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meadowlarklogs2019-11-30 12:31 pm
EVENT LOG 007 | AFTERMATH
WHERE: New Beijing, a train, and then New Amsterdam.
WHEN: The tail end of the operation and the two days after: January 26th-28th.
WHAT: Finishing up the operation, hiding out, and going home.
NOTES OR WARNINGS: Violence and unstoppable soldiers. More to be updated as necessary.
At the turn of midnight in New Beijing, the true risk to this plan comes to light. There was always a chance, always a point of awareness that Cassius wouldn't be able to buy his foot soldiers enough time. He knew that this could go poorly, so he was prepared for just that. He knew that the Displaced would, potentially, treat the UNA soldiers as personal enemies. They showed this face with their foolhardy desperation during the EMP's effects, and given an opportunity to assault a weaker, unexpecting bunch, they wouldn't hold back.
After all, not killing the soldiers hadn't been a suggestion made by Cassius showing some sign that he had a conscience or was worried about the death of citizens. No, killing the soldiers would make his job harder: and it did.
After scrambling the distress call for forty-five minutes, Cassius' efforts finally fail when the base finally gets the word out for reinforcements. Switching gears, Cassius sends along a word to the Displaced still in the base, letting them know that their time is running short. They need to get moving, and the UNA has wisened up to Cassius' tactics with the fabricated terrorist attacks on the other side of the city. If it were just one thing, the UNA may not have turned back, but their installed software quickly began to recognize many of the tactical patterns that Cassius employed: they weren't that different from the ones executed by radicalized Morningstar agents in other cities.
The lack of traffic in the city means the deployed soldiers return swiftly. Unlike the ones at the base, these soldiers are heavily armed and prepared for the worst. Even though Judas is definitely offline by the time they arrive, their systems remain operational for now. After all, Judas wasn't online as it was, as he was isolated from the world on a localized quantum server. The weight of Judas' impact on the UNA and its systems are still up in the air for anyone to guess. It's hard to tell what they might have been using him for, and just what weight his own additions had made on their current operations. What's clear is that these soldiers can still move, act, and attack, and there are hundreds of them rushing back in a steady stream of military might.
For anyone in the base, it's time to move. Being caught here probably will mean the end of the road for everyone involved.
◉ The soldiers who show up are not beatable. They will be working in formation and predicting most of what's coming their way, and given the numbers sent out, they will be unstoppable. Unsurprisingly, the larger the unit, the stronger their ingrained instincts happen to be. Think of these soldiers as the boss battle you can't even beat for an achievement. It's the one where you're meant to lose, if you engage at all.
◉ We're fine with any degree of Judas Hot Potato that goes on in the final stages of the base, and recommend that you all work that out on our event aftermath post.
◉ As for who finally hands Judas off to Cassius, we have sign ups at the aftermath post, too! The person who wins that doesn't need to be the person with the potato in the end; some creative juggling can go down for that stage, too!
◉ Anyone who dies on the base will need to be dragged out and taken to a medi-unit or they will be permadead. We are not asking for anyone to have their characters killed here! Everyone can get out safely and unharmed if they haul ass. Or even if they don't! Maybe they got lucky.
◉ Cassius will be wiping any records of the interlopers, making it so that their existence can't be traced. He'll be covering the surrounding areas of the base for a three mile radius. After that, everyone is on their own: they'd better have a plan of escape.
While Cassius will be covering the immediate area of the base, everyone will want to make sure that they don't appear suspicious as they hit the streets of New Beijing. The best place to hide? The lower levels of the city. Despite the frequent police raids, someone can move through the lower levels until they're close to their hotel. All they need to do is move up once they're just beneath their temporary residence. Discarding any unwanted goods along the way down there probably wouldn't hurt.
For anyone who's been injured by the soldiers or by their fellow Displaced, they'll want to stop and do some quick first aid on themselves. Hitting a hospital or clinic like this is risky. For the dead, it's not as if anyone has any choice, so their pal better cook up a good story for what happened along the way. The good news in all of this is that injuries and all, none of the hotels are likely to ask too many questions. The drones that do the room service aren't sentient, and the people who work the front desks simply aren't paid enough to care.
By 9 AM, all the news beats around the city refer to a series of attacks that rocked UN landmarks. While the attacks on the UN government buildings had the mark of Morningstar radicals from New Prague and New Johannesburg, they are not citing them as the individuals most likely to be culpable for these attacks. There is no information about what happened at the UNA HQ, though it seems unlikely that none of that information would have gotten out during the flurry of hasty exits.
