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ximilia mods ([personal profile] ximilian) wrote in [community profile] ximilialog2022-07-15 04:03 pm

CONCLUSION: the fox and the hare

// CONCLUSION:the fox and the hare 

THE STREAMTHE SPECTATORSTHE CEASE FIRETHE LIBERATIONTHE HICCUPTHE JOURNALISTTHE VICE-MAYORTHE DETAINEDTHE ORIGINAL MISSIONTHE NEW MISSIONTHE BRINGERS OF CHAOSTHE ENDTHE STATIONNOTES


It’s the newly amassed loyal followers of Saint’s HOLONET channel that see it first: live footage streamed onto all screens from the camps in the Seventh Circle displaying chaos everywhere — prisoners in their dirtied white gowns and collars around their necks, dashing across the grounds. Their screams of fear and protest are sharp, almost chilling. Guards can be found trying to restrain them by any means necessary and at their own disposal; it isn’t pretty and it isn’t for those with weak stomachs. Figures wearing animal masks intervene, using their own anonymous bodies to shield prisoners or incapacitate the guards. It’s a blur of sound and colour and tension.

But there are also things there that can’t be easily explained: sometimes a blinding sphere of light surrounds the source of the stream, seeming to absorb blaster fire. A man can be seen gunned down at one point of the livestream, only to get back up to his feet some moments later, bullets spilling towards the ground like rain from healed wounds. A woman dressed all in black lifts her hand and a guard is suddenly flung across the grounds, crumpled in a heap, his limbs bent unnaturally. A short, young man claps his hands together and pale blue sparks shoot out from the force of it, creating a barrier from whatever materials are left strewn on the ground.

It isn’t long until the word spreads and people in their homes, at their workplace, and in the streets are all following the fight. The viewership numbers go up, reaching exponential hits.

No one expects it when the collars start to explode, exposing the gore and violence, closer to the citizens of the Arch than they’ve ever seen it. The energy within the camps flips swiftly from panic to complete chaotic unrest — the guards are taken down left and right, and prisoners scream for their lives. The livestream ends with a voice coming from the heap of fallen hoverbots: it’s the Fables speaking to the prisoners, and through them, the entire city.

TOP


As all of this occurs, people from outside of the Seventh Circle gather at the edge of the Sixth, curious and fascinated eyes peering towards the guard towers as though they might find answers there — or perhaps at the very least, a show. Word spreads fast, and those from the inner Circles, as well as the press and daily news sites, begin to join an ever-growing crowd of onlookers.

“Look, mama, that’s a giant woman!”

A young girl tugs on her mother’s hand to look up at the screens, and people have to rub their eyes in disbelief — because in front of one of the towers, there indeed seems to be a ‘giant woman’, her size matching that of the tower itself.

Facing another tower, there’s a small figure, seemingly unimportant upon first glance — until someone points in his direction just as a strange pulsing glow explodes away from him, hitting the tower with a thunderous crash that reverberates the ground beneath their feet. People in and around the tower begin to scream; and their screams are echoed by the spectating crowd. The pulses of explosive light continue until the tower collapses entirely on its own foundations.

“We have to go help them!”

“What? You crazy? There are giant people and exploding men, what the hell, that ain’t normal! We’re staying right here.”

“Hey! That’s the Raven!”

A young man points towards a cluster of flycycles in the sky and the form of a winged person swooping through the air. A cheer goes through the crowd, through which another shout rings out:

“And that — that’s General Eshaq!”

TOP


“Soldiers, stand down! That’s an order!”

General Eshaq’s voice, sharp and commanding, rings through the communications of everyone in the towers. The guards suddenly look at each other, hesitant. At the same time, Cassie yells at the Fables and Orbers present:

“Hey, you too! All of you, stop fighting! You’ve done enough.”

As she finishes, she looks towards the heap of debris where one of the towers used to be, people severely injured or worse on both sides — it couldn’t be any more contrary to the orders they’d been given.

As the Fables obey Cassandra’s order, Emry moves to stand at her side and glower at anyone who might even entertain the thought of continuing the fight. A man pushes through the rows of guards — it is Lieutenant Colonel Mkwambe, walking up to where General Eshaq is standing.

He stops and then he salutes.

“Sir! The command of the Arch Militia is in your hands, sir!”

Eshaq nods, satisfied at that.

“Attend to your wounded, Lieutenant Colonel.”

Cassie turns to look towards their own numbers, her expression almost grieved. There are so many more injured than she’d expected, likely more than any of them expected.

“Yeah… The same goes for us.”

TOP


Within the camps, one thing becomes very clear: without the use of the Geiszler Extemporizer, their mission to liberate the prisoners here would have been a devastating failure.

Newton, Kovacs, Jim, and River don’t stop for even a moment in their haste to remove as many collars as possible, while others come up with creative ways to remove the wristbands from guards — Daisy using her visor to hack into them, while Joe cuts through corners by literally cutting a guard’s arm off.

