You are L2S Trollhunter Fiona Jarnafeldt, and you think you’re in trouble. Big trouble.Earlier today, you were directing a pair of engineers through the stormdrains with your compatriot, L2S Manhunter Saemus Fahy, as the workers installed a drone nest used to observe the squatter city and plot out the encroaching attack on the city. The mission went fine, that’s not the issue. The squatters have successfully reverse engineered the technology from a pneumatic suit they stole months ago, you put them down handily, and a team is on the way to pick up the bodies for processing. That’s perfectly fine.But something happened.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alCtsl65y3oWhile on the mission, your radio transmission was hijacked by a strange caller who claimed to someone named Zephyr, a member of a clandestine research team serving Mother Nature’s Providence known as the Old Oaks. On the call he made a mortifying claim: that no amount of hard work or effort will get you to the promotion you seek, that no number of slain monsters however fierce and fearsome they once were really matters to your ends. The only way to earn this promotion to earn the life and family you’ve been fighting to earn is to sell your soul and morals and to kill a child of the city’s overpopulation. A brand of loyalty seared in to the back of your mind for the rest of your life.Zephyr went on to say that everyone around you in any place of authority has done this. Your mentor, the stormwatch director, even your parents had to have done this. It was either this, or winning the lottery, if you wanted to bring that child that you always wanted, always seeing, haunting you like a ghost, into the waking world. He then made you an offer to try and destroy the system. You took off your radio; you did not want to hear any more of that seditious thought. You thought that a complete dismissal would be enough to prove loyalty for anybody who happened to hear what was said.But then a man in black arrived to direct you to an L4 operator’s office.
>>6153226>Suptg archivehttps://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Solarpunk%20Cleanup%20Agent%20Quest>Quest doc including characters, equipment, mechanics, etc.https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jhZljN9y7A8w6qFcD8wX_xYaKZP65ZH8EGrmgKQ-nIU Hello! Join Agent Jarnafeldt as she fights criminals and monsters to earn the right to start a family as the long arm of the ecofascist dictatorship that the world has fallen under, and uncover the mysteries of the world that have returned since the fall of the old one - be they mutated horror, or something else entirely. _______________________Thankfully, that agent is Nonoka Sumika, an exceptionally tall Nipponese woman who has been looking out for you and has always been able to tell you things straight. From the nature of your enemies to your mentors, she seems to help you see things more clearly. There are other superiors who would be far less forgiving...That said, you worry about the questions you will have to answer. You begin rattling different ideas in your head on how to answer them. I knew it was a trick, you could say. Squatters came to attack right after. I figured it was a setup to make me hesitate. Sounds believable enough, right?It suddenly begins to occur to you that you might be called into the office for having an encounter with Lorppo, the Jotunn aberration that slaughtered a dozen Stormwatch agents immediately after the pneumatic suit heist. That, or having spoke to the children there. Your microphone and camera were off, though. They shouldn’t have seen that. Boggling still is that this man is from a foreign detatchment of a heavy mechanized unit, the Chicago Red Dogs. Why are they sending after you? They might just be worried about the interference happening to begin with, but it might be something else entirely.The black coated man leads you to the floor where the office is, and isn’t permitted further. You’ll have to walk into that room by yourself and on your own accord.You already declined Zephyr’s offer, as full of certain death as it was, so there’s no other way around this. No turning back now.
>>6153227The L4 Operator’s standard office, the one outside of the aberrant studies section, is one you know to be soundproofed away from the typical clerk staffed offices. You’ve come to understand that there is a barrier, a very clear wall of trust. It was obvious at the start; you’re still not allowed on most floors. At first I thought it was simple paygrade, simple authority. Do better and you’ll be let in. But now, you’re wondering now just where that threshold lies.As you enter the room, you see Sumika sitting at her desk with her Stormwatch hat on. Even from sitting at the desk, poorly suited for her abnormal stature, you have to raise your head to meet her gaze. The one eye not caught by hair levels at you with a pained look. Not angry or sad. Just an intense look that you'd usually find on L3 Kiikoinen.Your asian friend looks particularly grim today. What she has to say must be terrible.Or perhaps she has always looked like this and you only just noticed.“Jarnafeldt. Shut the door,” Nonoka says coldly. “We need to talk. About the person who intercepted your signal.”With a nervous gulp and the sealing of the heavy wooden door carved to absorb sound, soft foam boarders sealing every little crevice. You looked around the stark room; there seemed to be no cameras or devices here. You are where only the gods can hear you. After many restless nights, you sometimes wonder if they even try to.Taking a seat, her urgent explanation continued. “Our audio recordings are server side. We were cut off from you. We don't know what they could have been trying to tell you. What they could be telling other Stormwatch agents later. Telling them before. And even now. Did you hear them say anything?”When it happened before, you initially claimed that your signal was intercepted and they started raving at you over harsh static that caused you to discard your headset. You did this because you believed they were capable of hearing what was being said, as well as having deniability.>Come forward with the whole truth. It’s Sumika, you trust her, and some things aren’t meant to be said over radio, which is of course monitored.>Say that you heard the voice tell you that to get to L3, you have to kill a child for the Stormwatch.>Say that they introduced themselves as an Old Oak before rambling about nihilistic nonsense.>Stick to the story; you heard nothing of real importance.>Write in
>>6153229>Make sure we are not surveilled here first>Come forward with the whole truth. It’s Sumika, you trust her, and some things aren’t meant to be said over radio, which is of course monitored.Agonizing for a girl who wants to be a momWelcome back QM
>>6153229>>Say that they introduced themselves as an Old Oak before rambling about nihilistic nonsense.
