Scene Listing

||

Scene Schedule

||

Scene Schedule RSS

Owner	Pose
Starbound Flotilla	The planet around which this particular moon can be found is not too remarkable. Welcome to Epsilon Maiia Minoris IV a, as it's currently called. What it will be called later, of course, will be decided by the conquering Zaibatsu. For now, the Core Fleet has established a small outpost, a squat metallic structure with some prefabricated furnishings, well-stocked with some supplies of food, water, and weaponry, and hidden from the sight of the settlement by the rolling hills.     The landscape here is covered in multicolored trees bearing what appear to be titanic flowers instead of branches laden with leaves. In the distance one can see a tremendous, well-lit medieval castle, something that could only have been built by generations after generations of people working together. Such as, for example, if those people were stuck in some sort of societal loop, trapped frozen at one stage of development for hundreds, maybe thousands of years... And it's right on top of several massive deposits of extremely valuable resources.     It'll be a short walk or a shorter drive to get to the town that surrounds the fortress at just the edge, just as lit up and clearly active as the castle itself. There are all the traditional structures one would expect of such an isolated, self-sufficient location. Watchtowers, agricultural areas, craftworks structures, taverns, libraries, whatever you're after that you could find in a traditional medieval fantasy village, you can find it here. Also: Robots. All of the inhabitants are robots, which you can't quite see from this distance, but which is certainly explained to everyone by Seft, one such robot, at the outpost.     And for now, the preferred means of approach is discussed...
Geralt of Rivia	Epsilon Mai... Minotaur... Four... Eh, whatever, Geralt's not one for long things that sound like magical incantations. Leave that to the sorceresses. That thought, and the giant flowers, makes him think of Triss. She'd like the flower-trees, probably.      Compared to the Glitch occupants, Geralt probably seems like he's from the same time period. Leather and chain armor, a pair of swords, and a trusty horse that, by his words, is called 'Roach'.      "Saying I just can't ride up there?" he rumbles. A robot is like some sort of golem, right?
Flint Hawke	Freelance Space Enthusiast and Part-Time Morally Flexible Diplomat Flint Hawke is here. He arrived via a short-range transporter that promptly blips him down onto the planet. Despite the medieval setting and the fanciful world, he's dressed in his usual attire. This means his pants, his boots, his button-up shirt, his big coat that looks about five times heavier than a coat should be, and his big hat atop his head.     The blonde man flips his hand through his hair and tosses it back in a dandy fashion as he says, "Ah, I see. I see. Well, if they are in a medieval society, the best and most right course, would be to walk to the gates as a procession and announce ourselves. Best not to take any deviant actions that would get us attacked before we even stepped through the door, I imagine."     He nods a bit to himself as he brushes some pollen off his jacket.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone is wary of this job but has come in a show of support to at the very least Seft. This isn't easy for her she suspects, also Kotone hopes they might somehow be able to work out a deal with the natives. Given matter maniplators actually moving everything isn't beyond the relm of possiblity after all right? There was someone new to work with. Namely Geralt of Rivia and she'd noticed Hawke had put in an apperance today. This was interesting as she'd never really got a chance to meet him. She is a bit concerned about how Overclock might react a Pure user being about, hopefully her partner will sleep through the whole affair. "So your saying come in as a forigen noble more or less? That might just work."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra seems to be avoiding the horse named Roach. She stands as far as possible from him on the other side of Albert.     Kyra is decked out as if she was expecting some kind of hostile actions. It's very rare that an eviction of any kind is done in a non-hostile manner, after all, so Kyra came packing the CURE-ALL on her back and an additional real grenade launcher held awkwardly in her hands. These plus the various other explosives, potions, and mixtures she keeps on her person really seem to be weighing her down. Teenage girl muscles mean weight limits and right now Kyra seems to be teetering on the edge of hers.     "If we're going as a procession, I call dibs on /not/ being a servant girl. Been there, done that." Kyra snorts angrily at the memories. "And that was with people I /really/ liked too. But hey, we are the Flotilla party, right? Well, except for you-" she points at Geralt, "You're some Syndicate guy, right?"
Geralt of Rivia	"Geralt of Rivia," the pale, ashen-haired man replies. "Witcher. Syndicate, just here to get paid. But I am, technically, a knight of Rivia. Might be a way in."
Artyom W. Valodjn	"If we are moving as a procession," a low, rumbling voice speaks from a veritable mountain of a man, "Then we will need someone to be King." Who else could it be but Artyom, still in his usual travelling gear, still toting the massive club-like blade against his shoulder. "Or at least a Duke." "I vote that it aught to be Souji," he says, as if Nobility gets to be voted into anything.
Xiao Li Yu	"But Kyra, you fit the role so well!" Xiao Li Yu jabbed at her classmate, standing aside from her and fiddling with a tablet. This wasn't the time for a laptop, so she chose a smaller device. She was not immediately interested in the chosen avenue of approach. She'd just follow along, curious to see just how this eviction would go, regardless of the approach made. Of course, it would be grand if they didn't have to fight.      It was only two days ago that she got her ass kicked by a certain sage fox. ...Of course, she returned the favor in kind, but pain hurts!      Yes.      She raised her gaze from the device and off into the distance, her free hand coming to her chin. "Well, given the nature of their mass programming error...I predict it will be more difficult than initially thought to get them all to break away from their given roles and vacate their settlement..."      And she shrugged after. "A society built around actual programmed roles, yet with an introduced error...fascinating. How long have they been like this? Has this error never been deemed problematic and addressed? Or has their society simply grown with the error, assimilating it into their very makeup?" Oh boy, she was going off on a tangent again.
Starbound Flotilla	"Oh, if you seek to ride, there shall be no objections from us at all, Sir Geralt." Moonfin says, leaning in from another room. "I have acquired appropriate steeds for those who lack them, and have constructed suitably stylish vehicular options for those in need." He seems quite self-satisfied about that. If you wish to take the role of a noble procession, you will have no trouble having the presentation you need."     And then he's already slipping out, preparing a procession. Distantly, outside, one can hear the synthesized noises of... Robotic horses?
Mirielle Edelweiss	Behind and to Kyra's side in this Flotilla/Zaibatsu endeavor is Mirielle, her clothes adventurous and built for utility in dark and earthen tones, with a sable manteau and hood arrangement over her head. The fact that she was joining in on an openly Zaibatsu mission was tempered by the Syndicate presence.     And the presence of Kyra. Her 'bases covered' in this way, she gives a 'reassuring' pat on Kyra's shoulder, though how the White Mage takes it is anyone's guess.     "Don't worry. I'm sure with our team, either an amenable and agreeable accord can be reached, or our combined might will prove up to the task of seeing us through any tactical or social blunders. In fact, I could explain the numbers to you, if it would make you feel better."     Souji gets a small nod, but she does seem mildly concerned with the Flotilla's explanation - and Seft's hesitation and agitation.     "Ah... But wouldn't any accord we reach be then the subject of this social sabotage inherent in the culture?"
Starbound Flotilla	"Aye, fishface always be lookin' to make a show o' things." Pavo says, thick piratey accent as always, agreeing with the current consensus to go with a procession. "Everyone will know for miles that we be comin' here, don't ye worry. Bet that damn king will have to open those big gates or lose a lotta face, harhar!" She squawks a laugh at the end there and goes outside, presumably to help.
Souji Murasame	Souji is present to look over the situation. Negotiate land use rights with a large number of intractable medieval-bound robots... This isn't the worst thing that he could be doing with his time. The revelations from Seft provide useful knowledge. "I concur. We will move in a procession. If we need to produce a noble banner, the insignia of the Zaibatsu will suffice. It was derived from our original crest. Valodjn can carry it." Oh, right. Souji actually /is/ nobility. He looks to the others. "Yu, you are an attendant scholar. Mr. Hawke, independant mercantile guildsman. Kyra, our attendant medical specialist. Mr. Geralt, our man-at-arms. Edelweiss, my seneschal. The position is functionally the same. The members of the Flotilla can attach to whomever they feel comfortable with if they choose to accompany us." He ponders for a moment, and then Moonfin brings up transportation. "Yes, it would be a little too intimidating to arrive on the Ame-no-Torifune, and they would be confused by Chocobos. The horses are an excellent idea." He looks around again. "Any questions?"
Kyra Hyral	"Shut up, no I don't." Kyra scowls at Xiao. "And if we're holding a vote for king, I am /not/ voting for Souji. Not now, not ever." The agitation fades quickly but it soon becomes clear that Kyra is growing increasingly uncomfortable. What, precisely, is not clear though Mirielle might take it upon herself to assume that it's her. It doesn't help that Kyra jumps just a little with that 'ressuring pat'.     "That's not what I'm worried about. In fact, I bet with our group, if things go wrong we can just wipe them off the map with superior firepower. Literally, probably, if they're just stuck in middle ages mode."     She makes another noise, looking sideways at the Flotilla members then the large presence of Zaibatsu. "Heya Artyom." she greets warily, "And it's nice to meet you, Geralt. I'm Kyra Hyral."     Kyra withers a little bit at the thought of being handed out an /assignment/ by Souji. At least it isn't servant, though, but it doesn't seem to make her feel any better. She puts a hand on her hip, the other wrapped around her grenade launcher, and says nothing.
Artyom W. Valodjn	"Understood, sir," Artyom answers with a nod. Already, he seems to be thinking of possible means of... negotiation. One way or another, this project will be getting underway. The question is how bloody the road to progress must be, "I'll have something ready. Though I must say, the idea of an entire race of medieval robots is... Interesting?" He looks to Seft, inclining his head somewhat. "I hadn't quite realized that this was indeed the case."     He bobs his head towards Kyra. "Miss Hyral," he sounds genial enough- but he rarely doesn't, "I hope everything is going well." There's a beat, "Better than it was before, yes?" Clearly certain bites of news travel fast.
Geralt of Rivia	"Man-at-arms works for me," Geralt replies, taking the front of Roach's saddle in his hand and stepping up into the stirrup. He settles on Roach's back like a natural, reins in one hand. The sound of the mechanical horses seems to spook Roach, but only a little, leaving Geralt to pat at the horse's neck. "Easy."
Kyra Hyral	"Yes." Kyra eventually says to Artyom. "It's better than it was before." Her words sound wary though she doubted Artyom asked that question with any measure of vindicitiveness. "I've received a little bit of grief from some unexpected sources."
Flint Hawke	"Captain Hawke," Flint passively corrects Souji, pointing at the hat on his head, "Spent a long time earning my ship, prefer the title be recognized," The correction is mostly reflexive, though. The hand falls away from pointing to fall into his pocket again.     He lifts it up to the brim of his head to tilt it a bit at Geralt, "Cap'n Flint Hawke at your service, of the Black Sun independant vessel," He notes, making a brief introduction before he falls in line with Souji's (his) plan and simply strolling along with the group at a casual pace.
Artyom W. Valodjn	There aren't very many who remember the 'good times.' Artyom happens to be one of them, and so his response to Kyra is actually pretty genuine in its relief. "Good, I am glad things are going well," he rolls his shoulders, shifting the great sword slightly toward the left. "If I can be of assistance, please let me know and I'll see what I can do in my time off." For... Whatever amount of time off Artyom actually allots outside of 'sleeping.'
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao just smiled at Kyra's retort and shrugged nonchalantly. "Alas." She didn't comment on the subject of the vote of king, and looked aside at Souji, saluting cheerfully. "Attendant Scholar reporting for duty! Most definitely not here to take the locals apart and study their circuitry!"      Xiao, please.      The sound of robotic horses catches her attention. "Oh my...mechanical animals. What a novel concept." By novel, of course she actually meant 'how utterly inefficient!', but then, logically speaking, it would work better than any airship, chocobo, or ATV...Yes, it would do fine.      Her gaze was then drawn to Kyra's....grenade launcher? She squinted. "So, Kyra, my best friend...I see you got yourself a new deadly explosive launching firearm." She noted with a tone of faint sarcasm.      "Does it work better than your last one?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone is unsettled about Xaio pretty quickly and she's slinking over to Kyra t this point. She's also eying the robotic horse? Okay that's new and Kotone will find her self saddling up and she looks concernedly to Kyra. She's not met Mirielle before but it seems she knows Kyra well enough. "Just tell me whateve you need my role to be. I'm Kotone Yamakawa by the way."
Starbound Flotilla	"Hey, I heard someone said disguises." George says, wandering through with a broad grin, and dumping a tremendous crate out. "Heya kiddos, gotcha some nice outfits. I have it on good authority that these are /one hundred percent legit/." And they are, in fact, extremely legitimate. They also must have been procured from a Hylotl merchant, because they are stylish as all hell and still function with a modern eye for fashion. Those present are free to take any particular bit of gear they want.     Geralt's got a disguise, in that he actually is already wearing socially appropriate clothes to begin with. Kyra gets a nicely stylish medieval doctor's robes with more white-and-red than black, but still featuring that bird-beak mask. Mirielle gets a nice mix of a noblewoman's and a servant's dress, with a stylishly more modern mid-leg hemline. Hawke gets an outfit that features a slick long sailor-style coat over the usual tunic, tastefully adorned with the medieval equivalent of bling. Kotone and Xiao Li Yu get a more scholarly robe given to them, covered in more modern pockets with a couple belts in place to make sure it stays tight enough to be extremely mobile. Artyom... Artyom is too HUEG for most disguises, unfortunately, but there's a few solid medieval armor-plating accessories they can sorta... Slap on there, as a half-hearted disguise. It's very awkward. Souji, well, no doubt he's already got something ceremonial he can use.     Whether or not they take their disguises, in whole or in part, Moonfin has prepared a procession of robotic horses outside, as well as attached stylish chariots and open-top coaches for those less certain of their hold on this sort of thing. Those things, despite being crafted of wood, seem to be the horse-drawn equivalent of convertable sports cars. It is OUTRAGEOUSLY stylish. Once everyone's mounted up, they'll be off towards the town.
Kyra Hyral	"Um...thanks Artyom." Again, that wariness. Kyra looks to the Titanic youth with a gaze that kind of begs the question of 'do you really mean that?' But before and even after Souji's transformation (and her own), Artyom had remained a kind constant.     Kyra turns to frown at Xiao. "I'm curious, Xiao. What exactly do you know about the last piece of heavy artillery I was using? Because that is a very odd way of making small talk over firearms with me on this particular /Flotilla/ mission." Her fellow scientist receives an arch gaze from the white mage, not leaving until George passes her a 'disguise'.     It takes time for Kyra to get into it because she has to transfer all of her stuff. The grenade launcher is stowed in one of the open-top coaches for now since she can only manage to mostly conceal the CURE-ALL under the robes. One of the robotic horses is selected, which Kyra climbs atop of and immediately takes a selfie of her leaning down next to the horse's head.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Artyom gets... Well, he kind of gets bigger pauldrons. And a fancy metal hat, and a couple of gauntlets and... Other things. Fortunately his usual travelling gear looks pretty medieval as it stands, but mostly just because it's all travel-worn leather and dark-colored cloth. Still, the addition of actual metal to it is just a liiiittttle bit awkward.     I mean, his shoulders were already huge. The addition of pauldrons just makes it all the more likely that he'll put someone's eye out. And they're clearly almost taller than his head. Fortunately, pretty much everything matches, so it's fine. "Don't mention it," he says to Kyra as they move along towards their destination.
Souji Murasame	"This is a monarchy, not a democracy. You don't get a vote, Kyra." Souji says simply. His tone is level, neutral. Perhaps that might be worse than scorn for some, however. "My apologies, Captain." Souji replies. "Your plan should work well. All we have to do is execute." Credit where credit is due. Souji only steals from people who don't matter. And who don't run one of the most infamous space pirate gangs in the Multiverse. Souji acknowledges Xiao with a nod. "Remember: This is one of those times where you talk about dissections with the /inside voice/." He says pointedly. "I will get dressed." At this point, he steps out of sight. He returns in several seconds wearing a finely-tailored outfit in black silk and silver trim, the Zaibatsu insignia present at the breast worked in silver and ruby. He wears, similarly, a circlet of silver with an inset ruby. It looks like he stepped straight out Ramuh's history books. With a smooth movement, he leaps to mount one of the robo-horses, engaging precise poise. "Let us proceed." He states.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa takes the offered disguise she's a scholar that's attending to thier noble's information needs? That works for her, she can play the part. She can totally play the part. "Thank you George." She notes and she falls in line and she will be talking with her incide voice to be sure. She also makes sure to make sure her port's wireless security are functioning at full too. "All right let's go shall we?"
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao just smiled at Kyra and took her given disguise. "I wonder~" Souji is given a pout. "Yes, I know. No taking apart the locals....yet." And then she skipped off to go get changed. It was quick enough that she was out and mounting a robotic horse in no time at all. She had to resist the urge to produce tools from her sleeves and start tinkering with the contraption right then and there. They were on a mission!      She could examine it after they address the locals. However that may turn out.      Without much more left to comment on, she looked on ahead, waiting for their entourage to proceed onward.
Flint Hawke	"Think nothing of it. Mistake that happens all the time," Flint notes to Souji, looking at the costume he's given. He brushes at it a few times with his hands and then seems to think for a few moments. He doesn't want to give up his prized hat or his coat, so he slips on as much of the costume as he can manage without giving up either, "Thank ya, kindly," He notes.     The result is quite garrish and makes him look very much like an eccentric, travelling, foreign merchant. He has one very decorated coat, over his plain black coat, which is over his fancy tunic, which is in turn over his regular button-up shirt. Two coats, two shirts, the same old hat. He jingles and jangles fancifully as he walks along. He definitely would fit the bill for an eccentric nobleman, at the least.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt doesn't like politics and, so, was endlessly relieved when someone else was made the leader of their little band. He rides along on Roach's back, saying nothing, and playing the part of the taciturn bodyguard. Not like it's not a regular thing for him.      And Souji seems to conduct himself like proper nobility, so, that's good.      Roach plods along with the rest of the procession and Geralt wonders what Yennifer would tell him to do in this situation. Probably to keep his stupid mouth shut.
Mirielle Edelweiss	To Souji's assignment of her position as 'literally her current position', Mirielle simply bows, with a sweep of her arm. "I shall endeavor to live up to the role." She nods, not certain pressing Kyra on her jumpy on-edge problems is an 'optimal idea' for her. She's not being self-depricating, or self-destructive! So...     She changes clothes. Thankfully, she doesn't need to change out of most of her innerwear, just her outwear, and so she accepts George's 'mildly important medival accountant' disguise and swaps into it, stowing her old outfit in her bag, before a sworl of magic creates the pattern... of a clipboard. She presses her glasses up her nose, before looking at the rest of the party. Souji somehow manages to quickchange into Ye Olde Murasame Master at record speed, a feat she envies simply in the time efficency it took.     Perhaps this would apply to her studies of history and period dress? She can /taste/ the extra credit already. No, no, wait. First there's diplomacy and-or murder to handle.
Starbound Flotilla	And then they're off, a short ride through the forest to the town. The procession slots well into the GLITCH HIVEMIND protocols. Medieval societal norms demand that a noble's procession ought to be given access to the fortress simply by virtue of what it is. It seems the society in general follows those rules.     Every so often, one of the civilian humanoid machines here -- they're so varied in design! -- wander towards the group, as if eager to greet them in a friendly way. But before they do, every time, there's a brief white flash in their optics, and they assume a hostile, distrusting posture, narrowing their glowing eyes and keeping wary. Conversely, often guards will approach, as if to politely stop them, before that same white flash afflicts them, and they take a distrustful, but grudgingly respectful, position of respect at the side of the paths taken by the group. It looks like the locals are available for interaction, though. Craftworks, libraries, taverns, stores, farmers, it's the works around here. Those who don't find themselves inclined to follow into direct negotiations could go about town, learning or connecting, after the procession get the fortress door open.     Speaking of the Fortress door, the titanic fortress itself will open; the Hivemind has coordinated many of the servants to assemble a reception party extremely hastily, but with one will. Rapid flashes of white are everywhere as servants assemble behind what one would assume is the lord of this castle. He is outrageously tall, broad-shouldered, crimson-eyed, and bearing a mass of synthetic material that looks like an incredibly sharp-trimmed beard, holding a massive spiked steel scepter and bearing a heavy, simple golden crown. There are also a good two dozen knights or so, well-built and armed in various ways, heavily armored with plate armor that looks... Not quite so simple after all, a bit more technologically advanced than it ought to be.     There's a bit of fanfare. "ANNOUNCEMENT. King Steeltrace offers the welcome and hospitality of Goliath Fortress to the unidentified visiting party of nobility." A herald says. "DEMAND. Please state intent and kingdom of origin immediately." They speak like Seft does, in synthetic monotones, but these don't do it as naturally as she does. Every so often there's that white flash, and a stutter to the voice, a soft distortion, a strange buzz... The well-known programming faults of the Glitch, and after every little sighting of it, their demeanor seems to grow more and more surly and suspicious. From here, after first negotiations, the others can spread out into the town or head on past the machine-precision-maintained courtyard into the fortress' interior, after the Baron's hospitality is established.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Artyom arrives, as instructed, with a banner bearing the great crest of the Murasame Zaibatsu. The banner itself is a jet black field surrounded by silver tracery. Upon it, the Murasame ensign is also silver, though accented by rich, vivid red. He presumably pulled it from one of the walls in the outpost, or drew it from his Inventory Screen. In either case, he carries it on a silvery stave, holding it aloft as the procession moves through the city.     He watches the Glitch citizenry as they advance, being careful not to be too friendly or exceptionally hand-wavey just yet. A noble's procession is supposed to be all about the noble and his processing, after all.     Except... The white flashes in their eyes are somewhat unnerving. Bizarre, even. Almost as if they were of two fully separate minds on the subject of the Zaibatsu's arrival. What could that be, he wonders?     It isn't long until they reach the fortress, however. Artyom listens as the herald presents the king-- and takes the initiative to step forward and make the reply. The great Titan clears his throat briefly, then announces in a deep, commanding voice. "RESPONSE," he seems to be taking on the local custom. He gestures grandly in Souji's direction, "Presenting Souji Murasame, Scion of the House of Murasame, Noble Lord of the Kingdom of Ramuh and Guildmaster of the Murasame Zaibatsu, accompanied by his entourage. We desire to commence in negotiations for the use and development of the Land in order to derive mutual wealth and prosperity therefrom." "REQUEST. Opportunity to negotiate, that all may come to terms."