The guards falter from such a strong opposing force, not least the terrifying powers they have never witnessed before. This simply wasn’t a part of their training. As the Old Guard fall again and again, getting back up each time without fail, whispers spread among the militia about their unnatural, unkillable enemies. Those in the engineering camp run from where black tendrils curl around Wei Wuxian, the eerie sound of his flute carrying across the camp grounds. Alina and Andy destroy the collars they come across — Andy’s axe makes quick work through many of them, while Alina appeals to the other Orbers through the network to get rid of them.

In the second engineering camp, Lieutenant General Blair makes for a tough opponent. He and Yvonne are evenly matched, with Yvonne’s batons cutting through the air as she twists to strike in his direction; Blair quickly abandons his blasters in favour of a long electro-staff to fight back. The clash of their weapons ring through the camp, metal on metal, the electric pulse of Blair’s staff cutting static into the air. A split-second decision nearly costs Yvonne the fight, though — she misjudges the strength of a hit by just a hair, moving a little too forward when Blair moves out of the way in time, kicking her square in the back so she stumbles forward, the wind momentarily knocked clear from her lungs.

He smiles.

Of course it doesn’t last long when one second moves to the next and suddenly there are webs all over him, pulling him up until he hits the ceiling of the dome. Spider-Woman swings past with a cheerful, “You’re welcome!” before she thwips away leaving Yvonne to stare blankly at the very sudden intervention.

With the extra seconds of time, Yvonne pushes herself back up to her feet, grabs one of Blair’s fallen blasters, and aims for his wrist — she shoots, immediately destroying his detonator.

Set equidistant from all four camps, Dr McCoy readies his emergency care field clinic for any injured that might be brought in — these are not just prisoners but the Fables too, and Orbers as well needing treatment. Directing people to the makeshift hospital is Mal, his collection of weapons growing all the while.

And not far from the hospital is a group of guards focused on getting Dr Fouad and her team extracted from the camps safely but not before they come face to face with several Orbers: Sabriel, Megatron, and Drift. Unfortunately for the guards and the frightened doctor, this is far from a fair fight with Sabriel’s charter magic paired with the two Cybertronians who instantly give up on their holoforms to transform into giant robots. It’s a feat that instantly causes half of the guards to drop their weapons, unmatched.

Elsewhere, Minimus and Clarke are engaged in making sure the prisoners wanting to leave can do so safely; they escort them to the exits and usher them into vehicles that will take them away to safer grounds, all under Chiayi’s watchful eyes.

In the end, despite it all, the liberation of the camps is successful and the camps are now under the Fables’ protection.

TOP


In the middle of the hallway of the mayor’s Chacier House apartment, still some ways away from the front door, a group of orbers fall unconscious due to the effects of a triggered neurotoxin. Beside them is the empty android body, its limbs left in a crumpled heap.

‘Sleep Paralysis’, a new technology developed within the Seventh Circle labour camps, causes anyone who inhales the colourless and odourless gas to lose all consciousness, the agent inhibiting any neuromuscular movement, locking its victim in place and dragging their brain activity down to an empty, dreamless state. As the seconds pass by, the loud echo of footsteps reverberate from a hidden back hallway and a unit of Chacier House soldiers enter to collect the intruders. Bucky, Zhao, Natasha, Yelena, and the Darkling are quickly scooped up from the floor and put into cuffs and collars, not that any of the group are likely to cause even a twitch for the next few hours, at least.

“Glad to see that these security measures do work, it would be a shame to have paid for nothing.”

Reman looks in Rosinante’s direction this time, whose protests against his supposed affiliation with the Fables, and the intruders themselves, seem to convince him enough that his arrest comes with a little less man-handling. Two of the larger guards approach to detain him, and Rosinante doesn’t fight them. They escort him to the main building and ask him to provide a statement and to answer a number of questions … all while being assured that he’d know if this was an interrogation (even while it feels exactly like one). And while Rosinante is only kept in a room for questioning and allowed release, the rest of the group remain in holding cells, the effects of the neurotoxin keeping them unconscious until later that evening.

Alone now in his ransacked apartment, the lifeless body of an android made in Viveca’s likeness still blocking the way to her room, Jacques Reman crouches before the heap of metal and synthetic skin as though to inspect his investment. A complicated expression crosses his face, made slightly odd between the split of his organic and cybernetic features — one side could never fully replicate the other, the same way this android will never be his daughter. He reaches out with his cybernetic hand as though to touch the android’s arm, like he might as well be shaking her awake. And then he stops, steels himself, and straightens. He slides the body over to one side of the hall with his feet and moves back towards the elevators.

This isn’t over and he has work to do.

