Chapter 2

[thenine]

Who: OTA
Where: Quad
When: Week 2, Day 5 - Week 4, Day 6
Summary: Chapter 2 prompts!
Restrictions/Warnings: Violence, blood, et cetera. For anything surpassing 'R' on a rating scale, please create your own log.
Notes: Please title your subject line in the following format -- Open / Closed | Date. OOC event information can be found here.

Quick Navigation
The Nine
The Company
Westies
True Leithians
Leith
Resistance
The RAC

The Nine: Poisoned Well

With the heir delivered and Lady Derrish returning to health, balance has been maintained amongst the Nine. Swift and efficient - and, some would say, unbelievable - medical attention administered may have steadied the Lady's life, but for those in the ruling houses, the atmosphere of tenuous peace only grows thicker. Land Kendry has launched an investigation - with particular focus on Land Hyponia - into the source of the 'attack' on Lady Derrish's health. Of course, that is only the surface, and some suggest, with hushed voices, that there may be more to Land Kendry's goals than to weed out an assailant. Land Hyponia has long since been in support of maintaining the Seventh Generation Accords, which it defends staunchly against any opposition. One of the most agitated among those in disagreement with the Accords is Land Kendry. Now is the perfect opportunity for them to rearrange the pieces in their favor, and with the information they've fabricated, they'll be able to replace the head of Land Hyponia with someone who is - at least hopefully - more pliable to their agenda. The Derrish have their own suspicions, the cure surfacing all too conveniently timed to have been a coincidence. When Land Kendry's investigation procures evidence pointing to Land Hyponia as the culprits, inflaming the crime with implied - yet vague - ties to the resistance, the Derrish publically accept the accusation. Behind closed doors, the solution seemed to have come as uncannily easily as the cure, and suspicions only rise. But for now, the two houses remain allied - ready to use one another for their own interests. For those among the nobility, it's the time to reevaluate alliances, assuring the old and gathering the new. The more support you have, the safer you are - unless, of course, you chose the wrong friend. Some turn to other members of the nobility, some to the RAC for hired guards, some to the Company to mandate investigations unsuitable for Killjoys, and some may even turn to the underbelly of society to accomplish anything necessary to stay on top. Or to simply stay alive.

The Company: Cleaning House

There will be no accolades, and no rest, for the hard working Company officials following the response to the True Leithan attacks. Assignments shift from one thing to the next, moving from bureaucratic nightmare to bureaucratic nightmare. While there’s always busy work to distract from the intrigue behind the scenes, it’s not liable to be any safer. Some officials will be charged with maintaining peace and order on Leith, as the outbreak of a pandemic slowly spreads over the moon. From helping the afflicted find their way to a place of treatment, to safe and efficient body disposal—burning corpses by the hundreds—to attempting to track down the source of the virus, it's best anyone assigned here take heed ‘lest they find themselves falling ill as well. Westerley, on the other hand, is a different kind of headache. With Harvest Week in swing, most company officials will be reaching for a drink of their own at the end of their shifts. Rowdy workers celebrating their time off, spending their hard earned Joy frivolously, and citizens whisked away by the atmosphere of celebration all mingle throughout Old Town. Property damage, fighting, less than subtle illegal activity, and crowding all become more of an issue than they usually are during this time. It's the perfect setting to lay down the law, or to not be noticed by it. On top of it all, each and every member of the Company's workforce can expect to have their documents double and triple-checked. Those with any suspected ties to Leith are likely to undergo a more serious investigation. One-on-one interrogations become common practice, and whether you're trusted or suspect, you may come face to face with a companion in your duties. True Leithan sympathizers are what the Company review is after, but anything else unturned will surely not be ignored. Cover your bases.

