyone else, sans a few. It looks like it's been a while since they had a haircut. You don't recognize them, not like the others. You're certain that you recognize the others.

Thought is difficult to process. There's an IV into your arm. You try to make out more of your surroundings, but the fog encroaches and takes over. You're missing your chance. Your chance to know where you are – were? Who did this to you?

Distantly, you see a marking on a wall. Letters. P - R - O - PROJECT. You're certain of it. What else is there? Nothing. No. Something, but not another word. It's a symbol of some kind, or – an animal? There's a splotch of yellow, bright and prominent on its breast, with a dark V that cuts down. The fog obscures the rest.

> FINAL OOC NOTES

This arrival log is a little different, as it doubles as a prologue for our monthly event! Everyone's character can have one of the dreams, and it'll hit them anytime within a day of the attack on New Tokyo. This does include anyone new to the game! So, please go ahead and comment below to have your dreaming character assigned a number. All assignments will be random on our part!

Welcome to Meadowlark, newbies! You're now free to post to the network and logs comms. To reiterate, your characters will have no IDs or inboxes, nor be allowed out of the safehouse until OCTOBER 9 (MARCH 17). At that point it's expected they'll have gotten a good idea of their new situation from their fellow characters, and will have discussed their background and job potentials with El in order for their false IDs to be set up.

All arrival logs act as mingles, so older players can please feel free to top level for the festivities described!

If you have any questions or ideas about how you'd like to get your character involved in the world, please head over to the plot engagement post and drop us a comment! For questions specific to this log, there is a thread below.

Please check out our March calendar rundown for a look at things happening this month, as well as some additional notes from the mods.

As a reminder, AC for new characters accepted in March will be 10 comments across 2-4 threads, while current characters will need to provide the full AC of 20 comments across 2-4 threads. AC will be posted on April 1 and close on April 7. If you do not reply to AC, you will be considered idled and dropped from the game. We will not post a warning list.

> NAVIGATION

Comments

[revlon]

[ She's read up on the monster attack that hit this city, weeks before her time. She knows their group took it down and the evidence was erased, but it's clear the story remains — and has spread beyond the walls of New Amsterdam. That shouldn't surprise her but it does, a little; enough to elicit a pause, a curious glance. ]

Our help, [ she repeats after a beat. ] The displaced. [ Her brows knit. ] Even if we could get over there, what makes them think we're... ah, [ with a hand to her chest, ] It's this, isn't it? They know. But they don't necessarily understand.

[vns]

Do you understand?

[ not aggressive, just – part of Gaby's double life involves reading a lot of squabbling, a lot of conversations. she's used to it.

she just also knows they're in the dark. ]

The monsters got people sick, ergo causality, causation. Whichever is the right word.

[ she waves a hand. ]

You hit the mark twice.

[ general you. ]

[revlon]

[ She exhales slowly, shrugging once, but it's not a real answer. ]

So I've heard. [ Because she wasn't here, but she's done her homework. It's been crucial, playing catch up. If she's going to do her bit to help this place, she needs to know the ins and outs of it as best she can. ] We know as much as you do, last I checked. All the theorising, the testing — and we're no closer to understanding what makes us the right solution.

[ Her lips quirk, a glance away and back. She thinks of what she and Fitz discussed some time ago, another tinfoil hat theory to throw on top of an ever-growing pile. ]

Only that we were probably engineered to be one. But if that was the case, there would be a group of us in the other megacities, wouldn't there, deployed to New Tokyo.

[ Or New Venice or New Oslo. The only thing that links them is — wait. ]

Did an earthquake precede this attack? Do you know?

[vns]

It did. But only because the damn thing was ... unthinkably large.

[ Gaby knows what some operatives think. what some people think. but now that she's met the displaced? she doesn't know. she's seen them float theories. that they're engineered. that they're an experiment. it isn't beyond the fucked up people of this world, but –

well.

it's hard to fathom that they would keep fucking over their investments. these megacities are how they thrive.

maybe she's thinking too literally. ]

Unless you're thinking of – I don't know. Another kind of earthquake?

