They First Dreamed of Electric Sheep

[toa-electricsheep]

road trip!

After a cold meal and some planning, you have decided to split into two teams:

Team A: Lorenz, Marth, Farina, Hinoka, Brigid, and Shez.

Team B: Byleth, Pelleas, Soren, Forsyth, and Sylvain

As for your allies,

Sasha decides to travel with Team B. While she won't be taking a combative role, she promises to do her best to provide medical attention with the meager supplies they have. She trusts Hinoka to provide medical attention to Team A.

General Raoul, meanwhile, goes with Team A to provide additional assistance, trusting Forsyth and Pelleas to protect their allies in Team B. He's quick to take charge, but his plan to find and reunite with his "Jeanne" may take you all through some interesting challenges.

Laelaps loathes the idea of "abandoning" half of his charges—since there's no way to make him happy, one of his administrators can carry him onto one team or the other. Because Soren has been carrying him thus far, he is on Team B by default.

You are all starting from 1: Salvia County. Your plan is to split up for now, distributing the military's pressure on your groups, and meet back up in 10, Kincaid County, and find refuge in the City of Kincaid. It's a long journey, and they will be plenty of fights ahead!

You can travel to adjacent counties that your team has visited. 2, the beautiful Banda County filled with extensive tourist traps and convention centers, and 3, the rugged Altagracia County that takes you through the state's largest national park, are available for you to travel to.

At the start of each county, you will enter a short fight with either the military chasing after you or rogue AI hellbent on killing you. With only four mechs to your name, only four team members may enter a fight at a time. Fights will also be accompanied by a period of exploration that non-combatant members can participate in, allowing you to gather certain items that you might be missing Oh Falchion...

Each county can be contained it its own thread, but whether you'd like to finish the fight first before going into exploration posts or do both at the same time is up to your group and your organizational aspirations. However, for the sake of time, I'll be DMing explorations even if your team is still in the middle of a fight so that exploration team has the info they need beforehand!

Inventories are still here, and fights will be generated as soon as you decide where your team is going!

Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!

[toa-electricsheep]

as it was

“So, about Jeanne... I figure that if I’m planning to pull you guys with me if I find her, you might as well know about who she was.”

Eating dinner over an open fire... something about this feels nostalgic to Raoul. As everything goes to hell around him, he finds himself appreciating these mundane moments. The sun setting, as it always does. Skies darken to night, brightened by a glowing moon and stars unobstructed by smog.

Raoul can’t help but smile as he remembers her voice. “Farina and Shez know already, but I’ve been a soldier for a long time. Operated a KM900 of my own—nothing like these guys, where it’s manually-operated. Back then, every mech was outfitted with a combat AI that would run tactical analyses, advise you on the best move, calculate where exactly to send missiles, things like that. When the battlefield gets chaotic, it’s great to have a second brain to lend you a hand. That’s what AI are for. But Jeanne... I don’t know. She was different. More like a partner. A friend. I...”

He swallows thickly, grunting loudly to hide his emotions. “Excuse me. There was just something special about her. And the day the virus infected her, well, I’ve never been the same since. They say that it forces AI to turn against their masters, and back then you’d hear about guys getting crushed from inside the mech immediately after their AI turned rogue. But Jeanne didn’t. She reported that she was infected by the virus. Then told me she loved me, and ejected me from the machine.”

...

“I know she’s in there somewhere. I need to see her again. Do you understand now?”

@thyrosus @arcstral @making-dough @spearingskies @ulirblessed @larvesez

[toa-electricsheep]

meet cute

a starter for the sheep

To think it’s still getting signal... Military AIs really do get things done. Sasha is no stranger to them—her father often brought her along to view the AI developing at their base, those for combat as well as the medics and convoy units. And to think the predecessor of them all, the historical L-431475, would be standing before her trying to find the directions to the nearest restrooms...

For some reason, she has a feeling that this wasn’t how it was meant to go. Their meeting was fated, but not in a way where they would have to drive all the way to an evacuated MacDominics. And yet, here they are, ‘reunited’ despite never having met before. Maybe things are looking up, despite... all of this...

But of course, it was too soon to celebrate.

L-431475 radios into the ambulance, and presumably its allies as well, “Attention. Five altered KM900 heat signatures detected closing in on our destination. Estimated arrival: five minutes.” Then, a pause. “One among them is... recognizable to me.”

Recognizable? Sasha pulls up the receiver, “Describe.”

“Unknown quality. It is approximate to yours, Sasha. However, I am uncertain if we can trust any of them. They are of military origin. I will prepare to engage. Initiating tactical analysis...”