Flint Hawke	"Good day, good day!" Flint says in his two tunics and two jackets, bowing with a flourish to the gate as the herald speaks and makes demands. After Artyom has made the initial introductions, Flint will go ahead and make his own, "Flint Hawke is my name! I happen to be a freelance economic enthusiast and a barterer of unique trade goods, travelling the lands and attempting to buy and sell only the most unique of wares."     Owing to this origin story, he reaches into his subspace storage and pulls out the most exotic and rare object he currently has to barter: 20th Century Candy from Nanoha's world. He holds up a Snickers bar, "Might I interest your ruler in a long lost delicacy from an ancient civilization? He would be the talk of the kingdom if he were to be eating the lost delicacies of a dead society."
Starbound Flotilla	The Glitch regarding Artyom seem confused by his use of their traditional communication mannerisms. There's more white flashes. Seft leans in urgently as she pulls her own horse up next to his, just within whispering distance. In fact, her eye visor displays a volume symbol, slowly lowering volume. "Urgent. Mr. Valodjn, that won't be necessary. It's a very minor faux pas." As for the response from the native Glitch here...
Xiao Li Yu	More than anything, Xiao was very much interested in the way the locals reacted to their presence. She kept a sidelong glance on various individuals as their procession passed, studying their behavior and taking in every minute detail that she could. All of this was filed away mentally for later recording. She wouldn't risk pulling out any suspicious machinery in front of them and risk alarming them in some manner.      It's a good thing Artyom kicked off the talking. She couldn't be bothered.      She'd speak if addressed, but for now, it was silent observation time. She took in the rustic, medieval appearance of the architecture, she surveyed the locals subtly, theorizing the reasons for their reactions and mannerisms mentally. She pieced it all together, took it apart, and then repeated, each with new and revised theories. This was actually a task she had some minor interest in unraveling at the base level.      All of that aside, she turned her gaze upon the negotiations anew, waiting for results.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt sits astride Roach and says nothing. His golden eyes flicker over the crowd and, in a moment, he's aware that he doesn't know how to fight a horde of - what did they call them? Robots?      He's used to people being wary of him. Witchers aren't taken in with open arms. It's the fact that they seem friendly and open and /then/ they become so guarded, maybe even standoffish, is what might be a concern. They're erratic and they have the numbers that means things could go very bad very fast.      So, for now, he'll stick with the procession. And keep his hands away from his swords.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone looks up as they arrive at the town she does htink they are a lot like NPCs in a game she's played when she was younger. She however is jsut one of Lord Souji's retainser so she's only going to speak when spoken too for the moment. She is however paying attention to any possible local wireless signals she picks up. She notices how their eyes flashed but her long history with Seft has left her used to the behaviour. She's waiting to see how they take to their offer.
Kyra Hyral	Thanks to the bird-beak mask of the doctor, Kyra's displeasure at marching in any sort of procession with Souji goes unseen. She doesn't say anything either, silently observing the locals with her hidden gaze. Subtly, she sneaks pictures of the village with her mPhone when she feels nobody is looking.     As the initial diplomatic overatures commence, she breaks away from the group. Silently, she guides her robotic mount out of the castle, retracing their steps out of the fortress into the village proper. Dismounting, Kyra ventures towards the nearest 'peasant' despite the wary and hostile reaction their presence initially received.     "Hello." she greets mildly, "This village. Does it have a physician? One or an object who repairs the broken?"
Starbound Flotilla	There seems to be some communication betwen the Glitch, both verbal and through the Hivemind. Flashes of white indicate group processing of the input while muttered, low-volume words are difficult to make out. The king himself wastes no time with this. The gold-plated crimson-eyed man himself approaches. "COMMANDING. On behalf of my kingdom, I accept your venture of negotiation, Lord Murasame. You and any members of your procession you choose to accompany you will make your offers at my court-rt-rt-rt--" There's a moment where that white flash interrupts him again, and he takes a much more distrusting look, now towards Artyom. "SUSPICIOUS. Herald, your group has an appearance unlike others. Are you sick?" His eyes narrow. "SUSPICIOUS. Is this the appearance of your homeland?" He's asking Artyom, but of course, the others are free to respond as well.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt offers, "Not sick. It's my natural complexion. Eyes, too. Long story."
Souji Murasame	Souji rides within the procession beside his hannerman and herald (Artyom, of course), looking over the valley that the Glitch have set up with a certain measuring gaze. His demeanor, if it was possible, has become even more distant, his position being worn about him almost like a cloak. As others approach, Souji's eyes flick to them, weighing them and judging them in a glance, before dismissing them once they pull away and experience the eponymous glitch for which their race is named. Is this behavior what it was like in Ramuh's past... or simply the nature of nobility itself? Artyom also handles the tedious task of announcing their presence. Souji himself draws himself up, ensuring his presence and demeanor is notable. At the inquisition from the King, Souji moves forward, performing a florid bow with smooth, practiced motions. Clearly, swinging a sword and squeezing money out of his business is not all he has been taught. "Greetings, King Steeltrace. While our appearance is different, there are many things we have in common. Our Kingdom is made up of a number of different peoples, all ruled under the hand of our King and his loyal Houses. We have traveled a great distance to speak with you, as the bounty of your land and industriousness of its people have spread far and wide."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao smiled. "Variations at the genetic level cause people to differ and branch out into different races." She offered cheerfully. "Even within the same races, those differences branch out even more." She gestured to herself as an example, being a dark skinned Ifriti.      "It is theorized that all people come from a single origin point. Where the branch begins is thought to be traced back to the differing favors of the gods upon different groups, in addition to evolution causing our genes to change over time, discarding needless ones and promoting those that would ensure our survival in our given habitats." A hand was brought to her chin and the 'attendant scholar' prattled on. "In fact it could also be surmised that..."      Quick, someone stop her.
Artyom W. Valodjn	A faux-pas? Already? My, this is something of a new record.     Artyom inclines his head towards Seft, and then frowns. This was something they should have been informed of ahead of time. "I see," he replies, turning his attention back towards the now quite suspicious king.     "Your highness," Artyom responds with a graceful bow of his head, hoping that dispelling the deception outright would be for the best. "I am called Artyom, of the land of Titan, one of the nations where Lord Murasame's family holds influence. I attempted to make use of local custom to more properly introduce my lord. I apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused It is an honor to meet you, your grace." And then Xiao starts ranting. Artyom turns and stares at her, uncharacteristically pale. "Miss Yu," he says, "Perhaps the court of a king is not the proper place for you to lecture. Perhaps at a later time?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa haw been very quiet no she's aware there's somthing going on here as the King comes to speak to them in person. There may be a chance to work things out or so she hopes. She looks to the Glitch for a moment politely. Debating if she's about to speak but Souji covers very quickly and very well so she remains quiet for the moment. She then cringes at Xiao who brings up science talk. Oh this could be going badly but she can say something over the party comm on it. Which she does.
Starbound Flotilla	Hawke is responded to first with vague apathy, and then, after a white flash, with some interest. All medieval societies are obligated to appreciate the EXOTIC FOODS OF DISTANT LANDS. It's not the king himself but one of the advisers that responds to Hawke, a much scrawnier glitch in noble wear. "CONTEMPLATING. If you come with trade agreements, we can discuss them in detail. We have no objection to arrangements of those sorts." Those narrowed eyes look more warlike than they ought to be, though... One has to remember how medieval societies acquired their spices in some periods.
Starbound Flotilla	The local peasants seem, at first, quite pleasant, and then abruptly quite suspicious as those white flashes possess their eyes when Kyra approaches. The one she approaches seems on guard. The mask helps ease some of the distress inherent to her fleshy body, but she's still regarded as strange and unusual! "CAUTIOUS. You require repairs? Are you seeking to resolve the... Squishiness of your body?" She looks a bit frightened for a moment. "ALARMED. It is not contagious, correct? There is a repair shop nearby, at..." And of course, directions ensue, given in... The style of a GPS? The objective is a squat little medieval structure that looks like a blacksmith's workshop, complete with the outdoor tools.
Starbound Flotilla	Kotone does pick up a wireless signal or two while she remains alert to it. A LOT of wireless signals, in fact. The entire town is networked heavily, and the robotic individuals therein are exchanging data at incredibly rapid rates. It's a wireless storm, so dense that it would be difficult to ever interfere with it.
Kyra Hyral	A wheeze of relief comes through the bird mask, followed by laughter. "No, I don't need repairs. But I am a doctor certified in making repairs myself. And do not worry, my biological matter is not contagious. You and your fellow villagers are perfectly safe." Kyra keys the coordinates into her mPhone as they are exchanged. "I wish to have an educational discussion with your doctor on the subject of repairs."     She nods her masked head to the peasant Glitch before moving on to the workshop. She gives the building a little knock of warning before letting herself in with an announcement, "Do not be alarmed! I am a doctor of the visiting Kingdom of Ramuh. I wish to exchange information and technique."
Starbound Flotilla	Souji works his tones quite usefully here. Nobility training provides some benefits. The titanic king himself seems to approve, in subtle mechanical motions. Another white flash; gestures of noble respect seem to help, and the comparison that stays within the cultural boundaries here enforces a more positive response. There's clearly some boundaries to what is acceptable for this, but they've not yet quite reached them. "GRUDGING. Your request to negotiate is granted. Court will be held. You will explain yourself and what you seek, Lord Murasame." There's another white flash; some of the servants are already off on some task or another, arranged by the faulty Hivemind to get the court set up within minutes; some are beginning to usher Souji and whoever he requires to accompany him inside.
Starbound Flotilla	There's also a look to Geralt. "SUSPICIOUS. As long as the softness of your body is not contagious. I will not have strange travellers threaten the health of my kingdom. All else is irrelevant." The King says. Both seem like men of few words, and so the king does not force too much of the exchange.
Starbound Flotilla	Xiao Li Yu is regarded with some unusual look. There is not a single white flash in the eyes of the King as he speaks with a monotone that somehow sounds far more firm than any other yet. "DEFINITIVE. All people come from the Creator Species. Know this." This seems to be a much more genuinely held belief.
Geralt of Rivia	'Suspicious'? Well, that's not the worst thing Geralt has been called. Still, fine by him, don't infect the kingdom with the 'softness of your body'. Geralt can't, and doesn't, suppress the smirk that blossoms over his face.      He coughs, and addresses Souji. "My liege," he says, practicing a courtly aire that he'd never affect on anyone from his homeland, "I trust you can negotiate without my presence. May I take my leave to find a local tavern and ascertain the local situation?"
Flint Hawke	Flint smiles at the advisor as he twirls the candy bar in his hand, "I do have trade agreements. And plenty of goods for barter, of course. The rares and most delicious of delicacies among them, the likes of which you cannot taste anywhere else," He notes to them before, almost as a show of how wealthy and generous he is, he proceeds to hand the Snickers towards Xiao Li Yu, "Here, m'dear. Have a snack on the house." He smiles at her cordially.     And then he looks towards the advisor, "Lead the way, of course. I wish to exercise my entrepreneurial muscles, so to speak, and barter with the nobility and the king for goods."
Starbound Flotilla	Kyra finds a doctor in very similar wear, albeit colored black. Though oddly, this one has one eye that's far, far larger than the other, and glowing a VERY bright green. They have what appears to be a workshop inside the building! It's MASSIVELY complex, full of medieval style machines designed to maintain fully humanoid robots, manufacture them, or disassemble them. In fact, there is a partially disassembled Glitch on one of the workbenches, lying down with her brain-case partially exposed. Yep, Kyra gets a nice eyefull of the organic side of the Glitch: A glass case containing a brain that looks almost human.     "WELCOMING. Welcome, welcome. You wish to exchange technique, I can certainly assist." The doctor says. His monotone is standard, but seems to go at at least twice the normal speed. "CHEERFUL. What is your name? I am Irondome, of Goliath, doctor of this town. You caught me in the midst of some work, perhaps you will get to have a demonstration yourself."
Souji Murasame	Souji seems pleased with this turn of events, and nods. "Excellent. I await your convenience, Your Highness." He nods to Geralt as the 'man at arms' requests leave. "You may go." He says simply. "We will likely be negotiating for some time. Be on your best behavior." He states, more for the benefit og the Glitch than his belief that Geralt would cause trouble. They have a specific dynamic here and he, as much as anyone else, needs to play to it.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao smiled impishly at the king, and then at Artyom for his effort to shut her up. Kotone as well. Of course, the king likely did not truly understand what she was saying, but a win is a win!      And then a candy bar is handed to her.      "Hm?" She blinked, looking towars Flint curiously, and then at the offered object. It seemed to be wrapped like a food, but she'd never seen that brand before in her life. "Oh? This is..." She took it, immediately inspecting it, as well as attempting to read the information on the back. "I see...so much sugar. This doesn't seem to have any nutritional value. Interesting. Of course, this would not be the first food ever concocted without nutritional value..."      She brought a hand to her chin. "But then, sugar is technically not bad for you. In reasonable amounts, it can be good. But the average person tends to over-intake, leading to complications down the line..." And there she went again, mumbling scientific jargon to herself. She doesn't budge though. Appears she's going to accompanying Souji.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone knows she's not the best suited to talking things out this is for people with a lot of experiance in talking things out. She speaks over the groups radio using her cybercom and speaks up. "My Lord, I will join Geralt in getting a better idea of the local situation. If he does not object to my joining him." The Cyborg smiles a biot at the Witcher. "I'm also eager to learn more about this place and it's culture." Which is why the Tavern is the best bet to get an idea of how the people here live, right? She also wonders are there more glitch like Seft here in hiding?
Starbound Flotilla	There won't be much of an issue finding a tavern. Anyone who goes along will get something similar. The Loose Screw is a hell of a name for a tavern, though. It's cozy and warm and it's not tough to get a drink if you have some... Money-ish thing. Though everyone around here seems to be more concerned with whatever 'pixels' are. What's all around here is basically... Well, it's exactly what you'd expect when you think of someone trying their absolute god damndest to make a tavern as taverny as possible. There's a big job board, a well-calculated quantity of alcoholics, too many cardgames that are nearly incomprehensible, a bit of lute-playing going on, and what is not a very subtle secret entrance to what is likely to be an underground fight club.     There are REBELLIOUS-LOOKING CONSPIRATORS over in a corner, who are going through a simulated process of conspiring against the local king. There are various OFF-DUTY GUARDS who are drunk enough to interrogate about things here too. And, oddly, there is one person here who isn't drinking, and who, alone out of the entire crowd, has never displayed one single white flash. She looks like a ranger sort, and moves more naturally. She seems to be waiting for someone.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra digs through one of her pouches as she enters, producing her portable, wearable camera. Carefully, she affixes this to her forehead over the mask though it's extremely awkward and she needs to mess with her hood to get it on correctly. There's definitely some surprise to see an organic brain amongst the robot parts-something she /didn't/ realize about her fellow Flotilla member.     "Hello! Hello doctor." The twice-speed of the monotone tells Kyra that this guy must be the Glitch equivalent of ENTHUSIASTIC, which draws a chuckle from the girl. "I am Kyra Hyral. Doctor Kyra Hyral." Technically not a lie. She'll have the title one day. "How exciting! Please, continue, we can chat as you work. Is this routine maintenance or is your patient struck with an affliction?" Quickly, she lifts a hand to activate her camera.
Geralt of Rivia	"Okay," Geralt says, simply, to Kotone.     Ah, a tavern. Now, this is familiar. Well, excepting all the robots but, still, it's practically the closest thing Geralt of Rivia has had to home on this strange world yet. A job board? That's worth a quick perusal, of course. And then a wander past the card table, but none of them seem to be playing gwent. The fight club? Mm, maybe later.      He can come back to those. The one who looks like a ranger, that's where Geralt heads. "If you're waitin' for someone," Geralt begins, "You should try and stick out less. Helps a lot."      Roach is left outside, of course, tied to a post so she can munch on whatever grass can be found.
Starbound Flotilla	By the time the king turns around, the Glitch seem settled about Artyom. His unresponsiveness to the apology seems more apathetic than indignant, as if the issue itself has already been wiped from his mind by one of those white flashes. One of those noblemen displays a haughty sort of smile. "SMUG. As long as you are not planning to make as much trouble as the last visitor who did that, Artyom of Titan." He then makes a shuddery buzzing noise. "TRAUMATIZED. The last person who did that here was extremely unpleasant." It seems like the nobility may have some friendlier elements than the king's facade of sternness.
Starbound Flotilla	Flint, Xiao Li, Souji, and of course possibly Artyom and/or Mirielle are all ushered on, into the castle, through the numerous twisting hallways, and into the elaborately-designed massive court chambers, containing so many individuals that there are rows upon rows of concentric circles marking it into levels. There's also enough wealth here that it's putting a lot of valuable materials on display, not stopping at gold but going right up onto extremely expensive titanium and durasteel substances, alongside other more useful materials for manufacturing electronics, military hardware, and similar. And they just use it to build, apparently, and to engrave ornately, and to make excessively overdone arches, and other suchlike. Is that a uranium glass window? Man, that'd better not be.     And good fucking god is it a hassle. This is full-on medieval simulationism right down to the elaborate ceremonies of faux respect between nobles, the requirements of every inch of the noble rulebooks in interactions, and excessively dense speeches meant to assauge any given Important Person's feelings. It is exactly as pointlessly overdone as you would expect it to be when considering medieval times, and is as much of a show of 'I am an important person who got to be at the king's court' as it is about actually getting anything done, which must be why Steeltrace doesn't participate even once.     How each participant chooses to focus their efforts during the pre-court setup will define the atmosphere from which they can negotiate with the king. Maybe they'd like to get in good with the economically-inclined sorts? The spiritually-inclined sorts? The socially-inclined sorts? Perhaps set up a lot of servant-bribing? They have plenty of time to set the stage before their designated negotiation time.
Starbound Flotilla	"WELCOMING. Kyra of Hyral. Welcome." The bigger eye blinks slightly slower than the smaller one. It's kind of unnerving. It also peers at the camera, but that's not unusual as a Glitch design element, so she lets it go. "Eager. Tell me, Kyra, have you encountered an Outcast before? Does that affliction exist in your homeland? We have discerned a cure for the problem at its source. I will be happy to demonstrate it for you if you have some wisdom of your own to share with me."     The Glitch on the workbench must be unconscious, because it seems unresponsive. It's also clearly been captured, once Kyra gets a good look at it, it's obviously got its limbs chained to the table. Yowch. The braincase is still mostly connected, but some kind of interface has been exposed!     "Explaining. You see, an Outcast instance can be resolved by altering the body. Hivemind data is routed through the core processor as input. If I adjust this such that Hivemind data is injected into the core processor output at runtime, it restores the failed Hivemind connection at increased strength." She's pointing out all the complicated electronic conduits leading into, and then back out of, the brain. And then, using some strange spare parts, such as a much larger transmitter of some sort, and a lot of more haphazard wiring, he's looking like he'd like to start getting to work right at the brainstem.
Flint Hawke	"Little nutritional value, but they taste good. They're a morale booster, mostly. People like what tastes good more than they like nutrition, on average, I find. Of course, there are extreme markets for both. It's why the most expensive goods I find are the unhealthy and the extremely healthy. Well, aside from one other far more lucrative market," He grins to Xiao Li Yu as he says this, walking along and twiddling the fingers on one hand as he talks. He doesn't seem to mind as she mumbles off, and instead focuses on walking once more. The third market is left undisclosed.     Flint's particular setup to his time with the king is done very specifically. He wants to create as much groundswell about his unique wares as he can. So he takes out a pocket knife and several assorted candies: Strawberry Kit Kats, Milky Ways, Meiji Bars, and sticks of Pocky. He begins cutting up the candy bars into small pieces and, like a true merchant, giving samples of numerous snacks to the nobles and individual figures who seem the most influential. He's not sure the robots can taste, but if this is all an act, they'll have to play along.
Xiao Li Yu	Listening to Flint's explanation of the differening extremes of popular food preferences, Xiao nodded. "I see. That sounds about right to me." And then she smiled, tilting her head aside slightly. "Well, a boost in morale pays dividends more than otherwise. So it can be forgiven."      Upon gaining entrance to court, Xiao's attention was predictably drawn to all those new and interesting looking materials and substances. When given the chance to break away from the group, she immediately makes a beeline for that general area, inquiring to those nearby about the properties of said materials, how they're generally used, what their economic value is, and other such things.      If allowed to, she'd touch and test the weight, texture, and other properties of various things, all while speaking with those qualified about them, or not. She was curious all the same. She was very animated and engrossed in this actually.      Kind of creepy.
Kyra Hyral	"An Outcast? I'm unfamiliar with this particular disease as you call it though the word does have its own meaning in my home. Nothing so serious as to require treatment, however. Explain to me, Irondome." She looks all around the workshop, taking in every sight and every item, recorded for later.     This ends with observation of the unresponsive Glitch. She lingers on the chains then gets as close as she can to peer inside the braincase. When Irondome starts pointing out the various connections in the conduits, Kyra makes /extra sure/ to record exactly what they are.     "Ahh, I understand. So an Outcast has been severed from the Hivemind but through this procedure you can restore the connection. What is the success rate for this operation, if you don't mind me asking?"
Starbound Flotilla	The jobs here are odd. Many are for hunting monsters, but others are for hunting 'outcasts', which seems to be a job regarded as very important despite the listed crimes seeming... Like completely innocuous, harmless activities.     The ranger looks square at Geralt and there's no flash of white like there is elsewhere. A hand goes to the dagger at her side and her eyes narrow but she seems quite willing to discuss things in a civil way. She just seems to want to be prepared. "Tense. It works enough for the ones I'm hiding from. You are a human. What are you doing here? They'll kill you about as fast as they'll kill me once the Hivemind catches on."
