1917/Reclaiming Torrenceville's Car Museum

Reclaiming Torrenceville's Car Museum
Date of Scene:	30 March 2015
Location:	Scorched Earth
Synopsis:	Elites venture into a car museum that has become a museum of a different sort.
Thanks to:	To everyone for putting up with me during this scene.
Cast of Characters:	Crys Gattz, 183, Blurr, Eryl Fairfax, Ayako Hasekawa, Starbound Flotilla

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Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     The sun is setting when the Elites arrive with a steady breeze keeping the air sprinkles lightly with dust. The combined effect tinges the world in warm colours. 'Scorched Earth' has never been more apt before now. But of course, even if it is painted in pretty lights, the dust is still massively irritating, sneaking into whatever crack and crevice it can, be it in clothes, in armour or even getting into people's mouths.

     They stand on the closest thing a world with shifting land can have to a plain. There are many dips and rises in it, constantly becoming one or the other thanks to the ever-blowing wind. As fortune has it, the warpgate is right next to the meeting place. There is a unimog, as usual, as well as two ReGenesis soldier.

     Both are woman, but only one really has a figure that suggests as such. The other is huge, approaching seven feet, broad as a barn and bulky, brown hair cut down into a crew cut. Upon closer inspection, the metallic tones of her body are not actually that from a ReGenesis suit, but actually what her body looks like. While her head seems to be organic, everything below looks to be totally mechanical.

     The other one has a mocha skin tone, black hair tied back into a ponytail. Her suit is jet black, with a single white stripe going down the middle of the top half. She salutes the Elites as they approach.

     "Glad you could make it. I'm Corporal Bonnie Moon," the shorter one says. The bigger one also salutes, in a slower and more deliberate way, her body whirring. "And I'm Sergeant Tabitha Reston. Thanks for coming folks. I sure hope y'all like cars, because there are a lot of cars down there." She gestures towards the ground, where a raised panel of glass can be seen, looking down at darkness.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The STARBOUND FLOTILLA is here today. They test-ran some specialist gear recently. Durasteel-energy armor produced with their mass of stolen technology. Moonfin, the fishman, is in elaborate full-body durasteel armor that looks like a powered cross between a diving suit and a samurai's armor. Biteblade, the humanoid plant, is in durasteel plating with elaborately carved wood and bone ornaments over glowing powered components. Pavo the bird-girl wears a pirate-styled set of mesoamerican-style armor, with bands of energized fabric linking the pieces and powering them. Albert the monkey-man is wearing elaborate dystopian commando armor reconstructed with a 'rebel spy' aesthetic: A sleeker faceplate, a slimmer form, and a more chaotic design that integrates thin, resilient plates of durasteel. George (just plain human) wears a set of futuristic EVA-combat and exploration armor in a suit that glows a gentle blue at the faceplate. Seft, the robotic Flotilla member, is wearing full-on medieval knight armor with a soft energized glow below the plates on her body, and especially around the eyes.

    Albert is the one who primarily deals with the ReGenesis folks, as per the norm. He responds to their salutes with a quick snappy one of his own. "Albert Petrov of the Starbound Flotilla." He says, immediately. "What site intel has initial recon turned up?" Unless stopped, he's going to head on over, pulling a flashlight from the Matter Manipulator at his belt and shining it through the panel of glass, clearly intent on heading down. The Starbounders as a whole are, thankfully, mostly protected from the dust after their trudging hike over here from the nearby warpgate. Though Biteblade is looking a little dry.

    They all look pretty eager to get underground, for various reasons, but Albert is the most professional about it.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz has been enjoying the jobs really it's been something to do as the two local troopers introduce themselves, Crys nods once to each of them.

"Crys Gattz, I like cars quite a bit."

She peers out into the darkness wondering what might be out there in the depths of this place, but other than cars of various sorts she's got no idea. She pauses for a moment and looks to Albert as he asks about Recon. She'll let him handle that as he asks. Crys wasn't quite human looking and was more likely to be mistaken for an elf, also oddly while her gear looked very high tech she had an old leather eye patch over one eye. She was already scoping out everything as a small hovering mechanical thing? Hovered by her shoulder, which starts projecting light from what might be it's eyes? It's a bit hard to tell with the small slightly insect looking thing.

