lostcarnival | ⇨ POLARIS 3.0

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The Critter is 'Nuna'- and Nuna is holding her bone club and seems to be sizing Anode up.

Impressive from something as small as she. But anyway.

The cushions aren't That much- they were limited by what was left and what wasn't pilfered by others after all. But it's something and Carly looks up with a start when Anode speaks. "Ah-!"

Gosh, it's a good thing her face is built the way it is, or actually making out everything would be just as terrible as it was for Everyone. "Anode..!" Carly cheers, waving. "...What did I tell you~ Somehow, someway, right~? And now you can go...well. I guess we're probably going to the Summerlands first, but I bet people would go home from there if they were..."

She's obviously not thinking about asking Anode to come rescue the Ringmaster- but maybe Anode can present the idea herself.

Anode can't help but smile -- and it's a different smile than the one Caryl saw back in the complex. Almost everything about her is different now, just slightly, like a string retuned. A little more herself now. Polaris had really gotten to her, all those months. She huffs out a laugh, air puffing from her vents, and she rocks back lightly on her heels, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah, I gotta say -- I'm impressed. Thought I knew the only crew who could pull off a stunt like that, but you guys...have really got something."

She could just say thanks and walk away. She can go home from here, she knows that. Say the word and she's back on Mederi, back with Lug. Back where she belongs. And this, this isn't running away -- she never had an obligation to be here in the first place. Prisoner of circumstance and then some. She doesn't actually owe anything to anyone here, except a thanks and a get well card. And yet, when she thinks about recounting this all back to Lug, she can already see the little crease in Lug's forehead, the slight pursing of her lips, all those little things that tell Anode that she didn't do enough, didn't do as much as she could have. That she didn't do what Lug would have done, what she ought -- and she knows what Lug would do now.

"Summerlands, huh? Part of your grand plan to rescue your boss?"

Carly nods. "Mn...Partly! ...Mostly, it's for everyone here- the technicians, the people who don't want to come for the rescue...after all, anyone who was pushed too far, could have ended up being one of those science guys! ...They deserve a new chance too..."

One of their help- technically two- were among that group, once. As is. "The Ringmaster and the Summer Maiden- the faerie who's domain is the 'Summerlands'- they're really close... ...so other than taking some time to recover and regroup, we want to ask if she can help us. ...She's really strong, after all..!"

She nods along with that, only able to think about Lug nodding along with her, that bright smile on her adorable face that always pops up when her spark's in the right place. She'd like Carly too, Anode's pretty sure.

Anode rolls her shoulders, shrugging, hands resting at her hips. "Hey, it sounds like it's worth a shot. So, when do we leave?"

"That..." Hmmm. She blinks, and holds her arms as she thinks. "...I'm not actually sure... ...We'll probably be here for until we make sure those technicians don't destroy themselves in fear...their 'jailer' is gone after all, but they've probably been stuck so long it won't be taken at face value...so that will take time..."

...Carly coughs. "A...Also, they might have some things in storage that we can use... ...I'd like something for my eyes, if they have it..."

Anode's sympathy for the technicians is, admittedly, limited, but hey, if altruism is this crew's bit, then so be it. Not so much on the Lost Light, except occasionally by accident, but she does kind of owe her freedom to these guys.

"Yeah, I bet there's a few shiny things tucked away in there." Shiny things that Anode absolutely, totally wants to get her hands on. "What, uh...is exactly up with your eyes, anyway?"

Anode's been around the galaxy, seen her fair share, but some of the folks at the carnival are a little weird even to her.

"Eh?" Somehow, she totally forgot Anode never got an explanation. She bites her lip.

"...Mnh... ...Yuusei and I....we signed up for a trial to prevent someone from making the list," she mutters, perhaps a bit embarrassed about the end results. Or maybe she's simply embarrassed that it's coming up right now. "...They replaced my eyes with these," Carly explains. "...I can't see any shadows with them... ...A-Actually, I'm really glad you look the way you do, right now~" she laughs nervously. "I can make out most of the details of your face and body properly still..! E...Everyone else sort of looks like a bad painting, aha...."

Yikes.

Anode smiles bleakly. "Ah, yeah. Never works out to plan, does it? Guess that's easy for me to say, though. I didn't have anybody to look out for but myself."

She laughs it off, but she knows that maybe -- maybe if she'd had somebody to protect, she might've volunteered for one of those trials. Thank God she doesn't. She misses Lug, but thank God she didn't wind up in this hell.

She winces, though, making a face that Carly may or may not be able to really make out.

"Sounds like a real case of the yikes to me. Know anything that might help? I mean -- I'd advise, but I know pretty much jack about all this magic stuff. But if you tell me what you need, I can keep an eye out. I'm a world-class treasure hunter, you know." She pauses. "Scratch that. Galaxy-class."

"....It worked until she was called for a mandatory one, at least..." She considered it that mcuh of a win. But. Well.

Carly shakes her head. "Unless you find anything about the 'Silver Mirror'... ...Right now, that's probably the only thing that works..." She sighs...but then giggles, a little. "Hehh? Is that so~? Maybe you can become 'Dimensional-Class'..~!"

⇨ POLARIS 3.0

YEEEEEEEEEEEAAH-!

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