Westies: Harvest Week

Harvest week is in full swing throughout Westerley - visa workers have been shuttled back in droves from their time on Leithian farms, many of whom were willing to take some of their observations to information brokers for a price. Most had superficial information to sell (the state of unease on the average farm due to the impending Accords, the increased suspicion that the migrant workers were forced to endure, the fear of retaliation by the rebellion for the True Leithian attacks), others with reports of increased security and weapons caches on the farms of those whose sympathies lie with the “heroes” of the attack in Old Town. Old Town, however, is even more of a chaotic mesh of humanity with the mass influx of returning bodies. Bars stay busy day and night, the hokk and ale flow almost faster than most can keep up, and many Enforcers and Killjoys alike can make a good bit of extra joy (or free drinks) by moonlighting as security at the more popular locations. Despite all of the fun to be had, there is still the undercurrent of unrest, because Company checks have increased even more and Intake has become a revolving door of petty criminals being held for the smallest infractions. Everyone is on edge as the Resistance grumbles and the Nine search the shadows for something or perhaps someone. The unrest only worsens once Leith is placed under quarantine. And through it all, criminal activity is on the rise. Somehow, despite the strict regulation and transport of migrant workers, there is an increased access to Jakk and Bliss. Norn has an ever growing market, and weapons dealers are in high demand both in Eulogy and by private buyers alike. Something is brewing beneath the revelry, and no one wants to be caught unable to defend themselves, it seems. Not that any amount of firepower can defend against disease when P43X shows up on W3D7--but it can certainly make the symptoms worse.

True Leithians: Second Stage

Wounded and pressed to a corner, the beast rears its head and bares a maw of teeth and ruthless pursuit. The True Leithian organization does not take pause to mend wounds left in the wake of last week’s retaliation, no. They do not seek the comfort of safe haven and recovery. Instead they turn their anger and fear inward, sacrificing their own for what they believe to be the greater good. On Week 2, Day 6, three individuals slip into the crowds of Leith, mingling with the revelers and the families celebrating Harvest Week. They share smiles and laughter, they share conversation and drinks, but most importantly, they share infection. Each of the three is responsible for disseminating P43X, a viral bioweapon designed by Zan Nikora on behalf of the military in years past. During its conception, the aim of P43X was simple: to create a weapon which could demoralize and destabilize an entire population within a matter of days. To create madness that builds in the blood and eats into the brain, spreading through every tier of society. And though its use has long been out of commission, its engineer has lingered. Zan Nikora, kidnapped and held under threat of death not to himself but to those he holds dearest, is made to choose between the lives of his family on Westerley or the strangers on Leith. His choice is obvious, though far from easy. Reassembling the buried curse takes time, supplies, and testing. He is provided amply with the last two but scarcely with the first. But still he complies. When his madness maker is complete and his existence becomes a potential loose end, it’s not freedom that Zan Nikora tastes, but the poison of his own medicine. Only once the voices in his head have risen above whispers and turned to screams, when his mind can no longer hold secrets worth sharing, does he see his family again. It takes six days*. Six days and Zan Nikora stumbles through Old Town, eyes unseeing, mind riddled with disease—infection spreading. Mod Note: *W3D6. Cure and vaccines will be developed and disseminated beginning on W4D3, but will not be fully administered to all locations until W4D5.

Leith: Pocket Posies

Harvest Week in Leith marks a period of joy and relief. Bazaars are open longer, the ordinary bustle of the business day replaced with celebration and festivities throughout the evening hours. Vendors offer games for adults and children alike, the sky is a constant wash of soft pinks, purples, and greens from holographic firework shows, and music fills the air from different stages. All walks of life are welcome to join in the merriment, just so long as they have the right to be there. Anyone suspected of an invalid visa or citizenship papers are dealt with harshly, but quietly. Tucked away into the darkness of a holding cell like all of Leith’s more problematic elements. It is a time of peace and relief, this week, and they will not abide disruption. But within the hallowed days of celebration, a sickness grows, incubating. Spreading. First, it begins with an ache deep within the muscles. The body tires too quickly, the flesh burns with a blanket of rising fever. Whispers skirt at the edge of hearing, unintelligible but audible, filling the audio cortex with illusions and lies. Food loses its appeal, though the body yearns dearly for energy it cannot hold, and breathing becomes tighter, harder. Next the tide of high fevers, of lethargy. The brain devolves into paranoia and mania, the mind races with delusions and hallucinations. Pain follows, a pain that seems to emanate from every nerve without relief or pause, seeping through the muscles and aching within the very bones of a person. Some may wish for death, and for many, that wish will be granted in an unending sleep when the fatigue pulls darkness across the mind, plunges the last thoughts of a person into static slumber. But not all will succumb so readily, and therein is the weakness that ultimately shelved P43X during its initial creation. Its impacts are not uniform—while much of the population suffers dearly, most are sustained with timely medical interventions, and many others recover with the prowess of their own immune system. For Leith, bountiful in money and supplies, most of P43X’s more fatal properties are circumvented or delayed. But even in this lush world of affluence and peace, there are the poor, the underprivileged, and the weak. They are not afforded the same haste of care, the same salvation. Instead, they’re given graves of sanitizing fires, and their bodies turn to ash.

