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| Tweet Topic Started: Jul 21 2017, 05:14 AM (656 Views) | |||||||||
| ♥ Bright | Oct 31 2017, 04:57 PM Post #31 | ||||||||
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Wannabe Writer
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Kazan Tetsukana did not have a plan once they entered. At least, not a substantial one that went beyond 'don't get caught, try to find useful info.' He was loathe to admit the fact, however. As they 'browned' up with the burdum residue lacing the walls and the floor, he had been wracking his brain over that very question on what exactly to do once they were inside. It would have been in their best interests to learn more about the smelting plant, its interior, and its inhabitants beforehand. Foresight is a wonderful thing always lacking, and the way back was quite literally blocked by tons of stone, so a hasty retreat to the surface for reconnaissance was out of the question. Instead their only option was to march on, covered head to toe in, what was hopefully, carefully applied burdum dust. Enough for them to look natural, but not quite enough to make it obvious they'd just had a bath in the stuff. Kazan went a step further and pulled his coat and apron on in an attempt to hide his prosthesis. The burdum did a decent job of blending his natural and less natural limbs together, but it wouldn't fool a closer inspection. The tension was palpable to Kazan as they traversed that last stretch of pitch black tunnel. The rails eventually came to a stop, a pair of bumpers slowly disintegrated as the warm air only emboldened and let whatever chemicals and microbes in the air eat away at the metal. The only thing that stood in their way was that door, its words of warning faded. Clearly it was not used often, as much of the frame seemed to be rusted near totally in place with the surrounding wall. Kazan tapped it lightly, more in thought than in any attempt to test its sturdiness. "We need to go up," he thought aloud. "Whether the workers are in on it or not, the one we need to speak to is the bosses. The ones organizing everything, taking the orders and commissions from Castor. Or, hell, if we're lucky, Castor themselves." Cautiously he wrapped metallic fingers around the doors handle, and then looked to Leliel. "I've yet to meet a person of power who puts their offices on the same level or lower than their subordinates. We get to the top of the plant, we find out what is going on, and who is behind it." He tugged. The door screeched in its frame and barely gave, but another few tugs and it began to jump loose, flakes of rust cascading down to the floor like a miniature replica of the cave-in that had nearly crushed them not too long ago. "Maybe even a little revenge, if you're so inclined." The door lay open and a blast of hot air drew out an entire layer of sweat in a single go. Kazan moved on through it, slowly and eyes darting each and every way for fear of further ambush. No-one was waiting for them, however. Instead they seemed to be in some sort of sub-basement where the bottoms of the furnaces were suspended. The thrum of white-hot industry rattled down from above; looking up, through the floor grating, he could see many pairs of thick boots going about their work. Aside from the dust, the residue, and discarded nuts, bolts and bits of over scrap that had fallen through the floor, they were alone on that level. It really did seem to be an old delivery route that was now abandoned once it was no longer needed or efficient. On the other side was an industrial elevator connected to the next floor up at the very least. Kazan approached and eyed the call button. Like the door it was faded, but apparently not in too much use since the tunnel's 'official' closure. He licked at his lips and looked up at the workers. Many seemed busy and not too keen to stay in one place at a time. He would have preferred a set of stairs, but there didn't appear to be any other form of getting up beyond scaling the walls and bashing through the floor. "Doesn't seem like we've much choice." Fenton gulped as Kazan depressed the button. The shaft began to rattle as the elevator made its way down. No alarms sounded, nor did anyone seem to notice, but Kazan held his breath all the same. The elevator arrived with a loud thunk. Still, no one seemed to notice or care. He pulled open the gate and stepped onto its platform, but was frustrated to see only three buttons. One was lit, the basement they were on, and the other two were for the ground and first floors. Even from that vantage point, it was clear the smelting plant went much higher and the elevator would not take them all the way. He sighed and jabbed the button for the first floor all the same. "It'll have to do." The elevator lurched upward. Passing the ground floor Kazan peeked out at the workers there. They seemed intently focused on the furnaces and smelters, each one manipulating molten burdum with long tools. The sweat glistened on their every exposed bit of skin. Kazan only had enough time to spot it once, but as they climbed higher a worker withdrew a sheet of burdum and placed it on an anvil for another to begin hammering. Though not exact, it was roughly the same size and shape of the plating Fentom himself had constructed. Kazan grabbed at the boy and pulled him towards the gate, forced him to witness the forging in process before catwalks and steel girders got in the way. "Same sort of thing you did?" He nodded enthusiastically. "That's the stuff right there!" "At least we know we're in the right place," Kazan grunted. Before long the elevator lurched again to a stop, dinging in the process. Kazan pulled at the gate. The "floor" wasn't much more than a maze of thick catwalks and bridges that crisscrossed around the multiple furnaces that stretched up. The workers there seemed more interested in scrounging through carts of burdum, feeding some into the furnaces while discarding others. The smoke was thicker up here, belching out from the melting pots and rising up into hazy blood-red clouds. And, Kazan quickly noticed, were there a good few workers having the occasional spasm. Yet, before he could investigate further, a stern looking woman with coal black eyes stepped in front of him and rounded on the elevator. She gave them a once over. "The hell you doing eyeing up the meat? Get to work! What station are you at?" |
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| pantherasapiens | Nov 5 2017, 09:16 AM Post #32 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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The bosses. That was Kazan Tetsukana's plan. Rei no Leliel granted that it had worked in the past: Garcia, Kael, Drivel, the hospital administrator... it was a strategy that had worked out very well on Salt Island. On Rust Pit Island, on the other hand... and Rei no Leliel's thoughts turned towards Adonis, where attempting to work with him had been exceedingly of the two-steps-forward-one-step-back nature. Instead their best progress, so far, had been with one of the lowest of the hierarchy: Fenton Keys, who had in fact been fired from the factory for subpar work. "We will have to be careful," >8/ said Rei no Leliel at last. There was no point squabbling now, in any case: they were deep enough in that they would simply have to push through. "We will see what there is." "R-revenge?" said Fenton Keys in a small voice, glancing at Kazan Tetsukana. "B-but -" "They did just attempt to murder us by cave-in, Fenton Keys," said Rei no Leliel, and gave herself a last once-over to examine her disguise of burdum and ripped-up, hastily-sewn clothing. It was not good, but it was the best she had at that moment; with some luck, they would not be detained for close examination. "That person is assuredly affiliated with this factory in some capacity." Kazan Tetsukana had to pull hard at the door to open it, and the door seemed as if it would tear itself apart under the force he had to exert on it. Rei no Leliel waited for the echoing noises to die away before she shot Fenton Keys a glance. "How long has it been since you last met that fishman." >8? Fenton Keys swallowed. "I dunno. A few weeks?" Rei no Leliel ran her finger over the rusted frame of the door as they passed through it. "Does everything in Rust Pit Island rust at this speed," 8? she said, but it was largely rhetorical. Of course they didn't. A few weeks, even in this hot moist air, would not have brought that door to the situation it was in: it looked as if the door had not been usable for some time, at least a few months, or more. And there were rails just a few steps away that were presumably made of the same material, but had not degraded to this condition. Fenton Keys shook his head and shrugged helplessly. Rei no Leliel only shook her head. It was another instance of the timing not seeming to line up; it could simply have been that the fishman used a different door to enter that tunnel, but it was still a strange niggling detail in the picture. She let Kazan Tetsukana and Fenton Keys enter ahead of her, using their larger bulks to hide herself from view. Pragmatic above all: no amount of burdum could have disguised her inhuman face, and she would not say it out loud, but she preferred to have a view of Fenton Keys' back, and to not let him have a view of hers. Merely a preference, for now. It was empty, and hot, where they emerged. Above them was a floor grating of thick metal, and the light flitted in and out of sight as many pairs of safety boots clomped around on it. Here and there the shadows were larger: machines and parts of machines being transported. Shadows played over the three of them, but nobody looked downwards. Why would they, indeed, unless they had dropped a part and were looking to see where it fell. Though that, as the many pieces of scrap and loose parts on the floor would attest, was merely a matter of time. They had to hurry all the same, and soon they stood in a little industrial elevator. Fenton Keys looked nervous, being there. He did not belong. Neither did Kazan Tetsukana or Rei no Leliel, but they had had a good long time of being where they didn't belong, and they were more brazen about it. Fenton Keys was not brazen in the least, and he shrank back in the shadows of the elevator as if somebody would look up and see him, and sound the alarm. He was not allowed to stay there long; Kazan Tetsukana seized the boy and made him look at the works in progress. "We had not had much doubt that we were," said Rei no Leliel, looking at the pieces the workers were producing. It did not look like difficult work, though surely there must have been some level of quality requirements, or else Fenton Keys would not have had any reason to be fired. As they exited, she looked around for the next elevator, or perhaps service staircases, that would bring them closer to the top and - hopefully - their next step in the process of investigation. There was one, indeed - a good distance away, and they would have to pass by a few of the workers' stations. It was some risk, but not very much of one: the workers had been well-trained and were studiously ignoring the three of them in favour of their own work. It was somewhat gratifying. "Let us go. The elevator is over there," said Rei no Leliel to Kazan Tetsukana, and then they were interrupted. Rei no Leliel quickly dipped her head so that some of her hair fell forward and covered her face, and hoped that the woman's attention on Kazan Tetsukana would let that gesture go unnoticed. At the same time, Fenton Keys quailed and attempted to step behind Kazan Tetsukana for cover - but was prevented from doing so by a sharp kick from Rei no Leliel. Which she also hoped the woman would not see. Which the woman saw. "And what the hell is that? What are you even doing?!" She looked at Fenton Keys, her eyes squinting. "You look familiar, you. What're you doing here?" "F-fabrication," stuttered Fenton Keys, the first thing leaping to his mind clearly the post he'd been fired from. "T-the custom plates...?" The woman's face tightened even more. "Then what are you doing here? You know where you're supposed to be!" Downstairs...? thought Rei no Leliel. If the workers downstairs were making the parts that Fenton Keys had been supposed to be, then they simply needed to wait until the woman had passed by, and head for the other elevator to make their way up. It would be a delay, but nothing too difficult - and, she could see, there were indeed some empty stations there. They would be able to blend in. "Back to work! And I expect you to get your target output!" snapped the woman, and sharply turned her back on them and walked away. "Downstairs," said Rei no Leliel as soon as she was sure the woman was out of earshot. "We'll blend in with the other workers until she has gone away - there is another elevator at the other end that we can use." "I guess," said Fenton Keys, drooping. "I never expected to run into Supervisor Delia here." "You are lucky she doesn't seem to recognise you," replied Rei no Leliel, watching Supervisor Delia making the rounds and snapping at other workers. It did not look like anybody on the floor was performing to her standards at all. "Now hurry." 