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Welcome to Tabletop Travel Agency, an actual-play podcast from Rainbow Die Studios, where every mini series is a new destination in the world of tabletop roleplaying games.
From heroic fantasy and chaotic comedy to mystery, horror, sci-fi, and heartfelt character drama, each adventure features a different game system, a fresh cast of characters, and a new story waiting to unfold. Whether you’re a longtime TTRPG fan or just booking your first trip into the hobby, we’re here to help you chart your course to adventure.
Pack your dice, grab your character sheet, and join us at the table.
Girl By Moonlight TTRPG Episode One - Tabletop Travel Agency
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[00:00:00] [00:01:00] [00:02:00] [00:03:00] [00:04:00] Everyone, and welcome to the Tabletop Travel Agency. I am your tabletop travel agent, Val. Uh, I use any, all pronouns. [00:05:00] Tonight we will be traveling to our first destination, which is the game Girl By Moonlight. I'm super excited to give it a try. Uh, let's meet our tabletop tourists for this campaign. Hi, I'm Ryan, he, him, and I will be playing Theodore, also he, him.
Hello, my name is David. I go by he, they, and I will be playing Lieutenant Commander Jackson Eiffel, who also goes by he, they. Hello. My name is Rachel, and I'll be playing Sally Barrett, the scientific application specialist, and we both go by she, her. Hi, I'm Aaron. I'm playing Terry Traville, and we both go by he, him.
Awesome. Hey, if you are enjoying what you're seeing here at any point, go ahead and smash that Subscribe button below. Click the bell, all that good stuff. And with that, let's get started on our trip So we will open our scene, um, at the New Manhattan Space Station, which [00:06:00] sits poised just up above, uh, the orbit of New Manhattan.
Um, you guys have lived here for a few years now, um, but today is not a regular day at the space station. You, in fact, are attending a small memorial service for a fellow engine pilot, um, Elena Maldonado. Now, she wasn't a member of your team, that would be the four of you, but she was the member of the secondary team on the station, uh, whom you had a at least friendly relationship with.
If nothing else, you could relate to them more than anyone else here. Uh, so it would make sense that you are here with a very small crowd at this memorial service. It's you, the three remaining members of the B team, as you guys colloquially call them, um, Fleet Admiral Jackson, Lieutenant General Draco, and then just a few other [00:07:00] personnel who might have had a close relationship with her.
Now, Lieutenant General Jackson, or Lieutenant General Draco would be her direct commanding officer. But he's not really one of words, so your direct officer, Fleet Admiral Jackson, is giving a short memorial speech, um, to sort of kick off this service. Uh, he stands in front of a podium in the mess hall.
Unfortunately, this is the only place you could really hold this service as a recent leviathan attack has taken out a lot of the other rooms. Uh, specifically the gravity and air filtration of most of the New Manhattan Space Station is inoperational right now. So it's maybe not the most ideal place to hold a service, but it will do.
You know, you've moved chairs around to make it work. Um, he is stationed [00:08:00] up at this podium, sort of preparing to give a speech to get this memorial going. There is a closed casket next to him. It's sort of just for show as, unfortunately, her body has yet to be recovered. Uh, he looks out at the group and takes a breath b- before beginning to give a speech, one very similar to many he's had to give at this point.
15 years ago, he says, when Space Station New Manhattan was erected, the Bastion Corporation put out a call. Having spent the last 35 years of my life a proud member of the American military, I was among the first to answer that call. And in return, I got to welcome all of you here. I knew then that the road to freedom from our enemy would not be an easy one, but never could I have predicted the shape that this, the Crisis Response Engine Unit, would [00:09:00] take.
Each of our members have come from a completely different walk of life. All of you, and every pilot that has come before you, has experienced different strife and loss in the face of our adversaries. Though all of you have come here with different stories and different pasts, we are all brought here together.
All of you are brought here by your bond with your engines. However, you are inextricably bonded with one another by the unique charge that has been placed on all of you. We, and we alone, are the guardians of the future. We are the protectors of the last bastion. It has been my greatest honor to welcome you here as the protectors of the future into this station.
And likewise, it has been my greatest struggle to say farewell to those that we have lost. Though this sacrifice is inevitable in this line of work, it is never easy. Elena Maldonado served as a [00:10:00] protector of the people of New Manhattan for seven long, difficult years. She answered the call and has never flinched away from the relentless assault of our enemies.
She left her home in the city-state of New Manhattan to join us up here on the space station. Like a guardian angel, she has fearlessly protected the people below for years. Elena was a hardworking woman. She never lost sight of her mission, and never in her years of hard work did she stray from her cause.
Her bond with her engine EO3 was one of the strongest that I have ever seen. There has never been a lancer unit so quick-witted, so in sync, and so skilled. I have watched EO3 since its original captain 15 years ago, and in the years of working with pilots, I have never seen someone so dedicated to their craft as Elena.
I invite all of you now to take some time to remember Ms. Maldonado. And as you do, I hope you will take the time as a reminder of what we fight [00:11:00] for. Maldonado was willing to lay down her life to protect the citizens of New Manhattan from the Leviathans. Her passing should serve as a reminder of the importance of what we do here.
Maldonado is not the first pilot under my watch that we have lost, and she certainly will not be the last. But remember the mission of us here at the Crisis Response Engine Unit. Stay the course, and one day we will be free from the enemy that plagues us. He will look around, kind of clear his throat as his pre-prepared speech is finished, and excuse himself quietly to the back of the room He leaves the podium open for anyone who would care to leave a word for their fallen, uh, coworker.
How you doing, Jackson?
Fine. Why? I know this It's hard [00:12:00] And I'm sorry Sorry for what? Elena did her job. There's nothing to be sorry for She's still a person and she's still gone, and so many people are gone now. I know it's part of it, but it doesn't stop it from hurting
He could have said something about Liam. He's only been gone six months, and he didn't even mention- He, at that point Jackson stands up Mm-hmm He, uh, he walks over to the podium, and he, he takes it, and he kinda like grabs it, and he kinda like taps at it for a second, and he goes
That Fleet Admiral Tyler Eiffel is a hard worker, but [00:13:00] I think he
I think he, he didn't get the chance to know, to know Pilot Maldonado like the rest of us did
Um
When I first came onto the Bastion as a As a private dragged from the Air Force Academy by my dad to work in the engines, I was not expecting a warm welcome. I was a stupid kid, and I was trying to play adult in a world that, frankly, was too adult for me to be in. Maldonado wasn't like that. When I first got to this ship, I remember she...[00:14:00]
I remember she greeted me with open arms and a smile that I hadn't seen in any of the time I had spent at the academy or following my father or being here since And, you know, after a while the job became her life, and that's, that's the highest honor you can ask for somebody. She changed to help people A lot of us won't see those people again, won't be a part of them again, and she had to change to help them.
And Maldonado was the best pilot I knew. Was she fancy or arrogant or any of that? No. She was calculated and precise and an amazing pilot, and I think nothing we can say here will do a justice [00:15:00] to that Like he said, she was not the first and will not be the last. It's our job as those who are left to carry what she stood for
And help people, no matter the cost. And he kind of, like, looks down at the casket and goes like... And kinda just walks away. I'll raise a glass. To Elena and to our fallen friends. The B team will certainly join you. Um, they seem encouraged by Jackson's more personal, thoughtful remembrance of her. You know, they clearly are taking this very hard.
She was a member of their team for a long time, especially their captain, Dana. Um, but your [00:16:00] words have kind of helped the situation as much as they can Terry just kind of has been sitting there uncharacteristically quiet, and when Sally kind of leads everyone to raise their drinks, he doesn't. He's just kind of sitting there staring down at it with it between his hands, just not saying a word.
Jackson, J- Jackson leaves. He, like, fully leaves the room
Yeah. Your, uh, father, the fleet admiral, will watch you leave, um, before he quietly gets up to follow you. We will cover that in a minute. Um Oh, no. Oh, boy. Oh, cool. Terry, uh, you're kind of staring down into your glass, thinking about whatever you're thinking, when you feel a hand on your shoulder. Uh, you look, and it is Captain Dana Zhao [00:17:00] of the B team.
Um, she's usually kind of the cheerleader of her group, but obviously today she can't do much to hide her sadness. Mm-hmm. Uh, Elena was the longest standing member of her team. But she can see that this has been particularly rough on you guys as well. How you doing? Um, I'm doing the best I, I can, I suppose, given the situation.
Stuff like this is never easy. I suppose E- Elena was the equivalent for your team that I am for mine. Mm-hmm. The fastest, the, you know, most light on their feet. She was. We didn't know each other all that well, though, I'll say. She, uh... I wouldn't say she didn't take to my chipper attitude, but we were very much on opposite ends of the social spectrum, to say the least.
But she was always kind to me, and never got upset with me like the others do [00:18:00] sometimes with, uh, the way I handle things, which was very different from how she handled things her way. Captain Zhao will kind of give you, like, a sympathetic smile at that, and she'll nod. You know, it's a shame you only really got to know her the past year or so.
I think when she was younger you guys would have related a lot. But it's a difficult job, you have to understand. Yeah. Terry, Terry just kind of takes in a breath, and there's definitely a look on his face that says, like, he, he's thinking something that he, like, definitely shouldn't say, for sure. But he, he just kind of mumbles Draco's name to himself, because he has be- he has beef with Draco, and he knows that they worked under Draco, and he's just like, "Dr- Draco was always too hard on her.
That's part of the issue." She's always too hard on herself, too, you know? It's hard not to be. As, [00:19:00] as the guy in charge, he could've been a little easier on her and, and all of you, frankly. And I, I don't know. He could be... He could've said something. He could've said anything, but he didn't. She looks, like, a little torn for a minute, like she's kind of deciding what to say.
And sort of ever the mediator, she gives a little shrug and says, "He understands better than anyone the, the gravity of what we're doing here, and sometimes it can be hard to put that aside." Terry just- But- I'm sorry ... I appreciate your words. Terry just kind of silently nods, "Sorry for your loss," and he kind of downs his drink, gets up, and walks out.
Okay. Um, is there anything anyone else would like to do quickly before? I think Theodore's just been kind of, uh, following Sally's lead this whole time. Mm-hmm. Um, think he's still kind of, like, not quite [00:20:00] comfortable with being at a funeral. And so he's just kind of like, "I don't know the right thing to do or say, so I'm just gonna not let people notice me and just- Yeah
do whatever mannerism she does." Well, I'm about to give Dana a hug, which definitely isn't the first time, 'cause we're both, you know, the, the, the, the fun, happy people normally. And I give her a, a big squeeze and tell her I'm sorry and that I feel like I had just gotten close to her and now she's...
I'm sorry, Dina. I'm, I'm so sorry She will give you the best way she can muster, and she doesn't really have much to say to that. You know, it's very emotional. But she just kind of nods. Um, clearly your hug is helping her. There's not, like, a lot of affection being passed around here, and it was very much needed.
She [00:21:00] kind of will hold it until you let her go. Absolutely. All right. Um, out in the hallway- Mm. ... uh, Jackson, as you kind of leave to walk out, your father comes out after you. Um, kind of awkward. You know, these sort of displays of public emotion have never really been his strong suit, and he tends to get a little less, like- Overbearing in a sense, but he's in a different sense, like, you know, he's reeled in and it's almost, like, unusual for you to have to deal with him in this form.
Is he behind me or is he, like, in front of me? He will kind of walk over and, like, slowly kind of just, like, be in your space as if he's about to start a conversation, you know? Like that dad thing. Okay. You know, you're, like- Yeah ... standing out in the hallway doing whatever, leaning on the wall, and he'll just sort of, like, walk three or four feet away from you and [00:22:00] stand there for a minute as he decides what he's gonna say
I need you guys to go get Nocturne No
You have to go get it. I can't send the B team to go get it Why? We can't just leave it out there That's an incredibly important piece of equipment, and Elena is in there We are missing half of the engines we have sent over the past two years. They're gone. What makes hers different? And what makes it our responsibility?
I have to look out for my team. What if whatever, what if whatever killed Elena is still out there? What if it's in that thing? [00:23:00] Well, then that's a better reason we can't just leave a piece of equipment out for it to take. We know where it is. We know she's still in there. We have the opportunity to go get it before it becomes a bigger situation.
And I'm asking, no, I am telling you, that your team needs to go get this engine
Can't send anyone else? Any- Can we send the team that's missing a member? A team from a different city. Anyone. It has to be us. It has to be you. Did you even try?
I need you to do it Fine. You know, fine
He will frown deeply and then just sort of walk off before you can change your mind, uh, to nowhere in particular. He just sort of goes down the hall Before, like, as he turns around, he kinda, Jack kinda, like, gathers his thoughts and goes [00:24:00] What, what was the last thing she said to you before she went down there?
Do you even remember He pauses for a minute, thinks about it, and then he walks away
Since Tary also walked out, does he see like the end of this altercation between them, or am I like way behind them? Yeah. No, I would say you kinda catch like this very like intense look between these two. Okay. And then he walks off, and you very much get the sense that you have just walked into something unpleasant.
Do I hear/see Tary? Uh, I would assume so, unless you're like super distracted. Tary, you're always there when I want you to be there. That's what I do, Cap. It's what I do. Uh, did you hear what he said? Uh, I imagine nothing that you liked, considering the look on your face and the state of the day.
There is a missing body and a missing pilot, or [00:25:00] a missing body and a missing engine. We have to go get both. We've- Never recovered the others. Yeah. No, we haven't. You're right. No, yeah, yeah. No, Liam, um, no, the Sailroses are still both rotting wherever they stand, and, you know, currently, you know, the entirety of Bastion is down, you know, pretty significantly.
But for some reason, uh, Pilot Maldonado gets, uh, gets special treatment Terry just kind of thinks for a second, trying to figure out the words to say. And he goes to say something, but he catches himself, and he just doesn't say anything. 'Cause he, he fully agrees with Jackson, but he just doesn't have anything worthwhile that would do anything, 'cause he knows Jackson doesn't really wanna hear him talk right now.
It seems to be the most tactful moment he's had in his life. He, uh, he kinda takes a second. Um, [00:26:00] and he goes, "You know, give, give, um, give everyone their time. You know? Give the oth- give... You know, give Sally and Theo time to gather thoughts, whatever." Any idea when they want us to go recover it? Is that a- I don't, I don't...