TOP


“Mr Reman! Callan Dela Cruz of the First Circle Post. I have a few questions for you —”

“Not now,” Jacques interrupts, raising a hand. He had been on his way down to the main building, now that his home has been cleared. “If you could please make arrangements like all members of the press, perhaps we could find some time. Now, if you’ll excuse me —”

The mayor offers Callan a dismissive wave and begins to quicken his pace; there’s an urgency as he departs, but Callan continues to speak. He seems to decide on an alternate approach, one that will undoubtedly get the mayor’s attention.

“Off the record then. Just you and me. I’m curious about a few things. The fact the government HOLONET is set to a different channel frequency with different access rights, for example?”

Jacques immediately stops in his tracks, the silence within the hallway of the Main Building almost deafening. Pivoting on one heel, he turns to meet Callan’s eyes with his own.

“How could you possibly know that?”

“I’m a journalist. It’s my job to do my research, and to dig until I get to the truth. And speaking of which, is it true then that you’ve been purposefully neglecting to equally distribute the technology made within the camps to all Circles?”

“Of course not. The Seventh Circle develops technology for everyone in the Arch.”

“And yet, it seems strange that the only ones allowed to use it live and work in the inner circles.”

“Perhaps those in the inner circles have a greater need for it. Perhaps it’s an economical trend you might want to look into rather than fabricate these conspiracy theories.”

“And what about imprisoning innocent citizens on false charges because the camps require numbers? A bigger workforce means more power to engineer and purify the water, right?”

The mayor laughs without any amusement.

“More fabricated conspiracies. Is the First Circle Post really short on stories these days that you’ve resulted to fiction?”

“The number of arrests has increased within the last five years, people being sentenced to these labour camps for the pettiest crimes. You arrested a man, took him from his family, for petty theft. And what about a young woman who received not only a speeding ticket but also a ten year sentence into the labour camps? Can the government explain why such low-level offences require the harshest punishments?”

“Everything I’ve done, I’ve done it for the greater good of this city. I did it to save the lives of people. Perhaps it would do you some good to reflect on where you come from, Mr Dela Cruz, to remember that the people I provide for are your people too. And if those who choose to commit crimes against our carefully established laws are punished, isn’t that a sign of our justice system at work? Or would you rather have a city where it’s every citizen for themselves, no matter what the cost? Even if that cost is chaos and violence?”

“You talk a lot of pretty words that don’t really mean anything. But if you’ll increase the number of labourers to manufacture your fancy tech, well, you can excuse it by saying that criminals deserve their punishments, right? Even if those punishments don’t fit the crimes? Even if your government will classify every crime under the same umbrella? Not to mention the treatment of labourers within these camps: the mistreatment, the abuse, the overworking of the imprisoned —”

Enough.

The mayor’s countenance is visibly fractured by Callan’s accusations, whether because he can’t find a way out of them or because they really are so disturbing to hear.

“I will admit … we have too many problems in our city and not nearly enough resources to tend to them. But these criminals you protect? What would their lives be like otherwise? Starving on the streets, homeless and near death anyway, perhaps? It is those in the labour camps helping to preserve and save the lives of everyone else in the Arch. It’s a sacrifice we must all be willing to make!”

His face slightly reddens and he stops short, as though he’s said too much.

“Well, it’s easy for those on the top to offer up sacrifices when they themselves have nothing to lose.” Callan taps at his temple. “But perhaps your sacrifice tonight will help the people too when they hear your truth over the HOLONET.”

“That’s impossible. It’s still down.”

Callan shrugs, his mouth twisted into a matter-of-fact smile.

“It’s time the Arch learned who you really were.”

He switches his recording off, immediately forwarding the footage to the Post.

The mayor bristles.

“Funny, the way you speak, one would think that you might be one of those Fables terrorists themselves.”

“Well, sure. But then I wouldn’t be spending my time at the Post getting paid to speculate their agenda and identities if I were. But I think we’ve all heard more than enough from you.”

He pulls back a balled up fist and strikes the mayor in the side of his face that still feels pain, knuckles hitting flesh and bone.

“That was for Viv.”

The mayor buckles to the ground, unconscious, just as a few men in uniform round the corner — guards sent by General Eshaq to take the mayor away. Callan steps aside, rubbing at his hand. It’ll be time soon enough for the mayor to speak for his crimes.

TOP


Back near the Chacier House, a portal appears, blurring the edges of one location into the next, until three figures calmly emerge: Alexandra Reman and Tai Chanming pass through, Yennefer bringing up the rear to close the portal behind her.

“Wait,” Alexandra says. “First we must see if it is safe to go.”

Chanming, closes his eyes briefly, shifting through all the latest news. It is thanks to Ya-ting that he can do this at all, his HOLONET connection restored and bringing him back online. The feeling is familiar.

“Yes, it is there. Callan did as he promised. The Mayor has revealed his wrongdoings to the world.”

