You are Fiona Jarnafeldt, and it has become obvious to you that one of your agents is not coming back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-lG0HpkcYkIt's been about a week since you led an expedition to find a route through the forests around Helsinki from which supplies are smuggled into the stormdrains, and one of your agents, L1 Shimizu Yoshimitsu, was pretty injured. You figured he had just lost respect for you and spent time away to avoid having to deal with your apologizing, but after talking to people as the days go by, it comes to the Stormwatch's attention that the door to his sleeping pod has not been operated in six days. Within a few hours, a week's worth of footage from every camera is scanned and ratified that he has not appeared on any camera that is connected to Finland's federal security system stored right inside Stormwatch HQ. Popular theories from the security clerks that talked to you suggest he probably used his fishing trip as a ploy to get a chance to find his way into the Undercity. They hazard a guess that it was never his intention to stay in the Stormwatch, but to use the knowledge of operating here to find something; a common occurrence they say, but they refuse to declassify how many times it has happened. His identity seemed legitimate, but would need further verification between the government of his homeland to really make sure.All this doesn't help you feel any better.Aside from your personal worries, the Stormwatch is preparing itself for a big mission. It's called "Operation Kekripukki." Upon the first day of winter, a high ranking Stormwatch agent will try and bargain with the Undercity to bring Lorppo, the terrible Jotunn responsible for killing many L3 and L2 agents several months ago, out to duel. If they do not comply, almost the entire Stormwatch will mobilize to sack the Undercity, an event where you were assured you would have the best chance of earning your L3 promotion. If they do comply, then Lorppo will be killed. You aren't cleared to be made aware of how they are going to kill Lorppo. They just assure you that he can be killed now.You saw the bodycam footage of the people trying to fight Lorppo. He was fighting them all so casually. The axes ripped through his mountains of flesh to no effect. Giant clouds of levin made him jolt, but stopped him little. The very rearing of his fists sent agents flying away, let alone the actual strikes. And he spoke in this... sing-song tone... all the while.What could they possibly have to fight him now that they didn't before?
>>6059649Previous threads: https://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Solarpunk%20Cleanup%20Agent%20QuestGoogle doc: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jhZljN9y7A8w6qFcD8wX_xYaKZP65ZH8EGrmgKQ-nIU/edit?usp=sharing____It's pointless to wonder about what they're hiding from you. Given how L1s can simply walk away, any information you're given is clearly what is allowed to leak. What wouldn't make a difference if the people down there in the city knew or didn't. The operation's basic details were debriefed to you as an L2 agent, though you feel the words of the desk-jockey operator twisting into the shape of a carrot on a stick for you. Baiting you with that L3 promotion. They know how special it is to reach L3. They know you joined to earn the right to start a family. You'd almost think they see you daydreaming, feeling the tiny hands of your child grab yours when you're staring off into space. They know you'd do anything to look and actually see something there, rather than just the phantasms of a lonely heart.And they know to strike fear in the hearts of those who hear that their pursuers will be rewarded so dearly.Today is your first day off deployment in a while. It's midday and Kiikoinen is nowhere to be found. The commons room has a small crowd, with some familiar faces - not everyone has work off on the same day, of course, the Stormwatch never sleeps. You are cleared to seek out various agents for training, guidance, or just casual chatting, if you please. And of course there's all of Helsinki proper, if you want to catch up with friends you met outside of the Stormwatch.But what to do?Choose up to three.>Saemus is drinking water like a fish. He was testing out one of Jousten's new gizmos recently. Go up and ask him what it was about, how he's doing?>Kai is over there, haunched over in a tiny chair reading a book. He seemed very enamored of Methuselah's spot of the woods. You probably need to tell him his comrade has vanished, and he seems pleasant to be around.>That red-headed girl is around. Some time ago, her and an L3 had found some mysterious bullet casings? Might be important.>Spar with Sumika if she is available. She's a very good swordsman, and she has a lot to teach you if you have an ear to listen.>Find a Noita to talk to. You want answers to the many questions you have after that encounter with that singing underdweller not long ago. That, and what else you think you saw that day...>You know where you can find Aamu, if you want to schedule a meeting with Leshy again. He has some very interesting views, and you want to know more about what he does. It can't happen today, of course, but soon, hopefully.>Tell an Undercroft secretary that you're free to trial whatever the Black Swan has ready for you, if she is considering anything. You imagine more dedicated service comes with... benefits.>[Write-in]
>>6059651>That red-headed girl is around. Some time ago, her and an L3 had found some mysterious bullet casings? Might be important.Follow upAlso welcome back QM
>>6059651>Saemus is drinking water like a fish. He was testing out one of Jousten's new gizmos recently. Go up and ask him what it was about, how he's doing?>Kai is over there, haunched over in a tiny chair reading a book. He seemed very enamored of Methuselah's spot of the woods. You probably need to tell him his comrade has vanished, and he seems pleasant to be around.>You know where you can find Aamu, if you want to schedule a meeting with Leshy again. He has some very interesting views, and you want to know more about what he does. It can't happen today, of course, but soon, hopefully.
>>6059651>You know where you can find Aamu, if you want to schedule a meeting with Leshy again. He has some very interesting views, and you want to know more about what he does. It can't happen today, of course, but soon, hopefully.>Find a Noita to talk to. You want answers to the many questions you have after that encounter with that singing underdweller not long ago. That, and what else you think you saw that day...It seems our obsession with motherhood isn't entirely hormonal. Remember anons, the supernatural of myth is not about human projection of agency (Like the manifestation of desire), but the opposite. Something from elsewhere is touching us, guiding us towards motherhood for unknown reasons. Perhaps our future daughter's spirit is simply helping itself become, but we'd be wise to ensure we're not being used by something malignant. There's also the happenings up north. We're blind and deaf, only seeing the ripples of events far beyond our understanding.
