plot roll | lights out

[groundrules]

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LIGHTS OUT | MINARAS

Critical systems at various military, academic and medical institutes in Minaras malfunction, suffering anything from brief but recurring glitches to complete breakdowns. They require urgent, expensive and sophisticated repairs linked to gears: cogs, wires, keys, grease and steampunk microsystems. Corrosion appears to be the main culprit.

Unfortunately, the industrial barons of Minaras are unenthusiastic to donate the necessary repair resources. In a public message, high councillor Arabella and other government officials subtly encourage good citizens to liberate the supplies, alluding that light crimes committed in the process will be pardoned.

Careful: the barons didn’t make their wealth by leaving their assets unprotected…

✘ OBJECTIVE: Barter, win or steal parts from reluctant industrialists and study the repair areas.

■ Characters working at Minaras public institutions notice a sudden spate of operational errors: lights go out completely or temporarily, while watch ship communication systems are frequently disrupted. Civilian clockwork droids stop moving or fleetingly refuse to acknowledge citizens (this does not apply to droids assigned to the party). Several factories suspend work.

■ Brief light outages strike residences and public areas. Citizens stumble or drift on unlit roads — a few approach you mutely with unshed tears in their eyes, catching your hand to drag you to their homes. If you go, you will find nothing amiss beyond the eerie quiet, while your hosts pointedly stare at you as they enter their beds and silently weep. This stops once lights come back on. Citizens cannot explain what they were doing and remembering their own actions in a haze.

■ Characters with access to the military may overhear that basic production services have not been performed in Minaras for some time. Some say the current outages were inevitable: lubricants, routine parts and processed coal are in short supply, with the army considering whether to requisition.

■ Eager to turn distress into dance, the wealthy aristocracy hold several candle-lit parties. Here, characters can overhear Minaras’ industrial elite has long felt the brunt of the government’s fixation with medical progress. Much of the processes that keep the city running have been relegated to private suppliers, and the barons feel pressured to sustain Minaras. Some favour rebelling against the high council, with a few admitting they have been contacted by Remembrance terror group leader Chrichter.

■ Those affiliated with medical units make dark discoveries: in the absence of light to support cryogenic conditions, several living and dead subjects seem to rapidly deteriorate. The dead show signs of internal rot, while the living cough blood and develop high fevers. They are swiftly isolated.

■ At the government’s behest, public service buildings, formal bounty hunter abodes and several taverns offer pamphlets, maps and instructions to steal repair parts. The government will not pursue this theft. Read the fine print: this pardon does not extend to major crimes (permanent injury, murder, the annihilation of a baron’s home or factory). You can trade parts in for a handsome 30,000 governmental coins.

■ The pieces needed are: specialty factory cogs, pipes, high-density fuel — a precious handful of which can power an entire watchtower — and product or recipes for efficient lubricants.

■ If you enlist to hunt parts, shady bounty hunters will share loose maps and observations on the basic daily patterns of the barons’ factories or households, to help you infiltrate. You will also receive basic weapons and a stiff drink.

■ Some of the items you seek sleep in safehouses, others in the barons’ own homes, while some are in factory warehouses. Most parts are secured with codes you can learn by following your targets, or receive from government sources. You may need to pretend to be a factory worker to enter work spaces, or a servant to infiltrate a baron’s home.

■ Beware droids, guards and berserk watch ships. You’re safe if you’re trapped and turned in with public authorities, who will furtively release you — but you may need to break yourself out, if barons take justice in their own hands.

■ Those with technical ability can also offer to conduct repairs once parts are secured, gaining access to one institute of their choice: a watch tower, a medical unit (pick between academy or care centre) or a factory. Pair up for this one, and ask up to three specific questions!

■ Report in with your liberated goods. No pressure, but we will need at least three parts recovered by 20 September to return Minaras online.

QUESTIONS

NPC ACCESS: ARABELLA

Comments

[somebadnews]

[ It shouldn't be up to them to fix their entire faulty infrastructure, and he can already guarantee their group won't acknowledge any assistance he gives them. He frowns and sips his coffee, but nods to her notebook. ]

Where do you want to start?

[unas]

They don't use the typical circuitry that I'm used to but it's not hard to see where a part was fried.