Alexandra smiles.

“Good. Then it is time.” To Yennefer, she says,“I thank you for your aid, dear. If you want to stay, please do — but I understand you may want to leave and return to your friends.”

They begin to leave but then Chanming pauses.

“Wait — ” he starts. “I heard something on the Fables’ channel. They got a report from a recent recruit, a girl. I think you’ll need to hear this, too.”

They speak with lowered voices as they leave, walking into Chacier House like they both belong there — and in a very real way they do. They find the conference hall without trouble, politicians and government officials alike falling silent in the hallways as they pass, falling in line to trail behind them without so much as a word and too full of curiosity not to.

Inside the conference room, it's at the very same podium that Jacques Reman addressed the gathered parliament just hours earlier that his wife now stands behind, Tai Chanming by her side. She waits until word rapidly spreads within Chacier House and until every politician, official, and secretary has congregated into the hall to hear what she has to say.

“I am sure you’re all wondering why I am here. How I am here. But I am equally sure you have seen it all: the news reports of what is happening in the camps, the mindless deaths of innocent people brought on by a regime unwilling to rule justly, or give up that rule even when countless lives were at risk.

“The militia is now under General Eshaq’s control. The camps have been liberated, and the Fables now watch over them — the only people to speak out against injustice throughout these long years.

“I know you saw my husband’s confession. All these years, while professing to help the people, he has sent innocent people to the camps to die, all to further research and innovations designed to help only the wealthy. But no more. You know I was imprisoned for speaking the truth, nine years ago. These nine years I have waited, so I could use my knowledge of the camps to truly help our society. There is much research there that can make a difference, in the right hands.”

“But the mayor has been imprisoned! We need to hold new elections,” a man in the front row shouts.

“Yes, we do, and we will. But in the absence of the mayor, the vice mayor makes the decisions, am I not right?”

“Yes, but…. we haven’t had a vice mayor since —”

“Since Chanming, yes. And he was never officially terminated from the position, was he?” She looks in his direction now and asks, “Were you, Chanming?”

Chanming, face entirely impassive, shakes his head.

“So, until the new elections, Chanming is in charge of the Parliament.”

“Wait! But what of the kidnapping attempt? Or the eyewitness reports from the camps of supernatural occurrences? The casualties in the guard towers? How can you speak of the Fables controlling the camps, when they’re the very same terrorists responsible for all those deaths? Will you not address that?”

“The kidnapping attempt? It was the effort of a small group of misguided people who thought that an android was my daughter,” Alexandra says, voice wavering as she continues. “But my daughter is no longer in this world. My husband concealed it from the public all these years through what seems to be a commissioned android that looks like her, to fool everyone who tried to come to see her. An unprogrammed android, that’s hardly a kidnapping attempt, is it?”

“But what of the unnatural things people have reported? Or the Fables?”

“The Fables hold to a strict pacifist policy and only want to distribute the knowledge and innovations in the camps equally. What happened in the towers was… an unfortunate accident. As for any of the strange reports — it’s nothing anyone needs to worry about,” Alexandra says, her tone severe. It silences the questions… for now.

TOP


On the evening of the coup, Bucky, Natasha, Yelena, Zhao and the Darkling wake up within holding cells, discovering they’re restrained … and that directly on the other side of the bars is Alexandra Reman.

“What were you thinking?” she asks, eyes flashing. “You could have ruined everything! What if you’d killed any guards? What if you’d hurt Jacques? He’d have been a martyr, and all that my daughter and I have been fighting for this past decade would have been useless. Did you not think that an android that has not been programmed is as good as dead? I’ve been assured you know my daughter.”

She looks now at each of them in turn.

“I would have expected more for a team that she’s put together. You’re lucky you didn’t do more damage. What happened in the towers is bad enough without your team adding to that.”

She sighs, the heat of her lecture gone now, leaving her looking like a mother disappointed in her children.

“I’ve argued for parole. You will stay here overnight, and Lieutenant Colonel Mkwambe will let you out tomorrow evening. I suggest you steer clear of the First Circle. Those of you who worked for the government need not bother to go there again.”

She pauses, the tight expression on her countenance holding for a second longer before she sighs, suddenly weary.

“I understand you had good intentions. Without knowing about androids like we do, it must have seemed terrible, to see what looks like my daughter, just lying there like that. It’s a sign you care about her, and that I’m glad about.”

With that, she turns and walks out… and true to her word, the next evening, they will be released, uncuffed and un-collared — though not before their retinal scans and fingerprints are all recorded into the system.