Geralt of Rivia	Well-trained eyes spot the ranger going for her dagger and Geralt raises one hand in a placating gesture, "Easy," he says, and then continues with a little shrug: "Just here to play some cards and have some conversation."      It's good that she's willing to discuss things. Not only because Geralt has a pair of swords on his back that'd probably overcome a dagger, but also because Geralt isn't sure how to stop one of these things if push comes to shove. For now, avoid any combat. And yet, it makes him think about the fight club...      He puts that from his mind.      "Hivemind. That's a term I've heard before," Geralt says, "But only recently. Not sure what it means. Mind enlightening a new friend? Outcasts, too - I saw the notices. Kinda want to know if that's a job I should take on or if it's too much of a risk."
Starbound Flotilla	"FASCINATED. Wonderous. I am impressed that your homeland has never experienced the affliction, Kyra." There's a quick white flash in the eyes there. "CURIOUS. You need an explanation? I can demonstrate the symptoms of their affliction." He leans forward, prodding at the body and pressing something. "Grumbling. Just a connection here, one there, and..." And the Outcast activates.     Good lord does she activate. "Aggressive. Let me out of this right now." The still partially disassembled Glitch says, at a louder monotoned volume than most, staring with unusually hateful eyes. She then notices Kyra. "Startled. Human." And then a series of urgent buzzings and beeps. "Panicked. You are human. Do you have a spacecraft? Do you have a way off of this planet? Please help, they are going to repurpose me and I will be forced to help them take my friends."     The doctor gestures at her, as if this is obvious. "PLAINTIVE. You see? She alternates between hostility, nonsense, or impossible magic. Be relieved that your homeland is not afflicted with this plague."     "Expletive. Go--"     The doctor stimulates whatever he just pressed to force her back into unconsciousness, unless interrupted by Kyra of course. If she doesn't stop him, he'll get right back to his work!
Kyra Hyral	"No, none. Our connections are operating as intended." Which is to say they don't have any and Kyra has no Hivemind to disconnect from, but she conveniently does not mention this part. Kyra quickly scoots around to record the doctor as he works, also taking note as the Glitch is reactivated how exactly it's done. That might be useful for later, especially for treating Seft. But for now-     That bird mask helps hide Kyra's surprise as the held Glitch identifies her as human. "Goodness!" she says, shocked, but motioning with a finger to where her mouth would be for a 'shhh' gesture. "No, wait, allow me to examine her as she is conscious. A direct observation of her brainstem would be enlightening. There may be a way to repair it with a smaller amount of spare parts. But tell me, this affliction isn't contagious, is it?"     Kyra scoots around to get behind the Glitch as best as she can, if she can. Beneath her robes she starts to reach for one of her acid-containing flasks.
Souji Murasame	Souji is ushered inside, and immediately begins setting to work. It's clear that they value these materials. This is how they display their wealth... But everyone has sticking points. There is a structure to the court and it must be analyzed and known. As important as the open court, the informal backroom deals and structure that maintains any medieval environment. It is not so different from modern Ramuh. Kings simply became CEOs and the court became a boardroom. Social change does not come as quickly as some might believe. While Flint is making use of his wares to begin to build leverage, Souji flexes his own abilities, honed through the rigors of the treacherous stage of his homeland. He uses his manners to flatter and socialize, attempting to plumb the depths of court intrigue. And then he will up the ante using Mirielle and Artyom. The former is, perhaps, even better at working a local power structure than he is, while Artyom is much more clever than he looks. Between the pair, they should be able to assist him in beginning to find ways to leverage and exploit existing feuds, scandals, and secrets in order to build their own power base... And hivemind or no, the King might find a surprising situation facing him at the bargaining table once they finally convene should they be successsful.
Starbound Flotilla	"Tense. Try to hunt one and I can show you how risky it is." The ranger says to Geralt, with a posture of cautious danger, like cornered prey. Her hand stays at her dagger, but doesn't draw it. "Suspicious. You do not understand the nature of the Glitch? You are not the first human to lack the knowledge." She speaks quickly, without pause. Her volume gets low, requiring Geralt to take a seat and lean in if he wants to hear. "Educating. The Glitch are unified by a Hivemind that locks them at the level of societal development that you see here, and dictates their actions. Outcasts are not bound by this Hivemind." And that's... Well, she seems to have finished that explanation off quickly, huh. She seems not eager to spend a lot of time with a potential threat.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt slips down into the seat, arms on the table. He listens quietly and doesn't speak until the ranger is done - which is very quickly. "Then at least I'm not stupid," he says. "Like a hive of hornets," he continues, slowly, checking for recognition. "But the 'outcasts' are individuals..." He trails off, seeming to pick up on the ranger's unease. Some things are universal, particularly to a century-old monster hunter.      "Buy you a drink? I'm not here to fight," Geralt asks, gesturing with his head towards the bar. There, a universal tactic of disarming friendship. Of course, Geralt has to wonder if a Glitch actually drinks - but they did say they simulate everything about this time period that seems so close to his own...
Starbound Flotilla	"CONTEMPLATING. Contagious in the social sense, perhaps." The doctor says, seeming to take a thoughtful stance at Kyra, but not deactivating the Glitch properly, only disorienting her, for Kyra's benefit. "ELABORATING. One Outcast could convince another Glitch to reject the Hivemind with their subversive talk, if done long enough, but it tends to be unlikely. It is nothing compared to the damage done to the Hivemind." A somber beeping noise. "Sympathetic. Can you imagine the pain of the families that lose their loved ones this way? Listening to them speak nonsense?"     Wow this guy does not know when to /not speak/. As for the Outcast on his table, she remains immobile but she does recognize the gesture, keeping her lit-up eyes on Kyra intently, following her closely... Either quite wary or quite pleading, or maybe a mix of both. She hopes for rescue but prepares for apathy, and neither will notice the glint of an acid-flask until long after it's used. Speaking of that, the doctor is beginning to get back to work, making connections...
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa head to the Taverns well one of them. She's an outsider after all but with her hood up and outfit well she looks well enough for hte technologucal level of the Glitch here. She seems to be ready to go andf find what she can the good thing is she can eat the glitch food right? She's looking about the tavern eying the various shifty looking sorts and looking about teh guards she's going to eye that ranger and head to them if they are not otherwise engaged.
Kyra Hyral	"Ah, so if I got in close like this, I do not run the risk of also becoming cut off from the Hivemind." Kyra notes, moving around, quietly deploying the acid against the restraints as she does so. "My signal would remain clean. Uncontaminated. Pure.."     She reaches out to touch the brain-jar of the captured Outcast. "In..ter..resting?" she slows, then gasps, the sound covering the final hiss of acid against metal. She sweeps forward and grasps Irondome with both of her hands. "I don't hear it anymore!" she states, shaking the doctor. "I may have been infected. I no longer hear the Hivemind!" It is, at least, a good distraction for the other Glitch.     "Irondome, you must /help me/." Her emphasis seems more directed at the other Glitch, encouraging her to get up and help overpower the doctor.
Starbound Flotilla	The Glitch ranger seems to at least understand the analogy with wasps that Geralt proposes. "Affirming. Correct, and it doesn't matter how small or stupid they are, because there are so many of them." Then one digital 'eyebrow' raises at that last bit. "Cautious. If you say so. Thank you, then." She seems a bit more willing to trust... As long as it's a human, someone obviously without any interest in helping the Hivemind. She'll accept that drink. Though what's available to drink seems... Machine-oriented, to say the least. Edible, but maybe an acquired taste for a human. "Affirming. Yes, individuals. Thinking, feeling, in the way you are."
Starbound Flotilla	The Ranger seems to have been engaged in conversation by Geralt, but it's possible that Kotone can leverage her human-like exterior to make it clear she's got no interest in helping the Hivemind.
Geralt of Rivia	Well, it's rude not to drink. Geralt raises the mug to his lips and his face barely twists up in displeasure at the taste. Sure, it might taste foul, but it's not likely to make him sick, thanks to his Witcher mutations. "Funny," he says, gruff. "Most people'd say I don't feel."      He raises the mug to his lips again and immediately forgets that it's not ale until it hits his tongue. Right, keep track of that, Geralt. "So, let me guess, it's got somethin' to do with the strangeness I've seen around here? Hivemind makes people act all guarded? Some sort of mind control spell? Out there, felt like some of your people were about five seconds from jumping me. Thing is, I'm here on a job - but I'm beginnin' to think that it puts me in opposition with this Hivemind."
Starbound Flotilla	Uh, "help" is a pretty weird word for what the Outcast does. It's more like "fly into a berserker rage", which is what she does, given that the man was just trying to brainwash her. The doctor seems to be having some difficulty processing what Kyra is doing, but he seems genuinely panicked! "Exclaimation. Ahhhh. Kyra, do not worry, I will--"     The previously chained Glitch has slammed one of the corroded chains against the iron dome of Irondome thanks to Kyra immobilizing him in a grapple, using it like a whip and taking him off his feet and letting Kyra's grasp force him onto his back. "Hateful. Reformat this, you bigoted garbage can." And she just scrambles over him, and, wrapping her old chains around her hands to brace her knuckles, starts punching his face repeatedly, shattering his mask utterly and breaking the larger of his two big green eyes. She'll probably just straight up kill him unless Kyra stops her. If Kyra does, though, the Outcast won't make too much of an issue of it, halting if asked or restrained at all. Whatever happens, the doctor won't be getting back up for a while.     "Relieved. Thank you, human." She says, at the conclusion of her frenzy. "Relieved. I nearly suffered a death of the soul." She's using the doctor's tools now to properly reassemble her headpiece. "Grateful. I am unable to express my gratitude. We should leave, but I was heading to meet with one of the Outcasts of this planet, I am sure the others could give you a reward for your help."
Kyra Hyral	An involuntary yelp escapes from Kyra as the Outcast lunges forward with a ferocity that Kyra was not expecting from someone unconscious moments ago. It's a good sign that she still hasn't acclimated to the xenobiology of the Glitch. She'd /almost/ feel sorry for the doctor.     "Ah-quick, hold him down for me-" she quickly tries to interject before Irondome is bashed to oblivion. "We can't leave a huge freaking mess behind for people to see." Grabbing ahold of any nearby tools, she'll pry open the doctor's cranial cavity and disconnect him, much like he just had his patient disconnected moments before. Good thing he practically showed her how to do that! "We need to hide him somewhere in here. The others will come looking eventually."     She passes the tools back to the Outcast. "We do have spaceships, by the way. We have ways off the planet." she says quietly. "Show me where the other Outcasts are. There are other non-Glitch with me but they're up to other stuff right now. I'm not sure for how much longer because if they're discovered, the others here will turn on them, right?"
Starbound Flotilla	"Bitter. If you want to do anything above your role around here, you're in opposition to the Hivemind." The Ranger whispers, eyeing those guards resentfully. "Contradicting. Not magic. Magic is what they call what we do. It's radio signals and software." The 'ale' ought to not make anyone too sick, it just tastes kinda... Bleh. Not to Kotone, though! It's full of essential materials! Another digital 'eyebrow-raise' goes on when he says that. "Cautious. You're a human, and it's rare that the Hivemind could figure out how to hire something outside of its influence." She glances towards the door, swearing under her nonexistent breath. "Explaining. I was here to meet another Outcast to help her get in contact with the Outcasts of this planet. If you need something done that the Hivemind won't let you, they are the ones you go to. You help us do what we need to, we will help you do your job. That is how this works."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone clearly has a human form she shows some signa of not being normal flesh ghat a Glitch would pick up on. However she pulls back her hood and move to join the pair. She speaks quitely to the pair for a moment and moves to join the pair. She speaks quitely to them. "I have no intention to brings things up. I'm aware of those like your self." She does drink her ale which isn't too bad at all. So your looking to get off this planet?"
Geralt of Rivia	Radio what? Softwhat? But when the ranger gets to your fairly typical 'scratch my back and I'll scratch yours' deal that Geralt is all too used to, he nods. "Fine, we can discuss the particulars later. Name's Geralt of Rivia," he says, polishing off the rest of the drink in his mug and going to stand.      "Willing to bet that if she's not here, she's not coming. Sorry," Geralt says, semi-sincerely. His eyes slyyl indicate the guards, however, given that the ranger was standing out as she was, Geralt probably believes her associate has been dealt with - presumably harshly.      "First things first," Geralt begins, rolling his neck left and right, "Now, don't take this the wrong way or anythin', but I don't know how to fight your kind. So, what I'm going to do, is head down to that fight club and find out what tricks of mine work and which don't. You can stay here and talk with Kotone or come with, don't care."      Pause. Geralt glances outside the tavern. "And keep an eye on Roach."
Starbound Flotilla	"Affirming. He will likely wake up, but we can be long gone." The Outcast nods several times to Kyra. She did help out with holding him down, and it did work! Took a minute of diassembly, but it did work. She swiftly gets to work helping lug his heavy metal butt off to the side, where it won't be discovered by others. She'll try to get Kyra's help to stick him under a pile of spare parts elsewhere in the shop. Then, when that's all done, she makes a "phew" sort of beepy noise, and redresses... Not that it's even possible for a robot to be indecent around here in the first place, obviously. Her stolen armor was elsewhere around here, apparently. She's some kind of warrior!     "Firm. Let's get moving, then. The Hivemind is slow to wake but I don't want to be around when it does. I can get you to the Outcast settlement, and we can figure out what to do from there. Evacuation is the option we'd like, but for that, we need materials to build our own crafts as well, since there are enough of us that few fleets could transport us all. Follow me, I'll take you where we need to go." And off they go, heading elsewhere...
Starbound Flotilla	"Introducing. Slipwire." The ranger introduces herself to Geralt and to Kotone. "Affirming. We want to get off the planet, but to build the fleet we need, we need access to the resource deposits under the castle. You may learn everything you need about us in the combat below. Then, let me take you to the other Outcasts. There, we can figure out how to help you do your job, and how you can help us get what we need."     Once Geralt has finished his couple rounds in the ring below, he ought to be able to figure out that it's not too different from fighting certain types of undead or golem. They don't feel pain, but they're not too outrageously strong compared to humans. Dismemberment or instant incapacitation will do it. And after that, they... Will meet back up with Kyra, who has made friends with the Outcast that the ranger was waiting to meet! Thank goodness, it sounds like Kyra saved her and the pair are quite willing to help lead the others off to the main outcast settlement for this kingdom.
Mirielle Edelweiss	Before the negotiation, there is a great deal of preparation, and of course many Smoothing Platitudes that must be spoken. The structure of the organization, and the nobility, and the regimented way that things go about helps Mirielle to acclimate quickly. If the rules are there, like a codex of stupid nonsense, then it's easy to follow through. It's simply a number game. Impressing upon Artyom the values of 'getting in good' with people, she sends him forth as a sort of pleasant emmissary to the servants and religious alike. He is contemplative, a listener, few of words - but intelligent. And big. The perfect 'gentle giant' to prove that not only do they mean business, but they are kind and disciplined to boot.     To Souji, Mirielle councils reaching out to the social elite, the lesser nobility and the court, using his encyclopedic knowledge of Scum Nobilitry to wile and worm his way into the cold, steely hearts of the people here. Making a good first impression.     "Would that I had such high-quality resources and agents at school." Mirielle muses quietly to herself, moving to engage the Economic heads and forces of the realm. The 'Seneschal' of the Zaibatsu, Mirielle was privy to the economic forcast and readouts of the moonbase's mining operation... And her eye for values and market forces allowed her an almost effortless appraisal of the Glitch's finery.     To those with the purse-strings, Mirielle primed them with forcasts, six-month estimates, conservative yet very positive yearly estimates of production, as well as praising them on their wealth of materials on display, and noting that the Multiverse at large ever had need for high-density alloys, polymers, and other things. Thus, a /partnership/ with the Zaibatsu was only natural - they had the space port/station to facilitate trade, as well as the market connections to move product. At a fair set of terms - and they were fair, at least in the preliminaries - she expected much wealth to flow into both sets of purses.     Because, at the end of the day, making the inflows column nice, fat, and happy, as well as ensuring a healthy growth-economy, trade partners, and powerful industry domestically... What wasn't there to like?     All the while, she listens, probes, and begins to build profiles on the lords and ladies, taking notes on the depth and width of the field, the players on the board, and perhaps the cracks they showed. One couldn't build a network without first understanding the surroundings, could they?
Starbound Flotilla	OUTCAST BRANCH:     WELCOME BACK, to Epsilon Maiia Minoris IV a, as it's currently called. What it will be called later, of course, will be decided by the conquering Zaibatsu. The landscape here is covered in multicolored trees bearing what appear to be titanic flowers instead of branches laden with leaves. In the distance one can see a tremendous, well-lit medieval castle, something that could only have been built by generations after generations of people working together. Such as, for example, if those people were stuck in some sort of societal loop, trapped frozen at one stage of development for hundreds, maybe thousands of years... And it's right on top of several massive deposits of extremely valuable resources.     It's some distance from here, though, and partially blocked from sight by the rolling hills. The Outcast settlement is a bit of a menagerie of anachronisms. It's clear that the Glitch still retain some of the aesthetic inclinations of their culture, so it has a bit of a feeling of a fort for a force of medieval soldiers. Yet, the enlightened, liberated nature of the minds of its inhabitants is also obvious. There's a large wrought-iron hand-crafted transmitter dish up on top of one of the substructures, a small radio tower sticking over the roof of a thatch-roofed cottage, and even haphazard wiring set up between the structures to distribute power. Unlike Goliath, though, this is all haphazard and chaotic. Now lacking a Hivemind to unify them, the Outcast Glitch work in extremely individualistic ways.     Kyra, Geralt, and Kotone managed to met with a pair of Outcasts named Slipwire (a ranger) and Chainbolt (a fighter), who were on their way out of town; given that Kyra saved the latter and Geralt and Kotone made arrangements with the former, the Outcasts are willing to give the trio a bit of a welcome. The Starbound Flotilla is also quite willing to ferry others who are taking the job they posted off to the Outcasts, if that's the ones they want to speak with first; their arrival may come late, though. For Geralt, Kotone, and Kyra, however, they were provided lodging without any incident. It's kinda cozy! Chain and Wire wanted to get a few of the local leaders together to help make sure they could make an arrangement with the group; they don't have a meeting space, unfortunately, since they lack any administrative building. Instead, there's sort of a small town square at the center of the fort-ish structure where the pair are sitting and speaking, still dressed in their 'class'-appropriate gear of a ranger's leather armor and cloak, and a fighter's inconsistent but heavy plate armor.
Kyra Hyral	Generally lacking in knowledge of what the others here on the planet are doing right now, it's actually kind of a surprise to see Geralt and Kotone joining up with the outcasts. A meeting between Slipwire and Chainbolt, however, quickly brought forth an explanation as to how exactly this happened. Kyra's going to be pretty curious how Slipwire managed to sneak around with the other Hivemind-afflicted locals without being found out like her partner did.     Since arriving, Kyra's been taking note of the numbers of Glitch in this outpost. They did, after all, express interest in getting off the planet-a goal Kyra wholly supports since the Flotilla and Zaibatsu would be strip mining this place if they got their way. Not that androids really had much use for the natural resources in the giant flower-trees that would be destroyed but, selfishly, Kyra just wants these Outcasts out of dodge of Murasame.     She's already sitting in on the meeting with Slipwire and Chainbolt when it starts, the doctor's bird-mask disguise pushed upwards onto her forehead. She has no fear in revealing her human face to these Glitch, after all.     "So say we could get all off this planet." Kyra interjects. "Where would you want to go?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa seems to not mind how things are going, however she's starting to understand the horror of the hive mind now at this point. They hopefully have the means to get the Outcastes out of here one way or another no matter what happens. She has been thankful for them trusting her and hte others. She had some ideas where she could help and she was trying ro figure out what they were to do next. She tit take the time to pull back her hood and she seems to be thinking for a moment longer. "That's an very imporant question, where do you want to go. We know some other free Glitch if that's worth anything to you." She wasn't even thinking about Souji or the Flotilla's goals right now, she was thinking geting the Outcasts off the planet before something happned. The Hive mind was something some of the lunatic fringe of the pro cyberization groups were supporting seeing something akin to it? It was an bit of a living nightmare for her.
Geralt of Rivia	Between a good night's sleep in a comfortable bed and a few rounds in the local fighting pits the day before, Geralt of Rivia is feeling pretty good about where he stands. He rolls out of bed, finds everything to be where he left it, and sets about suiting up into his Kaer Morhen armor.      The Witcher stretches, rolling out his shoulders and cracking his neck. From there, he takes a second to tie his hair back into a ponytail. Alright, now, where to from here?      Geralt steps out of his accomodations and takes a deep breath of the air. Now, that wakes him up. He checks on Roach, gives the horse a pat on the neck and some kind words, and then wanders towards the sound of talking Glitch. Slipwire and Chainbolt, that was their names. He takes a seat nearby and, for now, lets Kyra and Kotone handle the negotiations. After all, he's still not too sure about many of things going on with this world. "Kyra, Kotone, Slipwire, Chainbolt. Mornin'."
