Chapter 4: Dark Side of the Moon

[greyarea]

Emile narrows his eyes. The Brotherhood is gone for a reason. The way of peace led to complicity and their slaughter. The Knights are not inherently violent, but we know that to bow to those that demand "peace" --he ensures that the quotes are heard in his voice-- is an invitation to destruction. Why do you demand that we lay down our weapons, especially that you know my vow?

[Marullus]

Victor turns to Emile as he gets forceful with the female greeter. Victor replies, firmly but with his kind and understanding tone diminished, "Our policies regarding unarmed entrance have existed nearly two thousand years under Mandate protocols, and we do not see reason to modify them now." He presses a button on the panel on his side of the counter and a molded white plastic chair raises from the floor near the centeral desk. "You are welcome to refuse, but we then cannot allow you to walk the station freely. You are not being forced, sir Knight. It is your decision."

[greyarea]

Emile smiles and takes the proffered seat. He taps the brim of his hat and says, I'll keep things safe here then.

[jemmus]

Taavi is rather surprised at Emile's action, but he respects his literally "sticking to his guns." He mentally conveys, Marshal Emile, our mental connection with you will be cut while you're not in my site. You'll have to communicate with the rest of the team via our electronic devices. I suppose our plan is to return here well before the portal to the surface can be opened again. He says aloud, Mr. Victor, ladies, I believe we're ready to proceed.

[Marullus]

Ambiance: Short Skirt Long Jacket

The Tour of the Facility
Victor smiles benignly and presses a button on his panel. The door opposite you opens, revealing a woman with long hair, a no-nonsense expression behind hard eyes and an affected smile. "Excellent. Karen will provide you a tour of the amenities." He tips his head respectfully to the woman at the door. "It is quite an honor, a Director from A Deck," he adds, looking back to the group.



Only Karen's lips smile at the introduction, returning a nod of greeting to Victor, then Taavi, then the group as a whole. "Your arrival here is unexpected, but I am glad to meet you in person," she says in a voice that is dark like tinted glass. "Our rules of hospitality are sacrosanct, of course, and I am sure you will enjoy your stay." She turns a stilletto heel and begins down the hallway. "Come along then. You will enjoy the distillery and bakery, which we will pass first, and we will end our tour at the nearby diner as I am sure you will be hungry for breakfast by then. I will show you your guest rooms, which are at the end of Arm C, beyond the arcade and the ballcourts. As I am sure Victor said, no amenities are spared for our guests."

Langtang Station - Deck B.jpg (134.5 KiB) Viewed 1116 times

Karen is as spotlessly clean as the facility, her clothing impeccable down to her long, long jacket her hair smooth and cascading straight with a conditioned glow, her fingernails long and enameled burgundy red. Her heels click on the plasteel flooring. For the first time you see others in the hallway - the place is not crowded, but at no time are you fully alone. One thing is clear - even when they're politely doing other things, every eye in this place is watching your group as a curiosity, at all times. The others have simple clothing, trending to grey, but are equally as clean and well-kept as your hostess. Everything you see in the station is exactly as you heard stories that the Mandate would be - clean, pleasant, and without blemish, kept running by technology that is already fading from memory on the surface.