Crys takes a step forward and says "Shall we see what's been left behind here? Likely some pretty good stuff I'd bet."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako walks though the warpgate and-argh. That dust again. Her witch outfit's muffler and hat help a lot, but still. Ungh. How Eryl can handle walking around with this stuff blowing around all the time is beyond her. She returns the salute with a cheerful wave.

    "Glad to help!" Ayako smiles brightly. "I'm Ayako Hasekawa, a water spirit and... well..." She starts sweeping the ground with her broomstick-it's a habit!-and then loses her train of thought. "Ah. Right! Well... I don't mind cars." A soft smile crosses her face as she shakes her head. "Just don't ask me to drive one. People say I drive like an old lady." She giggles softly.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki is here. Just here. She's made no effort whatsoever in her entrance, and really, she's not likely to draw anyone's attention -- she's come wearing that same, pitch robe she prefers when she visits Lordran for modesty's sake, and it does much to obscure her presence. Perhaps /too/ much, really; it's likely to take several moments before the others present even make note of her being present at all. Further, she would say nothing of her own, waiting instead to hear from the two ReGenesis agents in the area. She would incline her form to them in a bow if and when they see her, perhaps even gracing them with one of her characteristic, coy, smiles, but that is the extent of her interaction with the world for the time being.

    Yes, for all the rest of her attention is almost entirely dedicated to her inspection of the environment. This is Eryl's world, after all, and Mister Fairfax is one of her closer friends in all Creation. It's somewhat humiliating that she knows so little of the world he comes from, but now she is going to right that wrong. That's more her reason for being here than anything else, and though that goal shouldn't keep her from contributing to any skirmishes that spring up, she will afford them no more attention than they absolutely require. She's far too busy taking soil into her hands and letting it sift through her fingers to be bothered by some petty political gambit, rampant beast, or social scuffle.

    Bah, but that second thing alone could have encapsulated all the possibilities quite handily. She may allow herself a furtive smile at that thought as she opens her palm, allowing what remains of the soil she had accrued to scatter to the wind.

    Her attention might return to the group for a moment or so. She locks her gaze on Albert briefly, marking him as that day's waymarker. He'll be the one to follow -- the person whose presence or absence will tell her whether she needs to move on or stay put. With a nod, this decision is made final, and her attention would wander again from anything of greater pertinence. This time, her scarlet eyes scan the sky. She thinks one of those clouds might have molded into a shape mirthfully familiar to a star's...

Blurr has posed:
    Does Blurr -like- cars? Well he -is- technically one himself. So yeah, he likes cars. What he -doesn't- like, however, is all this dirt blowing around. It's just -gross-. He's been to this planet before though, and has come to expect it. He pulls up in vehicle form, because that seems to keep the dust out better than biped form. "Nice to meet you, Sergeant Reston, Corporal Moon." he greets the human and cyborg. "So what's the plan?"

    The members of the Flotilla get a few curious scans. Are those...anthropomorphized Earth wildlife? Definitely weird, but perhaps not altogether unexpected.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Bonnie looks at the Flotilla, raising an eyebrow. "You're the ones who were at Jefferson Airport, yes?" She examines each one critically, especially Pavo. "I know that Davidson lets Troch walk all over him, but I will tell you know. I want a clean, professional job here today. No loose cannon manoeuvres like being swung around by a huge cyborg. I know we have one here," she indicates Tabitha, "but none of that. Got it?"

     Tabitha allows Bonnie to have her rant, before projecting a hologram of the museum plans from her palm. "We haven't breached the place yet, but we have the blueprints." It's a wide, single-story building, with wings sorted by eras going all the way back to the very first cars. Right now, the party is standing on the roof of the 1920's wing. "The place wasn't especially well-guarded. Since cars were obsolete in the Before Times, trying to steal and sell one would draw a lot of attention. We won't have to worry about drones, but there might be other dangers."

