Scene #9317: Welcome to Firefly Dam

Owner	Pose
Veronica	The path to Firefly Dam from the nearest warpgate is quite a trek, with few amenities given the current state of District 12. Wary eyes watch from second-story windows as you pass on the highway, fearful that this eclectic troupe of Elites might be another Syndicate looking to get their slice of the L Corp pie. On the final approach to the town itself, the first thing you notice is the land itself here seems... sick. Decades under the smog of the second-most-recent L Corp has poisoned the soil and water, leaving the fields around the town dead in patches and the trees sparse and scraggly. The second thing you notice is the graves. Row after row, shallow and relatively fresh, mostly with markers of painted scrap wood. There must be hundreds of them. The human cost of the Dark Days and their ongoing aftermath. The road is pitted and cracked, potholes aplenty. The progression of houses and buildings visible from the main road starts out shabby and doesn't get much better as the town center approaches. This is not a place that saw much love from its employer. Eventually the nameless road into town becomes Baker Street, running parallel to the river and giving the arriving Elites a good view of the dam itself. An enormous wall of cement, once the source of power for surrounding towns but now simply a feature of the landscape that's too expensive or dangerous to remove. Across a long, arched bridge over the river stands the L Corp power plant, disused smokestacks leftover from the Laryngos Corp days towering in the cloudy sky. A disused rail line runs opposite the river from Baker Street, a few coal-cars still sitting there under a decade of rust. The streets are mostly vacant. Darkened shop-windows display bare mannequins and empty product displays. Neon signs that once flickered to advertise wares are dead, needless power drains in a time of emergency generators and limited supplies.
Veronica	And yet, life goes on. Closer to the center of town there are a few people on the streets, mostly working on building repairs or hustling from one place to another with few true loiterers. Past the vacant lot - home only to an empty shipping container, a firepit, and a ratty trampoline - you come upon Clark's. A sort of hot dog stand turned everything stand, with painted signs advertising all sorts of convenience-store wares from food to cosmetics to simple toys. And among them: "DIRECTIONS, 5 AHN". Veronica instructed you only to "meet at Roscoe's"; not knowing where that is exactly necessitates a stop at Clark's to pay a pittance and get pointed the right way. Finally, around a few corners and down a few streets, the sign comes into view. In two wildly different fonts it proclaims: ROSCOE'S BigBurger(tm) & FAMILY DINER The building bears all the hallmarks of a chain restaurant, but with numerous extensions and additions in an assortment of styles that rivals Baker and Seventh itself. Veronica stands outside, waving when she sees you and then stepping inside (presumably to grab a table). Once inside the "family diner" element appears to have taken over what definitely used to be just a franchise burger joint. A pale older man in a sun visor and manager's uniform - complete with BigBurger(tm) logo - greets you at the door. "I'm Roscoe, thank you for coming in today," he says as he offers each of you a two-handed handshake in turn. "You must be the- the Watchers, right? Veronica's told me to expect you. Come in, come in, she's already got you all a table. It's the corner booth, even!" He points you toward the dining area, which is... packed, actually. There might be more people in here than you saw on the way into town. "We're everyone's favorite place to get lunch," Roscoe explains. Veronica gives you all another wave as you approach the table. "Hiya," she says. "Have a seat!" At the center of the table is a modest platter of fried pickles, with one or two missing already. Each seat has a menu, offering an eclectic mix of fast food and classic diner fare. They have all-day breakfast, even! A young woman in a server's uniform strolls up to the table once everyone's sat down and exchanged greetings. "Hey y'all, I'm Soo-Jin, I'll be your server today. Can I get you anything to drink before I give you a minute with the menu?" A minute later she returns with beverages and pulls out her notepad, ready to take lunch orders...
Odette Raskins	It's another day in the City! This place looks even worse than many others Odette's seen before, and not just because of the smog. The fresh graves, the potholes, and the shabby buildings are all things she can't really account for with the air filtering mask she has on. Even hitching a ride with trusted Watch contacts isn't enough to get her to take the mask off until she finally arrives at Roscoe's, and she's still a little shaky even after stepping inside. Roscoe's double-handshake, though, puts her at ease rather quickly. "Ah...? Nice to meet you, Mister Roscoe! I'm Odette. It's-" Wait, should they be so open about being Watch members? Well, it's not like it's much of a secret now if anyone's already in here, and he does seem to know Veronica, too. "That's right. Oh, corner booth... Very good." She chuckles lightly whiel straightening out her Company-provided EMT cap, reshouldering her bag once before heading on over to the dining area and stopping briefly when she sees just how many people there are. "It really does look popular in here, mhm! Should be safer to talk like this, even..." Letting out a quietly relieved noise, Odette nods once more at Roscoe in thanks before going over to join Veronica at the booth. She raises a hand in a quick wave, then hovers awkwardly outside the booth for a bit to let anyone else that's quicker on the draw slide in first. She'll take a seat herself once anyone else waits or gestures for her to get in, but she's totally angling for one of the outer seats if she sees an opportunity. "Hello, Miss Veronica! Hmm.. Any specials you'd recommend from here?" The EMT asks while poking through the menu, eyeing the prices briefly before zeroing right into the all-day breakfast. "Ooh... Any breakfast specials you'd recommend? I haven't had some good waffles or eggs in... A couple of days now." She adds, munching on one of the fried pickles while she's at it. She orders a diet soda from Soo-Jin to start, then puts in an order for the first breakfast-special that Veronica names. She also orders a milkshake with her food. While waiting for the orders to come in, meanwhile, Odette lowers her voice a bit, but keeps her expression otherwise neutral so she doesn't look all conspiratorial inside a diner. "So. What's the situation like here?"
