Scene #7947: RIFTS: Recommence-2

Owner	Pose
Lilian Rook	Strictly speaking, it hasn't been very long since the resolution of the Bluekill Bandit problem; one tiny step for this near-lawless little region of the New West, but ultimately an important sign of the outpost's progress nonetheless. Tackling and resolving its first serious obstacle has been cause for some small celebration (involving drinks) amongst the skeleton crew of Paladins staff who'd volunteered to be there for a six month tour, partly to the overwhelming success of their Elite 'backup' (so they claim) in not just running off and exterminating all the local unfriendly humans as if they were pest insects growing off logs. Of course, they don't trust their newly relocated 'coworkers', despite some very best attempts from certain Elites to do so. It's a bit inauspicious that a brig has to be hastily constructed at this early stage, even if only to temporarily hold them while they're interviewed and psych-screened one at a time by the single trained frontier HR agent and a mid-level non-Elite psychic. It's taken a couple of weekst to put them to work, after confiscating their weapons, and the results are both pleasing and maybe unsurprising: the bandit converts really have no ambitions of making a break for it off to town somewhere; they'd probably just be tried and hanged by anyone who could recognize them in a plausibly survivable travel radius. The relentless march of time has allowed plenty of work to be done, even with the slightly meagre trickle of supplies in. The 'war room' has developed into a proper officers hall, more like a large cabin suited for sixteen people or so if they'll bunk two to a room, and the radar, lidar, thermal, weather-sensor, and magic-sensor grid has been placed all around the plateau up to the edge of the forest and wired into a central computer nest for a small team of full time nerds. The number of barracks has quadrupled in size, though most are still empty, the new accommodations made of permanent construction of local stone and timber shored up with futuristic scaffolding and insulating layers, the older ones given over to the bandits. Emergency generators have been brought on, full of fuel and switched off, one for the command building, one for the expanding infirmary zone, and the rest sheltered underground, where a few Elite shifts have dug (well, lasered) out a level of orderly tunnels and chambers mirroring the grid above, mostly unused for the time being. Various stills and condensers, presses and printers, await activation after the process of digging a channel into the area from the near river has somehow been accomplished, and once a basic foundry has been fully set up to be able to multiply and replace components and supplies. The defense grid isn't exactly robust, but the sensor line, the scattered plasteel bunker towers and gun turrets on the plateau's elevation, and the recently 'deemed basically minimally acceptable' string of wards and enchantments around the perimeter and the shallow end of the forest, running off the leylines, have so far served fine against a couple of minor wandering critters from the Rifts.
Lilian Rook	The Rift, singular, liable to form on this nexus, still thrumming with more energy than has been tapped by far, is still an unguarded hypothetical problem. Efforts to stabilize and provide runoff channels and sinks underground are slow, difficult, and actually dangerous with the level of magic current being worked with. Most of its use has been with the (finally enclosed) alchemical workshop built near it from the start, which is currently rather pointedly the main source of most of the periodic table in terms of getting raw materials into the area. The new 'recruits' have accelerated work a lot, but the outpost, even for its humble intended size at first, is drastically undermanned, has nobody to even bother contacting with its near-finished radio mast, and has no inroads anywhere else. Beyond those currently outstanding or just barely acceptable efforts, the main source of interest had previously been finally going back to Boothill with heads held high (or as high as they get for a podunk little western outpost with all of two sheriff deputies and a single saloon that seats thirty). There had also been interest in the intriguing and disturbing reports of a more credible threat from the Rifts roaming the area than a few ornery rhino-buffalos. Further attempts to safeguard the nexus before an inevitable leyline storm are on the horizon, as well as need for information about the more dangerous factions set to eventually take notice, foretold of in future prescription.
Kale Hearthward	Kale almost misses the notice that the Elite group is making a return to here. He arrives barely at the appointed time, and it's clear he was rushing to get to there. He does have a couple more supplies to drop off - taking advantage of his expanded inventory space to pick up a few pallets of whatever the outpost needs on the way in, and gives the regulars here some awkward small talk, and gets the rundown on the current situation. "If there's a new threat out there, we should scope it out," he says. "Especially if it came out of one of these rifts... and if there's a storm coming soon that'll keep us pinned down." He does a few more small things around the outpost, and then goes to head out, flying but sticking low to the ground for now, trying to see if he can scout out the unspecified threats without being spotted in return.
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry's magic had proven wholly unnecessary on her last assignment, but there's no guarantee that'll hold in the future. Accordingly, her carrying case is still slung over her back, accompanying a slightly more adventurous outfit: the white button-up remains, but the jeans have been replaced with a yellow-plaid skirt and black leggings. She doesn't seem entirely used to that, occasionally fidgeting with it or smoothing it down with one hand, as if it might somehow betray her if she weren't continually reassured of its presence. Her other hand is busy holding a cookie tin- Christmas-themed, but it's all she had. "Excuse me, sir?" Strawberry says with an awkward smile, on locating the nearest ex-bandit she recognizes. They'd likely recognize her, even out of costume; her face was uncovered, and her stature remains just as distinctive. She offers him the cookie tin. "I made this for you, and the other former Bluekills. They're jam thumbprints- everybody can have three. There's a letter isnide too, okay?" An awkward pause follows, and an equally-awkward smile. "Thank you. For trusting me, I mean. I really mean it." Wherever the arriving Elites are gathered, Strawberry heads there next. "I think I ought to go down to Boot Hill. We should take credit for solving their bandit problem, right? And I was there for that, so... it's a natural fit. Did anyone else want to come with me? One or two would be good, at least- you know, to make it clear we're speaking for all of us." She gives Kale a nod. "Actually... what do we know about that? If we know what it's like, at least a little bit, we could split up based on who's best to solve it."
Hellwarming Trio	When it comes time to return to the budding outpost once more, the youkai pair are eager to see how things have changed since last time. They while away a bit of time helping with adding some small touches to repairs that would be really inconvenient to do without being able to hover in place, and they spend a bit longer checking out the power grid while lending their (mostly Utsuho's) experties in how to make it run for efficiently considering what these people are working with. Naturally, most of those recommendations are incomprehensible due to Utsuho's limited vocabulary, but it's actually sound advice despite the dumb words used. When they find out that there's a new threat, however, the pair are quick to return to the meeting place to find out what's going on. Utsuho: "Agreed. Is it something big we can blow up?" Rin: "Oh, maybe we can catch it and the rift that let it out at the same time! Unless that makes the rift go all over the place... Y'think it would?" Utsuho: "Maybe it'll have tons of meat, too. Then we'll take care of the danger and making sure nobody's starving here at the same time."
Tamamo	Tamamo is busying herself where maps are, which is also the war room. "Is there really no better way than to ask her to gouge the mountain? That seems terribly dangerous. Were we to risk a collapse within an area already structured... oh, but perhaps if we were to only use such a method in these areas, and connect them to the primary pattern afterward, in the slower manner, there would be less issue." Presently, she looks up, "Oh, Strawberry-Princess. I was just thinking of you. Are you -- no, of course, you are busy, yes? This can wait a little while, perhaps. It is not the most pressing business, in any case." She thinks. "The psychic beast would be, I think, the first task to resolve. We still have some time before the storm."
Strawberry Princess	Tamamo's way of greeting her rarely fails to bring a smile to Strawberry's face, however self-conscious she might be feeling. "Well, I was thinking of going down to Boot Hill today, but... the townsfolk aren't going anywhere, are they? And I guess I can be two places at once. Was there something you wanted me to carve out, Tamamo?" Her hands aren't sunburnt today, so it's not a bad time.