>>6153236+1, but make sure to make it clear we didn't REALLY believe it... Unless Sumika or her expression tells us otherwise>>6153229Welcome back!
>>6153229>Say that they introduced themselves as an Old Oak before rambling about nihilistic nonsense.
>>6153523Because this would cause a really annoying tie and because it's just past my usual 16 hour vote limit, I'm excluding this vote.>>6153236>>6153238>>6153257Alright, coming forthward wins. Writing through the weekend.And thanks! I'm glad to be back. I'll be harshly abusing some mucinex but I'll live.
The room seems devoid of cameras, you can tell, as you were already scanning the ceiling looking up at Sumika as you took your seat. Any recording devices - that she is not purposefully hiding - would have to be very subtle. You have some ideas of where these devices could be fashioned; a microphone under your seat, a camera stowed in a bookshelf. But you are no manhunter, and as far as you can tell, there’s no recording in here. If there is recording, it’s something she has set up personally.Having some faith in Sumika, not as a superior, but as a friend…“A tired sounding man intercepted my radio. He called himself Zephyr. An Old Oak in charge of the water filtration in the stormdrain.”The tall woman shut her eyes. It seemed to be acceptance. Worrying. You continue, measuring your words, “he said that humanity had every chance to become something different, but it still turned into something predatory. His speech was very pessimistic, and I found parts of it to be immature even, but... to get to the role of L3, he said that I couldn’t just keep killing aberrations. He said that that everyone I ever knew that earned the right to have a child by fighting things… killed a child.”Sumika sank her face with her fingers and sighed. This account was not something she was taking well.“… And he asked me if I wanted to help stop that, ’cycle of debasement,’ as he put it.”She looked straight at you, with her one visible eye.
>>6154156You stammer to clarify. “At that point I took off the headset because I didn’t want to hear any more. I didn’t trust whoever was speaking. F-Fahy can confirm that I had it off! The man on the radio was still talking when Fahy came up to me, saying you were trying to talk to me. I heard something more, but I can’t tell what it was because I only heard a part of it. It sounded like a threat. The radio cut out to static, and after that I heard you just fine.” Your speech had hastened toward the end, and easing your nerves, you take a deep breath. “And that’s all I heard. It didn’t happen again.”Sumika rolled her head back to look at the bleak white ceiling light. She was in heavy thought, and the pause gave rise to a detail you forgot to mention.“Oh! And… I didn’t identify myself by name, but he seemed to have been reading off my profile. My rank, name, hometown… but it was my last name that caught his attention.”The tall woman leveled her gaze back at you. “And you are not lying when you say that this is what happened?”You hope she understands the worry in your voice comes not from being caught, but the intensity of her stare and the circumstances you are in. “J-ja. Yeah.”She cursed an eastern curse under her breath. “If that is the case… then you will not be deployed until further notice. You and perhaps many others, until we can silence that voice. Besides being an obvious risk to our operational security by having access to our communications, I cannot let agents mistake anything he is saying as something legitimate.”Mistake for legitimate…? Dare you hope? “Ah! So that means… that was a lie? About the promotion?”Nonoka Sumika’s eyes laid upon you for a moment before falling into her thin, limber fingers, stretching across her unusually broad hand. “Fiona, I did not receive this position because of any action I did.” You remember her story she told you one day of her start in this field; her service in Akihabara, until she one day killed the child of a mob boss who had attacked her. She was relocated to Helsinki for her own safety from the nipponese gangs. “I am here because of what I am.”You look at the tall, pale oriental woman, examining the bending of her lithe fingers behind a veil of long black hair and beneath the shadow of a Stormwatch cap. “A-and that would be?” You ask.“Loyal. Loyalty is more valuable than competence to the Stormwatch, and to many others. If you’re loyal, you can get just about anywhere you like.” Sumika rises from her seat, leaning forward to keep distance between her head and the ceiling. She yawns over you like a skyscraper of eld. “You are dismissed, Jarnafeldt. Take a day or two off. Stay safe.”