Father Berislav	"That's us, yes," says Berislav. "I'm Father Waters Berislav. It's wonderful to meet you." He's come in his priestly habit for the simple fact that it's Sunday and getting here on time with the means available would have cut it awfully close were he to change. The most dressed-down he was able to get was to lose the chasuble, alb and stole, remaining in his cassock. In truth, he ended up cutting it close anyway, having taken his time along the way and having paused to pay his respects to the grave markers lining the road on the way in. So, when he enters, it's with the characteristic breathlessness of someone who had to hurry to be on time. "Thank you, Roscoe," he nevertheless beams, offering a slight bow of his head. Approaching the corner booth as directed, he waves back at Veronica. "Hello! It's good to see you again. How are you?" Soo-Jin is given a smile to match the one Veronica got. "Coffee would be lovely if you have it," he says. After giving his order for a drink, he nods in agreement with Odette's question about recommendations. "I see Firefly Dam's been hit by the blackouts, just as hard as other parts of this District. The dam the town is named for didn't seem to be operational. What's the story there?"
Angela	Yuri, recent recruit to the Yurodiviye in order to assist the Watch with their objectives in The City, is actually dreading to see more of the effects of the Dark Days and White Nights around but she has resolved to face them because, well, she can't just stay someone who is scared about what might happen to her forever. She has to be braver and more purposeful. Yuri is considerably more cleaned up from before. She's wearing her Snow Queen EGO Gear--Frost Splinter. Around the eye she still has, several ice shards--frost splinters if you will--have embedded into her skin. She has a sword with a dark blue pommel and an ice-like blade protruding from the hilt. And her EGO Gear has taken the form of a blue-white gown that is about ankle length. She breathes in sharply--not when she sees the land, but when she sees the graves. Yuri is originally from a Nest--that's how she met Cinder, after all, and when she initially transfered to an L Corp facility she certainly wasn't about to expect all this monster management nonsense she ended up having to deal with. And until that fateful meeting with the Purple Tear, she certainly had no idea how to stop what was inevitable. She abdicated the thinking to someone far stronger than her and this is the result. The Tear wanted this to happen. Or at least didn't care about these side effects. "This is dire." Yuri says. "They weren't just screwed over by Lobcorp." She points to the smokestacks. "There's two generations of Wings parasitizing off this place." And yet she can't tell them about Angela, of course, can she say anything of the horrors in those facilities? Would they even care? She supposes she can figure this out by feeling her out. But what is even her responsibility? Hahh. She isn't expecting this to be a pleasant visit. Yuri waves at Veronica with her hand, staring with her one good eye at her concrete limb. Corrosion, she wonders? If it's EGO she hasn't seen one like it before. She's unsure. "They're the Watch." Yuri explains. "I'm with the Yurodiviye but we're helping each other out. And it's looking like we're here to help you out too." She looks up at the BigBurger sign. "...Huh. I thought BigBurger went out of business ever since ChompBurger hit the scene." Her Burgerlore is a little out of date though. "My name's Yuri. Nice to meet you, Roscoe." She sits herself down, tense. They've got power in this building? This used to be a power station town, but it's also a bright red target nowadays. And even if Veronica is well armed, there's plenty of people who want a piece of it that surely outgun her with numbers if not strength. "Um, just feel free to surprise me. I haven't been to a BigBurger in a long time but if you're still running you must have some real passion." "Seems peaceful," She adds. "Have you run into any big problems? From the outside I mean--The general situation--pretty clear on that."
Tamiel Luxis	It was always stressful, visiting the City. Any city, really, but especially this one. the sheer density of human suffering was enough to drown. Starving souls, struggling to find ways to live another day. Desperate and lost. For her own sanity, she had to shut out the voices, but still their presence hummed at her wings, insisting she be made aware of the weight of human suffering she was averting her gaze from. "This place is so horrible." She breathed. "There's so much, it makes everything we can do seem so...small." It was all she could do to remind herself that this, too, was supposed to help. Right...? She's very clearly a fish out of water at firefly dam, stepping trepedaciously down off of a run-down bus, her wing-shards drooping behind her, like a cat's ears pressed against the side of their head. "Ahn...Ahn...I did get some right..." She pats down on her pants, wracked momentarily with helpless terror until..."Oh! Um. Five ahn. Where's Roscoe's...?" "Ah, that's me." The angel's smile was almost an apology on its own. "Thank you for having us..." "What's Hotteok...? Oh! That please." She says pouring over a menu. "And some water...?" Eventually, when she wanders off with their orders, Tamiel says. "This place...Feels more alive, than the rest of the district..."
Hibiki Tachibana	Luckily, 'quite a trek' is nothing for Tachibana Hibiki, even when she's still a little out of commission. She's walked greater lengths than this. One has to wonder what kind of training routine she actually has. Or if things like this are her training routine. Even untransformed, she's pretty athletic... It might have been a blessing if she were /more/ exhausted and distracted by the trip though; as it is, she can feel every eye that's on her on the trip over, acutely aware of when that sort of gaze is cast her way, and there's a quiet grunt and choked, frustrated sound under her breath at the massive rows of grave markers. Despite her chat with Berislav some time ago, seeing the fallout of the White Nights and Dark Days firsthan always makes the weight feel heavy on her shoulders. Like each and every one is on her in particular. Knowing that it's not really entirely fair to think that way doesn't remove the feeling. "...Ah." Her head is turned down when she finally steps into the riverside town proper, only turning it up at the sounds of the hustle and bustle of everybody working away. A bit of a far cry from the rather downcast road here. "...They're all... busy. Going places, helping put things back together... working together. But..." She shakes the thought loose to clear her head, then approaches Clark's while rifling in her jacket pocket for some Ahn. "Excuse me..." ... "--Um. Hey. Yeah, that's us." Hibiki seems a little shell-shocked by Roscoe's energetic handshake, but returns it nonetheless with a little less tension in her shoulders than she's had, before glancing to the dining area. Her jaw slackens up over the course of a few seconds. "...When you say 'everyone', you really mean it..." Over yonder she shuffles, with the group, sliding into whichever side of the table has less people at the time. "Hey there, Veronica. Things are--" Pause. "...Busy here, huh?" She's not sure how else to put it, taking some time to try and make herself comfortable. She just orders some tea for a drink, and while waiting for the menu, just adds on, "What Berislav said, actually... is the dam really not working at all...? How long has it been like that?" When the time to decide on food does come in, she goes for the biggest sandwich they have on the menu.