I, I wasn't given a timeline. Um- You can guess, like, probably not right this hot second. You will be told, you would guess probably at the very least, like, tomorrow or the day after. You'll have some time to, like, gather your thoughts. So I'm thinking give them time at the funeral, and then I'll, um, me and Hoverboard will get the, uh...
Me and Hoverboard will get the, uh, station ready to drop. And while we do that, have them meet me there in the hangar, and we'll go over what we need to do. And then we'll go tomorrow. Can do, will do. Being [00:27:00] really quiet, Terry, at a time when people don't like quiet. Well, you know my, my dad was a pilot when I was younger, and he didn't quite make it back from a mission of his own.
We've got the Sailroses, who I didn't know as well as the, some of you did. And we got Elena now, who I definitely could have known better, but frankly, I probably didn't make the effort that I should have. And, you know, I, I said it in there to the captain, their captain, that, uh, Draco should have said something, and he didn't.
And yeah. My dad has a file on his computer of generic funeral speeches. That's why he said something. He's expected to. He's a man in uniform with a fancy medal. He's expected to say something "Trico knows the [00:28:00] job better than my dad does. He didn't need to say anything. The fact of the day is, if you think about this like fast food, retail, delivery, any other job, same as knocking on the door, putting the fries in the bag or anything else, you die and you give a funeral.
They know that better than anybody. Sucks, but you gotta learn it quick. Give them time to grieve. You know, your best parts of your team are those who take that time. Be at Hover Board, get everything ready. Won't take me too long." "Well, at the end of the day, we're not machines, we're still people." And then with that, Terry just walks off.
Okay. And as they've been doing that, I've been talking to B team as much as I can, to Vi and to Arlo, to just talk about Elena and tell me, like... 'Cause I've been trying to get to [00:29:00] know her, but I haven't been as successful as I wanted to, and just to, to have them share stories about her, and to- Yeah
commiserate. And, um, Dana definitely knows the most, um, having spent the longest amount of time with her. Um, she sort of, you know, you mentioned that you didn't know her very well. She kind of says the same thing she said to Terry, where the last few years have been really hard on her. She didn't really take the same amount of time to get to know people.
So Dana would, like, kind of assure you, you know, it's not your fault. You know, you got her to know her the best that you could. Um, Arlo is kind of being a fly on the wall as the newest member of the B team. He's kind of, like, clearly anxious any time anyone comes up to him, because he's gonna have to, like, produce a story about her, and he has less to offer.
You know, you talk to him, he kind of gives a generic story about, like, how he was grateful to be welcomed [00:30:00] onto her team. Um, and Vi, honestly... Theodore, you would probably know Vi the best just from, like, playing games with them and stuff, because they kind of don't spend a lot of time out here talking to people.
So I think you're kind of shadowing Sally, and then Vi is kind of shadowing you because- ... they very distinctly don't spend a lot of time out of their room that isn't, like, things like this. Um, and there's kind of that shared air between all of you that, like- You didn't get to know her great. You know?
There was a time where she was friendlier and maybe more encouraging and more hopeful, but the last two or three years have been really rough on her, you know, with this set of expectations, and those of you who have joined within, you know, the last year or two just didn't get to see a side of her that wasn't the work side.
Um, so it's kinda nice to spend this time, like, piecing together the stories that you do have together to sort of create this [00:31:00] image of her to remember. Um, your presence in helping doing that clearly means a lot to them I think as I get them talking, I take a step back and I go to the hangar after I get them
Like, they're, they're talking, they're reminiscing, and I kind of take a step back. And when I realize that it won't be Asmist, I, I leave and I go to the hangar with the engines. Okay. So if everyone is satisfied with sort of the events of the funeral, we can skip ahead a little bit- Ooh ... to, um, kind of discussing what you're doing the next day or two to kind of, like, get yourself back in the appropriate emotional head space.
You know, I'm sure either Jackson or Terry via Jackson have relayed to you that you now have the unpleasant task of going to recover this, [00:32:00] um, engine, which would be her big sort of mech suit that she uses for missions. Um, you would know, since they are alien technology that sort of, like, adapt and change, you would be responsible for kind of like packing it back up into its more portable backpack form and bringing it back to the base.
Um, so you've got some time to sort of emotionally steel yourself for that. If someone has a downtime activity that they would like to jump in and get started on, remember, you get to do two of them while you wait for your mission to begin. Okay. For one fine time. I'll take my turn to bond with an engine, this one- Okay
since I just said I'd go do that. Yeah. Which engine are you choosing to bond with? I'm gonna bond with Terpsichore, um, who's my engine. Um, E- 82, um, though I never call her that. I only call her Terpsichore. Mm-hmm. Um, [00:33:00] and I will spend a lot of my time with her as, uh, as soon as I can, and kind of figure out the best way that we can go find her and, um, talk to her and see what she can tell me about what we might find when we're there.
Yeah. So you head down to the hangar where, um, all of the engines that are on active duty are kept. That would be the seven main engines. Currently, Elena's sort of station for Nocturne is notably empty right now. Um, but you find Terpsichore, who is what? Like, 20, 30 feet tall. Yeah. She's, uh, really she's 20, 30 feet tall.
She's, uh- Bluish green and she looks similar to a praying mantis. So she's very slender, very elegant, and she's got like her two big eyes, and she has little retractable mantis hands. Um, and she's, when I get there, [00:34:00] she's kind of, um, in a like calm, seated position. But when I come into the hangar, she looks over to me, um, like she senses my presence, which she does.
And, and, um, I walk over to her. Yeah, so Chirp Slickery, um, just like any of these mechs in here, is a living organism made of this sort of hybrid plant metal material that can shift and change. In the time that you've had her, she's sort of taken on this form that you've described. Um, and when you're away from her, she spends a lot of her time like in that meditative state, like you said.
She's probably one of the more animated mechs when she's not co-being habitated by you. Um, so she turns and sort of notices your presence. Um, is there anything special you wanted to like say or do with her? We lost Nocturne[00:35:00]
And you know you're gonna be able to help us find her. But I, I don't know if I can keep doing this. I don't know if I can keep losing them like this. Um, she is quite a bit larger than you, so she will, uh, kind of pat you with a little fingertip carefully as she's gotten used to doing. She sort of has a sense of her strength and your strength Uh, and you have sort of this special ability, so you've learned that you can communicate with her more directly- Yeah
whereas many of the pilots communicate via body language, and them communicating one way and interpreting back. You have the ability to hear her- Yeah ... which you've more recently learned is not the norm. Yes. So you kind of hear echoing in your head this almost, like, strange voice that comes to you in, you know, your native tongue, but it just sounds slightly alien.
She says, "It's [00:36:00] difficult, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't go find her. She deserves to come home, even if Alina can't." I know. How do you feel? As much as you can I don't know. Not good It's complicated We're gonna figure this out
I'm sorry. You don't have to be sorry. You will help me find Nocturne? I will. Then you're doing what you can for now. We're doing what we can. Okay. So you can go ahead and make a roll for bonding with an engine. Is there a particular skill set of yours that you would like to employ to do so? [00:37:00] Um, I feel like I gave some of empathize.
I've got a point in empathize. Yeah. So I'll do that. So you can go ahead and roll an empathize score. Okay. A two. A two? Yeah. So you gain two links with Tribsakari- Okay ... which can be used to kinda help you with your teamwork-y stuff. All right. Do we have anyone else that is up to anything particular that they would like to share?
Um, yeah, I think Theodore, uh, is gonna try and, uh, make a connection, spend some time with Terry. Uh, I think Terry his... This is, like, his usual kind of, like, goof-off buddy, and he's like, "Nobody else wants to goof off right now. Maybe Terry will be fun." Um- Yeah, so again, there's not, like, a ton of places in the space station right now that are available for goofing.
Um- Yeah, I think they probably used to, like, hang out at, like, the [00:38:00] training facility and, like, you know, do weird drills together. Um- Just break and shit, goof. So- But I think, yeah, probably, like, have a much smaller space that they've got to confine to You could, like, go see him in his room or something. Yeah.
Yeah. Um, yeah. Terry's just kind of since walking off from Jackson been in his room, and, like, since informing everyone, just kind of been in his room not really doing much of anything. Hey, man. How's it going? Hey, Theo. Uh, I'm doing all right, better than I was a little bit ago. How about you? Uh, yeah, I'm doing all right.
That was... That whole thing was, like, super, like, heavy, man. Fu- funerals tend to be. Yeah. That your first one? Uh, yeah, I mean, you know, like, there wasn't a lot of dying. I suppose, I suppose not. Yeah. I suppose not. Being here, though, you kind of know it's coming whether you like it or not, and [00:39:00] whether you want it or not, you got to kind of prepare for your own in whatever way you can, I suppose.
It comes with just being a person and with being a pilot. Yeah. I don't know. This whole... I mean, like, obviously growing up then, I, I, like, heard stories about, like, you know, these pilots in the past and how they did all this cool stuff. But, like, I don't know, like, most of the stories are about the pilots that survived, and, like- That's the, that's the hard part of anything is the people that get left behind from any story, I guess, when it comes to war or, you know, what we're doing right now and saving people is the people who, the people who go and don't finish it and pass the torch don't always get remembered.
They're not forgotten [00:40:00] because the people who they pass the torch to remember them, and I think that's the important part. But the storybooks may forget them, but those of us who were there today, those of us who have been here, we carry their stories with us, and that's, I think, the important part of it.
It doesn't matter if it's in the books or not, it's if the people in their life and the people around them live on to carry their story with them. Yeah. Think they're ever gonna make, like, a story about me? Maybe one day, bud. Maybe one day. Yeah, I'd be like a cool, like, movie action hero. Terry's definitely in a better mood now after that comment from Zio.
Great. So you get to, uh, make a roll to make a connection. If you feel... Oh, he gets you. Got it. If you feel that you would have appreciated this attempt to make a connection with you, you can donate an extra die to this roll. I will donate an extra die- All right ... to your roll. And same thing, you can kind of make a judgment call for what skill you believe you're utilizing here.[00:41:00]
Uh, I think probably like a confess. Like, I feel like this is, like, as deep as Theodore gets right now. Yeah, as real as you're gonna get. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Sure. Like, this is him genuinely trying to like- Yeah, you're like attempting to- Yeah ... be known at the level that you're ready to be known at. Absolutely.
All right, that's a six. All right, so that is a success. You gain four links with Terry. All right. Um, and it stays blank on my end, right? Yes, I believe it's a one-way. Gotcha. Gotcha. Just double-checking. All right Solid heart to heart there. What else are we up to during our downtime?
What are you, what are you- I was just, Terry was just gonna be in his room. That's really what it was gonna be. See, uh, I'm- What's he- So I was gonna... I mean, we don't have to do a downtime action, right? Or do we? Um- Would you prefer I do? I don't think you have to. I think [00:42:00] you can take up to two. Let me check really quickly.
But downtime- I mean, I have an idea if you wanna connect with your engine. I was thinking of doing that. I have, I have, I have a scene if you want to- Can, doesn't say must, so. Okay. I mean- You can always make preparations if you'd like, or you can just do nothing. I think, I think Terry's gonna bond with his engine.
Okay. I think he's gonna try and talk to Icarus, so. Yeah, so you're all just kinda down there chatting it up. Um, so you head down, again, kind of under the command bridge, you take this big elevator down that only select people such as yourself have access to, to this large hangar bay that can kind of attach and detach from the main space station.
Um, right now all of the engines that are available are in their resting form. What does Icarus look like? Icarus is pretty relaxed most of the time, and he's still pretty relaxed right now. He's laying, you know, kind of... He's just kinda laid out on the floor with his hands behind his head, just kinda looking at the [00:43:00] ceiling.
Okay. Kinda chilled out. Um, but definitely he can probably sense that I'm a little off. Mm-hmm. So, but he doesn't really move. Okay. Visually, how do you- And, and so Icarus is, I mean, his, his wings, 'cause he's meant to be kind of like a dragonfly, like a, standing up- Mm-hmm ... um, his wings are kinda spread out behind him.
He's taking up space, that's for sure. Um, especially now that there's a... It may be insensitive of him, but now that there's a little extra room with Nocturn there- It's like, "Oh, yeah" ... he's, he's spreading his wings. He's bug spreading. He's doing that thing- Yes, he's bug spreading. Um. He's doing that thing you do in college when your roommate moves out, that you push the beds together.
Yes. Yeah. You're like, "Double bed." Yep. So he's got, like, his wings spread out. His kind of, like, s- more spindly legs are kinda, like, when you're laying on, like, the beach or whatever and you cross your legs over and have them bent. Like, he's kinda like that. Mm-hmm. Um, so he's just... And h- relaxing with his arms behind his head, all taking up space and just doing his thing.
And his kind of, um, large eyes, they're kind of red in color. They, they do fluctuate with, [00:44:00] um, like, Terry and his emotions, so they're definitely kind of a deeper red right now. Mm-hmm. Which is kind of giving away that he might also be feeling something with the whole situation. Yeah. No, like you said, he's, like, kinda parallel to you.
You know, he's b- being chilling right now, but you, who have spent a lot of time with this particular engine, you know, he's maybe one of the more difficult ones to read amongst the ones here. Um, but you pick up on those subtle things like the flashes of color in his, like, big metallic eyes. Um- Do you say anything particular to him?
I just kind of walk up to Icarus and I think I'm gonna get in Icarus and just kind of like bond with Icarus for the moment to kind of let us work through whatever we're feeling together. Yeah. I think that's probably very much like, you know, how you two bond, is that physical- Yeah ... togetherness. Um, and he would appreciate that.
You [00:45:00] know, it's kind of like, again, their bondage with you. It's their choice whether they sort of let you in past their cell membrane, as it were. So you reach your hand out to sort of his chest area where you know you're sort of pilot seat to be. You stick a hand in, and you feel these vines grow and wrap around you and help kind of pull you in as you pass-
seemingly impossibly through this hard metal structure. Um, and you find yourself carefully lowered, like with this practice movement you've both done, into your pilot seat as you kind of just sit with him. Yeah. And I'm not really gonna do anything, I'm just kind of, kind of sit there and let us both feel things, and me and him.