>>6154157Free time? S-sure! You can do with some free time! You have some thoughts to collect, worries to iron out, haha! With a bashful laugh, you stand up and walk on out, alive and in the clear from being labelled a seditious traitor due for being turned into pork flavored protein mix. Two days, she said? Wonderful! That's some good time. Though it’s not working toward the promotion, it’s nice to take your head out of the guillotine for a time. But, what to do?How would you want to spend this time off? Select up to four.>You and Kai Jonkheer had expressed interest in seeing Leshy once again. It’s about time you follow up on it. Maybe he has some answers for some of the more strange questions you’ve started having?>Go find your mentor Lalli Kiikoinen. You have to wonder what is keeping this man so thoroughly attached to the bottle. It's getting weird.>Speak with Percival Blythe, and ask about the visions you keep having of your daughter. Are they supernatural, or have you just been crazy the whole time?>Ask after Katriina Jousten. If you can’t be deployed, you want to see what she is cooking in her witch’s cauldron. A funny rabbit told you to look out for her, after all.>Party with the Red Dogs, it’s been a while! Maybe they can take you to the garage and finally see that machine their captain hyped up so much.>Rest and recuperate safe within the walls of the Stormwatch. Going outside might be dangerous if it's something that big of an issue...>Sneak underground and go to that underground garden. You hope to find those kids Sisu and there on less intense circumstances. You can bake them some pretzels!>Write-ins!
>>6154160>You and Kai Jonkheer had expressed interest in seeing Leshy once again. It’s about time you follow up on it. Maybe he has some answers for some of the more strange questions you’ve started having?>Go find your mentor Lalli Kiikoinen. You have to wonder what is keeping this man so thoroughly attached to the bottle. It's getting weird.>Speak with Percival Blythe, and ask about the visions you keep having of your daughter. Are they supernatural, or have you just been crazy the whole time?>Party with the Red Dogs, it’s been a while! Maybe they can take you to the garage and finally see that machine their captain hyped up so much
>>6154160>Go find your mentor Lalli Kiikoinen. You have to wonder what is keeping this man so thoroughly attached to the bottle. It's getting weird.Pursue the SNAKE>Speak with Percival Blythe, and ask about the visions you keep having of your daughter. Are they supernatural, or have you just been crazy the whole time?Learn the truth about that mystery loli... It is necessary for Fiona's mental>Ask after Katriina Jousten. If you can’t be deployed, you want to see what she is cooking in her witch’s cauldron. A funny rabbit told you to look out for her, after all.See the mom that can't be a mom>Party with the Red Dogs, it’s been a while! Maybe they can take you to the garage and finally see that machine their captain hyped up so much.I want to see what this machine is about just so we're done with that
>>6154160>You and Kai Jonkheer had expressed interest in seeing Leshy once again. It’s about time you follow up on it. Maybe he has some answers for some of the more strange questions you’ve started having?>Speak with Percival Blythe, and ask about the visions you keep having of your daughter. Are they supernatural, or have you just been crazy the whole time?Help get or head straight.>Ask after Katriina Jousten. If you can’t be deployed, you want to see what she is cooking in her witch’s cauldron. A funny rabbit told you to look out for her, after all.Heed the omens and prove our dedication to work.>Party with the Red Dogs, it’s been a while! Maybe they can take you to the garage and finally see that machine their captain hyped up so much.Decompress. thought it would be cool to be able to invite Lalli.
>>6154224+1
>>6154224>>6154256>>6154322>>6154596Alright, votes counting at >4 Blythe>4 Red Dogs>3 for LeshyAnd a tie for the last two. Writing, but update tomorrow.