Ioanna Langstrom	For most of the building, Ioanna Langstrom has actually been on-site. She's been directing workflow, keeping watch with the rest of the soldiers, and otherwise deeply engaged in the construction and manning of the base. She's just that kind of woman - goal-oriented, focused, and willing to do whatever she needs to to ensure it goes smoothly. Moreover, she's a career soldier, so rubbing elbows with the soldiers who aren't Elites is actually somewhat more preferable to her. It's a change of pace and a good one. It reminds her where she came from and who she is at the core: boots on the ground. "I'd rather make contact with the town and ensure that they're aware of our presence. Taking care of a threat is important, but taking care of a threat as a show of force and law and order is a statement."
Ishirou	Ishirou is with Tamamo looking at the map. Coordinating his efforts for the Turbine with her pattern of trying to control the local magic. Ishirou taps at his chin and tries looking at how to better increase the efficiency of this. With the storm on the horizon, he feels this should be sooner than later. It'd go a long distance to trying to balance the area's magic and even stabilize it. "I mean, I think she could do it? If we support her it shouldn't be all that bad," Ishirou says, thinking. "Especially with my analysis and your expertise on it!" Ishirou was confident on this one. Of course, this was assuming Ishirou was correct in what Tamamo was thinking. Strawberry shows up, and Ishirou gives her a wave. There is a noticeable change in his...well outward appearance isn't the right way, but more about how he carries himself. How he conducts himself. It's subtle but noticeable to people who've known him for a bit. "Hey, how have you been?" he asks.
Hellwarming Trio	Utsuho: "Taking credit sounds cool, but... Hm. Nah, it's probably better that me and Orin sit out that one. Convincing humans is confusing." Rin: "Yeah, Strawbs! You and Io got this. But it won't take that long, right? Then you can finish up and join us to find the-" Utsuho: "Psychic beast?" Rin: "... Hold up, hold up. Does that mean...?" Utsuho: "It can read minds?" Rin: "Or is it one of those stuff-moving psychics?" Tamamo's mention of the psychic beast seems to get a fire going in both of them, but not in a violent way. No, they seem excited in the way that someone might get excited over hearing that their favorite show is going to be in town, or the way that children might be excited over hearing about a new student showing up in class despite knowing almost nothing about what they're going to find.
Ioanna Langstrom	With a remarkably straight face and neutral tone, Ioanna says, "In that case, you two are definitely well-suited to deal with a mind-reader."
Mack	Mack has been an on-and-off presence since the bandit problem got taken care of. His periodic disappearances are timed alongside the curious manifestation of electronic components that, inevitably, didn't get brought in the first wave, with the most recent involving some scuffed-looking high-grade capacitors meant for the radio tower. Nevertheless, they, like all the parts he's sourced from the local(ish) area, are in good shape in spite of their dubious appearance -- a thing that he proudly shares in common with them. Presently, the mutant is seated with his legs dangling off a pre-fab desk chair near the map in the command center, fiddling with a pointy-looking electronic piece. He keeps wiping it against his hands, where it briefly seems to phase through his fingers with a liquid ripple and then come out the other side cleaner and more intact than it was before. He's lacking the giant hat; people will just have to put up with him being the freaky looking dude in the corner. Strawberry's persistent goodness keeps his spirits high. His smile is audible when he remarks, "I'm here if you need me. I know I don't have any mountain-drilling super lasers, but I'm sure I'm good for something or other." He does not laugh at Ioanna, but he might cough surreptitiously for some reason.
Tamamo	"Most likely," is Tamamo's answer to Utsuho and Rin. She isn't really sure what kind of psychic it is. "It appeared, to my sight, as a rather troublesome one, in that it is one disposed toward causing trouble among others. I would be less worried in it reading your mind, perhaps, than in the danger of it influencing your thoughts. If you are unfailingly direct, perhaps the danger will be lessened." Tamamo gestures toward the map, while looking toward Strawberry. "Here, you may see, there are plans to dig beneath this area, and yet, the progress in doing so is limited. It is a great deal of effort, by any normal means." Her voice does carry that tone of weight, in an arduous task, though it brightens as she follows with, "You had mentioned that you might aid in this, yes, with your magic? I am just a bit concerned about the safety of that approach, however, if it is limited to these areas, and you launch your magic in these directions -- and all the better, should you cease the digging at these distances -- then I believe there will be little risk to any here. Oh, but I am no great architect, myself. I should be glad for Ishirou to accompany you," Tamamo nods toward him, "being one well suited to remembering the measurements, and most likely to detect any danger within the earth and stone as I may have missed. 'Mining,' as well, is something in which I cannot claim expertise, I fear." Audibly setting that aside, "And then, when these portions are complete, it shall be far simpler for our expanded force of hands to finish the connections between those tunnels you have dug, and the existing work. And once that is all quite done, if not a little before, I may begin to lay out the pattern as will aim to control the overflow of magic from the storms." Tamamo claps her hands. "Have I missed any important point?"
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry puts her hands on the edges of the table and leans over the map, nodding slowly. "Right. That makes sense, Tamamo. You wanted to clear out... there, there, and there? I'll want to go to Boot Hill in person, but..." She looks up at Ioanna with a little smile. "Those aren't- I can do both at once. It'll be fine. Ishirou, have you worked with me like that before? It's... well, don't be startled, okay?" Sensing Mack's good cheer, she turns around and gives the cyborg an earnest smile, too. This time, unlike the last, she doesn't flinch to see his face. "Maybe you could help at Boot Hill? Me and Ioanna aren't locals, after all. Though... I think you said you hunt monsters, too? I guess it's really your pick."
Mack	Mack smiles back. His teeth are chromed, but not in one consistent shade. At some point, you either get used to him looking like a Halloween decoration, or you stop going on missions with him. "The Mamono sect are all about hunting monsters," Mack confirms, "but I'd rather ingratiate myself with the locals, if it's alright with you. If I intend to spend any time around here, I'd better get started proving I'm both friendly and technically human." A beat. He adds, "Eventually, the Coalition is bound to show up, and they'll be less hostile if your local guide has his papers in order."
Ishirou	Ishirou nods to Tamamo. "Yeah, I can do that, and even provide helpful telemetry data for her. We've worked together before, so I have the data. I could probably calculate charges and right now too," he says with a thought. "Hmm," he looks again at the map a bit more intently. "I gotta say those measurements you did though Tamamo is a work of art. I like the work that you're doing!" He turns towards Strawberry. "Oh I don't think I have...but given that you're warning me, and I was there for Blueberry...I think I can guess. Don't worry, though! Also gosh, it has been a while since we've actually operated with each other, isn't it? Ooooh you haven't gotten a chance to see the new armor, have you? Blemishine did a great job on it!" Ishirou also gives Utsuho and Rin a side glance, "Don't worry, if it did eat brains I think you two would be just fine. In fact, you'd be our secret weapon against it!" Ishirou says with a slightly wry grin.
Lilian Rook	Those heading to Boothill don't have a hard job; they already know where it is, went there once before, and after the capture of the Bluekills' hideout, they have a shockingly high end (if banged up) all-terrain hover vehicle like the bastard offspring of a bus and an APC. Obviously it can get there. They used to be raiding it. Though, now they're just weirdly kind of glad-seeming to see Strawberry. A little ashamed of their previous encounter, but also happy to show her the work being done. A girl who does baking or home cooking for you is a saint on the western frontier. Her change of wardrobe isn't noticed by them, having only seen her in costume, but Satsuki, left on base, spends even more time contemplatively staring at Strawberry's legs when she thinks she isn't looking than Arina awkwardly watches Tamamo from afar. Lilian's 'cute juniors' have been a semi-constant presence helping Ioanna, namely that one of them can operate the alchemical workshop to provide pieces for the exotic mana turbine with instructions, and the other is amply capable of scouting the are and scrounging. 'The psychic beast' is a tough proposition to simply find by air. Even with Kale's flight range and vision, he'll pretty quickly realize the magnitude of how hard it is to find anything lurking in a vast mountain forest. Asking about it further, it's actually the recruited bandits who have anything approximately like local knowledge. They say that they encountered it once in the area, basically by accident, after the group been oddly at each other's throats for weeks, and there'd been one totally unnecessary shooting. Their leader, a petty demon, had recognized it for what it was and chased it off, saying it was psychically feeding on the strife. Driving into town, Boothill hasn't changed one bit in these weeks, and probably won't for years. A few tiny ranches and stables mix haphazardly with homesteader properties growing corn and rye, and lead directly into the glorified main street, with few extrusions, that the town is. Straight off a spaghetti western movie set too, seemingly on purpose. The saloon and sheriff's office were the last places they visited, and remain likely the most promising options, with few other gathering places than a miniscule chapel, a general store, a barber slash surgeon, a separate establishment for gambling and other vices, and a rinky dink town hall that appears closed for the day. The dusty streets are worryingly still. The few people that can be seen stare suspiciously from windows, often closing and locking dwellings up. Men outside on porches and street corners are visibly armed and unwelcoming. All three of the cameras the town even possesses lock onto travelers exclusively.