Veronica	"Ooh... Any breakfast specials you'd recommend? I haven't had some good waffles or eggs in... A couple of days now." "Odette, you strike me as a chocolate chip waffle person. Aren't you? Roscoe's makes 'em with walnuts, too. Crush a few up, mix 'em into the batter, adds a nice crunch. As for you, Father Berislav... you eat meat, right? Try the breakfast BigBurger. They put a fried egg on it, over easy so the yolk soaks into the bun. Me, I'm getting the fish fry. It's not the freshest but they cook it up real nice." "How are you?" "Oh, stressed," Veronica says. "But it's not like anybody here isn't feeling that." Indeed, the tables all around are enjoying their own food and conversation like it's a rare treat. "Been a minute since anyone tried to step on us, 'side from the Sweepers of course, but that just means it'll happen any day now. Worse, the caravans have been squeezing us on water." After a look around the table to see if anyone knows what she's talking about, she continues. "So our fresh supplies, produce and eggs and stuff, we've been getting from nearby towns that are... better places for growing things. That's how it was before the blackouts - we're just more reliant on them now than ever. But anything that can be shipped long-distance, like flour or clean water, there's a bunch of merchant caravans running up and down the District, buying low, selling high, that sort of thing. The problem is, they've started catching on that the reservoir water's not great for drinkin' and are practically taking our scalps with how much they charge us for the bottled stuff." "The dam the town is named for didn't seem to be operational. What's the story there?" "What Berislav said, actually... is the dam really not working at all...? How long has it been like that?" "Dam's been here longer'n we have," Veronica explains. "That's why the town's named after it. It's from the old-old-old L Corp, Liquidity or something or other. Used to be just the dam and a substation here that folks would commute to, but Laryngos corp built the town what, a hundred and fifty years ago? Dam's been kept in one piece for the company's sake but a lot of the power plant stuff's been stripped for parts over the years, far as I know. If we could get it running again we would, because it could at least power the town, but we don't have the know-how or the Ahn for that."
Veronica	"Ooh... Any breakfast specials you'd recommend? I haven't had some good waffles or eggs in... A couple of days now." "Odette, you strike me as a chocolate chip waffle person. Aren't you? Roscoe's makes 'em with walnuts, too. Crush a few up, mix 'em into the batter, adds a nice crunch. As for you, Father Berislav... you eat meat, right? Try the breakfast BigBurger. They put a fried egg on it, over easy so the yolk soaks into the bun. Me, I'm getting the fish fry. It's not the freshest but they cook it up real nice." "How are you?" "Oh, stressed," Veronica says. "But it's not like anybody here isn't feeling that." Indeed, the tables all around are enjoying their own food and conversation like it's a rare treat. "Been a minute since anyone tried to step on us, 'side from the Sweepers of course, but that just means it'll happen any day now. Worse, the caravans have been squeezing us on water." After a look around the table to see if anyone knows what she's talking about, she continues. "So our fresh supplies, produce and eggs and stuff, we've been getting from nearby towns that are... better places for growing things. That's how it was before the blackouts - we're just more reliant on them now than ever. But anything that can be shipped long-distance, like flour or clean water, there's a bunch of merchant caravans running up and down the District, buying low, selling high, that sort of thing. The problem is, they've started catching on that the reservoir water's not great for drinkin' and are practically taking our scalps with how much they charge us for the bottled stuff." "The dam the town is named for didn't seem to be operational. What's the story there?" "What Berislav said, actually... is the dam really not working at all...? How long has it been like that?" "Dam's been here longer'n we have," Veronica explains. "That's why the town's named after it. It's from the old-old-old L Corp, Liquidity or something or other. Used to be just the dam and a substation here that folks would commute to, but Laryngos corp built the town what, a hundred and fifty years ago? Dam's been kept in one piece for the company's sake but a lot of the power plant stuff's been stripped for parts over the years, far as I know. If we could get it running again we would, because it could at least power the town, but we don't have the know-how or the Ahn for that."