---

The ambulance is too easy to track. With the army stretched thin between securing the AI and pursuing deserters, Raoul doubts that they’ll manage to catch up anytime soon. Still... he contacts his squad, “Keep an eye on your radars everyone—not just on that ambulance, but any potential hostiles. They may show up as friendlies, so stay alert. Remember who we just betrayed.”

None of them were meant to be there. In an uncertain, unfamiliar world, that much Raoul is sure about. “Those are KM300s flanking them—they won’t have our firepower, but their attacks will damage your mechs all the same.

“It’s likely that these are all civilians way in over their heads. If we can manage to talk to them, calm them down...” In the mechs? Fat chance of that. “This is an order. Surround the ambulance. Store away your weapons and act... naturally.”

A leader sets an example for his men. And so, heart racing with anticipation, Raoul charges forward, pulling ahead of the ambulance and stopping it in its tracks. Guns away. Knives away. The ambulance comes to a screeching halt. The girl in the driver’s seat looks terrified under him.

One of the KM300s points a blaster at him. By some miracle, it doesn’t shoot immediately. Instead it demands, “State your name and rank.”

“Raoul...” Ugh, last name? He doesn’t remember. “Just Raoul. Lieutenant General. We were at the Asimov Museum. However, we’re deserters. I’m not here to harm you. Neither are my friends. I just... I need to talk to someone here.”

The KM300 doesn’t move. Then, it inclines its head. “I want all of your names.”

[toa-electricsheep]

0750 Hours : Sylvain, Brigid, Severa, Hinoka

“This is no place for civilians,” the officer responds. “As I’m sure you’re aware this is a restricted area, and nepotism will not get you far here. How you managed to slither in here is another matter.... right now, I am taking you all into custody.”

“I refuse.” 

“You seem to think you have a choice in the matter.” Sasha deflates. None of this should be a surprise, and yet Sasha’s heart races nervously. This is a betrayal of everything she grew up with, what she thought she could believe in. Or was it? The phaser weighs heavily in its holster. They are all at the precipice of a significant moment in this history. Sasha doesn’t know what she needs to wait for, only that she needs to buy a bit more time. Someone is coming for her. To reunite...

In a way, the officer is right. Sasha doesn’t have any choice. Though it’s more like, this is the right path forward, and she absolutely must follow it.

Shadows descend from the sky, pulling the soldier’s attention away from them. It’s the opportunity she needs to grab Severa’s arm and tell her to run.

0750 Hours: Soren, Lorenz, Marth, Byleth

That ambulance, behind his mission, is of the highest priority. Finding medical attention for Byleth is one reason, but there is something else that drives L-431475 to seek out this vehicle, this particular doctor. Something embedded deep into his code that he can’t quite grasp, only that he knows he must do it.

The emergency exit is free and clear, and L-431475 quickly takes the lead. These ‘Archivists’ don’t seem all that knowledgeable about the mechs they pilot, and so he takes great pains to demonstrate the process. The mech’s legs bend. His motor rumbles, flames combust within him. The AI launches upwards, past decommissioned checkpoints and sensors, into the familiar bright-blue sky of Outside. The KM300′s wings deploy, and they glide against the wind.

His next mission is to reunite with ‘her.’ Who is ‘her’?

“Enemy signals detected near our destination.” A meager force, two at best, but their body language appears threatening towards the two individuals outside, and perhaps the six within the ambulance as well. A quick scan.... odd. Four of these individuals do not appear in public records. But one of them is the doctor L-431475 located earlier, and that is all the reason he needs to intervene. “Eliminating threat.”

Administrator Marth tried to preach to him about the importance of human lives. But that still remains illogical. Allies and administrators must be protected at all costs. Anything that stands in the way of his mission is just an obstacle to overcome. L-431475 points his arm towards the targets and fires liberally, until the only heat he detects is the smoking engine from the Hummer and what little remains from the bodies.

He lands on the ground, scanning once more. The neutral parties seem to be alive. Turning on the coms, he addresses the civilians, “I require medical assistance.”

0750 Hours : Farina, Forsyth, Shez, Pelleas

“Good, you’re all here.” Raoul greets you at Section 7 as promised, relief clear in his voice. “I’m contacting you through the private squadron coms right now, so no one else present here will hear us. Of course, we’ll be found out once the higher-ups comb through our communications, but with luck, we’ll be too far from them to deal with the consequences...”