     Looking down at the inky blackness below, Albert and Crys can see the tiled floor, and the edges of a couple of displays. "Should be an easy job, so let's just get started," Bonnie says. She goes into the back of the unimog to gear up as Tabitah breaches the museum.

     And by that, I mean she just jumps on the skylight, causing it to shatter under her weight as she drops down. She calls up at the party. "Drop one by one and I'll catch you!"

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr doesn't need to be caught, really. He drives through the broken window and falls toward the floor, but transforms mid-way down and uses his rear boosters to hover slightly upward before landing lightly on the floor. "So what are these 'other dangers' we might be up against?" he asks. "Any security systems?"

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako winces a bit at the 'clean, professional job here today'. Hey, being swung around by a giant cyborg is a legitimate tactic! Well, Ayako doesn't really have the nerve to say something like that out loud, though. Oh, she definitely thinks it! But that's something completely different.

    She looks over the blueprints and inclines her head to the side gently. "Hmm... well. Here's hoping it is easy!" Ayako then blinks her eyes quickly when Tabitha just jumps in through the skylight. She points wildly at that. "Eh...? Eeeehhh?! What part of that isn't a..." Loose cannon maneuver. Well, again. Ayako's too nice to really press the issue. She giggles softly and shakes her head slowly. "Nevermind. No need to catch me!"

    Ayako hops onto her broomstick and floats down by riding on top of it side-saddle. As she goes down, her amber gaze takes in the surroundings carefully.

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    As much as Mizuki adores being treated like a princess, there's something a trifle off-putting about the notion of being caught by a complete stranger. Mercifully, that's a complete non-issue for her. Why? Well, if you don't already know, then she doesn't maintain the mystery for very long. Two large, raven black wings would appear on her back in a flourish of feathers and light, conforming so perfectly to her robe that one could hardly tell where they begin and her clothing end. She would waste no time in catching up as she hears the call to move forward, leaping off of the urban precipice and allowing her dark shroud to carry her oh-so-gently down to the ground beside Bonnie.

    Once she's neatly on the ground, her wings would vanish as they came. She neatly brushes the front of her cloak before giving another quick, sly smile to the ReGenesis agent and progressing. Then she would saunter on ahead, casual as you please, glancing around at anything that happens to strike her fancy.

    Really, though. A parking garage? Mmm... well, that -was- a part of the job description, wasn't it. She could have thought of more scenic ruins to explore, of course; a downtown region might've been nice, or a park, or perhaps even a suburb. One isn't very likely to find anything of striking personal import in a place like this, but she supposes this will do. For now. It's a good introductory locale, at least. And how absolutely novel it is that they would come somewhere like this. Someplace superficial, yet intriguing -- enough to whet one's appetite whilst teasing them incessantly with might-bes. If this is a narrative, then it is perfectly well that they should arrive here first.

    As always, she's so caught up in these inane musings that she would be completely oblivious should some horrible monstrosity charge coming out at her. Such is the life of the critic, though. Such is the struggle.

    As before, the Starbounders are likely to receive a furtive glance or two. Are they some sort of... mercenary unit? Guns-for-hire? Maybe curious wayfarers like herself? ... or all of the above? Hmm. All things she can respect... given the right contexts. Aside from them, Ayako would receive a warm look and a bow of her own should they make eye contact. Her way of saying 'I see you'. For now, though, she still keeps her silence.

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    Pavo grins at Bonnie. "Best ask ye big pal there. If she swings that way, ye know," She waggles feathery eyebrows. "Ain't responsible for what happens, ye know. Ye keep payin' me, I'll do what ye ask, though, don't get yer sails in a twist. Not here to ruin yer cars. Plenty good driver myself ye know."