8! There was metal on the work station, and some hammers, and a diagram describing what the metal piece should be worked into. Nothing on the diagram indicated that the worker should place their signature on it anywhere. Rei no Leliel looked at Fenton Keys. Fenton Keys shrugged helplessly, taking the metal and beginning to bang on it. "It was some of the hardest work I'd ever done!" he muttered. "And I thought nobody'd notice." Upon which Rei no Leliel looked at him again. "Well, almost nobody noticed!" he said, defensively. Rei no Leliel kept looking at him. "Supervisor Delia's gone!" said Fenton Keys, almost with relief. *** The second elevator was in much better condition than the first one had been, speaking to its heavier use, and it also had more buttons. Rei no Leliel pressed the button with the biggest number, and the elevator doors closed smoothly and began gliding up. As they left the floor behind, Rei no Leliel looked down, and saw Supervisor Delia approaching. The woman saw them, too, and immediately shouted "Stop!! Come back down! Security!" Rei no Leliel did not have the capability to grimace, but she gave Kazan Tetsukana a look. "Well, then." |
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| ♥ Bright | Nov 10 2017, 10:36 AM Post #33 | ||||||||
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Wannabe Writer
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In a different life, Kazan figured that if he was so inclined he probably could have become a blacksmith. He had the bulk strength needed for the job, and in someways it had its similarities to the surgery; both required fine control and manipulation, often in a high-pressure environment. For a moment he was tempted to pick up some of the tools and give them a swing, to try out his theory while aiding in their disguises, but something else began to bother him. The workers that milled about, whether at their stations feeding and shaping the metal or delivering batches to and fro, they all twitched and coughed with alarming regularity. In the dim lighting of the forge and through the smoke he had not noticed it before, but the tetanus-like plague infecting the rest of the island seemed to be strong within the factory itself. The twitching itself did not seem so prevalent in its strength; perhaps given their profession the workers were conditioned enough to be able to suppress the spasms somewhat, but it did not change the fact that it was near constant in some employees. Regardless, in the end his musings and efforts to blend in did not prove necessary. As soon as she had arrived, the now identified Delia was gone to snap at the heels of every other worker within the factory confines like some bureaucrat shark. Kazan hurried after his two companions to reach the second elevator that would, hopefully, take them to something resembling progress. Everything up until then had been smokey, clouded, much like the factory itself which continued to sit beneath a near choking smog. The doors glided shut and with a gentle shunting they began to rise even further upwards towards the plant's roof. Kazan looked down over the plant floor, at the smelters and the mist they belched both back into the factory and indeed over the island in its entirety. There was, perhaps, no better delivery system for Rust Pit, and it followed the cruel humor of the plague on Salt Island, hidden within the very defining feature of the land. "This smoke," Kazan said, pointing down at the forges where it originates. "Do you think its possible the tetanus plague here is being spread by it? Cloud covers the whole island, and then some. Might be in the burdum, might not. End result is the same though; it ends up the furnaces, then in the air." He pondered the thought. "Unlikely a biological agent could survive long enough at those temperatures. Would be burned nice and crispy before it'd even have the chance to get into the atmosphere. But," he continued to wonder as pieces began to fall into place, "perhaps Castor doesn't specialize entirely in biology? Some sort of chemical weapon, maybe. I could see a combination of heavy metals causing similar symptoms. Something to consider." At least, something to consider when they had the chance to sit down and think. As the elevator, just a little too much on the slow side, crawled upward they were spotted and their cover blown to the next island and beyond. "So much for being careful," Kazan grunted with no small amount of dry humor at the situation. He looked up; the third level was fast approaching, composed of another matrix of catwalks, though they were quiet and left largely alone unlike the floor below where the smelters still reached. A few hundred yards from the upcoming elevator stop was a spiral staircase going up into the ceiling; if Kazan had to guess, to the offices and administrative center of the plant. "There. We force our way through." Though not as manned as the previous floors, the third was not entirely deserted. There were no workers or active industry there, but instead. as Delia herself so helpfully pointed out, security forces watching over the plant like circling vultures. They jumped into action at the call and began to converge around the elevator, hoping to box them in and make short work of Kazan and co's infractions. There really didn't seem to be much of a solution beyond wading past as best they could. Kazan severely doubted the guards would listen to any protests they might have, nor would they just let them wander past and up to their bosses. The elevator locked into position on the third floor. Kazan deployed his shield and looked over his shoulder at Fenton, who looked just about ready to let his bladder explode. "Stay back. We'll deal with this," he sighed. Rei no Leliel was very likely going to make a mess. He'd rather she didn't, but beggars, he supposed, did not get to be choosers. It was the guards or everyone else on the island, and many islands more. As much as it planted a lead weight in his stomach, Kazan could not knowingly sacrifice thousands for the sake of a handful. The doors started to slide open and the first guard charged, a baton raised high in his hand. "I'll take the hits," he told Rei. "Try not cripple them too much, huh?" The baton came down and pinged off the shield, sending the guard recoiling back in a mad dance to regain his footing as Kazan stomped loudly from the elevator and took his first step towards the staircase. |
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| pantherasapiens | Nov 12 2017, 08:48 AM Post #34 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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"They named themselves Castor Medical," pointed out Rei no Leliel. "Which does not preclude there being a Castor Chemical, but we have not seen any sign of that." >8/ She pondered the thought. It was entirely possible, plausible even, that there existed some network of companies or factories, each one specialising in some different instrument of mass death. "It is a possibility. We will find out when we reach the top." It was something to hope for, then; that they'd have files or documents to sift through, and the time to do the sifting. If it was anything like the situation at Adonis', the files would be messy and deliberately engineered to obscure any connection between the factory and the mysterious purveyors of the tetanus plague. "It is only unlikely, in any case," she remarked. "Not impossible: there have been microorganisms found to survive in temperatures above one hundred and twenty-two Celsius, and..." She waved a hand to encompass the smoke and the hot air down below in the tunnels. "Burdum does not have that high a melting temperature, does it, Fenton Keys." ? Fenton Keys' face was more or less frozen in a rictus between fear and disbelief. "We - we're walking straight into arrest and you're talking about the smoke?" "As Kazan Tetsukana has said," said Rei no Leliel, shrugging lightly. She began dusting off the burdum dust on herself; there was no point to maintaining the masquerade anymore, and it was beginning to itch somewhat. "Careful has only brought us so far, and now we force the rest of the way through. Now, tell me about burdum." 8) "It's hot, I guess," mumbled Fenton Keys, who did not look a single whit convinced. "Not as hot as iron or steel, I guess, but it's still really, really hot." ...they should have expected that, reflected Rei no Leliel, but there was little enough time to continue the discussion: they were approaching the end of the elevator shaft, and even from where they were, they could see the guards congregating at the platform where the doors would open. Rei no Leliel stared up at the guards; their uniforms were thick cloth, and they carried heavy metal batons rather than guns or sharp blades. It meant that the other workers were, at least, not at risk of stray gunshots. She uncoiled Spine and let its handle drop into her hand. She tested its weight. There was a soft ding as the elevator arrived. Things began clicking into position, and Rei no Leliel took up her stance behind Kazan Tetsukana and his shield. The doors slid open, and Rei no Leliel didn't bother responding to Kazan Tetsukana's plea for mercy on behalf of the guards. After all, they worked for Castor Medical, did they not? As Kazan Tetsukana strode out she took a little vial of green, and then followed out. The corridor was narrow enough that most of the guards could not get around Kazan Tetsukana's shield, and consequently ended up striking at him and his shield. It was a perfect setup for them, while they remained on the corridor; the guards and their batons did not have the range to strike past Kazan Tetsukana, but Rei no Leliel... had Spine, and an advantageous size. The whip cracked with a metallic sound, and a guard screamed. Blood sprayed onto the metal grille floor, and Rei no Leliel retracted Spine; she swung it once, the blood flicking cleanly off of it. There were more screams from below, as the workers began to realise what was happening above. So much the better for Rei no Leliel and Kazan Tetsukana, and Spine flicked out again and again, and when she saw one of the guards drop to the ground and try to crawl past Kazan Tetsukana, Rei no Leliel intercepted him. Spine struck out, screeching as it impacted the floor with a brief flurry of sparks - and then bounced upwards. The guard noticed it too late, and Spine embedded itself neatly in his collarbone. Rei no Leliel cracked Spine, pulling it out with another spray of blood. Well. That was at least four crippled, but they'd live, if Castor Medical had any skills. They wouldn't even be crippled. Kazan Tetsukana wouldn't even have anything to heal for free.