>>6154629Protecting someone scaling a huge vaulted wall and ceiling did take time, so it’s already near the afternoon. It would be rude to get Leshy to answer a sudden visit request. You could let Aamu know you plan to visit tomorrow.For tonight, you could find something to do with those loud Americans. Let that black coat know he didn’t just ferry you to a meat grinder. Maybe since it’s daylight you can ask around, flex your credentials, and take a look at that machine they’ve had stowed away…!You’d have stolen a peek already, but that mech is not kept in Stormwatch HQ. All aerial and ground vehicles are stored in HQ of Helsinki Police, which Stormwatch is a part of but works separately from due to the nature of what they deal with. You don’t have to deal with noise complaints, but you also aren’t expected to be firing flak cannons against giant predatory migratory swans and be their first juicy targets. Fair trade. It’s not really open to foreigners like yourself anyway.After swinging by Aamu’s preferred cafe on the west end of Katajanokka to put in a notice that you want to visit Leshy tomorrow, and being given a quick nod and an “I’ll let you know,” you make your way over to the fancy hotel where the Red Dogs are stationed.You catch the red haired boyish girl from the American crew leaving the building. You can’t remember her name. You believe her callsign was “She-Bitch?”… Beth! Her name is Beth. And it’s “She-Wolf.” Frejya's tits you almost said that to her face. You give a courteous wave to the She-Bitch.“Hello! Are the Red Dogs busy today?”The red haired military girl squints at you for a moment, trying to remember your name. “Uh, yeah. Gabby and his lapdog are running around on business. Jerry the tech kid’s with Acey Deedee, at our friend’s request.” Beth rocked her head back and beamed with pride as she went on. “And I got cockpit simulation training to do. Gonna get in the Big Dog. Can’t exactly turn the engine on, of course, but most of the bells and whistles.”Your face lights up. You, a peasant girl from some tiny overgrown village in the middle of the colossal south German forests, have a soft spot for the forests, but things as wildly advanced as the giant robot the Red Dogs pilot is just so beyond your realm of understanding. You can’t help but grin ear to ear imagining it. “Can I see it?”“Don’t you got anything to do today?”The temptation to hint that there’s a situation happening in the Stormdrains is there; but even an implication that something is going on is technically leaking information. You answer truth enough; “Me and Kiikoinen were given two days off! Though, haha, I haven’t a clue where he’s chose to spend his…”
>>6155258Beth still seems unconvinced. “Would you even be allowed to come with me? It’s not exactly your department, above your paygrade.”You can’t let her turn you down. You really want to see this. “I did get a promotion! A specialist position, to another office for studying the aberrant creatures that make their way into the Stormdrain and, otherwise harass Helsinki...”The red-haired miss looks around, before gesturing you to follow her with a flick of her head. Seeing as she had something to say, befitting a more private location than the lobby of a hotel, you trail behind her down a clean alleyway around the back of the Helsinki Police Headquarters.“I overheard Gabby on the horn with Mikey. Was asking about how good Mikey felt riding the Big Dog without the targeting computer, Just in case.” Beth speaks with a frightening nonchalance. “I’m training today, but hearin' that, I dunno what I’m training for.”Right as you had begun to think, she draws a card and flashes it to a screen against the backlot of the police HQ. In but a moment, a thin wiry clerk comes out from inside and pulls the gate open, and struggles to shut it behind you. It costs less energy to pay someone a pittance to do these things manually than make and maintain automated features, you know. Though you wonder why the Stormwatch would have so much automation in its workings. You shake the train of thought out of your head, because it's totally irrelevant.Beth leads you through a checkpoint, where you are required to flash your IDs; the black and gold bordered ID you use to access the Undercroft was enough for the clerk to let you in without saying a word. Good to know. And through just a few doors, you're in the garage of the police HQ.The smell of metal was unmistakable, but it was free of oil and other pollutants. Taking up most of the space were simple armored electric vans like you used on your forest expedition. A close second were the unarmored personnel carriers, little more than driveable elevator shafts capable of fitting fifteen people standing, used to deliver as many responders to any scene as possible in one haul. Besides that there were some heavy duty looking bicycles, capable of carrying a man wearing heavy gear far, fast, and efficiently...
>>6155262But there, behind a heavily armored vehicle, it sits. The Big Red Dog.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82k3t_0xL-sCaptain Mikey Riley is standing in front of the beautiful construction, giving a thorough examination of the machine’s arms. For once in his life, Mikey’s raised his shades, and he spared a only passing glance at the two of you girls walking in between studying the machine and clipboard in his hand. In just a second, his head shot back around in a double take with a grin.“Hey! Fiona! What brings you around here?” Mikey greeted as he sought a decent enough place in the machine to stow the clipboard. Once he proped it in a slit, he flicked down his aviators. “I wasn’t expecting guests. Gabriel’s off doing big boy judge things and Durant’s being his errand boy, so from what I heard and figured, sounded like a busy day for you boys and girls.”With a memory of a hit you took earlier today, softened mostly by the gasmask of the turnout gear you wore nearly shattering, you rub the side of your face. “I had just finished a mission, but the moment I got back to HQ I was told to take a couple days off, me, Lalli, and Saemus. I don’t know where he went off to though.”“Haven’t seen Kiki around. Came and went like a storm.”Okay, he is definitely telling you about the big funny red robot with the cute dog logo on the shoulder. That’s first and foremost. But what else did you want to talk about before a casual night out? Choose as many as you like.>Ask about the targeting system, and why it might not target something. Perhaps you have some Insight to share?>You don’t know much about “Gabby.” Or the Red Dogs themselves besides their roles. Wasn’t Durant the repair guy?>Did they hear about the big murderous swans that are going to be migrating down here in a week or two? Apparently that’s public knowledge.>Have they gotten any strange radio interference from a depressed old oak or something? Y’know, just asking. Haha.>Tell them about your new position, and all the wild schizobabble Blythe tells you. See if the loud-mouth Americans have their two cents (they will).>Write-ins
>>6155267>You don’t know much about “Gabby.” Or the Red Dogs themselves besides their roles. Wasn’t Durant the repair guy?>Have they gotten any strange radio interference from a depressed old oak or something? Y’know, just asking. Haha.>Tell them about your new position, and all the wild schizobabble Blythe tells you. See if the loud-mouth Americans have their two cents (they will).