    Albert speaks up, interrupting. "I will have the Flotilla acting professionally." He says, firmly, punctuating it with an apelike grunt. Then he prompts wirelessly for the layout data; his Matter Manipulator is a good personal computing device, and has a nice holo-projector itself, so he'll try to get some of that layout data. "Our Flotilla has another solution. We will employ it while the others descend." Albert says, through a radio, to the large cyborg. Biteblade, however, ignores this from Albert; she jumps down through the skylight immediately, hissing in a pleasant and happy way. She's very light! And this sounds fun. So Bonnie will have to catch the leafy plant-person. The rest of the Starbounders descend more slowly, at the sides of the skylight, using their GRAPPLING HOOKS, those fancy little pistol-like gadgets, to rappel down gradually.

    Albert looks around and orders his own crew. "Lights on. Secure area." Six Matter Manipulators light up like lamps and the Starbounders draw their gently glowing weapons. A magnetic induction bow, a grenade launcher, a power katana, power cutlass, and an energy baton from Biteblade, Albert, Moonfin, Pavo, and George respectively. They're automatically in a defensive position immediately. Seft is busy now with some kind of complicated industrial sensor tool, searching out concentrations of aerosolized fuel compounds, the result of gradual chemical processes in derilict vehicles over the years. She's in search of cars! At least their vague directions. Meanwhile Albert is going to try to match the area's layout to the map, if he got it, and figure out the quickest way from here to exhibit storage of anything that isn't likely-useless 1920's tech. The whole Flotilla, of course, is trying to get a good look at the interior.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako returns the warm look and a bow with a cheerfull smile and bow of her own towards Mizuki as she descends. She doesn't say anything either. Mostly because she doesn't want to interrupt Mizuki's inner narrative of what she's observing. That would be rude!

    Ayako of course responds to Albert's 'Lights on.' order as well. It seems she trusts Albert's judgement and is starting to get used to being around the Flotilla. Pale blue floating flames flicker into view around her and begins spreading out to give additional light. The water spirit happens to stay quite high up on her broom as she glances around. An observant eye in the sky doesn't exactly hurt!

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz says "Ayako, good to have you along it's always good to have a healer aboard."

She look to Mizuki as she sizes her up a bit more with her single good eye. She looks at her for a long moment. She thinks about saying something but chooses to think better of it she thinks. She simply gives the woman an nod and greetings.

"Hi, I'm Crys Gattz, good to meet you."

she looks to the pair and she pauses as someone says this should be an easy job.

"The Flotilla's made some interesting noise on the gun for hire scene I admit."

She takes a moment to look ahead and keeps an eye on Pavo and Biteblade, she's seen the reports after all.

She moves in she laughs at Ayoko.

"Well shall we head on then?"

She'll keep with Ayako as she knows she might need some cover should there be some sort of local drone forces, like the last job she was on for this company.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Tabitha catches Biteblade easily, setting down the plant thing gently. Bonnie soon joins them, leaping down into Tabitha's huge hand. She's geared up in body armour and is carrying a riot shield on her right arm of transparent aluminium and a black frame that goes through the middle horizontally. When she lands, she activates a flashlight embedded in the centre and shines it around, adding to the illumination.

     It sure is a car museum! Vehicles all around, behind faded and crumbling velvet ropes, all on their own stage. Around said ropes are plaques and stands, explaining the history, prevalence and specs of each car. Here, a Ford Model T, there a Rolls-Royce Twenty. Sadly, the Flotilla's scans don't show much. After all, no museum would store the cars with a tank of gas in them. It's a fire risk! The cars gleam due to being only metal and glass, only slightly dusty, very cubish with their crank-handle engines.

     But, there is something even more amazing than the cars (if that's your thing).

     Painted on the walls, in between the windows dark with dust from the outside, is a glorious vista. A long, crumbling wall, resembling the Great Wall of China has been painted along the bottom below the windows. Above that is an amazing vista of mountains erupting into black skies, lit by lighting generated by ash and dust. At the very top is a hint of sky blue, above the toxic clouds.