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| ♥ Bright | Nov 17 2017, 10:58 AM Post #35 | ||||||||
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Like some rugged biscuit included as part of a ration pack, Rei no Leliel's flavor of problem solving was distasteful, if very effective at keeping the two - three, Kazan supposed, counting Fenton - alive. One by one the guards, at least those that had managed to assemble, all fell to the ground bloody, likely bruised, and howling in crimson-tainted misery. Kazan cringed at the sight of the blood, but he could tell from both the wounds, and more obviously from the fact that they rolled and whimpered at their feet, that the guards would at the very least live. Given the situation, there was of course only so much he could ask of her, and he was grateful in the restraint she did show. Fenton, less so. He shouted and cried and jumped at every drop and sound, from the footfalls to the clashing of metal or tearing of cloth and flesh. "Would you shut up, kid?" Kazan yelled without taking his eyes off the catwalk. He slowly pushed forward toward the staircase, leaving the fallen guards behind while more ran with alarmed alacrity from down below or the far reaches of the catwalk. "There's more coming from behind!" Fenton wailed while trying desperately to squeeze himself between the two so he wasn't caught without protection. He was at least telling the truth, however, and behind them, coming from a left and right branch of the catwalk, were two more guards, each armed and armored like the last. "Really this difficult just to talk to someone these days," Kazan grumbled as he assessed the situation. With the party being caught in a pincer maneuver there wasn't much to be done except continue to push onward. He certainly couldn't turn around, or would otherwise get a series of attacks landing squarely along his spine. Rei no Leliel would have to deal with those coming up behind them, while he did what he could to disable the ones up front. "I've got a proposition, Rei no Leliel," Kazan said as the first guard charged at him, and he in turn slammed his shield out to the left, sending the attack far off course and the instigator spinning. "Let's assume we're both alive after all this. We grab as much money as we can from whoever can afford. Then, we make some investments." Another guard came charging. Kazan managed to duck to the side, then thrust his finger into the man's chest, where the hidden syringe delivered a dose of poison potent enough to cause a moment of twitching, followed by unconsciousness. "Weapons. Defenses. Systems," he grunted while trying to weave around the flailing of one particularly fat guard. "Things are only going to get nastier from here. We aren't properly equipped. And while I'd like to be all rosy cheeked, naive, avoid stealing from the desperate." He continued, while body slamming the fat guard until he span on his heels, slipped, and whacked his noggin on the railing, "The needs of an ocean exceed the needs of a few." What a time to be alive. It was strange to hear the words come from his own mouth. "For the record, I think you're a bad influence," he chuckled. The stairway ahead, at least, was finally clear of goons. Kazan breathed a heavy sigh and dusted himself down. A few nicks and bruises but all things considered he hadn't come out all that bad. Still, their peril was not entirely over and done with. The alarm had still been sounded and reinforcements were no doubt on the way. Better to get to a more advantageous position before getting stuck on the bridge under an endless sea of hired muscle. He jogged forward, shield remaining out just to be on the safer side and reached the bottom of the stairwell. He could see, even from there, that the level of luxury must skyrocket upon reaching the third floor. Beyond that stairway, lay the home and office of one C. D. Kirdoff. Techniques |
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| pantherasapiens | Nov 23 2017, 04:02 AM Post #36 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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Kazan Tetsukana did not look at all satisfied at Rei no Leliel's more-than-adequate problem-solving skills. Rei no Leliel couldn't see the larger doctor's face from where she was, and even if he had been facing her she wouldn't have had the attention to spare on his face, of course. But she could see the way he flinched when some of the spraying blood flicked onto his skin, and he was visibly trying to keep his shield between himself and the wounded guards. He was at least trying to stay quiet about it, though, which Rei no Leliel could appreciate. Unlike the guards around them, or the workers beneath them, or Supervisor Delia, or Fenton Keys, who were all screaming as if they'd never seen a fight before. "Kazan Tetsukana is correct, Fenton Keys," >8/ she said - not yelled, she couldn't yell, but she was growing to think that a volume dial on her voice-box would be a handy thing to have. "Be quiet if you cannot help." Not that he was being entirely unhelpful, even while he was being entirely helpless. Rei no Leliel put Spine squarely through the thigh of another guard - another wound for Kazan Tetsukana to avert his eyes from - and spun around to see the guards that Fenton Keys had screamed about. They'd climbed the stairs up to reach the level where Kazan Tetsukana and Rei no Leliel (and Fenton Keys) were, but were not at all out of breath from the exertion. Castor Medical, reflected Rei no Leliel, clearly chose its guards well. "What is it," ? she said to Kazan Tetsukana, as she fell into a ready stance to meet the oncoming batons. Spine had the longer reach, but she did not have a Kazan Tetsukana to hold them off with his shield in that direction; she would have one strike, she thought, before they closed in enough that they would both be able to reach her, and Spine was a poor weapon for defense. A solid thunk came from behind her: Kazan Tetsukana's weight and shield being put to the only offensive use he seemed to be able to bring himself to perform. Still, he wasn't trying to wrestle each one of them down; it was an improvement. The guards closed in warily. They, too, were wondering how to get past Spine and to Rei no Leliel. "That is sensible," allowed Rei no Leliel, though she wondered what in Kazan Tetsukana's pacifist mind would count as a weapon. Or maybe he meant for her to gain the weaponry, while he gained the defenses. It wasn't the worst plan, given their respective personalities. The guards seemed to come to a consensus, and charged parallel to each other. Rei no Leliel twisted her body slightly, and then whipped Spine in a wide horizontal arc at waist height. The serrated whip whistled through the air, accompanied by the sounds of tearing leather. "The record shows that," said Rei no Leliel. "However, let the record show that I believe that the island-plagues are the larger source of blame in the matter." 8/ One guard reeled back, a thin line opened up across his gut and bleeding out through his leather; the other guard's momentum was too great, and he barreled onwards, his feet sliding across the blood-slicked metal. "After all, they managed to defeat Sasa Dion." It was not a good position for the guard to be in; Rei no Leliel pulled Spine back, a diagonal slash across the guard's less-protected thighs sufficient to send him to the ground. The other guard chose to stay back, out of range, and whimpering. He would probably not receive a promotion during the next year, thought Rei no Leliel. She had cleared her two guards, and she turned around to find that Kazan Tetsukana had done the same with his own string of them: the corridor was littered with guards who would have a nasty bruise when they woke up. Rei no Leliel wiped Spine clean and stored it away; she grabbed Fenton Keys, and pulled the boy along after Kazan Tetsukana. He had a fist in his mouth to stop the wailing, and he was shivering too hard to put up any real resistance to her. "So, that is the office." She looked behind and below; the first wave of guards had been exhausted, but no doubt there were more where they had come from. "Let us go up to it." *** Everything about the office door shimmered and almost sparkled. The wood was lacquered and polished to a near mirror finish, and C. D. Kirdoff's name was embossed into a gleaming burdum plate that had been affixed to the door just above Rei no Leliel's height. Below that was a small slider that presently said "OUT". Rei no Leliel curiously slid the little panel to the other side of the slider, whereupon it said "IN". Well. C. D. Kirdoff's absence made some things easier... and other things harder. She tested the door. Locked, of course. On the other hand, the alarm was already sounded and one more would not make any real difference. Rei no Leliel took careful aim with Spine and punched a series of holes into the door; then she struck. Rei no Leliel was not as strong as Kazan Tetsukana, not even with her chemical augmentation; but she was still strong enough, and the circle of wood fell out. She reached through it to the lock behind the door, and carefully fiddled with it until something clicked. The door swung open, revealing a most luxurious foyer. A small side rack for shoes held polished leather shoes, fancy sequinned boots, and all manner of other footwear that looked completely impractical for a factory environment; there were mirrors placed strategically about; the entire place was awash in golden light from Dials placed on the ceiling. Their steps were muffled by thick, furry carpets that came up to their ankles, and Rei no Leliel wondered idly about the bloodstained footprints they were leaving on the carpets as they walked in. Where the carpets ended, slick wood-and-burdum panelled floors began, as well as grand furniture and decorations that Rei no Leliel was sure