Like, he doesn't talk to me like Terpsichore and Sally does, but we definitely like, being connected so often, have this kind of mental thing- Yeah ... where I can kind of feel it, especially since he's a little mis- more mischievous than I am, so I have to be able to pick up on those things. Yeah, absolutely. Um, but I can definitely feel that he's not hurting necessarily, but he's definitely [00:46:00] in a state of like, he knows something's wrong, and something's wrong with him, but he doesn't really know why.
Yeah, absolutely. So though your communication isn't quite as literal as Sally and Terpsichore, you definitely have this sort of emotional connection to him. Especially when you're like physically connected in this way, you can almost like feel the emotions he's feeling and kind of feel that they're similar to your own.
Um, so again, you can pick a roll. Maybe that's an empathize. Maybe that's different. Um, I have... What are you... Can I do perceive? That's a- I feel like that's the only one I have that applies the best. Yeah, it's your choice what you roll. You're definitely kind of just taking time in here not to say anything, but really understand what he is.
Yeah. 'Cause I don't have... 'Cause I can't roll for something I don't have a mark on, right? You could take stress in it. Okay. But I think you're right. Perceive is absolutely- Yeah ... a good choice. Yeah. All right, I'm gonna roll for perceive then. I got a six, baby. Oh, yay. Yeah, you both take time to kind of like understand each other, and I think that's both kind of the person/big [00:47:00] mechanical thing that you are.
That you- My bug boy. That you just like, you like to sit together- Yes ... uh, and reminisce or- Bug boys. We're bug boys. Um, so you gain four links with Icarus. All right.
Jackson is gonna make a connection Mm-hmm Um, and I think while, while you're in your, in your bug boy My bug boy. Uh, you kind of watch as, um, like Jackson walks into the hangar with Hoverboard behind him and she has in one hand a very large, like retro TV and in the other like a big palette covered in VHS tapes.
And, like, Hoverboard is setting it up and, like, while Hoverboard is, Jackson is in a corner, uh, like making microwave popcorn. And he [00:48:00] looks and he goes, "Okay, Terry?" Yeah, Cap?
I know it, it might be insensitive. Do you wanna watch Alien?
Terry just kind of doesn't answer for a second. He, he honestly doesn't answer. He just kind of snoops out of Icarus. I, I could go for a movie. Does Icarus wanna watch Alien? I look back at Icarus, and Icarus just kind of, like, sits up. I think that's a yes. Yeah, that... I'm going to make a connection with, with Terry by inviting him to the pastime that he and Hoverboard do.
Yeah, same thing. If you think this is something you would appreciate, you can- Yeah ... offer a die to this roll. I offer a dice. Oh, a die. That is, again, a roll of your choice, as long as you make an argument for what you're rolling. It's express. Yeah. I feel like he's, he's inviting him into this. He's kind of expressing how he feels through- Sure
as best you can through, like, silent older brother. Like, you [00:49:00] and I will sit together and do something I like. Yeah. Yeah Uh, that's a six. Cool. The dice are on our side. On your side. That is a, uh, four links with Terry. Everyone's bonding with Terry today. Apparently. Um- I'm a popular boy. So, yeah, I think probably it's not lost on you, Terry, that Jackson could have taken his more militant stance to really, like, drive a point home to you about this.
Mm-hmm. That, like, this is why you have to be careful. Like, you know, she was the same kind of, like, position as you, and I'm always telling you to be safe and da, da, da, da, da. But, like, for once he seems to, like, understand that you probably are feeling that already, and kind of, again, as you're, like, dude chilling with Icarus- Dude chilling
he kind of gives you that space to dude chill with him. Just bro boy bonding. Bro boy bonding. And it seem, you appreciate that, you know? Yeah. No, Terry definitely appreciates it, and he's kind of feeling a lot better about things now after his talk with Theo, bonding with Icarus, and [00:50:00] watching old movies.
Two and a half plants. Two and a half plants. Plants, plants, plants. All right. Uh, would anyone else like to do a, another downtime activity?
Another one. I think, uh, Jackson's gonna make preparations. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so same thing, you can kind of tell me what you're doing to make preparations. Like, what does that look like for you? Um, for, uh, Jackson, because Jackson is very diligent about his post in terms of the four of them. Mm-hmm. He's not...
Look, he's still lieutenant commander. He still should be ordering people around. I think for Jackson, what it looks like is catching up on paperwork and figuring out what needs to get done- Yeah ... so he can finally tell the right person to do it. Awesome. Um, so [00:51:00] from that, I will have you make a appropriate roll of your choice.
Feel like it's perceive. Absolutely. Um, all right. Yeah. That's just one, so five. Okay. Yep. So we become a little more ready here at the New Manhattan Space Station. The readiness tracker ticks up a little. All right. Um, I'm not sure if you guys have that one, but we're still in tier one- We- ... which is wh- it's important.
Okay. No, we just have to upgrade. Yep. There are a couple of different tracks. Right. That one's kind of mainly- Yeah ... it's something you can know. It's not something you super have to keep track of, but the more ready you are mechanically, that means the better- Oh, we do have that ... you can do, uh, more difficult missions.
We do have that. Oh. Oh, perfect. It's on our, um- Yep ... story sheet ... so you are a four out of five marks within tier one. All right. Um, I'm glad I asked For the lack of readiness ... something to keep up with because every, um, game your readiness goes back down- Oh ... quite significantly. All right, [00:52:00] sick. Um, so good that you're keeping on top of it.
And then Jackson, if you'd like, you have a list of questions on your character sheet under gather info. Uh, if there is one or two questions from that list you would like to ask, you may. Um-
Who, who's the weak link here? Who's, who are my foes gonna try to single out?
I think in your mind you're very worried about Terry in this particular, uh, situation because you know that, uh, again Elena has just passed away. He might feel like he has something to prove. He might be having complicated feelings. You're having complicated feelings as it were. And then I think also in some sense you're very worried about Theodore.
Um, y- it seems like just from what you've seen, he might not be grasping, like, the gravity of things yet. You still get the sense that, like, [00:53:00] he's even greener than Terry in the sense that, like, he doesn't always understand, like, how serious this might be, or he's not processing it at least even if he is understanding it.
And he's got that more protective style, but you're worried how far that's gonna get him, you know? Uh, okay. Can I get two? Yep, if you'd like.
What is the most dangerous here? Ooh, okay. Like here. So- You feel, you know, obviously there are rising anxieties about the fact that the deaths have certainly upticked as the dangers of the attacks of these, uh, alien creatures that have been attacking Earth, the leviathans. As their attacks have gotten more severe, [00:54:00] obviously the damages have been more severe, and quite personally, that's been taking a heavier toll on the engine response unit responsible for dealing with them.
You're seeing more deaths, and as a result, the teams are weakening. You know, whereas you might have had a team that had worked together for years, you and this team have only been working together for probably under two years at this point. Um, so within your own ranks, you know, things are weakening in these sort of subtle ways that nobody wants to address, and you as the captain feel so aware of that in a way that other people kind of don't want to admit, because to admit that you're losing ground in this, like, subtle but relentless way is very scary.
All right. All right
Anyone else on that note? No, I think I'm all right. Um. Uh, I think Theodore, uh, is also going to, uh, make preparations. Yeah. Uh, [00:55:00] coming after that conversation with Terry, um, and just being like, "Yeah, like, we... Stuff is going on here." "I need to get ready." Mm-hmm. Um, and then, I think being from the future, but only having a vague knowledge of the time that he's in, I think he's gonna try and kind of search his memories, any history book clippings he remembers, um, to try and kind of figure out if there's any information he has that could help them on this mission.
Yeah. Um, is there a particular skill you're gonna use to do so? I was gonna go with analyze. Absolutely, yeah. You're kind of like, you know, really going into your mind palace here. You're thinking, like you're very much the strategist, so you're thinking like what a recovery mission might look like, what you should be thinking of on how to like put people places, if there's anything you sort of know that would be helpful for that.
So you can make that roll. Okay. One. [00:56:00] He remembers nothing. Abel? Um, yeah. You know, I feel like you're coming from it from the angle of just kinda trying to be like, "Remember. Remember." And- And Team Patrick where he's like, "Open sesame, but to your mind." Yeah, it's not, like, working great. That's about all I can do.
Um, you do start to... The fact that you are spending some time, like, trying to think about how you're gonna prepare and deploy down there is good as the person who, like, tends to come up with these strategic moves at least. So the time isn't completely wasted. Um, the readiness track ticks up twice, and we are now in, uh, the first sort of little button there of tier two.
Ooh. You're tier two ready right now. So ready. Just don't go into tier 15. Do not go into tier 15. Don't do it. Yeah, so it doesn't go exactly how you hoped, but the fact that you're spending time [00:57:00] thinking about it at all is something. I helped. My mind. Woo. All right. Anyone on this side of the table? Um, I think I'm going to continue my longterm pro- I'm gonna just do my longterm project.
Mm-hmm. Which I'm trying to get the facility up and running. Um, and I want to have more space for the things I bring back from this mission, especially knowing that we're going out for a recovery mission. That's gonna give me a chance to study and bring samples back along with Nocturne, hopefully, so. Yeah, so you, um, had been worried about the fact that a lot of the major parts of the space station had become dislodged from the central sort of, like, air filtration system.
Mm. And gravity sort of fixification system, in sci-fi words. Yes. Um, so- The doohickey. You know, being a scientist yourself, maybe this is not your exact area of [00:58:00] scientist-ism, but nobody... Really getting the sci-fi words going here. Uh, but you have taken it kind of upon yourself to sort of lead the charge to get these areas back operational so that you can go into them without, like, you know, having a whole space suit on, and, like- You know, that sort of thing.
I believe we were working on the training facility. We were working on the training facility. Yeah. I know it would bring my... I want some, a space to... I want more space. I feel confined, and I feel like that, that would help my whole team, so. Yeah, it's something you guys all kind of like enjoyed using as sort of a common space that was kind of just for you guys.
Yeah. So it's got like some sentimental value. Um, yeah. What are you doing to work on that project? Well, suiting up, since there's no gravity thingy working in there. Yeah. Gravity fixification, as it's called. And the air-ama-jig is also- Yeah ... da-loo-whoopsie. Things-a-ma-doos are all gone. [00:59:00] Anyone got the goober? I look, um- I sigh at my Envirotech branded air, air, um, mask that I have to put on Yeah, when you put on your helmet it is Envirotech brand.
Of course. Who has, you know, you being the very environmentally conscious person, were just the perfect of the pilots to sponsor. Um- So you put it on. And breathe easy knowing that you will now be able to actually breathe in the vacuum of space. You don't have to say the words, they can't actually hear you.
They're not recording you in the suit. They're not recording you in the suit. Or are they? Yes. They're everywhere. You guys have gotten used to, uh, a lot of times while you are on missions, being recorded to raise morale down in good old New Manhattan, um, so that the people there who are- Oh, no. ... witnessing these Leviathan attacks have something to sort of, like, grasp onto.
And in that, uh, you guys have all [01:00:00] gained these corporate sponsorships for companies that felt that your values as, you know, military personnel aligned with them. Sally, being a botanist and a scientist, has attracted the attention of Envirotech, who mainly works on air purification systems, so maybe kind of converse to your actual things that you enjoy.
Um, I will say right now, this mission you're not... you're going on presently for whatever reason, is not gonna be televised. Maybe just not the best for raising the morale of the people. Oh, boy, I can't wait to carry this corpse home on live television. Send us bits. So yeah, uh, you put on your- Cheap ass guy.
You put on your helmet. It's got, like, a big, obnoxious, like, Envirotech logo kind of just out of your eye s- viewpoint. And you hop into the, uh, currently downed training hall. You know, there's not a lot of lights except the auxiliary lights on in here. What are you doing? [01:01:00] I am working on as many doohickeys as I can imagine working on.
Yeah. You're combobulating all the doohickeys. I'm combob- I am recombobulating the discombobulation that I am witnessing. You're using the thingamabob to check out- Oh, yeah. I mean, I'm sure we've got a fix it all goo spray. I'm finding it all. I'm, I'm gooing. Yeah. I'm gooing. I'm placing the- I'm having a goo old time.
I am placing the correct- All goo on me. ... correct goo in the correct goo places. All phasers set to goo, yeah. You can go ahead and- Um, make an appropriate roll. And I, I, I will do so. Go ahead. And is there any way for those kinds of things to get an assist from people who would be willing to, or is that not the s- I believe they, they are action rolls.
People can still- Okay ... assist, you can still push yourself. I've been rolling very badly. I got you. But if anyone thinks that they would also benefit from the training facility, um- Can I burn [01:02:00] one of my links with Hoverboard to grant, uh, Hoverboard... Because it says here, uh, "Grant one die to an ally's action."
Can I use that? Hmm. 'Cause if Hoverboard helps. I believe typically they're for the ally, but because it's your engine, I will go ahead and say yes. If you want to- Yay ... send Hoverboard up into the space station, you try to help with the training- Like, through the outside? Okay ... 'cause it's like, it's... Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, on the belly. You could send her, like, outside. Okay. We're already bending the rules. We haven't heard- Yippee. We haven't heard a lot about Hoverboard yet. Uh, tell us a bit about her. Oh, Hoverboard is, like... So obviously all the engines are, like, people, right? But, like- And because of his position, and because he hates his dad, who hates the fact Hoverboard does it, uh, like it's very normal for like the pilots to be like going to get food, and Hoverboard is just like in the hallway doing something.
Like, Hoverboard is one of, I think, the only engine that is like [01:03:00] been okay to just wander. She's also smaller, so those like five feet less of height is probably like just what she really needs- Yeah ... to like duck and like walk around in hallways and stuff. The average engine is like 40 feet, I think we said.
Yeah, like there, yeah. Hoverboard's like 30, 40. Hoverboard's like tw- like 35, I think I said around when we- Yeah. So if she ducks in hallways- Yeah, she ducks ... and like crawls, she could like fit in there. These are big hallways. She can crawl. So we have space hallways. We spare no expense. True, yeah. We spare no expense.
Like, like they all know her. Like, she has her like own personality, and like Jackson doesn't have to say, "Hey, go help Sally." Like, Hoverboard will just show up. Yeah, so you are, you know, combobulating all these duties. I'm combobulating so many duties. And you hear like, "Waa, waa, waa, ch, ch, ch." Uh, what does Sally see?