Strawberry Princess	"That's fine with me if it's fine with the Lieutenant, Mr. MacCloud," Strawberry says as she rolls the carrying case off her shoulders and pops it open. "That leaves Mr. Hearthward, Rin, and Utsuho to deal with the monster, doesn't it? They seem like they'll be a good team." Ishirou gets a shy little smile from her. "Yeah. Like Blueberry, almost, but mine can't talk. It's still 'me' though- I mean, I'm seeing through their eyes and everything, they're not their own people. Like working through a drone, I guess. That make sense?" While the others bound for Boothill get in the hover vehicle, or otherwise arrange their own transport, Strawberry walks to the edge of the mesa nearest where the excavation work is going to be happening. She catches Arina staring, but completely misunderstands the reason. "How old are you, Arina?" Strawberry smiles innocently. "You know, if your growth plates haven't fused yet, spending time in low-G like me could make you taller too. I'm sure you can get there!" She winks a terribly oblivious little wink. Finally, she powers on her wand. It groans and rattles as the control rods pull out. 05:00, its display says. "You'll guide me on where to shoot, right, Ishirou? I can't do it without you." A little pause, then she laughs. "Well, I shouldn't, anyway." In a little pink flash, her costume appears. A smoothed-crystalline clone of her steps out of her body, as if her outline were a portal. Then she spreads her translucent-sparkly magical wings and soars down towards the town, leaving the clone behind. It's shorter than Strawberry, and looks a bit younger, though not as young as Blueberry did. Its right arm is broken, and there's an open gash on its head where her scar is 'in the future', but the nature of its abstract crystal-like body makes that less gruesome than it ought to be. Its left hand holds a wand like hers, sans reactor. It gives Ishirou a little nod, and gestures vaguely at the area to be excavated. Something like: "shall we start?"
Strawberry Princess	Strawberry herself touches down on Boothill's perimeter not long after, walking down the dusty streets and giving the cameras a little friendly wave. Her invisible prying eyes scatter throughout the town, looking for the place where the most people are gathered. That's probably got to be the saloon, right? When the rest of the Paladins arrive in the (almost certainly slower-than-her) hovercraft, she's waiting patiently for them. "The town hall's closed," she explains with a little frown. "I don't think there'd be much anyway. We can try the sheriff's, but I think the saloon is better. It's the closest thing to a meeting-place for the town there is. Want to go?" Assuming there aren't any objections from Ioanna, that's just where she'll head.
Tamamo	"Of course!" Tamamo says to Ishirou. "I can think of none better suited for the task." To the compliment of work, she smiles. "The patterns must be quite exact, in these cases, though for your own work, you need not worry quite so much. I shall mark the pattern within the floors of the tunnels, and the tunnels need merely contain them. A bit of roughness in the walls poses little problem. Ah, but do try and make them level, if at all possible. Things get a bit messy if they must be rotated in strange ways." She doesn't explain what that means, but it's probably fine. "Thank you again, Strawberry-Princess. I shall speak with you when you return from Boothill, perhaps? Ah, but I should not sit idly, myself. I am certain there is something I might be doing, rather than only wait." Keeping herself busy makes some things easier. "Now, who was it who was working the alchemical workshop...?"
Hellwarming Trio	Ioanna's seemingly neutral confidence gets the two to brighten up even more. "We won't let you down!" They chime in unison, clearly missing something there. Whatever the case is, though, it does appear that they don't feel threatened by the idea of having their minds read, especially in light of Tamamo recommending the 'unfailingly direct' approach. Utsuho: "That's just the way I like it, anyway." Rin: "That's the only way you can do anything." Utsuho: "Well, yeah. Why would I need to trick it?" Rin: "... Hm. Yeah, we wouldn't. Besides, we know just what to do so it won't wanna eat our brains!" Whether Ishirou's dig going right over their heads is a good or bad thing for the context of this mission is unclear. What is very clear, though, is that the youkai really don't look like they're worried one bit about the whole thing. Even after hearing from Kale's search that it apparently feeds on strife and may or may not try to eat their minds, they're actually rather careless about just how quick they are to start flying around in their haste to find it. The forest in these mountains is an unfamiliar one, and even forests in general aren't something Utsuho nor Rin are welol-versed in traversing. They've most of their lives underground, after all, but they do a decent enough job of just maneuvering through the treeline and floating above or below it every now and then just to make sure they don't miss anything. Instead of trying to call it out by a name they don't have, they both seem to have a shared plan with that one brain cell between them. 'Hey! Where are you?' 'We wanna meet you!' There's no fear in their thoughts or their movements. All there is excitement and elation in following their basic instincts, like children excited to meet a new friend.
Kale Hearthward	Kale leaves. He's got this. Kale returns. "Hey, so..." Yeah, doing some information gathering first is a good idea. "... And it feeds on strife, you say. Got it." Okay! Now Kale has a rough location, and a plan. He just has to create some large amount of strife, and bait this thing out... ... Right, okay. How do you generate strife, though? ATTEMPT #1: Kale, after arriving at the beast's last known location, pops a desk and a chair out of his inventory, arranging them in a wide open spot, and then pulling a rolled up map out. The map is already a mess of lines, symbols, scribbled notes, eraser marks, stains, and a faint feathery imprint on it from where Kale ended up falling asleep on it one night while trying to work. "... Damn it, how does this warpgate connect to this one..." he says, after reviewing a stack of scouting reports. "They're - they should be nowhere close to each other... and how did -" "Yeah - I remember this place had three warpgates, how does it have SIX now! How the hell is anyone supposed to build a defensive perimeter if-" "No, that route has - agh, why did MIDWAY have to pick that spot to-" He flips the table over.
Mack	"Great! I'll drive." Mack drives. He plugs himself into the dash so he doesn't have to work the pedals. He's very good at just barely avoiding obstacles, but, for some reason, insists on cursing at them whenever he does, as if performing some kind of ritual. Maybe it's a relic of wherever he learned to handle a vehicle? Once they're in town, he dismounts. He's changed his gear slightly: his ramshackle long coat has been affixed with vented plates along the bottom to give it a more duster-like style, and he's slapped metallic shapes like stamped metal patches in places of prominence. The Paladins emblem is the largest of them, with smaller, more local icons: a Tomorrow Legion castle, a stake punched through a batlike face representing Reid's Rangers, and the Japanese characters for 'demon', frequently associated with the Mamono Headhunters by people who do not read the language. It's like a who's-who of monster killing organizations presented in plain sight, and worn like military insignia or a Sheriff's badge multiplied. "Sure. They had pretty good sarsaparilla last time I was in there." Mack silently toggles on his wide area sensors, checking for any other reasons for the lack of people. Are they in church?
