⇨ POLARIS 3.0

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 115
Where: Polaris
What: On the morning of day 115, a couple hours before the technicians would come to pick up the test subjects, the escape plan will officially come into effect. If your character has been left out of the loop up till this point, feel free that someone hastily explains the plan during the initial phase! The meat of everything else will be played out via megathreads and any private toplevels people want to make.
Warnings: Probably violence.

PEER REVIEW↴ The plan starts with getting everyone out of their cells. Childermass is going to be using his Gilded Mark to enhance his shadow movement abilities, unabling him to teleport himself and other people out of containment. If your character has other ways of escaping they are free to pursue that, but on a base level, it can be assumed that everyone gets out thanks to Childermass. (Thanks Childermass!) Once everyone has been removed from their cells by some means or another, they will be forced to split into teams as swiftly as possible, as the moment people start breaking out, negative attention from the staff will start building. The area is poorly guarded at first, but as people become aware of the breakout, more will arrive. Gild, speaking on behalf of her inside plant, will say that those that 1) want to get their stuff back, 2) want to find Ignatius, should get the assistance of their allied Deltas to access sector A5. From there, they will have to access Polaris's storage in A3, a neighbouring sector, and find access to C2, the station where Ignatius is being held. They should expect to be met with armed resistance, but with any luck allies will be there to assist them. In general, characters will be most effective if they back one of these major objectives: ► TEAM LOOT: This team is trying to get back the items and pets that were confiscated when the group was brought into Polaris. Their objective, according to their allies on the inside, is to get to A5, and then make their way to A3. The important thing is being able to locate their stuff among a sea of other items, and to make it through security in order to reclaim it. Gild's plant has said that they will assist with this. After getting these items, Team Loot may wish to merge with Team Rescue. ► TEAM RESCUE: This team's primary focus is to get to A5 and then make their way to C2. If desired, they may wait for or join with Team Loot, or they may strike out ahead in order to take advantage of the element of surprise. The key factors are obtaining a way to access C2, as well as being prepared for armed conflict with the technicians guarding it, as well as possibly the Mother of Invention herself. Though, the ideal is that Gild will be distracting here at that time. ► TEAM DISTRACTION: This team can do their thing wherever they please, as their main intent is to sew general discord and distract the staff from the teams doing more important things. They should be prepared for armed resistance, but what tactics they pursue beyond that point are highly variable. ► TEAM FORTRESS: This team is attempting to set up a protective base of operations in the original sector in order to survive the conflict and protect their noncombatant comrades. How they accomplish this is also highly variable. Other objectives may exist, of course, and can be made with their own separate top levels. Chunks of these megathreads will have to be played out in summary form, so when characters are simply trying to get from place to place and specifics aren't necessary, feel free to stick to that format. Assume that everyone is already out of their cells for the purpose of the megathreads. Here is a shitty map of how the sectors connect, from a side view of the central Polaris hub.

Comments

[periphrasing]

Peridot throws one last glance over her shoulder at Shimmer before following everyone else out the door towards the teleporter, Vorpal Sword in hand.

Looks like they're really doing this.

[moonfang]

Zangetsu leans in and whispers in Herbert's ear.

They're going to kill the Mother of Invention, obviously -- she can't own anything or anyone if she's an ex-fae.

Now, it's time to get going.

[scientificist]

Herbert finds this unlikely to happen when they are all currently PERSONALLY OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY HER MAGICALLY and have their powers suppressed...but he doesn't even say this he just rolls his eyes at Zan and keeps going.

[anti_nonsense]

Before parting ways with Shimmer, Rita will pause for a moment and say, "...Thanks. It couldn't have been easy to come back here."

As they meet up with the rest of the group, she'll briefly fill them in on what just happened. By the end of the interaction, though, Yuya's encouragement has her face getting red and she hurries along to the transporter, where she uses her visor to interact with the controls.

Once everyone's ready, she'll set a course for sector C2.

[npcarnival]

With nothing getting in their way, Rita will successfully access the teleporter and they'll all be transported to C2. When they step out of the airlock, everything is quiet, and looks similar to the place they just left. There is a desk ahead, similar to before, but there is no one seated at it.

It's a time to consider whether certain advantages should be used for the sake of expediency, or saved for later. There are a few floors to search, and a number of technicians to run into

[anti_nonsense]

Rita starts by checking the layout in her visor. Nothing seems to immediately stand out as a place Ignatius might be...

"I don't know where to go from here," she admits to the others. "But I have a boon from the Gilded Mark. There are a number of ways it can be used, but it's a one time deal. I could try using it to find the way to Ignatius."

Whether she does or not, she'll at least let the others know it's an option.

[moonfang]

"Before you burn that, let me check..."

His senses aren't as strong, but-- he has become intimately familiar with Ignatius' spiritual pressure, the scent of his soul.

He casts his senses out to see if he can locate him.

[chronosynthesis]

That's something that's been on Syrlya's mind, but...

"Not yet," he says in a lower tone as he turns to her. "As you said, we can only use it once. It may be that finding him is the easy part--and finding the way out is not."

Because they may not be able to just take the teleporter back, and they don't know what Gild will really be doing in all of this. "If it proves to be too difficult, we can use it. But we have two other ways of tracking him down."

