Skyside 3: Explore, Experiment, Explode

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 12 leaves without further comment. 47 chuckles

You think we fund this place renting tools? Procurement procures things... some of it is legal, some of it is questionable, some of it... heh. You said you stole cars: that's good enough for the boss.

---

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

Aja shrugs

I guess... the dream always ends before it lands, whatever it is.

---

[Thunderhead: Former warehouse of FlakeyCake, Inc.]

There is unhappy murmuring among the prisoners, but it's way too late for them to change their minds about the whole "fight to the death" thing. Except for the one busy heading down the "to the death" path - he's not murmuring... more gasping in spasmodic twitches.

The shields seem to have a network of small generators around the door frame that work together, hence the pattern. There is a box powering the generators containing copious amounts of handwavium and a bit of unobtanium, but generally lacking in technobabble this time.

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

"Hey," Jackalope shrugs, "If it means I get to drive an Average R at some point or another, I'm all for it. Preferably through a flat, snowy field, but I don't think anyone would be storing one there."

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

"Something in the end of spring, years ago. Before we were to here to see. There might be records of it somewhere though. Either way, it's a beautiful drawing. Quite realistic."

Another chair rises up, and Kai takes a seat across the table from Aja.

[Thunderhead: Former warehouse of FlakeyCake, Inc.]

More important to the officers is turning them off, which they do one after another, and then start taking down the generators and mysterious power sources. If they never figure out the technobabble, well, that's no loss.
Once the front door can be opened, they bustle the prisoners outside into the waiting back of a divided van.

"We can't do anything to help that guy?"

"We're supposed to take anybody back. But we can defend ourselves..."
He turns back to gasping priest and aims carefully. ZZap. Zzap. Zzap.

The living priest and the innocent flunky are to go back to the security station at the complex with the computers and shields, while the other three will then get delivered to the people who wanted puniushment for their crimes. Or thrown into a holding cell at the docks if they're Riverside criminals who need to be shipped back.

But all that takes time, if the prisoners want to try anything desperate.

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 47 stands up

Dunno what sort of car that is... anyway, let's take you down to outfitting and get you measured: Come on.

And he leads jack through a series of corridors to a stairwell, down two floors, back a bit, and into a sub-office.

Here's the tailor's office. Just do what he tells you

The tailor is a slightly more campy version of Kyle.

Aren't you just darling?! Come right over here, and I'll get you measured.

---

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

Aja smiles

Thank you! So... um... do I pass?

---

[Thunderhead: Former warehouse of FlakeyCake, Inc.]

And the priest, just as he seemed he might recover, suddenly felt the icy hand of death upon him... *Zzap* ... leaving the other priests prisoners, in a very real, and legally binding sense.

The others find themselves at the end of the movie, unfortunately for them, and are hauled off to their fates.

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

"An agera is a car that makes you forget women even exist for a few minutes. Power, speed, looks. All in one package," he follows 47, quiet for a moment, then adds, "Y'know, like me."

The tailor brings another smilento Jackalope's face, and he makes his way over, making sly jokes about 'inside leg' on the pants.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

"Yes. You 'pass'. Congratulations. We have a new staff artist. It's impressive, given your situation, how much you've learned."

Kai stands, and her chair folds down into the floor, followed shortly by the table. Careful, Aja.

"You can join your brother back outside for a tour of the complex, warnings about living in Skyside, and a meal. Is there anything about akarthi diets that we need to know? I'll see that the chefs hear it."


[Thunderhead: Former warehouse of FlakeyCake, Inc.]

A call to a crime scene cleaning crew is put in. This place will need a bit of fixing up before it's reoccupied.

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

The two preists? are sat in a small room, next to a barren table.
One of the big human minions comes in to speak with them.

"Your names and positions in your cult, if you please."

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 47 nods

Huh. That does sound fun.

The tailor giggles

Such a naughty boy!

The measuring doesn't take long: the tailor knows what he's doing. He goes back to his desk and starts entering the numbers

The fabbers will take about fifteen minutes, so take him down to registration then come back for fitting - the silly things just never get it right the first try.