>>6155267>You don’t know much about “Gabby.” Or the Red Dogs themselves besides their roles. Wasn’t Durant the repair guy?>Tell them about your new position, and all the wild schizobabble Blythe tells you. See if the loud-mouth Americans have their two cents (they will).
>>6155271>You don’t know much about “Gabby.” Or the Red Dogs themselves besides their roles. Wasn’t Durant the repair guy?>Tell them about your new position, and all the wild schizobabble Blythe tells you. See if the loud-mouth Americans have their two cents (they will).
>>6155267>You don’t know much about “Gabby.” Or the Red Dogs themselves besides their roles. Wasn’t Durant the repair guy?>Did they hear about the big murderous swans that are going to be migrating down here in a week or two? Apparently that’s public knowledge.>Tell them about your new position, and all the wild schizobabble Blythe tells you. See if the loud-mouth Americans have their two cents (they will).
apologies for the delay, update later this evening
>>6156444Sounds good!
sleep schedule is f u cked posting what i got
ou shove Mikey aside and get a closer look at the robot, big grin on your face. Here it is, the Big Red Dog! And they weren’t kidding. Standing easily over twelve feet tall, you can only really come up to the legs and hands (which have been extended from their natural position), and across its heavy, heavy armor you see signs of use. Gliding your fingers across its cherry red exterior, the metal feels like a whetstone; meant to grind down the claws of beasts that come into close contact. Taking a step back to look at its face, you note the insignia of the Chicago Red Dogs 4th Mechanical Division emblazoned on the shoulder and the rather dog-ear like antennae on its head. A superfluous detail, but you can't help but giggle when you spot it.Footsteps echo through the garage as the two stand next to you. "Been a long time coming. Fiona, meet Clifford. He's a good boy. Been on a lot of tours in the West Indes, South America, and put in good work."There's not a single fiber in your being that doesn't appreciate the existence of this machine, but you have questions. "Why have it have two legs instead of... something else?""Moving through rough terrain. Though it's a bit stronger than pneumatics, Clifford's got boosters that can send it flying. If it can't walk over something, it can zoom up and around it. Wherever normal heavy vehicles couldn't go, Clifford can, and quickly."The idea of this thing soaring around in the air is preposterous. Can this thing really? You need to see a photograph, or maybe even a video. You realize the only time you could see this thing flying is if you're in big trouble, so perhaps it's best that you never see it in person.
>>6157045Off to the side, you see similarly coated objects, so you imagined they're a part of the ensemble. What looks like a strange barrel, and the largest, beefiest, most absurdly huge gun that, given from its handles, the Big Red Dog uses as its primary weapon. You skip over to it to walk across its full eight to ten foot length. Several thick barrels are held in place by not just several rings, but a bracing metal frame along the several barrels. A forward handle on top of a frame surrounding the barrels can rotate, you notice. Beth is glad to start talking. "That's our MSAC. Mobile Suit Autocannon. We went over our pollutant budget in the Amazon a few years back, so we're stuck with tungsten sabots instead of exploding bullets." There's a lot in that sentence that you find exciting and interesting, but you first ask about why there's several barrels. She then tells you that the barrels spin and, by spinning them, the barrels are loaded and the bullets are fired. It doesn't even need electricity, in principle, but spinning it as fast as the MSAC does need a motor.During her long winded explanation of how it's actually ancient tech from just after the cartridge used was invented, you spot that the whole machine is mounted on some metal slab. Or, a metal slab was attached to it. It has the shape of a meat tenderizer. One way they cut back on pollutants is, instead of shooting someone, swinging the whole gun as a bludgeon at them. Turning back around to the machine, you see Mikey is already tweaking the arms again. There's been a question on your mind, so you finally feel fine asking. "Why are you tweaking the arms? And wasn't the black coat guy your mechanic?"Mikey didn't glance away from the bolts as he answered. "Judge Gabe asked about the manual targeting capabilities of old Cliffy here. It can aim manually just fine, but the physical bits are usually optimized for the targeting computer's automatic aiming, not our own. Durant should be here making these tweaks, but, well, he's Judge Gabriel's man, not mine. He's got his own errands."You giggle. "His man? What, are they-""Billy's a slave, basically. An extra just too good to kill."O-oh?