could fund an incredible suite of weaponry and defenses and systems for both herself and Kazan Tetsukana. It was all very impressive, and at the same time... "You were speaking of grabbing money earlier," she said to Kazan Tetsukana, "and this seems like an excellent place to begin." She paused. "After we find the office." "It's probably that one?" offered Fenton Keys, whose voice was still distinctly trembly, though he was at least not wailing any more. He pointed to a door off to the side that had a label on it marked "OFFICE". On it, too, was a slider that said "OUT". "Yes," 8) said Rei no Leliel, "that would most certainly be the one." The office door, unlike the front door, was unlocked. It was huge; Rei no Leliel thought that if it were filled with water it would make a decent swimming pool. Every wall in it was a floor-to-ceiling cabinet, and there were more files left spread out on the giant table that dominated the room. Comfortable, plush chairs had been arranged around the table, and other cabinets stood open, as if recently used. Well, there was no time like the present. Rei no Leliel strode to the table and opened the files up. Diagrams, blueprints, all of them similar to the one she had seen for the Salt Island biological vats, but plausibly innocent. Castor Medical could not spend all its time on nothing but bioplagues, thought Rei no Leliel. But at the end of the file was a map, and Rei no Leliel spread it out. It was a map of the Sea Route, and on it were the islands. Salt, Rust Pit, Nemea, Neptunia. Salt was already crossed out, though somebody had scribbled a large question mark beside the cross recently. Rust Pit was crossed out. Nemea was unmarked, and Neptunia had been... circled. "B.E. - no go." read a little note, scribbled beside it. Rei no Leliel shuffled through the files again. Something about Nemea, she thought, but it was all technical reports and would take time to properly read. It was time they didn't have. She looked up at Kazan Tetsukana. "Have you found anything." 8?
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| ♥ Bright | Nov 24 2017, 10:25 AM Post #37 | ||||||||
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Kazan was going to offer to put his fishman heritage to use and burst down the door with a good application of a metal shoulder, but ht was pleased to see he wouldn't need to dent himself. Rei no Leliel was more than capable of defeating a simple lock, and for a moment he felt guilty for subconsciously doubting the fact. Any regret was quickly replaced with a bemused feeling of awe as the penthouse of C. D. Kirdoff opened up before them. The sheer contrast between it and the rest of the smelting plant was like stepping from a desert and suddenly finding oneself in the lush air of a tropical rain forest. The place must have been all manner of sealed and fortified to ensure none of the fumes and pollution from below seeped in. That, and no doubt Kirdoff had an army of the finest cleaners on hand to ensure any nasty particulate his staff dragged in was just as quickly evicted. Out of curiosity, Kazan rang a finger over the polished finish of a coffee table; not a trace of dust. Kirdoff was a rich man and evidently like to flaunt that status down to the microbial. "I'm sure his long term health wouldn't be too adversely effected if a painting or two was to go missing," Kazan agreed as he surveyed the walls. Just like everything else they were decorated, and while Kazan himself couldn't name any of the works on display or their creators it seemed a certainty they were worth more than a fistful of beli. Fenton helpfully redirected and focused their attention on the next room over, the real brains of Kirdoff's operation it seemed. It, like the rest of the room, was deserted, and Kazan warily looked over his shoulder before entering. No doubt they'd bought a portion of the plant's security some medical leave, but everyone within a few square miles or more must have known exactly where they were and it was doubtful that Kirdoff would slack on defense. It wouldn't do to dally. A shame then that a tsunami of options rose up over their heads. The office was jam-packed with enough paper and filing to make a jungle shrivel up in fear. Even if they had nothing but the plagues themselves to worry about they wouldn't have a hundredth of the time needed to sort through everything. True, some of the more helpful information was laid out for all eyes to bare witness too, but anything more relevant would be the proverbial needle in a mountain of more needles. The most relevant of course was the map that seemed to confirm what Kazan had been fearing this entire time; whatever Castor was up to, it was big and stretched far more than just one or two islands. Their work was far from complete, and though the map gave them some new direction it wasn't going to be nearly enough to bring the conspiracy to its knees. Kazan looked. He rounded the desk, rustled through some of the other papers but much like Leliel there really wasn't enough time to go through them with any depth. A set of drawers ran along the side of the desk and Kazan gave them a tug. They seemed locked, but by putting his leg up onto the sides and really exerting his metallic arm, any resistance was overcome not so much by breaking the lock itself but more by just tearing the entire drawer, lock included, out from the rest of the frame. There were plenty of items of interest. A bottle of fine brandy, an ornate cigar box, as well as a nice stack of beli notes, all of which Kazan helped himself to and stored away in his box. Of great interest however was a letter, left undelivered addressed to known other than Sasa Dion. Kazan tore the seal open and while he was reluctant to sit there and read the whole thing, he did notice the date; it was from some time ago. Perhaps Kirdoff had been made aware of Dion's situation before he was able to send it off. Perhaps Kirdoff had met a similar fate and was in exile while Castor pulled at the strings. Either way, Kazan held the letter and addressee up for Leliel to see, then stuffed it into a pocket. "It might have to be enough. They aren't going to let us read everything at our leisure. On that note, it might be a good time to leave sooner rather than later." Kazan did truly wish he could stay longer but every second spent there was another second Kirdoff's men would be given to prepare and overwhelm them. With the letter, map, and the rest of the papers alongside an assortment of other spoils, Kazan made a hasty retreat from the office. He paused in the other room only a moment before selecting what he thought were the two finest paintings from the wall, wrapping them in some protective cloth ripped from the furniture, and then slinging them under his arm. At the door to the stairwell he turned back to Leliel. "We didn't quite get as far as an escape plan, did we." |
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| pantherasapiens | Nov 27 2017, 11:00 AM Post #38 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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Kazan Tetsukana looked like he had indeed found something. Some things, in fact, of great interest. Some of them were even documents. Rei no Leliel watched with a little amusement as the giant fishman hastily grabbed at C. D. Kirdoff's luxuries and stuffed them away in his box, but she too had a box that needed filling. After all, she had ruined a perfectly good coat trying to come here unnoticed. Files, of course. The map and its accompanying technical documents were safely in the hands of Kazan Tetsukana, but there were surely more. Rei no Leliel went quickly past the cabinets; C. D. Kirdoff had at least had the humility - or the courtesy, though the distinction was academic at the moment - to neatly label things. H for hypernatremia, thought Rei no Leliel, and she grabbed a thick bulging folder. T for tetanus, and that was another fat bunch of papers; she didn't bother flipping through the contents of either folder, merely giving their titles a quick glance before storing them carefully in her own box. She paused in her work only long enough to glance at the letter that Kazan Tetsukana called her to look at. "No, they are not," 8/ she agreed. Though the letter was indeed intriguing, and led to interesting trains of thought, Kazan Tetsukana was also right: having merely defeated a few guards (and not having killed a single one of them, which Rei no Leliel thought Kazan Tetsukana ought to be more grateful for) would not keep them safe for ever. Not even for long; surely by now guards with heavier armour would be already assembling and on the way. So she, following Kazan Tetsukana's good advice and seeing that he was being a fine upstanding model of his own advice, left the office and began to grab any valuables that C. D. Kirdoff had unwisely left out in the open of his home. Beli, for one thing, of course, but there were also expensive editions of books, jewellery, and and paintings. Rei no Leliel selected the gaudiest things with the sparkliest gems and thrust them in on top of her pilfered documents; no brandy or cigars for Rei no Leliel, she thought, there was too much risk of breakage or spillage, and then all the documents would be ruined. No, she would stick to the jewellery of expensive metals and the money, though - Rei no Leliel eyed the kitchen speculatively. Kazan Tetsukana came bursting out of the office, grabbing two paintings and denuding a giant soft chair to cover them. Behind him appeared Fenton Keys, who had not had the forethought to come equipped to ransack a rich man's house, and so had made do by stripping off his shirt to make a little bundle. The shirt bulged in odd places, and Rei no Leliel thought she saw several bottle-necks sticking out of its open top. "We did not," answered Rei no Leliel. "And this residence does not appear to have