---

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

Aja jumps up with a squeak as the chair starts to sink down. She beams

Thank you!

Then she shakes her head

Ok... no, there's nothing that I know of.

And she heads back out to where she left Kal and the minion.

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

I lost count... two's good.

John Fenster. I'm a full priest of Tenjin, sixth in command.
Steve Brown... I was recruited from the unemployment benefits line last Thursday

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

Jackalope giggles a little as measurements are taken.
"Hey, that tickles!"

Once all is said and done, he returns to 47's side.

"Registration?"

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

"You're welcome."

They do a bit of looking into jackals just in case, like culpans, they have some of the same problems as the animals they resemble.

The minion smiles.
"And now you both have a place."

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

"Alright. Steve, I'm afraid you're heading right back there. I recommend you look for jobs less likely to get you killed."
The minion waves him to stand and come over to have his handcuffs removed.
"Before you go, anything you heard over the last few days about the site in Riverside, DART, or the dangers of rice?"

He'll get to John in a moment.

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 47 nods again

Yeah: get your number assigned, set up your fake ID, enroll you in health coverage... that sort of thing.

He leads the way down the hall to yet another sub-office. This time, 47 goes up to a terminal and starts typing in using information on the forms from Mortico's - makes it a lot faster than asking Jack all over again. He hits a big "submit" button, and shortly after, an ID card prints out from a slot nearby.

You're kidding me...

But the card clearly reads the same whichever way you hold it: Jack is now Agent 69
Agent 47 doesn't seem to like the next printout, which details Jack's benefits.

Wait a second... you make more than me? How does that even work? And you get four weeks of vacation! Dangit! That's no fair: Procurement is easy compared to Operations! And your deductible is only 250! ARRGGH!

Then another thing prints out

And he declined my expense report for you... of course. But after thirty days at least I'll get a recruitment bonus to offset that.

---

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

They would appear to be most similar to side-striped jackals, and pretty thoroughly omnivorous. Maybe still best to avoid grapes or raisins and bromide containing foods like chocolate, though.

Aja runs up and gives the grinning Kal a big hug

I did it! She liked my work!
Told you! That's so great!

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

Steve shrugs

I'll try... that tends to be easier said than done around here. Other than that's where the funeral is going to be, I don't know anything about Riverside. DART? Um... I've rented stuff from Derrek Avery's before, but they seemed nice enough. And we're not supposed to eat rice: it's an unnatural food with incomplete proteins. It causes diabetes, obesity, carbohydrate addiction, and vitamin deficiency.

[blackouttwo]

[The Heights]

Arthur motioned for everyone to come to the office, suddenly raising his voice over the whining-down of Reyna's hoverbike. "Office! Everyone in the office! Reyna, the hoverbike would've fit in the parking lot! **** it, leave it! OFFICE!" Meanwhile, his mind raced as he tried to sort out how to handle this particular batch of hired help.

Everyone was a potential time-bomb except Tester. Literally everyone, even Willow.

Compose yourself, dammit.

Right. Compose himself while dealing with a terrified woman in the next room, the Freaks, a crazy temperature-controlling woman with a nuclear-powered hovercycle (OK, I built that, that one's my bad) and a penchant for freezing eyeballs when she got pissed off, and then his girlfriend was crazy half the time and was probably going to go into full-on combat psychosis during the fighting because she wasn't wired for this.

Focus. You need to get your **** together.

The girl with the cloth. Take her.

Oh, don't even THINK I've forgotten about you.

Take her. Feed. Bend her mind-

"Shut the **** up, I'm busy."

It took Arthur a moment to realize he'd actually muttered that last bit out loud. Thankfully, he wasn't too loud, and was walking away from most of the newcomers as he entered the office, flicked on the lights, and took a seat at this desk to wait for everyone else to file in.

”SO! Questions before we start?”

He forced a fake smile to help keep up the illusion that he wasn’t slowly losing his mind.

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

Jackalope looks at the card and immediately has to suppress his laughter. Half a giggle manages to slip past the hands he claps over his mouth. It takes a moment, but after everything clicks his face srs's.

