EMPTY CHAIRS AT EMPTY TABLES

[onemind]

CHARACTERS: All
WHERE: Concordia - VEN DIAGRAMS HQ + BOUT IT OUT PARLOR + BEARINGS APARTMENT BLOCK
WHEN: Late Day :022 + Early Day :023
SUMMARY: The results of all your hard work - for better or worse. One win, one draw, one loss. Anakin Skywalker bites the big one.
WARNINGS: Violence, non-graphic character death.

IT’S BEEN A LONG DAY. Unfortunately, that’s not about to change any time soon. In the late hours of the evening, two things are happening: the final round of the Bout It Out expose between Kun-Kun and The Darkling is spooling up; meanwhile, the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams is working to retrieve information on H+H1 from the company’s security drive. Unfortunately, neither is going to reach the natural conclusion.

At the REGAL STREET GAMING PARLOR, emotions are running high. After a long day of simulation violence and the reveal of Kun-Kun’s new automaton fighting avatar, the crowd has been stoked to a few pitch. The music’s loud but the crowd is louder: cheering and booing, shouting for every landed or evaded strike. There’s an electric pulse of excitement in the air-- and then there’s a very literal one as an electromagnetic pulse rocks the Regal Street Parlor. The Bout It Out ring shorts and the entire parlor is pitched into total, window-less darkness. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds for the crowd’s excitement to melt into panic. Pushing, shoving, shouting - a piercing shriek as one of Kun-Kun’s representatives is stabbed. The nearby hosts (Lexa, Sam Alexander, and anyone in their faux attachment) should be able to help Kun-Kun and his reps to safety, but the crush of the crowd tangles up everyone else. When a rudimentary bomb goes off in the center of the parlor, it catches plenty of people in the crossfire.

There’s a white hot flash. A pulse of heat. A sizzle of agony. It’s a pain that guts, that persists long after the flash of the bomb and extends all the way to the infiltration team at Ven Diagrams. It’s like a limb badly severed. Anakin Skywalker is killed by the blast and every host knows it before they’re aware of anything else.

Unluckily for the infiltration team, they won’t have much time to recover. News of the bombing hits Extraspace in a matter of seconds, which triggers Ven Diagrams - paranoid from the recent attack on their own properties - to lock down their headquarters. All systems are tightened and security clamps down before the infiltration team can access the private servers. If you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be, now’s the time to get the hell out of dodge.

Retreat, regroup. Upon returning to the Bearings apartment block, the hosts will find that two of their previously comatose friends have woken up: Hux and Aoba Seragaki will probably need to be briefed on the current situation.

     I. THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS
In the Regal Street Gaming Parlor, a pulse flashes. Electronics sizzle. A fight reaching rhythm is shattered and darkness consumes the parlor in its entirety. There’s something like a collective inhale - and then the panic sets in. Screaming. Pushing. Elbows in the dark and a wave of bodies forcing their way toward wherever they think the exit is. Parlors like this one are supposed to be shielded from this kind of problem, but today that doesn’t matter. In just a few short moments of panic, a bomb - basic compared to the one that blew out the Ven Diagram warehouse only days ago - goes off.

There’s a buzz. An electrical hiss. In the wake of the explosion - in the wake of the agony of Anakin’s death -, the parlor’s fire systems go off flooding the upper and lower levels, the spectator balconies with flame retardant powder and coolant. The emergency lighting kicks on, throwing the carnage into stark fluorescent light. The probable intended victim has escaped, along with his entourage, but there are plenty of wounded - groans and weeping permeate the chemical stale air. In addition to Anakin, three people have been killed and two androids have been rendered into scrap by the explosion. Countless others could use help; maybe even a few other hosts have been wounded by the blast.

     II. MEANWHILE...
If you’re part of the infiltration team, you’ve officially overstayed your welcome. Security tightens to a chokehold; if you’re somewhere you shouldn’t be, it’s time to leave. An alarm blares through the development laboratories. The building is evacuated and then sealed throughout. The powerlifts cease operation. All networked systems go offline.