any convenient trap doors or secondary exits, does it." 8? Fenton Keys shrugged, and his bundle clinked and sloshed. "Dunno?" he offered. "And we do not have the time to look for them, or be placed in an even worse position if we do not find any such things." Too risky, in other words; they were better off taking the route they already knew, even if it meant running blind through the entire facility searching for an exit. She glanced at Fenton Keys' little makeshift cloth sack. She thought that he was going to be very quickly disappointed in his choice of loot. She looked around, and then quickly grabbed another painting - a large one, too; its frame was enough to cover most of her torso. "You can't run with that," pointed out Fenton Keys. "I will not need to run with this," said Rei no Leliel. "I will take the lead, this time." "Huh?" said Fenton Keys, but Rei no Leliel had already shouldered the door open a crack and leaned out to look. There did not seem to be any guards, though there was still plenty of screaming and shouting going on. It was good; it meant that they had been very quick about their looting. It did not, she thought with a little mental tinge of regret, mean that they could go back in for some more looting. "Their reinforcements have not yet arrived," said Rei no Leliel to Kazan Tetsukana and Fenton Keys. "Fenton Keys, what exits are nearest to us." 8? "Um," said Fenton, frowning as he craned his neck around. "I dunno? I always just used the employee entrances, but those are all down there." He pointed vaguely at some doors leading out of the lower production areas. "And I guess there's the way we came, but... I guess not?" Rei no Leliel looked down. The elevator had been brought back down to the lowest floor, and Supervisor Delia was there with men. It was probably not the best idea to take the elevator, then, and in any case that route would bring them back past the wounded guards. Not that they were much of a danger with their wounds, but even then they couldn't be disregarded; a trip or a sudden unexpected attack would be just as lethal as anything the guards had previously tried. No, it was going to have to be the stairs, even if those were slower and they'd be easier to intercept. "Then we will take the employee exits," said Rei no Leliel, "we will have to have you guide us, Fenton Keys." "Uh -," said Fenton Keys, but Rei no Leliel was already making her way to the staircase and hurrying down, the painting held in front of her to cover most of her frame. It was ungainly and clumsy, especially on the turns, but she managed. Not that it mattered very much, in the end. The three of them were very visible and very audible as they more or less ran down the staircase, and in that time Supervisor Delia had left the elevator to stand at the foot of the stairs with some very large men holding an assortment of metal tools in threatening fashion. Supervisor Delia herself had found some kind of nail gun and was pointing it at Rei no Leliel. "Stop!" shouted Supervisor Delia, her voice only barely wavering with fear. "You're under arrest!" "We will not," replied Rei no Leliel, looking at them over the top of the painting-frame. "And you will let us go." "We won't!" said Supervisor Delia, trying to be brave, but Rei no Leliel could see the way all their eyes stayed on her visible fingers. She flexed her fingers, and there was a ripple of movement as they tried to prepare for an attack. "And attacking us is useless, there's other guards on the way!" "How many," 8? said Rei no Leliel. "And you cannot attack us." "Yes, I can!" said Supervisor Delia, and shook the nail-gun with bravado. "This gun fires nails hard enough to pierce even inch-thick plates of burdum. Your iron face is no defense!" "She's right," mumbled Fenton Keys behind Rei no Leliel. "I've used one of those before." "This is all the defense I need against your gun," said Rei no Leliel, and raised the painting. "What will C. D. Kirdoff say if you put a nail through his beloved art." >8)? "!!!" said Supervisor Delia. "And more," said Rei no Leliel. "Stand down and let us pass peacefully, and I will abandon this painting when we leave the factory. You will be able to return it to C. D. Kirdoff and receive praise - or you can resist, and I will destroy this painting and you together." "I saw you fight," accused Supervisor Delia. "You won't kill me!" Damn Kazan Tetsukana and his moderating influence, thought Rei no Leliel. "But I will destroy this painting and wound you," said Rei no Leliel, revising her threat. "Make your decision now." And privately she made up her mind to kill somebody at the next facility they visited, if they had to visit another one. It made things so much smoother. Supervisor Delia looked torn, but eventually she drooped and pointed her gun down. "You'll - leave it behind?" she asked. "I will," said Rei no Leliel. "Fenton Keys, lead us quickly." "R-right!" said Fenton Keys, sounding startled, and quickly they ran for a set of double doors, though Rei no Leliel kept the painting facing towards Supervisor Delia and the other men until they were through the doors at least. Edited by pantherasapiens, Nov 27 2017, 11:01 AM.
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| ♥ Bright | Dec 3 2017, 07:57 AM Post #39 | ||||||||
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People often said that the pen was mightier than the sword, or more appropriately in their case that the canvass was mightier than the shield. Kazan had never before put much faith in the saying, but there he was having to eat his own cynicism as the priceless landscapes and portraits they carried offered them better protection than several inches of well-forged iron. Like Leliel, Kazan made certain to knowingly dangle the paintings he held whenever it looked like one of the guards was getting a bit too twitchy for their own good. "You heard my pal, pal. One wrong move and Kirdoff's going to be selecting new dummies for target practice." It kept the lot of them frozen in place despite the heat of the furnaces tempting out a steady trickle of sweat from their brows. Still, even as Kazan backed his way through the doors in pursuit of Leliel and Fenton, he could see Supervisor Delia's face curl into a mix of horrible realization and guilt. Poking from her pocket were the sleepy eye stalks of a Den Den Mushi. Something was not quite right, but he could not put his finger on whatever it was. "Start cleaning your burdum with antibiotics before you burn it!" he called out as a last thought before the doors slammed shut between them. Those doors may have separated them from Supervisor Delia and the rest of her guards as well as any wall, but they didn't guarantee freedom straight away. The smelting plant was large, and to someone like Kazan who was not familiar with it the doors may as well have just flipped him right around and deposited him in the same place. Furnaces still towered up from the ground floor and the heat was ever present. The main difference was that, at the other end of the catwalk lay the true exit; another set of double doors helpfully labelled as both emergency and employee exit. A time clock and stack of punch cards was mounted to the wall by the exit, and presumably the doors connected to a set of stairs crawling along the factory's outer skin. The issue did not lie in finding an exit, however. Supervisor Delia's guilt suddenly made sense as it revealed itself in the form of Marines. Angry Marines holding rifles and swords and pouring in through another entrance on the lower floor under the instruction of a particularly shouty officer. Rust Pit might not have been their usual domain, but even Kazan had noticed the ships prowling around the coast like some shark hoping to nab a quick meal out of a foolish swimmer. Delia must have called them in once it was clear a few paltry guards weren't going to cut it. Kazan ground his teeth. "Somehow I doubt they're going to share the same priorities as Delia." They were inevitably spotted. The officer in charge fumed like a steaming kettle and raged at his men to get them, and they began to charge up a set of stairs by the dozen, cutting off their escape through Fenton's planned route. There were no other stairwells for Kazan and co to take. Marines in front, screaming at them to surrender, and Delia behind. Maybe they could get her in there to try and explain things so they could utilize their painting defense once more, but the way the Marines were waving their rifles made Kazan think they'd be torn to shreds before any of that could happen. "This could be bad," he grimaced as his eyes scanned the factory for options. "Hands in the air! Hands in the air! Drop the goods, now!" the Marines screeched. Their shouting was unpleasantness enough to make Kazan consider it, if only to make them shut up. They were asking for sore throats. As annoying as they were, however, getting arrested, or otherwise summarily executed, would mean Castor got to continue its gleeful spree of infection and biological warfare without anyone the wiser. Trust the World Government to pick the wrong side, Kazan thought to himself. They needed an exit, quick. His eyes eventually fell to their right and a dirty option presented itself. A little ways below them were the chutes that dumped all the slag and waste parts out into the scrapyard where they'd found their first clues. Buckets were filled up on the ground floor, then hoisted up on mechanical pulleys until they were tipped by the lips of the chute and their contents fed into the dark. It would require a jump, certainly, but the distance wasn't impossible... The Marines were getting impatient. Behind them, the doors squeaked open and the armored guards with their nailguns cautiously began to creep through. Kazan observed both groups and licked his lips. "Rei no Leliel. Fenton. We're going to have to get dirtier." He backed up to his left, faced the nearest chute, and renewed the grip on the paintings clutched under arm. "You both better have a good pair of legs on you," he called before charging. He hopped, got a leg up on the railing of the catwalk, and pushed off as hard as he could. Their adversaries seemed taken back by the sight of a flying Fishman, but the moment didn't last long and they began to scrabble forward with some aiming their rifles and screaming until their hearts were at risk of bursting. Kazan flailed through the air with all the grace a half-metal shark person would be expected to have. Still, he managed to land squarely on his ass in the mouth of the chute, and from there gravity took him on a wild ride towards a light at the end of the tunnel. |
