Serious Plots 5: No lulz.

[Cyber Punk]

Actually, as Sybil-inside-a-guard stands up, she finds the entire outfit strange. For one thing, her vest is heavier than leather, but lighter than metal, and obviously made of a material that's neither.

Also, the gun. To Sybil... she can't even get started on unusually complicated... black... whatever... thing?! Realising that she has to blend in, she looks at the other guards and follows their way of holding the Uzi. What is this even supposed to be, let along how to use it?

It kinda looks like a version of the tonfa... but tonfas are meant for practice, aka horrible at actually attacking! What the... ?

Sybil doesn't even think of using it to shoot. Instead, she notes the hefty weight of this funny thingamabob, and figures it's used for clubbing. When she tries moving it a bit however, she finds her possessed body sluggish.

Great, another reason not to get into combat.

She decides to try acting normal and follow the rest of the guards, not climbing the stairs yet.

[Corridor]

The guards are following a seemingly random but set pattern. After following the rest of the guards, it's clear it's done in such a way that each guard sweeps the room at least once, while the others sweep the other parts of the room.

-The stairs are just waiting there. What're you doing gallivanting about?-

The radio of a nearby guard squeaks. "-Have you found test subject C34?-" A voice asks through the radio. "No, sir. It's all clear." is the reply. Suddenly there's the sound of furniture being tossed around from the other end. "-Now listen closely: do not let anything pass through that area!-" The line goes dead, but the guard still responds. "Yes sir."

-The clock is ticking, little one.-

[Shadowcaller]

[Snowbound Tundra]

((Obriane has presumably handled Annie before this. ))

Annie nods her little head. If she wasn't hungry before, she is now that Obriane mentions it! "Here, I have something." Kitty straightens Annie's toque and reaches into the bag hanging off her hip. She produces a container with small crackers and cubes of cheese and hands it to Obriane. Annie smiles and pawns at the container. "Yum! Cheeeeese."

[Snowbound Tundra]

"She eats a lot." Obriane comments with a smile. "Greedy little girl, didn't inherit that from you did she?" She asks with a look at Kitty.

[Recaiden]

[Station]

There's a set of folding triangular stools set up; he could sit there.

Minutes roll by.
People start being let out.
An hour passes.

"Nothing yet."

Aaaaand two hours. Come on, did you expect other people to actually help fix things?

[Deathkeeper]

Station

Mist sighs.
"Well, without Leah here, I'm pretty much stranded. You guys got a map?" he asks, somehow calmly.

[goto124]

[Corridor]

So the plot thickens! Enought that Sybil has little idea of whatever's going on now. Like what's happening on the other end of the radio. Or... a lot of things, actually.

How long before I get to make my own decisions again? She thinks to herself, before she heads for the staircase. It's not going to be that easy, right?

[UncleWolf]

A Princess and a Kobold

Brittany gives Krait a small wave goodbye as he leaves and when Spako eventually comes up to her wanting to speak alone, she simply draws a few sigils in the air to create a shimmering dome around them. "We can speak freely here." She promises. "What is the issue?"

[Deathkeeper]

A Princess and a Kobold

Spako looks embarrassed, fidgeting with his claws.
"Oh, there's no issue, Miss. It's just that..." he sighs, and kneels down before her. If she had to look down on him before, this certainly doesn't help.
"I must apologize for my actions, Miss. I really did ruin that moment for you and Ghoul, and we were all nearly put in danger because of it."
Actually, the contest would have been perfectly safe had Brittany not interfered, but....
"I acted partially out fear that she might not have the best intentions for you and your kingdom, but I'd be lying to say I wasn't also simply being petty. As I said, I'm generally opposed to arranged marriages on principle, but it certainly would have kept me from being so stupid had I not even had the chance." he says with a weak laugh, ears folded down as low as they go.

"But...that's really it. I don't have any quarrel with Ghoul, and I hope the best for you two. And I hope her plan works, because to be perfectly honest her explanation for how that'll get around her sterility really didn't make sense to me." he admits in a bit of a nervous ramble.
"Maybe if it does it'll help the family your father mentioned. But, uh, I'm talking too much again. So...uh....
....yeah."

He eeks out, his face as impassive as ever but his body language making it quite clear that he expects his bringing up of delicate subjects like the royal family's heir-related misfortune to not have been in good taste.

Especially because giving them the ability to reproduce with genetics would bring up several logistical issues, like how Brittany was only called for because her brothers were unable to have children.

[Recaiden]

[Station]

One of the uniformed lizards looks at Mist apologetically and hands him a sheaf of papers, speaking in a low if squeaky voice.