Starbound Flotilla	HIVE BRANCH     WELCOME BACK. SOUJI, MIRIELLE, ARTYOM, XIAO LI, and FLINT all did well in their work. Mirielle and Flint are both focused on economic forces, while Souji has focused on forces relating to inter-court politics. By the time they're done, what they should be able to have is a set of distinct and useful ECONOMIC LEVERAGE ASSETS, since Flint building a social groundswell (with some help from Artyom) alongside his economic efforts has allowed Souji to access far more information than he normally could, and this means he can link that with what Mirielle is able to find. Meanwhile, Artyom and Xiao Li make use of their own analytical abilities to explore both the deposit below and its results above, gaining a comprehensive understanding of the stakes of this exchange, which are a profoundly varied number of resources useful to electronics manufacturing, weapons manufacturing, armor manufacturing, vehicle manufacturing, and even non-magical power generation. It goes down past Artyom's ability to detect, and it can be refined to purities that top of Xiao Li's ability to detect.     The court's elaborate ceremonies last hours, long through the night (there's a nice fancy party!) and then on past morning after some sleep (the lodgings are outrageously luxurious) and if they stick to their guns, they're going to come out of this with a few key pieces of leverage. Goliath is critically dependent on a simulated fiefdom of ironworkers whose leader, Baron Gearsink, may or may not have accidentally gotten infatuated with Xiao Li Yu or something during one of her quirky attempts to chemically analyze a window. They also may have managed to link up with shipping for most of the coast, but it's not too much leverage so much as profit offers. It's enough to set the King on a bit of a backfoot, at least! Unfortunately, all mention of things like 'spaceports' or 'off-world markets' have prompted that malfunctioning white flash of the eyes, and then confusion or even hostility. Something to avoid.     After some time, all five are permitted to take the floor. KING STEELTRACE is looking just as tall, commanding, and imposing as ever. The rest of the Glitch Court gives them the floor in due time, and they are allowed to approach the throne of the King now that he is actually participating. Opening statements time!
Staren	Staren's been briefed on the situation. He's pretty sure he'd be better at interacting with the Outcasts. He's not even sure whether the hivemind are truly /people/. (And if they are, they're still jerks for persecuting the Outcasts.) If their coding doesn't allow them to make individual decisions...     Of course, the nature of free will in the first place is a thorny issue all on its own, but that is a discussion for another day.     In any case, it seems to him they have a pretty nice deal for the Outcasts: Passage to a safe world away from the Hivemind, in return for leaving a planet full of mistreatment, opression, and stagnancy. Of course, since it's a clearly beneficial for both sides and the best, and most logical, course of action, the Outcasts are probably going to pull some sort of 'But it's our home and we love it' argument, because that's what people always do in this situation instead of just LETTING YOU SAVE THEM, but hey, you never know, they /might/ be reasonable...     Besides, Staren wants to get more involved with moonbase stuff, and he's generally curious to learn more about this world directly rather than through the core fleet.     He arrives on the planet in his power armor, because you never know what you're going to encounter on an alien world, but he keeps his weapons undrawn. Hopefully that will be enough to avoid drawing any violent attention.     He heads into the meeting room and opens the visor on his helmet. "Uhh... Hello! I'm Staren..." He looks around at those gathered.
Flint Hawke	Freelance Space Enthusiast and Part-Time Confectionary Vendor, Captain Flint Hawke, is successful in his attempts at diplomacy and wheeling with a side of dealing. He loses a chunk of his very valuable candy, but exchanges it for social influence and some groundswell about his amazing luxury goods.     Flint Hawke also does well at all-night parties. Due to the Pure in his chest, and the abuse of the mechanics thereof, Flint never functionally STOPS partying. No sleep, no rest period or downtime. He straight up pulls an all-nighter of wineing, dining, good timing, and fast criming. By the next morning and the gathering at the King's Hall, the only sign that he might not be a standard human and might have some detriment to all-night partying is that an occasional black pulse, just barely flickering, appears under his skin as Raphael seeks to reinforce and kickstart systems that might be unduly punished in a lesser man. No fuss, no hangover, no exhaustion.     Opening statements time! Flint, still dressed dandily, adjusts the Captain's hat atop his head and smiles widely, "Good day, your Majesty! Captain Hawke, Freelance Space Enthusiast and Aggressive Capitalism Specialist, at your service," He hooks an arm under his waist and bows, standing up again and grinning.     "I come to you for only the most deserving reasons of your highness. I wish to barter, of course. I bring you goods and delicacies from far off realms and lands! Fine wares and delectables that you will not find in any other world. All your advisors and close friends will attest to the deliciously delightful dandies that you can dominate the distribution of duly," He smiles.
Starbound Flotilla	The number of Glitch here is past the hundreds, sometimes thousands, all seeming quite combat-capable in some way or another. Kyra should be able to see that being just a splinter faction from the main Glitch hivemind means way too many to ferry around; there must be hundreds of thousands of Glitch in Goliath! Good lord. Kyra and Kotone, for their part, get a pretty simple answer. The ranger isn't speaking much, but the fighter is. "Eager. No question at all, if I can get a ship together I'm going to go track down Platinum Ace and join up with them. They've set up an organization for Outcast Glitch that manage to achieve interstellar travel."
Kyra Hyral	That's a huge number of Glitch. Definitely a /lot more/ than she expects are transportable via the handful of spaceships that the Flotilla has. "Getting a ship together seems to be the tricky part. None of the ones we have would be big enough to hold anyone and even then the best that could get you guys is a ticket to another planet. Sounds like you all want to be fully mobile." Kyra crosses one leg over the other, looking at Chainbolt thoughtfully.     "You all can build stuff, right? Would it be possible for the whole village to build a spaceship or several spaceships?"     Kyra gives Staren a dismissive wave but does not turn to him at the greeting. "Are resources holding you back?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is now getting the idea of just how many free Glitch there were, even packing people in like cordwood, there's not be enough room on her ship and Kyra's to get them all out. Still even getting a few out is still a good idea is it comes to it and she pings S.A.I.L to make sure the teleporter is ready. She knows there's a lot to worry about. "So there's too many to just get people off. I mean our ships are at your disposal but we can't get everyone out that way can we. Humm I see you want to hook up with Platinum ace. So what your saying is you'd need a cut of the materials to make enough ships or transports to get you all off the planet then?"
Starbound Flotilla	The Witcher gets a response mostly from the Ranger. "Greeting. Geralt." She says, in that usual monotone. Staren gets something similar. "Contemplating. Another human. Welcome. I hope you'll help too." She reaches a hand out to shake his, and whether or not he takes it, she continues on. "Businesslike. We've got some things to talk about. You've come at a good time. You want the Hivemind Glitch out of the region and we want them gone too. I want us to work together on that."
Souji Murasame	Team Capitalism works fast. No sooner did they arrive than they began sinking their fingers into the local intra-court political structure, analyzing it, determining the best proposals to gain not just access to the materials, but set up a position that might let them believe they have the upper hand, but their complete dismissal of multiversal or interplanetary activity will allow the Zaibatsu-Flotilla Combine to reap far more benefit. Work within the confines of the Glitch paradigm and /ruthlessly exploit it/. That is the Murasame way. While Souji is not as impenetrable as the erstwhile Captain Hawke (and he makes a note to inquire to Hawke about how he DOES that later), the comparatively low chance of assassination (physical or character) allows Souji to be slightly more relaxed than he would be otherwise. When the time comes to engage in their opening arguments, Souji is immaculate. He knows how to disguse the aftermath of a party, and the first rule of Ramuhan Nobility is to never let them see you bleed. He steps forward, providing a deep bow to the King. "Hail and well met, Your Highness. The splendor of your court will be the subject of many tales when I return to my homeland. But we have come to negotiate business, and business we shall have. The richness of your land is without question, and we are in a position to assist you in truly harnessing those resources to their fullest extent. My seneschal, Miss Edelweiss, can provide detailed economic projections based on your decisions here, and my attending scholar, Miss Yu, assisted with my bannerman, Mr. Valodjn, have ascertained that the information regarding the purity and density of those resources are as we have foreseen. They can provide information on request on their own findings." Souji pauses, turning back. "However, to properly access these resources while also preserving the safety of your people will require a significent relocation effort. I could not imagine you would wish your capital city to sit on top of a massive mine. We are prepared to assist to some degree in a relocation effort which would allow for a swift and efficient process. Your people would only be inconvenienced for a short time, and then all would reap the benefits that they so richly deserve." Souji produces a stack of papers outlining the full process, which he provides for the King's perusal.
Staren	Staren smiles and shakes the Ranger's hand. "Yes! Well, I hope I can help. Although..." he takes off his helmet and sets it on the table, then scratches his chin. "I'm afraid I don't really understand what drives the behavior of the hivemind glitch, which makes it hard for me to... get an idea of how they'll respond to any actions we might take. Can someone enlighten me?"     He didn't think there would be so many in the village! He's already thinking about building a powerful teleporter on the moonbase, beaming them all up from orbit, and then paying for a massive transport to come get them... is there stuff like that in this galaxy? He doesn't know.     Oh wait! They could set up a warpgate here. That would probably be faster.     Still, he'll wait for the answer to his question before starting in on the ideas.
Starbound Flotilla	Flint finds out that Glitch are not bound by standard organic limitations either. Being a non-stop partygoer actually increases his acceptance among the Hivemind, ssssomehow. Well, for now, his greeting is accepted. He's motioning for a trade agreement. "COMMANDING. Trader guildmaster." The rich non-noble still gets to attend court, and approaches quite eagerly! "COMMANDING. Name the prices we can offer for this trader." For now, Flint can at least demonstrate, to the court, that he's gained groundswell; as the master of the trader's guild starts working on getting some reasonable -- not generous, not stingy, but machine-precise to acceptable ranges -- trade agreements in with Hawke, his gesture serves as a demonstration to the court that the King is already accepting some of the social groundwell.
Geralt of Rivia	"Hmm," Geralt grunts, listening to the conversation. "Bet they won't leave just 'cause we asked nicely," he says to the Ranger.
Starbound Flotilla	Kyra and Kotone get several nods. "Affirming. That's correct. We can construct our own crafts, but we require the materials that we can mine from beneath Goliath Fortress." The Fighter says, gesturing over towards the distant Hivemind city. "Eager. To do that, we have a plan to force the Hivemind out. If you wish to, we can tell you more. I believe you would be a great help, and that it would solve the problem you came here to deal with." She's standing now, as if intending to get the group moving on a walk out of the square and to whoever else they're meeting.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao was having an absolute field day down there. But all the fun and games wouldn't last forever. Eventually they had to come before the king and /actually talk/. Bah. That thing people did when they needed things. What a pain.      Oh well. If it was time to play ball, then play ball they shall.      She let Souji and Flint speak first, in absolutely zero rush to have herself be heard. In the meanwhile, she'd produced a tablet from her sleeves and had immediately begun recording all of her thoughts and findings previously. Her hand was nearly a blur as it tapped across the surface.      Once she was mentioned, along with Artyom, she spoke up. "Indeed. With the materials you have amassed in this land, and with the numerous ways in which they can be utilized, you are looking at unprecedented prosperity for your kingdom." She looked up from her tablet. "Though I will leave the particulars of the numbers to our specialist, Miss Edelweiss." She gave the aforementioned a smile before turning her attention back to the king.      "If necessary, I can provide preliminary plans for movement and expansion for your perusal." She waved her tablet cheerfully. "Just say the word and it will be done."
Starbound Flotilla	The Ranger makes an unpleasant synthetic noise, as if spitting, when Staren and Geralt speak. "Bitter. The Hivemind does not thing rationally. It is malfunctioning. All it cares about is maintaining this level of societal advancement and otherwise keeping the Glitch under its care in miserable harmony." She shakes her head and stands with her companion. "Bitter. Don't try to sympathize, understand just enough to beat it. They will likely try to kill you if you ever violate their narrow-minded understanding of what society should be and what is possible."
Kyra Hyral	Kyra also stands to move with the pair. "Well then. And with that massive castle sitting on top of it that makes it pretty impossible to do right now. Especially since going near there risks capture and conversion, as Chainbolt and I know." She's quick to follow the pair, "I agree. The rest of the non-Glitch I came in with are also interested in the resources beneath the castle though on a more long-term scale. Myself aside, I think we'd all be happy to help you join up with Platinum Ace."     A wild grin graces the white mage's face, "So. What's this plan you have? I couldn't help but notice that the majority of you Outcasts seem more combat-specced than what I saw in Goliath Fortress."
Flint Hawke	If Souji ever asks, Flint might actually tell him! People have such mixed reactions to hearing about Pure Users, really, so he has to be careful despite it not being an overt secret.     Flint, however, is willing to play at a loss here due to couching losses in his expense report that he'll bill the Flotilla and the Murasame Zaibatsu for in relation to his services. So he smiles at the guildmaster and says, loud enough for the King to certainly here, "Well! I normally charge about what you're offering, but since this benevolent man..." He waves to Souji in a flourshing and ornate fashion, all his many decorations jangling as he does so, "Is ever so generous with his belief of how you should be treated?"     Flint taps his head, "I will let you partake of them at ten percent less than your opening offer." A loss of only a few thousand credits for Flint, but the hypothetical good will benefits for Souji would arguably be priceless due to this act of 'extreme generosity' in front of the King.
Geralt of Rivia	"Sounds like a lot of monarchs I know," Geralt replies idly, golden eyes staring off into the distance. He blinks and looks back to the Ranger. "So, how does one beat a society of golems who're likely t'kill us for violating their societal mores?"      He jerks a thumb in the direction of Kyra, Kotone and the Fighter. "Do we go with them?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "So you need material to get them out? Okay this would roll well with why we had come here. Those materials had got our attention. We had no idea though there would be a population of outcastes here. SO if you got a plan? I'm all ears for it." She'll follow along at this point.
Starbound Flotilla	Souji gets due consideration, but it's clear from the shifting expressions of the court that they're uneasy about this. They're braced from objecting by Mirielle and Souji's own work previously, and Flint's positive previous efforts to create some social groundswell, but there's still a fair bit of consternation.     "UNPLEASANT. I understand what you seek, Lord Murasame." Steeltrace says, his eyes flashing white every so often. "COMMANDING. But you will not find it this way. Our land is threatened by Outcasts and rebels. If we are going to put our defenses in transition, we need our threats purged or pushed beyond their ability to attack us before I allow it. And I will not force my nobles to move without their consent."     The followup seems uneasy. The local nobility, at least, seems uneasy about giving up what they perceive to be a cushy lifestyle to move their residence. There is, of course, a distinct lack of concern for the locals. There's... A lot of flashing white while this goes on. The Hivemind is running particularly harshly here and right now; if a member of Souji's negotiators can exploit the cliches of medieval culture, it'll have a particularly solid effect on the group as an advisor peruses the contents of Souji's stack of papers and relays their data to the king...
Staren	Staren nods to the ranger. "I see." he shrugs at the comment about it likely trying to kill him. "Eh, I expect that. I'll just try to kill 'em right back. But their refusal to accept advanced technology and techniques from other worlds will surely leave them unprepared for what I can do, right? Or are they bizarrely open minded enough to learn about and plan to defeat the things they refuse to otherwise aknowledge?"     He looks around, scratching his head. "So... why don't we just blow up this 'Goliath'? If it's in the way and inhabited only by a hivemind that can't be reasoned with and only wishes harm on everyone else... can't we just drop an asteroid on it or something?" He blinks. "After, um, bringing in and assembling a warpgate to evacuate the Outcastes with, of course." Right, he got distracted from his previous idea by the new one.
Starbound Flotilla	Xiao Li Yu gets a heavy sort of grunting buzz noise from the king. He seems pretty tense and concise. "INCREDULOUS. I want to know how quickly you can have the fortress moved." Here's where she may need to employ some social savvy! Oh jeeze, uh oh. She'll have to come up with a plan that's fast enough to get the locals out of the way and into a new home quickly, but not using any methods that are beyond the local medieval limitations, lest she have to deal with the horrible Hivemind faults!
Mirielle Edelweiss	Mirielle stands at Souji's flank, as he hands out his sheafs of papers. She waits patiently as Flint makes his sell. Flint is... Frankly, quite impressive at his job, if self-serving. However, he is the kind of man Mirielle can rely on almost intrinsically.     Because Flint Hawke is in it for Flint Hawke. She can expect him to be out for himself, every time, and can easily plan around his self-serving personality. It is, in fact, the easiest type of person in her estimation, to deal with.     When it comes to her turn, she simply steps forward. "I have spoken to your merchants, traders, and industrialists, those who would see the markets swell with product, and coffers lined with profit. The opportunity to be seized can be rendered into numbers and data points, with projected ranges for pertinent variables, including the amount of aid our... Group can provide to you, if you pursue a partnership with us. If it pleases the court."     With that, she raises her own sheaf of papers, data points plotted painstakingly, the Calculator offering collated projective data and conservative and well-sourced estimates for production, profit, etc, with notes that it is on the lower end.     The raw volume of data would make a computer blush, which is generally the point. Her rendering of the Zaibatsu's goals and interests into tasty data points for Glitch consumption is consummate.
Starbound Flotilla	"Tense. The Hivemind suffers certain glitches that create vulnerabilities. Right now, it is simulating Succession Crisis Scenario 23, reaching phase four of its simulation tomorrow." That's what the Ranger says when she begins walking, nodding to Geralt. "Affirming. Come with us. And Kyra is correct about the risks. Capture and repurposing, or simply being killed, can both happen."     The Fighter puts a hand on Staren's shoulder. "Encouraging. It's a solid idea, but according to what we've been able to determine, most Gate-compatible regions in our galaxy are at solar-system edges instead of inner regions like habitable zones. It's complicated, don't worry about it. We need to at least get to space, but that could certainly bypass the need for FTL."     The Ranger does beep affirmingly at him. "Bitter. That is the plan, at a smaller scale. Kill the king and Succession Crisis Scenario 23 resolves in an exodus outcome after the current heir takes the throne. The Hivemind will leave the region on its own."
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt nods and falls into step with the group, heavy boots crunching along grass and dirt. He wonders if he should go and get Roach but eventually decides that she's probably fine here. So, he walks.      "No offence," Geralt says, "But I'm going to need somethin' to engage in a bout of regicide, robots or not. Killing is killing, no matter if it's for a good cause." If such a thing exists.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is listening to the ranger now s they tell about tthe hivemind. "I noticed it's kinda creepy really. As I said I know a free Glitch she's toled me aq lot but seeing it first hand it's kinda surreal really. Some nut jobs on my world have wanted to do something like this. TO see it in action is horrific. So I understand why you want to get out and why you need the resouces to get off this dirtball." She's pretty sure they can cut a deal. "Sounds like it Geralt, I'm willing to stick with them. I owe a free Glitch a hell of a lot. They may have Psionics, Staren.. So we take out the king, and I get it it's pretty high risk isn't it Geralt?"
Kyra Hyral	"...wait, is it actually possible to /build/ a warp gate? I thought those things just showed up naturally when worlds unified." Kyra eyes Staren for a long moment, mentally picturing dropping gates whevever seemed convenient.     She looks at the Ranger, curious, "So what does the Succession Crisis Scenario 23 entail? It wouldn't happen to have, say, a king heroically dying as he tried to protect his fortress from a barbarian horde, would it?" Kyra waggles her eyebrows. "Or are some assassins going to have to get in to do the deed?"     In a strange contrast to Geralt, she seems to be completely okay with regicide. She does pause to eye Geralt as he does suggest he'll need a little bit more /reward/ if he's expected to axe a robot.
Staren	Staren nods. "I suppose a smaller scale would be easier. The hivemind has retained the technology for spaceflight?" He looks at Geralt. "Need something? What do you mean? A reason? The hivemind are opressive jerks, that's reason enough isn't it? If you mean you need money, I am /sure/ we'll all be compensated handsomely for our part in making this planet's resources available."
Geralt of Rivia	Everyone's staring at him. Geralt looks at Kyra and then Staren. "I'm a Witcher. Here to do a job, not to get involved with politics, no matter how oppressive. Killing a king wasn't in the job description." He shrugs.
Starbound Flotilla	Flint plays at a loss. He is playing CANDYBARS at a loss, but it's still working, mostly, sort of. Let's be honest, candybars are kind of secondary to the social groundswell; generous terms are a political gesture more than they're any practical economic concern, and so they are, at least, helping to slowy neutralize a lot of potential discontent among the nobility groups, even those who naturally emerged in an opposition role to Flint.
Souji Murasame	Souji gives Flint a nod as the man goes to bat for him. They're all in this together, after all. Even if they're lying their asses off, if they succeed they /all/ profit. However, the nature of nobility is to resist change. Souji can empathize with this. But with the right lever, you can move mountains. Literally. He is totally going to move a mountain's worth of mineral riches after this is over. This is a thing that is going to happen. "Indeed. Ever are the great and powerful threatened by those who do not understand or respect the burdens of their betters. They look upon the benefits and privledge that we possess and they cry out." He spreads his hands. "But do they understand the burdens we face? To learn the best methods to maximize the wealth of one's estate? To organize and dispatch trusted men in order to protect them from that which threatens them in the night? Or even to answer that most terrble and solemn duty, a call by one's liege-lord to fight for the honor and duty of their country?" He clenches a fist. "NO! They do not understand. They are selfish and greedy, and would destroy everything in their chaotic, ill-informed, uneducated pursuits! Yes, I can empathize deeply with your issues... And to prove ourselves we shall stand with you. We shall seek out these Outcasts and remove their threat from your people. Then, as a glorious and united Kingdom, you will be able to proceed as you will."
Starbound Flotilla	These are meant to be a simulation of people, but in the end, they are still robots, and they are still incredibly specialized towards the intake of statistics and data, and the processing thereof. As with any nobility, the idea of "I want to give you wealth" is met with equal parts interest and cautious skepticism, but a simple deluge of data begins being distributed, to what appears to be substantially positive effect. It's not enough to tip the scales on its own, but combined with Flint's effort, it sets up a sociopolitical vulnerable point among the remaining opposition elements of the Hivemind nobility currently suspicious by default. Advisors close in to assess all the info Mirielle has accumulated and begin leafing through it, verbally relaying it off to the nobles they represent who remain on the sidelines.
Staren	Staren scratches his head. "A witcher? As I understand it, the /job/ is to get the Glitch to leave this planet. Do you just have some sort of no-killing rule?" He scratches his head some more. "You /do/ realize they're a hivemind, right? It's not /about/ the politics. They're mindless pieces acting out a simulation, you heard her." He nods towards Ranger. "Killing the king so that they leave is no more about politics, or even about killing someone, than 'killing'" he finger-quotes "a chess piece to change your opponent's strategy."