TOP


The next day, the Orbers refocus their efforts on the reason they were brought to E-23b in the first place: to retrieve the orb. But like so many other things that have driven a wedge between the team during this mission, they are faced with another dilemma involving what to do with the orb once they successfully recover it. Three different sides begin to form — one advocates for giving the orb to Alexandra Reman to use as she wants, with the most vocal among them Dr McCoy and Sabriel. A larger group, among them Kovacs, Newt, and Finn, are firmly against giving the orb to anyone. And while some, like Natasha and Yelena, wish to leave the planet immediately after they retrieve the orb, the Orbers as a whole compromise in the end to recover the orb without touching it in order to prolong the time they have on E-23b. They reason that a few extra weeks will allow them to help the people here, purifying the water and leaving the locals with as much of their intergalactic knowledge as they can provide.

Itachi and Kakashi take the lead to begin investigating the three other camps for the orb as others turn to gather around the water reservoir. With the notes Minimus has found, they learn that the water reservoir sits right over the epicentre of the historical earthquake all those years ago.

This is reluctantly confirmed by Dr. Fouad, clearly afraid for her life. She speaks quietly but haltingly to Sabriel and Dr. McCoy as they press her for answers.

“Yes, that’s correct,” she says as they pull up the files Minimus found about the earthquake. “We believed there might have been something in the core of the planet causing the infection in the water, and when the earthquake moved the tectonic plates, it was released into the aquifers and from there into oceans and lakes. But we’ve scanned the bottom of the reservoir and there is no crack there, nothing. Nothing that our equipment has been able to find.”

She puts emphasis on our equipment, while eyeing Sabriel warily; she remembers what she saw her guards go up against. It is clear there is something else entirely at play here, something her scientific mind cannot understand.

Nevertheless, armed with this confirmed knowledge, the team devise a plan: using flycycles Ziggy manages to procure for them, Megatron and Rita will descend into the reservoir, aided with Wei Wuxian’s water purification arrays and Sabriel’s magic that creates air bubbles to minimize their physical contact with the water.

Diving into the reservoir is met with some strange effects. Like a magnetic force, the water seems to find its way around the swimmers, curling against the bubbles around them, an invisible current seeming to beat against the barrier as though trying to shatter the protection into pieces and find its way through. It’s a thankfully futile effort, but it doesn’t dismiss the discomfort Megatron and Rita might feel, like the water itself is alive somehow. When they find their footing at the bottom of the reservoir, the two will confirm Dr. Fouad’s statement — there is no fissure, no gap along the floor of the reservoir, but there is an unmistakable pulse of something else under the sand and rock.

Almost immediately it becomes clear that they’ll need a few more hands to dig underwater, and this is when both Rodimus and Minimus volunteer their strength, and their physical forms, trusting that their robotic bodies will be in less danger against the effects of the poisonous water, and their strength will be enough to break through the ground. Above the reservoir, hovering over the water’s surface, Eleven sits on a flycycle with her eyes closed in concentration.

Nothing happens at first, only several layers of sediment and soil beginning to cloud the clear waters and making it harder to see what the others are doing — making it difficult for the diggers themselves to see how far they’ve gone. And then suddenly the water feels warmer, the sand feeling hot. In the middle of the reservoir, past the clouded water, a round smooth stone sits in waiting. It glows a faint pink the colour of cotton-candy. Eleven can feel it from above, even if she can’t see the physical object itself yet. She breathes out and refocuses her efforts, extracting the orb from its bed of sand while the orb seems to protest, content enough to be where it is. Another pull of the Eleven’s power and the orb swims upwards now on its own, the pink glow sending out sharp currents of light against the deep blue of the reservoir’s waters. It swirls a deep violet until it erupts upwards directly into the sky and towards the flycycles themselves, a geysir of hot water spurting beneath it.

By Eleven’s side, Shang-chi moves his flycycle to a stop, Clarice holding tightly onto him. They narrowly miss the spray of hot water. With a determined flash of her bright green eyes, Clarice takes in a breath and straightens in position, distorting time and space to create a portal in the middle of the air. She nods in Eleven’s direction who then swiftly and decisively flicks her hand, sending the orb sailing through the portal and into a vault that Ziggy had spotted in the Fables headquarters, long unused and without recall from any of the Fables members of its combination. It’ll be secure enough to store the orb until the group is ready to leave.

And with this, their mission can be considered complete — at least a part of it. For the first time since the crew made their contracts and embarked on their first mission, the retrieval of the orb is not followed by a pull to the station … instead, the Orbers look at weeks stretching ahead of them, with time allotted to helping the locals.

TOP


It isn’t an easy task. Over the next few weeks, the camps become — if possible — even busier than before. While Yvonne is visibly miffed that so few collars had been retrieved for Ya-ting to repurpose into devices to stop the technology being taken to the First Circle (precautions against another regime like Jacques Reman’s), the Fables are rejuvenated by their purpose, collecting all of the camps’ available research with enthusiasm, aided by a number of former prisoners who see this as a way to repurpose the camps into something better than what they experienced.