[revlon]

[ Peggy blinks open a new window on her neural interface, double-checking the information she's already committed to memory. ]

Seismic, not the result of an impact. [ Bloody footfalls of some giant beast. She still can't wrap her mind around it and she's seen some incredible things before and after arriving in New Amsterdam. ] One occurred this past September, didn't it? And two more in New Oslo and New Venice.

[ Peggy wets her lips, adjusting her focus from the interface to the other woman. ]

I thought they could be symptoms of a greater problem, like we are. Warnings that something or someone is coming — us, those creatures. [ She shakes her head; sounds mad, I know, goes unsaid. ] But we can't know for certain. What's the likelihood of sending a few agents out there to check if something else came through?

[ It doesn't have to be them but operatives already on the ground in New Tokyo. ]

[vns]

Ah, that one.

[ this is where Gaby's limitations come to light. how she sees the world. what she thinks is important. being around the displaced has changed her perspective, forced her to open her eyes. it's not always easy. or wanted. or any of that. it just is. that's her life now.

she's small picture. always has been. when she talks about the big picture, there's a limitation.

fuck, though. she hates having it highlighted. ]

Imagine the power going out in September here. The whole city just –

[ a snap of her fingers. ]

You think these events are you arriving?

[ she pauses. looks up something. ]

It'd explain why no one can track them. Nothing involved with you is ... normal.

[revlon]

[ September a year ago, blackouts and earthquakes in three cities, New Tokyo not among them. No reports of people like them in Oslo or Venice but that doesn't mean they aren't there. Judging by the varying lengths of their hair, they'd all been held at different lengths of time. In a lab, maybe, until they're ready for release. And then there's that dream —

Too vivid, like her memories from the war tend to be when they flicker back to life at night. But it can't be a memory. That's absurd.

(Is it?) ]

No, it isn't. Which is why I think we can't rule out the theory. If no one can track the seismic events, even with the advanced technology available in this time and place, then it stands to reason that the cause isn't natural — because we aren't. I bloody well didn't have abilities before I woke up here.

[ The nature of which she hasn't disclosed to anyone, save for one or two individuals. ]

But if New Tokyo doesn't follow the pattern, then I don't know what to think. Other than — [ Peggy changes tack, sounding ideas as she thinks of them: ] Can any of our operatives collect and test a sample of the monster? If we can compare the results to our own...

[vns]

I'll give Nate a call back.

[ well. wait. not right now. not the time. Gaby's starting to feel as if she isn't affected by the events, like her emotional response involves diminishing returns. maybe it hasn't hit. maybe she doesn't know when it'll hit.

she draws in a breath. exhales.

discussion. ]

The monsters are new. I don't think – I don't think we can pin this as the same thing as last year. The power didn't go out there, or here – so ... [ so, there's that. ]

[revlon]

So it must have come from somewhere else.

[ It's a guess. They're all guessing. But part of the work they've been assigned is to piece together intelligence, find answers, and do what it takes to prevent this world from unravelling at the seams in the process. Peggy believes with all her heart that their presence here is inexorably linked to the strange (often disastrous) events; she isn't alone in that theory, either. Fitz with his knowledge of the multiverse only strengthens it. They don't belong here.

This is not where you belong, this —

Peggy rubs absently at her aching sternum and continues. ]

I'm sure we'd all like to know where, if only so we aren't caught off-guard again. And we won't be the only ones with that concern. [ Her lips quirk, but it's not amused. ] Going into work following this attack should be interesting. They're already anxious about plugging holes in border security. [ As she knows: Peggy was sure to relay the information on the revised policies before Morningstar evacuated their agents.] I'm sure they'll be keen to modify it again with the possibility of another creature waltzing back in.

[ She glances askance to the other woman. ]

And with more than one city being hit in three months with no way to predict the next attack if there is one, the UN might start issuing travel advisories. It's what I would do. It's likely our committee will consult with them.

