Event: Day 355 [OPEN]

[bastionpc]

Who: Everyone, everywhere
Open: Open
When: Day 355
Where: See threads for specific locations
What: The last day, which is the longest day ever.
Format: action
Warnings: E N D G A M E


See threads below for locations.

Comments

[bastionpc]

[The words of encouragement and the promise to help do reassure Nathaniel, and he nods to Colin. Then he starts looking through the pictures, trying to find familiar faces.

After a while, he frowns. Not because he recognizes an individual person, but because of something else.]

Some of these people, they're Caels. Not anyone I recognize, but I know what my own people look like. There's a few Ura, too. But everyone else, they're a patchwork of different people from different planets.

But why are there Caels in that group? The Bastion, it ended up pretty close to the ruins of Caelondia. These people should have come across us first.

[freedom_engineer]

My thinking is, and I'd really love to be wrong... That there's an enemy agitator in that group. Someone who knows what the Bastion is, and wanted it to fail.

Someone in that group has been lying to them about us. What we don't know is why. We need to find THAT person. If I had to guess, I'd say they lead the Caels AWAY from the Bastion. That's what makes sense to me.

It's not the only option, but it is the one that explains why people who should be here... aren't.

[While Nathan's working, Colin's putting together another radio that they can use to test the core. He's ALSO installing a dead man's switch and a self destruct charge... 'cause he'll be damned if he's going to make himself sick a second time.]

[He really wishes he knew what Zahi was thinking...]

[bastionpc]

[When he is done looking through the pictures, he goes over to see what Colin is doing.]

Does the core even look right yet? We might not need to even test it, it looked all wrong the last time.

[The core would not look alright, by the way. It's still sickly looking.]

[freedom_engineer]

The core is assuredly not all right. But I was saying that before. You can't just clean energy by waiting it out.

I think Zahi knows that, too... There's no way this core should ever be put into anything.

[He gestures to the core in all its sickly goodness.]

But whatever the case, we shouldn't test it yet. We still don't know who those people even are... It wouldn't do to eliminate a bunch of innocent people just because there's one or two enemies among them.

We need to root them out.

[He shakes his head then.]

I hate not having enough information.

[bastionpc]

Zahi is an Ura, and Ura aren't always the best at tech-stuff like this. He might genuinely not know.

[Whoops there's his prejudice talking again.]

And if it is him, how would we convince the others? They're not going to believe me if I say it, not after everything that's happened between me and Zulf.

[freedom_engineer]

That, my young engineering peer, is a lesson you learn as you grow.

[He gives Nathan an absolutely wicked grin. He'll let the prejudice go for now, it's hardly the time to get all high and mighty...]

Redundancies. Contingencies. Plans within plans. Nobody, nobody can keep up with an engineer at home in their own projects.

Take, for example, the radio I'm putting together. This time? I'm putting in a dead man's switch, and a self destruct charge hooked to the receiver. If it's used against us? It blows on my command. Plain and simple. If we're incapacitated and unable to do anything consciously? It blows.

... Blows the radio, not the core. I'm in no mood to see the energy discharge of an exploding core, frankly.

My first plan is... if someone intends to use this against us? Take the ability away from them. Let them expose themself, and THEN pull the rug out from under them.

That's why I wanted you to look through the pictures. Whomever's doing this has to have some knowledge of the monument... Stopping them is good, but being able to expose them is the end game. Once I have an ID, they're getting pasted to the wall. Literally pasted, not a euphemism for violence.

That's also why I was kinda hoping you'd been working on any backup plans of your own. I've got several more plans, but each of them has a criteria that hasn't been met yet. And I'm not about to go turning the turrets on a bunch of people just because some of them might be against us.

... And since we're on this topic. If things go down? Run back here. I've designed this place to be defensible. This place and the Safehouse should be safe, short of the Bastion falling out of the sky. ... That reminds me, I need to move the flyer into position for a quick takeoff...

[bastionpc]

[Nathaniel nods as he listens to Colin's explanation.

Right, let him think he has what he wants, then reveal everything. I think that can be done.

But we should go back once you're ready. If we take too long, everyone will get suspicious.

[He makes a mental note to come back here if things get bad, too.]

[freedom_engineer]

[Colin nods, still working at the radio.]

It won't take too much longer, I just need to make sure that I've got the charge right. If I get it wrong, it's a bad thing.

Hey, in the store room... you remember the festival the gods threw us? I've got a few of those charms that have reportedly helped out every now and then. Snag a couple for yourself, will you? Way I see it, if we can get a little extra help... well, I won't turn it down.