A number of students from the Archway leave their studies and come to the camps instead, putting their expertise in technology to good use. A group has gathered around Jim and Spock as they instruct eco-engineering students in terraforming, while another, larger group spends time near the reservoirs, concentrating on purifying the water with Cassie and Alessia. Newt, Sabriel and the two Doctors spend their time around the water reservoirs too, using both magical and scientific means of cleaning out toxins. Other former prisoners and those in the outer circles begin to join the efforts until it seems as though there are enough hands to lessen the time it might otherwise have taken, though it’s always with curious and watchful eyes. Those with otherworldly abilities such as magic or powers are carefully avoided; during breaks, and out of perceived earshot, there will be whispers and murmurings, the words ‘strange’ and ‘unnatural’ often used among questions such as ‘Who are they?’ and ‘Where did they come from anyway?’

Nevertheless, cleaning the water is a slow and methodical process, one that comes with the discovery of how the water came to be poisoned. Regardless of the citizens’ impression of the Orbers, Rita volunteers to be a test subject. The effects of the water are enough to demonstrate how it might work on the citizens of E-23b, but not harm her, and together the group learn that there are traces of magical corruption similar to that in Gyeongje — the orb managed to infiltrate all of the available water on the planet, quickly turning it toxic for consumption and then fatal even to the touch. But with the orb gone, there is a noticeable change, and the hard work of the crew, the Fables, and the former prisoners leave them feeling cautiously optimistic that their efforts might be fruitful.

In one of the engineering camps, Wei Wuxian and Itachi have undertaken the challenge of creating an entirely new lake, the ground coated with Wei Wuxian’s water purifying talismans while Itachi creates the water itself through the use of a jutsu. This task is left to the two of them, no citizen of E-23b daring to come near the strange magic they’re increasingly fearful of.

Meanwhile, Sam and Alina focus their efforts on helping the Fables rebuild, ensuring that any resources that can be taken out from the camps are distributed to those most in need: mostly former prisoners and those who make their homes in the outer circles.

TOP


Isolated within the former camps and disconnected from the inner circles, it’s almost easy to forget that the rest of the city had been witness to much of the now-famous coup in the Seventh Circle, with HOLONET headlines scrolling across every screen and every personal device until it’s almost all anyone can see:

TERRORISTS, SAVIOURS, OR BRINGERS OF CHAOS? THREE VIEWS OF THE FABLES

WHAT REALLY HAPPENED: A STRIKING EYEWITNESS ACCOUNT OF THE NIGHT THE TOWER EXPLODED

THE TRUE STORY OF JACQUES REMAN: THE MAN WHO LIED TO THE ARCH

GOVERNMENT UNDER ATTACK: KIDNAPPERS STRIKE DURING HOLONET DOWNTIME

AN EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS OF SAINT’S STREAM: WHAT WE CAN AND CAN’T EXPLAIN

Choose the last of these, and a program pops on, already running.

“— and joining us now is political analyst and professor of law and political sciences at Archway University, Theo Razac. Welcome back to the show. As all of you know, Theo’s no stranger here, but Theo, we wanted to get your take on the course of the last few days’ events, beginning with Saint’s stream. What do you think is at hand, here? And what does the future of E-23b look like based on what we’ve seen so far?”

“Well, Lowri, where do I even begin?” Theo Razac chuckles. “What we were able to witness through Saint’s stream is unprecedented, and points to a climax that has been the making of years and years of outer circle unrest. We’ve been tracking the Fables’ activity for decades, theorizing on possible ways that they might re-emerge, either through the internal workings of this city — essentially taking things down from the inside — or over the external: an attack. Seeing them choose to strike from both sides, well even I couldn’t expect something like that. Didn’t think they had the members to do it. Of course, most of their actions aren’t surprising, they’re a group that thrives on spectacle, but the bottom line here is that they’re not a single voice. What we saw with the kidnappers who managed to infiltrate the mayor’s personal residence is just one branch of a very troubled tree.”

“And let’s speak a little more about that for a moment. We saw some unimaginable things over that stream, people clearly using something else beyond the tech offered here. Is this the result of experimentation? Is this something that the Fables have been working on while in hiding? What are your thoughts on these new recruits, these 'Powereds'? Where did they come from?”

“The appearance of these Powereds is new — I daresay we’ve never seen anything like this in the history of E-23b outside of fiction. We have had our theories at the university, it’s been a hot-button issue among staff and students: where these abilities came from, or whether these people are from an undiscovered moon or were experimented on in the labour camps through the infected water. Is this something that our government kept secret from us? We even wondered whether the Fables taking over our current body of government is just one evil substituting another? If perhaps they’re the ones experimenting on people and keeping it as secret as their identities. It’s all just speculation, of course, and we can only wonder what more they might be hiding and what else we might see from them in the coming days, good or bad.”