>>6059651>Saemus is drinking water like a fish. He was testing out one of Jousten's new gizmos recently. Go up and ask him what it was about, how he's doing?>Kai is over there, haunched over in a tiny chair reading a book. He seemed very enamored of Methuselah's spot of the woods. You probably need to tell him his comrade has vanished, and he seems pleasant to be around.>You know where you can find Aamu, if you want to schedule a meeting with Leshy again. He has some very interesting views, and you want to know more about what he does. It can't happen today, of course, but soon, hopefully.We can bring Kai, maybe!
>>6059651Add to my vote in >>6059722>Find a Noita to talk to. You want answers to the many questions you have after that encounter with that singing underdweller not long ago. That, and what else you think you saw that day...>Kai is over there, haunched over in a tiny chair reading a book. He seemed very enamored of Methuselah's spot of the woods. You probably need to tell him his comrade has vanished, and he seems pleasant to be around.
>>6059722>>6060088>>6059762>>6059799>>6059848Fahy and Kai have the most votes, but talking to some Noita and Aamu are tied right now. I'll write for now, and take any tiebreaker I get for it going forward.
>>6060284Noita, ask about these 'apparitions'.
>>6060284>I miscounted votes immediatelyThe winners were Aamu and Kai, and the tiebreaker would have been between Fahy and the Noita. I'm going with the Noita tiebreaker.
>>6059762>>6059848>>6060088Let's start with the small things.Actually no that was a lie because the first thing on the list of things to do is talk to the giant dutchman.L1 Trollslayer Kai Jonkheer is sitting at a table reading a book, in a rather serene mood for a man of his station. He doesn't seem to hate his occupation, like some of the other L1s still stuck in their positions. You and Fahy had been elevated due to interesting circumstances, so you have no idea how long you would otherwise be stuck in the pod, eating engineered pastes, powders, and liquid meals. You are just glad you're out of it because compared to your previous life, it was miserable. You're going to say it, you preferred being a peasant in the country than a serf in the city. But Kai does not seem to be agonizing over that. He seems content, wherever his head is right now.You almost hate to spoil his mood like this, but you feel obligated to tell him about what you know of his comrade Yoshimitsu. "Sir Jonkheer?"The tall blonde boy looks up from the pages and smiles. "Ah, miss! Hello again. He still giving you the cold shoulder?""He's gone," you tell him, with difficulty getting the words out. "Security says he's never opened his door, never checked in, and hasn't appeared on cameras in a week. We... do not know what happened to him. They suspect he went to find the underground city himself. Why, we don't really know."Kai's gentle face paused, glancing around in silence. He then just shrugs. "Yoshi... had some ulterior motive from the outset, I noticed. Why would an agent of his specialty leave the domain of his expertise? And to be so pragmatic, to such a..." he fails to find the words.But now that Kai mentions it, Yoshi was very cut to the point. He was very direct with what the mission was with Leshy, to the detriment of actually persuading him. You shake your head, because it's all you can really do now."Jarnafeldt," Kai says, resting his chin in his hands, fingers running thouogh his muttonchops. "That grove was so... resplendent. I had never seen anything like it. Had I known a way to work in such a place instead of here - not that I mean to abandon my post, I assure! I, just... I've always been fond of life's majesty. Not just what is "natural" but, what life can do. And that place was... marvelous."Kai really doesn't give a shit about Yoshimitsu at all. His mind has been captured by what MNP had done to the place.
>>6060476The six foot five beanpole rolls his head to the side like a daydreaming schoolgirl as he continues. "And, of course, what was disclosed was fascinating. Even besides the remapping expeditions, which is itself groundbreaking and all, but... That... wholeness! They talked about that... connection I've always felt! I could never find the way to put it into words. Leshy said it defies precedent, but does it really? Is it just instincts returning, or is it- bah! I'm sorry, I have just been dying to know more. I could prattle on for hours." After a pause to shut the book and set it down, he looks straight at you. "Did you want me to?" >Mention how you're about to schedule seeing them to talk to Leshy yourself on your own free time, and invite Kai along. Perhaps he can make his own connections.>Ask if he's ever talked to anybody in the Stormwatch about the phenomenon himself.>Talk about your own experiences, the things you've seen with your Attunement recently, and prod back if he's seen anything like that.>Note how it's very odd for him to simply move on from the disappearances of his coworkers like this. Even if they were assholes.>[Write-in]
>>6060477>Ask if he's ever talked to anybody in the Stormwatch about the phenomenon himself.It would draw ears of a certain sort... so not here in public.>Note how it's very odd for him to simply move on from the disappearances of his coworkers like this. Even if they were assholes.I wanna question him out of curiosityAlso I love this bit>His mind has been captured by what MNP had done to the place.Because though the MNP is less industrial and more environmentally healthy, that place is still a natural place exaggerated and warped by such means. It should be harmony WITH nature as the saying goes, and not harmony UNDER nature as the MNP seems to champion and enforce. Humans having all the children and encompassing the globe is just an extension of animal instincts I suppose, but we're getting all the negatives that a strict population limit comes with. Are we truly such a chosen people then, if the rats would still breed as rats do whether in the past society or this current eco-dystopia?
>>6060477>>Ask if he's ever talked to anybody in the Stormwatch about the phenomenon himself.>>Note how it's very odd for him to simply move on from the disappearances of his coworkers like this. Even if they were assholes.
