meadowlarklogs | OPEN PLAYER PLOT: OPERATION LOST BOYS

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OPEN PLAYER PLOT: OPERATION LOST BOYS

WHO: Anyone
WHERE: A research outpost not far from New Amsterdam proper
WHEN: November 28
WHAT: The Displaced arrive to save the captured Morningstar agents, including one of their own.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence, mentions of interrogation/torture, etc.

> DEPARTURE BY TRAIN
Early in the day on November 28th, Prompto and Poe will conspire to get an out-of-service train car onto the same tracks where the Displaced were guided by Cassius earlier this month. By all measures, the train car doesn't look operational. There are telling dents in the side, and it does not appear to be powered on. Yet those involved in the rescue operation already assembled are climbing on board like they know that this is their ride.

Inside, the train is fairly battered. Some of the seats on the far wall seem to have been damaged when the train collided with something during the EMP, and the rattling of the crash took out some of the internal handrails as well.

Once everyone is settled, though, the car begins to move. At the front of the car, Poe uses his power to move the train car on the tracks and out of the city. As they hit a checkpoint, the car doesn't slow down to be inspected; instead, it accelerates and blows right through the barrier, which makes for a pronounced jolt for all the passengers inside.

Once the train is rolling outside of the city limits, the Displaced can grab scrambler masks that have been provided by Morningstar for use in infiltrating the outpost when they arrive. It is imperative, El suggests, that they don't allow their identities to be compromised. They will also remind the Displaced to keep this project under wraps, lest Morningstar as a whole has its operations compromised.

This is a good time to solidify any plans about what to do when the outpost is reached. The train ride won't be especially long, but long enough for some tension to settle over the car.

> INFILTRATE THE OUTPOST
The outpost they arrive at is a less grimy version of what the Displaced saw earlier in November. The interior is almost identical to what was present there, with some wings repurposed as jailing sites. There are bright, fluorescent lights with white walls and a sterile smell throughout. Even cleaned up, these labs do not recognize any of those that the Displaced may have seen in their dreams.

The description below is borrowed from the arrival log for reference:

The building is six stories tall. The first floor has a lobby/waiting area, a cafeteria, and some office spaces. The second floor is the dormitory floor, which is where the employees would usually sleep if they chose to stay at the facility while working rather than returning to the city in between shifts. This is where the new arrivals woke up. Floors three through five are dedicated to lab spaces, which is where the actual research work is usually done. Most of these laboratories are going to be locked, but that won't stop Displaced from breaking into them if they want. Some of the lab rooms also have exam rooms. Displaced will be able to swipe lab equipment and medical supplies, such as syringes, vials/beakers, first aid supplies, scalpels, bandages, multi-lens microscopes, etc. The top floor is dedicated to offices for higher-ranked scientists, so think of it as the C suite. All floors also have bathrooms, of course, and the dormitory wing also has showers.

✦ Notably, this outpost is also empty of scientists. However, stoic soldiers stand guard at every door. These well-armed warriors are with the UNA, who has taken over the outpost. These soldiers are not an easy fight. In the fights with UNA soldiers, PCs might die and need to be revived in New Prague by Morningstar.
✧ DISTRACTION: Some of the PCs may choose to deal with the UNA by attempting to distract them using wit, charm, or apparent helplessness. PCs may search for a way to draw attention away from some of these doors to let others sneak past.

✧ INFILTRATION: Those who sneak past will find the jailing areas similarly guarded, and eventually, stealth and quiet infiltration is no longer an option. Rey and the other Morningstar agents are being held in well-secured cells, and UNA soldiers must be engaged in order to get past them.