"Wait. Health coverage? Paid vacation? I have a legitimate job? Well...an actual job at any rate?"

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

((EDIT: Forgot to post for this half, sorry.))

Spoiler

Show

Atorre watches the happy jackals for a moment, and then waves them to follow as he walks to and fro around the complex.
"These are where the laboratories are; that's why the upper levels get so unreasonably wide..."

"Be careful if you ever get the idea to climb that tree. Three people have broken their limbs falling from it already."

"Edge of the city right over there, uh, you might want to keep away. There's walls and everything, but you can't be too careful."

It's always annoying to fish people out of the nets strung up under the complex.

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

"That's the symptoms of eating basically any one plant food and nothing else. I expected more creative lies."
The minion waves the poor new hire out the door. That's two mentions of this Derek Avery organization. Now a source of cencern.

"Now, for mister Sixth in line. Who's seventh? How did you get into the cult of Tenjin? What operations did you run out of that 'headquarters'?" Here's hoping he's not another screaming fanatic.

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 47 nods again, again

Welcome to DART

The machine prints out a few more cards: Driver's license, Front-company ID, health insurance card, and garage access. 47 examines them briefly then hands them to Jack.

Looks like you're now Jack Alopare, Senior Sales Manager for Derrek Avery's. Better start polishing up a fake French accent. Your suit should be ready now, let's head back

And so back they go. The tailor is grinning like a Cheshire cat.

Ok, hot stuff: out of those nasty breeches and into your suit!

---

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

(( How convenient. I'll just snag the current Wall discussion to be the excuse: that was Magtok's satellite in Aja's picture ))

Aja looks at the minion

Kai said we were going to have lunch... I'm starved.

Kal nods

Me too. What're we having?

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

John isn't a screaming fanatic, but he does try something else:

Lord Tenjin: hear your servants call and send aid! Let your holy Messenger come now and smite the wicked Atorre!

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

"Huh. Somebody up top must like me," Jackalope looks over everything and nods in a satisfied way.

Once back at the tailor's, he strips the leather pants off faster than any mortal being has any right to be able to. He slips into the suit, stretching his arms out to test the sleeves.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Green Tower Level 1]

The minion nods and neads them to the largest central building, which is grey. The cottom level contains the cafeteria! It contains numerous round tables and chairs, all made of light wood. The walls and floor and ceiling have a light grey and bright blue color scheme to them, and the place feels a little bit empty: it can hold well more people than are currently here.

"Today's, let's see, seebee whitefish in citrus over shelled rice, coconut, and seaweed, with candied ants." The ants being the only thing that takes that away from being routine.

There's four or five scaled, anole-like humanoids, all but one wearing black aprons. There's a black-skinned elven woman with a baby-carrier next to her. A trio of humans in security uniforms, chatting and laughing.
Nai3, Nai4, Atorre Seren, and a pair of human minions, each sitting with identical posture and eating mechanically. A human lady wearing a bandanna atop her hair sitting across from a dwarf missing his left ear. Possibly some people I forgot.

A small window with flatware where the food is picked up, connected to the kitchens, where the minions leads the two.

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

He would normally laugh, but recently various divine figures have taken all too much interest in Atorre. So the minion quickly draws his sidearm and looks around, while informing everyone to be on the lookout and ordering extra guards to the walls.

"I don't think that identifies us unambiguously. We're not really 'wicked', you know? In either sense of the word."
It's might be mentioning that the place has a field to scramble teleportations and foldings of space that aren't specifically cleared by the central teleporter. But a suffieciently capable messenger can probably get around that in any number of ways.
There is also a quite sophisticated lightning rod setup on all the buildings. The old headquarters used to have lots of storms, and even more explodeable components.

[Lost_Deep]

Spoiler: The Heights

Show

[The Heights]

Arthur motioned for everyone to come to the office, suddenly raising his voice over the whining-down of Reyna's hoverbike. "Office! Everyone in the office! Reyna, the hoverbike would've fit in the parking lot! **** it, leave it! OFFICE!" Meanwhile, his mind raced as he tried to sort out how to handle this particular batch of hired help.

Everyone was a potential time-bomb except Tester. Literally everyone, even Willow.