Veronica	"...Huh. I thought BigBurger went out of business ever since ChompBurger hit the scene." "It did," Roscoe explains, a grin spreading on his face. "But that means there's nobody to sue me for keeping the name! Besides, folks here love the BigBurger. There'd be a riot if I took it off the menu." When Yuri asks for a surprise, Veronica places a second order of fish fry on her behalf - "You'll love it, trust me. Hey, you were at the bank, right? Were you one of the prisoners? I saw you leaving with the Father after things cooled down." "This place...Feels more alive, than the rest of the district..." "We're lucky we have power," Veronica says, nodding in vague agreement. "At least for a couple more months, especially after my take from the bank heist. But we're having to trade the stuff for supplies... eventually we're gonna run out again if we don't get a reliable source. Who knows how long it'll take for another Wing to form, let alone if they'll support us." 'The biggest sandwich' will be the Grande (pronounced 'grand') Delux Triple Turkey Club. In the menu picture it looks about the size of Hibiki's head. There'll be a short while until the food is all ready, so it remains to be seen if the reality matches the advertisement. Conversation is briefly interrupted by a metallic creaking and electronic crackling from halfway across the dining area, like some kind of nightmare machine come to life. "Ugh, do they really still have that thing..." Veronica complains, craning her neck over the booth to look out into the dining area. Sure enough, there's an extremely run-down animatronic humanoid cheeseburger doing its best attempt at a song and dance. 'Best attempt' here meaning a sort of zombie-like shambling and shuddering in place as a distorted jingle plays from a speaker in the top bun. A little sign next to it says "5 Ahn to make me dance!" Some poor fool or ironic teenager must have ponied up the pittance to make the machine go through its tormented motions.
Angela	"...Sort of." Yuri says of being a prisoner. "There was a bomb in my eye. They didn't put it there, though, LobCorp did. They just got a hand on the remote codes." She taps a finger against her cheek, pointing to her eyepatch. "But I made a mistake and I fell out of favor with them." She lowers her hand, after." ''Eventually we're gonna run out again if we don't get a reliable source.'' "Could be years before you get a reliable source of enkephalin again. I don't think anybody but LobCorp knows how to harvest that energy and while I figure eventually another corporation will figure it out, it might be a while and they're certainly not going to send power to this town anytime soon. You'd be better off using them for power and finding something else to barter." But then she sighs. "Though after they left you like this I'm not sure there is anything else." She points to Veronica's arm. "Could maybe make use of that but I'd be more worried about someone trying to use you for science experiments." Yuri puts some money down for the fish though she's guessing a bit. She'd feel like a heel begging off a free meal just because she's being given a tour. But she's actually pretty low too. She didn't get the generous severange package by virtue of her betrayal. Yurodiviye pays her but they are spread thin and spend most of their money on the communities they serve rather than themselves. "It's got some charm. Still hanging in there." Yuri has her own philisophical take on the horrible burger man.
Odette Raskins	"Roscoe's makes 'em with walnuts, too. Crush a few up, mix 'em into the batter, adds a nice crunch." At first, Odette's on the fence about chocolate chip waffles. She's had chocolate and pancakes before, but not waffles. Imagining the chocolate in the little nooks is tempting, but it's the extras Veronica mentions that pushes it over into immediate order territory for her. "Oh, that does sound delicious... Yeah, let's go with that. And... A fried egg. No, two. Oh, but that fish fry sounds pretty good, too..." "The dam..." "is the dam..." "If we could get it running again we would, because it could at least power the town, but we don't have the know-how or the Ahn for that." Odette doesn't know anything about dams, water control, pumps, anything like that. Just thinking about others' efforts to fix those systems has her stomach churning some, but not enough to stop sipping at her drink long before her food is even out. "There's got to be somebody that knows how to fix that kind of thing in the City, right? Even if it's nobody here, there's..." She scratches her cheek, still looking uneasy. It's a complicated situation already, and that's made even moreso when Veronica mentions that the parts have been stripped, too. "... Are there any backup plans on getting the power back... up? I mean, this place can't just get scalped forever, right?" "I thought BigBurger went out of business ever since ChompBurger hit the scene." "How's their stuff?" Glad to have something else to think about even for a moment, Odette's attention goes right to Yuri. She's looking pretty relieved to see Yuri again, too, especially in the context of what had happened at the bank. "I'd guess it's pretty okay if they're the new ones in town and good enough to have that... Er." She pauses to look around the inside of the BigBurger that definitely isn't closed down. Roscoe explains that away easily, though, and she whistles lightly in surprise before abruptly stopping and silently scolding herself for some unexplained reason. "Neat... I would've thought there'd still be someone waiting to pounce on anyone for that, but I guess it's just different here." "practically taking our scalps with how much they charge us for the bottled stuff." The EMT purses her lips slightly as she hears the water situation from Veronica, and her gaze drifts over to Berislav soon after that. "Father Berislav, would this be one of those web-weaving situations? Or... Just them being really opportunistic?" She asks, already sounding like she's doubting her own judgment before she even finishes asking that. She certainly doesn't look all too happy about it, but she does look uncertain as she often does. animatronic humanoid cheeseburger Odette's eyes light up when she sees that. "Oh, that thing looks terrible..." She murmurs in the way that someone normally going 'oh that's great!' would. Noticing the sign nearby, she's going to get up and put a few more in once the current routine finishes just so she can make it go again.
Father Berislav	"I do now that Lent is over," says Berislav with an impish little smile. When Soo-Jin returns to take orders proper, Berislav goes with Veronica's recommendation for the breakfast BigBurger. Oh, stressed. The priest nods with a sympathetic frown. Father Berislav, would this be one of those web-weaving situations? "The one can lead to the other, certainly," says Berislav with a slight nod. "That kind of opportunism depends upon suppressing the empathy we ought to have for other people." "One day, there will neither be Sweepers nor people to excuse and allow their behavior," he says, returning his attention to Veronica. "Until then, let's talk about these merchant caravans." "Do they have any particular affiliation? The most direct way to help with that problem I can think of is to pay them a visit and help them see the harm they're doing," he says, which probably means terrorizing them until they capitulate and killing any that won't as an example to the rest, Yuri, Odette and Hibiki can surely guess. "But it isn't the only way. Depending on how much rain this part of the District gets in a year, we may be able to set up collection and filtration systems. Places that still have power like this one," he says, tapping an index onto the table, "Could collect and boil the water, which ought to take care of both particulates and any bacteria." "As far as the dam," he says, resting one palm over the other, "I'd like to pay a visit at some point, if you wouldn't mind showing me around. It'd help to see how much of it is left. I can't promise anything without seeing it," he says, palms briefly lifted, "But depending on the state of it, and what's going unused around town, I might be able to restore some limited functionality--" Berislav sits upright and cranes his neck to see the burger animatron. He laughs. "I think it's kind of charming, yes," he agrees with Yuri. "For exactly that reason. If he were brand new, in perfect condition, I don't think I'd find any charm in him."
