open | event | Thanks to the Rolling Sea

[ironwood]

Characters: Team Echo, Foxtrot; also, everyone!
Date: February 24th (through 28th)
Location: Underwater; beneath the turtle
Situation: The barrier that has kept Foreigners from diving directly beneath the turtle have shifted and something there awaits discovery.
Warnings/Rating: Squids; to be updated as needed.

OOC Note: This is the third and final phase the three phase February metaplot event! What Team Echo finds beneath the turtle will have far-reaching impact on the game, therefore it is recommended that everyone read the write-up under the below cut!

Underwater | Beneath Tu Vishan

Overview
The repair work on the surface of the turtle is completed and all major wounds have been tended by the kedan. Each shell break has been patched up with the strongest materials they have access to, with many buildings in the Metal Sector having been scavanged fo provide the resources necessary to complete this work. Whole sections of shell have been stabilised with metal support structures and there are teams of kedan drafting long-term plans to monitor the natural healing of Tu Vishan.

Each worksite has been shut down, cleaned up, and the police presence dismissed as life appears to return to normal in Keeliai. All prisoners rounded up and held on trespassing chargers will be released over the course of the day.

Meanwhile, as routine takes hold once more, three teams of kedan are moving quietly to the edge of the shell and lowering large parcels of equipment and supplies into the water. They are then taking on aquatic forms and moving the work to damage beneath Tu Vishan's shell unmentioned by Eshai on the grounds of out-of-sight, out-of-mind. Questions asked of these teams as they depart Keeliai are answered as heading out to routine surveying and one applying too much pressure is apt to draw the attention of an officer for obstructing a workorder -- a grave offence in the city's legal code.

Characters that can survive in water are welcome to explore beneath the turtle, discovering that the barrier that usually "disables" their bodies in the area directly beneath where Keeliai stands surfaceside has faded and they can freely roam the area. Be warned, though! Many, many kedan are patrolling the area in a variety of aquartic forms, from hybrids to replication of natural seafaring creatures. These kedan will not ask questions or arrest, but are ordered to outright attack any that enter this perimeter. They may appear initially shocked at a Foreigner accessing this supposedly protected space, but that will not detract them for long.

Team Echo:
This team will be discovering a cloning facility established beneath the turtle and it is here that their bodies are created and prepared for the arrival of their souls via Eshai's magic. Depending on the actions of Team Echo, this facility may be destroyed. An OOC post on the community will be forthcoming in the next week to explain the impacts, if any, of this find and the changes it may bring to the game..

Additionally: Until this information ICly hits the network, these details are ICly limited to Team Echo and anyone they subsequently mention it to in a thread. It will likely be a Team Echo member that posts about it and it likely will not be long before this information is spread, just please keep that detail in mind.

Team Foxtrot:
The details of this team's findings are outlined in the thread header provided in this post. However, how does everyone feel about calamari? 8D

OOC: As with all previous logs, headers have been provided for questions, the two teams, and any random divers that wish to explore! And a reminder: An OOC post on the community will be forthcoming in the next week to explain the impacts, if any, of this find and the changes it may bring to the game

Comments

[demon_brat]

[In a rather typical bat fashion, Damian's been spending most of his time of attempting not to think (or feel) by giving extra patrols. Which is how he knows that the group of kedan heading out to the shell's edge is... not typical.]

[Not gang-sponsored, either. And they are leaving now, albeit not in particularly slow vehicles.]

[He mentally reviews the status of the rest of the bats, because - he really hasn't left Keeliai since the resurfacing while any of them has been on their own (that he knew of), and it seems that it's Brown who is - mostly staying in her suite, at this time. The rest are keeping an eye on each other, but one cannot expect Father to have to do all. Or approve of heading on some clue without at least some sort of a backup.]

[Which is how Steph gets a Robin sneaking through her window. (Unexpected twist of events, there.)(Not a bedroom window, either.)]

Batgirl. [Voice low, but clear.] Unexpected activity probably worth investigating heading out to the shell.

Get ready.

[controlledvariable]

[You know what? She's just-

Not even going to comment on Damian appearing in her suite. She heard him as soon as he was at the window, and is now simply standing up and heading into her bedroom, speaking loud enough that he'll hear:]

What kind of activity?

[She wants to know what she needs to pack, as she starts getting changed into her Batgirl suit, despite the fact she probably shouldn't be doing anything of the sort right now. But if Damian came to get her, it's important enough that she can ignore her feelings.]

[demon_brat]

Shell's edge.

[Close to the water. At the very least.]

Carting supplies of some sort... that do not originate with the gangs. But there is nothing on the road they left on but shell and then the ocean.

[What better way to deal with feelings than do something useful?!]