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| pantherasapiens | Dec 8 2017, 03:19 AM Post #40 | ||||||||
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Kazan Tetsukana yelled out a last piece of completely unsolicited advice as the doors shut behind them. Fenton Keys appeared to want to relax now that they weren't under immediate threat from Supervisor Delia and her armed men, but Rei no Leliel gave him a sharp jab from the edge of the painting's frame. "Keep going," she instructed. "We can slow down when we are back at your house." "My house?" said Fenton Keys, slowing down sharply and yelping as Rei no Leliel poked him even harder. "If we were able to find it, then surely the people of Castor Medical do too," said Rei no Leliel, "and you should not rely on them forgetting it." It worked; Fenton Keys broke out in sweat and a faster pace, and then - came to a dead stop. "Uh," he said, his voice quavering. "That's the -" "Marines," said Rei no Leliel, rather unnecessarily. The officer had a sword pointed right at them, though they were many meters out of his reach. The greater concern was the stream of subordinates he was directing, rushing up the stairs. It was obvious even from where they stood that the Marines would reach the exit before Rei no Leliel, Kazan Tetsukana, and Fenton Keys could; that exit, then, was lost to them. Unless they chose to carve their way through the Marines, and Rei no Leliel did not think that would end well. "How'd they get here so quickly?" wailed Fenton Keys. "We took too long in the office," said Rei no Leliel, and looked at the paintings that she and Kazan Tetsukana were carrying. They would not be any use as a defense here. "Kazan Tetsukana, what are you doing." ? The fishman backed up, charged at the railing, and went flying off into the chasm. "HE JUMPED!" squealed Fenton Keys. "BUT THAT'S THE SCRAP CHUTE -" Rei no Leliel looked around at them; Marines before, Marines behind, and Marines under them. Like ants at a picnic, and Kazan Tetsukana had taken the only obvious way out. Probably a trap, too, thought Rei no Leliel, but there was no time to look for another option. She grabbed Fenton Keys in one hand and flung him; the boy's screeches trailed him as he flew through the air and into the darkness. Rei no Leliel clambered onto the railing - made much more difficult by the painting she was still grasping. Behind the doors, past the surging Marines, she could see the pale face of Supervisor Delia. Rei no Leliel leapt with all her might, holding the painting up above her head like some kind of parachute. She fancied that above all the shouts of the Marines, she heard Supervisor Delia's despairing cry; then any sound of the humans or the factory above her were swallowed up in the noise of the scrap chute. Rei no Leliel bumped about against the walls and the other scrap coming through the chute, and somewhere along the ride the painting-frame splintered apart and Rei no Leliel lost her grip on the expensive fabric. It was clanging and echoing, somewhere in there and ahead of her was the agonised keening of Fenton Keys, and Rei no Leliel was certain that she would herself need some maintenance to recover from all the bumps and jolts she was receiving. But at some point amidst the turbulent churning, she saw a pinprick of light that was not her own eye-lights being reflected off some errant polished piece of metal; no, this was recognisably daylight. The pinprick grew larger rapidly, and Rei no Leliel braced for impact by curling up into a little ball and trying to orient herself to land feet-first. There was a very loud smack as she rolled out of the chute, landing on something soft. Rei no Leliel uncurled and struggled to her feet, grasping the upper lip of the chute for support. She looked down to see what she'd landed on. It was Fenton Keys. She reached down and picked him up, briskly dusting him off while checking him for injuries. A few bruises, she thought, and he'd been knocked unconscious by a sharp blow to the head; he'd need some rest and care, and a little watching to be sure it didn't turn into something worse. But on the whole, he was alive, and so were Rei no Leliel and Kazan Tetsukana. Alive, and in... the Pit, she thought, looking around them at the piles of unsorted scrap metal. There was a noise, and Rei no Leliel quickly stepped aside as another chunk of waste metal came out and thunked into the ground. "Kazan Tetsukana," she said - the fishman was easy enough to find when he stood so tall - "we should go. I suggest his... shack." She put Fenton Keys over her shoulder and turned to go, then paused. She put Fenton Keys on the ground while she dragged some metal across the mouth of the chute, adding more pieces until it was firmly blocked up. Then she picked Fenton Keys up again, satisfied. "Now we may go," >8) she said, picking Fenton Keys up again. "Any Marines attempting to follow us out will have to do some work." Assuming they hadn't expected Rei no Leliel and Kazan Tetsukana to take this route out to begin with, but since they were not immediately surrounded by belligerent Marines... Rei no Leliel thought that it was a safe assumption, that they were safe for the moment. |
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| ♥ Bright | Dec 11 2017, 12:18 PM Post #41 | ||||||||
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It was, perhaps unsurprisingly, not a comfortable or entirely painless process to ride down a chute built to accommodate the needs of scrap metal and nothing more. Alongside bits of shrapnel banging and crashing their way around the chute like bullets on a mad path of ricochet, the tube itself was a busted and bumpy thing that saw Kazan bouncing off his back and buttocks so as to smack his head off the walls and ceiling. When it finally spat him, Fenton and Leliel out like a set of grizzly urchins, Kazan could not say he was better for the ride. He stood up, slowly and gradually, aching just about every way a person could ache. A migraine tore through his frontal lobe where something sharp had struck him. He put his fingers to his forehead; sharp enough to draw blood, too. The paintings, miraculously, hadn't come out all too badly. Kazan had made an effort to shield them where he could, and while the fabric covering them had gotten stained and ripped here and there, they seemed intact for the most part. He was glad to see that Leliel and, after a quick examination of his pulse to prove he wasn't dead, Fenton were alive and well too. "That's not a bad idea. His grandmother at least seemed a sensible sort. But we have to move quick. We've got more than one force moving against us. Here, let me help." There wasn't what one could call a shortage of material with which to plug up the chute. In all likelihood, unless the pile was attended to in short order it would have plugged itself up naturally. It took one final kick and shove before the pair was finally satisfied, and Leliel went back to babysitting duty with Fentum. It took a moment for Kazan to get his bearings, but they were certainly still in the dusty, cancerous underbelly of Rust Pit: the Pit itself. For a moment he had been hopeful that the chute would drop them out in the very first scrapyard they had visited, where they had found the plate that led them to Fenton. A miscalculation on his part, in assuming that those were the only chutes or indeed the only scrapyards. Evidently there were more, which given the size of the smelting plant ought not have been surprising. "Huh. This might actually be better," Kazan muttered, mostly to himself. Being dumped in the previous scrapyard would mean that it might not be all that long before the Marines and the plant security detail simply walked out the doors and had them surrounded. The Pit was vast. You didn't surround the Pit, so much as it surrounded you and they had been dropped off far enough away that they had a good head start on the powers that be nipping at their heels. Kazan was not terribly well acquainted with the Pit, but at least in the open air sections it was not so labyrinth that he did not know entirely where they were going. With their newly acquired paintings slung deftly underarm, he trudged along increasingly familiar paths until he was ascending up the same bridges and creaky wooden walkways into the slum that hung above the Pit's lip, just waiting for one more landslide of burdum, just one more step down into poverty, for oblivion to take them. He did not bother knocking on Keys Senior's door. "Gosh, is it too much to ask for some manners!" she shouted, but her form relaxed as her ears twitched. She remembered that feel of those footfalls, the subtle click of servomotors in artificial arms. "So you're back." "Not for long," Kazan assured her. He cleared some space to give Leliel space to dump Fenton. "Your grandson has had a bit of a bump on the head. Nothing too serious, maybe a slight concussion. He'll come around soon enough." Her expression pickled, but she nodded all the same - apparently it was an acceptable injury. Kazan felt she hadn't moved from her favored armchair. "And the disease?" A cigarette came to