Tamiel Luxis	"Dam's been kept in one piece for the company's sake but a lot of the power plant stuff's been stripped for parts over the years, far as I know." "If you wanted to be more sustainable, that'd be smart..." Maybe she wasn't the best angel for this job. Someone whose miracles could make the fields bloom, or purify the water...Better than a girl who could slip through shadows. "...I don't understand why people can be like that." She pokes at her ltitle pancake, when it arrives. "I know they can't hear it. But they can see it, can't they. How can they tune out the screams and pretend its not their problem...?" The guilt of not looking, of trying to shutter things out, for even an afternoon, felt like it was destroying her, Watch mission or not. "Just..." She sighed, looking away. The disjointed, hell-robot nearly made her jump out of her seat, threatening to poke anyone unfortunate enough to be sitting by her with pointy glass wing-tips. "Why do they still have that?!" She raised hands up to her ears, as if that would save her from the sound, or the unfortunate knowledge of its existence. "Odette, why!"
Hibiki Tachibana	If we could get it running again we would, because it could at least power the town, but we don't have the know-how or the Ahn for that. "That'd be a huge help, if we could actually get together the resources for it... stable power is one of the biggest issues right now, so..." So says Hibiki Tachibana, who is currently lamenting her lack of any kind of engineering knowledge. A glance at her hand has her staring at her palm for several seconds before closing her eyes and sighing. "...We could put what Ahn we got from the heist towards that... but I guess then, we're putting it against other things we could be spending it on." She's really not good with this sort of thing. Never has been. Resources. Finding people with the right skills and putting them to use. Really, anything that doesn't involve direct confrontation or physicality. "...'Course it can't be as easy as just punching something back into place. What can we do to find a long-term power source...?" The Grande Delux Triple Turkey Club, or at least the image of it on the menu and the list of everything in it, does take some of the edge off though. Enough that she's visibly struggling to hold back from drooling just a tiny bit as she orders, eyes laser-locked down onto said menu. Her stomach growls. Audibly. She did walk all the way here after all. But like many things, that too comes crumbling down when the ANIMATRONIC HUMANOID CHEESEBURGER does its rounds, snapping her out of her turkey-related fugue with an annoyed squint in its direction. "It's so creaky... why the hell is that thing not in a junkya...rd..." Hibiki murmurs, just for... "Ehh!? Odette!?" She makes a few choked sounds, just to find she doesn't have to heart to tell her off for it. After swallowing it down and bracing her elbows on the table to weather her hunger and the mascot in her ear, she sighs. "I'm sure we could get the stuff together to fix the dam... it wouldn't be easy, but it's /right there/... I'm sure you guys have looked at it plenty over the years, so you probably keep a list of what parts have been stripped or are otherwise missing, right?"
Veronica	Yuri: "There was a bomb in my eye. They didn't put it there, though, LobCorp did." "They-- You know, I shouldn't be surprised they did that. I hope you got it taken out? Odette's a doctor, right?" A glance at the medic to confirm the possibility of removing an eye-bomb. "Could maybe make use of that but I'd be more worried about someone trying to use you for science experiments." "Eh? My arm? Or do you mean Baker and Seventh? I'm not sure how I'd turn a profit with it unless I went mercenary. Which ain't happening." "It's got some charm. Still hanging in there." "I think it's kind of charming, yes," Veronica smirks. "Heh. I guess it's a little like this town, then. Beat up a little but still kicking." Odette: "There's got to be somebody that knows how to fix that kind of thing in the City, right? Even if it's nobody here, there's..." "No, you may be onto something. There's gotta be like, an old-old-old-L Corp technical manual somewhere for whatever systems they used. Could even be a Wing archive still standing in the district with all their documents. Just gotta hope it doesn't rely on their Singularity." Berislav: "Do they have any particular affiliation?" Veronica nods, seeing where Berislav is going. "They haven't had time to like, form big companies yet, no. A lotta the folks who shipped PE for L Corp just started using their trucks for other goods, and the ones who had weapons absorbed the ones who didn't. Might be easier to cut a bunch of small deals than one big one..."
Veronica	"Depending on how much rain this part of the District gets in a year, we may be able to set up collection and filtration systems." "I like the idea. It'd have to be good filtration - even though there's no more smog going into the air, we still don't trust the water that comes down. But it might be an answer to the water problem." "I'd like to pay a visit at some point, if you wouldn't mind showing me around. It'd help to see how much of it is left." "For sure. Maybe next time you're here we can set up a little expedition in there - a lot of those doors have been locked for years so we'd need the right tools to get in without causing even more damage, right?" Hibiki: "...We could put what Ahn we got from the heist towards that... but I guess then, we're putting it against other things we could be spending it on." Veronica rests her elbows on the table and steeples her fingers, concrete pressing against flesh. "I don't like the thought of being an item on your balance sheet," she says. "That's what got us in this mess in the first place. But I understand you aren't made of money. We made a good team at the bank, kid. Invest in this town - in me - and it'll pay off, one way or another. I promise." "I'm sure you guys have looked at it plenty over the years, so you probably keep a list of what parts have been stripped or are otherwise missing, right?" Lightening up a little, Veronica withdraws her arms from the table as the food arrives. "You know, that's good thinking. It was still L Corp property under the most recent Wing so any cannibalizing would've happened on the books. After we're done here why don't we go check out the records office at the plant, see if we can find anything?" At last, food is here! One chocolate-walnut waffle with two fried eggs and a little dish of whipped butter for Odette. Two fish fries, one for each of Yuri and Veronica. A Breakfast BigBurger for Father Berislav, fresh from the griddle. A plate of delicious hotteok for Tamiel. And the Grande Delux Triple Turkey Club which is, indeed, the size of Hibiki's head. Four slices of enormous, thick-cut bread, layered with turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, slathered in just the right amount of mayonnaise to keep it all moist and sticking together... the only problem is figuring out how to take a bite! That and the continued electronic shrieking of the burger man...