Ishirou	Ishirou smiles brightly at Tamamo, happy at the compliment. "Well, they might need to be exact, but I pride myself on my work," to which he nods towards Strawberry. "Alright, let's go. I know you got a limited time so we'll have to do this somewhat quickly. Ishirou walks out with her, and when she summons the clone of her, he summons his armor. The first part seems more like a power armor for him. While he sits in it a bit firmly, it does make him look a bit taller. Then pieces attach to the arms, legs, and back creating the flight suit and the machine starts hovering. He looks at the clone, and...well she was right that is concerning. The form is less to him, but the wounds themselves are. He'll have to ask about that later, but he nods to the signal that she's ready to go. "Alright, gimme a second and I'll synch up with you.." he says, casting a spell so that he can communicate the data to Strawberry and with her fly up to get some air. Bringing up the map, Ishirou IDs the four places they need, and then overlays them with the pattern. He selects a place to start first. For Strawberry, she can see stuff over her vision like a HUD overlay. It's not auto-guidance, but rather shows a sort of augmented reality over what she can see. He calculates some things, and then a firing angle appears. "There, that should be good for number one. It's your show Strawbs!"
Ioanna Langstrom	Ioanna is perfectly happy to let someone else drive this hover-monstrosity. As they drive she's already moving to use the FC to check local radio feeds and potential news networks for potential information. While she's well aware that it's unlikely with the kind of infrastructure Boothill has, it's nonetheless her standard operating procedure going into a place like this. Information is ammunition. She dismounts with Mack. She hasn't changed her gear much - some very local-looking mercenary gear, a very big gun over her shoulder, and a visor. "Agreed," Ioanna says at Strawberry's suggestion. She's letting Mack do the scanning for life-forms - he's better-equipped for the locals.
Tamamo	"Ms. Kalashnik, might you assist me in this matter? You were handling the workshop, yes? Ah, but my tastes could be a bit expensive, given what we have available. Are you aware of what materials we may supply in sufficient quantity for these plans?" Tamamo goes to bother Arina, carrying only an ink-brushed version of her plans for the magical runoff and reactor fueling array. It's a lot less exact and harder to read, but it does show a collection of geometric designs, just slightly off from each other, that are done in very careful strokes. "We cannot expect to have enough gold to cover a mountain, of course, even in thin lines. Copper and silver might be acceptable substitutes, but to forgo that option entirely, I have considered, instead, a set of designs to collect and receive the energy through the tunnels of air, and for these, I wonder, have we enough of any material suitable to conducting such as shall be unavoidable, whensoever the storm should arrive? The stability is of great concern, and my paper supplies might not survive the necessary heat, to say nothing of whatever more dire emergencies may develop."
Strawberry Princess	The eidolon working with Ishirou puts a hand to its temple as the HUD appears, then nods once it adjusts, and gives him a firm thumbs-up- with the broken arm. Fortunately, that doesn't seem to cause it any pain. Shattered bones don't mean anything to something that really has no bones after all; human range of motion is only a suggestion for something that's a loose imitation of humanity at best. After a lot of fidgety positional adjustments, making sure it's floating in just the right spot to get just the right angle, the clone finally levels its wand at the side of the mesa and sights down the feathered wings that decorate its haft. As an afterthought, it looks to Ishirou and mimes covering its eyes, then covering its ears. Were Strawberry here herself, there would be a whole ordeal of grinding fuel rods, hissing steam, pinging metal, and generally the horrible noises of a robustly-engineered device being tortured to its breaking point. Channeled through the eidolon, the firing process is no less lengthy, but takes on a different character. A blindingly-bright spark appears in the center of its chest, which spreads outwards along curving angling lines to form a fractal shape inside its torso. There's some kind of magic circulatory system being juiced with more power than it's really meant to hold. The crystal of its body begins to emit a high-pitched shriek, like a finger rubbing on the edge of a wineglass, but rougher and a hundred times louder. The blinding energy flows down its arms, into its hands, into the wand. It drains and concentrates in the wand's tip, until the clone's body is dark again but the wand is brighter than the sun. And- _________ _________ ______ ______ ___________ _____ ________ _ __________ ________ ____ _____ _______ _______ _____________ ________ _______ ______ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯¯ ¯¯¯¯ The sound is fit to rattle teeth. The light alone could singe Ishirou's hair, if he's not careful. Hundreds of tons of rock are neatly eradicated in a heartbeat, leaving behind a smoking cylinder of emptiness. The clone lowers its wand, flashes Ishirou a thumbs-up, then waits patiently for the next objective- and the next, and the next. Out in the town of Boothill, miles away, the sound reaches them as a distant grumble of thunder in the middle of a clear blue day. Strawberry doesn't seem to notice.
Ishirou	Ishirou smiles when the data transfer is complete, but when Strawberry's clone waves for him to cover his eyes and ears, he gives her a thumbs up, but motions to something on the robot. His robot connects a headset to him. Anti-photo visor and earplugs come with it, allowing him to use his other senses and sensors to counteract his reduced audio and visual in this. Ishirou also transforms the armor, switching from the more humanoid-looking mode, to a flight mode that is flatter and well...looks like a plane than a robot. He takes to the wind to distance himself. Even with that distance, it's still loud and bright. He's very thankful for the distance and the helmet. Once over, the helmet detaches, and he flies back. He gives her a smile but still does the shaking-out ear motion. "That was still surprisingly loud. I think that's gotten even more powerful! Anyway, lining up the next shot... set up your telemetry and where you need to go. After you!"
Lilian Rook	"Huh?!" Strawberry's question is received with blinking, terrified trepidation. Satsuki speaks for the both of them. "We're both twenty-two. And I think she's cute the way she is." An Assertive Headpat on Arina causes her to spasm a "Hey, what?!" a moment later. "I was just thinking though . . . after last time, we asked the Commander more about all of you, and when she was talking about you . . ." "She said you were really brave. I asked why, and she listed a lot of ways. One of them was the way you dress, and I didn't really get it, so I was trying to figure it out. I apologize if I was staring." "Hey, should we really be repeating that?" It is Arina working the shop. Despite being Russian, she's apparently from far enough west that 'it kind of counts' as far as familiarity goes, and out of the two, she's focused more on what would be classically called 'magic'. Being sought out by Tamamo makes her direly nervous, in that "I'll do my very best!" way, waiting for a request, or maybe just being bossed around. She is not so forthcoming about whatever was said about Tamamo in confidence. "Wow . . . Wow this is . . . A-aha, maybe Satsuki should be helping me read this? But I think I can help! This is all doable within the 'Magnum Opus' right? Everyone knows that one!" She declares, proudly, even using accented Latin. "Um, if I may suggest, Miss Tamamo no Mae, perhaps we might save time for now by having the rest we can't contain lead outside? You know, like . . . with the rockets?" She makes awkward hand gestures to try and convey the way rocket exhaust is vented away from launch pads and missile silos, in this instance, out the sides of the plateau and into some unlucky regions of random forest. Underground, the plateau is as susceptible to lasering as is ordinary, which means 'very'. Enormous, clean paths are easily carved instananeously. Other than the theatrics of Strawberry's power itself, it's not very exciting work, vastly beneath Ishirou's intellectual paygrade and Strawberry's aim and firepower; a take-ten for the both of them. The first and only exciting thing that happens is that the last area Strawberry clears leaves a bright streak of semi-molten metal across the new, glassy floor. Ishirou scanning it will reveal that they've stumbled across a tunnel, man-made, buried under the suspiciously flat and level plateau, fortunate enough to be located at the very edge of the beam. In town, Mack finds out that the locals are not, in fact, in church. Even the saloon is sparsely populated, though it's the same staff on duty he and Ioanna first met, when they posed as mercenaries. The air of tension feels distinctly abnormal, and the data supports it; practically everyone outside is some grade of 'man of the house' behind him, or an employee 'watching out for' his place of work. When they ride into town, it's Sheriff Holden and his two deputies that saunter out, the jingling of boot spurs and the flap of ten gallon hats contrasting oddly with the nanomaterial breastplates and laser pistols on hand. Despite appearing the absolute picture of sleepy uselessness last time, Holden's gaze is steely and unpleasantly awake this time. The ashen remains of a cigarette are dropped and stomped out. "Funny to be seeing you folks again. Heard you done been cleaning up our bushwackers. Nice. Real nice. Some folk here were taking bets on whether they'd get you or not. But see, I also didn't see nobody come this way in irons. Thought maybe that's what you were driving into town for. Makes something else awfully credible." "Like when a little bird told me that all you folk did was up and join with the Bluekills. Made a coalition. An upgrade. That these nice people got fed a line by a gang of Desperados wearing ranger badges." His eyes glide to Mack's chest. "And that we shoulda taken care of it while we had the chance. You folks feel like coming with us to explain? Or do we do this the hard way?"