His voice turns grave. “Listen to me carefully. You’re... not from here, are you? From this city, I mean.” Raoul chuckles nervously, “I sort of sympathize. Not understanding these rules, these orders... Which is why I want you all to go. Now. Take the KM950s with you—they’ll be more than enough to break through the building. The military has their sights set on the collection right now, they won’t be able to handle escaped mechs at the same time.

“All I ask for in return... is that you go to that horde of AI roaming about in the city. And make sure my Jeanne is ok...”

What to know:

Practice team and Archives team are reunited! The circumstances are fucking terrible though!

Sasha’s first thought is to book it out of there. Holy shit??? What the fuck??? But also torn, because she can’t shake the feeling that she knows this guy...

Laelaps just wants a bandaid for Byleth, is that so much to ask 😔

Raoul wants his squadron to leave and he will absolutely NOT take no for an answer. If asked who Jeanne is, he says that ‘she’ is an AI from his old mech and not much else...

Yes, you can hear gunshots outside. No, you don’t know who fired them. Perhaps if you left to investigate...

Things to do:

Things are getting dicey over here... perhaps leaving Is the move. 

Practice team and Archives team are free to thread with each other and travel together.

Ask Mod Bren for additional information.

[toa-electricsheep]

since their arrival, it's been nearly impossible to escape discussion of artificial intelligence, of viruses and machinery and what these things were capable of. somewhere between all the suffocating sensation of fear and uncertainty, sylvain hopes to find a moment of repose. so during an lull in the chaos of their earliest days there, sylvain approaches sasha casually, hoping to be spared a moment of her time. " hey, sasha, got a minute for me? " he waves a hand in the air to catch her attention and winks when she glances his way. " i've been doing some thinking, and i had a few questions for you, if you don't mind. "

" heh. don't worry, they're easy questions. to be honest, " sylvain braces an arm against the wall and leans himself against it; everything about his demeanor reflects a more casual nature to their conversation. " i'm far more interested in you. why don't you tell me more about yourself? " ;))

Since she was a child, Sasha had been told that she has a hard time reading other people's emotions. Perhaps that is true, but she isn't oblivious. This conversation won't be anything new, but neither is it particular fun.

"Well... I grew up in a military family. My uncle's a Lieutenant General, my dad a Brigadier General. I'm the oldest of my siblings, but so far the only one that went to medical school instead of enlisting like our parents." Sasha focuses her gaze on the laundry she needs to fold, looking away from Sylvain. "My specialization is in AI-assisted surgery and cyberware implementation. I like going to the shooting range, tinkering with machines, and women."

Sasha pauses, frowning. "Sorry. That was blunt... You're a good guy, from what I can tell at least. I just don't want you to get your hopes up, you know?" Another pause, and her brows knit in worry. "Unless I misread...?"

[pirrhyc]

mission one

     The chaos that takes the museum is a bit of what Pelleas expects. He wonders if this is how it had felt to be Kurthnaga, soaring up high in his dragon form and ambushing Daein to halt the incoming assault of the Begnion forces back then. Though the shaman had been all nerves at the beginning of their training, there’s a strange sense of order that takes over him now.

MISSION: Secure the Asimov Museum and retrieve the collection in the basement.

It’s a concrete goal. Those tended to be easier to comprehend. He’s not alone as he takes this on. They’ve got one another, and they’ve got General Raoul to lead the way. They’ve got days of intense training too.

Moving the mech feels as natural as moving his own body now. It feels just as it does to cast too. The scratching feeling that accompanies a throbbing in Pelleas’s head has lifted, and it’s just him in this robot, an extension of his own sense of concentration.

Oh, and there’s the guys defending the museum. Them too.

Pelleas towers over them, trying to ignore them the best he can as he pulls up the map of the building.

“ The basement, the basement… ”  he mutters quietly to himself, drowned out by the tumult of their raid, forcing him to juggle the task of avoiding the civilians alongside his attempts at navigation. If he could avoid attacking them altogether, that’d be for the best… he’s not really sure how nonlethally he could strike in this thing given how things have gone in training so far, anyhow.

( He already feels bad about shooting that one woman in the shoulder, but he had to…!! )

“ There’s staircases on both far ends of the building, ”  he transmits his voice to his fellow squadron members.  “ I think I see a set in the middle of the building too? Though I don’t know how helpful that’ll be… ”  // @viridescent-lance @larvesez @making-dough 

[toa-electricsheep]

“Focus your attention on the first floor!” General Raoul chafes in this foreign mech, too quiet without his Alayne. “The mechs won’t fit through the stairs, unless your plan was to take the elevators... we’ve sent soldiers down to secure the basement. Our job is to secure this floor and cover their asses while they secure the targets.”