Angela	Yuri mentioned she worked for LobCorp to get a feel for Veronica's own vibe on the place. Predictably, she doesn't seem to be a fan, but she doesn't seem inclined to spit poison at her either. She hasn't asked anything about what happened either. That's just fine with her because she doesn't want to draw Petra's aggro onto her by answering. She knows for a fact that at least some of the people here are partially--if decidedly indirectly--responsible for this town's current problems. Its recent deaths. And if they're not going to bring it up for themselves, she shouldn't either. Someone will probably tell her at the worst possible time, she thinks bitterly, but she'll burn that bridge when it comes to it. "Nah, I figured having a bomb in my head could be convenient sometime." Yuri quips at Veronica, leaving it ambiguous if it's still in there or not. Though, well, Odette would know obviously, though a sidelong glance from Yuri might dissuade her. The eyepatch and the attitude has given Yuri a certain kind of temperment, poise, and vibe. When the fish arrives, Yuri slices into it carefully and divides the pieces near--equally. L Corp not thinking past its project... She wonders if it'd be better or worse for this community if they had. "You're going to need more than scavenged materials and armed Watchmen if you want to be more than an item on a balance sheet. You mean essentially you're happy for help but you want Firefly Dam to stand on its own two feet right? Smoke wasn't good for the earth or the people, s'why everybody rushed to move to enkephalin.. What kind of skills do the people here've got? Construction?"
Father Berislav	...We could put what Ahn we got from the heist towards that... but I guess then, we're putting it against other things we could be spending it on.Invest in this town - in me - and it'll pay off, one way or another. I promise. "Improving the Faded Print and our side project haven't been cheap," admits Berislav. "Especially since our side project in particular is something of a recurring expense. That being said, we're not broke--and what we have, we have to use, not to hoard." Might be easier to cut a bunch of small deals than one big one... "Yes," says Berislav, "And if they're working independently, there's a better chance of them seeing the light, so to speak." He takes a bite of his burger and 'mms' as the yolk runs down the patty and soaks into the bun. "I love a good egg on a patty like this," he delights.
Odette Raskins	"That kind of opportunism depends upon suppressing the empathy we ought to have for other people." "The most direct way to help with that problem I can think of is to pay them a visit and help them see the harm they're doing," "The Sweepers... I still don't know what to do about those. They never seem to stop showing up, but I don't get where they're coming from. Is there a way we could stop them from.. Um. Doing that?" Odette's not as concerned about the Sweepers in the broader sense as she is about the water dealers, though, since those sound way more approachable. Berislav's meaning isn't lost on her, of course, but she still manages a slow nod even as she runs through the likely results in her head there. "Some of them are bound to listen to reason, and the ones that don't... Y-yes, they'll see it." The resolve is there, even if it's still shaky on her face. "Odette, why!" "Ehh!? Odette!?" "Huh? I-it's cute!" Odette stammers in genuine surprised at Tamiel's and Hibiki's shared reaction. Did she do something wrong? Could she pull it back? She glances back at the animatronic, torn over whether to enjoy the show or try and find an off switch. "I mean... It's cute, right? Like from all those food commercials with the little toys in the little boxes...?" Her face is still red as she returns to her seat, and she can't wait for that food to come out. "There was a bomb in my eye. They didn't put it there, though, LobCorp did." "I hope you got it taken out?" Luckily, Yuri and Veronica are there to turn her embarassment at being seen as a child into embarassment over competence! She inadvertently cracks a slight smile before catching herself and trying to suppress it, but she can't hide it from her cheeks. "Y.. Yeah, it's out now. I fixed up the... Um. Surrounding eye as best I could, too, although a lot of that was more... Chemically-based?" She pats her trusty medical bag once, then looks over at Yuri again. "Speaking of... Miss Yuri? How's it feeling? Any aches or soreness, blurriness, anything like that?" "There's gotta be like, an old-old-old-L Corp technical manual somewhere for whatever systems they used." "Right! Or even a cyborg or AI that-" Odette starts, then stops to rethink that and also get started on her food. She remembers why the power situation is the way it is throughout huge parts of the City now, and she shakes her head after a moment. "... Mrmph. Maybe not that. Ah. But yes, if we could get a hand on one of those manuals-" Another pause, because she's really savoring the waffles. She's also being really meticulous about getting a bit of butter into each of the waffles' spaces evenly. "Do you think those might still be lying around somewhere in the dam? Or one of L Corp's branches?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Invest in this town - in me - and it'll pay off, one way or another. I promise. After we're done here why don't we go check out the records office at the plant, see if we can find anything? "Well, I'm sure not an expert with money," Hibiki says without much in the way of trying to pretend she's not. "So I sure don't have a problem with that myself. I'm seriously awful at deciding what needs it more than something else..." She frowns, ruffling her hair as she runs her hair through it. The reveal that her one-off idea actually has some merit to her gets her blinking in surprise, before she manages a small smile. "Yeah, let's. It'll be a lot easier for me to imagine how to help once I got a clear idea of what we actually need. I don't mind spending as long as it takes to dig something up." Her head turns to glance out the nearest window, to the view of the town outside. "... ...I think I have a bit of a better idea on how you feel about your home, after seeing this. Everybody's so... close-knit. And pitching in to help fix things up. It makes me want to, too..." That little bit of melancholy lasts about as long as it takes for their food to get here, at which case she glances down at it with wide-eyes and cannot actually restrain her drooling this time. It's enough that she entirely tunes out the animatronic mascot; she only has eyes for one thing right now. Hibiki scoops it up carefully and slowly, in those hands of hers, keeping a tight grip on the several slices keeping it together. Some mayonnaise falls out of the back, but she doesn't even care. Her massive bite starts at the top and chomps downward, scrunching it down until she reaches the bottom slices-- and then she has to work her head around to rip the turkey and bacon and the rest of the ingredients free. There's a little more mayo splattered around her mouth as she contentedly chews, but she also doesn't care about that. She's enjoying it so much, she's even shut her eyes to take it in. "...Delishoush..."