✦ Inside the jailing sites, they find the missing agents in terrible shape. These Morningstar operatives have gone through extreme interrogation, and if they can get persuaded to talk sense--or talk at all--they might impart on their rescuers that the subject of that interrogation was most recently about the blue technology. However, most are catatonic, seemingly unaware of who they are or where they are, and some react negatively and violently toward anyone who displays the blue glow in front of them as the result of a conditioned response.
✧ Agents from the September raids will explain that Rey's arrival worsened the interrogation. Some of these agents may admit to confessing that Morningstar started helping a new group that emerged. It was clear in their interrogation that the UNA was not involved in the June firefight because they only then put together that the Displaced were involved in it. They're only aware because they were tasked with cleaning up after it.

✧ Some of the agents taken during the raids will still be resentful of the Displaced, and this will help convince the UNA that the Displaced are separate from Morningstar.

Once the agents are freed, the Displaced can make their way back to the exit of the outpost, where Poe Dameron waits in an armored truck liberated from the UNA. This flying truck is meant to transfer large numbers of UNA soldiers for load-outs, so despite the Displaced and rescued agents' numbers, it will be sufficiently spacious to fit them all. Though it flies, it's smarter to stay low in the interest of staying off trackers on their way to New Prague, where they can hopefully wait out the heat of pursuit by the UNA.

> NEW PRAGUE
When they arrived in New Prague, El contacts local Morningstar agents to escort them to a safehouse. Notably, El will warn the Displaced that no other parts of Morningstar know about zeir identity as an AI. El is hoping that the Displaced will keep their secret, but is more concerned with helping than with keeping them separate from the New Prague Morningstar chapter.

These Morningstar agents will bring the Displaced to an abandoned chain convenience store at the edge of town, Zesco. The convenience store is located near the edge of the city, and it's meant to be a temporary stop. The upper part of the store is just an empty space, though there is a wall where it's clear that there were once icee machines. All of the Morningstar agents will be held under an abandoned convenience store.

✦ The inside of the safehouse is like most safehouses, but since it's meant to be temporary, there aren't any clothes or food in place to help someone out. There will be Morningstar agents who come in to supply these things throughout the stay, showing up about an hour in to help out.
✧ It will be apparent that this safehouse is not one of the ones that's typically used in New Prague, but instead one of the miscellaneous ones that they've had around. Unlike New Amsterdam, most of the safehouses in New Prague weren't compromised. Of course, there is a high likelihood that this safehouse will be decommissioned after all of this.

✧ Notably, the New Prague agents are all quite impressed that the missing New Amsterdam agents were able to be saved at all—previously, NPC Morningstar cells had believed rescue to be impossible.

✧ Anyone who kept their scrambler mask on during the infiltration of the outpost is allowed to leave the safehouse and explore New Prague. Anyone else … can do that if they want, but it's not a good idea! The safehouse won't be fun, but jail will be worse. Please reach out to the mods if you do this.
✦ Beyond the safehouse, New Prague is a large, beautiful city housing around 30 million people. Unlike many of its brethren, it pays homage to the "Old" Prague in a number of ways: there are impractical cobblestone streets, and the architecture adheres to an older, gothic style throughout the city. In fact, there are ordinances that demand the city continues to look as if it harkens to an older past and time. Above all else, New Prague is very green: there are trees everywhere.

Throughout the city, there is a large, man-made river that cuts through to the underground, causing there to be beautiful falls underneath the main city itself. This river is called the New Vitava River, once again paying homage to the Prague of Old. The New Vitava River is maintained to the degree that there is no littering in it, and there are strict local rules about doing anything lewd in it. (That includes using it as a toilet. Don't do that!) There are bridges all over the city to easily cross from one side to another, and all public transit has been constructed to adhere to the river and also offer its citizens views of it on the regular.
✧ The weather here is just as extreme as it is in New Amsterdam, so anyone who's not been checking the news will find that the world really was screwed over by Cassius.

✧ Food throughout the city is just as eclectic as it is anywhere else. Visually, it looks like they want to remember Prague, but culturally, it's just as varied. This isn't an Eastern European city in anything but aesthetic.