Alarms ring throughout the halls, harmonized by the terrorized screams of civilians. No help will come for them. Raoul mutes his telecoms to utter a curse before calling his meager squad again, “Now listen. Official orders are to dispatch those who resist. My orders are to do the best you can to incapacitate them, and if I see you going all Cujo on them I’ll kick your ass. Follow my lead and I’ll get you out of this mess. My word.” 

They are in the bottom right-hand corner of the building, according to their maps. Gunfire sounds from the exhibition hall just ahead of them, two security guards shooting with weapons meant for human targets not mechs. Still, even with their meager firepower, the mech’s shield goes slowly, steadily, down... “Remember,” he repeats, sending away the gatling guns on his arms. “No one needs to die today.”

[toa-electricsheep]

"Hey, Sasha. Hope you're holding out okay."

It has been quite a lot of work, and the more Hinoka sees of this place, the more she realizes how perilous the situation is here. Even if there still a fair amount she doesn't understand - a lot she doesn't understand, actually - when you see wounded and ill patients come in for treatment, you tend to understand fairly easily what you need to do, no matter where you are.

There is however something that has made her wonder, and as such, she has resolved to find Sasha whenever they have a quieter moment to chat for a bit.

"You've been mentioning something about the nano-machi-nes a few times." The world should never learn how many times Hinoka practiced that world to make it sound at least somewhat natural. "What happened to 'em? Were they stolen in one of those raids or something?"

"...Hinoka? Given your experience, I would have thought you of all people would understand how the virus has affected AI-powered tools, like the nanomachines..." Sasha squints... then touches a hand to her head, sighing, "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't question you. This is... some kind of test, right? Then I'll explain.

"The first and most well-known symptom of the virus is that the AI becomes antagonistic to their users and creators—vicious even, attacking and killing civilians and engineers alike. Something like a little AIWOU unit might not be that dangerous if infected: nothing in its design allows it to deal serious amounts of damage, and its size and strength is such that even a child could contain one. But the nanomachines..." Sasha frowns. "They're wonderful things. They're the reason I went into this profession. Something that can enter the bloodstream and destroy viruses, cure diseases, mend wounds at the cellular level... their power is immense. And so, when the virus became more widespread, nanomachines were confiscated."

Sasha rubs the back of her neck, still troubled. "We always had the traditional medicines as a safety measure, but with so many people's illnesses and treatments managed by nanomachines... it's all so frightening."

[toa-electricsheep]

ONE WEEK has only beget more questions than concrete answers.

Accommodating as the staff in their strange surroundings have been, Lorenz still feels disoriented. Every step he takes, he wonders if the world will find itself turned on its head yet again. Set to their tasks, it’s been quiet, if not for the hum of tension that permeates the air.

It breaks in the morning. Lorenz hovers in front of a screen—these “computers” are useful, an infinite database at his fingertips, but the sheer scope of it is a dizzying prospect that makes his head swirl if he dwells—considering each of his options down the columns when the door is open in a rushed flurry that sends Lorenz’s head shooting upwards.

Something has happened. He stares, pointedly, at the way Pia makes her entrance, hearing the words she says in a rush, but seeing first the way she clutches at her shoulder. Any and all thoughts of systems beyond his comprehension leave his mind; Lorenz understands military, and the stagger of someone in shock and wounded. No need to rise to his feet, as he’s taken to standing at the desks, and instead he bolts.

A hand rests against Pia’s good shoulder, firm enough to try and keep her from staggering into the room in anymore of a flurry, hoping to gently guide her towards a chair to sit.

“Miss Pia, please—" Voice firm, although inwardly he’s cursing the fact that, for the moment, no magic seems to flow from his fingertips; he would be willing to break a ruse to keep her upright, “breathe. You will do yourself no favors, panicked as you are.”

His other hand rests at her shoulder blades, encouraging her towards her chair. “I know time may well be of the essence, but please, sit. Will you permit us to take a look at your shoulder while you speak?”

“Ah...” Shaken by these events, Pia can’t help but sit down when Lorenz pushes her into the chair. It hurts so much, she’s never been shot before. Panic runs amok through her mind—why is this happening? Does the military want the Schwartzes that much? That they’re willing to kill for it?

Pia looks to the Verne archivists, an innocent party in all of this, here because they volunteered their time and expertise. And then to the AIWOU unit behind them, unmoving in spite of the commotion. Rex... no, L-431475... she can’t imagine how he is processing this. He would return to his original mission, but to turn against his creators...