Compose yourself, dammit.

Right. Compose himself while dealing with a terrified woman in the next room, the Freaks, a crazy temperature-controlling woman with a nuclear-powered hovercycle (OK, I built that, that one's my bad) and a penchant for freezing eyeballs when she got pissed off, and then his girlfriend was crazy half the time and was probably going to go into full-on combat psychosis during the fighting because she wasn't wired for this.

Focus. You need to get your **** together.

The girl with the cloth. Take her.

Oh, don't even THINK I've forgotten about you.

Take her. Feed. Bend her mind-

"Shut the **** up, I'm busy."

It took Arthur a moment to realize he'd actually muttered that last bit out loud. Thankfully, he wasn't too loud, and was walking away from most of the newcomers as he entered the office, flicked on the lights, and took a seat at this desk to wait for everyone else to file in.

”SO! Questions before we start?”

He forced a fake smile to help keep up the illusion that he wasn’t slowly losing his mind.

"What's our target and just how bad do you want them messed up?" He almost laughs, but after seeing that Arthur is in no mood for much of anything he contains himself.

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

As soon as Jack is in the suit, the tailor pokes and pinches and pulls to check the fit. He takes out some tailor's chalk and begins to make some marks

Like I said, sugar: they never get it right the first time! Ok, back into those tired pants of yours - head to equipment, and by the time you're done I'll be ready!

---

[Towers - Gray Tower Level 1]

Aja looks thoughtful

Sounds interesting.

Kal grins

Can't wait to try it

Over to the little window they go!

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

The whoosh of the HVAC is the only sound for a very long minute...

Well...
Fine.
Your officers shot the seventh in line, and he was the lowest ranked of the actual priests.

I was recruited, much like Steven, from among the unemployed. I had been a manager at FlakeyCake before they went bankrupt. Quite a few of us are former FC employees, actually

We have been trying to establish a position among the downtrodden classes: protecting the ones even the usual heroes ignore. We have also run numerous anti-rice campaigns, and encourage people to use electricity rather than natural gas.

No, that last one doesn't really make sense

I do know that the biker gang we hired was asked to send several people back down to ground level, if you get my meaning. I was not personally involved, though. We are being funded anonymously... or at least, I don't know who is doing it.

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Gray Tower Level 1]

The food is served by a serious-looking giant praying mantis, placed on a white plastic plate, on a tray, with a straight-walled glass of water, a knife, and a set of chopsticks. The candied ants are separate, in a little rolled paper package. She's really accurate at holding flats and utensils with those claws.

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

"And here we were hoping you would be reasonable. At least that explains the warehouse HQ choice."

The minions sighs and shakes his head.

"How do you feel about doing the same thing with a pro-rice campaign instead? We could use more utilization on the partnered electric grids."

[Darkcomet]

[The Heights]

"Do we have coffee?" Reyna helpfully asks. It's probably best to take that as a no.

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

Putting on the pants takes significantly longer than taking them off. Tight leather pants aren't exactly easy to don.
"This is an awful lot of stuff for a...what is this tool place a cover for, the mafia? Do I have to kiss some Don's ring or something?"

[Deathkeeper]

The Heights

"I was going to ask if you actually had a plan, myself." offers the Ork as he finds himself a seat and deposits his bag on the floor next to him.

[Fenric]

[D.A.R.T. Skyside]

Agent 47 pulls a face

Ugh! Nothing of the sort. We are sort of a vigilante group, seeking to maintain the balance of Liberty, Equality, and Brotherhood. We just recognize that a lot of people won't ever get the hint and we're all just a little better off without them.

He leads the way down to the equipment room

And to that end, we go prepared.

He picks through a selection of white shoulder holsters until he finds one about the right size

White, because natural leather shows up too much. No need to draw undue attention.

---

[Towers - Gray Tower Level 1]

Kal tries an ant right away, even before they get to their seats.

This isn't half bad!

Aja is not so sure, and waits until they sit down to try the fish.

It's really good.

---

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

I thought I was being reasonable...