Resistance: Sleeping Dogs

The chaos of the festivities that go along with Harvest Week provides the perfect cover for the Resistance to begin moving once again. New cells need to be formed in the wake of so many executions and new members need to be recruited. Info brokers with Resistance-leaning sympathies have an opportunity to make a little extra joy by putting the disconnected sympathizers in contact with one another, aiding the vetting of Company insiders that need new handlers within the organization. For Resistance members already embedded within, they need to work now to find new locations to store what supplies remain and to begin rebuilding the stockpiles of weapons and supplies re-confiscated by the Company. Some may have heard of abandoned mines or facilities that can be retrofitted out in the Badlands while others are needed to track down rumors of Company made fallout shelters located within the under-city tunnels. For this, Company moles are essential - the only hope of accessing these shelters is with long forgotten Company passcodes. And the Scarbacks, well. Everyone’s heard rumors that there are many within their ranks willing to help with recruitment and contraband transportation, though there’s little the Company can do to restrict their movements at this time. Because of this, Scarbacks may also be the only ones that have a chance of getting into Leith once the quarantines go into effect. Those already aligned with the rebellion will be tasked with coordinating supply movements, making a deal or three with the devil on behalf of those unwilling to back down from the promises of the Accords. Caution and purpose should drive their movements because if the True Leithian attack is any indication… those nationalists are not going to let go of their precious land and status without a long, bloody fight.

The RAC: Holding Pattern

Warrants still flow in with a regular consistency - enough to keep the average team or agent quite busy. Every harvest season there are visa jumpers that need to be caught and low-level warrants claiming petty theft from farms by Westie migrants. The increasing number of disturbances and crimes in Old Town guarantee a plethora of local warrants to capture criminals across the moon or those that managed to escape an Enforcer’s arrest. Some, however, have either been requested by Seyah Kendry herself or volentold by their seniors within the RAC to conduct investigations into the attack on the Nine. And not all of these investigations are on the Lady’s behest. Some of the Nine aren’t quite willing to take Land Kendry’s word as law and have quietly requested their own investigations into the attack in Old Town and the Land Derrish misfortunes. (MOD NOTE: There will be a comment thread for teams to sign up for the specialized plot related warrants on the monthly warrant post, located HERE. Once teams have posted for a plot warrant, the mods will give them a location and focused assignment.)

Comments

Steinback

[oneirism]

[Despite all her sister's reassurance that she's fine, Lapis doesn't need to worry, Lapis still finds herself bringing her ship to Leith. She knows something is wrong with her sister, and the fact that fingers seem to be pointing towards Westerly as the cause behind this already wrecks on her fraying patience. Why would they sabotage themselves just as the Claimant Day for the Accords is so close?

It's enough to make her want to do something more, her already sympathetic views of the Resistance becoming stronger. Even if there are those she cares about who work for the Company, she wants to do more for her home and the people who live here. And so once she sets foot on Leith, she's quick to text the one person she knows is part of the Resistance.

The meeting spot is along the boundary of the bazaar, an area secluded and away from the rest of the bustling crowds - even the threat of sickness doesn't stop people from coming out to spend their money. Lapis has planted herself onto one of the discarded wooden boxes of some kind of produce, absently watching the sway of the crop fields as she waits.]

steinback for more

[graftage]

[Steinbeck's been far too busy these last few days. Battling not only the sickness that caused this whole mess, but the pressure to perform to the Resistance's expectations is too burdensome for words. Somehow, he's pulled through it all, sickness and subtle work both, and he's ready to move into the final stage of his plan.]