[controlledvariable]

[By the time he's finished explaining, she's dressed and ready to go, walking back into the living room with her rebreather in hand.]

You think I'll need this?

[If there's nothing but shell and ocean, well, the ocean is the more interesting part.

She's just going to focus on this mission, whatever it is, and try not to think about Brandon. And... hope that they don't get into a fight, because she's not sure how well she'll do at holding herself back.]

[demon_brat]

Probably.

[Come on, not like she can doubt who'll be pushing her back to get into the fray if there does happen to be a fight, anyway. She'll be safe. Or, rather, innocent baddies will be safe.]

I was more concerned to track the origin of the items to the gangs to ascertain, but there may have been waterproof packaging.

[controlledvariable]

Wonderful.

[She doesn't even attempt to keep the sarcasm out of her voice as she slips the rebreather into one of the pouches on her thigh belt. The zombies had left her a little shaken, and she's not looking forward to diving into the ocean when that's apparently where they came from.]

Kinda funny how the Emperor didn't mention this little work party.

[It's said as she moves to the window, quietly slipping out and heading to her bike, with the assumption that Damian will follow.]

[demon_brat]

[Yes, yes, he is coming. And going to climb behind her on the bike as though it was his rightful spot. Yep.]

Or perhaps the 'funny' part was the warning that she did give. Insufficient information sounds more like her.

[And they are left to figure things out for themselves. The important things, that is.]

[controlledvariable]

[Steph doesn't even think twice about it, starting her bike and heading towards the shell's edge, speaking loud enough to be heard over the wind.]

Maybe she wanted us to go poking around.

[She's not sure why. Maybe so they could get caught and arrested, which might help her figure out who's the type to disobey orders, if she didn't already know.]

[demon_brat]

It seems that way. Perhaps something is going on down there that she wanted to blame the foreigners for.

[As another option. It is difficult to judge the reasoning of somebody they still know so little about.]

[controlledvariable]

[For a long time, she's silent, focusing on getting them quickly and silently through the back streets to avoid unwanted attention. It isn't until they're out of the city that she speaks anger.]

I'm so sick of having to speculate with her. I just want the fucking truth.

[She's sick of a lot of things, but right now the Emperor can have her anger, instead of Brandon.]

[demon_brat]

Yes.

[Which is something of a thing, with all the bats, not that Damian sees further than his own self about it.]

[And, since he has nothing about the statement that he can argue, he keeps quiet until they catch up with the kedan he'd observed, his arm shooting out to point them out to her around a distant turn of the road.]

[Just so that they don't get too obvious about following them while it's not too late to avoid it.]

[controlledvariable]

[She slows the bike as soon as the kedan come into view, veering off course slightly to put some of the burnt out villages between themselves and the kedan. It's a precaution against being seen, but she stays close enough to keep the little convoy in view.

Nothing interesting happens until they get to the edge of the shell. They come to a stop a good distance away, but she lets the bike idle rather than turning it off. She watches for a few minutes, assuming Damian will be doing to same thing, and when she realizes they're lowering equipment underwater, she kicks the bike back into gear and drives back to the nearest bit of cover.

Once they're there, she turns the bike off.]

We'll go the rest of the way on foot.

[She's not leaving her bike out there on the bare shell, not when it oculd be found and traced back to her.]

[meanandgreen]

[Even though Steph was sticking to the back streets in an attempt to fly under the radar, she sure caught the attention of a certain turtle who makes prowling around dark alleyways about as routine as brushing your teeth in the morning.

Things have not been all that great on the turtle. Yeah, it's been hard for everyone, getting kidnapped, being attacked by zombies, and getting left in the dark about more things than the Emperor actually decides to let on. Getting scolded on the network like little kids to stay away from the worksites wasn't all that great either. But what really bothered him? Was crawling around in those nasty, living sewers like a bunch of maggots infesting a wound. Being a turtle himself, knowing what it's like to have that kind of damage to his shell, made Raphael want to stay as far away from the healing wounds as he could.

So today, he starts out on the outskirts of the city, where the zombie attacks were light and the you can see the shoreline across the wastelands in the distance. It's as good a spot to brood as any.

But the purring of a motor shakes him out of his reverie. A bike. And not just one of those cruddy little excuses for dirt bikes the kedan like to ride around on. This one's obviously had a lot of work put into it, and it reminds him a little of his own bike back home. He has to get a closer look.

Raphael would be the first one to admit he can be a little impulsive. And sometimes bikes just tend to bring out the crazy in him. He doesn't even think twice when he starts following the thing. He needs to blow off some steam after the last few days, and this's the best opportunity he's gotten all day.