Even so, it's likely a good idea that everyone lays low for the final couple of days in New Beijing. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to say cooped up in their hotels. Still, they'll likely want to be cautious while the city is on high alert for suspicious activity.
As for whoever has Judas, they'll get a message late in the evening of the 26th telling them to meet with one of Cassius' resources in the morning. Cassius won't be up for much conversation when the message comes in. Despite all previous communication, any messages sent to him now will be a dead end.
Eventually, it's January 28th and everyone will be headed back to New Amsterdam on a train. It feels as if there's almost a lack of closure, as Judas is most likely gone, the devices that were meant to hold him unable to go through customs. Unlike the previous train, this ride will be an non-stop express from New Beijing to New Amsterdam, and will be largely uneventful. The lack of stops along the way makes it impossible for any temporary havoc to break out. Even the Displaced who didn't pick up express tickets will find that their itinerary has been changed. While the more luxurious seats will remain the same and will offer a bed for anyone looking to rest over the long journey, everyone else's upgrade will treat them to neck pillows and thin blankets to help them stay comfortable.
An event-free ride probably won't mean much for the feelings stewing among the Displaced. Everyone is bound to be feeling something after everything that just happened, so there's still a lot of room for tension now that everyone's been crammed in close quarters on a non-stop train ride. Let's just hope it doesn't get too nasty in there!
◉ El will purchase all of the newcomer Displaced tickets for the way back. All of them will be traveling to New Amsterdam for new job opportunities in the wake of the city's losses, and will be directed to make a statement of intent to move to New Amsterdam permanently.
◉ El won't be purchasing that upgrade, though. If anyone thinks it's Cassius' doing, just blame it on Cassius.
◉ Everyone will be arriving in New Amsterdam around 4 PM with varying amounts of jetlag (or trainlag).
◉ Upon arriving, everyone will begin to see garrish advertisements for both Valentine's Day and Carnival.
Thanks for the great event, Larkers! We have a lot planned to spin out of this one, so we hope that you enjoyed what we cooked up here. Our OOC Aftermath Post is live, which is where we'd like you to direct all of your aftermath questions. We also encourage you to discuss any loose ends for the plot and plan anything else out that's needed!
Otherwise, we intended for this to be more of a low key log while everyone continues to thread out the event. Our next log will be up on December 13th featuring our new arrivals, giving everyone some time between now and then!
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Akechi pulls them into shadows, and though it's cool outside, he shrugs out of his outer jacket and offers it to Ren. It's dark enough that it'll conceal any bloodstains. He doesn't have any way of binding the wound on the fly, but without Ren at his side, it'll be easier to find those supplies. To steal or ask for them.]
Stick as close to the top as possible without going into it. Move quickly. Get into the shower to wash the wound before I get back, and grant me permission to your hotel room so I'm not inhibited. Do you understand?
[His voice is even, clear. He'll be quick, but this is how he puts someone's condition first.]
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the world swims, and he makes a grab for the jacket, slipping his arms into it without question (perhaps a different time he'd find something to ask, but right now? not so much). he's certain to cover his shoulder, even if it's only superficially.
he listens (he's sure he listens), and makes sure that he can remember the steps: close, quick, shower, permissions.
close, quick, shower, permissions. ]
Right.
[ a heave of a breath.
with the mask off he looks pale. there's a contrast against his dark hair, the bruises and the blood. he most certainly has a concussion, to the very least, along with a loss of blood. all he has to do is put one foot in front of the other until he gets there—he can focus on that. ]
I'll get there.
[ he's trying, very hard, to give off an air of competence. it's almost admirable.
at least he has his determination. ]
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For him, victory once meant total annihilation. When the victim's shadow was dead, he had to promptly find a way out, or he would die within the confines of the palace itself.
That carries over here. His movements are careful. As sad as he is to see them go, he discards a pair of gloves outside of a restaurant selling sour-smelling noodles. Next, he loses the masks, dropping them at the feet of a couple of sex workers offering their wares. It's near where Ren told him to go, so he does the math as he draws closer, hanging them on crooked aspects of the wall. When he departs, they can only see the back of his head as he moves.
It's only when he gets back to the hotel that he buys bandages and other things from the vending machines within the hotel's lobby. He trusts that Cassius will handle the cost and clearing it up, so he heads up to Ren's room rather than his own, pushing the door open as he does. He grabs one of the glasses for water as he heads to the bathroom, ready to pour himself a drink as he pokes his head inside.]
What's your status? [he asks, not quite looking at Ren as he begins to pull water from the faucet. If he wishes to cover himself up, this is the time to do it.]