Veronica	"Nah, I figured having a bomb in my head could be convenient sometime." "Y.. Yeah, it's out now." "Thank you, Odette. I just wanted to know if I was endangering anyone by having you here," she says with a brief look of disdain at Yuri's snark. Yuri: "What kind of skills do the people here've got? Construction?" "Construction, yeah. Operating heavy machinery. Handling dangerous materials, when we have the right gear for it. Getting the most out of PE, of course. And we're resilient. We've been here for the fall of two L Corps and we'll be here when the next one dies, too." A pause. "And there's Baker and Seventh. I'm the one who controls it but we all pitch in to 'build' the thing." Odette: "The Sweepers... I still don't know what to do about those. They never seem to stop showing up, but I don't get where they're coming from. Is there a way we could stop them from.. Um. Doing that?" "I wish I knew. It's hard to learn about 'em. Their gear seems purpose designed but whether they make it themselves, who knows. To study them we'd have to take some alive - they just sorta melt when they're killed - and believe me, they wouldn't cooperate if we tried. For all we know they could be part of a Singularity like the mermaids out in the Lake, or something from the Outskirts... there's a lot we need to learn about them yet. Maybe that's something y'all could help with." "Do you think those might still be lying around somewhere in the dam? Or one of L Corp's branches?" "Anything from the dam would've been moved to the power plant when the title of L Corp changed hands. As for records offices at the branches... Hey Yuri, you might know that one. How good was L Corp's record-keeping?" Hibiki: "... ...I think I have a bit of a better idea on how you feel about your home, after seeing this. Everybody's so... close-knit. And pitching in to help fix things up. It makes me want to, too..." "Good, that means you have a soul. Not that I had any doubt. But yeah. Anyone who could afford to ditch or double-cross us, has already done it by now. There's no reason for anyone to stay who isn't ride-or-die." "...Delishoush..." Veronica chuckles at Hibiki's enthusiasm. "Keep it up, kid, you'll be taller'n Father Berislav."
Angela	"...Nah. I don't feel anything. No aches or pains at all. Uh. Though I don't see that well out of it anymore. It's fine. It won't let me forget." Yuri could--well maybe not easily anymore. But once upon a time she could've easily gotten eyes better than what she was born with. ''I just wanted to know if I was endangering anyone by having you here.'' "Probably." Yuri says. She doesn't seem to care so much about the RESILIENCY of the community--resiliency might keep the community going but she wasn't really looking for that when she asked about skills. "Noticed there were a bunch of potholes on the way in. How 'bout the Yurodiviye gets you cement to fill those potholes in, fix up the roads, fix up the buildings, then maybe you can offer your skills to the other struggling communities in the new Backstreets. Lots of stuff is getting broken and knocked over throughout the former Nest and they don't quite have your 'resiliency'. We secure their homes and offices so they can continue functioning without having to worry about Sweepers and you can charge 'em friendly to begin with and then something more sustaining after. And they're gonna need alternate power sources besides enkephalin. People are gonna kill for those PE Boxes." She considers the fish she's been eating. "Not bad."
Father Berislav	Is there a way we could stop them from.. Um. Doing that? Maybe that's something y'all could help with. "Almost certainly. They weren't always here--the City certainly wasn't, and so, neither is as invincible as they'd have anyone believe. But it's a question of priorities. We can address the injustice of legalized murder after we address the crises in the District," he frowns. "The one is a known ill, avoidable, at least in theory," he adds with an expression of distaste, "By staying inside at a certain hour. Not everyone has a place to stay, yes, but the other things going on in the District aren't as predictable or as easily avoided by the average person." "Don't worry," he says. "If I have my way, then the time will come when we start making demands--when we're the force that has to be navigated around." How 'bout the Yurodiviye gets you cement to fill those potholes in, fix up the roads, fix up the buildings, then maybe you can offer your skills to the other struggling communities in the new Backstreets. "That's an excellent idea, Yuri." "In any case," he says, between bites, "I'd very much like to visit the dam and assess the damage. I have a certain amount of experience with getting broken things running using less-than-ideal materials. It's possible there are some parts of it I could see to myself."