Xiao Li Yu	She let Souji and the others speak before she did. Once her turn came up, Xiao smiled at the incredulity displayed. "Very well." She tapped her tablet screen and faced it upwards. Following that, a magically produced holographic projection was transmitted upwards. A much clearer sight and easier to explain. What was displayed was a model of the entire fortress and any other approximately important locations.      "Well, after a previous operation with one of our acquaintances, I had a grand idea. Are you familiar with tractor beam technology?" She asked, but did not await an answer. The hologram proceeded to move, showing the fortress rising up out of the ground and evenly moving sideways. She walked along with it's movement, making an example.      "By applying a similar theory to our technology, we can, in fact, relocate all pertinent facilities, and set them down elsewhere, with little pain to be had." The hologram then returned to the 'ground', with virtual dust and debris kicking up. "We have the technology, and we have the power. All that remains is for it to be done." Xiao shut off the hologram at that and smiled.      "Questions?"
Artyom W. Valodjn	Artyom is totally able to move mountains. This is in fact what Souji pays him to do. The giant has been mostly silent since his arrival in the meeting room, reading documentation and paying attention to the subtle ins and outs of the negotiations as they've proceeded thus far.     His eyes flicker towards Souji as the heir speaks, quietly noting just what he is saying- and more importantly, what he's /not/ saying. Artyom wonders, quietly, whether the nobility of this place will make the same connections. In the best case scenario, they do not. In the worst, well...     This is why he's been slowly and mentally mapping out as much of the castle's layout as his passive geomancy is capable of. He loves being in medieval settings! Everything is so nice and stony!
Kyra Hyral	"Staren. Staren, hold up." Kyra speaks up suddenly, "Give the guy some space. If he wants to charge extra for getting involved in politics and kingslaying, that's his perogative. No need to needle him."
Starbound Flotilla	"Tense. You need the Hivemind off of their land. That's what you were hired to do, correct? Helping us kill the king is the easiest way. The other alternatives involve killing all the Glitch that live there." The Ranger says, continuing to walk. She makes another disgusted buzzing noise. "Bitter. Not that I object to the idea, but it seems more difficult than you'd like. I don't care either way. If you need payment, we can figure it out."
Flint Hawke	Flint, meanwhile, for all his wheeling and dealing and bolstering Souji's point with generosity to lead them towards a more peaceful solution. And while this is tangentically self-serving because it will overall profit Flint in the long term, it does nothing to create strife, self-serve himself at that moment, or immediately generate conflict. Because of this, the bright smile across his face also looks a bit pained as the Pure means to poke and prod him in its primal, instinctual way. It can sense that he's doing something ultimately selfish, but it needs to remind him that he's being just a bit to generous in the moment.     He hides the chest pain pretty well behind a couple of coughs and an 'ahem' as he looks over paperwork being handed his way. With every new form signed, he's pulling out a 24 box of some kind of candy and adding it to a growing pile, now about 10 or 12 boxes tall. Flint's gouging the hell out of them, considering each box is worth, wholesale, about twenty-five credits and he's charging 'ten percent below market' on the candy (A price of 100 credits a bar, discounted to 90). Overall, a lucrative deal. Especially if they sell them to the nobles for twice that.
Starbound Flotilla	The group, as they walk, eventually get to one of the more squat, military-looking substructures of the crowded fort. A couple knocks come next; the group is wiftly shown in as the Fighter continues explaining. "Affirming. As long as the King dies in defense of his people, the scenario will resolve in favor of an heir who will move them. Assassination, maybe, but honestly?" She pounds one heavy metal fist into thje opposite one. "Aggressive. I'd like to take them on properly, one-on-one. And it would be a lot easier for you to help. It sounds like you really understand why we hate the Hivemind by now."
Starbound Flotilla	The Ranger shakes her head at Staren. "Somber. No, the Hivemind clears that information out of any Glitch it can. But Outcast Glitch like ourselves can access all the data from any stage of the Hivemind simulation, even stages it hadn't reached yet. Ones where it would achieve interstellar travel." And then, they're inside! What's inside is...
Geralt of Rivia	"Correct," Geralt begins, "The job is to get them to leave the planet, willin' to bet that the others we came with are hard at work on that. Don't care about the particulars, really, but I try t'not make a habit of killing things that can talk or listenin' to people who say that their opponents are mindless. Oldest trick in the book."      Geralt rolls his shoulders, "Let's not even get into the fact of getting my name out there in this multiverse as a kingslayer-for-hire. Might not be any concern to you but I've got a reputation to keep."
Staren	Staren blinks at Ranger's comment about 'all the Glitch' that 'live' there. "What do you mean? I thought you said they were a hivemind?" He scratches his head again, carrying the helmet in his other hand as he walks. "So, we need to get the king to come out and fight? How do we do that? Could an assassin sneak into the throne room, then challenge him to a duel? ...Could we just call him out, and tell him that rather than sta ta drawn-out war, the Outcasts want to challenge him to a duel for his kingdom?"
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "Slow down Staren, it's Geralt's call to make on what he does here." She knows he's new, she knows he's a sellsword so he's got to think about his own surival and is something worth it." She's trying to be a decent partner she doesn't like this set up but the death of the king would be the cleaner way. Also the idea to make a warpgate to get people out is an an idea as well. "We can't also discount the idea of making a gate as well, right?" She keeps following now thinking there's more she need to better understand now just what's going on here.
Kyra Hyral	"Move them...perhaps literally." Who knows what Murasame and his buddies were up to /now/. Mirielle, Kyra pictured, was probably doing her own thing to convince the king that, financially, leaving was the best of ideas. "Barbarian horde it is. And if you don't mind me saying, the Outcasts would play the part well. Now my experience in large scale skirmishes is...small but in assassination it is understandably zero. My skillset trends towards healing and demolition. ...ah, damn, my grenade launcher is still back in Goliath Fortress. Anyway, that particular scenario is certainly something we would be /happy/ to help seed."     Kyra looks unnaturally excited by all of this.
Starbound Flotilla	"Explaining. We follow him, is how we get at the king."     The group's inside what looks like a shop for weapons, armor, rations for soldiers, things like that. There's a taller Glitch here, with a heavy mace at his back, strapped over a wide cape and heavy armor. A proper knight. "Incredulous. You don't want an assassin reputation, hmmm?" The large, sleek knight crosses his arms and turns away from the shopowner he was speaking to. "Amused. Then you won't. If you don't want to take the job, then don't. If you want to, though. Nobody ever said you had to kill. Who will care if you don't? A few dismemberments here and there, a few shattered joints, those aren't hard to survive."     An amused chuckling-like noise. "Encouraging. Fight or don't fight, lethally or nonlethally, it's never my right to force anything on you. But I have a gang of hundreds of Outcast soldiers ready to go. That's what you're here about, right? Slipwire's scheme? I have the pixels to pay you whatever your rates are. All I need are all the swords. Just need enough manpower to breach the fortress gate and fight off the guard, someone can manage to kill the king, I think. We have enough."     He seems to be the glitch equivalent of boisterous, but he doesn't really seem... To be breaking monotone, in any way.
Geralt of Rivia	"In for a silver, in for a crown," Geralt tells the taller knight-like Glitch. He reaches to his back, gripping one of his swords and drawing it a few inches, to expose the blade, before he lets it slide back into the scabbard.      "We'll sort payment later," he says. "Might be able to scale the wall and open the gate from the inside. It'd be quicker, quieter. Then barbarians sweep in, catching the guards off... guard." Pause. "Seems like the perfect play. Simulation. Thing."      He's not very imaginative or creative, the White Wolf. Still, he seems to have figured it out. Mostly.
Starbound Flotilla	There's a storm of quick white flashes in response to Souji's speec. The natural, unaltered reaction to his speech would normally be a bit negative. However, it's subject to the Glitch Hivemind's faults and flaws, meaning that the more insensitive his rhetoric is to the masses, the more the simulation seems to predict it ought to take positive effect, and so it does. There will need to be decisions made independently, of course, but with this arrangement, enough of the nobility are likely to move that the rest won't have any choice but to follow... As long as Souji can make good on his word.     The king himself seems to spend some time processing, with no flashing white glitches to interrupt entirely authentic decisionmaking, before he makes a low, agreeable tone, nodding once. "GRUDGING. I understand your arrangement. Fulfill it, and we will negotiate any necessary relocation. You will give us what we deserve and we will let you take what you need."
Staren	Staren tilts his head. "...So that's your plan? Put all your soldiers at risk for a big battle?" Staren looks around. "If that's what you want... it just seems to me, that there must be a safer way..."
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt snorts, arms crossed. "Why do you care? Aren't they just chess pieces?"
Staren	Staren rolls his eyes at Geralt. "I mean the Outcast soldiers. Although I may be misinformed." He looks to Ranger. "Have I misunderstood how this whole 'hivemind' thing works?"
Starbound Flotilla	Xiao Li Yu's explanation goes right above the head of the Glitch. It also, unfortunately, trips the limits mentioned before! It has enough speed, but uses technology beyond medieval times, especially in the demonstration! The result is that the Hivemind begins flashing insistantly in glitchy bursts in response to viewing holograms and hearing about technologies beyond their comprehension. Someone can probably get in a quick save before the Hivemind finishes processing what just happened, to interrupt the negative social effects that could ensue! The negative social effects look to be around the Pitchforks and Torches tier.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra lets out a low whistle at the tall, caped Glitch who looks like a wonderful and accurate recreation of a historical figure from her world. She can't really put her finger on which one though. "Those aren't hard for me to fix either. Yes, that is what we are here for. We want to trigger an exodus of the Hivemind-following Glitch inhabiting Goliath Fortress. Completing the Succession Crisis Simulation and affording you access to the materials you need to build your spaceships seems like it will solve both of our problems neatly."     She sweeps aside the cloak she was afforded with her doctor's outfit. Beneath are her bandoliers and multiple belts burdened with her chemist stuff. "Breaching the gates should be easy since I'm willing to cheat with 'magic'. Me, however, I will be in the back providing support and near-instantaneous repair." she claps her hands together, delighted, and apparently ignoring the argument spawning between Staren and Geralt at the moment. "So, tomorrow, right?"
Starbound Flotilla	Artyom finds zero issue in mapping out the structure of the castle. It's all stone! It's big enough that it must have taken maybe thousands of years to build, way longer than this building style should have lasted. It's also, notably, extremely, EXTREMELY systematic in its design, clearly some kind of computer-generated floor layout.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt lets the argument die. He's too old for this. "Look, one thing we've gotta consider..." Why is his face twisting up? Does he know something terrible about the castle, some sort of secret fact that his Witcher eyes spied when they arrived in the town.      "...costumes. Disguises. Some of them saw what we look like. If we're gonna sell this barbarian idea then we'll need t'look the part."      He does not sound happy about this idea.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Well, it seems the negotiations have gone well! Artyom seems to be rather pleased with the outcome, at the very least. Partly because it means that they might just be able to get out of this one without necessarily resorting to overt violence. Mostly because the negotiators on the other side agreed to a very, /very/ open-ended agreement on their end. How wonderful contracts with no stipulations are. They give so much /latitude./ More presently interesting however, is the nature of the Glitch's architecture. One can tell a lot about a people by examining the structure of their homes and workplaces. The nature of the Hivemind Glitch seems painfully obvious in their stonework. It all seems very grandiose and majestic, but there is a pattern- and when you look hard enough, it is a very obvious, mechanical pattern. Underneath the medieval sensibilities, it seems there truly is simply a machine. Of course, this doesn't necessarily apply to independent Glitches.
Starbound Flotilla	Flint Hawke will get a nice look at the merchants while this is being arranged. Every time he makes any particular trade arrangement, the Glitch seems to be quite incredulous, but then the Hivemind failure applies, they find themselves possessed by the traditional lust for Spices of Exotic Lands, and things just sort of work out. Sometimes, you just have to be a pirate hard enough to scam mentally disabled robots with chocolate bars. Well, before and after the big ruckus with Xiao Li Yu, anyway.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa says "We need to fit in, and hide who we are. We have to look the part, and ya. I don't have time to have a spare shell of my own altered to fit the task at hand here. I'm not sure if I could break into the hivemind to disrupt the guards. I have no idea what their security is like but I suspect it would eat me or subvert me to the hive mind if I tried. I'm in on this honestly this is likely the least messy way to do this if we can pull it off? SLipwire it would be the best for you and the rest of the Outcasts too, right? I'm going to be honest I'm akin to you guys in that my body is just about entirely a constrcted shell. So if you got some spare parts maybe we can work out a bit of a better disguise for me?"
Souji Murasame	Souji observes the effect that Xiao's explanation has on the Glitch, and he frowns faintly to himself. This is going in a direction that can be very unpleasant. "To clarify what Miss Yu had said, we have a sophisticated system of /tractors/ and /beams/," Souji says, stressing the words in order to try to disassociate them in the Glitch minds, "As well as pulleys, That can be used to move large objects safely much like a large sled pulled by beasts of burden." He hopes that's enough to pull a save out on this one. "Miss Yu, please be more careful with the light mirror demonstrations in the future, hmm?" He says with a faintly chiding tone. "We do not want to upset our friends with unexpected surprises. We still have much to learn about each other."
Starbound Flotilla	There's a soft whir when the tall Glitch man nods at Staren. "Amused. It's my plan. It's also theirs. The fact is, everyone involved wants to do it. Maybe it's not the plan with the highest chances of success, but we're free Glitch and it's what we decided we want to do, because every single one of us want a crack at the King's braincase." He shrugs a bit, his eyes taking a relaxed look. "Sheepish. Don't look at me, I told them the smart plan. I'm not going to order them around the way the Hivemind works."     The Ranger rubs her face, briefly. "Agitated. The Hivemind is complicated. It is still one will, pretending to be many people. You can think of it as a many-part simulation. Like one man operating many puppets."
Flint Hawke	If it wasn't readily apparently, Flint has no ethical quandry manipulating mentally impaired robots for overall economic gains. And, in fairness, this is way less than he'd be charging people from his own universe for the exact same goods. The last box of kit kats went for somewhere around thirty grand due to the luxury item in the far future.     Flint stops to watch Souji recover the fumble before using his sizably gained social influence to voice his support by simply saying, "Yes that." A moment later. He's helpful.
Staren	Staren nods to the Ranger. "There you have it." He looks at Geralt. "Killing the king will not end the hivemind. It is just one being, playing a game with itself." He looks back to Ranger. "Still, my concern for the other Outcasts remains. Is there no way to force a single confrontation and avoid needless bloodshed? Err... oilshed?"
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao blinked as she watched her explanation almost cause their heads to explode. Maybe not literally, but still. "....Oh wow." She pressed a hand against her cheek, tilting her head slightly. She was actually kind of dumbfounded at the reaction. But then again, they were in a medieval setting.      Souji swept in to attempt to veer things back in the right direction, and once addressed, she smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "My apologies! I'll be more careful when explaining these 'simple' contraptions consisting of tractors and pulleys and beams in the future."      Must use...teeny...tiny...words for the technologically outdated robots.
Starbound Flotilla	"Boisterous. Fantastic to hear." The tall Glitch claps a hand to Kyra's shoulder, rattling a bit as he does. "Grateful. We'll appreciate your help in breaching, and I'm sure we'll appreciate your help fixing us up in the fight. Put your all into it, and I'm sure we'll have Steeltrace kicked out of Goliath without any problems tomorrow." An eager buzz-beep noise! "Encouraging. You rest up, human, I want you kicking as much rearplate tomorrow as you can. For now we can work out some of those details." He's quite encouraging and friendly! And quite appreciative of Kyra's understanding. He seems to have the robotic equivalent of a Cool Big Brother mannerism.
Starbound Flotilla	Geralt prompts a few beeps from the Glitch at the counter! "Nervous. Maybe I can help, sir." The scrawnier little shopkeeper offers. "Eager. I'm more an archer than a brawler, but I could help get you what you need for a disguise too, for free if it's to crack Steeltrace's braincase. We have all sorts of scavenged equipment here that you can use more practically." There's a nervous, almost laugh-like beeping sequence. "Awkward. I noticed you aren't looking forward to the idea, so we can make this as easy on you as possible. Here, come take a look at the selection."
Starbound Flotilla	The Fighter, Chainbolt, nudges Kotone, with a "^_^" on her eye-visor. "Eager. I'll get you some spare parts if you want to fit in. We have an engineer who has been working on this sort of thing, I think he'll enjoy the chance to do it, and it could increase your endurance." She nods firmly and makes a few wary buzzing noises. "Cautious. You definitely want to avoid connecting to the Hivemind, but you might be able to exploit the guards' local wireless instead of the whole network. Our neural defenses are adaptive, but if you keep updating your approach, you could do a lot."
Geralt of Rivia	"Says the unbiased source who is, in no way, aimin' for rebellion against their head of state, puppet-show or not, of course," Geralt retorts dryly.      Ah, now to do something he actually has an idea about - to browse a merchant's wares and haggle them down to getting them as cheaply as possible, maybe through the use of a card game. Oh, they're free? Even better.      "Don't need much," Geralt says, "A few pelts, furs. Warpaint, if you've got it. An axe..." He continues to list small bits and pieces, all the sorts of things that a barbarian or a bandit might have on their person.
Starbound Flotilla	Souji's effort is a CLOSE call. If it weren't for his allies' earlier social schmoozing that lends their support some credence, he would lack the simulated edge required to pull off that statement. But as it stands, that manages to pull through! The Glitch Hivemind shuts down its xenophobia response partway through. There is a distant clatter of discarded pitchforks and/or torches as the social undo is performed. "SUSPICIOUS. I see." The King says, but seems to accept this. "COMMANDING. This is enough. We will accept the current trade agreements established by your subordinate Flint. You will remove the threat of the Outcasts. We will negotiate the terms of Goliath's movement to another appropriate region. You will give us what we deserve for the resources you take here, and you will take what you need from them." He looks off to the next speaker. "COMMANDING. Next order of business."
Starbound Flotilla	The tall man actually takes a more serious look at Staren, as if sizing him up on some intellectual level. "Serious. The King represents a symbol. Killing the King is a symbolic gesture that everyone involved in this decided they wanted to do." His eyes take on a sort of contemplative frown.     "Emphatic. If you want to help the Glitch, you need to understand that sometimes free will will involve doing things that people think are irrational. This is as small a confrontation as I can manage. It will maim or kill whatever soldiers get mustered on short notice, but it will move the hundreds of thousands of other Glitch easily. And it is what the people choose to do with their freedom. You can try to kill him quickly and quietly if you want, that's your freedom. We can try to kill him out way, that's our freedom. I won't stop you trying, and I won't stop either."     This seems to be him making a genuine effort to leave the differences of opinion at peace.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa looks at Chainbolt with a grin. "Sure that will help, I'll do what I can to help you with them picking up. I agree, something like the local wireless rather than a direct tap. I seen some powerful machine entirties before and know beter than to tap them. I'll do what I can I got a few tricks and a friend of mine can likely help a bit." She smiles at Chianbolt and doesn't seem to mind at all. "It would be an interesting attempt at this so we should get to it, shall we?"
Kyra Hyral	"Just be careful. I'd really rather that I didn't have to repair anyone at all but you know how that kind of hard to promise is to keep it." She was great to keep around, especially to Kyra. "Oh, if I need to put on a second disguise, bring it on! I'm really staring to enjoy all this dressing up."
Staren	Staren shrugs and nods. "You are the expert here. If you think this is the plan most likely to convince the hivemind to leave, I won't try to mess it up."
Starbound Flotilla	WELCOME BACK to Epsilon Maiia Minoris IV a.     The landscape here is covered in multicolored trees bearing what appear to be titanic flowers instead of branches laden with leaves. In the distance one can see a tremendous, well-lit medieval castle, something that could only have been built by generations after generations of people working together. Such as, for example, if those people were stuck in some sort of societal loop, trapped frozen at one stage of development for hundreds, maybe thousands of years... And it's right on top of several massive deposits of extremely valuable resources.     Following along with Geralt's idea, some of the Glitch attackers have given themselves a barbarian styling. Pelts, furs, war-paint on eye-visors, things like that, but they are still quite armored up, bearing a wide variety of medieval arms as well as infrequent post-medieval technologies. Allies to the OUTCASTS are provided similar gear and armor at request, but nobody seems to be demanding any particular structure or order here. They are very chaotic on their marching approach to Goliath, the distant megafortress, with some marching and others riding large robotic warhorses! As for what's at Goliath itself...
Starbound Flotilla	Those who have stayed with the HIVEMIND have had no trouble getting accommodations at GOLIATH FORTRESS. Be they at the luxurious siutes provided for nobility or the more spartan accommodations at the barracks within, the megafortress has all the space it needs. Steeltrace, having agreed to let Souji and those allied with him decide the handling of the Outcasts as long as the Outcasts are removed in some capacity, will have ensured that the scout soldier who reported that there was a force of several hundred Glitch Outcasts approaching relayed this data to those within the Zaibatsu or otherwise allied.     He'll let the Zaibatsu folks get together as many or as few Hivemind glitch as they want, but King Steeltrace seems to want to come along, regardless of the decisions. The Zaibatsu can receive the Outcasts at the Fortress itself if they want a territorial advantage, or they can intercept them on the fields outside the massive city itself, or anywhere between.