     III. FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT
Back at the parlor, the evacuation continues. The parlor is half-collapsed, there are injured to tend to and local authorities to deal with. In a matter of minutes, the the parlor is swarmed by public security and medical personnel. If you’re able bodied, you’re welcome to assist with rescue efforts - or try to find a lead on who could’ve been responsible for this. Some evidence, some sign - anything to make this worth it. During this time those with Kun Adetokunbo will have the chance to make their case.

It’s a long, protracted clean up and triage; it’s absolutely possible that some of the infiltration team members might make it to the site of the explosion to assist or care for their friends. 

     IV. WE TEND OUR WOUNDED, WE COUNT OUR DEAD
In the early hours of the morning on Day 023, the hosts limp back to Bearings. Maybe it should be achingly quiet, but it’s not - there’s a murmur of activity in the mental air as Hux and Aoba muddle out of their way from out of their comas. From here, it’s up to to the hosts to recover, to discuss how they want to proceed, and come up with a way to recover from this setback - and from Anakin’s death.

---

((OOC NOTES: Here it is, your wrapup log for the event! You may have noticed that the Hosts didn’t succeed at the Ven Diagrams infiltration. We thought this was a better way than asking everyone to handwave a huge amount of plot or simply having the NPCs get the evidence. Don’t worry though - there will be other mysteries to unravel soon. Very soon, in fact.

There will be an NPC top-level for the escape with Kun-Kun, but otherwise you’re free to make your own top levels! If you have any questions please feel free to ask them in the event OOC post.

Thanks everyone!))

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Comments

[unsea]

[ Meeting at a better time.

It is better than never meeting at all. The aftermath of the explosion will cripple the Nest, for some time. Anakin was not his, and he will recover more quickly - having never known him beyond what the symbiote causes him to feel, and knowing what he meant to Kylo Ren. Who the Darkling seems to think fondly of, frighteningly enough. ]

I was hoping we could compromise.

[ Finally, he answers. His own -- were they worries? for her? for the champion? have been reassured, and he can move on. ]

I was. Against what my experiences have taught me. [ He's not any longer. ]

[adamance]

Those who threaten with open-ended violence are not to be reasoned with. There must always be a cause for it. And if they are puppets on someone's strings, then they don't see any reason to give a cause. They believe in what they believe blindly, even if it goes against everything they knew before.

[Lexa worries about the escalation, because it may mean more than just their efforts being futile. It might mean that the Enemy is here and acting, and they are somehow ignorant to it all.]

[unsea]

[ His hands are heavy with bandages, and he flexes his fingers to test their give while she lectures him. Again. Like her, he fears they are missing something. Her words, however, remind him of something that he'll share. ]

He did it on a whim.

[ The comment is idle, and he seems puzzled by it. Gesturing loosely, he repeats: ] The champion. I don't know yet if it correlates, if it even matters - but he presented his new avatar on a whim. What did you make of him, when you spoke? Did he seem the type to make such a rash decision?

[adamance]

My impression is that the only battle he knows is false. He is not a true warrior. That leading up to this event, he had been rash many times over. He cared for his representatives, but they did not turn away someone who offered them protection. [Her. She means herself. She had offered it because it seemed wise, and it's not a decision that she regrets at this time.]

Can you clarify the matter of a whim? Did he come up with it "on a whim" or choose to reveal that avatar at that moment? [Perhaps this will help her use the above-mentioned information to come to a more direct response.]

[unsea]

[ He had fought the champion. Combat was a language unto itself, and he is not petty. Keeping the experience and what he may have gleaned from it from Lexa, who aspired to other ends, would have been exactly that. ] I will second that. He does not know battle, only the game.

[ It takes him a moment to respond, as he has to go back to the final match - to what he had asked and how he had been answered: ] I asked him how long he had desired the debt. Of his avatar. He said, 'about twenty minutes'. I couldn't ask him anything further.

[ Because of the explosion. ]

[adamance]

It may be better that we are choosing a different person to speak to instead of him. [That's her own belief in the situation.] Just the same, an explosion like that can't happen on a whim. Still, do you think him suspicious just the same?