     Tabitha and Bonnie are taking it all in with wide eyes. "This... isn't on the plans. Someone did this." The cyborg murmurs... but then, the spell is broken, as Mizuki's wanderings makes her foot snag on piano wire stretched between two car stages. This causes a paint can further along the wire to swing down towards her! If it impacts, it doesn't hurt much, but the lid falls off and clatters to the ground, the sound echoing through the museum as rancid, lurid yellow paint splatters her!

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako smiles softly at Crys. "Here's hoping no healing is needed." As always, having someone somewhat close by to cover for her is appreciated! After all, the water spirit isn't exactly offensive in nature.

    "Setting up." Ayako floats in a wide circle around the group and then flicks her palm downwards at the middle of the circle she traced in the air. "Water Bubble." And indeed, the usual bubble of water surrounds each individual person for a moment. Such an utterly useless barrier! Yet useful in it's own right.

    And then wait... what was that? Ayako quickly looks in Mizuki's direction as she hears the paint can lid fall off and clatter to the ground. "Uh oh... someone set up old-fashioned alarm traps?" And then she moves to float over to Mizuki.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr had been busy scanning the place as well, searching for any security systems or other defense mechanisms that might be in place, or any other forms of resistance/danger. Though he has to stop and chuckle at how primitive some of these old cars are. Good Primus they're ugly. Pfff.

    He startles a bit when Mizuki knocks a can of paint onto her own head, and attempts to stifle a chuckle but fails. "Accidental new paintjob, I guess!" He laughs, teasing. "Sunstreaker would be proud of those colors." Black and yellow for the win, right? Those are Bumblebee's colors too, but Sunstreaker is the only one who would've been -proud- of it.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz pauses as she hears this isn't in the plans, if it's a public place which had open records? Something not being on them means? Someone came in after the fall form the sounds of it.

"I hope so as well but given what they just said."

Then comes Mizuki being the one to find the trap, or is it a trap? She's not sure but she's already looking at Mizuki.

"Are you all right? Also it looks like someone moved in after the old world fell. Keep alert they might be about or they left other little things like that behind."

She does not pull a weapon no but she's clearly being far more alert, and keeping close to Ayako at this point.

"Sunny would be whining about it not being the right tint."

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    The Flotilla keep their searching running, but it's interrupted by the sudden bucketslam! They turn all at once, and then away. They can all tell that Mizuki would rather not be seen covered in paint, and they can also tell that this will alert anyone who crafted this art. Moonfin, for his part, though, is just focused on the mural. "Fascinating." He says. "Absolutely fascinating. Is this the story of your world's end? In volcanic ash?" He stands in front of it, marvelig at the mural. "Marvelous."

    Biteblade provides a more philistine-esque view. "Big wall paint of world dying, mean sssomeone elssse make art here. Mussseum, might have new curator. Floran sssay: Treat art with ressspect, Be careful of insssane artissst. Artissst, mossst likely to be that, you know." They're going to investigate further. Maybe there's more murals that can give more clues about proper valuables here? Antiques won't be useful to their employers, they need something closer to modern. Maybe it's laid out in the format of a proper timeline? The Starbounders seek to move on now, though Albert stays with Ayako and... Oddly Mizuki, trying to ensure they are guarded.

    "The trap is clearly made to mark an intruder. It's possible you've tread upon an area important to someone." He says, to Mizuki. "The rest of you! Watch your step, carefully."

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Mizuki would be able to glance over and admire the mural for precisely four second before she feels the gentlest resistance from the ground beneath her. She glances down as the line breaks. A... wire? She looks down for another moment which is just enough time or a -can of paint to come swinging at her from on high. She would notice the rancid receptacle just in time to freeze time and prevent the majority of the damage, but a single, disgusting splotch does make its way to her robe.

    Needless to say, the yellow clashes with the black.

    Horribly.

    She would unfreeze time - after punting the paint can so that it will go flying once she re-enters normal temporum, of course - and emerge with her robe discarded. You didn't seriously think she was going to keep wearing that after it had been -sullied-, did you? No. No, and neither did she. It would flail into the air beside her as she adjusts a ribbon at the collar of her dress, summoning a delicately crafted rapier into her right hand.