“Well, sure. Did these Powereds come to help us or were they manufactured somehow? But let’s speak now on the feed from Archway University’s own, Callan Dela Cruz, was really rather remarkable too. Mr Dela Cruz managed to get what amounts to a direct confession from the mayor himself admitting to injustices within the Seventh Circle’s camps that had been kept secret from citizens for much of his professional career. What’s next for the former mayor?”

“Ah, yes. Hmm. Convincing evidence, but we’ll have to see what his hearing brings, see what else it uncovers about a man we voted for and put all our trust into, if he made decisions that abused the systems and put a whole lot of innocent people in very dangerous, seemingly inhumane conditions. May the new elections bring us some much-needed change. Maybe even let these masked animals rest.”

“I couldn’t agree more, Theo. And we’ll hear more from the professor about Alexandra Reman’s sudden appearance, and her stepping into her husband’s shoes after these words from our sponsors —”

After that, signs begin to appear outside of businesses, declaring “NO POWEREDS ALLOWED”. Any Orber who has been spotted either in Alina’s stream or out near the towers will also notice that people are giving them a wide berth, mothers dragging their children into nearby buildings, and groups of people murmuring in hushed voices, spitting insults and averting their gazes from them.

The parliament is kept occupied, debating on the Fables and the camps on a daily basis, each session made public and recorded so that anyone with access to the HOLONET will be fully informed. It’s the most transparent the government has ever been in remembered history, but the question posed over and over again is the same: How can we, the people, sleep soundly in our beds when the terrorist organization known as the Fables is protecting these unnatural powereds? Every day Alexandra and Chanming try to answer to the accusations or motions to move the militia to the camps, and to make sure they are not building weaponry there.

When the debris and bodies have been cleared from the boundary between the Sixth and Seventh Circles, a memorial service is held, unveiling a tall and heavy stone monument built where the tower had been. On that stone are names carved into it to honour the people who lost their lives in the tower explosion. People from all walks of life attend, leaving candles and flowers and small items at the stone’s feet. Found among them is Callan Dela Cruz, dressed all in black, paying his own respects.

Later, it will spark a discussion all over the HOLONET social media, analyzing any eyewitness records and images for the culprits as citizens try to understand the things they’d seen in hopes of bringing justice to their dead, and peace to their mourners.

Three weeks after the orb has been found, the first protests occur just outside the camps. Numbers of holo-banners wave through the city, some camped right outside of the Seventh Circle.

POWEREDS = MURDERERS

OUR PLANET NEEDS NO ALIENS

PAY FOR YOUR CRIMES

That night, some of the Orbers might overhear a group of Fables — Yvonne, Alessia, Cassie and Emry — speaking in hushed tones, but if they mean to keep their conversation fully private they aren’t exactly doing a great job of it … maybe almost as though they don’t quite care whether their voices carry to any Orbers with slightly above-average hearing.

“We have to do something,” Cassie says, her face severe. “ There’s no getting around the fact that they disobeyed direct orders, they exploded a goddamn tower, and now how many are dead because of them now?”

“They’ve done nothing but harm from the very start,” Alessia adds, voice bitter. “Cal’s been working so hard all these years to show that we don’t kill unless necessary, that we’re better than them! That we’re different! And these — these outsiders just waltz in here and think they can do whatever they want? Even if it ruins our reputation in one neat go?”

Yvonne’s expression is concealed by the shade that obscures her features, but she nods.

“I know. But they did help us. Without them, the water would still be infected.”

“Would it?” Cassie’s tone is pointed. “You really think we couldn’t have figured out a way to really fix it, now that we can direct all the resources to it? And anyway, we’ve survived until now! We would have kept surviving.”

“Maybe,” Yvonne says, suddenly sounding tired. “But what’s done is done.”

“Yeah, doesn’t mean we have to let them keep doing it,” Alessia answers venomously.

Emry finally speaks up, his voice like gravel.

“Look, I’ll be the first to say they’re not all bad. But I swear, if they fuck this up for us or for Alexandra, I’ll never forgive them. And you know Viv would never forgive them.”

“... I know, I know. I’ll talk to Callan.”

Yvonne’s answer is quiet, somber, and the group disperses.

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The day after that, at the crack of dawn, Callan and Alexandra come to the camps, addressing the Orbers that have gathered there to meet them.

“We’ve been talking it over, and we think it’s best if you all take your leave.”

Callan glances towards Alexandra, whose grave expression mirrors his.

“I will not be able to stall the parliament for much longer. They are preparing a motion that will outlaw all use of what they call alien powers. General Eshaq has good control of the militia, but eventually, even he can’t disobey what the parliament commands.”

“The truth is… as much as you’re helping with the water, the general public just doesn’t see that. They only see that we’re sheltering those responsible for killing a lot of people. And while we’re grateful for everything you've done, the longer you stay, the worse our reputation gets. It’s unmistakable, the evidence is all around us — what you guys did … it was against the Fables’ orders. Against what I asked.”

