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meadowlarklogs2019-07-26 08:19 am
forcevisions) wrote in meadowlarklogs2019-07-26 08:19 am
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.
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.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.✧ 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. > 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.> THE RETURN✧ 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.✦ 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. 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. |
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[ It's a great idea, and as expected, Sora's all too happy to talk about one of his adventures. He nods exuberantly and then considers where to sit. Sharing the cot with Rey doesn't seem like the right choice, especially when she needs space and rest, and so Sora ends up dragging another cot away from the wall and maneuvering it so that he can sit on it facing her.
He sits cross-legged and then rests his chin in his hand, hmm-ing to himself as he considers what world he should tell her about. There are so many options, but the ones that are more recent in his memory come to mind first. ]
Well, there was this one world called Corona. It was a kingdom! But I first showed up near this tall, tall tower in the middle of the woods.
[ He lifts one hand high above his head to show what he means. ]
It turned out that a girl named Rapunzel lived there, and she'd been cooped up there all her life! She had hair that was long, really long, because it had special powers. We didn't find that out until later. But me and my friends got to escort her to the kingdom so that she could see a lantern festival.
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[ An uncomfortable feeling creeps up Rey's neck. ]
Was she trapped? Did you free her?
[ Forced to stay, right? Not by choice. Not like Rey. ]
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[ Sora trails off and shakes his head. Mother Gothel had turned into a powerful, twisted Heartless, showing her true colors after everything was taken from her. It hadn't been her place to lock someone up like that, to keep Rapunzel away from her home. ]
She got sick of it, and convinced me, my friends, and Flynn to show her the way to the castle town. It was pretty weird, seeing her experience so many things for the first time.
[ Sora smiles at the memory. It had been nice to play some small part in Rapunzel's first steps into the world. ]
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[ Rey is definitely not projecting. ]
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[ There's nothing redeemable in what Gothel had done. Setting aside that she had almost killed Flynn in her attempts to get Rapunzel back, she had truly given her heart over to darkness back when she'd decided to keep someone for herself to benefit off of her powers. ]
Flynn cut Rapunzel's hair, which cut off the power that had kept Gothel young. She lost her heart completely to darkness and was turned into a monster, so we had to defeat her to keep everyone safe.
[ It's nothing that Sora hadn't done countless other times, but he keeps his gaze on Rey, curious to see how she'll respond to the story. ]
After that, Rapunzel was able to return to her real family and be with Flynn.
[ A happy ending. ]
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It's a nice story.
[ The ideal story. Not far from the one she'd told herself for years, in fact. The kind of fairytale that had kept her hanging on, right down to Unkar Plutt the evil stepfather (?). But it doesn't work like that. Not for her. And it had to be alright that it hadn't worked like that for her because no amount of projecting onto Han or Luke would turn them into the parents who had abandoned her.
She was on her own. ]
Rapunzel's lucky she had such good friends to reunite her with her family. Lucky her family was still around. [ Heartfelt. It's good that good things happen to other people, even if it reminds her of what she didn't get. ]
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Or at least, that's what Sora thinks might be going on. ]
Rey, did you...
[ Sora pauses, initially not sure how to ask after her without putting her on the spot. He shakes his head, then tries again. ]
If you wanted to talk or anything, I can listen. But if you don't want to, I get that too.
[ He'd wanted to distract her and it seems like instead he somehow made things worse. He frowns, hoping there's a way to make it better. ]
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I could tell stories. [ She offers in place of that extension of vulnerability. ] They aren't mine. I haven't been on adventures like yours. [ At least, they didn't feel like rollicking adventures in other worlds. It was a mission, a duty, almost sacrosanct. ] But lots of people traded stories where I come from. About heroes from my world.
[ Sometimes they'd traded for portions, and sometimes they'd exchange one story for another. Bartering. It seems only fair, since Sora has given her one, that she should offer it back. ]
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But the stories that Rey had been told will be different from what Sora had heard as a child. Different worlds, different backgrounds, different stories that were shared. So he doesn't hesitate to nod.
Crossing his legs, he sets his hands on either knee and then leans forward, rapt in his attention. ]
I'd like that a lot. Tell me your favorite one.
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[ Relief spreads across her face, easing the tension out of her shoulders. Sora's acceptance of her efforts to squirm out of vulnerability tastes better than the first sip of clean lake water. It chases the shadows back, lets them lurk in the box she has packed them into at the corner of her mind a little longer. ]
Okay. Well, thirty years ago, the galaxy was in civil war. [ She starts with this, setting the stage of the rebellion. When she arrives at introducing Leia, Rey's depiction is effusive, painting her as strong and brave and lovely. But serious too. A little sad. Rey tells the story of how she was taken hostage by the gangster Jabba the Hutt, made one of his slaves, and how she had throttled him to death with her own slave chain.
Proudly, she finishes with: ]
They call her "Leia the Hutt-Slayer" in some parts of the galaxy.
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Rey speaks of a great hero, a woman named Leia, and Sora is enraptured by the description that she offers. Leia sounds strong in all kinds of ways, and he's reminded of Aqua.
Except that Aqua was never enslaved by something called a Hutt. By the time that Rey reaches that part of the story, Sora's completely taken in by it, like he's a little kid again. ]
That's amazing! She really showed him, huh? What happened after that?
[ They'll be here all night if he has anything to say about it. ]
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[ She sounds very proud saying this, like it's what everyone should grow up to aspire to. ]
are you cool with wrapping this soon?
[ Rey's excitement about all of this in infectious, and Sora's leaning forward near the edge of the cot. He just wants to believe that there was a happy ending, that all of that fighting and rebelling hadn't been a waste. ]