You exit from the east-facing sliding doors of the visitor center, and Karen pauses, indicating the three branching hallways, where you can see labeled letters and differentiated colors. "Arm A includes the medical center, in case you should feel unwell and be in need of services and Arm B is the adminstration offices for the native citizens of Langtang station." she points northwest and northeast respectively, then dismisses them with a gesture, pivoting to the southward hallway. "Here, you will find the Hub, and beyond it Arm C, which is where all the amenities for guests are consolidated. You may move freely here and make yourself comfortable." She turns to you, makes a point of smiling, then begins walking again with a fast clip-clip-clip, expecting you keep up. She identifies a grocery, with packaged supplies to meet all your basic needs arrayed on neat shelves and displays. An operational distillery, where the workers cheerfully invite you back to the tasting room. She passes through a clear plasteel door into a large humid and well-light space to show you the greenhouse and plant nursery that make the station self-sustaining. She points out a bakery wafting with wonderfully smells and a display case of confections at the ordering counter, and then around the coner she points out the diner where all your meals will be served. A long hallway marks the passage into Arm C, where you find luxuries that you have only seen written about in stories - a movie theater that continuously plays films, a fully functional arcade with dozens of panel and VR games, a dedicated set of ball courts with hoops, nets, and rubberized balls of all kinds to more games than you've heard of. Then there's a weight room and gym for fitness, a whole room just for washing clothing... and a cabinet of folded neutral-gray outfits, since most of you don't have spare outfits. A lavatory and shower room have clean, scented soaps and hot steamy water, technology advanced enough that even these waste-rooms are without odor or dirt. Finally, at the far end of the station arm, you find an observation deck that looks out into space as the station slowly rotates, the entire space filled with immaculately groomed plants and greenery, like an earthly oasis. But you are constantly reminded that this is not in fact Earth-9, as you watch the planet rotate slowly below your feet and out the windows through the transparent steel protective glass. Doors exit off the garden and adjacent hallways to tidy, clean, unadorned rooms with a bed, chair, dresser, and filled flowervase. These are indicated as your rooms, where you welcome to make yourselves comfortable. She cycles the lock to give Nora and Oliver access to one of the suites on the right, while the rest of you are to occupy single rooms.

She then walks you back through Arm C, ending the tour at the diner. A comforting, greasy, fried-smell greets you as you enter, low music playing in the background. Three other couples sit at tables chatting, but still leaving the room more than half-empty for you. They glance over and smile, shifting their layers of Kumehkan fashion around them - straightening a vest, smoothing a long prairie skirt. "Order up!" says a rotund man in an apron behind the counter. He smiles to the group and slides several plates of griddle potato pancakes onto a table and indicates for you to sit. "Please, eat, eat," he encourages in a Kumekhan accent.

Karen nods, clasping her hands, her burgundy nails neatly in a row. "...and with that, enjoy your meal, and your stay, unless you have questions."

I assumed you didn't interrupt the tour - you can add your roleplay and interactions throughout, or if you don't allow the tour to finish we can backtrack.

You remain in telepathic contact with each other through Taavi throughout the tour and for the remainder of this scene. Taavi still had contact with Emile out of line-of-sight, but lost him when you went down the hallway to Arm C. When you lost contact due to distance, he was still sitting bored in the room with Victor.

Emile, In the Visitor Center

As the rest of the group departs the room and Emile takes the offered chair, Victor and the two female assistants smile one last time, then turn their focus politely to the panels before them. They read and type, no longer paying the gunslinger attention. Seconds stretch to minutes in silence, save for the humming of the lemon-scented air handlers and the tapping of the three on their touchscreens. The woman on the left then closes her panel, which rotates and melts into the molded plastic of the desk. She rises and departs. A few minutes later, the other woman does the same - her panel rotates and melts into the molded plastic of the desk. She rises and departs. Victor continues working, several more minutes pass. "I will return shortly," he says politely, his panel rotating into the desk and he too, steps out through one of the sliding doors.

For a moment, Emile is alone in the room. It is utterly silent except for the hissing, the smell of lemon. Then he nods off, collapsing out of his chair onto the floor.

Emile Physical Save [1d20]=3

[cybersavant]

Karen nods, clasping her hands, her burgundy nails neatly in a row. "...and with that, enjoy your meal, and your stay, unless you have questions."

Báleygar Gangleri

"Thank you, Karen. How much is the food and how do we pay?"


was Báleygar able to leave his armed drone outside the lockers? if so, he'll relate to the others what he sees

[Enoch]

Shadrach gives a little shake, as if a shiver went through him. "Anybody else find this all a little claustrophobic?" he mutters in a low voice. "And, I don't know, kind of antiseptic?"

[redwarrior]

Hansel attempts to stay true to his roots and keep an eye out for anything useful or that looks like it may be being disguised. But he is much too excited by actually being in space again and surrounded by high level tech, as well as wondering about the portals to notice anything that is truly hidden. His ears perk up at the question about payment.




Notice [3d6c1+2]=7+2=9

[cybersavant]

Báleygar Gangleri "Claustrophobic? This is a station - wait til we get you on a small ship."

[Marullus]

Are there cultures other than Kumekhan on Earth-9? I couldn't tell from the Sector Information thread. I'm wondering if it would be considered odd that the station's culture matches the PCs'.