    Her annoyed look would persist as Ayako flits beside her. Without looking to her properly, she idly, bitterly answers, "Regardless, I do not enjoy being used as 'bait'. And I am sure they will be equally bereaved of their poor decision once I meet these hooligans face-to-face." With that, she would give a small glance around the area, gaze eventually resting on Blurr. The robot would receive a slight cant of the head and a quirk of her brow, but little else. She has no idea why a human would have a 'paintjob', nor what a 'Sunstreaker' is. And she isn't so inclined to inquire about either curiosity. Crys, for their part, would receive a rather terse "Peachy."

    Still, in the midst of her apparent frustration, she remains perfectly level with Albert. "Indeed," She replies. "Given the mural, I have to wonder if this place has some sort of religious import to some group... or entity, otherwise." Using any further time she's allotted, her view would transition back to said wall painting. "It appears to have something to do with whatever apocalypse befell this world. Mushroom clouds, perhaps? It's hard for me to tell, but one of your number," She would gesture to the Flotilla, "might be better suited to its analysis besides."

    For now, she would look ahead. Unlike before, she would stay in place, watching the darkness for any signs of movement. They've made the mistake of putting her on guard, whom or what ever 'they' are, so they'll not catch her unawares now.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     Tabitha and Bonnie immediately looks nervous when the paint can makes a loud noise, and they note the colour of the paint with concern. "With that, someone would be marked, and their general position would be sounded. Whoever did this knew what they were doing. Bunch up people, keep all angles covers. And look above you too. Cooper and Hsu had issues with creatures that climbed on walls," Bonnie demands.

     Assuming the party follows the order and bunches up, they stay on the outskirts, Bonnie with her shield prepared and Tabitha's body humming as weapon systems are put on standby. For a few long, awful minutes... there is nothing. Just a group of people in a buried museum, straining their senses to pierce the darkness for a possibly enemy.

     Tabitha eventually lets out a long sigh. "It's possible they moved on. Alright everyone, let's keep going. But watch out for anything like that." The huddle is broken, and Bonnie takes point, shining her light straight at the ground as she leads, weaving past the cars to reach the 1930s wing.

     As she passes through the double doors, she jostles it only lightly with the edge of her shield, bringing another bucket of paint down on her. Ayako's barrier absorbs most of it, the water becoming lurid and stained, but it still makes Bonnie flinch. "Oh, dammit..."

     In this new wing, there are still cars. More advanced ones, no longer bearing crank-start engines. Things like Chevrolet Masters and Jaguar Mark IVs. The kind of cars that Prohibition-era gangsters would drive, the type that pop to mind when one thinks of 'classy' automobiles.

     But, there is also another mural.

     This one depicts Paris, the City of Lights. The most prominent lights in this depicted city, however, are meteors falling from a burning sky. The Eiffel Tower has had its top torn off, laying in the courtyard underneath. The Arc de Triomphe has been reduced to rubble; the glass pyramid of the Lourve has a hunk of space rock embedded in it. There are even craters that have left the Paris Catacombs exposed.

     "Hmm... okay. I think it's safe to say that, whoever did this... was just trying to depict what they thought had happened? After all, these monuments weren't on the same continent as we are right now, they would have no way of knowing..." Bonnie murmurs.

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako floats towards anyone that has gotten paint on them. Several balls of water form from her hands and gently tries to clean any paint off. Long experience as a maid might actually come in handy for once! After all, it wouldn't do to trail paint around or leave such an obvious trap marker on! She tries to anyway-the group is moving ahead and she makes sure not to try to get in anyone's way.

    While the mural art does catch her eye for a moment, Ayako doesn't seem to really care much for it. Rather, she seems to try to keep a lookout for any more paint traps. Just another maid habit-keeping an eye out to prevent messes!

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz says "Or they just wanted to protect thier art from vandals, you know? We could dig up worse. Like a prison for a dark god."