Like visually describe Hoverboard for us. Uh, is the... So, uh, Hoverboard is this kind of like... If you've ever seen like an Acerby Gundam, like this very, you know, kind of feminine [01:04:00] looking mech. Uh, like with these big, stupid, kind of Hatsune Miku style like ponytails going down the back that look like moth's wings.
And she is obnoxiously bright pink. Obnoxiously bright pink. Awesome. Um, and yeah, she's got these like, uh, she's kind of based on like a rosy maple moth. Mm-hmm. Right? Like, uh, so she's got like a couple white accents here and there. But like she has this bright, obnoxious pink color. And what I imagine you see is you're like moving a box or something, and then all of a sudden you just hear, "Knock, knock, knock."
And then outside of the window, Hoverboard is just like... Perfect. Awesome. So with all of that- Thanks, Hoverboard ... you can burn one of your links. You can get an extra die. Thanks, Hoverboard. That was a six. There it is. See, otherwise, otherwise it was a three. All right. Thanks, Harbor Board. So we put, uh, four marks in our upgrade track.
Oh, we're so close. Which means, yeah, our training facility is almost done. I'm doing the wrong thing. It's on the shippy one. [01:05:00] Yeah, I know. Shippy, shippy, shippy. Awesome. All right, and then Terry, would you like to do anything else during your downtime? I think Terry's all set after the movie and bonding with Icarus and talking with Theo.
Yeah, sure. You go ahead and take 10 XP. The popcorn is burnt. For the record, the popcorn is burnt. And Terry took every bite with the worst smile on his face. Absolutely delicious. You watched him punch eight minutes into the microwave- ... and you went, "Oh, no." Maybe we could, maybe- This invite was great, but maybe I shouldn't have taken it.
It's catching flames, and he's just, like, sitting there, like, "Come on." Burn, baby, burn. He's like, it- he's like, "I like it crispy." All right. Uh, and with that, you guys have had, you know, probably, like, a good solid day and a half or so to catch your breath, steel yourself for what you know is kind of happening or upcoming.
Uh, Jackson gets all that paperwork done that he needs to. [01:06:00] Um- It's important ... and sort of makes the call for when you guys are going to descend. Um, so your mission this time is quite simple. You have to go, uh, catch and... or find and retrieve this lost engine. Um, they had been out dealing with a uptick in leviathans sort of many, many miles out from New Manhattan.
Um, the rest of what was once America is mostly, uh-
Not there. It's a lot of- Blasted. It's quite blasted. It's a lot of wastelands, you know. We're not quite to the point where it's, like, all desert. Yeah. But, you know, going a good several hundred, thousand even, miles out from New Manhattan, you're mostly in, like, what might have once been a forest, and is now mostly a lot of, like, trees flat on the ground and maybe a few trees, [01:07:00] and not a lot of plants happening.
Um- Have we gotten to, like, Mad Max style biker gang culture happening yet, or- Oh, w- will... Remains to be seen. In between the cities. Um, so for our mission, you guys have done quite a bit to prep yourself. Um, we will cut to the action- Ooh ... as we do in Curled by Moonlight. Mm-hmm. But before we do that, we need to figure out, uh, just how well sort of gearing up for this mission has gone for you.
Oh, okay. Oh. Oh, boy. Um, so first of all, there's always hope, so we start with one die for the mission. Um, it... Would we consider this mission particularly heroic or noble? I would. Yeah. So we take a second die. Ooh. Um, does the mission or goal reflect the worst parts of the protagonist? No, I would say not.
Depends on the protagonist. It's kind of a group thing. Yeah. We're making a group roll here. Yeah. So I would [01:08:00] say we're still comfortably at two dice. Um, does this mission determine the fate of a friend? I would say pretty firmly yes. Yeah. Um, so you take an extra die. Is the mission following through on the details of an inve- investigation?
No. Are you acting rationally or on very little information? I guess that's up to you whether you would think this is- I was gonna ask, can... Is Jackson, like... Can Jackson harass his dad for, uh, the brief that the B team got? Yeah, I mean, if you feel like he would've done that, I would say that's completely reasonable.
So I would say yeah. I believe we're at three dice so far? Yeah, we're at three. Three for sure. Perfect. Uh- Thank you. I, I hate your guts. And then he leaves the office. You guys are quite ready with the preparations that you made for this mission, so we will consider that still a firm three. Uh, are there any factors we should consider?
That we have not yet done. I would say this is a pretty cut and dry mission. Yeah. So you can [01:09:00] amongst yourselves decide two of you who are all shuffling dice- Oh, God. All right, one of us- Is, you know, one of you is gonna make the- One of us- One of us gets to roll. Is it- I have been rolling awful, so So there's three dice?
There's three dice. There's three dice. There's three dice. Three dice. Captain. Why don't we do you take one- One each ... and then you take one. Okay. And on the count of three, teamwork. Ready? One, two, three, teamwork. One, two, three, teamwork. Three. Six. Not bad. Yeah. Yeah. All right. 25 and
a seven. So...
This game's so happy, guys. We're getting- Something's about to go horribly wrong. I can- We're gonna get that once ... feel it in my bones. Ugh. It's like Hellboy, we just use it to direct us where we're going. Okay. So that was a five. No, a six. A six. A six, a five, and a three. Perfect. So you guys are in a controlled position- Yes
when we cut into the action. Things have been, so far, going as planned, and you are kind of where you need to be. Okay. So I would say, you know, Jackson, you bothered your dad [01:10:00] for those, um, records. He's always a little bit cagey when it comes to records. It's something you're used to. He's very by the book.
But you managed to get them. They were what he said. They were handling a recorded uptick in Leviathan activity out in this area. Um, you get the coordinates that you needed, which is kind of the important part. Um, and you get a few more details. The Leviathans that were in this area were not like the very big spaceship-sized ones you have sometimes, like, seen on record that you would deal with kind of before they even hit the Earth.
This was sort of an unexpected outcrop of several smaller, more compact, um, versions of these creatures. The Leviathans, again, are of the same alien breed as your engines, so they are these- Weird creatures of this almost sort of metallic adjacent carapace mixed with plant matter that can shift in form [01:11:00] to do what it needs to do.
So to try to even, like, describe on paper what they looked like would kind of be an effort in vain, because by the time you get down there, they might have chosen to adapt. You know, they're good at things like mimicry as well, insofar as, like, if they saw a particularly, like, interesting beetle that they thought they could mimic to get what they need of this environment, they might have shifted by then.
So you know they're smaller, less advanced. That's about it. Um, you guys have detached the sort of hanger thing that pops off of the spaceship. I'm so good at these fantasy terms. Uh, the little, like, hanger pod that includes all of your engines has detached, and you have gotten it sort of propelled to such a space that it's more in the area so that you don't have to wander through, like, thousands of miles of destroyed forest.
Maybe only, like, a couple of miles. Um, as you would drop down, as usual, you kind of have [01:12:00] packed your mechs down into their little backpack form as you drop out. And, uh, as you often do, you have almost, like, parachuted them out around you so that you can use their thrusters to all land on the ground. Um, whether you would like to sort of stomp through this forest in your big 30 to 40 foot tall form is up to you.
Or if you would like to take a subtler approach, um, you can choose to pack them back up and walk like normal people through this forest. Theodore definitely, like, lands in, like, a super cool, like, superhero pose, uh, that's completely unnecessary and impractical, but he thinks looks cool. You just look cool.
Awesome. Ja- Jackson just looks at him and goes-
Why? Um, practice properly articulating the machinery of the mech. Oh, Jackson, it [01:13:00] looks cool. Let him be cool. And it looks cool.
Okay. I would definitely stay in mine, but she's not a very stompy mech. She's very- Yeah ... she's very elegant. She's very, like, not quite tiptoeing, I think it's physically impossible, but she's not a little loud and stompy. Right, not just, like, taking an entire, like, tree with any given- No, no. No. Very carefully navigating the environment.
I take any opportunity to be in, in her as much as I can, especially on missions like this. Uh, I think hover board is out, but, like, not, Jackson is not a hover board. Yeah, he's, like, walking. Yeah. Terry is definitely, uh, inside of Icarus 'cause it's not often they get to, uh, it's not often Icarus gets to flex his wings to, you know, full spread, 'cause you're usually fighting in the city.
Mm-hmm. Protecting you mid-hang or at least around it, but they're in, you know, an open space, so he's using his wings to keep them hovering and moving with the group, but a little above them. Awesome. Yeah, so you guys, uh, drop down into this sort of destroyed foresty area. You look around, [01:14:00] and as you sort of gather your bearings, I think that is about where we're going to take our break for the evening.
Oh. So when we come back, we will deal with what you find in your travels. Oh, boy. Yay.[01:15:00] [01:16:00] [01:17:00] [01:18:00] [01:19:00] [01:20:00] [01:21:00] [01:22:00] [01:23:00]
Welcome back everybody. Um, so when we last left off our tourists, they had just, uh, as their pilots descended on this abandoned wasteland, just kind of- Several hundred [01:24:00] miles outside of the city state of New Manhattan, which is the fortified sort of encampment city that remains. Um, we are outside of our normal comfort area though because the B team had been handling, um, a uptick of Leviathan attacks when they tragically lost their front runner, Elena Maldonado.
Since they are now down a member, it has fallen on our team here of the, uh, crisis response engine unit to go retrieve her engine, which is what we colloquially, colloquially, I'm gonna get that word one of these days. Uh, what we colloquially- ... refer to as, um, as engines. Those are the mechs that you guys pilot.
Um, mech is sort of a reductive term for them in and of itself. They are these large living entities of this steel-like plant matter that you guys have bonded [01:25:00] with such that they allow you to have this symbiotic relationship. Um, some of you are actually within your engines right now. Um, so we have Pilot Terry who is currently inside of Icarus.
Um, Sally, you are inside of Terpsichore right now. Jackson is walking along with Hoverboard, and I think Theodore Brickstorm is the only engine we haven't heard a lot about yet. So as you're striking this cool hero pose as you've landed in, you know, the forests of upstate New York what are you up to?
Yeah, Theodore, uh, is in Brickstorm. Um, and as they're, like, going around, I think Brickstorm is just down on, like, all of his limbs, and just kinda, like, running around kinda like a puppy. Um, just, like, zipping around, like, just excitedly going, [01:26:00] you know, exploring the area, but, like, kind of doing some reconnaissance, making sure that, like, gets a good idea of what the terrain is like and- Yeah
looking out in the distance, seeing if anything's approaching. Brickstorm is this very, like, large, um, much more, like, contained mech, for lack of a better word. He's often on all fours like this. He's just wider built, a little stockier. Um, and yeah, I think a mech sort of built in that way would enjoy being in this environment.
Um, you and your engines are often either in the vacuum of space or the space station or New Manhattan, which is a very, very crowded, you know- City full of people, so to be out in sort of the wilds like this is a rare treat, such as it were. Um, you all take a minute to stretch and sort of appreciate that as you [01:27:00] can.
Hoverboard is like a kid at the park watching another kid, like, have fun. Like, like she keeps going like, kind of like inching away from Jackson, and Jackson keeps looking at her going, "No. No, come back." Like, wanting to chase Brickstorm. Icarus and I are definitely doing, like, loops and stuff, like, with the open air, just like, we're not in space.
There's, like, actual air, like, flowing through us, and like- Mm-hmm ... you know, we can do cool tricks and just, like, just have fun with it now that we're outside the city and there's no chance of us destroying a building if we do a cool trick. As we've maybe done on occasion. Uh, Jackson being the only person out here, you would also, like, it wouldn't be lost on you that the air out here is slightly more breathable than in the city.
Um, the city is contained in, you know, this heavy structure, and it's very industrious, so a lot of people have taken to, you know, air filtration systems, uh, as provided by Envirotech. Uh, but out here, you know, where there's less of [01:28:00] sort of like a big oven for- Greenhouse gases and whatnot, you breathe somewhat easily without your Envirotech, you know, respirator on.
All right. Do it. Uh- They're just, it's just notes about the environment you're in. Hm. Tastes like trees. That's what air's supposed to taste like. Yeah. Not like any of that cinnamon flavored nonsense that they want you to think. I mean, I would never say... Oh, the cameras aren't here, right. Yeah. This is one of my favorite scents.
Do you only get the cinnamon one? I mean, it's, it's kinda one of my favorites, but it's, it's still not, it, nothing compared to this. The cinnamon one's not that bad. It's, you know, I... What? Do you do orange? Peppermint? I do mint. I don't usually... I actually, I don't really usually use one of those things. [01:29:00] That's smart.
Envirotech, we make air because we care. Oh gosh, it's just- Um, Sally, are you, are you from the city? Yeah. Yeah. Yes? That was a non-discerning yes. Dripper keeps walking. I think she sees something. Question, are we on open comms at, like, all times during missions? So would, like, all of us just hear the two of them going back and forth?
I would assume you kinda have to be, considering- Yeah ... you're stuck in a big, like, plant- Yeah ... tomb. Um, there's probably some sort of, like, communication system that you wear probably, like, on your person that comes with you when you go in them. Gotcha. So you're not, like, sticking comm systems in this very, like, intricate- Living being Just like right here Yeah.
Yeah. Just got a paper cup in between two of them- ... with a syringe. Yeah, tin cans. I'm Terry Travail. [01:30:00] How y'all doing? Tan4. There's a big Tan4. So, like, the comms are, like, on our person. Yes They're not a part of the mechs. Yeah. I don't think they're... Like, you can repair the mechs and stuff. I don't know that it's super easy to, like, add things to them, because- Right
that would be, you know, like trying to tape a walkie-talkie to a cat, you know? Which doesn't work, I promise. Yeah. I, I imagine- We've all tried it ... people I imagine any addition to them is like adding an addition to a person. Like, if you put in, like, a pacemaker or something like that, like, it just fundamentally changes how your body works.