[Though the lack of people stopping them as they left the parlor had been surprising, Lexa still thinks the bomb was likely detonated from a distance.]

[unsea]

He was a vital piece, to reach that point.

[ And not at all prepared for the violence that had struck the parlor. Which was why using him as a stepping stone to reach the next level is something he agrees to. He won't be present - while he'd done the fighting, Lexa's voice alone would carry. He has other intentions, shared with Bellamy, and soon to be brought to Carata's attention. ]

I don't believe he's malicious. I think... he was tired of hiding.

[adamance]

[Knowing that he has changed his tune is a relief. Not finding suspicions here will make her life much easier, as she finds no reason to distrust Kun-Kun. Still, moving forward, she intends to examine anyone they come across closely. She wonders if there will be people to question from this event, or if their device gained from one of the androids will help them.

That will be explored elsewhere. Not here.

Here, she considers what he says, especially in light of everything.]

I believe it may be true. Especially since he's become an unwitting spokesperson for a cause.

[unsea]

On the matter of spokespersons.

[ Kun-Kun aside, there is one other voice he has been paying mind to. His own mistrust of the technological advances of this world had led him to hear the other side out. The opposite half that may harbor their enemies's influences, and the side he'd like to finally approach - working two sides of the spectrum, as they say. ]

Goram Saffit. How do you feel about his involvement, in the grand scheme of things?

[adamance]

I have two theories. [It's clear that she's been thinking about this, and she still hasn't delved far enough into her research. She has used the net to find out about him, and she can understand why a man of his stature has political clout. Lexa knows why people are listening to him.]

One, that he is behind everything that has happened, somehow bolstered by assistance from the Enemy who has left him with that help. This is a theory that leads me to believe that he is somehow in their control. But the flaw in this theory is apparent: why is he gaining traction now? What is allowing that? Though you may have your own biases toward this world, the singularity our mission briefing spoke of was coming along naturally. [And she has not seen anything to the contrary. Her trip with Steve to visit one of the churches left her firmly entrenched in this belief. Their belief systems don't work against or for these progressions ... and actually seem to be more for them, at least from what she's perceived.]

My second belief is that he is somehow an unwitting individual gaining traction because the political climate has made that easier for him. [She thinks of Nia's opposition to her. Even a month prior, that wouldn't have been nearly as successful. Tides turn. Things change. People take advantage of it.] Given his standing, he may be an innocent bystander. Either way, his voice is heard, and he gives them some official. Therefore, he is a threat to our mission, but one we need to approach carefully.

[unsea]

[ It's difficult not to remember her announcement to the nest as a whole. The question of Saffit had plagued him since arrival, since he had begun to research and read and educate himself about Concordia and who moved in which circle. Who had the power, who had the poise. Who had charisma and the motivation. Saffit had denounced the violence, but had indeed gained traction among those who opposed their mission goals. Two theories, sound in nature. Ones he had come to, as well. ]

A third. A concept, really. I have nothing to back it up with, yet, but cannot dismiss it out of hand - Saffit is a mask. A public facade. Our eye is drawn to him, and we do not consider what may lay behind the curtains because his involvement is so compelling and, indeed, very natural. He could be any number of these things, and we will not know without more information.

[ Which is why he leans forwards, curling his less-injured hand around the other. ]

Which is why I believe my... publicity, will serve us well. I'll need to speak with Carata first, but I believe we could turn this act of violence to our advantage.

[adamance]

[His thinking is sound—in fact, it's likely one of the few times in which she's found herself respecting someone's political canny here. The only other individual on the receiving end of this feeling of respect that resonates from her is General Hux. Still, there is a part of her that doesn't fully trust him, but there's little about that that's new. If anyone even glimpsed into Lexa's mind on a regular basis, it would be apparent how few people she trusts around the Bearings.]

I've considered that, too. But do you think he has been propelled to move as the mask and someone is taking advantage of that, leaving him as a scapegoat, or is someone giving him a means to use his status to his advantage? We know about the movements here, but they had no traction before we arrived. [One might assume that they've done something to stop it, but Lexa personally thinks that inaction is the problem here.]