He nods to Zangetsu and Herbert, one of which is already working on it. "Let's move forward and look through the walls and try to pick up any sense of his soul. Shimmer advised looking for ways down, no doubt to a more secure level."

[npcarnival]

Zangetsu will feel the faintest buzz of Ignatius's presence nearby. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell what direction it's coming from, only that it's close. It's possible that he's too weak to give off as recognizable of a signal.

Rita will feel something similar, but more abstract. It's almost like when they were communicating by emotions, but there's nothing but impossible to discern emotional static.

[moonfang]

Well, that's not good.

"He's nearby. I can't.. get a good bead on him, though. Damn..."

[periphrasing]

"Well we know he's not dead at least," Peridot says unhelpfully. "As long as we're still able to use our powers, we know that much."

[scientificist]

Not given any particular direction in which to do so, Herbert will just look individually and slowly at all the walls immediately around them. Anything useful on the other side of any of them?

[npcarnival]

Based on the initial stroll, Ignatius isn't on the first floor. It's mostly empty rooms and mechanical storage down here. The entire place seems like it was under a rushed state of construction.

Looking up, he can see through the outer rim of floor... and then nothing, for a large chunk in the middle of the floor above them. Something about the floor there is blocking his sight, and all he sees is black.

Though, what he can't see may be just as telling, here.

[scientificist]

Herbert points out that something is shielded from magic x-ray potions and that's suspicious probably. Unless it's a trap but might as well spring it, right? MIGHT AS WELL.

[chronosynthesis]

It better not be a trap or so help him...

That gives him his direction, though, so there they go: find a way to get up. He'll ask Rita is she can figure out what new information she gets in her visor as a beta--like maybe a more detailed map?

[npcarnival]

She'll see where the elevator is but not much else. It doesn't look like most of this sector is mapped out yet.

[chronosynthesis]

That's enough as far as Syrlya's concerned. Once Rita lets them know, the plan is for everyone to head for the elevator while trying to not run straight into a bunch of Technicians they'll have to beat up by relying on Herbert and Zangetsu's scouting abilities.

[npcarnival]

Avoiding conflict goes pretty well. They make it to the elevator, and Rita obviously has sufficient clearance to use it. They get to the second level, and about the time they are exiting the elevator, something shakes the sector - as if something has struck it from the outside. An alarm will start to go off in Rita's visor.

'HULL INTEGRITY COMPROMISED. FLOOR 4, GRID 3. REQUESTING REPAIRS. CAUTION ADVISED.'

However, they have come to the wall that is blocking Herbert's sight. It, and the doors entering it, are showing up as pure black to him. It seems like a block cut out of the middle of the island. Rita can try to access the door with her visor, but it will come up with this message:

'ACCESS DECLINED. CONTACT SYSTEM ADMIN. ERROR NO: 303'

It looks like they won't be allowed into this area the legitimate way.

[periphrasing]

Welp. This looks like a job for THE VORPAL SWORD. No sense in wasting time running around looking for an alternate entrance when they can just cut their own way in, right?

After conversing with everyone to make sure they're ready to roll (because who really knows what's on the other side of that wall), Peridot uses her metal powers to levitate the blade and shoot it forward to stab into the door. Then she manipulates it with one hand like it's a frigging psychic can opener in order to carve an entrance tall enough for all of them to get through without having to duck.

[npcarnival]

It actually takes longer than usual - where the Vorpal Sword usually practically falls through objects with how sharp it is, for this wall it actually takes a bit of effort, like she's prying something open with a can opener. Still, it gets the job done, which is more than most other tools could say.

Rita will get an alarm in her visor saying that the Omicron-7 containment has been breached, and that it is going to request immediate assistance. However, nothing immediately happens upon entering the area, and it is actually eerily quiet.

There is another door getting in the way open entry, but nothing that they can't cut through as well, and this time it's a bit easier. Finally, they end up in this room. There is a holographic computer interface up in the center, and some kind of arching airlock system up ahead, leading into what appears to be a blindingly white room. However, from outside it's hard to see the specifics of anything inside of it.

In one of the walls there is a sheet of glass-like material, with three glowing red power cells contained within it. When getting close, the energy inside of them feels like Ignatius. Rita and Zan will feel that he is very close.

If you press your face up against the airlock you'll be able to see that there is some kind of containment bed in there, but you can only really see the toe of it, and none of the contents.

[scientificist]

Herbert asks Rita and Zan: does it feel like Iggy at all from the airlock or only from the power cells?

[npcarnival]

It feels like him in both.

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya moves quickly, wanting to get a preliminary inspection of the air lock and the power cells. He's curious whether the power cells hook up directly to the airlock, and whether the airlock can be opened or if they'll have to break in.

[npcarnival]

The power cells aren't connected to anything, they seem to be in storage. The airlock doesn't look like it can be opened without computer access, which will deny Rita's authorization like it did at the entrance.

[anti_nonsense]

"Here's hoping the others can keep security busy for long enough..." Rita mutters as they enter the room. She'll have informed the others both of the warning in her visor, and of the feeling she has, that Ignatius is near, and where that feeling is the strongest.

But for now, as Syrlya inspects the airlock and power cells, she moves to get a look at the computer, but...

"Access denied," she relays to the others, frowning. "Even a Beta can't just walk up and use this one."