( especially those really obvious ones, either actually fried or damaged in some other way: corroded, broken, missing )

I could do with some pipes, repair before re-powering them.

[somebadnews]

Pipes. [ That wouldn't have been his first guess. Getting in somewhere to lift parts is easy, if they know where to go, but dismantling pipes in the hopes that they match what she's looking for is ambitious. ]

Assuming their power grid runs through one central location and the entire thing is still salvageable. If there's only a few to replace, it might be possible.

[ Still a terrible system. How do these people not have a plan for this? ]

You've already taken a look?

[unas]

I've seen the ones that I need where the watch ships are.

( where she works. it felt the safest place to go randomly poking around compared to wherever else there'd been power failures )

I saw two that needed replacing.

[somebadnews]

[ Five is being awfully agreeable to all this when he knows it won't be that easy. But even with his doubts, it would test her theory. ]

I guess that's a start. I won't have more to say before I've seen what we're dealing with.

[ He sighs, because he has actually attempted his ridiculous job assignment a few times as an excuse to get into buildings around here. They have a rat problem. ]

I've been in a factory before, they might have what you're looking for.

[unas]

( she closes the notebook and tucks it back away, holding a hand out to him )

I'll get you more coffee when we're done.

( she hoped she handled the jump better this time than last time. less feeling nauseous about it would be preferable )

[somebadnews]

[ Five eyes her hand and frowns. He figured she'd want a ride.

Then he takes a large gulp of his coffee and tosses the cup. The factory is probably going to be crowded, and he has to do some mental calculations to decide where best to take them. Then he takes her hand and they blink away, landing around the corner from the factory.

Una might not realize he has a finite amount of energy, so he's hoping that they can get what they need the first time. He peeks around the corner and gestures to the factory workers milling in and out. ]

They've seen me around, but you might need to blend in. [ Which means she can try jumping one of them and swapping clothes, or they can come up with a cover story. ] I don't know my way around in there, so it might take some searching.

[unas]

Do you think you can distract them?

( at least the two that were closest by. she's thinking quickly of plans in her head: use her job as a story, see if she can slip past them, though depending on how many workers there were it wouldn't go well if she were caught )

It might give us more time.

[somebadnews]

[ There's a reason he took them outside first. It's easier to get people leaving work instead of those inside who might notice their coworkers going missing.

He sees the two she noticed, nearing their corner. Both too large for him to swap with, but she might have luck. Without answering, he bends to pick up part of a brick littering the sidewalk and tests the heft of it in his hand while he waits for them to get in a better position. Out of sight from anyone looking and into the shadows. Then he gives a quick nod and disappears.

He knocks both of them out before they get a good look at either of them. and blinks back with their unconscious (not dead) bodies. Crouching down, he gestures to one of them. ]

That one looked to be about your height.

[unas]

That wasn't the distraction I was thinking of.

( it's a light admonishment but she can see how his plan would work. getting her in via the clothing was going to use less time than trying to use her job and talking to everyone they met.

so she nodded, crouching to start removing the jumpsuit from one of them, figuring she could just slip it on over what she was wearing. it'd be easier, quicker and they wouldn't have to worry about her clothes anywhere. just a stripped body.

a problem for later. it doesn't take her long before she's zipped up, pulling her hair into a quick ponytail to complete the look )

Let's go.

[somebadnews]

[ Five shrugs. She asked for his help, and he'd rather get this done as quickly as possible. That also means he's going to have to lean into his position when they get in, but it wouldn't be unusual to see him crawling around a factory floor. Checking on rats. Because that's what his life has turned into.

She might have expected to go in the front entrance now that she's dressed, but that isn't his plan. Better to avoid walking away where they're leaving two unconscious bodies. He grabs her shoulder and before she has a second to react, they're in another corner of the factory behind some crates.

He keeps his eye on their surroundings and the people doing their jobs. Less than he thought there would be, but the power outages might have rerouted some of their normal activities. ]

We can split up to search, but you're the one who knows what you need. I'd suggest getting anything you think you might. [ She convinced him to lend a hand, but he's not doing this again. ] Then reconvene here once you're ready to go.