>>6157051Big Dog Mikey clicks his tongue as he measures how far he needs to turn a screw. "Y'know Chicago's got its own undercity. And Billy was a underground gunsmith. His signature'd end up on a lot of contraband. Nobody knew how he got so good, but when the Judge came cracking down downstairs, instead of killing the man, he shot the gun out of Billy's hand and clapped him in irons. Gabe gets a crafty kid helping him out, and Durant gets a stay of execution. He's kept on a short leash, and he's smart enough to not test it." The captain finishes tinkering with one of the arms, and pushes it back up to its natural spot. "The thing is with overpop, they'd kill to be on the books. They know people are out for their heads. They'll do a lot to yank their head outta the guillotine. I know Durant has. In a few years, his indenture will be up, and he'll be free to do whatever. Probably not touch a gun ever again, but most certainly not go crawling back underground."Better than killing him outright, you suppose. But really? Slavery? "Is this a common thing in America?" You ask."Not many worth saving," Beth quips.Mikey's not terribly interested in gossip beyond what he's already said. "Anyway, Gabriel's suddenly up in the Stormwatch's business today. I knew it was his idea to come here from the start, but today he just ran out without a word. Dunno what that's all about, but he'll tell it to me straight when he's ready." He passes a glance back at you. "What about you, Fiona? What've you been up to?"
>>6157062Hey QM, you mentioned an American phenotype, and unlike Sumika, Fiona isn't perpetually awed by their physical difference. Did the USA enact some sort of racial purge during the troubled centuries?
>>6157076The MNP did a mass remigration of peoples to their ancestral homelands and returned them to power if possible. By all rights, the Americas should have returned to the Native Americans, but their tribes collapsed during the end times and the MNP has not found sufficient enough diaspora to return them to power, and it would be a stretch to properly define them as indigenous peoples this far after their collapse. For want of a better option, the American regions were turned into smaller nations (Chicago, New Creole, Texas, etc) populated by people who fit the stereotype of that region at some arbitrary cultural peak decided by MNP. Chicago is was filled with mobster and detective noir types of british/germanic origin (though it was the center of global redevelopment due to abnormally well preserved archives), New Creole is largely french and black, Texas is Texas. This is done specifically to fabricate divides between small groups of people that are less destructive than the world-shattering schism that destroyed the old world. That plus a couple hundred years, and communities began to look like themselves rather than a mix of others.So yeah, MNP manipulated lots of shit like that at the start.
>>6157062Oh, this is a good opportunity to bring up some things. "I got a promotion! Not to L3 or anything, but to a specialist role. It's actually pretty funny... have you seen a man around by the name of Percival Blythe?" They shake their heads. "Well, he's an L4 Operator in my new office, which deals with studying Aberrations and what is, or isn't, normal. He's very freakish. He keeps a bunch of drugs on his person and he says they help with chasing down aberrations and seeing spirits. I don't have too much faith in that myself, but he's one of my superiors now.""You're like Kiikoinen then," Beth says stifling a laugh. "Keep work and play separate."... Actually, on that topic. "Blythe says he can see people's spirit animals, even when he's not on the mushrooms. And he called Kiikoinen a cold snake, that's always molting its skin."Mikey looks over and lowers his shades. "What, to his face? That's his spirit animal?" "Blythe actually said that, and to his face," you clarify."And does this Blythe know the guy?"You shake your head. Kiikoinen was never interested in anything that isn't the surface level of Stormwatch, and is definitely not a spiritual person.Thinking for a moment, the big dog pushed his shades back up. "Well, I mean... Kiikoinen could certainly take warming up to someone, for real. He's friendly, sure, but even when we first met, I got the impression he didn't keep anyone around. Not sure why I had that hunch, but it was right. We haven't seen him in weeks." He crosses his arms and looks into the distance. "Can't blame him, we're not going to be here forever. Easy come, easy go."Come to think of it, he's never brought up family. Not many of your agents do, but you've brought up your papa and friends from your village, inviting him to talk about it. If it weren't for the experience he has in the Stormwatch, you'd think he hadn't lived at all.Mikey nods and looks back at you. "But you'll still be here. I don't know about the hocus pocus of freakos in the weird corners of the Stormwatch - we got some of our own - but I think it's a good guess to what he's like. He's got issues and he can pretend to be as pragmatic as he likes, it will affect his performance if it ain't already. You should get him some help, because he's not going to find it in the strangers he keeps looking for."He brings this up, and you remember one of the first times you saw Kiikoinen fight an aberration. Chopping up a cornered hiisi, expressionless. And you remember that he often takes lots of risks in fights. Whatever it is, it's making him reckless.Or have a deathwish.