No one was to kill anyone unless absolutely necessary. He doesn’t see how this was necessary.

“We were trying to show them that we were better than the government, that we are here for the people. Instead they see us as a new evil, maybe even a worse one. Do understand the gravity of what you've done? How much damage control it requires now to clean our image? It's one thing to rebuild the city, but completely something else to rebuild trust.”

Alexandra nods.

“Unfortunately, we cannot risk having you here any longer. I have promised the parliament that you will be gone by noon today. I thank you for assisting us as without you, many things would not have been possible. But, please reflect and learn from this: violence and death are not the solution to whatever problems arise in your future.” Se makes a gesture, waving her hand as if to dismiss everyone. “You are free to say your goodbyes before you leave.”

In the crowd, she finds Itachi, waving him to her with a small, solemn smile on her face.

“I have something for you, as promised.”

She leads him towards the outside of the camp. There, in the speeder she’d taken to get here, is the android body of her daughter lying at the backseat, eyes closed.

“My husband created this android to fool anyone who came to see Viveca. I don’t know if it was an attempt to control the narrative, as revealing she was the leader of the revolutionaries would have been too big a blow for his career, or if he felt even a little bit of obligation to keep her identity a secret… but whatever the reason, I don’t need to keep her. My Vivi is there in the stars, with you. The least I can do is give her a body to use. I’ve checked,” she says with a wry tone so like her daughter’s, “her programming is entirely empty. You don’t need to fear malware of any kind.”

She lifts up the body easily, and holds her for Itachi to carry back to the camps — along with a HOLOdisk.

“I also recorded a message for her. I asked Jacques if he wanted to say anything, but…” she trails off, shaking her head. “Thank you, Itachi. For giving me closure — and hope.”

With that, Alexandra walks back to the speeder and leaves the camps.

Inside the camps, Callan, unknowingly mirroring Alexandra, approaches Sam to give him a HOLOdisk as well.

“This one’s for Viv,” he says, voice tight, making an effort to sound cheerful. “I’ve gathered messages from everyone. If you can take it to her— I’d really be grateful.”

Others say their goodbyes, too: Yvonne seeks out Dean in the crowd and gives him a hug, while Emry gifts Ziggy the device that turns into his tortoise mask — so you can avoid any neuro-toxins if the bad decisions are catching, it’s got an air filter, he tells her with a grin. Ya-ting finds all four of her hacker team, and punches all of them in the arm.

The farewells aren’t all heartfelt, however, some of the Fables watching them with weary expressions on their faces, some rolling their eyes. Students and former labourers look nervous, some downright relieved to see that the mysterious Powereds are getting ready to leave — hopefully for the foreseeable future.

Eventually, the clock ticks towards midday, and it’s time to go. The air ripples as Clarice creates another portal into the vault, and Eleven stands before it, closing her eyes to focus … until a pink glowing shape shoots out from the other side, the orb landing in her outstretched hand.

With a now-familiar tug, the Orbers only have a moment to look around the camps they’ve spent so much time in, the faces of the people they might tentatively call friends (or at least allies), as well as the confused and scared and relieved faces of the people at the camps, before they disappear into a burst of light.

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When the crew open their eyes, many of the Orbers might be more than eager to meet eyes with Viveca having learned now of where she’d come from and the life she must have led before she came here. They’ll be disappointed to find that the only one standing in the room with them is Degar, his arms crossed over his chest, dressed in his familiar cloak and cargo pants.

He looks more serious than any of them are used to, shifting to hold a (gloved) hand out.

// DEGAR
Thanks for this.

I’ll admit, we were a little worried when the mission went on for a little longer than we expected but you sure seemed determined to do what you did, huh?

He doesn’t exactly sound impressed.

// DEGAR
I’ll take it from here.

He turns towards the North Wing, which is usually Viveca’s cue to let the crew know that they’ve got food and showers and rest to look forward to, but there’s none of that now. Instead, Degar turns to glance at the crew from over his shoulder and adds:

// DEGAR
Oh, and you might not want to speak with Viveca right now. In fact, don’t.

It might not be the welcome you expected, or even one you feel you deserved, but it’s the one you get. Best to get to your food and rest while you can, Orbers. And congratulations for retrieving the orb.

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N O T E S

This is the end of the seventh mission! If your character goes back to review the mission file, they will notice that next to its name, a little check-mark in green has appeared.

This is not an official log — however, you may create your own logs for the three weeks the team stays in the Arch, or the downtime on the station after that.

Please note that as of this conclusion, Viveca is currently unavailable for the characters to talk to, and all attempts to contact her will be answered by Degar. Characters may talk to him (or try to talk to her) here.

If you have any questions regarding your characters' extended stay in the Arch, please direct them here.

And finally, your soundtrack for the conclusion:

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