Then he chuckles

I think our campaigns did more to increase rice consumption than they did to hurt it. And frankly, I couldn't care less. Doesn't look like Tenjin is all that concerned about us, either.

Which is accurate.

[The Bushranger]

[Saturnine Tower]

The goblin cyborg looks incredulous.

"A gift? A strange place to buy gifts, unless your... girlfriend... desires the secrets of alchemy."

"She does," Crissy says quickly, looking grateful to have a subject she can expound upon. "She's totally an alchemist of...quite some skill, if not as much as yours," she quickly adds, "And is always looking to learn more about her craft. I, um, like, thought maybe I could help her with that, and thought that coming to someone who's a totally absolute expert on the subject would be a good idea."


Attila the Hutt's Cantina

The purple-skinned orc smiles and accepts the hand shake. "How soon can you get everything ready to make the trip? We'd prefer the second journey to be done overnight, so it's harder for anybody to try and recover the furniture." They aren't fully ready yet, so hopefully the answer isn't immediately. They aren't so disorganised as to neglect to hire a pilot until everything else is ready, when the craft may need fuelling, unloading an existing cargo, etc.

"Tonight, if need be," the pilot answers. "Tomorrow night if you want every T dotted and every I crossed." From her expression she knows she has that backwards and is just being, well, like any hot-shot pilot ever. "Of course, I'll need the proper authorisation to be sure nobody mistakes me for the fuzz and starts shooting at me."

From her expression now, one might almost think she'd had that happen once or twice...

[Morty]

[Saturnine Tower]

The goblin grins toothily.

"Then you have, indeed, come to the right place. I am Tokmag Whelpeater, a master of alchemy. What I have is something no one else can give you... the secrets of goblin alchemy. Jealously guarded by the brotherhoods in our mountain halls, the fools. We no longer need to hide this craft from the world. Unless your lover is a goblin herself, I am sure she has never so much as glimpsed them."

[TechnoScrabble]

DART Skyside

"So, like HALO, but with a disappointing lack of hordes of superpowered lesbians?" Jackalope quips on the way to the equipment room.

The holster gives him a start, and he grimaces at it.

"Woah woah woah there, man, I've never fired a gun, much less shot at someone with one!"

[Recaiden]

[Towers - Gray Tower Level 1]

"Oh. Yes. We suppose it is."

There aren't many complaints about it, at least.

"Most of it comes up from near our old HQ in Seaside."

[Tower Complex - Security Station - Sequel Hook]

"Get to work, then. Tenjin doesn't care for any of his followers."

[The Bushranger]

[Saturnine Tower]

"She isn't. But I know she would, like, totally love to learn them," Crissy explained, relaxing slightly. "It would be beyond her wildest imaginings, I'm sure. Um...well...I'm sure you don't just have them out for sale to anyone, even though you want them spread, right?"

[Earl of Purple]

Confronting the Queen of the Night

The knife cleanly shears through the robot vigilante's forearm, severing the mechanical system that operated it and most of the other bits that hold the arm on, causing the hand and half the forearm to fall to the floor, leaving a clean, metallic stump that sparks and spurts bright green hydraulic fluid. The vampiric robot backs away cautiously, projecting an energy field about a centimetre over her body; it's visible as a slight distortion in the air, like a heat shimmer. The energy field is also designed to slow high-powered firearms enough that they bounce off her subdermal armour plating without being obvious about it; it is less effective against knives.

Attila the Hutt's Cantina

"They will be provided, but they shouldn't be necessary- the designated landing sites aren't that close to Inside, or the habited areas of Riverside. Tomorrow night will give us plenty of time to finish our preparations and let our contacts know when to expect you. It'll be short notice, but that is good- it means there will be less opportunity for betrayal." The orc smiles, glad he's got a smuggler to agree. Without actually hearing the payment yet, I think.

[Morty]

[Saturnine Tower]

"I have them for sale for those who can pay," Whelpeater says haughtily. "And my prices aren't cheap. A good deal of money will buy you the introductory book I've written. The deeper secrets carry a more hefty price. Besides," he adds dismissively, "the true goblin alchemy is beyond the understanding of topsiders, blinded as they are by the sun."