Ishirou	Ishirou continues to work, supporting Strawberry and her easy shots. It was easy, but Ishirou doesn't mind the work. It's a good chance to catch up with Strawberry and relax for once. The work is important too, even if easy. When the last shot is fired, his sensors show something comes up. The POD beeps once, speaking. 'Anomaly Detected.' Ishirou brings his sensors in line, and see's that it's an artificial structure. Maybe it was an old abandoned tunnel? Well, a mine shaft could be another possibility. Ishirou takes a few more scans, just to be safe, and nods towards the Strawberry with him. Once more in flight mode, he zooms towards the hole she made, before switching back to humanoid mode. Hovering, he dips into the artificial structure and starts to explore it. First scanning ahead, his enhanced senses would easily cut through the darkness and be able to see what was ahead. He also wanted to see if anything hostile was in or around them, but eventually, he could only risk manage so much, and into the darkness, he would have to go to explore.
Lilian Rook	The former Bluekills gang are baffled by whatever Kale's plan could be. The Paladins staff sort of silently roll their eyes. Satsuki looks on in silently horrified comprehension. He doesn't get exactly what he's looking for in an instant. He has to sit and agonize over Secundus charts for a good hot minute. The sheer amount of pissed off dark army lieutenant birdman energy he exudes, seasoned with 'most of the ontological weight of Staren's history conflict with him', draws the feelings of eyes on the back of his neck. When the table flips, he hears rustling in the woods, perhaps coincidentally from the direction of Boothill. A 'voice', something that somehow feels 'dripping' and 'slithering' to hear, plays out in his head. "A fit of rage? Over such a simple problem? Solving this puzzle should be child's play, even for one of your kind. Shall I tell you the answer? It would be so very obvious, how to crush these paltry enemies of yours. I wonder how ignorant you will feel when you realize?" For Utsuho and Rin, their attempts to call out their psychic monster friend out to play fall on deaf ears(?). Their fearless, upbeat attitude seems to have no draw for a monster that feeds on negativity and conflict. Or at least, up until one calls from the direction of Kale. One that beckons to approach. To come closer. To meet and speak of important things. Of wishes granted and services done. Once they're scarcely a hundred meters away, Utsuho is the one it picks, the suggestion of a voice suddenly ratcheting up to a harsh static that drowns out all sound, all thought, even the limbs' ability to listen to what brain she has. A forceful psychic bodyjack attempt is used on her, to point her arm cannon towards 'oh, just some spot in the trees, haha', and fire, where it will hit Kale. Not even straight-on; exactly deviant enough to probably leave him alive and just cause horrific, crippling burns, should he not dodge. And should he return fire, that's exactly when the static disappears.
Ioanna Langstrom	"Employed," Ioanna corrects the Sheriff sternly. Diplomacy isn't her strongest suit - she's a soldier - but she's a direct and forward woman. No doubletalk. Just the facts. "We employed them. More efficient use of manpower to put them to work rather than our primary armed forces. We have other projects elsewhere to redirect our forces to - as well as expanded law enforcement in the region." Ioanna taps her gun against her shoulder. "Is that going to be a problem? I imagine you'd rather not risk your life when we can do it for you, and get convicts to do the work moreover."
Kale Hearthward	"I know the answer," says Kale, irritably. Why did he enter 'Bean Zero' as the territory name into the resonance terminal? That's such a stupid name, and then it ended up being the most pivotal territory and thus the one that everyone talks about, somehow! "The answer is I need to be better at this." Then he pauses. And looks up. Wait... "... Where..." He looks around, from his seated position (at a desk in the middle of the woods). "Where are you..." "... And you know what, sure... tell me, then," he says, trying to get this thing talking while he tries to suss out where it might be hiding.
Mack	"Huh," Mack observes, sotto voce. "We're basically surrounded. Neat." The Sheriff and his deputies do some sauntering. Mack does the same, moving away from the hover truck, raising one hand in a vague greeting and keeping both up and away from the pistol on his hip. He left the Sun Gun back at the base for this run; no need to vaporize any townsfolk today. "They nearly did, Sheriff," Mack says, all affable tones and metallic grins. "The choke point they had was pretty killer. But banditos don't do in professionals if the professionals are prepared for 'em." With a slow, casual motion, Mack reaches into an external pocket of his odd coat and draws out a metallic chain. It looks like the mass-produced kind that dog tags are stuck to. Instead of tags, there's a string of scraps of broken armor, identifiable as plates normally protecting vitals, all painted in Bluekill colors and obviously bored through by energy weaponry. He tosses it underhanded towards one of the deputies. "Those are the confirmed kills," Mack reports. "The rest surrendered, and are being put to work, where they can do something with themselves besides be a menace to society. We won't take pay for the survivors, because they weren't delivered into your custody." Mack, who is absolutely a Headhunter murder-cyborg, at some point adopted a very serious, business-oriented stance and demeanor. This is what someone expects bounty hunters to talk like, so he'll play to expectations. Usually they're less forgiving about getting stiffed on pay after a job well done... even if it was done in an unorthodox fashion.
Hellwarming Trio	Rin: "You think it can hear us?" Utsuho: "It has to. We're pretty loud." Rin: "But just thinkin' at it isn't the same is it?" Utsuho: "Oh. Then.. Should we start yelling?" Before the pair can start yelling, though, an odd thing happens to Utsuho. She flinches at the noise at first, initially dismissing it as just flying too close to a branch or something. As she thinks she's reaching up to scratch her ear, though, she doesn't even immediately realize that her rod is being pointed and charged up. It's probably a good idea, though. Maybe it really can't hear or see them, so it just needs a little pointer. By the time Rin even notices what Utsuho's doing, a superheated beam is already being blasted right through the trees without much regard for whatever might be behind them. Naturally, this gets Rin to start freaking out and grabbing Utsuho. "H-hey! Okuu, that wasn't the plan!" She starts shaking the oversized birdgirl, looking considerably more freaked out than her more relaxed-looking companion. "No, no, it's fine. Thinking loud didn't work, but being loud and being big and flashy... That's what we need for it to know we're here!" Utsuho replies with a confident laugh, tapping her still-hot rod against another tree to light it up for a little more visbility and not realizing just where (or who) she had fired that first thing at.