She doesn't sound to be joking, her tone seems to speak from experience, he doesn't go on further on that however she does offer to Mizuki.

"I have spare clothes in my photon trap, I think I should have something to fit you, if you'd like."

She's being honestly friendly ther ebut she's also keeping an eye on thigns as she moves ahead she looks at the new mural and has to think it's pretty neat thing to look at for a moment.

"Humm looks like things I saw in Paris, the tower most of all."

She starts to wonder. She however squints with her one good eye

"You don't think they were trying to in some way to save the truth of what happened?"

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    "Or Earth just has /really/ shitty luck." George says, sardonically. "Realtalk, Earth where I'm from blew up 'cause a monster was in the core. So, that was like, earthquakes, meteors sometimes, volcanos, all kinds of shit." He's looking to Tabitha now. "Man, we should'a brought out some water. This is pretty messed up. Maybe we can tell 'em we don't know you." Moonfin then shoves him out of the way to go marvel at this art too. Seft comes along with him; she has her chemical scanner still, at least, and she sets about scanning the murals. She's trying to get some bearing on the date, through how long the paint's been decaying. Is this recent? Is it being actively preserved here?

    Albert grunts. "Someone knowledgable. They seem to know a great deal of other Earth locales. Whoever did this understood much about space debris, volcanos, and georgraphy. I would assume a leader may have some old world knowledge." He then looks over the cars. "Mmmm. Unsuitable for non-urban environments. We need to find something more worthy of the terrain of the new world." He's going to see if the group can move on now, to new wings.

Blurr has posed:
    Blurr follows the rest of the group, watching for more 'paint traps' as instructed. Surprisingly despite his size he doesn't seem to trip any more of them, though someone else does. The paintings aren't really of much significance to him, since he doesn't really recognize the Terran monuments. "Well that's depressing," he remarks at the images of destruction.

Eryl Fairfax has posed:
     The paint is a bit stubborn, considering how old it is, but Ayako's maidly efforts always bear fruit eventually. Bonnie mutters a thanks to the water spirit as she takes in the mural. Looking to George, she shakes her head. "Volcanoes are right out, at least. If it were volcanoes, the soil wouldn't be as barren as it is. Maybe Paris did get hit by meteors, but I don't know how whoever did this would know that."

     Scans of the painting would show that it is old. Like, by multiple centuries, with no signs of preservation. However, the fact that it's so sheltered may explain why it is still in such good condition. "If this was done right after the... whatever happened, it didn't have to be a leader. Knowledge was freely shared in the Before Times, it was easy to just learn stuff by randomly browsing." Tabitha says with a whirring shrug.

     But eventually, they move on. Moving through wings and halls, scanning carefully for further traps. A few more might set off, causing Bonnie and Tabitha to call a huddle, just in case. But nothing ever happens. Each room has walls dominated by some amazing vista of worldy destruction. Vatican City under attack by demons. Manhattan being annihilated by an H-bomb in Central Park. Tokyo being ripped apart by earthquakes. Moscow utterly frozen. London utterly flooded.

     But soon, the party reaches the curator's office. And within is a body, the flesh long rotted away, revealing filthy bones clad in rags. A crumbling journal sits on the desk, containing a map of all the traps, next to an artist's palette and sketches for each mural they saw. "... poor son of a bitch," Bonnie mutters, looking to the Elites. "Other than the traps, not very exciting huh? Don't worry, you'll get paid for your time, but it looks like this place is already secure. Dealing with the traps is something we can do."

Ayako Hasekawa has posed:
    Ayako doesn't really pay much attention to the discussion of the murals. She doesn't comment on them either. Odd. Once in a while, her gaze moves away, off to the side. Not fully uncomfortable-just very avoidant. It seems that the concept of the End of the World isn't exactly something she likes to think nor dwell much on.

    When they enter the curator's office, Ayako sighs softly. "A-ahh..." She shakes her head slowly and makes a gentle sound of disagreement. "Mmm... excitement isn't everything. But..." Her mouth opens to say something else, but then closes slowly. The gaze back in the direction of the murals pretty much says it all. 'How sad.'

