⇨ POLARIS AFTERMATH

[ringleaders]

Who: Everyone!
When: Day 115-118
Where: Polaris/Wyldlands
What: After killing the Mother of Invention, the majority of the carnival has decided to take some time and sort out the Polaris refugees before heading to the Summerlands. This log covers miscellaneous post-Mother Polaris drama, as well as some light camping in the Wyldlands down below.
Warnings: Idk, stuff, I guess.

ADAPTATION↴ After the battle, the majority of carnival members will opt to remain in the secured section to Polaris, hoping to spend some time making sure that the rest of Polaris is liberated. Many of the staff are not capable of coming to grips with the fact that the Mother is dead so quickly, and the remaining Alphas are doing their best to keep Polaris under their sway. It will be a busy few days of changing minds and exploring the remains of the station. Thankfully, with everyone's powers intact and allies at their side, they finally have the advantage. ► SHIFTING STATES: Right off the bat, about 10% of the staff will immediately change sides upon hearing whats become of the Mother. They are actively eager to get away from Polaris, and will do whatever they can assist the carnival. This is mostly Gammas and a few Betas, who were working primarily under duress. Over the next day or two, those numbers will grow to at least 30%, with some of the staff managing to convince their colleagues to join them. About two days after starting, one of the Alphas will surrender to the carnival, encouraging those beneath her to support their cause. That leaves four Alphas remaining, and staff cooperation at 50%. ► CAPTIVE ATTENTION: The loyalist staff's main tactics are trying to create defensive points within the various test group areas, using the prisoners as hostages. Luckily, the carnival (and the staff on their side) will be in a position where it's possible to push them out with a mixture of convincing and force. Once prisoners start being freed, there will be even more force backing the carnival's efforts, meaning that it will essentially become a matter of cleaning up the remaining staff rather than any uphill battles. Most of this is being left vague intentionally, as most of this action is being handwaved. However, you can play out parts of it if you want and NPC technicians and rescuees. Other test groups can be filled with basically whatever kind of residents you like, since they are grabbed from across the multiverse. Most of the test areas are similar to B7. ► THE JACKPOT: Alongside cleaning up the staff, some members of the carnival have expressed interest in convincing the staff to help them with armoury issues as well as hunting down some of the Mother's most private loot. This will be handled in investigations, mostly through summary, because I don't have it in me for another megathread right now. Post your plans, and I will respond! However, know that I also don't have time to generate five million special items, so loot drops will be limited to my availability. Also, the techs aren't really blacksmiths so they generally won't really be able creating weapons from scratch or anything. Meanwhile, Ignatius is going to set up a camp ground outside of Polaris, mostly because he doesn't want to be there anymore. He'll keep a fire going and they can drag things from Polaris down there for camping purposes, and mostly Ignatius is just going to be chilling and making sure that the campground doesn't get assaulted by magical creatures. The Gilded Mark will create a portal between the campground and the station so that people can go back and forth as required. It also creates a handy escape route. You can even see Polaris from here, floating up there in the sky. How picturesque. ► WYLDERKIN: Apparently not everything in the Wyld Lands is a full Wyld Fae - there are also a lot of less powerful creatures called 'wylderkin' - apparently lesser forms of the Wyld Fae, who are more akin to animal level intelligence. They can be a variety of expected fantasy type creatures, such as flower sprites, weird bugs, and general prey animals they probably spend most of their time getting eaten by bigger dudes. All of them are sort of weird and fantastical, and none of them are exactly like earth varieties, though they may resemble them. They are more of a pest than a major threat in this part of the Wyld Lands, and Ignatius will scare away any that cause too many problems. ► FLORA AND FLUID: There are some plants that you can eat down here, that Ignatius will tell you about. Mostly weird berries and roots. There is also some pools of clear water, thought hey are filled with weird fish. Try not to bitten by any weird leeches. You can safely make up some of the creatures you find as long as they fit the general theme of lesser faerie creatures. This is just a rest stop.

Comments

EXPLORING

[heltersmelter]

Anode glances over at Peridot, shoving something small and shiny into a storage compartment as she turns in a half-crouch. She might've found that a little annoying on a different day, but finally getting out of fae prison has her in a good mood.

"Heh. Y'know, usually I'd charge, but I like your pluck, so -- " She bends down a little more on one side, grinning. "Today I'll give you one on the shoulder for free. Discounted 'cause it's too small in here for the real thing."

[periphrasing]

Peridot cocks her head to one side. What's too small for what now?

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she admits blandly. Then her eyes narrow slightly, nose crinkling as she frowns. "Wait... You're not with the carnival, are you? My memory hasn't been the sharpest lately what with all the soul damage, but I think I would remember there being a large, non-organic entity of your caliber among our number."