[vns]

Possibly. The problem is – if that research ends up delivering the same data, that it's the same thing, the same origins –

[ how do any of the cities prepare? how does the UN even direct their army toward a problem? thinking that particular thought – one that's along the lines of this entire conversation – unsettles Gaby. there are whispers among Morningstar themselves that some of these bold actions have been to show the UNA might. get some Morningstar, get the rest. they can do something about a problem.

she doesn't vocalize it. not to Peggy nor to Fitz. later? later she might. there's a good chance of it. once they've shown that they're serious. that they aren't acting on behalf of themselves.

it feels like a safe bet, though. another side of desperation drawn to light. ]

I see your point, though. If you leave to figure this out, can you get back? We'll cross that road when we get to it.

[ she wonders when (or if) Morningstar may be pointed to as the cause for these threats.

and if they were meant for that all along. ]

[revlon]

[ Gaby's speculation earns a grim look from Peggy in return. She's wondering the same thing, of course. If the test results vary, that's a different problem altogether. But if they match, then someone out there is creating these bloody things or at the very least pulling them from someplace else and — what? Pointing them at the cities on purpose? Or losing control of them. Either scenario isn't a good one: a weapon or an accident. (Just like them.)

And to what end? Not very long ago, Peggy voiced the thought that these incidents are elaborate field tests for the displaced and their abilities. And should Gaby ever share those whispers with her and Fitz, it wouldn't surprise her, either. Creating a problem, naming a threat (them, Morningstar), and presenting the perfect solution is an old, familiar tactic to lull people into the belief that they can't live without your protection.

It also means that there's a fear, somewhere out there, that their control over the masses is slipping. ]

I can always find my way back. [ Her brows raise. ] They haven't contacted me for an emergency session yet, but I'm sure it won't be long now. You need me to work my way into the team meeting with the embassy? Or are you asking something else?

[vns]

Hypothetical question.

[ Gaby wasn't clear. she realizes that. if they want to go help, how do they get back? but having Peggy in there could help. she knows how she can get them out, make it legitimate. there are groups aligned with Morningstar who are meant to help with this business. meant to be prepared for disasters. some of them volunteered to help following the first monster attacks in New Amsterdam, but Governor Gill-Jade, ineffectual as always, failed to take them up on it.

properly, anyway. ]

Having you in there would mean they might think twice before locking anyone out of anywhere. If relief groups go out – they can be let back in. Some governors are stubborn about these, but I know New Tokyo won't be able to afford stubbornness. If there are survivors to be found, and lives to put back together, they'll take it.

[ surely? but it'll be dangerous. a city built out on the water like that. ]

It's a big ask, but I think you know the people around here as well as I do. If they think they can do things out there? They will.

[revlon]

[ She flicks her gaze over Gaby, listening, assessing, processing. She thinks of their very first conversation when she staggered into the safehouse in August, asking about travel regulations, if travel was even possible. Expensive, she'd been told, and strict about an itinerary. But not impossible.

If the itinerary held an official stamp from the governor and the UN embassy, they could cobble together a team that heads out legally and with the approval of the government. If Morningstar operatives in the other megacity join up with local relief efforts, they could link up under legitimate circumstances without straying from protocol and none would be the wiser.

Her lips curve into a quiet smile. ]

You want me to propose sending a disaster response team to New Tokyo. [ It's good. It's clever. ] And as a city only just recovering from our own attack, it's a sympathetic gesture, too. The PR angle alone makes it appealing.

[ And wouldn't they want to bounce back from the failed UNA raids? ]

It can't come from me. I'm too new. But I know they like my ideas and I can float it to the right people.

[ Hell, she could start small, spearhead a drive at City Hall for relief goods, find volunteers that way (volunteers being their own people). And once the idea takes root, they can work on mixing in some of their number into the team sent out. ]

[vns]

And make sure they can come back. We've got people waiting in the wings who'll go. And some of your people –

[ separate purely for distinction. ]

– will be able to join up, inspired by what happened. The fact that they've been seen doing good around New Amsterdam will make it make sense. No one will be surprised if anyone wants to connect the dots.