Strawberry Princess	EARLIER: Strawberry looks distinctly embarrassed by the kouhais' question, but shakes her head. "No, no, it's okay. It's... I don't really think I'm brave. At least, not in that way. But I know why she thinks so." "Lilian is..." Strawberry tapers off, looking down at the ground while rubbing her elbow. Her next few words are chosen carefully. "How should I put this. I think neither of us got- the kind of childhood, that normal girls are supposed to have. You know?" "For her, wearing skirts and heels and makeup and all that... it's a way to reclaim what she missed. Dressing like I do would feel scary to her. But for me, it's the other way around. Dressing 'boyishly' like I do feels... familiar. And I'm scared if I dressed up like her, it'd feel 'inauthentic'. Like I'm reaching too far." She smiles ruefully and tilts her head, hands in her pockets. "That makes sense, right? She thinks I'm brave, but we're really just... scared of different things." NOW, WITH ISHIROU: As the eidolon flies into the tunnel after him, the tip of its wand again begins to glow, but now more bearably: a grossly inefficient magical torch to illuminate the glassy-smooth cavern. It's happy to take point, clearing away the molten metal with the butt of its wand (or a couple of vastly weaker destructive pulses, if needed) to open up their new discovery. From there, it floats down, holding the wand in front of itself as both protection and a light source. A silent glance back over its shoulder, and a nod, conveys its readiness. What's here for them to explore?
Strawberry Princess	NOW, IN TOWN: "The ones who surrendered are doing construction work, up on the mesa," Strawberry clarifies, after Ioanna speaks. "They'll never hold a gun again, if that's what you're worried about. Or set foot in this town. Their leader is- dead." That part doesn't make her happy to say, but she says it anyway. She shifts, obviously uncomfortable with the unexpected confrontation, and her eyes trace over the scared faces in the windows. Strawberry gently tosses her wand aside. It lands with a surprisingly heavy clang in the dust. "We're happy to come with you, sheriff, if there's a need. But what we're here to say, I think the whole town deserves to hear. We came to tell you that you can stop being scared, that this is going to be a peaceful place from now on. And if you don't believe us, you can wait and see. There's no point in attacking us like this, when all we've done is try to help you."
Lilian Rook	Kale somehow gets the unpleasant feeling that something inside his head is laughing at him, in the quaint way of a father finding amusement in his tiny son's first fumbling attempts at chess, but still slitheringly unwholesome. "Do you really need me to materialize in this plane simply to answer a question? You are speaking to a very old, very powerful spirit, my dear friend. I have been here since this mountain was young. Before a single one of these trees was even sown. I can grant any wish you desire, never mind such a paltry want as an answer to this trivial puzzle. I will only ask for a very small service in return. Do you truly wish to see your conquest fulfilled?" The monster that is totally full of shit is quick to play the side game too, marking it as somewhere between Kale and Utsuho, but just out of the path of the beam. When Orin's panic rises to its zenith, the noise worms its way into her mind next, amplifying it and adding an injection of aggression, frustration, and a tiny bit of worthlessness. Anger at that idiot partner of hers for getting them both in trouble again. Urgent panic to take her down right now before she can cause more. Guilt and shame for not already preventing it. Fear of what Kale will say; how he will blame her.
Kale Hearthward	Kale keeps trying to look around and see whatever... wherever this thing is coming from. "..." He hesitates - but it doesn't take him long to answer. It's only so that he can keep this thing talking. "Yeah, yeah I do. Whatcha got..." Really, just to keep it talking.
Hellwarming Trio	Unfortunately for the youkai pair, they don't quite realize what's happening yet. From Utsuho's perspective, her totally original and very good plan actually worked. From Rin's perspective, Utsuho's gloating over blasting their visibility to the roof with so much fire, possible explosions, and maybe even screwing up a job they were trusted with to specifically NOT screw up terribly. <<"Where are you, Kale?">> Utsuho asks over her radio as she takes the lead, heading vaguely in the direction of where she had last scene Kale. She doesn't notice Rin picking up speed and making a beeline towards her, though, still just floating along at a slightly faster than normal speed rather than actively blasting forward. <<"We're gonna find it any second now, so k-">> Utsuho gets cut off when Rin slams right into her from behind, more from the surprise of being brought to the ground rather than from actual pain. NO more clear words come through the radio, just incoherent scuffling noises as the two struggle to get the upper hand. Clearly, this creature knows just how to laser target Rin's insecurities. She certainly has plenty of them, too, between being the '''rational''' one of the pair and also the weaker of the two. Her biggest advantage right now is still managing to stay on Utsuho's back to keep her from flipping over. With any luck, she can just make it look like the beast got the jump on them, and then they won't get in trouble later.
Lilian Rook	Back at the outpost, Lilian's juniors sort of stare at Strawberry in their very best 'trying to absorb it' postures respectively. It looks like Satsuki understands maybe fifty percent, and Arina half that. "A-ah . . . I suppose even someone like the Commander probably had it hard once upon a time, right? Normal people . . . well, they don't usually get far at Arx Zenith. Or, that's what I've heard. Haha . . ." Arina awkwardly stutters before going off with Tamamo. Satsuki contemplates it carefully, choosing her words in very careful, even courtly manner, vaguely reminiscent of Tamamo all of a sudden, with more modern language; even her posture is similar. "Then please allow me to congratulate you on working hard today as well." she says. "Doing your best to become brave, even if it's only because you think you aren't, is something both men and heaven smile upon." She also does. Down below, getting through the ceiling of the tunnel is something that turns out to be a 'this would be really difficult if it weren't already half-schmelted' problem. It's not simple steel and concrete, but pre-Cataclysm bullshittium construction that probably used to be nuke-proof when there was a mountain on top of it; at least if Ishirou's theory carries water. Scanning around in the darkness, Ishirou is stopped abruptly to one side by a sequence of heavy bulkheads that have since run out of power and simply sealed shut, and in the other direction, a 'dead end', being a very large square space with metal running up through the ceiling. Strawberry going that way illuminates the gleaming chrome rails and clanking gunmetal floors of a hangar bay, complete with what Ishirou can surmise is a payload elevator, and what Strawberry recognizes as launch rails up the walls, each attached to a platform where . . . robots? Large armours? Are hunched in dusty repose. Scans indicate even their reactor fuel has decayed to uselessness, but the parts seem fine. More importantly, Strawberry stumbles upon large stockpiles of exactly what belongs their. Oil, uranium, ammo, water, rations, spare parts, electrical tools, cleaning supplies. Though there are some scattered toolboxes and ancient rags around clusters of robotic equipment, there are no bodies. Somewhere else? Or did nobody even get here when everything above them disappeared and a Rift appeared on top? The payload elevator simply terminates right into the rock; a flat, tectonic shear has simply removed the level above it and replaced it with twenty meters of stone plateau. The entire thing is wedged between two leylines, near to the nexus, under the currently non-functional foundry the Paladins are building. There is also an anomalously huge computer terminal Ishirou finds at the end. Without a running reactor though, it's useless to him. It just has a suspiciously powerful communicator, and a vast memory array behind the wall.
Tamamo	Tamamo very probably finds Arina adorable but is definitely too polite to say that out loud. Someone could, with sufficient imagination, infer it from her soft smile, but there are all sorts of messages someone could read into that. "Oh, would you like me to read it? I must apologize for my handwriting." Her smile does turn apologetic, though it would be more accurate to call it 'calligraphy' than 'handwriting. "The Magnum Opus, is it? I have some little familiarity with that tradition, my Lilian having a good deal more, yet of this, I do believe it will suffice. To supply sufficient gold for each design would be best. To create channels through all of the tunnels within this design would, likewise, be best, yet of this, we may wait. The work may be completed in stages, with only a little effort wasted, if it as I expect it to be." She immediately understands 'lead outside' and then has to take a bit to understand how rockets are involved. "Oh, yes. There will be rather too much to store, I think, even with the reactor that Ishirou intends." Briefly, she wonders how well Utsuho can improve that. It's hard to imagine. When did that bird learn to work reactors, anyway? "A great deal can be driven deep beneath the earth, to be absorbed -- that is, I believe, known as 'grounding,' in other applications? -- and yet, one can hardly take too many precautions, in preparing a house for a storm." But then, there's the question of what that will do to the unluckiest portion of the forest. No good solution arrives even after a bit of thinking, so she cheerfully sets that aside as a future problem, too. "Well, let us hope it not prove too necessary in use, and construct such a thing, first. When the array is somewhat more complete, it will be less of a problem."