Sorry that wasn't clear. Yes, you can consider it odd.

There are multiple cultures and regions, similar to Core-Earth. Kumekha is a poor Russian region, where Providence and its surrounds are a Ukrainian backwater. The two women looking "at home in Prudence" is especially specific. It is, however, where your group became a group.

You know that New-London is a more cosmopolitan and advanced area and with British influence. The other side of the planet has asian cultures (where the unknown portals would be expected to go). Balygyr is from the Southern Isles, which are polynesian in both language and culture.

You have limited experience with Mandate-Era in real life on Earth-9, but any recordings, magazines, or movies that survived would be much more polished and not evincing the diffusion and decline that is apparent in present-day Kumekha. You can hear the Mandate-era movies playing in the auditorium as you pass, if nothing else, to show dichotomy.

Also, Balygyr already pointed out to you that the station comms are all written in French.

Karen replies to Báleygr, "As guests, your costs are covered. You will not need credit during your stay. We are the Exchange, of course, so we otherwise deal with Mandate credits. We will ensure the reliability and stability of that currency as we continue to re-establish our networks and restore our banking institutions on the surface here and elsewhere."

Balygyr regrets that they made him put his weaponized drone in the locker, his stationkeeper still tucked under his arm. He extends his senses to the drone left behind - he sees the dark locker interior but listens. After several minutes of silence, he hears a thud on the floor.

[jemmus]

Taavi expresses telepathically to everyone he can, Odd that everything is so Kumekhan, isn't it? While the writing in the station is French.
He says to Karen, Ms. Karen, your hospitality here is very gracious. Thank you for that. I do have a question. What is the connection with Kumekha? The clothing, the accents, the food? It almost feels like home. But I don't recall of hearing that your organization had any particularties to the country.

Know 0 [2d6]=7

[redwarrior]

Hansel, settling in, starts to pay a lot of attention to the people of the station and what appears to be routine, and what appears to be out of the ordinary. Additionally, he makes it a point to strike up conversations with any station personnel he comes into contact with, hoping that they may become a future connection, but doesn't feel that anyone has really warmed up to him. Using connect to just try to find future connections, not specifically trying to talk people into anything. He's just a good guy.

Notice [3d6c1+2]=12+2=14

Connect [2d6+2]=4+2=6

[cybersavant]

a f t e r K a r e n r e s p o n d s t o T a a v i

Báleygar Gangleri
Telepathically he'll let the others know he heard a thud outside the lockers


"Do you get guests often?"

[Marullus]

Karen's reply to Taavi is ambivelent, almost dismissive. "It is the nature of the Harmonious Way to make guests feel at home at all times. It is the way of things here." She then also answers Balygyr, "...no. Your arrival was unexpected, and the station has rarely had guests since we went into the Waiting. You will find most here rather excited by the opportunity to actually welcome a guest. I suppose it is just as well... re-establishment of Exchange communications is proceeding from Beta and soon will be in production. They need the practice." She hands each of you a keycard. "These will open all appropriate doors. Feel free to enjoy the amenities from the tour."

Looking over the group once more, she then says with finality, "Well, then, I dop hope you enjoy the potato pancakes. You will find nothing lacking in your hospitality. I must return to A deck. There is much to do, with you here instead of the surface. If there is any lack in our hospitality, let them know and I will return to address it for you." She smiles politely again with her lips, then turns on a high heel and departs, her shoes clicking on the flooring.

While her demeanor is polite, she was clearly not as effusive as the others. Perhaps the pressures of being a Director. Hansel's well-trained eye discerns that something about this irritation was personal. The efficiency of Karen's tour speaks to an ordered and efficient woman and you, clearly, are not doing what she expected of you. Hansel also notes one man eating a bowl of the runny oatmeal typical to spacers, by himself near the window; disheveled and unmatching in a way that stands out from the accomodating of the other station inhabitants.

The waitress brings over the plates and smiles effusively as she places them steaming before each of you. "priyatnogo appetita."

---

...and with that, you are left to yourselves in the diner.

