⇨ 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

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya nods. "If we spread word that the Mother of Invention is dead... we may see less resistance from those who are aimless without her and those who detested working for her."

Also because these people will just plain need to figure out their future from here.

"Are we asking the Summer Maiden for assistance, or only a place to rest?"

[whattaprick]

“I’m going to ask her for help finding the Ringmaster.” Lambert is firm about that. “She doesn’t have to send a force with us if she doesn’t want to, but her people still know how to make weapons and use magic. We’ll not make it through the Wyld Lands with what we’ve got.”

What they’ve got being everything magic or almost magic that was on their person when they were kidnapped, for one, but also their dwindling power.

“There’s also telling the Summer Court this happened, that Winter is allying with the Huntsman. Maybe they’ll believe us, maybe they write it off as some eccentric getting away with shit at the fringes of Winter. But the Huntsman mentioned the Winter Queen, and the Ringmaster went down too fucking fast for a fae like her. If Winter’s getting bolder, they’ll strike at Summer soon enough. They can’t afford to ignore it completely.”

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya listens, nodding slowly towards the end of Lambert's briefing.

"I suppose that will depend how much respect Ignatius commands from his Court for them to believe him." Because writing off the Ringmaster's Changelings would be way too easy. If he's sticking around with them, then maybe...

"That snake he used to kill her--we should see if we can find out what it is." Because if it can take out a Fae like, yes, the Ringmaster as easily as a miracle... that's dangerous. "There's also the matter of if he can access the Blue Rose when he's claimed the Ringmaster. I doubt she would give it up willingly, but if he could force her..."

[whattaprick]

“I don’t think he could,” Lambert frowns, then admits, “Not at first. I think the Rose and whatever she had of the Mirror is still in the Carnival, her own realm. And there’s no way she’d give that up easily.”

At least he hopes not. Speaking of Ignatius, though...

“He was a general who played by their rules. Now I’m pretty sure he’s broken a lot of them. They really might see him as much of a traitor as the Ringmaster.”

[chronosynthesis]

"That's what I would hope, but..." Well, better to assume the worst and be pleasantly surprised.

"And if they do, then we will know there is little point in trying to ally with the Summer Court directly. If we are going to make any attempt to notify them and rally them against the Huntsman and Winter Queen, then that is a risk we will have to take."

So he first question is, who will they try to make allies with? They don't just have the Huntsman to contend with, but all the people under him.

[whattaprick]

“I know one way you could get the Court’s attention pretty quickly,” Lambert admits reluctantly. “Get the Summer Maiden to go back there. Not that she’d agree, not really, but apparently not having her around really weakens the Court.”

But they can’t speak for her, so that’s a pretty long shot.

“Either way, we can’t take the Huntsman in a direct fight. We’ve never really had the strength to go up against fae, not unless we had...” Lambert trails off, briefly lost in thought, then continues more slowly. “... a miracle.”

[chronosynthesis]

"That is why we have allies and tools. To do what we cannot otherwise." Syrlya is used to combating odds like this, so he's less worried about their power as individuals. Of course that won't match a fae, like it doesn't match a dragon. But unite into a force, and play it smart, and he knows how they can make them crumble.

Hopefully they can convince the Summer Maiden to something. And he won't completely doubt Ignatius' place in the Court still if he is so closely related to a miracle now.

Speaking of miracles, his mind probably goes to the same place Lambert's does. "Those texts said the Red Beast fled to the Wyldlands, didn't they? But I suppose there is no guarantee it's still there."

[whattaprick]

“There isn’t,” Lambert nods. “But the Gilded Mark’s domain is finding things. She might be able to, or she might not, but it’s worth asking, anyway.”

[chronosynthesis]

"It is," he agrees with a faint smile. "Though, I hope you do not mind if I leave the asking to you for now."

On account of the presently not mobile (and not supposed to be mobile in a couple days, but he's gonna do it anyway).

[whattaprick]

"You sure? You know I don't ask nicely." Lambert's grin is pure malevolence, but he only holds the expression for a moment before he nods at Syrlya's arm.

"How much of a problem has that been?"

[chronosynthesis]

Syrlya follows his gesture. "Less so, now that I have managed to reason with it. It has not spread further."

And he'd like to keep it that way, because the experience of his body being partly flexible crystal is strange enough. Can this crack...?

[whattaprick]

Really, all Syrlya needs to do is look at what's happened to Steven to see a hundred and one ways his future could go terribly wrong.

"Reason with it?" Lambert echoes, raising his brows. "Last time I heard, the Blue Rose wasn't that interested in having reason to begin with."

[chronosynthesis]

"It isn't," Syrlya snorts, curling his fingers into a fist for a moment before loosening them. "But fighting it for control was not working, so I have been assuring its desires to reunite with the rest of the Rose. It seems to be more cooperative so long as it senses that agreement."

He basically has to keep mentally patting it in assurance to make it calm down.

[whattaprick]

Sorry, Syrlya, Lambert can't help but smirk -- though to his credit, he does at least try to lift a hand to his face to hide it, though likely not all that successfully.

"So ... you're stuck babysitting part of a faerie miracle in you, which keeps demanding your attention." The smirk can't help growing wider. "It's almost like the Blue Rose knocked you up, isn't it?"

[chronosynthesis]

"Knocked up--?" It takes Syrlya a second of confusion to remember what that implies, but he's heard it before. And his question dies with a croak in his voice as he gapes at him.

"Oh, don't--" He grabs blindly for his pillow and just throws it right at Lambert with a groan. "You know it isn't!"

[whattaprick]

Lambert cackles as the pillow catches him across the face. When he pulls it down, he's leering, unrepentant.

"How would you know? You came from a tree, it's faerie magic... it could happen." It's not as shitty an expression as it could be, given he's not wearing his own face, but it's enough that Syrlya can imagine it.

[chronosynthesis]

"It definitely could not happen, and if it did, the arm comes off." Is this rising to the bait? Probably, but that's Lambert's fault for putting those thoughts in Syrlya's head.

He points accusingly, a faint pout tight on his lips. "You're not supposed to harass the wounded."

[whattaprick]

"Are you kidding? That's the best time to harass people, because they can't get away from you."

Well, Syrlya could probably try to teleport away, but he'd sorely regret it. Nonetheless, Lambert waggles his brows. It's an alarming gesture on the placid Gamma face.

"How else am I going to get you to cough up your dirty secrets without alcohol involved?"

[chronosynthesis]

"I will admit to nothing like this." He pauses, having to reconsider what he's actually said around Lambert. "You are overestimating the amount of secrets I have."

Let alone dirty secrets. Is survivor's guilt a dirty secret? He doesn't want to get into that one.