Ishirou	Ishirou continues to scan the area as they go below. First, his attention comes to the bullshittium walls, looking over them and trying to scan for its molecular compounds so he can add this to the Paladins database for later. "Likely able to withstand a nuclear attack.." he says, looking to Strawberry. "Thankfully there is less than a mountain above us. I think this gives credence to the theory that this wasn't a plateau at some point." "Neat!" he says, excited...no /giddy/ at the chance to dig into this stuff. The bulkheads are sealed shut, and likely would either need power...or a very large gun to blast through. "Hmm...a payload elevator now..?" he says, until he sees robots..? Armors? /Mechs/? Oh man! He is so excited! So much to learn! How long has this been lost?! Oh man oh man oh man! Then there was a terminal! Oh gosh! This was even more exciting. Though it's very large...he judges the size of the now unable to move robots and compares it to the size of this terminal. Just to see if it would be someone in the robot (or the robot) who could operate this. Though he also gets a very powerful communicator and memory array too. It's /exciting/. But no power... Well, that's disappointing. Alright, calm down Ishirou. First thing's first, let's look at the robots. Are these robot robots, or mechs. Let's see if there is a cockpit, or if there is some sort of electronic brain or communication system.
Lilian Rook	Sheriff Holden raises a bushy grey brow at Ioanna. "Ma'am, are y'all not aware that harbouring fugitives is a serious crime in these parts? Never mind payin'em. God forbid." he sighs. "The bounty's dead or alive, but that don't mean it's all hunky dory to protect 'em from justice just because it's fine if you folks don't shoot 'em dead on the spot." He really can't stop talking like a stereotype for five seconds --nobody here does-- but the seriousness of what he's saying still somehow comes across in that Old Man Marlboro way. "They ain't been tried. They ain't paid for any of their crimes. It don't sit right with me or any decent folk that they did what they did and get a nice little plot on the farm upstate." He toys with a second cigarette without lighting it. "If I weren't prepared to risk my life for justice in the West, I wouldn'ta become sherriff, now would I? If I go out for something like this-- hell, even odds for a man like me to get shot breaking up a bar brawl over an unpaid tab. Maybe you get me. But there's thirty odd folk that could point an iron at your back the minute you twitch a finger right now. So let me ask you instead. Do you really want to risk your life for a desperado outfit? Trading my old hide for the safety of this town is pretty ordinary to me, but trading your pretty young professional career for robbers and murderers? You like that gamble? The Code frowns upon shooting at women, so I'd not feel good about it." Mack grabs attention straight away. Well, he already did by virtue of 'being Mack', and then he also did by reaching into his pocket, which of course has all three men with their hands on the butts of their pistols, but when he tosses the bounty tags, Holden reappraises himself with a different sort of bristly stare. "Well well. I'll be on that account. I had a real credible source you done not even got to the shooting yet. I'll have some questions to ask." He says 'questions' with a hard edge. "So, what? You runnin' a penal colony or something?" He looks at Strawberry and puffs an "I don't believe that for a minute." for obvious reasons. "Miss, what's your game here? Military types? Bounty hunters? Colonialists? Some foreigner too, probably magic. A dee-bee? You're protecting 'em, you know that right? Glad to hear that demon bastad Wreck is dead, but the rest of that story don't sit right. Maybe they get hanged in town, maybe they work to pay off their debt to society; you don't know that yet. The hell do you want with our town?"
Kale Hearthward	Kale is standing up from the desk when the beam is fired, trying to find the voice that'd been speaking to him. "I-" he starts to say to it, when he hears it coming at him, and reflexively dives to the ground. Good news, he only half suffered horrible debilitating burns! "Fffffff- what the hell was..." he says, weakly.
Ioanna Langstrom	She doesn't think like an Elite. An Elite would probably scoff and go 'thirty guns? That's it?' But Ioanna, even for all the defensive options of the MCM, hasn't gotten that mentality. She probably never will. Her mind is firmly stuck as a ground-pounded grunt, a veteran, a survivor. So instead of pointing her gun at the ground and firing some flashy attack in a show of force she simply stands there, waiting for the man to be finished. 'The code frowns on shooting women.' "Respectfully, sir, I'm a soldier and have been most of my life. If it helps you to imagine me as a man when you shoot me, then by all means. I'm aware it'll be difficult, considering, but if that's the only way you can shoot me without feeling bad, I'm happy to offer the advice." She taps her gun on her shoulder. "The Commonwealth is not here to enslave you. We are not here to steal from you. We are here to prevent situations exactly like this." She tilts her head sideways. "Street justice. Frontier justice. A reliance on bounty hunters. Consider that if your thirty men were incapable of handling the situation we handled - without massive loss of life on your own part, which I assume is why you didn't round up a posse and do it - then without us you wouldn't have even the slightest chance of having someone to try." She steps forward. It's not a bold nose-to-nose with the man, but it is a clear statement of 'feel free to shoot me if you want.' "If you want a say in our law, then you need to be willing to accept the Commonwealth as the local source of governance. Otherwise, the prisoners we captured are under our justice and our sentencing."
Mack	Mack keeps his hands at his sides after he produces the tags, away from the gun, on the far side of his coat. He'd have to do the sweep and draw thing, and while he's probably absurdly fast, you don't do that with three men who have all but drawn on you already at point-blank range. It's probably safe to assume he's not up to anything hinky. "Sheriff, I appreciate what you're doing here, but I'd appreciate it more if you didn't," don't say obliquely, they'll call you a tinhorn, "threaten my friends, or near as can be, alright? We're here to talk things out because we want things to be smooth and peaceful-like." A deep breath; a slow sigh. There's a metallic wheeze and whine from it. "The truth of the matter is, me and a few other folks went off-world, made some friends in high places, and those friends decided they want to see what's going on out here. They're all about law and order; the strong protecting the weak. Like the Tomorrow Legion, but with an actual plan, and both the resources and willingness to get shit done." He tips his head towards Strawberry and Ioanna. "They're from off-world. I'm just from back east." "What's happening," he continues, "is that we're setting up a base up there -" This time, Mack flicks his amber-colored optics back towards the plateau in the distance. "- and intending to use it to stamp out the problems that monsters and bandits are stirring up out here on the frontier. Then, we want to make life better for folks like you and yours. Easier, if we can. A damn sight less dangerous. Where you don't have to be standing here guarding your homes, wondering if the strangers who just rolled into town plan to try to raze it for some asshole in Chi-Town or a demon on a throne of skulls." "If you don't want us here --" Mack stops talking pretty abruptly. He cocks his head and looks off in another direction, as if a fast-moving object had caught his attention. He sputters, "Are you shitting me? No wonder it's -- I swear to the Lady." His tongue clicks; he toggles his implanted radio. <"It's a Neuron Beast. It's probably fucking with the people here, too. Coordinates follow; best guess I've got."> This will be much easier if an actual source of psychic distress fucks off and dies, Mack thinks irritably.
Strawberry Princess	NOW, WITH ISHIROU: The eidolon accompanying him would gasp if it had lungs. It holds the staff aloft, and the pinprick of light at the tip increases in radiance until it illuminates the entire room from floor to ceiling. Strawberry can't speak through it, but its body language is still plenty legible. It lays a hand on one of the giant robots' legs reverently, as if touching a coffin before burial. This place is an unrealized dream for the future; a wish that never came to pass, an inheritance unclaimed. The eidolon's head lowers for a moment. One can imagine its eyes are closed. It walks to the computer next, poking at a couple of buttons to confirm that the power is really completely off. Evidently having reached the end of its wits, it looks back at Ishirou gestures with both hands at the mainframe, as if to say: "you're the computer guy; can you do anything?"