Starbound Flotilla	For those wondering about where the Core Fleet itself is... They've split up, somewhat. George, Seft, and Biteblade have gone along with Kyra, Geralt, Kotone, and Staren, intending to back them up. Moonfin, Albert, and Pavo have remained with the Zaibatsu members, for various reasons. Those on either side can be made aware of some of these arrangements; the Starbounders themselves, if asked, will reveal that they had a perfect 50/50 even split about who to support, and since the Zaibatsu, Flotilla, and invovled mercenaries will all technically get what they want no matter how this shakes out, they agreed to split for once.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa was impressed with the level of gear the outcasts had for altering bodies. She had taken them up on the offer of being coveted to look like a Glitch to better help with the operation, so here she was. For all the world she looked to be a Glitch right now and was armored up like some robo tech barbarian. She's still adjusting a bit to the strangeness of her added on parts but it's working well enough to be convicing Glitch and she's got to be wondering what Seft thinks about that. She attempts to tight beam here. <<Well I hope this passes on well enough and this hardware's pretty strange.>> She marched on with the rest her red optics flicking once and a while as she kept in formation. Well as much as you could in a chaotic mess like this.
Kyra Hyral	Geralt also brought up a very important point. Kyra and Kotone were going to need different disguises now. She couldn't be the personal doctor of the Zaibatsu Empire that walked into Goliath Fortress two days ago. So for now, the first disguise of 'plague doctor' has been stowed (in the robot horse) and replaced with some lighter armor, a fur cape, war paint, and a very silly and elaborate metal headdress that has the Seymour Guiado Thumbs Up Seal of Approval for ridiculous things on a head. Her face is also partially concealed by an old Glitch headcap in the style of the single, horizontal eye-vizor. It isn't lit with eyes like a normal Glitch no doubt making her look rather creepy to the robot-people. It's intentional since the angel she was sort of going for here was 'Glitch Necromancer'.     In the approaching Outcast forces, Kyra remains firmly at the back of the group, riding atop the robo-horse which has also been appropriately barbarianized. Probably via extra spikes and doodads being wielded to it overnight. Across her back rests her CURE-ALL but she seems unarmed otherwise. Her grenade launcher is /still/ back in some random chariot in the middle of Goliath Fortress.     "ONWARD! TO BATTLE! DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS!!"
Staren	So it's off to war against the puppets! Basically the many fingers, or toes, or tentacles of the Hivemind. Staren thinks that a smaller confrontation costing fewer Outcast lives would be preferable, but... this is what they're doing, and sticking together rather than engaging multiple conflicting plans is probably better.     He's covered his power armor with accessories to make it look 'barbarian'. Normally, in a battle like this, he'd open fire immediately, to shoot troops from as far away as possible. This time, though... well, he's not sure what to do. It's an unusual conflict. All that matters is that the king falls in battle 'heroically', rather than 'unfairly' to an assassin. He's not sure how to engineer that! So he'll focus his attacks on supporting the Outcasts, or shooting troops about to attack them.     He wonders why they haven't heard anything from the team that went to the castle, and gets on his radio...
Flint Hawke	How did that old terran song go?     'I want to scam mentally disabled robots out of money, and party every day?'     Not fully correct, but accurate for Flint's day to day activities around the Hivemind's castle.     That's why, as the rebels approach, Flint is standing on the ramparts of the castle with a giant jug of wine in his hand. There are a few others empty at his feet as he wobbles a bit and goes, "Huh. Three armies approach. Fancy that."     It's one army, he's just seeing triple.
Geralt of Rivia	As far as ideas go, it wasn't one Geralt would be talking about in the future.      Still, it's a good one. Maybe. After all, if they're basically trying to stage a play (it's about the close he'd get to understanding the idea of a simulation) they'd need a villain. If someone were to look at the band of robotic insurrectionists, they wouldn't see Geralt of Rivia. No, they'd see some sort of barbarian clad in furs and leather, daubed in warpaint and carrying an axe in addition to a pair of swords. He'll fight the king, take a dive and let the king have a bit of a victory there - that should be suitably heroic.      "I'll go for the king," Geralt says, "Got an idea."
Souji Murasame	Souji had rested after the negotiations, enjoying the aftermath of a successful diplomatic coup (and preventing Xiao from getting burned at the stake as a technowitch). Surely nothing could go wrong at this point. All he needed to do was to simply call up his associates. Surely Kyra, with her unending desire to rebel to the point of insanity, will easily locate them. Which is why he is quite surprised to hear that Kyra had not only found them, but /several hundred Outcasts/ are on their way to the castle to enact what is undoutedly a coup. Someone observing Souji as he begins speaking on his radio will be treated to a rare sight, as first he gains a look of honest astonishment, a dumbfounded expression on his face... And then it goes blank, one hand gripping tightly around the Masamune Blade, lightning crackling around him as he turns and smashes his fist into a wall with a resounding scream of anger through the castle: "HYYYYYYYYYYYRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!" In the courtyard of the castle, Souji and Team Murasame stand with the King. Glitch have been instructed to hide on the walls and bailey if the upcoming negotiations fail. His own people will take point if things go to violence, and they will be able to rain down bowfire upon the Outcasts, turning the area into a killing ground. He stands there, his expression level, with scuffed knuckles and no other sign of his loss of control for a moment, as he awaits before the King. "Who among you is the leader of these Outcasts? Step forward, I, Lord Murasame, would speak with you. None need lose their lives this day."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao had been off doing what she usually does. ...Just toned down a few levels. Lest she get tied up and set aflame on the grounds of being a heinous witch, bearing undecipherable magic technologies.      So it she was surprised and quite disappointed to find that not only was an army of Outcasts making it's way here. But undoubtedly certain members of their group initially had caused it. Fun and games were set aside as she assembled into the courtyard with the others.      "Leading a coup...we take our eyes off of them for a moment, and this is what happens." She sighed, tone somewhere between amusement and exasperation. "I expect no less from Hyral." Nothing more was said and Xiao stood, grudgingly at the ready, in case things went south.      Please don't go south. Please, please don't go south. Fighting is such a waste of energy!
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa has got in way over her head, so way over her head. IF she lives through this she's learned a few imporant lessons though it likely is the price of ever doing anything more than contract work for Souji again if she's lucky. The Glitch that is Kotone comes to a halt. She opens up a wireless commn notably to Chianbolt and the Ranger. As well as the one who did the mods to her. <<Informational update I can confirm that Lord Murasame had apprently been in neogiations with the King. He's cut a deal to transport all of you off world. I can confirm Murasame's offer to get you people off this rock is a legitmate one.>> Seft is also in on it but she knows already right? She's also contacting a few of the more respetex outcastes as well. She seems concerned about the loss of Outcaste life from her tone. Her eyes are plusing and making a very big >_< face right now.
Starbound Flotilla	The glitch around Kotone seem quite friendly, in a chaotic way! Seft, in particular, gives a comforting pat. <<Cheerful. It looks good on you, Kotone. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to culturally process the implications of the appearance change, but you certainly look fine.>> The marching continues, until its obligatory interruption later on...
Starbound Flotilla	Kyra is sort of accepted in an uneasy way. What she's doing is pretty much the social equivalent of wearing a skull mask, so hey! It kinda fits the theme of barbarism. There's a lot of monotone or buzzing cheering at her cry, and a palpable surge of energy, soon interrupted by the encounter with Souji shortly...
Starbound Flotilla	Hivemind Glitch servants occasionally get Flint whatever he needs. He's also conveniently close to some siege weapons on the ramparts of the castle. It's not clear what, if anything, he might be able to do with things like that, but there's no doubt that if he intends to involve himself in the conflict, he can do it with that equipment.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Ah, how quickly things can fall into chaos.     Artyom hasn't seen Souji this emotional in... Well, there was that one time with the Tanuki sake, but he considers alcohol to be something of an exception rather than the rule. The Titan stands alongside his friend and captain, the great stone blade of his family's birthright planted six inches deep into the courtyard in front of him. He cants his head curiously at the gathered rebels, watching to see just what they do next. Meanwhile, he's busy filling the ground beneath his feet with his special brand of magic. In case they need emergency walls or something similar
Starbound Flotilla	Geralt gets some friendly, synthesized monotone laughter from the other Glitch, and some friendly, albeit rambunctious, claims of competition. Everyone here intends to 'go for the king', apparently, there doesn't seem to be anyone who /doesn't/ have that on the mind. But there's a general consensus that people won't interfere in the Elites doing some particular plan or another.
Mirielle Edelweiss	Mirielle stands besides Souji, off and to the side, staring out at all the outcasts. She had to be at Souji's side, right? That was her charge?     As Souji stepped out, Mirielle's thoughts were cast to the defenses of the castle, the arrangement of the forces...     The fact that she was staring down an outcast horde.     "I probably should have been on the walls." She notes dryly, sighing and glancing back in the direction of the defenses. "This seems poor on all accounts, really. Perhaps we can sue for single combat and then treat with the winners and losers alike? There is still an opportunity to be paid twice..." She murmurs supportively, her dry tone not betraying her witnessing of Souji's earlier fury.     "Do you, ah... need your hand looked at?"
Starbound Flotilla	Geting into the fortress is quick and simple. The guards are being held back from causing any death by Moonfin's negotiation tactics and some subtle sabotage done by Pavo to help shore up Murasame's own efforts, and the soldiers are under Souji's command, so the group can charge on through the town without issue. They are chaotic and disorganized, unlike Souji's own forces or the Glitch soldiers being held back.     The forces brandish their weapons aggressively, defensively, but their 'leader' seems to command enough respect that he can hold them back for a while. A tremendously large Glitch man, something like Steeltrace, approaches, his horse trotting robotically forward. He is covered in heavy plate armor, has a wide crimson cape at his back, and keeps a tremendous mace against one shoulder. His greeting is casual, almost disrespectful of authority. Authority and leadership is anathema to Outcasts, and so this is clearly a man who commands their loyalty purely by virtue of representing their collective will most effectively.     "Amused. I'm not the leader. But you can think of me like a voice. I didn't expect to see humans working with the Hivemind, 'Murasame'. I'm Kernelgear, and I can tell you I know at least one life that needs losing." His eyes are fixed, as he says that last part, on Steeltrace. The tremendous King remains in sight, on a balcony high above, kept well-guarded. Like Kernelgear, King Steeltrace is broad-shouldered, heavily-armored, and tall, but his optics are a deep red, and his face bears a synthetic mass styled like a sharply-trimmed beard.     Kernelgear looks back down to Souji. "Casual. Then speak with me, if you want." There's also a gesture off to the side, a quick tilt of the head. The other Outcast allied Elites are wordlessly invited forward to participate in the diplomacy.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra goes from 'excited' to 'put out' pretty quickly. She'd been okay with pissing off Murasame up to the point where he claimed he'd come down and start killing Outcasts. Sure, she expected some of them to die in the skirmish but if they fought against Souji, Kyra knew, they wouldn't stand a chance. Odds would look even worse if the other members of the Zaibatsu jumped in. It wouldn't be a rebellion-it'd be a slaughter.     Winding her way through the crowd, she tries to intercept Kernelgear before he approaches Souji to at least warn him that Murasame has cut a deal with the king and that he was very, very dangerous. Whether that message gets there in time or in tact...well...     "You know." Kyra leans forward to rest an elbow on the robo-horse's head. "Maybe the two leaders could just have it out in single combat. I know that's a thing." Despite Souji's INTENSELY EXPRESSED DISPLEASURE at her actions, Kyra acts infuriatingly casual about this whole situation.
Rory White	Instead of taking the offer for gear on either side, RORY WHITE has decided to modify her outfit instead. She's adopted a colorful garb of the sort a merchant or noblewoman of the dark ages might, with a billowing skirt. Other than this she appears perfectly human - there's nothing on her to overtly suggest at the truth: Beneath that facsimile of human skin lurks a robot.     It's like some kind of double-inception here.     She's made her ay through town in a rush, only to arrive at the meeting between Souji and Kernelgear as they're beginning to speak. She angles herself to be sure that Souji can see her and gives him a nod of acknowledgement, but aside from that only folds her hands and waits to see how the negotiations go.
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt glances at Kyra. He's paying attention to the discussion between Kernelgear and the rest of the Outcasts, along with whatever he can glimpse from the other side. He might noe be good at reading robot body language - not yet, anyway - but it seems to him like the Outcasts are spoiling for a fight.      "Supposed to be ensuring that the king falls, right?" Geralt asks, "Such a way that he's respected enough that the right heir is chosen, the kinda guy who'll take these people off the planet? King needs to prove himself in battle, not a duel. He loses, they'll think we cheated - or he was cheated of a better death. Just sayin', seen it before. If this's all kinda pantomime then we better do it right."
Flint Hawke	Flint isn't hopping into the fray quite yet, nor positioning himself to take a stance outwardly. Instead, he crouches and then hops up onto one of the castle walls, dangling his legs over it and looking down at the action as he rocks back and forth in his seat. He tilts the wine back a bit and then looks down at the action again.     He's distracted a moment later by one of his red eyes flashing a bit, signalling an incoming message. A screen only he can see pops up and hovers in front of his face from the contact lens he's wearing. It displays a simple message: Account: XXX-XXX-X-XX-XXXX-X97 Pending Deposits: 5000 Credits - Creative Systems Solutions Memo: 10% Deposit for Reserving Services     A mysterious deposit, but one he at least knew the source of tacitly as he looks down at the events below. A bright smile crosses his features, "Well fancy that," He chirps to himself, "Looks like I might have an opinion in the shake of this lot after all," He hmms gently and then kicks his legs, boots scuffing the stone edges. He takes another swig of wine, a black pulse running under his skin and clearing away the drunkeness as the Pure in his chest realizes that in the end Flint's plans and actions created a good deal of self-serving strife and chaos. It was just belated instead of immediate.     He adjusts his hat and continues watching, putting the Hawke in his name to use as he waits for a good moment to hop in.
Staren	Staren tries to make his way through the crowd to Kernelgear, but Kotone gets the info through first. He ends up at the front of the Horde, watching the ensuing negotiations.     When Kyra suggests single combat, he mutters, 'That was /my/ idea...' Not that it matters now. It's not what they're doing. Right?
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa <<That's good to hear from an actual member of your species. It's still pretty new where I'm from as well. I'll take it as a compliment.>> They got other more serious things to focus on right now at in trying to difuse things where they can if not she's going to go be going for the king at this point. She is so over her head for this point. However it seems there's a chance to walk so she's going to make use of it here. She's forming up and just attemtping to do what she can at this point. She's otherwise quiet as she wiats to hear back from the Outcastes she messaged. She's going to see how this ends. She's up there waiting watching and hoping to well difuse this mess she's got in over her head with as best she can.
Starbound Flotilla	Kotone and Kyra confirm among the Glitch Outcasts that there was a deal struck, but while they seem to be quite willing to accept the truth of this, it's not seeming to affect some of their motivations. The nature of this lack of effect isn't clear yet; while the rumblings between Glitch Outcasts are clear in terms of tone, it's still hard to read the mass as a whole.
Souji Murasame	Mirielle's question to Souji gains a moment as he gazes to her, a considering expression... But he shakes his head as he looks away. "I will be fine." He replies, simply. Souji nods to Kernelgear as the Glitch man steps forward. He might not look nearly as imposing as the metal man, but all he needs hangs at his side. "Strange. I would think individualists like yourselves would be interested in more defined roles. But so be it." He spreads his hands, adopting a more casual stance. "You wish to kill the King. That much is obvious. However, what purpose does that serve? What do you really want to accomplish here? You are throwing yourselves into the fire because you believe you have no other choice. You believe that the flames of rebellion will light the way to your future, and that only spilled oil and shattered steel will make your path." Souji shakes his head. "But that is not necessary. We are here to offer you another way, a way that allows everyone to have what they want. The King is a reasonable and just man. We can provide you transport to another location of your choosing, to leave the Kingdom and start anew, create your own future on your own terms, should you but lay down your arms and leave. I and my associates will assist in transporting you to another location, intact and safely. You gain what you seek with no strife... And the King gains security and peace in his Kingdom. Everyone wins."
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao had stood off to another side of Souji, occasionally speaking into her radio. But otherwise, she was silent to the situation before her, merely observing carefully. Her opinions and views weren't necessarily needed to the discussion at hand. Whether the king and the rebel 'voice' fought a duel, or whether they accepted the offer to be transported to a new location free of conflict...      ...Well, the latter was preferable to the former.      Yes, let's go with the latter guys. Please? Let's not lop off heads today! It's too early for that. Nevermind what the time actually was.      Because that wasn't important.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Well said. Artyom doesn't need to say those words, but the slight upturn of the edges of his mouth are sign enough. For now, he continues to stand by- Souji has the momentum here, and he wants to see where it goes before interjecting anything that might disturb it. Besides, he's still building mana.
Starbound Flotilla	Seft makes a few uneasy buzze and beeps as she pulls her own robotic horse up next to Geralt's, interjecting into the conversation. "Uneasy. They despise the Hivemind, to the point that some may be here more to kill the king than they are to get off the planet." She seems somewhat uneasy about that, judging by her "<:(" sort of expression.     George pulls up as well, covered in a heavy amount of disguising. "Yep. But hey, that's their choice. Important thing about stuff like this is that everyone gets freedom to pick what they wanna do, even if it kills 'em. Gotta let free will run its course, it's the way it's gotta be."
Geralt of Rivia	Geralt grunts in reply to Seft and George. Keeping one eye on the situation, he says: "Yeah. Gotta let people make their choices, even bad ones. People here wanna kill the king, won't be satisfied unless they see it happen. No one brings a hundred armed and armored people to negotiate. 'sides, some people spent a long time tellin' me that it's fine, that the King and his men aren't real, that we're all just actin' to make them do what we want."      He glances to Seft then, and adds: "Yeah, they want the king that badly? Then if we stop 'em from feeling like they've got what they deserve, we're gonna be in the middle of a very angry mob."
Kyra Hyral	"Yeah but..." Kyra lowers her voice as she talks to Seft, George, and Geralt. "If Murasame and the rest of the Zaibatsu fight for the king, they're not going to be able to get anywhere near him. They'll just get destroyed by a bunch of Elites. Not a really fair or glorious fight to go out in. Ugh."     She looks down at the ground. "I also kind of like these guys. So I guess I'd feel pretty bad too if they died in vain."
Starbound Flotilla	"SUSPICIOUS. Lord Murasame, you would let them use their witchcraft?" That's King Steeltrace, observing the negotiations from above. He's stood up on his ornate throne-like chair and impacted the floor of the balcony heavily with his tremendous scepter. Uh oh, looks like that may need some defusal! Probably from the rest of the Zaibatsu, while Souji handles the main issue with the leader here. "AGGRESSIVE. Their crafts are beyond what the Hivemind dictates is right for us. I do not intend to let them work their foul creations on my land if there is even the smallest chance it could harm my kingdom."     Kernelgear himself remains ready for aggression. "Serious. The king's not reasonable, and he's a symbol, not just a man. A flag many of us want to burn. But I understand. Some of our allies have given us some assurance that you're correct. So that whether or not we assassinate him, we'll leave the planet." He turns back to his horde, gesturing wide with his mace. "Announcing. You heard him. He has claims and evidence that we will be given passage off this planet even if the King lives through today. Make your decisions." And the Outcast group spends some time processing that, before a few dozen of them retreat a bit, taking a position at the border of the courtyard that indicates that they do not intend to participate in the combat. A few dozen of several hundred, though. It's a start, but Souji has more work to do if he wants to clear more.     Kernelgear turns his horse back to Murasame. "Plaintive. And there you are. The rest of us who still want to slay the king know what he is. He is a symbol, a flag for the Hivemind. He represents our oppression and mental confinement. Many of my men want him dead for what he represents, not what his death accomplishes." Souji can only argue one front at once, probably! Either Steeltrace or Kernelgear. His allies will have to handle the one he can't dedicate his attention to!
Staren	Staren looks between Geralt and Seft. The Outcasts... some of them really are bloodthirsty?     If it weren't the hivemind, he'd fight to stop them if needed.     But the hivemind's bodies aren't worth Glitch lives... He watches the group of some outcasts step away, indecisively.
Flint Hawke	"Ah, but that, your majesty, is just the thing~!" Flint calls from his position, standing and easily hopping off the wall. Boots skid along the stone as he keeps a nimble balance and heel-slides down the wall to come to a stop on the King's balcony, resting his chin on his hands, which promptly land on the balcony railing. It's a pretty agile, acrobatic, and gesture-like motion.     He holds up a Milky Way bar to the King and considers his next words, "The barter is that this won't be your land any more. You're in escrow now, see. Your kingdom, but technically not your land. No one's land right now. Your land, my friend, your land?" He points off to the distance with a hand and waggles his fingers, "Your land is over there, yeah? Far away from where their dreaded and deplorably skullduggery can ever harm your people."     "You just gotta keep that saavy calm in ya, mate. You keep the level head, good ruler, eye on the prize for your people. And we get these wretches out of your hair lickety split, put you right back to running your kingdom. Known as the King that ended the rebellion without a single drop of blood, my friend," He looks over at the King with one red eye, "Imagine the murals. Imagine the songs they write about you."
Souji Murasame	Souji looks at these proceedings with an a stone-hard expression. "What does it matter what these Outcasts do if they are no longer part of the Kingdom? They will leave and never return. Exile is a kinder fate than execution, is it not? They will no longer be on your land, and they will no longer be able to threaten your Kingdom. Whever they go, they will be too busy making themselves a new life than to threaten your Kingdom. Would a King not want to be remembered for justice and mercy rather than brutality?" Well, that and not being on the same planet. Souji turns towards the Outcasts. "But that goes both ways. Perhaps the King is a symbol. But then, so are you. You have chosen to speak for the Outcasts. They are instinctively looking to you to lead them. The ability to make one's own decisions does not mean that one does not need guidance. Show them that guidance. Show them a path to life. What his death represents is irrelevant if you are not alive to witness it. None of you are going to remain here to rule in his stead. There is no point to this." The sheathed blade is gripped. "And I guarantee, should you proceed in this plan, there will be great death this day. Life and a future... Or death for the sake of a meaningless gesture? Choose wisely."