"This is a map of the station terminal."
"Below that is a local almanac if you're heading out onto our wonderful world."
"There's a map of Cherub Station, where I expect you're going to run off to." He'll be looking for Terminal C, Line 7.
"Last one is a system map, with a foldout of the Windilic Belts where the signal was from."
"And there's an unmarked special purposes gate-pass."
"I never gave you anything; never talked to you, okay?"

[Deathkeeper]

Station

Mist blinks at all of the information. Belts? They have space travel?
"Well, uh, thanks. But really, I don't even know who you are, so clearly it's not a problem that I got these from absolutely nowhere." he says, putting the pass in a pocket before examining the maps.
"Am I going to need money? I have some coins of material value but nothing official." he admits.

[Recaiden]

[Bebelun North Station, now with maps!]

Of course they had space travel. What, did Mist think they used these things instead of planes? He's on another planet already. And all these intelligent creatures came from one planet? Of course, they don't actually go too far.

At the center of the local area there's the Rainbow! He might be tempted to call it the Sun.
Then there's some planets, in elliptical orbits as they tend to do.
Bebelun, you're here now.
Aih, kind of big, kind of waterlogged.
Avuilia, very big, very wet.
Kur, lots of oxygen.
Frysglon, very cold.
Windil. Very dangerous. Not recommended. Where you're probably about to go. Surrounding it are a pair of asteroid belts that laugh at conventional stellar physics. One is vertical, from towards the rainbow, up over the top of the planet, and back around. The other occupies the entire remaining ellipse of its orbit, moving around stationary relative to the planet.
Nakras. Covered in wizaaaaaards.
Terra, you just came from there.
Natash, very geologically active.
And around the outside, with an...interesting orbit, you have the Moon.

This station is located at the center of a city in the polar plate caps, known for its sculpture, but if he looks around, Mist might want to keep to the tall folks' district for the most part. Actual foxes aren't generally let into museums.

"Intrinsic coins should do you fine there."

[Deathkeeper]

Bebelun North Station

But to all appearances, Mist is a perfectly normal human. You know nothing!

Mist nods.
"Thank you very much." he says, not wanting to draw any more attention to the helpful little kobold- fellow.
He walks off, in search of the station platform that he told Mist to check out.

[Recaiden]

[Bebelun North Station]

It's a bit of a walk, past endless food shops and luggage racks and purveyors of tourist knick-knacks. But there's marked blue lanes leading throughout this station on which people just walk faster. Shouldn't take long. At which Mist finds a line platform much similar to the one he came from, except for all the security. It's in a technically separate building, there's heavily armed kobold-fellow guards, and blast doors, and the air is humming with magic. Lines 6 and 8, back in the main station, have none of this.

But it all seems geared towards keeping things from leaving the line without permission. Mist is let right in with the few other travelers: a nervous kobold with a brightly painted wooden hand-cart, a short red-haired human woman carrying a briefcase (each of her hands is missing a finger), and a heavily muscled winged kobold with looping geometric designs painted on his scales, who doesn't have anything other than whatever fits in his pockets.

Next departure is in eight minutes.

[Gullara]

[Snowbound Tundra]

"She eats a lot." Obriane comments with a smile. "Greedy little girl, didn't inherit that from you did she?" She asks with a look at Kitty.

[Snowbound Tundra]

"She is isn't she? I'm not going to say where she got it from, though." She gives Obriane a toothy smile. She peels the lid off the container and puts a piece of cheese into Annie's hand. "Yum yum." Annie pops it in her mouth and chews with a big smile. Kitty gives her another piece, but Annie holds this one up to Obriane's mouth. "Cheese Obi!"

[Deathkeeper]

Bebelun North Station

Mist sighs and finds himself a place to wait around where he won't be in anyone's way and pulls out his flute, playing very quietly, barely above a whisper. He doesn't want to annoy anyone, but practicing always helps calm him down...

[Recaiden]

[Bebelun North Station]

Nobody seems annoyed. The businesswoman watches him curiously, obviously with some reaction to the music, but doesn't approach or interrupt.
Minutes tick by, the machinery is engaged, and they're whisked off to another world. He can tell he's on another world by the zeppelins that occasionally drift by out the window.

[Cherub Station]

Nothing goes wrong, no one vanishes. Four departed, four arrived, on a line like any of the other ones. This place is even more thoroughly secured, though it's not all the little lizards, but a roughly even mix of species. It's very orderly and subdued. No multiple terminals here, just individual lines, 1 through 9.

Seems like the pathway to the left will take him outside. But he could stop and grab a bite to eat, or a tacky crystal necklace, or something. Or just loiter near the luggage racks looking incredibly suspicious.
More likely he wants to get outside, look up at the asteroid belts, around at the floating island the city is on, down at the burning toxic hellscape of the planet's surface, and find a way to follow this map. Or is the best way to follow the map from somewhere inside the station?