But like, she's also obviously not a Technician, so. She's not about to be hostile.

[heltersmelter]

"Cybertronian," Anode offers, "and...not technically or officially, no, but I figure you guys need all the help you can get."

That and she's very personally curious about what kinds of treasures fae keep locked away.

[periphrasing]

"Ah, yes. I we had another one of your kind here at some point. He was pretty much a grade-a gigantic clod, though. His name was... Star-screech, or something like that? The Ringmaster turned him into a bird. I'm pretty sure she's still keeping him as a pet or something in her tent."

You know. Typical fae stuff. No big deal.

"Anyway... That's incredibly generous of you, though, considering you've seen the worst of the kind of trouble we tend to get into around here," says Peridot. "I'm Peridot. I'm the Carnival's Engineer. One of the Supervisors."

[heltersmelter]

"Ha! Generous, that's a new one. I don't think I've ever been called that before." Anode grins, holding out a large metal hand. "Supervisor Peridot, huh? Oh, good, you sound important. I'm Anode., nice to meet -- sorry, not sorry, another one of my kind?"

Anode's eyes go wide. She holds up a finger. "Wait, wait. Was this guy's name...Starscream, by any chance?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot cocks her head. "Eh? I don't know, maybe? Like I said, he was a clod, and, as you correctly assessed, I am very important. Interacting with traitorous morons like that isn't really worth my time."

[heltersmelter]

"No, really. Do you remember if that was his name? Seriously, I gotta know."

If these people have somehow met the biggest douchebag in her universe, she feels like maybe he might have made a bad impression ahead of her.

"Clod seems like a pretty generous term for that guy. Traitor, though -- that sounds accurate, yeah. So, how important are you again?"

[periphrasing]

"Mmm... As far as my importance is concerned, it's like I said: I'm the carnival's Engineer. That means I'm a supervisor, which means I'm someone who the Ringmaster trusts enough to put in charge of a team of workers. I handle making and fixing all of our tech and weaponry. Or... I did, before the Ringmaster..."

She trails off and looks melancholy for a moment, before shaking shaking her head like a dog with wet ears. "Ugh. As for your other question... 'Starscream' sounds correct, but I'd have to check with another veteran member to be sure. He was really tall? All grey, big claws on his hands, big wings on his back..." She frowns. "Why, do you know him?"

[heltersmelter]

Hahaha holy shit.

"Personally? Nah, never met the guy. Couldn't tell you what he looks like. But everyone knows Starscream. He is famously the universe's biggest gearshaft." She snickers out a laugh. "Oh, man, that's wild. Hope he didn't ruin it for the rest of us, though -- I swear we're not all that bad."

Like, a lot of them are. But not all of them. Not Anode, obviously.

[periphrasing]

"I doubt many people here even remember him. Some of the veterans might, but... Well. I'm pretty sure you're safe," Peridot says with a light shrug. "Anyway, can we get on with the scavenging? I need to get to gathering materials for something I've been working on."

[heltersmelter]

"Oh, good. Everybody likes a clean slate." Anode waves a hand in a flourishing sort of gesture. "By all means, let's get to it. Just point me where you need me." She holds up a hand and the tip of her forefinger pops off, revealing the heads of half a dozen little probes just waiting to touch some stuff. "I'm pretty much built for this. We can still keep this chat going about how important you are, though, right? You look like a multitasker to me."

If Anode is going to wriggle her way into this Carnival she figures it is probably in her best interests to get on the good side of anyone Important, even if kissing ass isn't her greatest skill. Peridot seems pretty easy though.

[periphrasing]

"I don't need you to take stuff apart. I need you to carry me around the station so I don't have to walk," Peridot clarifies, swishing her tail for emphasis. "It's embarrassing but. I took a fair bit of 'spiritual damage' during that fight with the Queen Clod? This isn't something I would normally ask of anyone but, regrettably, I barely have the energy to think right now, let alone move."

Translation: Anode will probably have to help her with more than just being a means of conveyance, but Peridot's not ready to admit that much yet.

[heltersmelter]

"Right, right, the free ride." Anode bends down a little farther, accommodating Peridot's apparent exhaustion. Her ego's not above shuttling around an organic on her shoulder for a little while, especially when that organic is somebody important.

"I mean, that sounds like a pretty bulletproof excuse for some bed rest. So why not just send some of your superivsees to do the work?"

[periphrasing]

Peridot glows green for a second and shifts into bat mode, sluggishly clambering up onto Anode's shoulder. It's a bit less embarrassing to get carried around when she looks like... Uh. Not her regular self.

"I don't really trust them to do it right," she says simply, making herself comfortable on her new perch.