(I will be offline 12/16-12/27. Go ahead and post what you explore and how based on the map and tour above. Interact with each other and converse as much as you wish. The diner, bakery, and distillery provide free food and drink and your rooms are comfy. I will resolve the montage of things you do when I get back after Christmas. )

[redwarrior]

Hansel pockets the key card, and sits down and start to eat with the others. He will mentally share his observation about Karen's genuinely being offended for some reason as well as his assumption that the key cards will likely also serve as trackers but will definitely at least record what doors they open. After a bit, when it appears that the waitstaff have lost interest in the novelty of them, he will wander with his drink over the the window near where the spacer. He'll casually remark It has been a long while since I have been in space and seen stars without looking at them through a sky! I never tire of the sight! How about you? You seem, like us, not to really belong to this place... depending on how the interaction goes, he will attempt to lean the man's name, what brought him here, how long he's been here, if he's part of the Harmonious Way, and what actually goes on at the station. He'll basically try to pump him for as much information as he can before the guy starts to get annoyed and share the basically truthful narrative about being deputies in search of some escaped fugitives who went through a portal, but when we followed, we ended up here, with the fugitives nowhere in sight. He'll share if asked his prior military - but not his spying - background. He'll secondarily try to start cementing a friendship with the spacer as a "fellow outsider" here.

For seeing whether or not being observed
Notice [3d6c1+2]=7+2=9
For making a connection
Connect [2d6+2]=6+2=8

[cybersavant]

Báleygar Gangleri watches their tour guide leave. He sits and contemplates the keycard; his eyes likely dilating, and a slight, curved smirk on his projected face. He turns it over in his hands.

He watches Hansel go over to talk to the other, obvious visitor - perhaps prisoner.

"I'm going to take a stroll. He stands up, flips the card over in his hand, then follows his drone out of the diner and through the station.

any markings on the keycard?

if he's not stopped on his walk he will end up at medical reception (8)

[Marullus]

any markings on the keycard?

if he's not stopped on his walk he will end up at medical reception (8)
[/color]

I am going to montage this when i am back.

• What'syour approach and objective in going to the clinic?
• The keycards are standard TL4 tech allowing interface with terminals and doors. If you want (as a Hacker) to try to override controls and get into the base systems, there's entertainment consoles in your quarters or more powerful systems in other places as appropriate (the terminal you go for sets the difficulty). Again, set an approach, objective, and supply a die roll or two.

Anyone else?

[jemmus]

Taavi telepathically acknowledges Baleygr's information about the heard thud. Not a good sign, he thinks to the marshals. He stays in the diner. He figures that if these people can rapidly take the guises of humble Kumekhans, down to the language, clothing, and cuisine, they can easily conceal any signs of the Sons of Vlodok. He's more interested in eavesdropping on Hansel's conversation with the spacer than with exploring the station. He telepathically says to all, An authentic spacer? Or a local in spacer's guise?

He invites Nora and Oliver to join him at his table. He knows Nora well enough not to convey his suspicions to her. If anything, she's more cynical about people's intentions than he is. He merely meets her eyes, saying with them, "Yes. All can't be as it seems." He says to Oliver, Oliver, did you hear? There's no charge for anything. I think I'll have some doktoskaya kolbasa, Olivier salad, and a bowl of borscht. With some black bread and hot tea. How about you? Maybe a steak and some fried eggs as well? Nora, what will you have? Waitress! Excuse me, please! He looks forward, but listens attentively for both auditory and telepathic communication.

[cybersavant]

I am going to montage this when i am back.

• What'syour approach and objective in going to the clinic?
• The keycards are standard TL4 tech allowing interface with terminals and doors. If you want (as a Hacker) to try to override controls and get into the base systems, there's entertainment consoles in your quarters or more powerful systems in other places as appropriate (the terminal you go for sets the difficulty). Again, set an approach, objective, and supply a die roll or two.

just planning to ask about cybereye replacements, see what they say - and once there, maybe eavesdrop or catch a glance at something

[Marullus]

Ambiance: Hotel

Taavi, Nora, and Oliver stay in the diner and take advantage of the free food. The waitress seems delighted to bring entree after entree, her eyes sparkling with delight as she watches you eat them. Each course is delicious and well-made, exactly as you would hope it would taste in Kumekhna. Only a few station personnel wander through, taking other tables and each mirroring what you are eating. Their curiosity is focused on you rather than the food before them, each one of them also seeming enthralled with watching you eat.