[Deathkeeper]

Cherub Station

Mist looks around for an information booth of some kind. He knows the coordinates of the signal they received, but chances are they're not going to be off on the side of the space-road. He's going to have to rent some sort of small vessel that can take him out into the Belt. Preferably one with a navigation computer. If he can't find some information out in the open, he'll find someone who work there who looks like they might be personable and willing to help.

[Recaiden]

[Cherub Station]

Information kiosk? No way. That'd be a security risk.
He finds signs pointing him to various places: the exit, the offices, the bathrooms (which are so complicated with 11 sexes/species combinations to separate), oh, transport! that'll maybe do.

A poster on a nearby pillar instructs him to 'BE ON GUARD - VAMPIRES ARE EVERYWHERE'.
A door outside shows wheeled taxis lining up. That won't do.
A stand staffed by a large fish suspended in a hovering globe of water advertises "Shuttle Flights", that might do.
A stairway down bears a sign for "V & Sons Rocket Gantry". Also possible.
A red-haired, eight-fingered human girl is playing a ukelele, with a pitiful few coins in its open case.

[Deathkeeper]

Cherub Station

Mist looks about and after some consideration, heads down the stairs to check out the rockets. Might as well give it a shot. He doesn't really want to bring anyone else with him, and shuttles can be a bit more public...

[Recaiden]

[Cherub Station]

The rocket-place is full of excitable kobold-fellows, none with wings, running about with mechanisms and tools and papers.
"Eyyyy! Customer! Where you wanna go? We can getcha there faster dan anything!"

A (relatively) burly lizard-man with impressively large goggles waves at Mist from behind a counter.

[Deathkeeper]

Cherub Station

Mist waves a hello.
"Hey. Need to get to a specific set of coordinates in the Belt, check out what's there. And get back later, once I'm done."
He writes down the coordinates that he overheard the officers mention.

[Recaiden]

[V & Sons Rocket Gantry]

There's a roaring sound as a rocket outside takes off.
"Belt run~! How long you gonna be there? Taking much gear? Bringing anything back? There, step on that scale there."

He calls out to one of the others. "Get a #4 ready!"

"Then right this way, right this way."

"Ooh, how're you paying?"

[Deathkeeper]

V & Sons Rocket Gallery

After checking the scale, Mist opens a pouch in his coat and removes a large gold coin. He places it on the counter.
"I'm looking for something that was taken from me. I don't know how long I'll need, but I think a whole day is the absolute maximum.
I have a few more like that. How many will this cost me?" he asks.

[Recaiden]

[V & Sons Rocket Gantry]

The boss lizard's eyes get pretty big and he grabs up the coin, biting it to test, flipping it from paw to paw.
"Four more. Good? Good."

If Mist can pay that, then he'll lead him out to a bright purple little rocket with extravagant fins and tubes.

If not, well, then they get to haggle!

[Deathkeeper]

V & Sons Rocket Gantry

Mist nods.
"I need a way to signal you when I'm coming back, though....what I'm getting back is much heavier than me. Will I be able to handle that?" he asks the reptile.

[Recaiden]

[V & Sons Rocket Gantry]

"Yeah, yeah."
He waves for Mist to head into the rocket, opening a just-big-enough-to-not-be-claustrophobic hatch.

"Get a fuel pod ready to send up after boys. Bilib, you take this one out, 'eres the place."

A smaller, more purple reptile takes the coordinates and clambers up the rocket into the pilot's chamber.
"Coming back to the rocket isn't signal enough?"

[Deathkeeper]

V & Sons Rocket Gantry

Mist turns and smiles at the new fellow.
"Oh, it probably is. I just wanted to make sure that that's how it works. Can never be too careful when it comes to possibly being stranded in space." he says, climbing inside.

[Recaiden]

[V & Sons Rocket Gantry]

The interior of the rocket is extremely comfy, with lots of cushioning and smooth polished fittings.
"Yeah, that'd be about the worst. Strap in!"

The rocket starts getting wheeled out on its launch platform.

Lizards are chattering outside.

[Deathkeeper]

V & Sons Rocket Gantry

Mist chuckles, but straps in as instructed. For now, he stays silent, and lets the pilot do his job. Don't want to distract the guy controlling a rocket...

[Recaiden]

10...9...8...7...ignition...6...5...4...3...2....1 ...liftoff!
The rocket picks up, flying faster and faster into the air. It rattles and shakes like it might be hard to have believed beforehand, and is it ever loud.
Hope Mist doesn't get motion-sick.

After half a minute or so, the ride smooths out, and they're sailing through the sky.
There's a porthole that looks out, but it's covered by default. Most people end up not liking the view more than once.

[Deathkeeper]

Rainbow Space

Mist doesn't get motion sickness that easily. If he did he'd have been sick while riding on Leah's back. Which he didn't !

But despite the obvious reason why it'd be closed, he can't help but take a peek, just once...