> THE RETURN
The train ride back to New Amsterdam will resemble the ride to and from New Tokyo, but it is a considerably shorter trip. There is no stop for the train at New Amsterdam, so they will need to devise a way to get off the train without dying in the process - this will be difficult, but not impossible. This should not be too much of a surprise, as some of the New Prague Morningstar agents will join them on this train ride, and will explain the situation.

Once they're outside the city, these agents will get them back into the city, as they've done this rodeo before. They can sneak in easily through the opening made by Cassius earlier in the month, which if it has been found, has not yet been addressed.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Do not order me around. You are not my boss.

[ or his girlfriend, ahem. ]

And a debrief has nothing to do with clothing. I will get you a dictionary when we are back in New Amsterdam.

[ you needed it. ]

I will do what I want to do when I want to do it.

[ blah blah blah, whatever, she's busy. while illya ran his mouth, caroline had to go find a soldier, get his attention, shine her fancy palm flashlight right into his corneas, and then run like hell in order to drag him away from his buddies and over to the more secluded area where mr cranky russian was currently whining about something. ]

Hey, boy, over here, [ is her extremely rude dog whistle to the una before she reaches up and (again) snaps a neck like a twig. fuck you, illya, she can do it. ]

Can you at least move the bodies instead of just standing there bitching at me?

[ another neck snap. impressive again. ]

You are insolent and annoying.

[ best friends. but, he does actually grab the body of the una soldier by the back of his vest and drags him away from where she'd just ended his life. ]

Are you going to kill them all? Solve the UNA problem once and for all?

Congratulations, you swallowed a thesaurus.

[ she does not care!!! if he wants to sit there and lie through his stupid teeth and pretend she's not capable and useful, that's his own problem. luckily, he cannot see her roll her eyes through the scrambler mask, because caroline just keeps doing it. ]

I'm not doing everybody's job for them. [ a beat as she considers the grime under her nails, picking at it bit by bit. ] You know, you could at least be appreciative that I saved your life instead of being a butthead about it.

Something you have never once looked in, I'm sure.

[ they were getting along great. before he disposes of the body of the man she'd just killed, he roots through his pockets, trying to find anything of use. there are a few scraps of paper but nothing really of note. ]

My life was not in danger. You assisted but do not flatter yourself that I was going to die.

[ he wasn't marcos, gosh. ]

Excuse you? [ do not throw shade when you don't know shit, buddy. ] I was valedictorian and student council vice-president, I'm not an idiot just because your accent is so thick I could cut it with a knife.

[ okay, listen, she's on track to be valedictorian because she hasn't actually graduated yet, but nobody needs to know that!!! and sorry she didn't recognize DEBRIEF -- oh wait, she's not, because she's not a SPY ]

Don't get your boxers in a twist just because you got a little help.

Help that I didn't need. [ his hill to die on right there. ] And are you seriously talking about your high school experience to me?

[ seriously? ]

Whatever you say. [ just keep snapping necks. ] Or maybe you should stay quiet and just pay attention to what is happening.

It's not like you're doing anything to help!

[ you're just standing around being a damsel man and getting choked! and if you're into that kind of weird shit, now is not the time!!! ]

Why can't you pay attention?

I am not going to just stand here and argue with you. [ there is more work to be done and he can get much more accomplished away from her. ]

It is tiring and it is accomplishing nothing. [ not a thing miss high school valedictorian!! ] Just do what needs to be done and be on the train when it's time to go. No one needs to return on a rescue mission for you.

[ GOSH. ]

I don't need to be rescued!

[ SHE JUST RESCUED HERSELF, GOSH. ]

When I was kidnapped, I got myself out.

Is everyone getting themselves kidnapped?

[ he rolls his eyes this time and turns to try and find another soldier to engage. ]

I did not know that was the new, fashionable thing to do.

[ outrage, pure and simple, makes caroline's next twist of hands around body parts that much more aggressive. she didn't get kidnapped because it was fashionable, thank you very much! ]

You're an asshole.

