thebastion | Event: Day 336 [open]

[Maybe you should learn how to deal with people you don't like, Zuko. All that stress'll drive you nuts.]

[In the meantime, he's just going to pinch the bridge of his nose.]

It's the eternal fetch quest today, I swear to each and every God...

Thank you for that information, Zahi. We really appreciate it.

Maybe next time, tell kids not to throw stuff off the side of the Bastion?

[He hopes that his joking tone is well conveyed.]

We were worried for a moment, but it sounds like this was just a big misunderstanding brought about by inexperience. In the meantime, I'm going to go talk to Nathan and see if this is something we need to be concerned about.

[You don't have to come, Zuko. We're past the point of needing an armed escort.]

[Also, Zahi's not totally off the hook. Suspicion is in Colin's head. Fortunately, he's already suspicious of most people in the Bastion, so this is not anything new...]

[She yips a little indignantly. Hey, hey! Why is she getting picked up? She huffs and leans into Colin.]

[No worries, he laughs too.]

Next time I'll be a bit more specific when I try to help.

[And as for Nate, he can be found at the monument, tinkering with the settings like he said he would.]

[Using a kid as a tool is a damn effective way to do things. Easy way to shrug off suspicion, and an easy way to do so major damage to their sense of security. Zahi is TOTALLY not off the hook, he's going to be watching things closely for the next few days...]

[He's going to give Zahi a small wave, then he's going to give Zuko a questioning look about whether or not she wants to come with him. Whatever she decides, he's just going to scratch Umbreon behind the ears and carry her with him to the monument to bother Nathan.]

Hey, Nathan. You got a few minutes?

[Nathan's probably heard all the ruckus, so he's sure there'd be a conversation ANYWAY...]

[Zuko doesn't return Colin's look, but like hell if she's letting him talk to Nathaniel alone. If there's something important to find out, she doesn't want to have to hear it from him. Also, she is in no way your armed escort, wow.

She doesn't speak up yet, just folding her arms and looking at Nathaniel like he's done something wrong and she expects him to confess to it immediately. It's not intentional, but it might be intimidating.]

[Nathaniel is still plucking away at the inputs for the monument, but he seems to be wrapping up what he was doing so he can talk to Zuko and Colin. Anyone familiar with the monument (IE anyone who has used it before) will be able to tell that he was in the terraforming section of the commands.]

Sure, what's up?

Couple of things. I caught our thief red handed. ... Gotta say, it wasn't who we were expecting. It was Stewart's daughter. She was convinced that if she hid the compasses, she'd stop people from wandering off and getting killed.

And because you and Zulf came back after you tumbled off the edge of the Bastion, she was sure that the compasses would come back later. I don't think she meant any harm, but Stewart should be dealing with her.

So yeah, that's one less issue, and it proved that the security cameras work. Maybe we should be someone else besides me watching them.

[He gives a self-satisfied little grin.]

But that discovery to something else. Zahi said Samuel told him he heard you talking about bringing everyone back to life? Were you talking about the Restore function on the Bastion, or something else?

[did you want to get a word in, Zuko? 'Cause he's feeling chatty.]

Edited 2015-08-21 21:14 (UTC)

[The first part is...strange, but at least it explains where all of the compasses have been going. Now all that's left is to figure out where the amulets have been going too.

As for the rest, though, Nathaniel might look a bit confused, because he is.]

Not him specifically, no. I talked to Mireille and Georges about it a few times, so maybe he overheard us? He's a nosy kid, you know, he 'overhears' stuff all the time and makes ridiculous decisions based on it.

Why does it matter anyway? The restore function doesn't have anything to do with people throwing compasses over the edge of the Bastion.

[Zuko narrows her eyes.]

They're kids, not idiots.

You're sure that's all he could have overheard?

[Colin glances at Zuko. Is it any wonder the two of you clash?]

I'm trying to get all the pieces of the puzzle together to try and figure out what the thought processes are. Samuel and Anna were talking, it stands to reason that they came up with some plan based on the information they had. Or thought they had.

[He also notes that Nathan didn't exactly answer the question.]

So that was the restore function you were talking about then? Or was it something else?

Kids do stupid stuff sometimes, not because they're stupid, but because they're young and don't know better. I'm the oldest of eight, I've lived this.

[And to Colin:]

Yeah, it was the restore function. We were trying to make a plan, for if we decide to go with 'restore' and a second shot at stopping the Calamity. All three of us are from Caelondia, so we would have the best chance at doing something about it.

What was the plan?

[It shouldn't be any secret, right? Especially since most of them couldn't participate and Zuko is against the restore function anyway.]

I'm wondering what Samuel overheard, yeah.

Like we've observed several times in the past fifteen minutes, kids do the strangest things with the information they've got.

[Careful, Zuko, you agree at least somewhat with Colin.]

When we heard about the previous try from Zulf, we figured that the reason their plan failed was that they were already being watched, because of Rucks' involvement with Zulf and Zia. But I was only an apprentice, and my master had the keys to areas that Venn would have been working in, so I think I can possibly get into the right building after-hours and claim that I was sent by my master. My hope is that they wouldn't want to wake him, so they would go to him for confirmation in the morning, after the device that caused the Calamity is already dealt with.

After I'm in, I can let other people in through a side door, so they can help me with wrecking that thing.

...great plan.

[Sounds like a gigantic maybe.]

Did Mireille and Georges have some ideas on dismantling it so you don't just set it off again?

[Colin arches his eyebrow almost to the point of comedic over-exaggeration. To his credit, though, he otherwise keeps a straight face.]

I'm going to assume that the three of you will have more planning time on that one. It's got a lot of potential for things to go horribly wrong.

You're sure that's all he could have overheard? No other discussions took place?

[He doesn't actually believe a word of this. And he knows that's ridiculous. He doesn't believe ANYONE he's heard from today entirely. Anna may be the only one he actually has the most faith in...]

Well yeah, it's only a general idea right now. We still need to find two more cores, as well as convince everyone it's a good idea, so we have time to come up with something.

I have enough mechanical know-how to at least be able to identify the power source and remove that, and if the plans are in the same room as the weapon then I can read through those and fully dismantle it.

[If Colin doesn't believe him, he can stuff it, because Nate thinks he has a good idea.]

...I may have said a few things about the restore function bringing people back to life. I- everyone's lost someone, and seeing them again would be nice.

[Zuko isn't good enough at reading people to know if he's telling the truth or just trying to cover his tracks, but between him and Zahi she's not convinced something else isn't going on here. She can't just chalk it up to "kids misunderstanding things." On the other hand, she doesn't know how to catch either of them in a lie just from talking to them.

If only Toph were still here.]

It's wishful thinking is what it is.

[If Zuko and he were on better terms, he'd warn her that she's putting her foot in her mouth. Well, if they were on better terms, and if he could do such a thing without putting his foot in his mouth.

I don't think you'll ever convince me that the restore function is the way to go, but if I get outvoted... well... Don't just plan for the technical. What you're talking about is a surgical strike on a hardened government installation. And you're not going to have time to read plans, unless the Mancers don't have round the clock security on their weapons projects.

You're going to need a lot of people with solid skills to pull it off... and an extraction plan to avoid anyone getting killed when you're done.

[He doesn't like the plan they've got, but he'll never fault someone for planning for the future, even if it's going to be the past. Oh dear, temporal headache...]

Anyway, we're getting off topic. If you think of anything else later on that may be related to all of this, please let us know. We're still missing too many pieces of this puzzle to say we've solved what's happened. And the last thing I want is to let a potential lead get away just because everyone overlooked it.

Event: Day 336 [open]

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