>>6158840After Beth completes an in-machine training simulation (you were not allowed inside for fear that you would turn it on and not know how to turn it off), the Red Dogs take you out to the Brickstone Lehto where you first met them and enjoy a casual evening over drinks. They teach you some American card games, and you exchange stories of Hiisi, Imps, Jersey Devils, Mothmen, Thunderbirds, and all the strange aberrations both here and abroad.They tell you how Chicago's massive lightning rod system which captures the lightning from their constant storms, you told them of the little sanctuary in the stormdrain where not even Lorppo would dare strike you down in. The two were very surprised to hear that such a feared monster let you walk away, and you're relieved yourself that you weren't flattened today. After some time, you let yourself out as you have plans on the morrow. The Big Dog wishes you luck, and the She-Bitch orders you "smack Lalli's ass the next time he loses his grip." Weird Americans. You head back to the HQ, to your home, and sigh sweet relief as you collapse into bed. Tonight, your mind is not fixated on some imagined child of your own. You imagine the two kids you saw today, so utterly terrified of you. They have every right to be, given what you are, but... You're not sure if you have it in you to cross that river when you get there. The image of your axe sailing into the boy flashes into your mind, and you immediately banish it. You can't stand its sight.
>>6158844Your night's rest was terrible. Lorppo was awful to see on camera, but in person, you could see all the details the camera failed to capture. Every stray mouth, every errant eyeball, things growing where they shouldn't. Before you just saw a mass of flesh that was incoherent and it was pretty awful, but now you are attuned to things better you were able to see all of its details, and truly understand how fucking awful a sight that jotunn actually is. And you spent much of your dreams ruminating on anatomy you wish would have remained nonsensical.Eager to take your mind off of Lorppo, you head on out quickly and begin thinking of things to ask that strange man from Avalon, Percival Blythe. Descending the stairs to the office, you catch yourself reaching out hold a tiny hand and guide down the stairs a little girl that isn't there. Shaking your head to snap back to reality, you remember your highest priority question you've been meaning to ask. It's not like a wild imagination. It's almost like a ghost is haunting you. It has to be something special, right? And while you're at it, you want to ask about Lalli's luonto. But besides talk of spirits, was there anything else that came to mind?>Ask about the missing tree in the Lehto. You'd imagine disrupting a sanctuary like that would be off the table for people who believe in it?>What are we doing about the giant swans that are coming soon? You know you handle the underground, but still.>Ask if he's seen the MNP Deathsquads since the run in with the bug thing. Real quiet like.>Tell him about Lorppo, and how they're living with humans underground, seemingly in peace. Are there tolerated aberrations?>Write-in
>>6158903>Tell him about Lorppo, and how they're living with humans underground, seemingly in peace. Are there tolerated aberrations?>Ask about the missing tree in the Lehto. You'd imagine disrupting a sanctuary like that would be off the table for people who believe in it?
>>6158903>>What are we doing about the giant swans that are coming soon? You know you handle the underground, but still.>>Tell him about Lorppo, and how they're living with humans underground, seemingly in peace. Are there tolerated aberrations?
>>6158903>Ask about the missing tree in the Lehto. You'd imagine disrupting a sanctuary like that would be off the table for people who believe in it?>What are we doing about the giant swans that are coming soon? You know you handle the underground, but still.>Tell him about Lorppo, and how they're living with humans underground, seemingly in peace. Are there tolerated aberrations?
>>6158903>Ask about the missing tree in the Lehto. You'd imagine disrupting a sanctuary like that would be off the table for people who believe in it?I sseriously doubt there are tolerated aberrations, even if they coexist with overpop. After all, we don't officially tolerate overpop themselves, even though they're human beings!
>>6158903>What are we doing about the giant swans that are coming soon? You know you handle the underground, but still.