Yeah, like, there's things you can do. Again, they kinda, like, probably wanna be in agreement to it. Yeah. Um, and it's easier to just, like, simple things like that just keep on you and not- Yeah ... ask your engine to, like, incorporate this walkie-talkie- ... into your chest, please. And one of the things that I've been doing as the scientist is trying to discover new ways of making those technology, like, a- adaptations with, uh, mechs, since they're this botanical metal hybrid, um, I've been studying to try and [01:31:00] figure out if we could make different things happen, like more of a, um, integrated system instead of d- uh, walkie-talkie, duct-taping a walkie-talkie to the cat.
Yeah, um, again, engines have only really been something that humans have had access to for maybe, like, 15 years, a little over 15 years, and of those, like, slightly over 15 years, 15 years of it has been using them to defend against, um, the Leviathans, who were not super happy when Bastion Corporation, who sort of owns you guys' whole thing, had come to their planet to harvest these interesting technologies.
Um, so now you're kind of stuck patching up this hole you created, as it were, by fighting them back with the very things that you stole. Um, and that's not lost on you, of course. Yeah. So understanding them in such a [01:32:00] level that you can work with them more meaningfully is something that is obviously meaningful to you.
So yeah, you guys have touched down. Uh, Jackson, you know from your estimates that you're probably still, like, a little ways off. You gotta walk through the forest for a bit. You know roughly about where you're going, um, it's just kind of a little bit of a hike to get there. I think he's gonna, he's gonna get on comms and he's gonna go, "Terry, why don't you, uh, why don't you speed ahead and, uh, check out the site while, um...
Just to make sure there's nothing there that can eat us, or if there is... So, just, just check it out before we all go in." Are you sure? Terry- Oh, sorry. Go ahead. I was gonna say, are you sure we should split up? I just don't want anything to happen. He's, he's fast enough. He'll be, he'll be fine. Terry's smile can be [01:33:00] heard.
Careful, Terry. I, I have been waiting to let loose. And Icarus and I just immediately go, like we're gone. Like, we just go as fast as we can 'cause this is the one chance that when we're on Earth, like the rare chance we have to just go within the atmosphere because- Yeah ... to Icarus and Terry, breaking the sound barrier is like the coolest thing ever, and you can't do that in space or in a city.
I, I look at Hoverboard and I just go like, "You think that was a good idea?" So yeah, there's sort of almost like this like, pew, as you- Yeah ... shoot up off the ground, and, you know, dead plant matter sprays everywhere, all over all of you, especially Jackson, who's not- Yeah. ... protected right now. Um, as you shoot off, you know, get enough off the ground that you aren't, like, hitting trees and stuff- Yeah
um, and you begin to look around. Uh, like I said, it's not exactly a wasteland. There's not as many trees as there once were out here, but there certainly are some, so [01:34:00] you maybe can't go quite as fast as you would like to do as you're doing this sort of looking on up ahead. Gotcha. Um, you can roll me a check to sort of look what's around.
Can I roll for my per- using perceive? Yeah. Okay. Ooh, a five. Okay. Yeah, so you start off in sort of the western direction that you were told to go, um, keeping low enough that you can sort of see things. Um, and you actually come across, first of all, a decently sized, maybe like a dozen or so band of people, which is interesting because, you know, there's not a ton of those out here.
Uh, and as you're kind of just like rocketing past, you see, just as you're like pulling away, like everyone staring up. Mm-hmm. You know. Uh, again, which is interesting. You know, it's not really out of the question that people are still out here, it's just [01:35:00] most of them are not. This is not, like, the safest place to be.
Um- You choose to keep going. Uh, you're scanning around, um, when finally you see up ahead pretty obviously a large area of trees that is all sort of like bent weird ways. Mm-hmm. As if something occurred here. Gotcha. Yeah, I definitely, uh, like see the trees and I keep heading for them, but I make sure to get on comms and I'm like, "Cap, just letting you know we got a few civvies out here along, along the path on the way to where we're going.
So just, just putting that out there. We might wanna be aware if something goes awry." And I, I definitely have found something. Did, I, do trees bend? Hey, resident botanist. You know, person with a doctorate in botany. Do trees [01:36:00] bend? Sorry, Sally, do trees bend? Thanks, Terry. Yes, trees c- Not, um, not normally. Uh, how bent are we?
Is there flames? Is there fire? Is there scorch marks? Are they fall- How- Are they bent and like, are they all bent like outwards in the same way? Is there like a pattern to them? Is there- Not quite a pattern. Like, it doesn't look like they all were... But it looks like something happened here and they were very much broken.
Oh, okay. In, like within an area. Gotcha. Some of them are bent, some of them are broken. You feel very confident now after consulting with your lead biologist that this is not a natural bent here. I know, they don't usually do that. Not just, not of their own accord. Um, I'm, I'm gonna go with something definitely happened here.
Some of them are broken and the ones that aren't look like they're about to snap. It's like I wouldn't equate it to like that moment when pasta breaks when you're bending it, but it's pretty close. Got it. No, these are, this is very important insight. Now, do tell me, Sally, how long have you been going to [01:37:00] school for?
A long time. How many hours, or would you say like how many, you know, how much time have you put into your degree of knowledge and- You know, honestly, the do trees bend question never really came up. We learned about like how trees grow and what trees are made of, not just do trees bend. Trees fall. Well.
And if they fall, yes, they make a sound. And- No matter if anyone's around ... Terry, follow-up question. Are you from the city? That is certainly a question. W- so d- were, were all of you made in a lab? What- Okay. All right. Um, okay, let's do this. Were the civvies... Back to them. I know, you mentioned something very important and we just moved on, but...
So, civilians- Yeah, but the trees are broken. Oh my God. So the civvies, are they like... Is that their homes or are they just, like, wandering? It looked like they were just wandering. I didn't see any structures when I passed by, but I was moving pretty quick, but I definitely saw a group of [01:38:00] people. Yeah, you went...
But there were definitely, like, group of people walking in a- Gotcha ... somewhat line. It looked like a- Why... Were you, were you gonna... Was there more? Oh, no. They're just- You just wanna ... heading somewhere by the looks of it. Why don't you do this? Scan the perimeter, don't go near. Stay, or stay a bit far. Me and Sally, uh, will catch up with you.
Theo? I can go, I can go check out the people. You know how you love people. You're such a people- People are great. You need- Listen. God, Theo, you're great. The, the big beetle mech might freak 'em out a little. Hello, friends. I'll, I'll get out of the mech. Do we have weapons, like, that we keep on us, like, on our human person?
I would assume probably, yeah. Okay. He goes, "All right. So I don't know what things are like where you're from, when you're from." "People here are a little jumpy." I love jumping. No. Okay. So, like- [01:39:00] I love jumping ... you remember how in at, in the training, in the training room there was a shooting range, and the targets were all people shaped?
Yeah. Yeah, okay. So you- 'Cause sometimes the little guys looks kinda like people. Okay. So if somebody comes at you, and they like- Bless your heart, Theo ... if they come at you and they hold something, like, big and sharp, or they pull out something that looks like your sidearm, you need to, you need to shoot them.
What if I just get back with Brickstorm? Or, or that. Just either way, just be prepared. They might wanna hurt you. Okay? Okay. But just be friendly. Say, "Hey"- I'll be fine. Just say, "Hey, we need you guys to go in another direction." Just get them away from here. Yeah. We don't want them messing any of this up. Okay?
Can you do that? Yeah. And you gotta, you gotta use words from our time. Yeah. Okay. Cool. You got, you got it? This whole time, like, Brickstorm's been, like, inching away. Just kinda like waiting for you [01:40:00] to, like, give the order. Okay, go. Just sprints off. In the mech? Yeah. He, like... He goes, like... He takes a second. He, like, squats on the fourth floor of the tower.
Hey, um, lead botanical professor, whatever your titles are You know what my title is, Jackson. Am I, am I too trusting? You know, you're a lot of things, but I think he's gonna be fine. Okay. All right. Let's go check out the trees- Yeah, okay ... that are bent and are broken. Okay. I can tell you what they are if you'd like.
Do you know what kind of trees they are? Not yet. I haven't seen them. They're all around us. I don't imagine they're gonna change that much. They got bark on them. I imagine most trees have bark. Most trees have bark, you say? Public education has failed you, Jerry. So, so do, do- I only got level to one. So do tell.
[01:41:00] Chief Professor Captain Lord Botanist. How many trees have bark? It's kind of a part of being a tree, sir.
Yeah. We'll go take a look. There's trees all around you. You can look right now. I'm going to, but this is... We're in a pine forest. I'm going to guess there's more pines, and these are scotch- Yeah ... and these are not, and we're going to go and see what we can find, okay? You know, in this day and age, you know, the past 15 years or so, a lot of the schools that exist are corporate funded, and it has become a lot more of an optional thing.
Uh, so I feel like that's, that's felt here, where someone- That's definitely Terry. There's not even as many trees as there were
before, Terry. Terry, what have you- A lot of trees are gone. Terry- What was your favorite subject in school, bud? Yeah. Terry, how [01:42:00] many times did you go to school? You know, me and my dad, I know we weren't supposed to be- I didn't ask about your dad I'm... You're gonna get the story anyways. Me and my da- You asked me if I grew up in the city, and I know we're not supposed to leave the city, but I'm a pilot 'cause, you know, my dad took me out p- piloting all the time outside the city.
There really wasn't much time for school. It was just a lot of flying planes, learning how engines work, you know, that kind of stuff. Real survival by your own... Yeah. Terry, Terry, did you think, genuinely, when you had told us all about your, you know, flying, barn-busting past or whatever- Barnstorming
barnstorming- ... that we had all gone, "Oh, yeah, you know those things in cities?" Barns. Barns. In the city. We- You know, in the city- ... with all the, with all the factories- ... and the apartment and the sky rises, right? Barns at the top of them. Well, you know- Terry, I have a general question ... it's more a phrase than a description.
Oh, my God.[01:43:00]
Anyways, these trees are still bent and broken. That's a white- Really? So
you have- That's a red pine. Barreled off. That's a blue pine. No, there's no such thing as a blue pine. And you're hearing this in your comms. I don't know how much you're paying attention to it anymore, as you're just like... Yeah, I think I, like, lower the volume so I can still hear them- ... if, like, something big happens, but I'm tuning out this whole conversation.
You're, like, turning down the group call so you can focus on your piloting. Um- Like muted Discord. Are you, like... Is there any level of, like, care and precision as you're barreling through the woods? Or are you just like, tree gone, other tree gone. Yeah, I'm- No, that's a red maple. I'm- Damn you. ... looking ahead to make sure that- All right, okay.
Sorry. I'm definitely looking ahead 'cause I know there's, like, people there that could be stepped on. Um, but I'm [01:44:00] not, like- But if you hit them with a tree, I don't know. I'm, I'm making sure that I'm, have enough time to, like, stop before I get to people, but I'm not really taking care of the trees. You are not speaking for the trees at this moment.
Uh, okay. So yeah, you hurry off. Uh, Briddstorm is not the fastest of the group, but he's certainly well-equipped to just sort of, like, barrel through the woods without, like, particularly paying that much attention. Uh, Jackson, uh, Sally, you're looking ahead and seeing, like, hearing, like, the very tell-tale sound of a tree being struck.
And, like, on the skyline one of the trees just, like, slightly bent. As it has been hit but not destroyed. Um... A bent tree. They do bend. Uh... And as you do, you see a good, I don't know, 100 feet away or so, there's not that much visibility, this group of people that you were told [01:45:00] about. They are, uh, on foot. Some of them are, uh, pushing along, like- Hover bikes, which are more common in the city.
You know, it's almost like a, a little scooter situation, but they're not super useful on ground this uneven. Um, so they're just kind of pushing them around in their, like, hover state as they walk. Um, they're wearing big, uh, like camping style backpacks full of stuff, and they just seem to be, like, wandering along.
Yeah, so as, you know, Brickstorm barrels along and then sees, gets right up to them- Yeah, I would say by the time- Stops ... you, like, stopped- Yeah ... they have fully noticed you, turned, and are like, "Huh." Um, and then, like, as, like, Brickstorm, like, stops perfectly still and Theodore kind of, like, stumbles out, um, and just kinda, like, [01:46:00] catch himself.
Uh, some of them- He's kinda drunk ... I think are already, like, taking out weaponry as, like, they see what is- ... somewhat indistinguishable from the large creatures that are plaguing this forest. Um, and they're all screaming and they're like, "We've got one. Look out, everybody." And the comms are still open, can you hear the...
Are, are the comms open? Yeah, you're just hearing the muffled sounds of like, "Everybody," like as you're walking. As you're walking, you just see Jack... The, like, hover board, it keeps going. Jackson has just stopped. And now as you, like, pop out of Brickstorm like, "Friends," you have, like, six or seven guns pointed at you.
Good evening, friends. I am here from the Bastion Corporation. My name is Theodore Luther. I am here to help. Oh my God, he's dead. Uh, they all kind of stare and, like, look to their leader, who, like, thinks about it for a minute, is like- No, that's one of them engines. I don't think they speak like that, 'cause it's New York.
They're like- "What are these engines doing in here?" [01:47:00] Hey. Upstate New York. I think we were covering that there. Uh, like, "No, no. Hey, one of the..." "That's one of those engines." And then they kind of turn to you, and they, like, clearly have no idea how to handle this. Like, uh, the one in front kind of tries to look tough, and, like, does not put down their gun.
They're like, "What do you want?" I, I just like, yeah, like stand, like, face-to-face with him, like get even closer to the gun. Um- Um, "Hello. You, you, uh, in charge here?" You're hearing half of... Like, you're hearing Caymas speak, and then, like, the muffled, like, threats from other people. Uh, the, the person in charge, they kind of look, like, back.
They're, you know, a somewhat, like, muscular person, longish hair. Um, scruffy beard, kind of like they've been out in the [01:48:00] wild for a bit and haven't been able to do much with their appearance. Uh, they look back at the group, and then they nod. They're like, "Yeah, I'm in charge." The rest of the group's kind of like, "Yeah, yeah."
Wonderful. Wonderful. All right. Uh, we have an operation going on, uh, I believe roughly northeast of here. Uh, so if you could just head to... Redirect your course to the southwest. Uh, just, uh, if you can get a good, I don't know, 15, 20 miles that way, uh, should be safe. Uh, we expect this operation to be beginning probably in the next five to 10 minutes, and if you just clear this area for- Oh
probably the rest of the night. So you want us to get 15, 20 miles away in five minutes? Yes. That, that would be appreciated. Thank you. Uh, any more questions? How do you, how do you propose we do that? Not all of us have... And they just kind of usher aggressively towards Brickstorm. Um, uh, w- one, one second. [01:49:00] Hey, hey, hey Cap?
