⇨ 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

[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."

[chronosynthesis]

"So we cut the airlock open." They started this way, they might as well finish this way.

He gestures to its front. "If you would do the honors, Peridot?"

Then he eyes the power cells again. That's a lot of volatile magic. Can they get it back to Igantius?

Or use it to blow up the MoI, maybe.

[scientificist]

"Rita, what do you know of Ignatius?" Herbert interjects, quickly, holding a hand up at Peridot. "It's very bright in there--are we, about to self-imolate?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita scoffs and shakes her head.

"I can't tell that much from out here. But considering how much they've weakened him, I doubt he has that much fire to generate in the first place." If he had to borrow power to cause that explosion a few days ago, it stands to reason that he's not in a particularly explosive state while being contained.

[periphrasing]

Peridot takes a look at the computer as well, but it's frustratingly beyond her capabilities at the moment. Maybe if she had a few hours to burn she could get it open, but...

While Herbert and Rita converse, Peridot's going to go see if she can cut her way into storage and get at those power cells. She'll pop em' in her gauntlet instead of wasting more time opening up the egg dimension.

[npcarnival]

She'll be able to cut them out. They are very warm to the touch if she gets anywhere near them with her fingers. Thankfully, her gauntlet is more hands off. She'll get them into the gauntlet subspace for now. Hopefully she is gentle because they are fairly volatile.

[periphrasing]

With Iggy power involved, she is definitely handling those things with kid gloves on.

With that settled, and if there aren't any other concerns, her attention goes back to the matter at hand.

"If I ever make it home, I need to remember to thank Lapis for finding this thing," she quips as she steps up to the plate again. The sword hovers, then stabs forward, with the intention of giving the airlock the same treatment as the doors.

cw: probably disturbing

[npcarnival]

She cuts into the glass of the airlock, and luckily nothing explodes. The first layer cuts with a bit of effort, and the second layer will do much the same. It doesn't actually seem like there was much air in the end chamber, because the smell is completely stale once it's open, but it's more uncomfortably thin than completely absent. Like being at the top of a mountain, rather than the vacuum of space.

Of course, with the airlocks broken, air form the main room will escape inwards, balancing it out a little. The lights are annoyingly bright, and with the purely white walls, it's hard to look at.

As the group moves inward, they'll come up to the containment bed - it almost looks like some kind of cryo chamber from the outside. What's inside is a bit more daunting. There's a lot of take in.

It's Ignatius, ostensibly, but there's a lot gone wrong. The most immediate realization is that both his arms and legs have been amputated above the elbows and knees, with their ends coated in metal plating the same void-like color as Herbert's arms. Tubes of something bright blue plug into the ends of his limbs, along with a cascade of other wires, all connecting directly to the black bed beneath him.

Most of his skin has turned various shades of ugly bruise-purple, and his chest is almost completely concave with a metal framework that's built into it, caging the space around his Heart in some kind of device. There's a power cell in the center of it, identical to the ones that Peridot just picked up. The easiest guess is that the cell is charging with power from his core.

There's no reaction from him when they enter, not least because he's limbless and completely shackled down, with some kind of black metal face plate covering his eyes, ears, and mouth. Around the back of his head, there is a crown like device that attached to his temples, and over his scalp and to the middle of his forehead. Wires attach to it in several places, as if they are plugged into his skull. A larger plug can be seen going into the back of his neck.

[chronosynthesis]

Well, with the airlock open, Syrlya swings in to survery the damage. It's on the first glance that he cringes, and the more he takes in the more and more grotesque it gets.

"By the Mother..." He may not care a lot about Ignatius, specifically, but he can sympathize with the absolute torture here. There's another power cell, and he's taking a guess which of them is the real battery charge here.

He glances around quickly before turning to Peridot and Rita, tapping the back of his head. "Something is connecting him, so we need to deal with that and get him out. Herbert, what will you need to stabilize him?"

Syrlya isn't going to assume he's even conscious, just yet.

[moonfang]

Holy... Even Zangetsu is taken aback by what happened to Ignatius. He puts a hand to his mouth, perhaps to stifle a gag.

"Jesus Christ. They've been using him like a damn battery charger."