[ not that he didn't know that. ]

You are stating the obvious.

[ always happy to meet a fan. ]

I never proclaimed to be otherwise. But I do not tend to get kidnapped either.

[ a s s h o l e. ]

You know I could snap your neck too, right?

[ her friend jyn would probably be five percent mad about it, but also? he's a jerk? so who cares? ]

That would not end well for you.

[ so, don't do it. ]

Just focus on the soldiers. Don't get distracted.

[ she's just going to roll her eyes. it would end well for her, because she would snap his neck and be done with him and then all her current (immediate) problems related to dealing with him would be solved.

but, again, jyn would probably be mad. because they came to the drop-off site together, which means jyn probably likes him, and caroline doesn't want to murder jyn's friend. even if jyn clearly has bad taste in friends that are men. ]

I'm not distracted. You're just annoying.

Your opinion is noted.

[ and summarily dismissed. ]

Are you going to focus on what we are here for or are you going to continue to call me names?

I am focusing!

[ and yelling, very defensively, right in his face — which proves to be an excellent method for attracting and summoning additional soldiers. this time, it's a group; two to her left, two to her right, two flanking from behind. they come fast, sure, ready to make a mess of the assumed-morningstar agents in scrambler masks here to infiltrate a secured compound. ]

Just stay there!

[ because, you see, it's a lot more difficult for her to control her trajectory when she starts moving at top speed, and that's what she has to do in order to speed around one of the soldiers and yank the gun out from his hand.

luckily, it's not biometric-locked, which means she can shove it into illya's once she's got it free. ]

Don't shoot me, either!

[ just the soldiers. ]

I do not need this weapon!

[ but he takes it anyway and he unloads it into various soldiers, deftly avoiding her because he is a skilled marksman, thank you very much, and even though she's bouncing around like a pinball, he doesn't even get close to her. ]

And do not tell me what to do! You are not my superior.

[ or his girlfriend. ]

[ if he had, it wouldn't have been the end of the world. caroline can withstand a bullet wound or two (but she might have needed a snack afterwards). as it is, between his spray-and-pray bullets that somehow manage to puncture the armor of the una and her grab-and-go neck twisting, it doesn't take long to make work of the half-dozen soldiers that have come to play. ]

God. [ no, she does not cross herself, thank you very much. ] Are you this fun to work with for everybody, or do you just hate blondes?

Perhaps it is just you.

[ he doesn't care about the color of her hair, thank you. ]

But, I will say that you are quite apt at taking out UNA soldiers. You have one redeeming quality.

[ bonding! ]

[ she ignores his quip about her hair. her hair is nice, thank you very much. she conditions it regularly and everything.

but she does smile when he compliments her, because caroline is easily pleased — and perhaps more importantly, he's not wrong. she is good at it. ]

I know, right? [ she has many redeeming qualities, but he can be wowed by her obsessive organizing and amazing party planning skills at a later date. ] It's kind of fun...

[ he doesn't know if he would call it fun but...he appreciates that attitude more than people being afraid to actually eliminate the soldiers when the soldiers would be glad to kill them. ]

Just do not get yourself killed.

[ give him a break, he doesn't know. ]

It would be nice if everyone avoided that this time.

Fat chance. [ because, y'know, she's already dead. ] Besides, they're slow.

[ when you can move as fast as caroline does, it becomes a little easier to note how the armor makes their movements jerky, almost robotic. it becomes easier to slip hands in the spaces between the panels and grab, to tug someone out of their paces and down to the ground. pulled off balance and tugged out of sync, the soldiers are much easier to take down. ]

Do people normally die just to get away from you or something?

You're hilarious.

[ he's laughing on the inside. ]

I would invite you to continue these comedic stylings but I'm a little busy and you're not that interesting outside of what you can do physically.

[ so hush. ]

(no subject)

gasping - 2019-08-07 12:09 (UTC) - Expand

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