What? Um, what's- What? What's the minimum safe radius for our mission, the expectation there? Do, do I know this? What, what would you say it would be? I'd say you're used to working, like, in pretty close contact, but at the same time, often you're working, like, not literally within the city limits, like outside.
So you're also probably just guessing, but you're in the unique position where you have to guess in a confident manner.
Uh, do they, do they have any mode of transportation beside legs? Uh, nothing that could take all of them. Yeah, they have, like, maybe three or four hover bikes with, between them. Like, those people probably, like, can go ahead and scout. But they do not have enough to, like, all just- Roughly how many people is this?
Like, a dozen or so. Okay. Like, it looks [01:50:00] like a big- Theo, could you fit them on you and take them somewhere safe? Oh. Not you... Oh, I'm sorry. Yeah, no, I- Did you think I meant Vrixxstorm? Yeah, I, I, I understood. Did you? Just making sure. Yes. I didn't think you'd pick them all up, Theo, by yourself. I mean- He's a big, strong guy.
He might be able to do it. I believe in you. Um, how would you all like to go for a ride? Ooh, okay. Um. Oh, my God. The paperwork. The paperwork. Hmm. That's always a good sound from your GM. I think we'll head in. Oh. I think this is definitely a, a risky position, trying to convince them of this. Yeah. If you would like to make a appropriate roll, you could make an argument for any roll.
Um. But... I'm gonna say probably conceal, concealing [01:51:00] how dangerous it would actually be to ride on an engine. Yeah, you're trying to, like... I know, you're like, "Yeah, yeah, it's perfectly... We do this all of the time." Um, okay, so you can go ahead and make a conceal roll. And I'll- Can I offer him a D1 with my perfect pitch?
Can I use that ability to, uh, sing, to inspire my allies or soothe the troubled hearts of foes? Is that just how it works? You just, like- That's, um, you, your voice is polyphonic and eerily beautiful. Your allies can always hear you speak regardless of distance or other interference. Mm-hmm. When you sing to inspire your allies or soothe troubled hearts of foes, roll plus 1...
Ooh, roll, roll plus 1D. So maybe I can't... Well, I... Oh, I roll to inspire him? Or- I would assume- Oh, that works ... he rolls an extra, like- Yeah, so here ... an inspiration. Do you actually just start, like... Is it a literal singing? I think so. I mean, probably. It's like trying to talk while- You just hear- Just watch.
Jackson just takes the, the, the little walkie he has and just... I would say for y- you specifically, Theodore, like, the rousing [01:52:00] battle music that Sally is singing, you go, "Yeah, yeah." "Yeah." And you're like- You know, you're ready to give a more heroic speech to them to conceal that you don't know what you're doing.
So you're like, "Citizens." Great. There you go. Um, can I, can I combine that with pushing myself to- Yeah, I think you can ... add an extra die? Okay. Yeah, absolutely. Um, I think I'm gonna do that for now. So you're gonna mark two stress. Yeah. All right, mark two stress. I've got three dice to make this work. You got this.
Three ones, baby. Ooh. One to hit the board. Baby. Whoa. It's a four? All right. It's a good Yahtzee roll. Well, it's a- ... risky, but it's not an ultimate four.
All right. So I do believe that is what we would call a mixed success. Um- This experience for Jackson right now. Oh, dude, he is, he... Like, at one point he just looks up at Hoverboard, who, he's patched into the [01:53:00] comm system, and he goes Just fingers, how bad is it? Like, hold on. How bad, how, how bad is it? And Hoverboard just goes like
Mixed experience. So they do start sort of like walking over, but then they like look at you expectantly like, "Okay, where on this mech do we go so we don't get flung off at high speeds?" And you realize y- you didn't quite think of that yet, so you get slightly less convincing as you're trying to direct them where to go, and they...
The confidence is not high amongst this group. They're not thrilled.
Look, I, I get it. Like, this thing is terrifying.[01:54:00]
It's a huge demon beyond our
comprehension. Um, I do think you're better off spending like five minutes with me going slowly. I'll go so slow. I'm like really good at this. Um, rather than sticking around for... The thing that's over there that we're definitely gonna take care of, no reason to lose confidence in our ability to take care of stuff like this.
Um, but you probably don't wanna be near it. We're really good at our jobs, but also part of that job is having you not be here. Okay? Okay. Um, they- We'll kind of follow your haphazard instructions. You find seemingly decent areas on Brickstorm with no good surface space. You kind of try to... I don't think it occurs to you that you could maybe, like, get into Brickstorm at this point to make this easier for them.
So [01:55:00] it's not, like, great as you're trying to, like, help them climb up. And I think, uh, through this whole experience, you gain another stress, 'cause it's just- Oh, no. Oh, no. Boy. It's... You're really doubting your position as the people person of this group, but that is your mixed success. You do get everyone up, up on there.
Uh, and then you hop back into Brickstorm. I assume you can, like... Yeah. I think just, yeah, very slowly, careful. I mean, like, faster than they could have walked- Yeah ... but, like, as careful as I've ever been in this engine. Uh, yeah, so you have the pleasure of listening as he awkwardly tries to, like, shuttle this group of people away.
The good thing about Brickstorm is because he's nice and low to the ground, it's a smoother ride than if they were all just, like, sitting up on Icarus's shoulders or something, you know?[01:56:00]
Is it over? You're doing great, Theo. Did you, did you do it? Uh, yeah. Yeah, I got, I got it all taken care of, no problems. Good job, Theo. We're so proud of you. You should see these bent trees, Theo. They're pretty cool.
All right. So yeah, you're, you just, you're supposed to be heading west. You head east. You maybe don't get, you know, super far away, but you go what feels like about where Jackson would be happy with. And you're like, "Yeah, yeah." And you just- Yeah ... lower down and start helping all these people off who are, at best, disgruntled.
That they've been asked to clear this area. But whatever, like, annoyance they're feeling and, like, obstinence is kind of just second to how anxious they feel about the fact that you're even [01:57:00] here. Again, that's not something they deal with a lot. They probably weren't even in this area, being traveling to see the, the last situation.
So like the fact that they're dealing with you in general has kind of paralyzed them enough that you can kind of just be like, "Okay, everybody." And you've seen it through. They are now what hopefully is a safe distance away. I think after I, you know, help the last one get off and, you know, get ready to go back into Brickstorm, and turn to the others, and just turn to Lee real quick and be like, "Hey, um, just real quick before I head off, what are you guys doing out here?"
Like, shouldn't you be in the city? They will, like, the, the one that identified themselves as the leader will just, like, kinda look at you and laugh and say, "We don't live in the city. We live around here." Uh, yeah, Theodore just, like, joins in with laughing. Right, yeah. So funny. And just gets back into the mech and runs off.[01:58:00]
He's like, "These people are crazy." All right. You awkwardly shuffle back to join with, um, the rest of them. Are you back with the rest of the group yet? No, I think I'm still circling around, waiting for them to catch up to me. Yeah. Um- I would say with the amount of time you've spent here, you've definitely been able to kind of look the area over.
It's not that hard to find a big 30-foot tall piece of machinery. Um, you find Nocturne, um, kind of lodged in this area under some of these bent trees. Um... Captain, you'll never believe it. How are, how are the trees bent around Nocturne? Like, did... Is it... Are they bent from Nocturne hitting it? Are they bent like it's covering it?
Like- Um, it looks like quite a few of them were just bent in the sense that, like, Nocturne hit the ground fast, and maybe even slid a little. Gotcha. So a lot of them are like, you know. And then there's a few things just kind of like at this point on top of [01:59:00] Nocturne from probably whatever struggle there was for the rest- Gotcha
of them to, like, get out of there. Gotcha. Um- They don't look, like, horrifically damaged from what you can see from here. Um, yeah. Gotcha. Uh, so I'm definitely gonna radio that in. I'm gonna be like, "I found Nocturne. Uh, that would probably explain why the trees are bent, 'cause it looks like Nocturne and, and it got thrown a bit.
Um..." Does it look like a crash landing, or does it look like a throw? Is Nocturne on, like, back, stomach? Can I tell? Yeah, it looks kind of like, uh, Nocturne and the Selena were hit probably somewhere in, like, the chest region, and then just, like, fell down and slid as they just- Gotcha ... Elena lost control of the mech.
Gotcha. If I had to throw a guess out there, looks like crashing from an attack, probably lost control. Definitely some... A little bit of damage to the chest it looks [02:00:00] like. Nocturne doesn't look that beat up, but there's definitely some wear and tear from a battle that tossed them to where they are now.
Does... Is Nocturne an airborne one? Um, no. Nocturne is extremely fast and has thrusters in the leg that let them kind of, like, glide and do cool jumps, but they're aerial in the sense that they can kind of, like, jump up. They don't fly. Uh, ah.
Just stay in the, just stay in the air for now. Uh, all right. Hopefully whatever it is is grounded. I'm gonna have, um, Icarus, like, fly over near Nocturn, but hover, like, a good, like, probably 20 feet above. Okay. Yeah. Um, I'd say as you get kind of closer, you can see that, like, part of the reason you're not seeing a lot of damage to the chest is Nocturn did what they could to sort of, like, repair.
It's almost like the metal is scarred. Gotcha. Um, in fact, [02:01:00] as you get closer, you can almost see, like, an arm reaching out that has then been somewhat enclosed. Gotcha. Yeah, as if it almost, like, healed over this wound in a weird way. Gotcha. Um, it seems that Nocturn themselves, uh, they're inactive at this point.
Mm-hmm. Which would make sense considering the person they were linking with mentally is otherwise indisposed inside of them. Is it, when Terry's looking at this and sees this, is it clear to him that it's a, probably Elena's arm reaching out that got encased? Yeah. Okay. Elena's definitely still inside. Uh, when Nocturn got hit, looks like, looks like tried to heal, and it, Elena's arm is definitely encased in Nocturn's wound.
Just stay there. We'll, [02:02:00] we'll, we'll discuss it when we land. All right? All right. I'll stay hover position. All right. And then Jackson kind of, you know, the hoverboard holds him kind of like this, and they begin running. Yeah. You guys can easily know that you've all convened and taken care of the situation, kind of get closer.
Um, as you see all these bent trees, you get the sense that you're getting into the area. Um, I would say, like, you guys understand that this was probably somewhere where a struggle between four engines and several small leviathans took place, and that's why the area is so damaged in these unpredictable fashions, as if there was a large scale fight taking place here that would have taken up a lot of room.
Do we see any of the leviathan... Like, do we see any dead leviathans around? Ooh. Or do we see just Nocturne? You can do some kind of roll to see if you can- Yeah, absolutely. I've got an analyze or- Yeah, this is definitely within your wheelhouse of, like- Okay. Mm-hmm. I [02:03:00] don't like that we can't straight up see 4d6 sometimes.
Four. Four. Four. Um, yeah. Okay, well, let me think about this. You see, um, again, like kind of weird, you never know exactly what you're looking for. Um, you see Sort of these weird out of place balls of matter that you would immediately recognize as sort of out of place. Um, they're kind of like almost like basketball size just, and you look and it looks almost as if like they had taken this sort of beetle-ish pill buggy form, and then upon being like knocked down, just turned into this sort of ball of matter.
Um, with your sort of mixed success there, you're a little concerned that you're only seeing dead ones. Yeah. Because you would know, especially from you reading the [02:04:00] mission logs, that this was a retreat. This was not a complete success. So if they chose to just leave, that would be interesting. But considering there's a engine sitting here that has yet to be taken care of, you're not sure.
Yeah. I say, oh, sorry. I was gonna say, I, I say to Terpsichore, um, "We'll have to analyze those later. Are you gonna be okay?" Uh, Terpsichore is kind of, like, distracted from it, looking around and assessing, and kind of just quietly says, like, "I'll be all right." Okay. Um, you know, definitely, like, very thoughtful right now- Yeah
as you're, you're kind of definitely taking the lead of, like, moving before her. Yeah. Let's go see Nocturne. Okay. Uh, what was the last, uh, order the captain issued before, uh, before we lost contact with Nocturne? [02:05:00] Like- Do, like, do we have, like, their logs from, like, their communications or...? I don't know that you would have that.
Okay. I don't know that's something that you would've been able to, like- All right ... convince them to give you All right. I think, yeah, Hoverboard just kind of approaches the downed Nocturne. Yeah. Um, you get a little closer, you see what, uh, Terry was describing to you. Um, as you do get closer now, uh, Sally, I would say you are the first to sort of notice that there is a movement sort of lodged underneath Nocturne.
Okay. Um, like something is beneath it. Okay. Captain, I'm going to move her, um, with your permission. I think I see something
Let Terry move her. Terry, pull her up and then we'll, the two of us can do it. [02:06:00] You sure? I- Icarus isn't exactly the strongest of the group. No, but I would rather, I would rather you pull something up so we can get a good look than pulling it away and giving it a chance to maybe scuttle. All right. All right.
So- Be quick about it. Will do. Um, Icarus is gonna kind of get as close as possible- Mm-hmm ... and use its claw-shaped hands to grab the shoulders of Nocturne- Mm-hmm ... and then try to just lift Nocturne straight up. Yeah. Like, just flap the wings and go... So again, you're not, like, the strongest. Yeah. It takes a little bit of effort with how sort of lodged in the forest floor- Mm-hmm
they are, but it's not completely... You know, it's like if you as a not very strong person were trying to lift up another person. Yeah. It's manageable. Um, and as you do, you quickly notice what Sally was warning you about, um, underneath this thing. [02:07:00] Under the sun. What? What? No. No. No. Sorry, what? Um, I don't know what you're talking about.
Um, there's several things that scuttle quickly. They're both on the ground now, and some of them are just still on, um, the map. So there may be, like, again, like, these basketball-sized creatures that sort of, like, pop open and start skittering around, and you would recognize them, again, not as, like, the most threatening leviathans you've ever seen, but they are spawn of the leviathans that are kind of like, now that Nocturne is up, you see kind of almost, like, picking away at it.