[That is, until he receives a text from Lapis.]

[His plans can wait - Lapis is a good friend of his, and he'll gladly take the time to meet her, especially considering the unspoken tone of her message. She needed him for something. And he's happy to provide. He finds her easily, walking up to her and also sparing a glance to the fields she's been watching.]

They're beautiful, aren't they?

[He says, almost distantly, before he turns back to her, his expression serious, but warm nevertheless.]

I'm here. What do you need?

steinback to basics

[oneirism]

[Some part of her was worried that maybe he would be too busy, but she trusted he would tell her if he was. So she's grateful that he is able to meet up with her. So she waits, absently folding her fingers together as she watches the fields, peeking over at her shoulder when she hears his approach - her expression calm, but there's something strained and tired about it.

There's a soft hum in agreement, her head tilting when he turns to her - not saying anything at first, and instead shifting along the box a bit. Patting the space next to her for Steinbeck to sit, gold eyes focusing on the fields once more.

She's quiet for a moment longer once he does sit, her eyes then glancing down to where her hands are laced in her lap.]

I want to do more... To help them, I mean. ['Them' being the Resistance. Lapis tended to be careful about mentioning them in public, since the last thing she wants is for Steinbeck to get in trouble.]

i'll be steinback

[graftage]

[He takes the offered seat, resting his hands in his lap.]

A lot of people want to do more.

[He doesn't mean to sound harsh. Lapis is someone close to him, someone he honestly likes, and while he's more than happy to show people the entrance towards a new life in the Resistance, he's hesitant to allow her in. It's dangerous. She could be killed. This isn't some shallow pool you can just dip your toes in.]

[He narrows his eyes.]

If you really want to help, you do realize that once you'll take a step forward, there will be no going back?

backstreet's steinback

[oneirism]

[She doesn't mind the harshness of his tone - knowing that he's right. And that what she's doing isn't just a simple choice she can back out of later.

It'll be dangerous, but Lapis is good at keeping to herself, at being unnoticeable by most when not on stage. And if she dies either way, that's a risk she's willing to take. She's never placed much value in her own life.

Which is why his words get a nod, her eyes tired yet firm as she glances over at him.]

I know. And I know it'll be dangerous. But I still want to do this.

steinback to your roots

[graftage]

That so.

[He sighs. She seems adamant enough. She's helped him in the past, with her information, but this is something new, something far more involved, and he's still unsure if this is the right path she should take. He's protective, he can't help it.]

[He glances down at his hands, calloused and worn, and his eyebrows furrow together.]

What brought this on, anyhow? Why now?

empire strikes steinback

[oneirism]

[There's just a quiet hum and a faint nod in response. She can tell he's unsure though, even if she doesn't understand why. But she stays quiet, turning her eyes back to the fields, letting her feet absently swing in the air.

There's another moment of silence at his question, her expression faltering for a moment.]

My sister got sick. [Lapis' devotion to her sister is absolute. And she never forgives those who hurt her sister.] And I'm not blind, I know this disease is all just sabotage in some way, with Claimant Day so close. The timing is the worst.

[Lapis doesn't notice how her hands clench and fist into the fabric of her skirt, or how her body tenses. But she soon sighs, forcing herself to relax once more.]

So I guess you can say it's equal parts personal and equal parts just... angry in general. That this would happen, when the people of Westerly are so close.

put a little steinback into it

[graftage]

Your sister? Is she alright?

[Of course she's not alright, but it's better simply to be "not alright" than dead.]

...It sure is. It's one thing to have corporate espionage, but to do something like this is...well, evil. It's evil.

[His loathing for the Company and the Nines grows every day. He sees her tense, and there's a pang of sympathy - he knows how she feels. He's in the Resistance for his family, too. Their motivations are quite alike.]

Ha, I feel the same way, you know. [He narrows his eyes.] My family has been working for ages for something they'll never get. I can't just stand aside and watch them suffer.

[A nod.]