life with a flare of orange and red, followed by the cool grey of smoke. He instinctively shared one with Grandma Keys."Can't say we stopped it. But, if I had to point a finger it looks like its being released from the plant. Deposited on the burdum and released when its burned up, maybe." He began to pace and kept an all too wary eye on the door. "It'll help if you spread the word to the plant workers, if you can. Get people to try scrub the burdum before its burned. Even simple alcohol or antibiotics should do." A great shrug set his shoulders bouncing, and he immediately regretted it and winced when he rubbed a fresh bruise. "This is just a theory, mind, so no guarantees. Best we've got so far, unless..." The papers were still in his coat. He pulled them out and slammed what they had onto Grandma Keys' coffee table, and nearly demolished it in the process. "There might be an answer in these. Might not be. But its your best bet at finding one." Kazan was not comfortable with spending a day to meticulously search and dissect everything they had found, not with the Marines and everyone else with a pointy weapon hunting them down. He and Leliel ought leave Rust Pit as soon as possible. The Keys might consider doing something similar, until things had calmed down. Castor did not appeal to Kazan as a friendly sort of corporation that might let such transgressions slide. Hopefully neither side had discovered their little boat tucked away on the coast. Of course they both would also have to hope that the thing hadn't simply disintegrated under its own weight, or otherwise been torn apart by a swarm of crabs or other such marine life. Kazan began to think that perhaps there were too many things they were having to hope for. They were getting closer, however, he could feel it. Kazan was not normally one for such naive optimism, but there was a strong gut feeling that they were taking steps in the right direction to solve this whole catastrophe. His eyes fell to the paintings he had left in another of Keys' chairs. Solve a catastrophe and maybe make some money while they were at. |
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| pantherasapiens | Dec 14 2017, 01:15 PM Post #42 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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"Better than what," ? asked Rei no Leliel, whose movement was hampered somewhat by the weight of Fenton Keys on top of all the loot she had picked up from Kirdoff's home and office. It was a burden in the moment, and a hindrance when they needed to move quickly or be captured by the hostile Marines; and yet Rei no Leliel thought that she would have not liked for the burden to be much lighter than it was. There came no reply, but Kazan Tetsukana's meaning came clear enough eventually. Better than expected: they had come out at a fortuitous location. Far enough from the factory that the Marines (or the forces of Castor Medical) would not easily make their way over to capture them, but near enough that the route became familiar quickly, even without Fenton Keys to act as a guide. Even so, they kept to careful paths; the Pit was not the place to appear as if one had suddenly come into wealth, thought Rei no Leliel. She shifted and jerked Fenton Keys around so that he acted as an unwieldy cover for her bag-ful of plunder; Kazan Tetsukana was large and imposing enough that the Pit workers would probably not bother with the things he was carrying. An advantage, there, and either way it seemed to work. They arrived at the top of the Pit without more than a few passing waves from Pit workers they saw, far-off, and there was a moment at the rim where the previous foreman saw them and shouted something. At least, Rei no Leliel presumed he had shouted something; the noise of the Pit drowned out any sound of his voice, but she saw his mouth working, and she made a little wave back. Maybe it was Fenton Keys on her shoulders that he had recognised and shouted about, she thought later, but by then they were out of the Pits and headed for the slums. The slums were exactly as they'd left them, which was a good thing. It meant that the hunt for Fenton Keys had at least not spread and caught up his family and neighbours in it. On the other hand, Rei no Leliel thought as she passed through the lean-tos of burdum and scrap, it was the kind of place that could only be improved by disaster, and so its continuing to exist the way it was, was... well. But they found Fenton Keys' little hut, and the door was just as poorly-built and nearly came off its hinges again as they entered. "We are returned," assented Rei no Leliel as they entered. She made sure to close the door securely behind them, for what good that was; the walls were thin enough that any sound from inside surely could be heard outside. "Fenton Keys helped us very much." "Glad to hear that," said the grandmother from inside her chair. "The disease has not abated," said Rei no Leliel. "But Castor Medical is surely behind it, even if its regular workers are not aware. We suspect the smoke from the plants carries it." She paused. "Cloths dampened with lemon juice and worn over the face may help." Then Kazan Tetsukana slammed papers down on the table in front of the blind woman. "I'm blind," the woman pointed out. "You would not understand most of these in any case," 8/ said Rei no Leliel. "These are technical diagrams for the disease and their machinery. Even we will have trouble with them; Kazan Tetsukana and I are medical professionals, and not metalworkers." >8( It was frustrating, in a certain way. Not that Rei no Leliel was completely unable to read technical drawings, and she expected Kazan Tetsukana to be able to read them too. It was simply part of being a cyborg, when you were expected to maintain your parts. But there was a vast gulf between the intricate machinery of the cyborg parts and the peculiarities of the medical devices. At least the medical part of things was straightforward enough. "Metalworkers, you say," mused the old woman, and she held out a hand to Kazan Tetsukana for another cigarette, and then held the cigarette out for him to light. "Well. There's a guy I know could help you with these. But he left Rust Pit a long time ago, mind." "We were not expecting to remain here very long," allowed Rei no Leliel. "The Marines found us at the plant - alerted by Castor, I believe. They'll soon begin their hunt in earnest and we should not be here when that happens." The old woman snorted. "Marines," she said. "Just here to look busy and get paid. They'll do nothing, you'll see." Rei no Leliel shrugged, then remembered that the old woman was blind, and said: "Perhaps. They seemed competent enough at the factory." "Thugs," said the old woman, and puffed deeply on the cigarette. "Well, if you're planning to go anyway, he's on Nemea. Haven't seen him in years but you'll be able to find him easily enough, he was always the kind to get noticed everywhere he went. Always for the wrong reasons, too," but she chuckled as if it were a great advantage and nothing serious at all. "His name's Peanuckle, but he hates that name." "I see," said Rei no Leliel, who had laid Fenton Keys out on the cleanest looking surface (a table, but it was a close race between that and the ground) and was busy checking him to see if there had been any internal damage that she'd missed out earlier. "We may need his help, then." "Just call him Peanuckle," chortled Granny Keys. "He'll do just about anything to get you to stop calling him that!" Rei no Leliel paused in her work, shook her head, and continued. |
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| ♥ Bright | Dec 16 2017, 03:13 PM Post #43 | ||||||||
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Wannabe Writer
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Sometimes the best way to deal with a social gaffe is to simply ignore it, rather than to keep digging oneself deeper into the depths of embarrassment. In all the excitement it did not occur to Kazan that dear old Grandma Keys was, in fact, as blind as they came. Even if she were well versed in the highly specific form of engineering on display, enough to break the technical encryption that held their secrets from the layman, she would not be able to read them. So Kazan said nothing, did nothing in response to his mistake and opted to pretend it had never happened by diving headfirst into the metaphorical sand of the documents spread out on the table. It was a shame Kazan's expertise, much like Key's sight, was not acute enough to really discern the bulk of the documents. Most were blueprints or design outlines detailing exact forging and construction methods. Circuitry diagrams, alloy formula, necessary pressure resistance; they were all dense with technical jargon some of which Kazan could make heads of with a few moment's staring, but a lot of it went above and beyond him. Much of the medical context was present only in its relationship to the engineering side of things, and there was little detail as to what any of the machines would actually be used for. Which made sense, given the location. Rust Pit and its smelting plant were not known for their biological or chemical expertise. They were builders, blacksmiths. It was irrelevant to Kirdoff and his workers what the machines did, just so long as they were being paid to build them. What ought have been relevant to Kirdoff was the fact that his home island and workforce were being poisoned by those very same clients. The map of their sea route gave Kazan pause, and he stroked at his chin at the assembled pieces of paper. No amount of beli could have made that a worthwhile expenditure, so surely Kirdoff could not have been in on the game, at least not as far as Rust Pit was concerned? He glanced at the map again. Kirdoff may not have been in on the game initially. In an excited flurry he pulled