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!))

NAVIGATION • SETTING • FAQ • MOD CONTACT • GLOSSARY

( CODE BY WHAMBAM )

Comments

[adamance]

[It's a good answer. While it may not be the answer she had been seeking (as she hoped it would shed some light on the weird circumstances she had just viewed here), it does offer her some perspective from one of the other Hosts. That other mystery may need to be resolved later, and that's if she feels it needs to be resolved at all. Lexa does have a habit of setting aside things that she's decided to deem unimportant.]

No one acts without reason. [She considers these words. Even if it is senseless destruction, it might just be that they don't know the reason for it.] I believe whoever is acting believes that they need to stop a threat that they view. [Lexa recalls Carata's words: they may be afraid of the inevitable.]

I believe it's possible that we are missing some element. That's what makes it seem senseless. Why would attacking like this stop anything? Why would taking lives stop anything? Someone believes it will. [But they aren't acting as if they are at war. That is what is most confusing for her.]

[vocalis]

[ The prior presence of Aoba's mind almost resurfaces - shifts, like a caged animal trying to get comfortable with it's own thoughts. No one acts without reason. Tch. He would destroy without reason. It's what he was made for.

Perhaps that's why he remains mentally shackled in the back of Aoba's mind. The animal seems to settle, but keeps an ear to the surface. Always listening, always watching, though Aoba seems unaware of his own mental stirrings. ]

Stop what though? Stop humans from supporting android rights? Violence isn't going to help anything, especially since they're hurting both sides.

[ He sighs, turns off the datapad with a flick to the screen, and tosses it on the empty couch cushion in front of Lexa. And then he mumbles something, disheartened- ]

If we could just find one of these people, I... I might be able to change their mind. But everyone's going to be looking for them, there's no way.

[adamance]

I brought back a memory core from one of the destroyed androids at our parlor. It may be nothing, but it may help, as well. [Lexa has already handed it off to Angel, though she assumes she'll know the contents of it sooner than later.]

Unless you'd prefer to go the political route. One of our own intends to speak to Gorram Saffit, but if you go separately and independently, you may be able to get him to see eye to eye with us. [There's a pause.] It depends on what methods you intend to use.

[One of the issues that they're confronting is the undercover nature of this mission. Lexa wants to simply explain that something like the singularity point has helped her people survive, even if they've met some hardships in the process. But she can't. No one would understand who "her people" are, so she's had to take some irritating detours along the way.]

[vocalis]

[ A memory core... as in, an android's brain? Aoba winces slightly, thinking of Ren's broken memory core back at the station. The little allmate had been completely fried and wiped of everything that made him Ren. Hopefully the core Lexa salvaged wouldn't be the same. ]

Huh? Oh, no, I don't think I'd be good with... political stuff. It's just...

[ He hesitates. Looks down at the black mirror of the datapad, then back up at Lexa, the lines of his mouth and shoulders going rigidly straight. He hasn't told anyone yet - not his brood, not Cathaway or Prince. He's running out of ways to help in this mission. If they need to make someone agree with them, even forcefully, using Scrap could be the best way to do that. ]

I have this ability... it's hard to control, but I can effect people with my voice. Like, make them listen, or do things they normally wouldn't do, or even change their opinions. I can also uh... enter my consciousness into someone else's and effect them more directly that way. It's pretty invasive, but...

[ But in this case, using his mental abilities may be the most effective way for him to make actual progress on Concordia. He'd have to think more on it, but knows he can't delay using it if an opportunity is presented. Even if he's still behind all the details of such an opportunity. ]

Who is Gorram Saffit?

[adamance]

[Mentally, she doesn't know what to make of that. Being a part of the Nest has made her reject the idea of other people in her mind more rather than less, if only because of the exact results of what he can do: change people's perspective. Lexa fears becoming less of who she is, but in the end, her personal agenda and the agenda of the mission are two separate things. She is nothing if not ruthless, and she can see the appeal of what he can do.

If it comes down to it, they may be able to utilize that to their advantages. If anything, he might have some use if they can corner one of Ven Diagrams' people and ask them for the information they had been seeking.

There is nothing she can do to hide the different pieces of her mind from moving to seeing how this can be utilized. Her rejection of it is apparent, but her willingness to see its use is also there. She is both uncomfortable and opportunistic.]

He is the voice of the anti-synthetic cause. Changing his perspective would help us. [Simply put.] But now that you've returned to us, I believe that you could otherwise use that ability to help us. Especially where we have failed. [Recovering the information they sought in the first place on the infiltration mission seems like a good idea.

Some part of her wonders how Angel would take to her manipulating not one both both of her broodmates to ensure that their use is best applied, but wondering doesn't mean stopping. Not in the least.]

[vocalis]

[ Aoba is one to be manipulated in many ways, but here he is offering his power over freely, for the sake of the mission. He knows he's been out of the loop, and just wants to get himself back in. That's what they're all here for, isn't it? To help, by any means necessary? He doesn't enjoy using Scrap, (especially with it's potential side effects - something he quietly decides not to mention) but if this is how he can help, then so be it. ]

You mean with the infiltration at Ven? Angel told me.

[ And showed him, at least partly. He felt that shared anxiety of holding baited breath, waiting for guards to slip past her hiding place. If he had been there, he'd have told the guards to freeze and forget what they saw. And if he used Scrap while telling them, it would've happened. In his mind, it would've been that simple.

Changing someone's personal opinion wouldn't be, but with Scrap it's not impossible. ]

Well, whether it's with the Ven people or this Gorram guy... I want to help.

[ It's not manipulation if the weapon chooses to be used, is it? ]

[adamance]

[Sometimes, it is both, or Lexa has told herself to see it that way. Even if she will sacrifice her people to a cause, she will always find some way to rationalize it to herself. There are no sacrifices to be made here just yet, but leaving someone on the front lines to draw attention always has its uses. Of course, it's one thing to recognize it and another thing to base her morality on it. It's as if she's getting around that.]

We'll have to see how matters proceed in the following days. Ven Diagrams may be more difficult to access if they draw the wrong conclusions. But we may have a place for you down both avenues.

[Naturally, she isn't against having to abduct someone to retrieve information, and they could do that with either leader.

But she also imagines that it's much harder to abduct someone in a world with so much surveillance. So, they'll need to be careful, even in sending him in.

After all, his power may be more useful down the line, rather in what would still be a game of chance.]