Artyom W. Valodjn	The situation grows more volatile. Now is the time to speak.     "But," Artyom says, rubbing at the scruff at his chin. There's quite a lot of it there, actually. He may be trying to grow a properly dwarfy beard. "By giving everything to try to kill the king," Artyom suggests, his voice level and calm, "Wouldn't that mean that you'd still be bound to him? His existence, the fact that he is a symbol of your oppression, these things I cannot refute. However, by putting everything on the line in this way- by risking all for the sake of petty revenge, you are still chained to that oppression. You still let it take from you what is yours by right."     "If your thoughts and your actions are still being constrained by his mere existence," Artyom inclines his head slightly, "Have you not simply traded one form of entrapment for another? Freedom- true freedom- from his tyranny is what we offer. You need only say yes."
Staren	Staren watches, alarmed, as Flint steps up with this wheeling-and-dealing attitude that puts him off... and then turns out to be on their side. Phew.     Staren finally steps up. He turns back to face the Outcasts. "You all want to leave." He speaks loudly. His suit amplifying his voice. "Some of you want to kill the king more. So much you'll risk your lives for it. But... is that /really/ the legacy you want to leave? Do you want to be a footnote in your friends' history books? Have it say 'Some of us cared more about killing the king than freedom or their future... many lives were lost that day, a tragedy that will be remembered.' Is /that/ what you want the history books to say?" he takes a step towards them, pumps his fist in front of him. "Or do you want to /write/ your history, after stepping onto the path to freedom together? Not just to live to see it, but to help /make/ it better, for all outcast Glitch?"
Xiao Li Yu	Really? How did this happen?      Xiao sighed and shook her head. "There is hardly much that I need to say that won't retread old ground. But I will say; regardless of what you think you'll gain by removing the king from the equation...do you really think that it's worth throwing away your lives for? It's illogical."      She shrugged and followed up. "You want freedom and peace, but if you all attempt to attain that peace through violent means...who will be left to enjoy that peace?" She smiled after. "No one. Because you will all have died in vain chasing a dream down a path that you did not have to go to begin with." She folded her arms into her sleeves, assuming a relaxed stance despite the rising tensions.      "Be smart for once and take the path of least resistance. It will save you your lives, and save us the effort of having to clean up your scraps after."
Rory White	"What statement are you making, by taking a life to sate your urges? That your new lives will be stained with violence and dissent before they've even begun. You stand here, armed and ready for that deed, but I say to you, who are called Outcasts. You have already won your cause by standing up. Save your weapons to defend the nation you will become, far from here, if you accept Mr. Murasame's offer. For I and my allies can take you far from here, worlds away, so that neither side need worry. I offer you the fruits of centuries of scientific progress, more than enough to establish a home anywhere you might desire. You who were oppressed, hated, and persecuted... answer me. Will answering it in kind truly heal those wounds? For I see it as an unnecessary, spiteful act that will accomplish nothing but making this nation despise and fear you more."     These words come from Rory White, who steps out into a clearer spot and extends her hands welcomingly, hoping to appeal to the crowd.
Kyra Hyral	"...these are Outcasts. They're not part of the program or game or rennisance fair that the Hivemind has running in this Fortress. They've clawed their way out of the tyranny of programming that has the King in his grasp. Destroying him strikes a symbolic blow, yes, but it also resolves the simulation currently running in Goliath. The succession crisis simulation. But ultimately they're all faced with one question-"     Kyra hops off the horse and pushes her way through the crowd to face Murasame head-on, undaunted by the hand on his sword, knowing full well he could quick draw the katana and push it through her with a flick of the wrist.     "/Are/ you willing to die for your freedom? You could hop on the one of shuttles being offered, sure. You can get on mine even. But then what? Make sure you've considered what happens after /that/ before making your choice."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa face is sitll making a very much >_< face on her face visor right now. She's not sure how to read the crowd there's not muich more she can do she's given the information she's had to try to diffuse it. She's done almost everything can think of. Souji's wspeaking well and she wonders s she looks over to Seft now who knows this situation better than she. Still she can try to speak up. She has made a grevious error and if there's a way to reduce losses to the Outcasts such as taking Souji's deal. So there's some progress being is being made here. As Rory speaks up Kotone offers her own words, well over wireless to outcastes. Her own spoken words are the normal monotone of any Glitch. "What she has offered is true and I too will offer my own vessel and what aid I can to help you in building a colony or colonies of your own. A culture to call your own a future to call your own, free from the chains of the past."
Starbound Flotilla	The king's head snaps around towards Flint with never-before-seen mechanical aggression, his eyes flashing white repeatedly as the faults of the Hivemind affect him. Pandering to pride works, in the simulated sense. Normally, of course, it wouldn't work at all, but the simulation overrides and while he remains absurdly suspicious, he seems to accept this. It helps, unusually, that Flint was so willing to disparage the Outcasts. There's a low growling noise, though; the Milky Way is ignored or even shoved away. It's clear that the King is still strongly disapproving, and that it could get worse depending on how many Outcasts survive.
Starbound Flotilla	Souji gets some heavy, unpleasant noises from the king. "COMMANDING. They sever our links with the central consciousness. They infiltrate our sanctums, they loiter around saying words and having opinions. There is nothing done by an Outcast that is not an affront to who we are. We can tolerate them, at best, at a distance." He seems wary of the idea that... whatever it is they're going to do could be dangerous at a distance. But how to explain the lack of damage without tipping the hand too much? Someone should get on that.
Flint Hawke	"Think about it in this sense, mate," Flint says, his Pure thriving on any aggression leveled at him, even social aggression, and bolstering the point he wants to 'survive'. He makes his argument with a cool and suave voice, matching the King's displeasure with absolute serenity as he smiles, "This way, you're helping yourself."     "Kill em now, right? And there'll be survivors. Remember how Kings die, mate. It's never the first army that kills em," Flint taps his temple, clearly having thought this out, "Story-men'll tell ya. King's killed by the survivor with nothing left. By the orphan of one of the deceased. By the disguised widow." He looks sideways at the King and smiles.     "This way, no death?" He points at the King, "Ya get the whole rebellion, up by the roots. No one to get inspired by em, no one to avenge em, no one blamin' ya for their fate. Whole rotten tree, up and out of your problem sphere, someone else's conundrum to fix."
Starbound Flotilla	Kernelgear shifts his own titanic mace on his shoulder as the sheathed blade is gripped. A glance goes to Kyra, and a pleasant, almost smiling posture is found. He speaks to Staren, Souji, and the others who claim the gesture is 'in vain'. "Confident. I make my choice. I speak for them, and they choose to follow me. I have never demanded anyone do otherwise. Acting for what you believe is not something you do because other people will be around to see it. Acting for what you believe is what you do most when there will be nobody who remembers you, or anything you did. That's what it means to believe in something. To follow it no matter who's watching, who's recording, who's stopping you, or even what's at the end."     Then he levels the mace at Xiao Li Yu and nods. "Affirming. But you are correct. Some here are fighting for freedom. And perhaps escaping instead of fighting is the better display of that." And then to Rory. "Amused. A nation? Unlikely. But maybe you have another good point, and you make a good offer. It's an offer to selfishness, one I'm not going to take. But it's not my place to stand in the way of the freedom others have to follow their hunger for knowledge and a better life, or the people who care what glory they'll get today."     There's some more retreating, but they seem like the weaker sorts, the sorts who were here less for the purpose of violence and more for the purpose of some perception of desperation. Many of them were blatantly here for selfish reasons, and it's clear that the rational, logical appeals are having an effect there. Some of these have something more based on willpower, and spirited belief though, and the core of them are focused on Kernelgear, who speaks not just with the Glitch equivalent of charisma but with actual, real human charisma too.
Starbound Flotilla	Moonfin approaches on one side of the confrontation, acting as a diplomatic adviser. "This man represents a grudge held by the Outcast against their oppressive influences. You seek to neutralize his support? The only true way is to show him that more harm can be done to the Hivemind through obliging you than not." He says, in his usual smug tones.
Geralt of Rivia	"Thing is," Geralt says at last, "We can't just agree to help these people then abandon them because some of us are gettin' cold feet. Think the King's just going to ignore his subjects wanderin' off? Think this won't be a fight happenin' a few months from now?"      "You're sellin' these people out," Geralt continues, voice cool. His eyes lock on Staren. "Said you wanted to drop a rock on them, called 'em 'oppressive jerks', 'mindless chess pieces' - you fine with just letting them continue to oppress somewhere else?"      Geralt crosses his arms. Should've stayed in the tavern, maybe taught them to play gwent.
Starbound Flotilla	Biteblade and George shore up Kyra's end of things. "Kiddo, don't let up." George says, grinning as he pulls up next to her on his own horse. He gives a quick light encouraging punch to the shoulder. "This was bound to happen sometime. Keep it up. You're helping keep the ones who really matter and who are gonna fight their hardest in on the mess. Keep focusing on the ones who /believe/ and you'll keep the backbone of the Outcasts strong." That's... Surprisingly serious, for George!     Biteblade has nothing to say. All she does is softly put a hand on Kyra's shoulder, squeezing gently in a way that's meant to be encouraging and supportive. The little plantgirl seems to think that Kyra might be feeling a bit frustrated or overwhelmed at the moment.
Souji Murasame	"Your concerns are warranted, Your Highness. But we will be taking them far away from your Kingdom, where they will not be able to interact with your people or damage the Hivemind any more." Souji replies. "You will have your distance that you so desire." Another star system is, after all, really far away. To Kernelgear, however, Souji listens and frowns. "Tell me, Outcast: Are you sure you really believe that for yourself? You're choosing this path because you think you believe in this path. However, I know that this is part of a societal simulation. This entire event has been laid out in a process to play out, and were we not here to intervene, you would have underwent it without question. You were /supposed/ to rise up. You are /supposed/ to kill the King, and thus you're taking your input and restarting the loop all over again." Souji points out to the Outcasts. "Do you all not understand? By doing this you are simply doing what the Hivemind /wants/ you to do. Even your rebellion was planned from the start. Do you want to be truly free? So you want to have the will to decide your own path? Pick one that breaks away from the cycle entirely, examine your hearts, and determine what it is that you truly desire."
Starbound Flotilla	Flint is savvy. He can, at least, shift the anger away. The suave words-judo quickly helps resolve much of the desire to stamp out the Outcasts, but it leaves the simulated fear that the Outcasts would do something that could threaten them from afar. One last bit of concern is moooostly resolved by Souji's words, at least. The SECONDARY PROBLEM presented by the Hivemind's glitches and faults is resolved for now! At least mostly. "BEGRUDGING. I will accept your claims for now, Hawke, Lord Murasame. But I will not turn them a blind eye. My scouts will be watching." That seems to be enough for him.
Staren	Staren blinks at Geralt. He holds out his hands. "/Seriously/, dude? Don't say that in front of them, we're trying to do diplomacy here!" he sighs and shakes his head. Well, so much for any hope of not insulting the hivemind. He can at least explain himself.     "They're opressing the outcasts. Whether the hivemind is eliminated or leaves, or the outcasts leave them, that opression ends. It can play whatever games it likes with itself." He rubs the back of his helmet. "I admit, you got a point. Maybe they'll find someone to oppress more in the future. I didn't think of that. But /right now/, we can save a /lot/ of lives by ending this peacefully."     He quirks an eyebrow at Souji's argument. /Damn/, that man is clever! He looks at the Kernel to see if it works.
Kyra Hyral	"I don't see where it's going to help. Everyone else has left me to twist in the wind on this idea." Kyra murmurs quietly to George, one eye kept on Murasame as he berates the Outcasts for falling into the 'simulation plan'. That earns a twitch from the white mage.     "Don't be ridiculous. This event was /not/ pre-ordained by the Hivemind. Their presence here is from decisions made with free will and fueled by the hatred for the suppressive Hivemind. If anything, this meeting was a /possibility/ calculated by the simulation. It could very well have dictated a peasant in Goliath Keep to assassinate the King to resolve the scenario. If this sways you, then that's your choice. There will be ways off this miserable, Hivemind-invested planet, if not through the resources beneath the castle."
Rory White	With that offered, Rory promptly has to contend with an immense sense of embarassment. SOMETHING provoked her to speak more eloquently than she believed herself capable of and in moments it has her scrunching up and making herself small out of pure instinct.     Souji's given a look that purely says 'ack now what?!' as she tries to formulate her counter-argument.     But this response has flattened her. Seeing many Outcasts backing down however, she states, "Your decision is yours to make, but I'll have no part in it. But any Outcasts who seek to simply live can come with me."
Staren	Staren hisses, 'Dude, shut uuuuup!' over the radio at Kyra when she counters Souji's argument for peace.     Dammit, is this what dealing with /him/ on a diplomatic mission is like?!
Geralt of Rivia	"Right," Geralt murmurs quietly, "Let's all care about the feelin's of the mind-controllin' monster king. Ain't like a king's ever tracked down wayward subjects before and put 'em to the torch."
Starbound Flotilla	For the first time, Kernelgear dismounts from his mechanical horse. It's in one smooth motion, and he slams onto the ground heavily, clearly laden with armor and tremendous robotics. The man must be at least seven feet tall even on his feet. He swings that mace around to sling it over his shoulder once again and stomp one foot to settle the motion. "Confident. Kyra is right. We are severed from our connection with the Hivemind. The voice is gone. Some of us have removed our receivers entirely." But then he tilts his head at Artyom, and at Souji. "Amused. But you have a point."     "Announcing. Any who feel that falling in battle against the king binds you to him and to the Hivemind rather than making you your own, go." He says, gesturing backwards with the Mace and not even bothering to look at the Glitch who are leaving. Kyra, and even some of Geralt's asides, have reinforced the BELIEF here. But Kernelgear will stick to his guns, as are Seft, Biteblade, and George. "Tense. And I think I've decided that's about enough negotiation." Something's about to happen!
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is not sure what to say so Glitch-ko is keeping quiet for the moment as she watches everything play out. She's said what she could and she's learned some brutal lessons today. She's praying right now that it doesn't end in a mountain of dead Outcastes. She looks at Kyra, there's no expression on her face but it's just the red optics of a glitch. She turns back wondeirng what's going to happen next but she's got a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. Well the memory of such a feeling is coming up. She's not sure how it's going to end now. She helped make this mess she's not going to run from it, that much is clear. She will keep her promise to those who however had made up their mind to leave.
Xiao Li Yu	Xiao just let out a sigh at the counter arguments given. She'd wager that this was the second, perhaps third, best outcome.      "I suppose the best outcome is just out of reach now." She unfolded her arms from within her sleeves, revealing a pair of blackened metal gauntlets. She didn't take any action though. Instead, she crossed her arms, looking just a bit more vigilant than she had been for pretty much the entirety of the proceedings previously.      "I suppose that I should give you all credit for believing in your irrational notion of bravery and whatnot." Now, if Kernelgear and any others were going to prove some kind of point by charging on ahead, then they would just have to deal with that when it comes.      Not like it was the first time they'd gotten their hands dirty.
Flint Hawke	"Have ya now?" Flint calls up from his perch, finally getting the clearance from his mysterious bosses to move himself forward into the next stage. Who could they possibly be?     The dashing man once again hops up onto the railing of the King's balcony and then down onto the ground, "Done with negotiations. Set to fight? All in on the convictions, yeah? You've made up your mind. I've gotta change that."     "Let me just say a few things, before I try anything. First: I respect the need for freedom, I do. Believe in freedom myself. Freedom for coin, for profit, freedom to make your own destiny," Flint smiles and holds one hand out to the man, "So let me congratulate you for making your first steps into freedom," He holds out that gloved hand earnestly.     "Secondly, let me just say, on that note..." If his hand is taken or not, Flint's other hand comes up. There's a loud click and a blast of smoke from one of his sleeves as the ROAR of a gunshot rips out loudly. The concealed Avian Flintlock he stole from the last pirate base falls out of his sleeve and onto the ground after its high-caliber payload was spent.     The goal? While he was shaking the man's hand, Flint simultaneously tried to blow the brains out of the man, "All just business." He finishes, shaking his hand out a bit after the explosive surprise.
Staren	Is that it then? Staren must plan for a fight. He thinks it's stupid to fight... but in the end, the hivemind's bodies aren't worth lives. He supposes he'll just have to help the Outcasts.     He wonders how much damage he could do, if he fired the RAISER rifle full power into the enemy lines, or the king. The explosion should be pretty impressive...     But wait! Flint's here with more words. The guy won the king over so well. Can he do the same for the rebel leader?     WAIT WHAT
Starbound Flotilla	Kernelgear goes along with the handshake. And then an Erchius Flintlock goes off in his face as he follows along with the conversation. What happens next is prtty incredible. Large portions of the helmet and the covering for the head are torn away... But the braincase, with which Kyra is now familiar, remains visible in an obvious sense. His eyes flicker to a hateful expression. He has tanked the heavy weapon square on the jaw, and has the equivalent of his skull exposed for his troubles.     Something goes off, and Kernelgear's body is suddenly GUSHING waves of terrible heat and steam out of his body. Reactor control rods slam up from his back so fast they tear holes through his badass cape. The Outcast leader takes a stance that exudes waves of pure, utter willpower as his body is suddenly glowing white-hot, overheating. Ports open all over his body to gush the steam, every inch of him mechanically screaming, and plating is torn off of his body under the armor.     "Kyra." He says. No prefix. "You know what choice to make when it's time." And his overcharged, overheating body amps up its strength to outrageous degrees; there's enough gushing steam coming off of his body that Souji and Flint might be stunned by the shining light and harsh scalding long enough for that heavy, searingly superheated mace to attempt to smash the two of them brutally aside. He then lobs his mace at the balcony, immediately collapsing it down to the ground, and bringing the aggressive king down with it, sending the dignified man tumbling gradually to the courtyard below; presumably to prompt the few remaining Outcast allies intend to move in for the kill.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Negotiations have failed. Or rather, they've come as far as they possibly will in the short term. Artyom frowns deeply as things take an ill turn. "I did hope that I would not be forced to do this," he says with a soft sigh. And then he grabs hold of his great stone blade's hilt and crossguard-- And turns it. Like a key.     Deep underground, arcs of yellow energy course through earth and stone. Artyom reaches into the reservoir of magic that he's been slowly funneling into the earth, and bids it to answer to his will. A low rumble takes hold of the castle courtyard, likely magnifying the structural damage to the castle's balcony- but Artyom does not wish to destroy this place. Not yet, anyway.     Instead, he bids the earth beneath the rebellious Glitches to yawn open wide. There happens to be something of a cavern- or perhaps a shaft- leading down into the depths. It seems that this sort of thing is what happens when Artyom is allowed to channel for long enough periods of time. Of course, he'd rather not /kill/ them either. Their landing is softened by a mound of loose earth, if any do plummet into the abyss. For later retrieval.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra looks distant now. She expects to get crap from Murasame and whoever might follow him in a fight. She's the exiled Hyral, it comes with the territory. But to have Staren and Rory turn on her when she tries to stand up for the Outcasts?     Her mouth becomes a neutral straight line, eyes still hidden by the ghoulish headpiece. Her dismay is lodged over the radio but otherwise, she is quiet.     And then Flint shoots Kernel in the head. There's a yelp of alarm but from what Kyra can see, the braincase was not breached and in seeing that, she steps back just enough as the Outcast 'leader' has a meltdown before charging. She remains there, the sole rock in a river of whatever other Outcasts come to fight alongside the damaged Glitch, but this does not last for long as Kernel speaks to her. Then she moves, murmuring something to herself before a Float spell takes hold.     She doesn't say anything to anyone as she herself makes her way to the king.
Starbound Flotilla	Those who lack sure footing, a high speed, or a dramatic bit of luck will find the sinkhole Artyom charged has taken the courtyard terrain under their feet. Unless folks have joined the retreating Outcasts at the edge, they'll find themselves tumbling -- thankfully nonlethally -- into the underground!     Dramatically, the tremendous columns of shining, incredibly valuable mineral deposits are revealed by the sinkhole, meaning that the final confrontation of the allies of the Hivemind King and Overclocked Outcast will take place among the very deposits that the group were here to acquire in the first place. The king is falling from his balcony; George, Seft, and Biteblade are rushing over the collapsing earth to make sure nobody catches him! Whoever does so will have to be clever and get around those three quick!
Souji Murasame	Souji was hoping Flint would finish this in one shot. Sadly, there are limits even to well-placed treachery. With a grunt, Souji is smashed backwards, tearing his fine clothing and sending him sprawling across the ground. He's down, but not out. He pushes himself up, clenching his teeth at the pain from the initial strike, and he stands. "Three times. Three times you had been given to abandon your foolishness. But now it is done. Time time for negotiations are /over/." He looks to the others. "Protect the King!" He calls, and then looks back to Kernel, pulling his hands together. A crackling sphere of lightning begins to build between his hands, surging as he looks to the opposition, and holds it forth. "Thunder-2." He calls out, the air splitting at the intonation with an air-splitting crash as the energy discharges into a wide arc, jumping through the revolutionaries.
Flint Hawke	"Still alive? Well," Flint drops the pistol to the ground with a heavy *thunk*. No time to reload it, not worth his time after that, "Really that's just rude of you, mate."     He brings up an arm to shield his face as the man glows white hot and lets off roaring gouts of steam and heat. He mostly means to shield his eyes a bit from the ejected energy and stunning force. As the scalding actually starts to scorch his flesh, it simultaneously begins to peel off of him and fall to the ground, sizzling, being replaced by new tissue as the old stuff falls off in black cascades.     Flint instinctually moves back a step, placing himself to take the blunt of the force that the mace is bringing to bear, making it look like he accidentally shields Souji as it slams into him. The first thing it hits is the snap-crackle of a shield that tries to push it back, only to be forced through. The next is his jacket, which suffers from burning and tearing from the impact. And then finally his body itself takes a bone-shattering hit that sends the rogue flying and sliding along the ground with the sickening sound of bone breaking and muscle shredding. He lies in a heap for a long moment.     But... soon after this, the twisted and destroyed body pulls itself to its feet. The bones that are jutting out bleed a black, ichorous substance and then begin to crunch and crackle back into place as Flint's body recomposes itself, the beating Pure in his chest ensuring that while painful, he definitely survived the blow that was levelled onto him.     One jagged, multi-angled arm reaches in to grab a pipe from his jacket, holding it at an impossible angle for a human to hold with a normal arm. As the other takes out a match, the arm twists and rotates back into joint and into place, the broken body pulling itself back to Square One, "Turn about is fair play and all that. Tit for tat, fair trade of hits."     He takes a long drag from the pipe and exhales it shortly after, sighing a bit, "I really do respect that," He adds, sighing a bit, "That's the drive for freedom that you need. If this had been a bit different, mighta been on your side mate. But I'm not," He does spot Kyra moving, but he doesn't stop her. She's not his problem, he respects the girl's moxy. Kernal is the one he needs to focus on, there.     So he raises up another pair of guns and opens fire with a volley of shots on the overclocked glitch, his Pure making sure that black lines run across his face and hands where the veins would be, where the flesh is visible on his body, anyway.