[ floating it to the right people. that's the way to do it. she nods her head once, believing that this is the way to make it work. ]

[revlon]

[ Make sure they can come back. That earns a solemn nod, even if for a moment she wonders why that isn't a given for a delegation sent out under New Amsterdam's name. Wouldn't a city look after its own? (Which they are, for all intents and purposes.) But they're still learning the shape and structure of this world, the dangers present that might not exist in their own — or do, for different reasons. And the fact remains that local government stood aside and let the UNA do what it wanted to its citizens. Gaby's request is more than valid.

She'll sort it. Part of her duties as a city clerk touch on being a passport agent (or this world's equivalent). Carefully reviewing the applications and supporting documents of the displaced so they're in the clear... yes, she can sort it with a bit of help. ]

I agree. It will track the right way for anyone who cares to look. [ A beat. ] I'll reach out to El to ensure everyone's relevant documentation is iron-clad, make sure its ready to go before the idea even takes shape back at the office or amongst the displaced.

[ There's a pause and then something in her softens a little. ]

I'll do my best to open that door for us. And keep it open.

[vns]

Thank you. Markus will handle finding out who wants to go. Maybe Hafid, too.

[ talk of hope from someone who wanted to murder two of his fellow displaced. it's crazy, but maybe something happened there. if she's changed this much, forced to handle this much, it would be selfish to assume that it's not the same for anyone else. ]

In the meantime, take care of yourself. Rest. Especially if you head out.

[ a beat. ]

I can't go with you. So, this will just be you.

[ the displaced, maybe with El offering assistance remotely. ]

[revlon]

[ She isn't sure if she'd join the team heading out. A part of her does want to because she's wanted to know what lies beyond the city walls since she got here; because she misses being the boots on the ground, the woman on the front lines. But when she was in Russia back in '46, the Commandos had offered her a spot on the team and she'd turned it down to mind the wheel back home.

What better way to understand this world than to see more of it? Maybe that's not for her. Not yet. But she'll make that decision when it's time. For now, there's work to be done and they're just getting started. She'll reach out to Markus and Hafid when the gears get moving in government. ]

I understand. [ Then, more pointedly, ] And take time for yourself, too. Just because we couldn't have made it this far without you doesn't mean you can't step back once in a while. Take it from someone who's been in your shoes in another world.

[ Stubbornness and all. It's almost teasingly said, despite the seriousness of this conversation, this entire scenario. She hasn't told anyone she's a spy by trade, but she's sure Gaby has guessed by now. ]

We've got it handled.

[vns]

[ she's guessed, to some extent. it helps that Daisy put it all on display and some people's relationships with one another become terribly obvious when they interact. ]

My goals were always smaller. So, smaller shoes.

[ Gaby knows the big scale, but doesn't play on it. she prefers it on a more intimate level. there was always the chance she could go bigger, could see bigger things –

then again, here she is.

bigger shoes. ]

Don't worry. I'll take care of myself. Maybe some of you heading out of town will make it easier to take some time off.

[ she does not think that'll happen. ]

I'll see you later. Good luck with the politics.

[revlon]

[ Honestly, it's a wonder no one else has vocalised putting the pieces together — or at least questioned why she and Fitz have connected so deeply, so quickly. For all anyone knows, they aren't even from the same world. But if she continues on this trajectory with Morningstar, the truth will out sooner rather than later. And surprisingly, that doesn't really bother her.

Her experience has value here and she doesn't have to prove herself the way she did back home. (It helps that Gaby — a woman — was the first representative from Morningstar she met. She's usually the only one.) The work speaks for itself. It's refreshing.

The comment about time off earns a soft exhale, nearly a laugh. Peggy hasn't had a day off since Pearl Harbour and that was nearly six years ago. Sure, one can only hope. ]

Yes, I suppose I'll need it. Thank you, Gaby. I'll report back when I can.