Roof-hopping isn't the best way to keep up with a moving vehicle, but he makes do. And as he follows, he realizes how much effort the driver's putting into being stealthy. It takes him a few more minutes to figure out exactly who they're tailing.

A group of kedan, headed out for the ocean. Kirin-drawn carts full of building materials take the main trek as the people on the bike snake their way through the city. Interesting. After what Leo ran into in the sewers, he's ready for some action of his own. Maybe today he just might find it.

Just before the caravan leaves the city, Raphael leaps off a neighboring rooftop, landing soundlessly atop a cart full of building materials and instantly disappearing out of sight.

It's hard to keep an eye on the bike, but every now and then he catches a glimpse of light reflecting off metal behind the crumbling ruins of an abandoned village or a rocky outcropping off in the distance.

He has no idea what he's getting into.

It takes a while to finally get to the shell's edge, slipping out of the cart barely a moment before the kedan start dragging out the packages of supplies. He ducks under the carriage as the workers heave the parcels toward the exposed shell of the shoreline. Soon as the coast's clear, he slinks through the maze of parked carts toward tall dunes made of sand, debris, and rotting plant matter just out of reach of the sweeping waves during high tide.

The kedan are up to something, but he's way more curious about the people on the bike. Hopefully they're still around somewhere. He'll have to backtrack toward the direction they were headed and see if he can't pick up a trail.

It doesn't take him long to find tire tracks where the sand has blown across the exposed scute, heading toward another part of the dunes where centuries of ocean storms have swept debris against an uneven patch of shell. He pricks his ears at the the sound of low voices and follows silently, staying out of view.

What he sees are two Foreigners, more of those Justice Force wannabes who run around in tights acting like they're God's gift to Keeliai. They would have all the cool toys.

From his hidden perch, he watches the pair, wondering how much they'd really miss that bike if he decided to take it out on a little joyride.]

[dragonswag]

[ There aren't very many things that really frighten Lina, and the Emperor? Definitely not one of them. So like hell that announcement was going to keep Lina from snooping around. She's just naturally curious, okay? And hey, if she's stuck here, she's going to try and learn as much about the place as possible.

So she's been tailing the kedan a little while, watching them and seeing what they're up to, and trying to stay hidden as best as possible in the process. She's not really sure what they're up to, but she's going to find out. It's not like going underwater is a problem.

It's the distant roar of the motorbikes that tips her off that somebody else might've had the same idea. She doesn't know what anyone else's goal is, but it'd be just as stupid not to keep tabs on anyone else showing up while she's here. It doesn't take her too long to find the source of the sound -- and Steph and Damian -- and she makes her way to them with a simple flight spell, keeping low to the ground to keep from being seen. It's two foreigners, and she's not all that surprised. ]

Y'know, if you're trying to keep a low profile, a noisy mode of transportation like that probably wasn't the best idea.

[ Come on, guys. Can't you just fly everywhere like she does? ]

[demon_brat]

Yes. [That's all that Damian says as he slips off the bike and start scanning the area for anything unusual. It should be enough to let Brown know that he did not object to continuing on foot, correct?]

[And then. Ah, then. There is somebody else there, and it's... Damian's eyes narrow, the mask letting the lenses mimic his grimace.]

You. Looking for more things to sell?

[Angry badger, err, Robin? Check. He keeps his eyes on the magic-user but turns his face briefly up at Batgirl to make sure she's aware he's talking to her.]

Will you secure the bike, or should I?

[controlledvariable]

[Steph's expression echoes Damian, though she also puts an almost protective hand on the handles]

She's not that loud.

[And the bike isn't, running smoother and quieter than the general bikes the kedan use, because Steph has made as many improvements to it as she can. And she made her to stay far enough from the convey that any sound from the engine would be covered by the convey's own movements.

But she nods to Damian, trusting him to keep an eye on Lina as Steph climbs off the bike and walks it over to hide amongst some boulders and light shrub, activating all the defenses once that's done.]

[meanandgreen]

[Well ain't this a pleasant little group. Two morons parading around in their fancy underwear and he doesn't even know what to think of this lady.

The bike is nice, but there's something fishy going on between the kedan's little parade to the sea and these guys sneaking around. All he can guess is maybe they know something he doesn't know.

For now he stays hidden up on the rock ledge, watching and wondering what the heck he's gotten himself into. If somebody's up to no good, maybe today won't be so boring after all.]

[dragonswag]

[ Lina just gives Damian a dramatic eye roll at his comment. Please, Damian. Mightier and holier forces have tried to make her feel guilty and failed. ]

Only if you're buying, kid.

[ It'll take more than that to faze her, because all the excitement of creeping around has put Lina in a good mood tonight. She beams brightly at Steph and Damian, hands on her hips. ]

So I take it you two were too curious to stay away, huh?