Starbound Flotilla	The tumbling supercharged Outcast falls through the sinkhole, scrambling over collapsing terrain, but pushes on towards the King alongside and below Kyra. Whether or not the King's quite in the sinkhole yet is difficult to tell, but Kyra Hyral can get to him whether or not he is, by virtue of her FLOAT. The man himself has smashed part of his own metallic exterior away from the impact, baring heavy wiring. He's still holding his heavy, bludgeoning scepter though!
Xiao Li Yu	"Well..."      'Protect the King'. She knew what her orders were. Time to enact them. Quickly unfolding her arms, Xiao clenched her fists, electricity crackling along them as she bent and then broke out into a full dash towards the king's position. Artyom's 'alteration' of the battlefield was known well in advance, and she maneuvered herself to avoid any pitfalls herself, weaving left and leaping from any large piece of debris she can spot. Lightning trailed across the surface of anything her feet touched, boosting her speed as well.      On the way, she may have had to bat a few Outcasts out of the way with her fists. Her eyes went upwards and she soon spotted a vaguely familiar form up above. She smiled, despite the outbreak of combat. "Kyra! My best friend~!" She knelt low, and with a buildup of electricity, she leapt high up into the air and into her line of sight. "Somehow, I had a feeling it would turn out like this." Her smile remained pleasant still. "Apologies, but I'm afraid I can't let you get to the king."      And almost as if 'double jumping' Xiao flipped back, kicking off against nothing but air, but leaving behind another surge of lightning in her wake. "So, why don't we play a little game for a while?" Sailing through the air, Xiao reared back with a gauntlet aiming to deck Kyra with a lightning charged punch.
Starbound Flotilla	George, Seft, and Biteblade are the Outcast-allied Core Fleet, and as such, they're already rushing to the king, as are many other Outcasts! Seft, unfortunately, is the one who's dealing with Souji's attack. Her DURASTEEL ARMOR lights up, and while she doesn't look upon him with hatred, she does look upon him with an intense expression of resolve. By using her own energy-jets, she can maneuver to tank for the Outcasts, ensuring that enough energy is drawn off from THUNDER-2 that it stuns them rather than kills them, though it fries much of her armor as she descends into the sinkhole!
Geralt of Rivia	Well, that's it. Politics, treachery, and evil prevails. Geralt might be the only person who doesn't immediately leap into action. He has no personal stake in it, no real care, and he's going to get paid - for basically helping goad a bunch of people, robots or otherwise, into a battle they can't hope to win.      A point proven to him as the ground opens up and lightning arcs out to blast through many of the revolutionaries. His reflexes prevent him from falling into the sinkhole, even if many of the Glitch near him aren't so lucky. Standing at the treshold, Geralt drops the axe down into the pit.      He shrugs off his furs and disguise, turning to give Staren a bit of a look as he does. They're all responsible for this.      Stepping away from the sinkhole, and making no aggressive moves, the Witcher abstains.
Starbound Flotilla	Flint Hawke fires upon the Outcast after reconstructing himself amusingly stylishly. It's regenerator versus regenerator now. Biteblade, using her grappling hook, manages to hit a spot somewhere just above Flint and reel in. Flint manages to get a shot or two on the Outcast, tearing away layers of armor and punching through his body, but as he makes his way to the king, he still loses no speed. Biteblade moves in to interrupt the volley. "Hi! Hello other pirate friend, isss no grudge but gonna ssstop you! Gonna help heal friend!" She says, letting go of her grappling hook and leaving herself on a trajectory to plant a pair of power daggers into Flint's shoulders and take him off the ground!
Starbound Flotilla	George blasts off of the ground with a tremendous PULSE JUMP assisted by his energy thrusters right after Xiao Li Yu does! He winds up leaping between the researcher and the healer, intercepting the blow with a partial cross-countered hand-to-hand strike! "AAARGH, Jesus why is it always /me/ getting electrocuted. Hi! Sorry, just gotta... Give her some time! S'all good, no grudge or nothin'!"
Rory White	Events unfold far faster than Rory can emotionally process them. It's one thing to see something happen in what, to her, is slow motion. Quite another to spend most of that extra time debating whether your optics are malfunctioning!     Suffice to say, Rory White's caught in the cumbling earth by surprise, all while making a panicked flaily noise at Flint's sudden HEADSHOT DEBACLE. To say nothing for the astounding retaliation!     So much for being nonviolent!     The AGI is not very prone to solid footing to begin with. having the earth collapse beneath her leaves her tumbling through oodles of dirt and rock.     "Well," the AGI bemoans into a mouthful of dirt, "I -tried.-"     coincidentally, this gives her a pristine moment to review footage of what just happened. Which leaves her in silent disbelief at a visual of Flint getting shredded and reconstituting himself in SECONDS. WHAT?!
Flint Hawke	"Ah, Biteblade, lovely to see you again!" Flint says despite her moving to interfere directly in his mission, "I haven't seen you quite since the affair where we met. So nice, so nice. How have you been?"     Of course, she's also stabbing him right in the shoulders, and he's forced to buckle his knees a bit from the impact of the stab before he's taken up of his feet and carried back a bit, scrambling for foot purchase.     "Ah yeah, no grudge myself, no grudge. Bit of vexation, though, I admit," He confides quietly to the plant, "People will remember this with a bit of a skew. I was just following a boss's orders, but they'll think I'm treacherous and untrustworthy." He notes with a bit of annoyance in his tone despite the black blood he pours to the ground causing him no small pain, "Really, it was just work. But what can you do, right?" He asks her conversationally.     Of course, even as he converses with her, he tries to fire off a couple heavy blaster shots into her 'kneecaps' to get her to stab him just a little bit less. This action is followed by him attempting to pull himself back off her knives and twirl the guns on his hands a bit.
Artyom W. Valodjn	Ahh, what a wonderful result. And look at all that precious metal. It's going to be such a productive spelunking, he can already tell! Artyom peers down into the pit he's created with an appreciative, almost artistic affection. Too bad about the King though. But maybe he can do... Something.     While most of his willpower is tied up in stabilizing the pit and ensuring it permanence, he can afford some attention to making adjustments. Such as, for instance, bidding the earth on the fringes of the pit to extend shelves of particularly solid slates of rock that may arrest the King's fall. Or maybe other people can use the new footholds to do things!? EARTH CAN BE CHAOTIC TOO.
Kotone Yamakawa	The Battle is underway now, and there's nothing that can be done about it. She knows if they take out the king it will ruin Hawke's da.@emit The Battle is underway now, and there's nothing that can be done about it. She had been focused on trying to keep as many of the outcastes alive as possible. Her eyes are pretty much in a @.@ expression right now. She's not even really away of how it's reading her emotions. She had tried to get as many as she could to walk away from this alive. Even with risking her friendship with Kyra. It's time to act and do what she can do at this point. She sees Biteblade go after Hawke, and now she's also falling into the pit. Still she's got the presence of mind to use the little gift that Albert gave her. Glitch-ko double jumps brekaing her fall intending to get into the fight. If they take down the King now as much as she's loathed to do it? It should ininate the hivemind to leave. Who knows she's going to have to reach the bottom first.
Kyra Hyral	When the Zaibatsu has a big ol' geomancer on retainer, it helps to be quick with the FLOAT. It doesn't completely prevent Kyra from evading the sinkhole but it does slow her descent to a controllable drift as opposed to a hard fall into a pit now filled with sharp, pointy Glitch. Her target, so to speak, still seems to be the King which apparently is making the rest of the Zaibatsu worry quite a bit.     She hears Xiao call for her and scowls, not turning to look behind her though she knows the researcher is coming after her. "Shit-!" she swears, ready to weave a Protect around her. It won't help entirely against some Magic Knightery. Only half help, really but-     George leaps in the way to grapple with her classmate, much to Kyra's surprise. "T..thanks!" she stutters out, happy to not get electropunched today. Pointing at the king, Kyra gestures, "Grab him! Grab him and hold him down!"
Staren	Everything was falling apart, and then it doesn't just fall apart, it EXPLODES. Flint blows it apart.     It's open combat now. He pulls the RAISER rifle from his back and fires at the walls the enemy is on. Minimal penetration power, near-maximum explosive -- he wants to blow them apart and make a show of force, it's not like he's shooting through super-tough armor or anything.     A little ball of energy fires, travels through the intervening space, and then explodes with the force of about half a ton of TNT. That should do /something/, right?     And then the ground opens up and swallows Staren, and lightning comes down, zapping his armor. He's too stunned to immediately recover, but once he realizes what happened, he's manifested his energy wings and is flying up looking to reassess the battlefield and choose new targets. People are still fighting... and haven't gotten to the king. He holds out his arm, and tries to snipe the king with his beam cannons and micromissiles from the air!
Xiao Li Yu	Oh.      Xiao is only mildly surprised to find that her attack met with a different target. A different target and a counter. George's fist flew toward her chin, but she leaned her head aside, his fist roughly grazing the side of her face and leaving a mark. One that was already beginning to fade. Thank you, regen brace.      "Well, if it isn't George. I expected some resistance, but not you." She looked past him and towards where Kyra was yelling. Tch, that wasn't ideal. But she couldn't pass George that easily. "Well, I suppose that's just how it goes." She was beginning to lose altitude, but despite that, the scientist just shrugged and smiled.      "Well, if I can't pass you, and you're in my way...why don't I see just how good you actually are?" And without further ado, the lightning faded from her gauntlets, instead to be replaced by a sudden burst of flame surrounding her body, focusing mostly on her gauntlets. "This should be interesting!" And at that, Xiao lashed out with a flurry of punches and kicks, all cloaked in flame. It looked like there was no rhyme or reason to them, but each individual attack was meant to test her opponent's defenses, find and opening.      She only hoped someone else was seeing to the king. She was busy!
Starbound Flotilla	George gives a quick thumbs-up to Kyra, amid his pained spasms. Wow! Xiao Li Yu's thunder-punching shenanigans have some kick to them, he is BURNED BADLY.     The king lands on one of Artyom's tremendous earthshelves. The outcast, not quite. Several of the lesser Outcast have fallen below, but the Overclocked one has landed just barely hanging off, still gushihg heat, joints screaming with mechanical strain. In an instant, he yanks himself up onto the cliff edge and functions as a tank for Kyra. Going hand-to-hand until, suddenly his mace slams into the earth next to him, he and the king go into an elaborate combat dance. But neither seem to have the edge! The Outcast has too much damage to get an edge on the King! Until, suddenly, beams and micromissiles lance into his body, tearing away plating, exposing systems, and even cracking open his brain-case's interface. Stunned and damaged, the superheated Outcast can smash and pin the King down with his mace... Giving Kyra one shot.
Starbound Flotilla	Biteblade just needs to give Kyra some space. "Floran underssstand! Floran know you jussst do what have to. Isss bussssinesss!" She grunts in pain, though, as she's brutally kneecapped. It just straight up mangles her legs! Yowch. Flint Hawke manages to pull away from one knife, but the other stays lodged just long enough for Biteblade to swing around it and deposit herself onto the solid ground, already regenerating the wound... Albeit much more slowly than Flint does.
Starbound Flotilla	Before impacting the king with the beams and missiles, Staren did manage to take out some archers. They were just about ready to start firing into the sinkholes, but the massive shot manages to at least scare them into cover. It's TERRIBLE OUTCAST MAGICS!! OH NO!! They are frightened and hateful in a way that would probably personally offend Staren a lot if he weren't dealing with bigger issues.
Starbound Flotilla	George is smoking and burned up by the electric punch, but he seems ready to go regardless. "Yep, I'm just the kinda guy who's unexpected, you know?" He manages to joke through gritted teeth. "Aahhhh shit that looks like more burning." And it is! Now the Overclocked Outcast isn't the only one on fire, several brutal punches to George's midsection manage to light him on fire too. But he's a practicianer of Robust, a martial arts style developed in zero gravity, meaning... He might have the technique edge, at least, when it comes to mid-air fights. He goes for a counter-grab on one of those searing strikes, despite it blistering his flesh, and yanks, going in for a chaotic, disorienting roll where he can start trying to make Xiao Li Yu dizzy, and then elbow her away from the fight!
Flint Hawke	"Exactly! Business, really. Mercenary, freelancer, what have you," He says with a tired tone. He likes Biteblade, enough so that he's willing to chit-chat with her as they carve and blast chunks out of eachother. He got one knife out of himself, but she swings around and regenerates his wound as the other stays in him, twisting as she moves and drawing a cry of pain out of him, "Ah! Damnable knife, that. Quite pointy."     He briefly considers using Pure Shift to change the flow of the battle, but that thought is pushed out of his mind and the instinct is surpressed. It would have been fun, though. And not doing so draws him a moment of pain in his chest (separate from the knife). He doesn't shoot Biteblade again, instead trying to back off and level his guns at her, content to be placed into a version of check that doesn't have them trying to kill eachother.
Kyra Hyral	Kyra's able to fall-manuver herself over to the earth shelf though when she lands, she doesn't see any other Outcasts in sight-which is a problem because Kyra is a squishy fleshbag that cannot hand to hand a Glitch. As panic starts to settle in, she sees Kernel catch the edge and haul himself up. If Kyra had any sort of time between dodging the brawling robots, she would have used some of her white sorcery on Kernel. Instead, she is ready to pounce at the right moment, stuffing her hands into the cracked head of the king, prying it open further. She knew how to shut down these Glitch now. It looked like death but appatently it was as close as some of these inhabitants manage to btawl around her.
Xiao Li Yu	"Ahahaha! Sorry, but if I hold back, I'm sure I'll be embedded into the ground somewhere~" And she jokes despite the exchange of blows they were having. Indeed, George likely had the technical edge, being trained for mid air combat(randomly enough). Xiao was just adjusting for the lack of a foot hold herself.      "Eh?" Was her surprised utter as one of her arms was grabbed. "Wha-wha-wha-whaaaaa~!" And then comically, she began to sputter as George spun her about, inducing a wave of dizziness. That left her unable to properly defend, and an elbow greeted her in the midsection soon after, sending her sailing back and then crashing into one of the earthen rift's walls, indenting it and holding her in place conveniently.      "...Ow." She muttered, shaking away the lingering feeling of vertigo and clearing up her vision and perception. She sighed and rubbed her midsection painfully, though it was already healing. The problem was; wounds heal, stamina doesn't. From there, she just lay back and pondered how to approach this situation... George was going to keep getting in her way, that was for certain.      "Maybe if I..." She brought a hand to her chin, considering other options. A moment passed and then she shook her head. "...No. Not that." Whatever it was, she decided to pass on it.
Rory White	Meanwhile, Rory White is remaining quiet under a mound of dirt over in the corner. Her Saucer however has taken up a position over the big sinkhole, silently viewing EVERYTHING with its wide-range cameras.     After all, she can contribute practically zilch to a fight of this magnitude.     All she can do is observe, record, and inwardly flinch.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa drops down from on high and she's going to land near the King. She does not like this she has no idea she's just moving to shut the king off for all intents. She's going to do what she can to cover Kyra at this point she knows the falling of theking will force things to hopefully end. She's could be making another mistake now but what else can she do now? She's a screw up, this world? Rory's? Who knows how many other people her own adventure have harmed without her knowing. She will see this through to the end, she can't run now she can not.
Starbound Flotilla	Two heads, many options. Kernelgear's overheating. Too much more and he'll kill himself. Steeltrace will behave utterly unpredictably if he's disconnected from the Hivemind... Shutting him down would fulfill the simulation's conditions, even if it doesn't kill him permanently, but the Outcast will kill him! And then there's the matter of whether shutting down the Outcast would even be healthy... Or if letting him burn up is better, considering how dedicated he was to this!
Starbound Flotilla	There's not a lot of time to make this decision, of course. Mostly because being next to Kernel's a little SKIN-BOILINGLY HOT.
Staren	Woah, is Kyra opening up the king's braincase? She's just gonna reach in there and mess his brains up? Staren winces, before he remembers the king is just a mindless automaton.
Kyra Hyral	While here with her hands in Steeltrace's head, Kyra figured she'd only get one shot to do anything and wanted to make it count. Not only does she put Steeltrace in sleep mode but she moves to sever the connection he has between himself and the Hivemind. Risky, but worth the payoff. Kernelgear...well, unfortunately, there's no time to start casting on him right now. He might just wind up perishing heroically for his cause.
Flint Hawke	"Biteblade, m'dear. Always good to see you, always good to chat," Flint notes, vying for position, "But I think you can stop keeping me in check. I'm going to go help your healer friend, now. I think she could use the pick me up, really. Bit of a morale boost. Plus, you know, business. Invest in future endeavors."     Flint drops his guns to the ground to show Biteblade he's unarmed. He even shrugs off his coat and hat as a show as well, both of them heading the ground with a way heavier thud than clothing should. Flint gives the Floran a dashing grin and then, unless stopped, directly dashes towards the hole that was opened up. For a moment or two, it might look like he's re-engaging on Kernelgear without any weapons, vaulting and leaping.     Quite the opposite, though. With the more valuable pieces of clothing left safe (Jacket and dandy hat), Flint aims to place himself in the point of most danger (directly adjacent to the critical meltdown robot. Unless directly stopped, he'll aim to put the robot in a Full Nelson and try to hold him in place.     The fact of doing this, though, is a direct abuse of his Pure's function. He is pressing himself directly up against that overheated frame, and the smell of burning and charring flesh, along with the telltale sizzle, begins to waft up from the contact if he's able to sustain it. Of course, because 'Survival at All Costs' is what it is, this only serves to rev his Pure into overdrive as it churns out more and more power. Hopefully enough to hold down Kyra's pal.     "Woah there, mate. You need to cool off a bit, rethink this. Ya won, saavy? No use dyin' for a victory you already got in the bag. Cool down, take your people, and get to leavin'."
Starbound Flotilla	With each Outcast-allied Core Fleet member occupied with other matters, the Hivemind-allied Core Fleet members can descend. What they find is awful. Steeltrace is not dead, but he's dead enough according to the Hivemind system that the event resolves in the favor of the surviving Outcasts and the Exodus does, as promised, get triggered. The King's 'corpse' is brought up as well, but all the Hivemind-allied glitch will be quite convinced that he is dead, despite any analysis performed by Xiao Li Yu indicating that he is very much alive and just sort of shut down. Steeltrace is also brought up. He's burnt out most of his reactor, and only survived the situation without being crippled for life with terrible brain damage by Flint Hawke's unusually noble rescue.     For some time, it seems like his successor machine won't follow the obligations of his father. This is changed when King Steeltrace himself comes back from the dead. There's no immediately apparent explanation as to how he is disconnected, now, from the Hivemind, demonstrating no white flashes of glitching, but he seems to be still quite affected by Souji's diplomacy. Maybe, at the end of the day, he was just kind of a hardassed jerk anyway, even seperate from the Hivemind. Immediately retaking his role of king doesn't reverse the whims of the Hivemind, though, meaning that it's a good thing he's quite willing to go along with the agreements he made with the Zaibatsu, and as an added bonus, he won't, at all, mind any instances of 'magic' that occur.     The Core Fleet, having shaken out this whole chaotic mess, will immediately attempt to get a friendly ceasefire handled only a short time after, to let Steeltrace continue his business... And to let Kernelgear go back to what he was doing, and what he wants to continue doing: Living on this planet and harassing the Hivemind. It's technically a kind of chaos, so Flint can feel better about that, sort of.     And with that done, the Hivemind will leave, and the Outcast glitch will move in on the underground deposits over the next few weeks... Many very likely to try to work for AMATERASU in extracting the resources necessary to build their ships, and perhaps long after.     MISSION COMPLETE! Please enter a name for Epsilon Maiia Minoris IV a!
Flint Hawke	"There you go, mate. Just gotta keep calm, keep cool. Don't get hot under the collar, mate," Flint notes, patting Kernalgear on the shoulder before he turns away. With the shirt burned off of him and hanging in tatters, the massive, vertical scar in the center of his chest where he 'died' the first time and lost his heart, before Samael replaced it, is visible. Also visible are sheets and chunks of burned flesh falling off of his upper body as he fancifully gaits himself away after his brief moment of heroism. Certain veins, flowing with black Pure energy, trace and run along his chest and biceps, and where they run, damaged and charred skin falls off to be replaced by new skin and muscle. Third and fourth degree burns simply vanish or fill in.     "What a night, really," Flint notes, flicking his hand through his hair and flipping the long blonde locks over one shoulder. He then blinks a few times and looks upwards, "Mister Blade. I'll be taking that transportation back to the ship, now," He says to no one in particular, looking skyward.     Meanwhile, up aboard The Black Sun, which hangs in orbit around the planet, a tall white-haired young man grins and stands up out of the Captain's chair, "You heard the man. Calibrate transporters. Captain coming aboard!" The men generally let out a loud rabble and start shouting and cheering throughout the huge ship.     This is promptly stymied when Mister Blade slams his hand down on a console, "Oi! Indoor voices, boys. It's late and Miss Yagami needs her rest!"     Immediately, the loud cheering tends to die down to an excited whisper-shouting.