Um- Do the ones on Nocturne start scuttling up to Icarus? Oh, yeah, like right away, like Okay. I, I think, I think in the sudden movement of the leviathans, Terry definitely freaks for a second. Like, it catches him off-guard. It's not like a freak-out, but it's like, "Oh, what?" And Icarus drops Nocturne. Okay. I would, I would try and catch.
Ooh. I would try. I know I'm very slender, but I [02:08:00] would try. Okay. I, I think J- Jackson, when you try to catch, like, looks at you and goes like... Ah. "Let it crush them." I, I'm here for science. Oh, okay. Um, and make a, if you want to- Yeah ... a FLOW roll- All right ... um, to see if you can sort of- Then I have
to push myself. Yeah. Okay. Woo-hoo. So you're gonna mark two stress. That's fine. Um. That's a one.
So
I think what happens is you go to sort of reach and grab this thing, and then Jackson kind of says, like, "No, no, just, like, let it drop." And you kind of, like, panic, like you're not sure what to do, and you're kind of half doing both. And- Yeah ... uh, you kind of just get, like, hit by Nocturne's leg. Okay. Uh, and you will mark a level one harm for that.
Okay. I think [02:09:00] Jackson's gonna kind of act on that. And you can mark that as bruised or struck or whatever. I think Jackson's gonna kind of act on that. Like, when he watches the leg kind of come down, does it, like, knock Trip Chicory down? Like- Imagine knocking back. You kind of just get, like, staggered back.
Yeah. Yeah, you know. It doesn't feel good. No. Uh, hover... I, I think Jackson immediately, like, hoverboard, like, goes like this, and, like, pushes Jackson into her. Mm-hmm. And then she just, without, like, hesitation, like, grabs and throws Nocturne. Okay. Like, or, like, not throws, but, like, tries to get it out of the way.
Uh, sure. Um, do you wanna try and make a roll for that? Yeah. Uh...
Ah, would that be- Let's say defy roll ... I was gonna say I feel like defy 'cause it's- Yeah ... kind of defying what- Yeah, I'd say defy roll. Okay. Don't forget you guys have- It's a four. Okay. Um, [02:10:00] so you'll mark the two stress from that. Ugh.
Don't forget that you guys have your own little abilities. Um, you can also choose to transcend while you are within your mechs as you're sort of, like... You don't have to be within them, but when you're really, like, sunk up with them in a specific way- Yeah ... you gain access to that transcendent ability, as well as your, uh, team transcendent ability.
Mm-hmm. Um, Hoverboard, y- you shuck this thing. Um, definitely, like, not super how you wanna be handling the big pieces of equipment, and you're almost, like, hearing your father's voice in your head as you're taking this thing, and it's like, whoom. So much bigger. Uh- Hoverboard definitely doesn't know her own strength, and, like, when it gets out of her hands and she watched it fly, she goes...
Yeah. And she goes like- It's like, tree, tree, other tree, ground, slide. Um, but you definitely manage to just squash a really good amount of these [02:11:00] things that are still on the mech. Nice. Did a bunch of them get on Icarus? Like, are they on Icarus right now? Yeah. Okay. They're starting to just kind of, like, chew.
Gotcha. Uh, and I don't think it's, like, a pleasant feeling for either of you. No. As you just kind of feel, like, this weird, like, scratchy feeling. No. Icarus is definitely, like, kind of freaking out in the air, like, trying to grab them off and do what he can. Yeah, you're definitely, like, not as sunk up as Icarus.
It's like, "Ah, bugs." No. No. Like, Terry's definitely losing control of Icarus at this point- Yeah ... 'cause Icarus is just, like, in survival mode. If these things are eating through my skin, basically, let me- Mm-hmm ... rip them off. Like ticks, basically, trying to rip them off. Yeah, okay. So. Um, you can make a roll of your choice to try to do what these other- Can I roll defy?
Yeah, absolutely. All right. And then can I spend a link to- Sure ... help with that? So that would give you an extra die. Like, can you roll mine? It's right here. What exactly are you doing, just for flavor, to, like, spend this link? [02:12:00] Um, I, I think, uh, I think Theodore just, like, goes over the comms and is like, uh, calls them out and is like, "All right, you got one on your back, you got one here," and, like, gives business, and is like- Yeah, you would-
"And remember, there's gonna be a movie about us." Not the movie where I got a six. I rolled a one and a six. You're like- Perfect ... freaking out, and then you're like, yeah, like, you gotta look cool. All right. All right, all right, we can do this. We can do this, Icarus. Calm down. We'll get them off of us. Theo's told us where they are, and I rolled a six.
Yeah. So, um- A somewhat risky maneuver that you're doing trying to, like, pilot your half-freaking-out mech, but this would be a pretty standard success considering you rolled super well. Um, you manage to start pulling these things off and just, like, within Icarus' hands, just crushing them into bug and plant matter, and you just drop them off.
And with, [02:13:00] uh, you kind of focusing your energy on, like, telling him where these things are on Icarus, you manage to just sort of clean yourself off of them. Cool. Um, so you've mostly taken care of the little bug situation, uh, besides whatever is left on the now, like, 20 feet away- ... um, engine. Uh, I g- I guess- I think, uh, Theodore's confident at this point.
Okay. And is just- Oh, no. Oh, no. Gonna go, uh, uh, towards Nocturne and go see what of the other bugs he can squish. Okay. Yeah. Uh, do you wanna do, like, a defy roll, a anal- Like, you can make an argument for anything. Um, I, yeah, I think analyze. Yeah. Um, he's gonna go be like, "All right. I've seen them m- get taken down.
I've, you know, got some time." Run [02:14:00] up. Yeah. Just, you know- They're not super easy- Go after them ... to see when they're on the ground. They're kind of almost, like, this mossy color on purpose. Um, and you're very much just scanning for them at this point, uh, to see where they are. You can go ahead and make a roll for that.
All right. Two. Okay. Um, so it was a... I would say it was a controlled position that you were in at this point. They're not actively attacking you. Um, so a limited effect. Um, you managed to get a few of them, but sort of, like, there's more than you thought is what you quickly realize. They're still just sort of all over the forest floor over here blending in with this sort of mossy color, and it seems like every time you squish one, you spot two more that are scuttling quickly out of your sight again.
Um, and it's gonna be a difficult path to just, like, get over to Nocturne without getting, like, swarmed with these things like ants. I think Hoverboard is gonna...[02:15:00]
Uh, we're trying to get to Nocturne, right? I would assume so, yeah. Are...
I think
I, I have two ideas in my head. They're both kind of bad. Let it rip. I... Do you have one? Yeah. Go ahead. So- Call it. Ichor's, Ichor's wings are able to detach and become shields, like, on the arms. Mm-hmm. I, I think Terry's gonna be like... He's gonna get on the comms and be like, "I can attach Ichor's, uh, wings. We can make them into shields, and we can just push right past these things.
We can just force them back until we get to Nocturne. I can use what little power my thrusters have. You guys can get behind me, and we can just plow right through them. I won't be able to go airborne really, but I'll have you guys with me." You're not that strong. That's a bad idea. Feels like the only idea.
That's a bad one. Okay. Uh, Hoverboard is going to go up behind [02:16:00] Brickstorm and go, "I need you to trust me. Do you trust me?" Always do. All right. And she is going to kind of deadlift squat Brickstorm- Oh, God ... and just up and push through the tree line. All right. Like, like, like a, a basketball through a, through a wash of middle schoolers.
I- Just bang. Brickstorm just, like, instinctively, like, balls up to get, like- Basketball special, baby. Yeah. All right. Just bug boys doing what bug boys do. You want to make a roll? Bug boy. Uh, I'm gonna roll, um... I'm going to roll using another one of Hoverboard's links, uh- Sure ... as, as to add one. And then- So you probably just, like, a defy roll to put a name to it.
Yeah. And you're using a link. All right. Defy roll and a link. It's a five. Yeah. Um, so- This is somewhat, like, within your wheelhouse. You know, you're used to sort of working with the others, even if it's not, like, a super practiced routine. So with some amount of ease, [02:17:00] you pick him up and just... And you sort of get into the bulliest form that you can.
And as you do, you just kind of feel like, as, like, a good decent path. Like, you haven't gotten all of them, but you've sort of forged your way ahead, as long as you move quickly. Imagine def- like, Hoverboard's default, like, team assist attack is throw the other person as far as she can. There we go.
How many are... Are, are we... There's still a good number on the body, on Nocturn? Yeah. Okay. Like, you got... You took care of quite a few of them. Yeah. They're all splattered among the several trees you knocked over, but it wasn't the cleanest way to, like, pick them all off. There's still some left. Coolest way, though.
Oh, for sure. Theo, you look great, by the way. Can Icarus try and use its wings, like, to just, like, flap and create enough gust to throw them off of Nocturn? Yeah, why not? You have your links with Icarus, if you'd like to use them. I do. Yes. [02:18:00] Can I use one of them? Yes. And if there's a specific skill you want to employ.
Um, would that be... Would defy work for that? Uh, I don't see why not. Okay. You're facing opposition head-on. Okay. So that'll be... Got one extra die 'cause I'm using my link.
I got a- Ooh ... double five. Nice. Okay. Nice. So five. Um, yeah, you manage to just sort of, like, push them all back. And, uh, that's still sort of, like, a partial success, just simply because they don't, you know, die from this. But you've managed to get them off of Nocturn in such a way that if you can work quickly enough, you can probably extract Nocturn from this situation over here.
Can I try and swoop in to grab Nocturn now that it's clear? Can Icarus try and, like- Yeah. I would say, kind of bouncing off that last roll, you do. It's not like- Okay ... the... [02:19:00] Again, not the easiest thing. You're not moving fast. Yeah. You will probably need some assistance within the next couple seconds, but you're pulling Nocturn away from the bugs that you just- Yeah
shot off of him. Yeah, I think I'm probably there to be able to kind of, like, help lift Nocturn up to you. Yeah. And also maybe, like, just swat away bugs. Yeah. Um, you... I don't think you even really need to roll for that. You guys, through the power of friendship and teamwork- Yes ... uh, pull Nocturn kind of out of this area where what remains of the bugs are congregated and sort of out of the way
I mean, once it's, uh... Is it at a safe spot now where- Yeah ... it's away from bugs? Your attention is turned to, if not just completely eradicating all of these leviathans, to figuring out a way to remove Alina- Yeah ... from Nocturne so that you can put Nocturne in, like, backpack form. That's what my... I've, I'm gonna try and go over to where [02:20:00] they are now that they've got in a safe space, and- Yeah, kind of got a safe spot.
I would imagine you're kind of doing your thing to keep the bugs away as- Yeah, I'm still, like, hovering and flapping- Yeah ... my wings to try and keep a distance. And Sally is kind of the, you know, the- Yeah ... one to go try to see if you can deal with this inactive- Okay ... engine. I, um, I take a look at the fused metal scar, and I haven't...
Have I seen anything like this before? Um, I don't know how many damaged mechs you've really gotten to, like, study. Okay. Again, like, as much as you like to look at them, this is not something they really are like, "Oh, we got a damaged mech. Sally, come take a look." Yeah, no. You know, a lot of your research is very much on your own time as you get an ability to.
Yeah. So you've maybe seen, like, you know, Terpsichore gets, like, a scratch on her, and then with you tending to it, she's able to heal. But you've never seen, like, a severe wound like this that just, like, improperly [02:21:00] sealed itself up. Yeah. It's growing so strangely. And I try and touch it to see if I... w- in Terpsichore to see if I can figure out how to get her...
Because we've gotten into our own mechs before, but we've never... Like, I'm trying to get her out to try and make... So I'm gonna try and make a physical contact with Nocturne in Terpsichore to try and, like, get her out in a way that... to see if I can contact the mech at all. Yeah. As you sort of reach out and, like, Terpsichore almost touches, like, this wound, like, you see Nocturne muster some strength.
He, like, these sort of metallic vines shoot out from his chest and almost just, like, create a protective barrier around this arm. Like, very obvious it doesn't want you to touch it or touch Alina. I think, I think... Does Hoverboard see that? Like, does Jackson and Hoverboard see that? I mean, if you're over there, I don't see why not.
Yeah. Okay. [02:22:00] I think It's probably not gonna let us do anything while we're in the engines, right? Why don't we do this? You two, pill bug duty.
Hoverboard will dr- or hoverboard will drag her over to a clearing, and you and I, the mechanists, will get her out somehow. Okay. Right? Yeah. Okay. That's the plan. Okay. So you guys continue to just like, huh, huh, pose, huh. Pill bugs flying in the air, getting squashed. Huh. Um, and you two, a safe, you know, I don't know, 50, 100 feet from, you know, the dynamic duo over here.
You turn your attention on trying to talk to this, like, or communicate in such a way with this barely conscious mac, you know? Before I leave, Dripsicore, because I want to... I, I, I do think that I need to... You'd be a person I ask, [02:23:00] is there any way that we can try and talk to her so that she knows that we're not a threat?
She's probably very scared. She's not thinking straight. Just the way you would talk to anyone who's hurt and injured and afraid. I can do this. We can do this. And I, I get out of Terpsichore, and I, I put a gentle hand on... I try to put a g- a gentle hand close, and I say out loud, "We're not trying to hurt you.
We're trying to help you. We... You've suffered some damage, and we just wanna get her out. We wanna help." While this is happening, Jackson begins pulling out, like, the practical tools designed to, like, remove a... Like, the ejection key that we talked about. Like, like Jackson has this kind of like, like a pneumatic tube kind of in his mech that he kind of like [02:24:00] walks out with, and he's, like, pulling...
And he goes, "What are you doing?"
I'm trying... I get it. We're, we're, like, pulling out an organ. It's, y- you wanna tell them they're gonna be fine. Yeah. It's, like, it's- It, it's hard not to talk to them. Um, do you wanna try to make some sort of roll? Yeah. Um, I wanna, uh, empathize. Absolutely. Um, and I... I'm not in Terpsichore, so that, that count as sending a l- like, I, I can't really spend a link with her, so I'm just gonna, I'm just gonna straight roll it.