Hansel's easy manner ingratiates himself to the spacer, who introduces himself as Dantès. He is leary of you at first, avoiding questions about the station. "This could be Heaven or this could be Hell," he replies, poking at his French-fried potatoes with a fork.

Emile awakens, finding himself in an unadorned white holding cell, his Sunshooters and all other gear removed, plasma energy bars keeping him in. Through the door he can see only a small section of hallway, a few other similarly barred cells near him, but each seems quiet and empty. He has no sign of his captors, so resigns himself to his mystic training - he sits cross-legged and meditates, idly whistling an old cowboy tune.

Báleygr launches his small drone, hovering a few inches above his head and below the ceiling to help be his eyes. Through the drone's video feed he notes the station personnel stopping to watch him with extra curiosity as he does so, but none of them approach. Tracing his steps back through the tour to the Hub, he uses his keycard to pass a security door and reach Medical Reception. Both his ears and the drone microphones pick up a faint whistling, a familiar cowboy tune, through the next set of security doors beyond the medical bay. Testing his card, Báleygr finds that it flashes red, denying entry. He turns and enters Medical.

Entering Medical Reception, Báleygr finds a friendly nursing staff that makes him comfortable and listens to his ills. They call a surgeon who uses sleek medical scanners to evaluate the status of Báleygr's condition after removing his drone controller. "Your eyes are phenomenal," says the surgeon with awe, wiping the mucus from Báleygr's skin on a towel and scrubbing his hands thoroughly. "Your natural capabilities far exceed what we could augment with cyberware. The best thing would be to repair the damage to your natural sight - I can see the injury to your optic nerves, and have high confidence that we could do so. I can schedule the surgery bay for tomorrow, and you will need to ensure you rest and do not remove any bandages for a week." His drone controller is returned and the drone re-launched as Báleygr returns to the others and contemplates his decision.

Dantès begins to warm, relating to Hansel as they both tell stories of military enlistment in their younger days. Dantès reveals he was part of a free merchant crew after his discharge, which came and docked with the supposedly-abandoned station. "And so... I'm here. Been five years now. The hospitality is impeccable," he says dryly, pondering as he swirls drink, a glass of pink champagne on ice. Finally he looks up, his tone low. "Just don't break the rules. Everything here, it is by the law. The others... my crew, they tried doing things they shouldn't and disappeared. Those that are arrested go to other decks and never return. My captain..." he swallows hard, looking over at the waifish, smiling waitress, "he was plotting to get to the ship and she just executed him - snapped his neck after setting down his sauteed truffles and just pronounced the word 'Treason' before going back to get my brie." He clears his throat, finishing the beef bourguignon on his plate with a few moments of silence. "It isn't so bad here... a more comfortable life than I ever had out there... We are all just prisoners here of our own device." He finishes his glass and raises a hand to signal for another. "You can choose how you go... but you can never leave."

The station lights are shifting from a pale twilight to a morning dawn as Báleygr re-enters the diner. Everyone else is stuffed, empty plates before them. On Earth-9 below, it is a new day. You were well rested and planned to set-out at twilight so staying up all night wasn't a problem, but you're all now quite tired.


OOC:

Hansel's Notice roll of 14 covered his observations of Karen.

His new Notice roll of 9 identifies that there are TL4 micro-cameras everywhere; surveillance is discreet but ubiquitous. No locals seem to mind them.

His Connect roll of 6 identified Dantès and his Connect roll of 8 is sufficient for ingratiating with Dantès. He is slow to warm up but does speak openly. The roll isn't high enough for him to aid you - you'll need to change the circumstance and re-roll for that.

I am assuming that, since Báleygr really is interested in fixing his eyesight, that he doesn't mask anything in the medical examination. They can fix Báleygr's sight with a week of time (surgery + recovery), as his natural mutant eyesight is better than cybernetic eyes. Your choice how long you stay aboard the station. The surgery can take one day, but will give you six system strain and you can't remove the eye patches until they're recovered (i.e. the week of recovery).

Time-wise, your actions were short. I'm going to say that completes the night - it is technically dawn and you're tired. I need durations (in hours or days) on your next set of actions as that's a deliberate choice. Taking time on actions will reduce difficulty, rushing raises the DC.

Telepathy was for a scene - it is now over. Taavi won't recover his Effort until he gets eight hours sleep.