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there are a few hecklers, but they're hyenas who follow him to the hotel and hollar from the door. luckily this world doesn't demand much of talking with other people, and he can utilize his neural implant enough to make the confirmation for the room, and then to send an extra key to Akechi. it's the last thing that he remembers doing.
the rest his just following directions. he leaves a trail of bloody clothing as he pulls it off, uncaring of exactly where it lands (he will clean it up when he can focus). it's his pants, Akechi's jacket, his hoodie and his shirt, they all get left as remnants of the mission as he heads into the shower. the blood goes first, and he tries to keep his intention on cleaning the wound as his head swims. somewhere among that, Akechi's voice rings out. ]
Still standing.
[ that says something, right?
he doesn't care much about the nudity, but he stumbles to take a towel. to at least wrap it around his waist in a show of competence. not surprisingly his body is marked with bruises, some purple and some blue. it's the consequence of the mission. he knew that going into it. the wound on his shoulder is a neat piercing when it's clean, still welling up blood around a puncture wound. ]
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His head tilts, looking up to see Ren ready, and he leaves his glass on the counter. It's mostly empty by now: a natural side-effect of his thirst. He pulls out the supplies and preps them, motioning for Ren to take a seat. In hindsight, perhaps he should have grabbed some pain relievers. The bruises stand out, and there's no doubt that he carries some of the same. But he's used to the ache: on trips to the metaverse where he ran low on medication, he'd have to get out just barely.]
Let's get this bullet out first, and then I'll grab you some ice for your bruising. [He grabs up a set of tweezers that he purchased and begins to wash them in soap and water. Not great, but it's a suitable enough resource for now.]
Do you want something to bite down on?
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he breathes. ]
And antibiotics. [ important, right?
important, yeah.
he leans forward, putting his forehead in his palm. ]
Yeah, just grab me something.
[ anything, now. ]
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He turns away to grab a pillow, stripping it of its pillow case and rolling it into a thin "rope." He turns back, extending it to Ren.]
I'll ask El for some when we return. Don't die before then, or we'll be in this city for that much longer. [Another twenty four hours in a medi-unit, trying to dodge suspicion from anyone who might wonder about the bullet wound in Ren's shoulder. Even without the bullet, the wound itself would be telling.
He draws closer, waiting for Ren to bite down before he begins.]
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he's wobbly when he weighs the fabric in his hand. ]
Keep talking.
[ an odd request, but it keeps Ren's mind off of certain things, keeps him focused and awake.
he puts the rope in his mouth. ]
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His bare hand comes to rest on Ren's shoulder. The empathy bond ignites between them: anger and agitation is the baseline of who Akechi is, and there is a hint of worry that creeps in, as if he's trying to stifle it with confidence and certainty. And then it changes, shifts, at the recognition of Ren's pain. The humanity of it all, as if he's puzzled and as if he feels invaded.
Time to speak and ignore this feeling.]
Our gambit failed today. Perhaps we would have been able to recover the AI in time if we hadn't killed so many of the soldiers, but that was a risk we had to take. Our next step may be to see if we can goad the person out into the open before we leave this city and claim him for ourselves. Unfortunately, many of the people in there hadn't made deals for themselves: I know one such person who refused, but was present all the same. Perhaps he thought it would be interesting, or advertised his reason for being there as such. [His words are slow, careful. It's only midway through that he begins to dig out the single bullet. His brow furrows as he does it, aware of the pain shared through the link. Not only that, but his voice quavers: uneasy. Unhappy.
Only when he finishes the end of what he says does he grind his teeth and yank out the bullet, dropping the metal tweezers at the same time onto the floor haphazardly.
His fingers flex, and he moves to begin to close up the wound as best as he can.] At least I had an instrument for you. Hope had nothing. [That annoyance again, perhaps over the intimacy and fragility of it all.]
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there's no flinching, no hesitance as Akechi pushes bare skin against him. there's no need. there's nothing but an intake a breath and the sudden surge of anger against anger: they're different kinds. he knows that they've failed, that their pursuits have been in vain, and the anger comes from a place of self-loathing. he churns over what he could have done differently, trying to reconcile it with what they can do now. while Ren doesn't tend to dwell, he needs the space to feel out his own negligence.
the pain in his shoulder is fresh, searing and burning, but overshadowed by the other parts of his emotional intensity. there are other things at hurt more than the physical pain. Akechi presses him back against the chair and Ren straightens his posture, his one hand comes to grip Akechi's forearm, the other the bottom of his shirt. his fingers curl into a fist and tighten, pulling at the fabric.
instead of focusing on the tweezers, he focuses on his voice. dark eyes narrow, and he steadies his breath. he ignores the physical need to wretch, to give in to the headiness, and instead keeps his eyes forward. he remembers Takemi. there's no way that he can avoid this, and while his grip loosens on occasion, tries to tug away, there's no way that the bond can break as Akechi searches for the culprit burrowed in Ren's shoulder. ]
We still have a chance.