Push yourself if you want to. It's been going so well. I, I, you know- If you feel like it makes sense now. I... Yeah, I'm gonna push myself, so I guess- I'm gonna say, yeah, while you are harmed like this, your- Ooh ... rolls are slightly less effective. Okay. So- Um, this is a, I would say, pretty controlled risk. This is kind of your thing.
Yeah. Um, but yeah, your rolls are not quite as effective. Okay. So I'll take two stress or- Yep, [02:25:00] you take two stress ... all right. Let's see how it goes. A five. Okay. Yeah.
Um... It's the first mission, man. I know. You've already almost eclipsed.
Oh, no. Don't worry about it. Never mind. Um, so you kind of talk calmly, and you are stressed. You know, like, you are sort of feeling your feelings. You know Terpsichore is watching. You know this mech is injured, and hurt, and afraid, and that's all very difficult for you to, like, be the calm person in this. Um, but as you kind of get closer, the vines that they've created kind of, like, shoot as if they're gonna try to, like, swat you away, and they sort of pause and rescind.
And you sort of start to see Elena's hand again as it hears you out about what you're trying to do. We're gonna get you home. Well, we're gonna get you back to the Bastion, the Last Bastion, and we're going to [02:26:00] bring Elena back where she needs to go. I'm sorry that this happened to both of you. Can I take her?
Um, there's sort of, like, a pause. And just as you're thinking, like, "Maybe she doesn't understand, maybe she's not gonna let you," um, the sort of weird, like, metal growth around Elena's hand starts to rescind back slowly, and you get the sense you can probably, like, reach out and... Okay. So I, I reach and I grab Elena's corpse.
Yeah. And I pull her out, and I... Jackson, can you help me, please? Yeah, I, I got you. And he kind of, like, just grabs, and he just slowly pulls. As unpleasant as it is, she's been decently... Like, it hasn't been that long. She's also, like- somewhat preserved within, um, uh, Nocturn. You can tell she probably got struck somewhere [02:27:00] vital when that damage happened, and there's blood loss and stuff like that.
But besides that, it's not, like, as horrible as it could be. Uh, as you remove Elena from Nocturn, there's this piercing, like, insectoid sound that at first you think, like, you're hurting them. Yeah. But you understand that as you're removing Elena from Nocturn, this is, like, a sound of distress. Like, they're just feeling their feelings as you- Yeah
remove their pilot. Um, but as you kind of take Elena from them, they are able to sit up slowly on their own, and they are still very, like, lethargic and some of that's just being upset, and some of that is just, you know, being injured. But they are able to sort of sit up properly for the first time. Um. Do you wanna try and- [02:28:00] Get her more compact.
I, I think she might, I think it would work All right, yeah. And, uh, Jacklin kind of like reaches into the kind of pneumatic tube. He, like, separates it. It's got like this kind of foam. It's like a couple instruments in it. Uh-huh. And he, um, he pulls out, um, this kind of, like, it almost looks like a big syringe, right?
Mm-hmm. Uh, with like this kind of cross thing on the end of it. Mm-hmm. Um, and he, he walks over and he goes... And he just, like, very, like... He, he, like, kind of hesitating. He kind of like... And then jams it right into the kind of chest cavity- Mm-hmm ... and twists it. And the goal is to, is these are, like, keys to try to, like, force the, the plants to kind of, like, congeal and, and- Yeah
compact. Um, Nocturne doesn't really fight you at this point. They're used to this, [02:29:00] your use of this, as you sort of, like, use this instrument in such a way that they slowly sort of, like, start to compress in on themselves, and before your eyes, in a matter of, like, seconds, just start to compress into a more, like, like, rectangular form, and then smaller and smaller until they're essentially, like, a big brick of material that you can slip into.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna do something really quick. Okay. Um, I'm, I'm, I'm sure I have, like, a, like, a tool or a tablet or something- Mm-hmm ... to inspect, like, like, certain components. Is there, like, an ejection key or some kind of, like, some of, any of the emergency stuff that we have to get out of the mechs inside of it?
Or was she, was she planning on d- or was she planning on being the one to go down with the ship, is kind of what I'm trying to figure out.
Yes, there would've been materials to, [02:30:00] like, eject and stuff. Um, you're uncertain the point of failure at this point. Um, it is hard to tell whether she chose not to press it, um, or if she was trying to, like, separate herself from her engine. Like, what you can tell from, like, her injury is that she was going to die.
Whether she chose to die within her engine or whether her engine, like, resisted the eject to keep her in there to keep her safe is unclear. So there was either... The two explanations that you can think of that would make sense are either that she chose to stay within her engine or her engine resisted the eject to keep her safe.
I'm with her body- Mm-hmm ... um, and I'd like to... If I've got my s- equipment to take samples of, like, plants and things and the, and the leviathans that I- Mm-hmm ... discover, um, I'd like to take a sample [02:31:00] of her, like, of, of her body. I'd like to- Yeah ... just sample Elena and not, like, not make a big deal. How do you sample Elena?
Not a large- You can take a l- Not a large sample ... you can, it's easy to take a- Like, just a blood sample. It really could- A blood or, like, a biopsy- Yeah ... something that you stick in, like, your little kit- Yeah ... to examine. Nothing huge. Nothing... Yeah. Are you, like, are you being secretive about this, or is this like- I'm not being super secretive about it, but I'm not ment- I'm not making a big deal, like, "Gonna sample Elena, guys."
I, uh- You know, you maybe take a couple things that you know you can study, like a piece of her hair, you know, a quick, like, scratching of her skin. You know, it's easy enough to get, like, a blood sample of- Yeah ... nothing, like, crazy or invasive. No, no, I, I'm, and I'm very respectful. None of you are looking at Sally and being like, "Uh, uh, you do understand that she-" Why are you biopsying that corpse?
You do understand she's a scientist. I just wanna see how her fingers taste. She studies these things. We've never- You know? We've never studied a... We've never been able to study this, and it looks like they were, they were connected at the moment that they died, and there's... [02:32:00] I think we could learn a lot.
I'm sure we could Not if we're holding the corpse in my head. I'll hold the corpse. All right, cool. That's, that, that's helped. You know, I think at this point Terpsichore would, like, very gently take Elena's body- Yeah ... and just, like, hold her in her hand in such a way that she's, like, protected, but- Yeah
carefully held so that nobody has to deal with the unpleasant task of, like, dealing with this. Yeah. Um, and I think that is a decent spot to wrap up the mission and say you have done what you came here to achieve. Um, so it's easy enough, you know, it's very practiced for you to return to the, uh, space station.
You would, I assume, hand in Nocturne as you were instructed to do, and they will take care of Elena and make sure that she is, you know, properly cremated, given a burial or whatever, you know, [02:33:00] sort of thing. Who, who do we hand Nocturne to? Uh, I would assume your dad. Oh, great. He doesn't do that. He's not... We don't give, we don't hand it to Draco or anything?
The second they, like- Just go straight up? The second they land, he, like, immediately starts walking with the cube back. Like, hover board is holding the cube and they're walking back to the hangar, like, on their own kind of initiative. Yeah. I don't think necessarily- No, you are big machine. They do notice you coming back.
You know, your dad is waiting for you there as you're, like, coming into the hangar, and you just kind of like, I assume, turn and take this thing to, like, an opposite area of the hangar rather than even address him. Yeah. Um, he doesn't stop you.
All right. But I think you would know him, and you get the sense that, like, he's going to get his hands on that thing unless you, like, attempt to hide it or, like, make a big issue of this. He's probably just gonna, like, [02:34:00] let you do what you need to do to feel like you're, you know, getting your way, and then take it when you're not.
Like, I think you know him well enough that it's like... I think I, I think walking past, I kind of, like, take a beat, and I, I kind of take the, your hoverboard that's holding it, and I go
Pilot Treville, why don't, why don't you join, uh, why don't you and Icarus join Hoverboard and make sure, uh, Nocturne gets back to the hangar safe? Terry doesn't really say anything. He just kinda goes along with it, 'cause he kind of wanted to carry Nocturne back, but didn't get the chance to. Mm-hmm. So he just kind of nods and, still with an Icarus, so Icarus nods and they move with Hoverboard.
And with, with that, Jackson kind of takes a beat and goes over to his dad
So why did we do [02:35:00] that? If we have the opportunity to retrieve an engine, we do. We are not always so fortunate that we are capable of doing so. But you couldn't have sent anybody to go get the Sailrose's? That was just out of the question, or...? There was no such opportunity. There was no such opportunity. So why did we...
What changed? What's the difference? The, uh, that was... What we dealt with down there, those leviathans were a joke. That's why it was safe and appropriate for us to go retrieve the equipment. Okay, so I got it. So it's only when some guy who has never touched one of these machines in his life determines what's safe for us, we can go down and get one of our own.
Yeah, no, I get it. Fine. We'll hold onto Nocturne and, you know. Nocturne [02:36:00] will return back to the Bastion to be reassigned after undergoing routine maintenance. Nocturne will remain in the hangar until we figure out what happened inside of it. That is not your choice to make. It doesn't matter if it's not my choice.
If you care about my safety or the safety of the rest of this crew, you'll let it be my choice. I am telling you- The Bastion Corporation will be retaking EO3 as soon as it is underwent routine maintenance. Then tell them maintenance is gonna take longer. I walk over to, um, the general, and I say, "General Eiffel, can we please be the team to conduct this maintenance on Nocturne?
I think that we have a special relationship with this mech and with this pilot, and it would be in their best interest if we can perform this maintenance and discover the flaw in the system that caused the accident on the planet, on Earth." Our planet. [02:37:00] That one. It's down there. It is the planet. It's a planet.
It's us. Would you like to make some sort of a- Sure. Um, I... So I've got forgive and empathize, and I feel like it could, it could be a kind of asking for, um, hoping that he'll forgive the, the g- the being yelled at as a commanding officer. Yeah, you are offering a chance at reconciliation- Yeah ... which is forgive.
Um, you're kind of just like not upping this argument and just trying to be like, "Eh, let me get where you're gonna be." Yeah. Yeah. Jackson is not going to help you. I understand. I understand. Um, and I will roll. And I get one. I can't... I'm good throwing these dice in a river. Um. Pass Go, collect that ring. I should be- He, like, without even flinching, he just says, "That is not my decision to make."
What? And then he will leave the hangar.[02:38:00]
Theodore gets Prick Storm- Oh boy ... stowed away, and pops out like, "We did it, guys." God. Okay. And Terry's off, like, elsewhere with Nocturne and Hoverboard and Icarus, so... Uh, I think Jackson's gonna kind of go after his dad and try to pester him more, uh, just on their own. But he, he kinda turns to Sally and he goes, "Look, I don't know what your relationship with these things is.
I am not gonna question that right now. All I know is that from what I can tell, either she didn't wanna leave or that thing didn't wanna let her go."
Until I figure out which is, whi- which it is, I don't feel safe [02:39:00] with any of you getting into that You are going to tell it to unfurl and to not re-compact, no matter what. Right? Even if that means killing the next person who puts in it, or who puts a, or who puts a compaction key in it. Even if it means that.
You want me to sabotage Nocturne? I want you to make it so that it never leaves the hangar until we say it's okay. I know that you're upset, but this could result in more deaths if they take this away from us. What? What's gonna result in more deaths? If they try and shove a pilot in it without it being properly bonded.
If they, if we try and, if we mess this up- And, uh- I don't wanna see more people die, Jackson. Yeah, I don't either. What happens the next time we go down there and it kicks, or and it kicks Hoverboard in the chest, and Hoverboard doesn't let me go? We have ejection keys in these things for a reason. These are massive, scary machines.
I'm scared of them. You should be scared of them. The fact that it, uh, there was even a chance of [02:40:00] a failure like this is not something we should let go. I don't trust some stupid science team of doctorate students to throw together an explanation for what happened. Look- Then I think you should trust me.
I do. That's why I'm saying we sabotage it. And don't use the word sabotage. I shouldn't have said that. Um, appropriately, I've rolled our Fallout die for this. Oh. Uh- Oh, Fallout ... dissent has spread within the space station. Uh, as I'm sure you are not the only people within the, uh, crisis response, uh, engine unit to be distressed that it is expected that you don't look at or interact with Nocturne.
Um, as I'm sure her team is equally curious off in their reaches of the space station. Um, there is a shared sense of just sort of not all being together on this that [02:41:00] is unshakable following Elena's death. Sally, I don't trust these people. I trust you. If Nocturne doesn't move from that hangar, th- the four of us plus anyone else on the B team are the only people who have access to that, or who have access to that robot, beyond, like, my dad and the captain, who never go down there to begin with.
We'll be left alone to do our own investigation without the prying eyes of Bastion to hide whatever they want from us. I tried, Jackson. I tried to talk to him. I don't know what else we can do to get more time, but it's going to take time, and we don't even have a fully functioning space station right now.
I will give you time. Can you give me results? I'm in the hangar, right? Yeah. Um, I ask Terpsichore if this is something we can do
I would like to know what happened to Nocturne as well. [02:42:00] If you can convince the powers that be to leave her here, I can do my best to tell you what I know We need to get her to stay. If you can, whatever you, strings you need to pull, even if you don't wanna pull on them, I, I, if we get time, I can do it I can buy you 72 hours at least, a week at most.
Just paperwork, dragging my feet, and more importantly, being a thorn in my dad's side. And I'll analyze what I've got, and I'll see if it helps. Okay. Okay
Trusting and putting a lot into you, right? I can do this, Jackson I'm sure you can. Right
All right. If you're confident, then I'm confident. Right? I'm not asking you to help me, I'm asking you to do your job. Got it? It's what I do. As far as you're aware, I never asked [02:43:00] you to do anything. I don't know what you're talking about. Exactly. Did the other two hear this? I mean, I went off with Hoverboard and Icarus.
Wherever they ended up, I ended up. Yeah. Yeah. I think you're at opposite points of the hangar. Okay. Um, and as all of you are sort of dealing with the gravity of this situation in your own way, I think that is where we will leave this episode. All right. Oh, man. Deception and sabotage. Thank you so much everybody for joining us tonight.
Again, if you enjoyed what you see here, feel free to smash that subscribe button. Uh, hit that bell. Um, and you can find us just about anywhere at Tabletop Gaming CT. Thank you so much, and we will see you next week on the 12th. Have a good one. Bye. Good night. Woo. [02:44:00] [02:45:00] Bye.