“No. I must do this.” Tears streaming down her cheeks, Pia pushes herself up again, returning to the terminal. Her good arm pulls out a drawer, searching for a portable terminal. They can take the Schwartzes and flee. They might not have a chance alone, but with him...

On the computer, she pulls up a new window. Assign Administrative Access. Plugging the portable terminal into the computer, Pia shouts back at the others, “Bring me Rex! I must do this!”

[toa-electricsheep]

"Oi, Sasha."

After that hectic first day, they managed to ward off the invaders for the time being—though, just barely. With their small group (only five people, Brigid has come to learn, including her and the three others she entered the book with), a lacking military, and the constant attacks on top of all the patients they were getting, she could tell the situation had Sasha at her wit's end.

Still, she held through. Brigid could respect that.

"Sure you don't wanna rest a bit? We don't seem to be in any danger at the moment, and there's a lull in patients. I'd say you've more than earned the break."

“...I suppose I can rest my feet for a bit,” Sasha allows. She wouldn’t say she ‘earned’ or ‘deserves’ a break, considering she is just doing her job. With a sigh, she finds herself a seat in the waiting room, eyeing the physical magazines from three months ago. Celebrity Gossip! The Bonus Bros are Dating Who?! Hard to believe they worried about that crap less than a year ago...

Brigid is right: potential patients haven’t come in for a while now. But the lack of patients to worry about gives breathing space to everything else Sasha has on her mind. “What else needs to be done? Mmm...” Always good to keep their firearms maintained (especially considering Brigid’s... surprising lack of skill with one. Maybe she needs practice?). Sasha digs her phone out of her pocket, allowing herself a quick glimpse at the weather. “Rain this week. We’re still on water advisory, so we should definitely make sure to collect what we can. Do you know if we still have those dried chickpeas in the pantry? I think those would be good to soak for dinner... What do you think?”

[toa-electricsheep]

0500 Hours : Farina, Forsyth, Shez, Pelleas

The military has you running on a strict schedule. Wake up before dawn, take care of your needs, and then a long day of harding training both in and out of the “Canner” mechs. Today you expect much of the same—there’s no reason to expect anything different, right?

“You’re being deployed.” That’s the first thing you hear this morning, and the General is less than pleased to deliver the news. “Apparently you’re making good progress and, well... for this mission, we don’t expect any casualties on our side. Think of it as practice for learning how to fight in your mechs. Just keep your head down and do as I tell you.” A pause. “I don’t expect you guys to have some undying faith in me or anything... but know that you can trust in me when it counts. You’ll make it out of here safely. I give you my word.”

When you ask where you’re going, the General’s face twists in pain. “The Asimov Museum.”

0700 Hours : Soren, Lorenz, Marth, Byleth

The day starts out as normal, until it doesn’t. In the basement floor of the Asimov Museum, you can barely make out the sound of shouting and explosions going on one floor above you. No one would blame you if you didn’t notice anything at all until Pia bursts into the room, clutching a bleeding wound on her shoulder. “The military,” she gasps. “They’re here for the—the mechs...”

 Then, “Get me Rex. You all have to get out of here.”

Upstairs a museum employee, hiding under the front desk in fear, slams their hand against the emergency button...

0700 Hours : Sylvain, Brigid, Severa, Hinoka

At the practice, you hear a high-pitched urgent tone. More enemies? Sasha practically jumps at the call, hurrying over to the front desk and tapping furiously against a screen. Bright light, similar to the Projectionist’s creations from the Phantasmagoria event many moons back, form an image for all to see. A detailed map, showing their location in the massive city you are in, and arrows that guide your path to a strange shape glowing red.

Sasha’s eyes widen in horror. “No... the AI Museum... Oh God, no...”

What you know:

With communication breaking down between the military and the Asimov Museum over ownership of the older Schwartz mechs, the military has decided to take action and launch a raid into the Museum. 

For those who have trained with the mechs, this is their first mission. By luck, fate, or the book’s attempts to accommodate you all, your combat capabilities are equivalent to what you have brought with you to the book world. OOC, if you enter combat in a mech, you will be using your event inventory. IC, General Raoul says that incapacitating the museum workers is fine, only to be careful with your strength.

Despite her wounds, the first thing Pia does when she gets to the office is go to her computer, typing frantically. You may recognize the dashboard that you went through earlier...

Sasha and the rest of you at the practice are third parties in all of this. All you know is that someone is in serious danger at the Museum.

Things to do:

Do your best and try not to die. Your paths will cross soon...

Ask Mod Bren for more information