Mizuki (183) has posed:
    Any frustration left on Mizuki face would melt away as she steps into the Curator's office. Though she would not react visibly to the remains of the lone artist, she would internally feel a rush of a rather deep, biting melancholy. What must it have been like, slinking through this desolate ruin all by themselves? Was there any beauty to that condition, or just desolation? What pain must they have been in, and what thoughts must they have had as their eyes drew closed that final time? That's an experience Mizuki has often wished upon herself, in her ignorance -- the opportunity to be the last person in a dying world.

    Though obviously, if she is here now, and if Eryl exists, they weren't the last. Still, she doubts very much they had any sentient company as they drew those prophetic images of the world's ill fate, so for them it was the same difference. Suddenly, she can't be as perturbed about the paint; in fact, she has half a mind to go and fetch her robe from the ground it had fallen upon and -- no. She does do so. She would depart from the office for several moments, returning shortly thereafter with the very article of clothing this person had posthumously dessicated. She would gingerly lay the article over the body and incline her head softly. Her eyes close, too, though it's unlikely she could actually be praying. After all, what does she have to pray to?

    When her gaze rises again, her expression is as even as ever. Her voice is, too, as she suggests, "You might consider preserving those murals somehow. Then one day, when the world has been restored, you can display them in a new museum. A museum that will remind people of all this, that it might never occur again." Her arms would fold behind her back. "... not everyone can achieve martyrdom, but I see no reason to deny them that. Allow their last gasp to be a song that decorates the world your group wishes to see born of this maelstrom. But ah, it's your choice in the end. Your world -- not mine."

    She would step out shortly after once she's affirmed for the agents that she wishes for no sort of compensation. When she can quite literally want for nothing, it would be a crime for her to take from these peoples' limited resources. If anyone should be giving recompense, she feels, it should be her.

    When possible, she would steal another glance at the sky. This world is a beautiful one in its own way, but she's fairly certain at this point that, while it has its particular charm to visitors, that it would she not be so keen on becoming a permanent resident. All the more reason, though, to respect Eryl for his dedication.

Crys Gattz has posed:
Crys Gattz looks to them for a moment and says "We should save this, this person gave everything they could to record this. It's got worth. Maybe they were someone who had somehow been travelling the world at the time of the fall. We should take note of these cities and see what we can find anything to match up with their story. We should also check for any information about the artist."

She looks to Mizuki.

"Most of my people spend our often short lives either lost chasing our own pleasure or trying to leave some sort of marks so someone recalls we were here."

She rubs the reg arm ring she's wearing.

"A race born of hubris trying to burn brightly long enough to be remembered."

Not something you'd commonly expect out of someone dressed like she is.

"Look can I help scour here for more information?"

Starbound Flotilla has posed:
    George mutters, as they look at the varied apocalypses. "Mmmm. Looks like I wasn't right. Or I was really right. Demons, though? Nahhhh..." He's careful about the traps, all throughout the building, and he and Pavo are the ones who mark down cars on the datafeed to definitely go after later when they're acceptable for offroad, high-dust conditions.

    Moonfin is the one who finds the corpse. He is also the one who treats it with the most respect. He tells the Starbounders to fuck off a bit, shooing them away from here. "The rest of the Flotilla will leave. I will stay some time longer." He unhooks his Matter Manipulator from his belt, dramatically sheathing his power-katana in it, and glancing around. "This is a man who was dedicated to his artwork. He deserves, however belated, the burial of a proper artist. I will craft a traditional Hylotl artist's tomb here for his remains before I go. You will have no obligation to pay me for the time or materials spent doing so."

    And if they let him, that's what he'll do. A proper Hylotl artist's burial. Simple stone columns inscribed with respectful Hylotl glyphs, a nice little display around it of some of the art. It's surprisingly not as ostentatious as the rest of the terribly bullshit culture of the Hylotl. He'll set it up somewhere in the museum itself.