the letter from his pockets and smoothed it out fully. It was printed on good paper. Aloud, he began to read from it: Sasa, Now I know we don't normally mix our drinks much - you do your thing and we do ours - but Perrinone has been giving me a lot of worrying reports lately, and I think something big is looming. We started taking contracts from this company, Castor. Real private lot, a bunch of fruitcakes if you ask me, but the cash was real and real plentiful. All they wanted was machines that my boys could whip up well enough. Medical stuff, lab equipment. Strange, but who am I to turn down that sort of money? You'd do the exact thing in my boots. Here's the thing. People are getting sick. Way more than they should. Normally I'd just think it was a bad season, but some of those Castor lot have insisted on hanging around the plant to 'make sure the work is done properly.' I don't like coincidence, Sasa, it'll get you killed in our line of work. I sent Perrinone to do some digging, and guess what, turns out Castor's been shipping some of the parts we're making to Salt. Funny, then, that I hear a lot of your folk are coming down ill too, ain't it? I'll get to the point. Don't trust Castor. I'm trying to get an idea of everywhere they operate without tipping them off, but they're secretive cats. Supposedly they own a few buildings on Nemea, but it might just be more fronts like what they've got here with that barn. Look after yourself, and if you find anything, you tell me. I'm here on Rust Pit minding the plant while Perrinone is away, in case you want to talk in person. Let's get that status quo back where it belongs, yeah? Kirdoff Kazan put the letter down gently and rubbed at his chin again. "Seems Kirdoff might have been something of an ally, if we hadn't just robbed his home. And assuming he's even still alive and not chased away like Sasa." The little stool he had taken the liberty of sitting on creaked as Kazan readjusted himself. "Either way, Castor might have a finger on Nemea too. And with this Peanuckle guy there, I think we can all agree that's where we need to set the log pose." Gradually, Kazan gathered up the papers and returned them as neat as he could to his pockets. As much as he'd like to stay and study them, and as safe as they may have seemed stuffed away in the Keys' household, he was not comfortable with the idea of sitting idle. They were being hunted, and they needed to get off the island as soon as possible. "Sorry for causing all the trouble. But you're welcome for us trying to fix it." Grandma Keys snorted. "Very gracious of you. You'll be alright, getting away?" Kazan shrugged. "Assuming we don't sink. Which is probably the bigger threat, really." He looked down at Fenton, still happily sleeping with an increasingly large lump on his head. It struck him that Fenton had been spotted and recognized too, and it would eventually lead them back here. Kazan and Leliel were not the only ones that needed to go into hiding, though if the Keys current house was anything to go by they probably didn't have the money to relocate so easily. One of the paintings might have made for a decent gift, but they could potentially be traced back to Rust Pit and land them in further trouble which would not be so relevant for Kazan or Leliel. There was, however, something else that could be worth a pretty penny that had no connection to the island. Kazan removed his box and took out a wrapped bundle which he placed in Grandma Keys lap. "What's this?" she asked, feeling the object and pulling away the fabric to reveal the swirl-patterned flesh. "Little thing I picked up on Salt. I was going to sell it myself, but better you do it. Get out of here, find somewhere safe. At least until this blows over." She sucked on her cigarette and stared blankly at the wall, but nodded solemnly and grasped the Chime Fruit. "That's kind of you." Kazan guffawed. "We just broke into a private factory, attacked its staff, robbed several high value paintings, and resisted arrest. Maybe kind isn't the right word, but..." He shrugged. "Sometimes I try." The box went back on his shoulders and he went to the door, peeked out to ensure no-one was waiting in ambush, and gestured for Leliel to follow. "We'll see you around, Keys." "No, you won't," she said with a coy smile. Another grin spread on his lips. "True. Take care of Fenton. And good luck." |
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| pantherasapiens | Dec 17 2017, 07:48 AM Post #44 | ||||||||
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ZA WARUDO
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Fenton Keys was, Rei no Leliel thought, about as well as he could possibly expect to be under the circumstances. He was alive, in stable condition, and as far as Rei no Leliel's admittedly cursory inspection went, he hadn't sustained any internal bleeding where it counted. He would bruise, of course. He would even be somewhat sore for the next few days. In any other situation Rei no Leliel might have prescribed painkillers or some degree of bed rest. It was simply that they were not in any other situation, and both Fenton and Granny Keys were in danger. Not as much danger as Rei no Leliel and Kazan Tetsukana were, but then the two cyborg doctors were by now almost professionals about being in danger. Kazan Tetsukana pulled out a letter and began reading it aloud while Rei no Leliel applied some quick antiseptic to some bandages, and then wrapped those bandages carefully around Fenton Keys. He'd certainly paid for the service, she thought, though there was something she did not like about having to render services for services. It went very much against the idea of rendering services for beli or other, more fungible items. She paused, though, in her work, as Kazan Tetsukana read on, and she turned to look at him. "Kirdoff knew." ? she said, but she didn't need an answer, really. She looked down at Fenton Keys' half-bandaged form, and resumed her work while Kazan Tetsukana thought out loud. "Sasa Dion was known to have been pushed out of Salt. There was a battle, she was defeated, and her underlings were running the place in her absence. We see none of that for Kirdoff." Which made Kirdoff either much cleverer, or stronger, or simply that he'd... managed to get himself close in with the Castor lot that he'd been kept around. It was even possible that he held the key to their continued operations; unlike Sasa Dion, whose island was nothing but a test tube, Kirdoff would have had a much greater lever. She wrapped Fenton Keys up and tidied up her makeshift workspace. "The Ruddy Candle," she pronounced, and her mechanical voice hid the utter distaste she was feeling for it despite it being their only way out of Rust Pit and into Nemea, "should not have sunk. There were no storms." She let the sentence hang for just a moment, and added: "and the Ruddy Candle is an insult to shipwrecks the world wide, besides." She bundled herself back up and looked at Kazan Tetsukana, waiting for him to finish whatever preparations he had to make before they could leave. For they had to leave soon: it was a matter of minutes, not hours, before the Marines came to the slums for them. Delayed a little, perhaps, if Supervisor Delia had asked them to search the tunnels for the scraps of paintings that she could show to Kirdoff in her own defense. Not much defense, even if she found them, thought Rei no Leliel. Kirdoff would probably be relieved that they had taken their actions, though he would have to publicly decry them, for Castor's sake. Kazan Tetsukana gave the old woman a Devil Fruit, and they left the little run-down shack as inconspicuously as they could while still maintaining haste. No more of the rusted trams, either, on their way to the coast, even without Fenton Keys to guide them; the journeys had been slow enough and boring enough, and on foot they could simply hurry alongside the rusted tracks back where they'd come from. Not that they were truly hurrying, with their valuable burdens. Rei no Leliel hoped that some of the items could persuade Peanuckle to help them more, if the liberal application of his name was not quite as effective as Granny Keys had made it seem. Not that she saw what was so particularly dislikable about the name, in any case. It seemed a perfectly serviceable name to her. Unlike the Ruddy Candle, which was (as she had guessed) still on the shore where they had left it. It looked as disrepaired and barnacle-lined as when they had left it, perhaps even more so. Rei no Leliel rapped her knuckles on it, producing a grunting, creaking noise from inside the hull, as she entered it and carefully put her things on the floor. "Well," she said at last, when she was done taking in the horrible sight of the interior (leaking, damp, and dank) that she and Kazan Tetsukana were going to face for the next few days, or however long it took them to get to Nemea. "You had better set the log pose. I shall go and see about the engine, and let us leave before the Marines cordon the whole place off looking for us." Not that she thought they would. But there had been stupider things done before, to make the powers that were look good. And Castor Medical surely would push for measures to be taken... [OOC: SL END] |
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| ♦ TGIFlash | Jan 7 2018, 04:01 PM Post #45 | ||||||||
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Old Sea Dog
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Thank you for your patience. Your storyline has been reviewed.
SL Notes
Edited by TGIFlash, Jan 7 2018, 04:02 PM.
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![]() ![]() Phunk D. Buzzkill • MA/Assassin • Free Agent • Bounty: 346,000,000 beli • SD Earned: 918 • Beli: 148,000,000/397,000,000 • Location: Raijin Island | |||||||||
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1:56 AM Jul 11