[unsea]

[ The plan he proposes is an active work in progress, but with Lexa and the youngest Sam involved with Adetokunbo and their attempt to infiltrate Ven Diagram thwarted, they could not afford to rest on their laurels. Like her, he agrees that inaction would cost them. There was a vulnerability, given to them by this act of violence, that they needed to exploit. Quickly, but not ineffectively. He's not in the business of making rash decisions, despite his reaction to Steve Rogers earlier, in the wake of their loss. ]

I don't know. And I do not enjoy not knowing. I want to know who this man is and why he has become such figurehead. I want to know him from the core of his person, to the root of his ideals. To do so, I may be called upon to - position myself as someone who is sympathetic to his goals. He may not be inclined to speak freely to a neutral party, or someone known as a supporter of... what we are trying to achieve.

[ Ah. ]

I believe we need to be involved with both sides, for... clarity's sake. We may be able to learn much from him, no matter who he is.

[adamance]

From what you've told me, that shouldn't be a difficult task for you. [All he has to do is pretend that he is from this world. There is a part of her that wonders if he should bring someone with him for this eventual meeting. No, it cannot be her, but she does hope she can send someone. Perhaps Bellamy would be a useful addition. She'll have to see.]

Your fight with Kun-Kun will help you stage that. I agree that we need someone investigating both sides. We don't know who is supporting these acts of violence. If I'm not wrong, they would need to have the resources to manage it, wouldn't they? [She may be wrong, coming from a world with little in the way of technology like that.]

[unsea]

Not terribly. I'll behave myself, [ his humor fluctuates between wry and morbid, and seems to have settled on wry at the moment. He most certainly will "behave", if he is spearheading the movement to approach Saffit for further information. He's already good at speaking in circles, especially with Lexa. And he does intend to call for a handful of volunteers, to assist. ]

They may have a patron, granting them the resources they need. However, I do not doubt that if someone had the mind to, they could locate their own resources - which may leave a trail. [ It's too many threads to follow. They'll have to start at one and eliminate the other potentials as they go. ] As I have known the position of the patron and the desperate, I could not yet begin to say.

[adamance]

I've begun to believe that we may need to better organize ourselves moving forward. Many of us have the skills to complete these missions, but I don't know that they're being utilized and applied effectively. The trail, for instance, may be best for Angel or Sam Anders to follow. Checking Saffit's ... funding ... may be a place to start. Separately from your own mission.

[It's clear that money is not a place she fully understands. Yes, a trail is something she can grasp, but in her world, unless someone has an object of importance that they claimed from salvaging goods and parts, most things lack a thing of importance. Many people tattoo themselves to create that important thing otherwise.]

[unsea]

If I may simultaneously provide my services as a distraction, and if this supports their efforts... I don't see why it could not work.

[ His disagreement with Sam Anders aside, involving his personal feelings will get them nowhere. They are senseless and useless, in the grand scheme of what they need to accomplish. There is a militaristic need, a tactical sense in performing duties and leaving one's relationship aside. Hopefully, Sam might feel the same.

( If not, he is on rather good terms with one of Lexa's own. A talented hacker in his own right, given the proper incentive. ) ]

Will Sam - the young Sam, be with you when you next meet Adetokunbo?

[adamance]

It will depend on whether or not Kun-Kun will be present. He said that he would set up a meeting between us and Sheena Frey, making it so that he may not need to be involved from here on out. There were some nerves involved when we revealed our intentions, so it may be that he would prefer to remove himself from the conversation. [There is a sense that while her opinion holds to what it did when he first asked, that there is some lingering curiosity over the source of his nerves. After all, he had calmed himself up to that point, and then lost his control again.

Some may say that he got in over his head. Lexa still hasn't decided if she is among those individuals.]

I don't want to remove him, but his inclusion may puzzle her instead of us finding someone more technologically inclined. The elder Sam may work best there, as well. [He certainly cares a lot.]