Your heart is in the right place, Lapis. If we can do this and succeed, we can get justice for the people we love the most in this world.

[He pauses, before reaching over a hand to gently place on top of her hand, giving it a slight comforting squeeze.]

...I'll get you in. I think we'd be more than happy to have you help.

steinback in business

[oneirism]

[Another nod, another quiet sigh.]

Yeah. I've been making sure she's resting.

[It's a relief to know that her thoughts are shared, and she nods in agreement - her expression tensing once more. Golden eyes then flicking back over to him when he mentions they're the same, her brows furrowing when he then mentions his family. She can only imagine what that's like, to see those you love working hard for something, only to get that torn away.

It's... frustrating. It's so frustrating and upsetting that if Lapis were the type to emote more, she would just be screaming into her hands. Instead she forces herself to stay calm, her focus still on him as she listens. Getting justice... that's what she wants most. Lapis has never been particularly forgiving.

But then she finds herself blinking almost owlishly when his hand is placed on top of her, and while some of the tension eases from her body at the comforting squeeze, she still seems surprised. She isn't used to people touching her, but after a moment, she turns her hand around to gently hold his and squeeze slightly in return. Her expression unchanging for a moment, before she manages to smile softly.]

Thank you, John. I'll make sure to do my very best to help.

steinback it up

[graftage]

Good.

[He doesn't need to tell her to look over her sister and ensure she makes it through the illness - he knows Lapis will do that without being told. That's what family is about. It's about doing all one can for the people who mean the most to you.]

I'll keep you safe. [Another squeeze to her hand, but his expression is dead serious.] Now that you're going to be a part of this, I'll make sure you won't be hurt.

steinback and forth

[oneirism]

[And even if Lapis' family is just her sister now, she'll do everything she can to make sure she gets better. The thought of losing her to this sickness is one that's plagued her at night, and one she refuses to acknowledge right now.

It helps that his words and the squeeze to her hand knocks her out of those thoughts, her eyes widening as she listens. It's... strange. To hear someone say that.

Lapis isn't really sure what to say. So after a few, quiet moments, she manages to stutter her words out.]

I... Don't worry about me, I'm tougher than I look. [Because she knows he can't always watch out for her. So when she does inevitably get hurt, she doesn't want him blaming himself.]

i'm all out of steinbackup phrases

[graftage]

If you say so. [A little bit of light comes back into his eyes.] I know that you're strong, Lapis. I just can't help worrying about you, you know?

[The people closest to him - he'll do all he can to make sure no one messes with them, ever.]

Anyways, what are you aiming to do? Still want to be an information broker? Or do you want to branch out?

i started this mess, i can't steinback out now

[oneirism]

[It's nice to see that light come back, and she gives him another soft smile.]

I guess I know how that feels, since I worry about you too.

[She knows he probably gets in dangerous situations, and she knows he can handle himself. But she can't help but worry - so it's always a relief whenever she sees him unharmed.]

But, hmm... I still want to be a broker, but I'm all for branching out too. I'm just not... really skilled in much. [She seems pretty sheepish as she says this. Mainly because it's thanks to her family for making her focus on developing her AI and not really anything else. What is having life skills, etc.]

I just want to help anyway I can, really. I'm probably better suited for anything tech related.

steinback to black

[graftage]

You shouldn't! Honestly, I'm stronger than I look.

[He appreciates it, though. It's nice to know that someone cares, somewhere. His family and friends give him strength.]

Hey, you're plenty skilled. I bet if you just practiced at things, you'd find you can do more than you think you can! Tech related is really good. [He beams.] I can get you some connections, and you can work it out as to how you can help us out. Nothing is too small for our cause.

baby got steinback

[oneirism]

I know that! You're probably way stronger than me, but I still worry. You could still get hurt.

[It doesn't matter if he's strong or if he's used to it. The simple fact that a friend could get hurt is always enough to worry her.]

Hmm, I guess so. [How he beams gets her to blink, and then she smiles softly in return.] Thank you, John. I really appreciate that. Then I'll do my very best to find something, as long as it isn't fighting. I'm no good at that.

[Maybe she can learn first aid? She does already know a lot about the human body...]