Strawberry Princess	NOW, WITH IOANNA: "I know who I'm protecting," Strawberry says, straightening up. "It includes all of those people. And it also includes you." The bluntness of Ioanna's speech makes her shift awkwardly; not that it isn't an effective approach, but that it clashes with her mahou sincerity. Strawberry nods, assenting to Mack's description of her and the Paladins. When he's distracted by the goings-on about the Neuron Beast, she adds: "We want an end to the harship and privation here, to the dangers that turn people against each other. You must know your world used to be gentler and kinder, a long time ago. Most other worlds are gentler too. In the big scheme of things... you folks have it really, really hard. That's why we're here. To help the people who need it most." "The bandits in our custody are the ones who surrendered, not out of fear, but just when we offered them a way to make a living without hurting anybody. The other ones..." She gestures uneasily at Mack's evidence of the bounty. "We want to build a better world for you, without this kind of hardship. Since we'll be changing things... that also means not judging people for what that hardship drives them to do, but what they do when they're given the chance for a better world." "I know that doesn't give you justice for what the bandits did to you in the past. That isn't fair. And..." Uneasily, holding her arm and looking to the side: "I'm sorry. But we aren't here to do justice on your behalf. We're here to make a better world for everybody. I understand being upset about that. I hope you'll have a lot of long, peaceful years ahead of you to deal with those feelings."
Lilian Rook	Kale diving out of the way of being zorched isn't quite what his tormentor planned, but somehow it's still bad enough. Not the pain; the sound in his head like a terrarium full of maggots thrown a raw potato. In fact, his pain is good enough. The squabbling between the two 'responsible' is even better. However, once its bullshit is exposed, the monster doesn't seem keen to stick around and fight. Kale can hear it crashing off into the brush; wow it really isn't small is it? Probably right back towards its lair. Mack can feel it too, and probably triangulate it for later. Underground, Ishirou determines that the hangar appears to be a mix of smaller, high-tech suits for people to wear, and larger, stompier robots for people to sit in and pilot, with a rather ostentatiously eagle-designed transitional intermediate equipped with jetpacks between them. It's a significant amount of military firepower, even if it's just one bay. The computer systems are a little more dated than cutting edge, but not obsolete by any measure. Strawberry's examination of the giant terminal confirms that someone probably could operate the terminal, at least wearing medium powered armour for the smaller parts, but it's unclear if that's really the purpose of it weirdly. It doesn't seem have its own discrete power supply at all; it's wired directly into the entire grid. Ishirou can tell it seems designed to consume a titanic amount of energy from the complex reactor itself, wherever that is, and if it still even exists. Crypto miners would faint from shock. Why does it need so many CPUs? Above ground, Arina gasps in softly scandalized awe at 'my Lilian' from Tamamo, turns slightly pink, and clams up. "A-ah, th M-Magnum Opus is 'the great work'. It's like, a whole tradition and thesis? The central doctrine of western alchemy, right? The common history is that it was . . . the search for a means to turn lead into gold and become rich, so it was only something charlatans and nobles were into, but in the true history, that's just a metephor for a lot of things. T-turning . . . base, ugly things like lead, into pure, celestial things like gold." A sheepish beat. "But yes you can still make gold with it. It's actually not too tough; if there's someone skilled enough to set up the array, even I could operate it okay. Most precious metals come from that nowdays, since the mines . . ." Topic change. "I'll negotiate with the forest spirits, don't worry!"
Lilian Rook	Holden sighs at Ioanna. It's not disrespectful, or even frustrated, just knowingly bitter. "Yeah. I know how womenfolk end up soldiers, just a little north, a little east. Kids when they turn sixteen. Not gonna stop me, but doesn't mean I have to like it. I was raised better than that." He listens to everything about 'the Commonwealth'. He even listens to Mack. He finally puts that cigarette to his lips, strikes up a wood match, and drums his fingers on the back of his gun while exhaling. A vague glimmer of recognition strikes him at the Tomorrow Legion's namedrop, and a very different one at Chi-Town. Strawberry's awkward confession seems to finally drain the fight out of him, in that way it seems to do often. A Virtue check. "Yes I reckon you're right. Lotta folks around these parts, not just Boothill, aren't gonna like not seeing their justice done. And it's gonna be sheriffs like me that have to keep the peace anyways. But you really ain't just mercs setting up shop are ya? I was scratching my head about what a pack of dudes were doing out here like saddle tramps. You're tryin'a get in the Baronies, right? We're in Colorado after all. Or did hearing about Worth set you off? Another little 'Empire of Man' on our doorstep . . ." He does make a little noise of disgust, but it's a resigned one. "Either way, I'm a lawman, and a man of the code besides. I ain't gonna prosecute on rumour that turned out half-malarky. Not just yet. I got leads to ah . . . follow up on. The Bluekills are no more, and Wreck is dead. That'll hafta be enough for most folk. But y'all just keep in mind. I'm not the only one here, not in all of Colorado, who don't much like someone else declaring rule of law right on their doorstep. It's a towns pre-ro-ga-tive to take care of its own business, handle its own criminals. But you don't forget that. You step too far, walk over the people of the west, we have a way of sticking together and rising up against conquerers y'know." He waves off his two deputies, turns around, and starts trudging back towards the station. The tension hasn't really decreased at all, but nobody else seems to want to start the shooting if the law isn't there. Mack is likely correct. Killing the psychic beast will probably do the rest of the work for them.
Ishirou	To people who don't know Ishirou very well, they might think he's gone crazy over finding this weaponry, or some sort of treasure trove of guns. No, Ishirou is in his /element/ right now, recovering lost or forgotten knowledge. Wanting to preserve it and find out who these people were, what they were doing, and what happened. Understanding their technology and learning how to use it or improve upon it. It's /exciting/ for him to be on the edge of all of this. He's smiling ear to ear as he looks over things, counting the mechs, judging the power draw of the computer. He wonders how big this part of the complex is, how big was it originally? He could spend hours trying to pour through the data repository here. There is so much to learn and know..! He gets a gentle reminder from Strawberry to start getting pictures, though has to break the news to her. "Too much power draw...whatever this is it's not normal by any means. Maybe we could try smaller power sources to try and get doors open and see if we could get the original generator back online...or even a power plant. I think this might have its own plant." He grins, "This is so exciting! I can't wait to comb through this stuff and find out what this was all for. It's /lost history/ Strawberry. Also, new technology to learn about!" He starts calling a team from Paladin HQ, they're going to have to fish these things out and get them to a proper garage.
Strawberry Princess	"Thank you, Sheriff Holden," Strawberry says softly. The tense energy drains from her, too, though it was of a very different quality. Out of everybody gathered here, she's palpably the least ready for a fight. "We don't intend to be conquerors. But... it's that old thing people say about justice and mercy, isn't it? It's tough to be merciful when times are bad. We're trying to make 'the times' better. And that means a little more mercy, usually. I'll... try to keep an eye out, for when that could clash with the justice people are used to." She leaves the questions about their long-term goals, and local powers, to Ioanna and Mack respectively. Instead she turns her back on the armed men and says: "I'm going to turn my wand off, okay? Don't want anyone to get alarmed." She crouches down over the discarded thing and hits a button on it. The fuel rods slam in, and a hiss of steam escapes; then its little screen display goes dark, and there's a lowering humming sound like a flywheel spinning down. Finally, when it's fully inert and no longer 'a weapon', she picks it up and moves back towards the hovercar. "See you again soon, I think," she calls back to everyone assembled. "Hopefully not like this, right? Haha." ---- Strawberry's eidolon pats Ishirou on the shoulder warmly, congratulating him for the discovery. Even though it's noticeably shorter than the real one, "Strawberry at seventeen" was still substantially taller than him. 'Good job', it seems to be saying. When Strawberry turns off the wand's reactor in Boothill, it gives him one more reassuring thumbs-up, then suddenly disappears.