Tamiel Luxis	It becomes clear when her food arrives, that hotteok are basically some kind of sweet pancake. She busies herself with cutting into it as the other members of the Watch talk, plans and plots and things to do next... "...I'm not much good at building things..." She cuts off a small piece with her fork, puts it into her mouth. Swallows. "But...I can try to scout the plant? Find the old records? I don't think most people would think to take them..." Some old plans of a defunct Wing? "So...Maybe they're still there...I could scout and read it pretty quickly..." "I want to do...Something." She squirms a little in her seat, grasping at her arm. "Sure, if people get sick, or get hurt, I guess I can help...But if people are getting sick from bad water and food, and getting hurt...Things already aren't going great, are they...?" If all her divinity couldn't do anything more than point at the problem and bandage the wounds it made wasn't she just bailing water out of a sinking ship? "But...If anyone in town is really sick...Or hurt in ways they can't afford to fix...I think Odette and I could help them...?" She glanced at Odette, her traitorous act of feeding the burdermonster momentarily forgotten. "There might be a lot of things, people just...accepted they couldn't afford to fix. You know?"
Hibiki Tachibana	Keep it up, kid, you'll be taller'n Father Berislav. "Bweh...?" Despite sitting at a table full of people, and also being in a diner full of people, it takes that for Hibiki to snap out of her dreamscape where only her and the Grande Delux Triple Turkey Club exists. She even opens her eyes and glances around like a deer in headlights for a moment before eying Berislav, looking him up and down, and then swallowing. "...I dunno about that one, I haven't actually gained a lot of height since I was sixteen." Chomp. She's a little more thoughtful during this bite though, eyes down on the table surface. All the time thoroughly chewing is used to ruminate on something or another, apparently. After she gulps down again, "Everyone with a head for construction'll probably come in handy when it comes to the dam... but one step at a time. Get a shopping list of the need-to-haves, and work from there..." She sounds like she's talking to herself. "...Even I should be able to handle it if I know what to look for... can't let this keep happening... ..."
Odette Raskins	"I just wanted to know if I was endangering anyone by having you here," "No more than the usual amount, I think. Now imagine how much worse it was doing the operation." Odette jokes with a laugh, finding it a lot easier to do so now that the bomb isn't actually in her face or being handled with her hands. No, the most dangerous thing she's handling right now is the fork she's got for the waffles and eggs, and she's perfectly fine with that right now. "To study them we'd have to take some alive - they just sorta melt when they're killed - and believe me, they wouldn't cooperate if we tried." Strangely enough, that actually gives Odette some sense of visible relief. As gung ho as she was about Berislav's plan earlier, "So we just need to get one alive? That's better than having to hunt one down and drag in a corpse..." She shivers briefly, then continues. "I've got plenty of stuff for putting one under if we can get them to stay still long enough." Another pat of her bag. "I mean, it'd be a lot better if they did cooperate, but until we know what makes them tick, we'll probably have to get them in like we did with the mermaids." "We can address the injustice of legalized murder after we address the crises in the District," Odette straigtens up a bit in her seat after Berislav reminds her of their priorities, nodding a second later. "R-right, yeah. There's still only so many of us to handle anything, "Anything from the dam would've been moved to the power plant when the title of L Corp changed hands." "And I doubt they'd just let us root around in their stuff to help get a replacement set up... If we can even find any of that stuff after everything that happened." "There might be a lot of things, people just...accepted they couldn't afford to fix. You know?" "That's exactly the sort of thing we're here to fix, isn't it? " Odette flashes Tamiel a confident smile at that, with some chocolate and waffle still stuck in her teeth. "Stuff they've grown to accept that they shouldn't, so that other things can start feeling more... Um. Fixable!"
Veronica	Yuri: "...maybe you can offer your skills to the other struggling communities in the new Backstreets." "Being able to get back on the road, so to speak, would help a lot with that. Right now PE boxes are the main thing we have to offer, but if we can share our skills around that could be a good substitute for the longer term. I like the idea." "Not bad." "I know, right?" Berislav: "The one is a known ill, avoidable, at least in theory, by staying inside at a certain hour." Veronica gestures at Berislav with her fork, finishes chewing, and speaks. "I mean, not everybody here can do that. Some locks could go a long way here, now that I think about it. The old Leaks Motel's still got the electronic locks on the doors, which means we can't get in when there's a blackout. If folks could hide out there at night it'd mean less night shifts fighting the Sweepers for me, and more chances to repair homes that aren't exactly livable right now." "In any case, I'd very much like to visit the dam and assess the damage." Tamiel: "I can try to scout the plant? Find the old records? I don't think most people would think to take them..." Veronica nods in agreement. "Sure thing. Depending on what we find at the power plant's records office, might be able to check out the dam itself too." "There might be a lot of things, people just...accepted they couldn't afford to fix. You know?" "I'm... technically the most qualified doctor in town, I guess. And I've got better things to be doing, with Baker and Seventh an' all. Some kind of regular clinic could be great." Odette: "And I doubt they'd just let us root around in their stuff to help get a replacement set up... If we can even find any of that stuff after everything that happened." Veronica chuckles. "Who's 'they'? All the L Corp suits skipped town on the first night of blackouts. Everybody left who worked at the plant, also lives here. I doubt they emptied all the filing cabinets on their way outta town, either."
Veronica	As food and conversation winds down, Soo-Jin distributes checks and meals are paid for. On the way to the exit, Roscoe thanks everyone for coming and offers more handshakes. Veronica says, one hand on the door, "You know, I've got a good feeling abou--" PSSSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHH-CRACK-BOOM! "--shit! What was--" The sound of explosions - small, but numerous - ring out from the street. Veronica rushes outside and halts at the side of the road, gesturing for the Elites to follow. A convoy of vehicles speeds by, too quickly to catch many details but not so fast as to fully obscure the hot-rod flames painted on their sides. From their windows, fireworks and Roman candles blast sparks and rockets into the air. "Who is-- we gotta stop them, they're gonna start a fire or get somebody killed or something!"