[unas]

( she might not be nauseous this time but there's still something about his jumps that she doesn't like, something that feels too distinctly not a transporter and the security of it. maybe it's how unexpected it is, maybe it's just a little jarring but honestly she prefers not knowing he's going to do it than knowing it's coming. at least they're in? )

Okay. ( she describes the shape and size of the pipes that she needs, and even some of the cogs whilst she's at it. if there was anything usable here she'd take it, better than come again. she didn't want to have to do this a second time, and whilst she might only need two pipes for her job they'd likely need others elsewhere.

oh, she really hoped this was a viable solution )

Stay out of sight, let me know if you get in trouble.

[somebadnews]

[ He isn't sure how much he can carry with his puny arms, but he doesn't mention that. There's got to be a sack around here somewhere he can use to gather up materials.

The last thing she says is so similar to Diego's catchphrase he actually grins. 'Yell if you get in trouble.' Like he can't handle anything he comes across. If there are guards mixed in with the factory workers, he'll deal with them.

They barely know each other, but he already has more faith in her than he has in his brother for getting in and out of here quietly. ]

Same to you. Don't take too long.

[ And he's gone again, to see what he can scrounge up. ]

[unas]

( una nods, waiting for him to blip away before moving around. there are a few things that she's learned throughout her time in starfleet, particularly about blending in to unfamiliar places. whilst not being seen is always best sometimes it works best to make it seem like you belong.

so, rather than skulking about in the shadows, una steps out, walking through the factory, acting just like any of them do in getting around to their jobs.

it perhaps takes her a little longer, looking in place, slipping back away, scavenging the items required. she can carry more, her enhanced strength making this no issue, though carrying anything she finds would look suspicious in the end. una doesn't find a bag but a box, thankfully lidded that means she can move things around without too much notice.

she ends up finding a pipe that she needs, a couple of others in various sizes just in case, and two cogs before slipping back out, being more careful about where she walks now that she's carrying something. just moving something across the factory, right? )

[somebadnews]

[ It was really a good thing that he'd had that cup of coffee. A few blinks later and Five is already feeling fatigued. He's noticed by a worker or two, but they only roll their eyes or motion to where they've seen vermin. With the utmost restraint, he smiles at them and makes a point to look like he's inspecting the area. Coincidentally, that leads him to a trash can with a perfectly usable bag.

By the time he returns to where they started, it's full of pipe, some tools, and whatever else he could get his hands on when they weren't looking. Really, it was easier than he thought it'd be. The hard part is going to be teleporting back out with the extra weight.

He's setting it down when someone, that really should have been Una, approaches him from behind. An actual guard this time. So far he's done well not to murder anyone while running this errand. He'd like to keep it that way, but he's ready to make a move if he has to. ]

Just taking out the trash. [ He holds the bag behind him, his hand gripping a wrench just out of sight. ] You really should do it more often, you wouldn't attract so many rats.

[unas]

( she's caught in a moment of deciding what to do, coming around the corner to the sound of five's voice, seeing the guard he's with and ducking in. she could intervene, could support his claims but she's the one that they can't find, the one that shouldn't be here and she can hardly use her own job now.

so she watches, waits to see how he handles it, hoping that it goes well on his end. if he's carted away... she doesn't need a rescue mission too )

[somebadnews]

[ Unfortunately, the guard doesn't have the good sense to back off from what he sees as a small teenager dragging a heavy trash bag full of items that sound suspiciously like metal. Five recognizes that he's made his choice, and he flexes his fingers around the wrench and lets the bag drop as he smiles up at him, just waiting for him to try something.

His eyes track him as he dares to get close and bends down to look into the bag with a deep scowl on his face. Can see as soon as he opens his mouth with a "Young man-" exactly how this will go.

It's at that moment when a real live rat leaps out of the bag and scurries between the guard's feet, causing him to fall on his ass and even Five jumps back in surprise. ]

Son of a bitch. [ He looks back at the man, eyebrows raised. ] What did I tell you?

[ The guard's attention darts back to Five and the bag that's now spilled out on the floor. He barely has time to get out a few choice words before Five swings and hits him cleanly in the temple with the wrench, and down he goes in a heap.

Five is starting to gather up the bag again when he spots Una out of the corner of his eye and gestures at her to hurry. Hopefully she got what she needed. Time's up. ]