[ a droplet of sweat drips from his chin and down. the tweezers clang to the floor and Ren shifts beneath Akechi's grip. ]
How's Hope? She made it out.
[ worried about someone else.
not worried about himself.
that's how it always is. ]
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His frustration burns low while the pain sends nausea through his stomach. It isn't his pain. But he feels it just the same: not in a pure, straightforward manner. No, this isn't pain sharing. But the emotion behind it is there, and his stomach twists and flips unhappily.]
Unlike you, she heals. [Bitter.] She has no need of a spell, no diarahan to bring her back to health. The bullet limited her ability to heal. And despite it, she still fails to see her power. Or appreciate herself for it. She's quite foolish in that way.
[A beat. Another flare of annoyance.]
Is that what you wanted to hear?
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his fingers tug the rope in his mouth forward. ]
Yeah. [ despite Akechi's shared annoyance, Ren does seem sincere. ] That makes sense. [ probably??? ] Thanks.
[ it does make him feel better that she might be all right—that she got out okay. it wasn't just their failure at Judas, but the people who might've gotten hurt because of it.
the fist that's curled in Akechi's shirt at his hip tightens, and his teeth click together as he mends the wound together. there's conflict, the pull at his gut not just from the pain, but the knowledge of the failure. the anger that he hones into change. ]
Faith had it for a while. I don't know if she got it back.
[ focus his frustrations. ]
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Akechi doesn't feel guilt or regret over this in the way someone "normal" might. But he does feel something close. Recognition. Consciousness of the fact that he may be the problem here.]
If she has him, he's lost to us. Our affiliation will keep her from giving him to you. She has further reason to take issue with me. [Look, it's a big step that, despite everything, he's aware of the consequences of his actions.]
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there was a moment where he thought that she might change her mind, but she didn't. she was moody, and a single wrong word pushed her in the wrong direction. Ren had to be careful. if she had Judas ... Akechi was right, Judas was gone. ]
We fought.
[ something else seeps through the bond as his attention shifts, as he keeps his focus. ]
There's an issue with you?
[ but Akechi seems to find a way to make issues with people. ]
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Of course, he had antagonized her. Practically asked for it.]
I used my power on her, and it appears that a loss of control is what she least wants.
[At least he's capable of recognizing that he hit a trigger of hers.]
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he had, in some way, been prepared for it, even if he didn't like it. ]
I could've told you that. [ she had been so forward with him. ] She's been used.
[ it's what he could gather from her outbursts in their conversation. he pauses for a moment, and then asks: ]
Why?
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He isn't keen to rehash it.]
Why did I retaliate? Why did she act in such a way that would require it? Or would it be better to table this conversation for another time?
[When Ren's care for the many won't drain him of what energy he still has.]
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[ both, he means. all of it. it keeps him from thinking about the rest of what his body is going through as Akechi finishes up. it still hurts enough to make him sick, but the feel has become easier to get used to rather than a steady flow of nausea. there's the concussion that he's sure he has, and he has to force himself awake rather than drift.
there were certain tactics he taught himself while he was being held by the police, including the way that he forced himself to stay awake. ]
What happened?
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Why do you think I needed to retaliate? Because she hurt me. Why do you think she hurt me?
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it takes him a moment to realize that he's being asked a question. he lifts his opposite arm to try to wipe the corner of his lip and his cheek because he knows he's sweating. ]
What did she do?
[ that's the part he can't place. ]
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If I should know, I want to make sure I understand. [ he sounds a little strained, tired, but determined to keep himself upright. ] She confronted me, then took it as a challenge.
[ he breathes into his chest, and it hurts. ]
It's not just your affiliation.
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[That's why she saw Ren as a challenge. She saw it as a competition, a game to win. If she's been taken advantage of before by politicians, it makes sense. Everything comes down to how to roll the dice in the end.]
Are you satisfied?
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Yes. [ after a moment. ] Thank you.
[ like everything that Ren does, there's a sincerity to the words. after the poking and the prodding, he does appreciate it. working with Akechi about certain personal issues always required a little more prodding, and Ren lifts his face to look at his annoyed expression. ]
Hey ... Can you get me my pants?
[ because his body feels a little too heavy to lift. ]
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In an attempt to avoid having to dress Ren, he holds them out without offering, and without a word.]
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