This was on par or above some of the sick shit Soul Society got up to. Using someone, even someone ostensibly your enemy, this way...

Zangetsu hands Syrlya Pickles in his jar.

"If any of the bonds have magic in 'em, use him to weaken the spells. Just don't let my pet explode!"

With that, he exits Ignatius' chamber to stand guard.

[scientificist]

Herbert actually looks....somewhat unsettled? It might be a weird reaction for the others to even see from him--or possibly they won't notice because they're too busy having normal reactions.

"I'm...not sure what's keeping him alive here," he admits, and walks around the bed to get different angles on the various wires. "Peridot, Rita--do you think you can...rewire the framework in his chest to reverse the battery process?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot is Triggered. She has to take a step back from the containment bed for a second, clearly affected by the degree of experimentation and exploitation occurring here. It's all too easy to imagine that a similarly grim fate awaits the lot of them, if this escape attempt doesn't succeed.

"U-um," Peridot stammers, steeling herself to step up and take a closer look. "Let me see..."

Maybe closer examination will reveal what's safe to unplug and what isn't? First thing's first, she's gonna cut that dome off the containment bed, and then she's going to do an investigation check.

[npcarnival]

She can cut the dome from the bed and push it over. (Or more likely float it off, since its partly metal.) When she first cuts into it, extremely cold gas spurts out from the gap, as if it was pressurized inside. It will disperse without causing harm, but its essentially like throwing the door open on a -40c windchill day. It turns slightly opaque as it wafts away, gravitating towards the floor, ostensibly heavy.

Up close, it looks like the power cell actually can be removed fairly trivially, like it's meant to be easily installed and removed when full. It's fairly warm, but not as hot as the other ones she collected, seemingly counteracted by all the cold gas and fluid occurring in here. The glowing blue tubes feel like they are filled with ice, and Ignatius's skin is... sort of cold? Which probably counts as terrifyingly low temperature for a fire elemental.

It seems a bit risky to try to reverse to polarity of the whole system, considering how volatile Ignatius's magic is. Disconnecting it, however, seems far more doable. It also seems possible to remove the plugs from the ends of Ignatius's arms and legs.

As for what is keeping him alive, nothing will strike Rita, Peridot, or Herbert as 'life support'. Generally speaking everything seems to be hurting rather than helping.

If Peridot does actually get in close enough to touch him, his muscles will flinch reflexively when she does.

[scientificist]

First, Herbert does actually touch him, and then the blue tubing, analysing and frowning, and then he's going to start out by trying to pull off the black faceplate. "Your verdict, Peridot? On the machinery?"

[anti_nonsense]

Rita freezes in place as she sees Ignatius's state. Though her eyes remain hidden, her mouth hangs open in a horrified expression, her face turning pale.

It takes a minute to shake that off and start looking over the machinery, trying to comprehend how it all relates to one another. She lets out a deep breath, seemingly having been holding it for a while, and moves in closer.

"They're using these to keep his body cold," she explains, reaching for one of his limbs. "We can start by disconnecting them." She moves to remove one of the plugs attached to an arm-stump, though her hands tremble as she does so.

[npcarnival]

As Rita works on the arm plug, Herbert will have some success with the face mask. It seems to be made of two pieces - the upper one that covers the eyes and ears, and then the lower one that covers the mouth and nose. The one that covers his eyes will detach after some careful tugging. Beneath it, Ignatius's face is intact.

His eyes hang half lidded, glowing a hazy purplish blue and staring into space, as if oblivious to everything going on around him. In fact, when Herbert first pulls off the mask, he barely reacts, making it seem unclear if he was conscious despite apparently having his eyes open.

But really, it just takes him a few moments to connect. What starts out as staring into space turns into dazed confusion as his eyes lazily focus on the people looming over him. There's an air of complete resignation to it, as if he wasn't even going to bother reacting to being messed with until he manages to process the fact that it isn't who he was expecting. His muscles all go taut at once, though all they can do is jolt uselessly against his bonds.

The plug will pull free at the same time, perhaps inspired by his sudden movement. While still gagged by the face mask, apparently bolted into his jaw on either side, his eyes are wild with desperate pain.