>>6158941>>6158971>>6158992>>6159002>>6159021Stepping into the musty office of still-living wood, you notice that it's bustling with agents, operators, and clerks. You had figured they were shutting down operations in the Stormdrain for a couple days because of that broadcaster, but this is more than just the low level agents. This is everyone. Not a single person is being permitted to work, not even the L4s. ... Was that actually an Old Oak talking to you about this?The office of the L4 Noita Percival Blythe is a neatly ordered room cut from a rich brown wood; polished, unlike most rooms on this floor here. It is dimly lit from the one north-facing frosted glass window, catching only ambient sunlight that slips through the arching bands of the Stormwatch surveillance complex. Rather than an overhead light, there are bulbed lanterns along the walls, reminiscent of home.Percival is talking to someone who appears to be a researcher, definitely not involved in deployment in any fashion. Though you hear much of the conversation, you don't make much sense of it. Only that they are talking about arterial and venous flows. Flows of what, you don't know. He has seen you by the door, but he continues talking for a minute to reach whatever point he was talking about.In a moment, he dismisses the researcher, who leaves without so much as greeting you. Blythe has his usual tired, but sincere tone as he bids you in. "Fiona. I don't think you had assignments today. Were you looking for some?"You scratch your head bashfully. "I-I came here with a few questions, actually. About Kiikoinen... and myself, actually."Blythe reclines back in his tacky rough-fabric armchair, a bit peeved. "What are you asking me about others that you can't just ask them yourself?""It's about his luonto," you answer.From those words, a soft smile slowly grows on his face, and he gestures to you to take a seat.
>>6159553"Have you seen it?" Percival asks, fascinated with your interest."Yea. And he told me about it. It looked just as he said it did, like you described."Percival pushes himself back up from his lounging position, leaning forward with intent. "We've recorded luonto for a long time. We understand that they do not need to be bound by our ideas of logic, but we also understood that they were strictly naturally occurring animals. And so begs the question, is this a new form of luonto supernatural in more ways than one, or does its presence imply the existence of such a creature in the real world? Can we find it? Is it an aberration in itself? There's so many directions to take this information."You knew his might have been different, but you hadn't considered what his being different actually met. Now you understand Blythe's interest in him a bit better.And he goes on, his tone stumbling down into frustration. "But Kiikoinen isn't being very forthcoming with our queries. He is so... content with being the same as he is. So afraid of opening his mind. So adamant that whatever he is doing now will bring him change." The noita clasps his hands together with a sigh as he looks toward the frosted window. "And so the cold molting snake is his perfect mirror. Upsetting, but we haven't let his noncompliance interrupt our studies. We observe it, make notes, and look for more answers elsewhere. But perhaps he'd be more willing to open up to you? Catch him in a mood when he may speak free of his agnostic shame, glean what you can. We'd appreciate anything we can figure out."With a stutter you interject. "M-maybe sir, but I wanted to ask about my, uh-""Only the Finnish have luonto. You and I do not have them," Blythe answers immediately, with markedly less interest."No, no, it's not an animal," you clarify. "It's a child."Percival turns his head from the window back with a queer expression on his face to look at you. Or at something just behind you."I did wonder what that was," he mutters aloud with a breathy voice and distant mind.
>>6159559"How long have you had them?" The noita asks, with a hint of joy and nary a whiff of jest in his voice.He actually saw them. He's actually talking about them. He's making you talk about them. You've never brought this up to anyone in any level of sincerity as anything more than a hallucination. Gods you're about to feel so stupid.After a bout of nervous laughter, you finally approach the topic. "I think I've been seeing them since I was nineteen.""So long before Finland," he notes. "And you are of German descent?"You nod. "I was born and raised there at least."The noita begins to rapid-fire questions. "Have you ever spoke with them?""I don't think I can have a conversation with them," you answer."Do they have an exact form you can see?""Not really, but I like to imagine theyre a girl who looks like me. Maybe with someone else's eyes.""What do they do, mainly?""Sometimes, when my mind wanders, I feel tiny little fingers grabbing mine. I feel the steps of a child skipping next to me as I walk. When I'm hurt, I can sometimes hear crying.""Have you ever had a child before?"You don't know whether to feel offended that he'd assume you'd break the law like some schalmp, or worried at the implications of that question, but manage to squeak a "no" out during your recoil.He tilts his head. "Truthfully? It is no crime now if they are dead.""No!"
>>6159561With a click of his tongue and a shake of the head, Blythe rocked forward. "If it were some manner of Etiainen, a projection of the future, it would not have manifested in Germany. I had a suspicion that it had something to do with Frau Holle, but I scarce imagine she lets lost children go with strangers..." The tired man scratches his chin, at an intellectual wall. "Your case is also an odd one. Though admittedly, one that needs to be approached with more research into German sources than I've done myself. Or perhaps, it's like Kiikoinen, in that it is something entirely new. All things were new once, and the world is changing."You feel a gaze fraught with concern laid upon you, but you can't tell from where.While you're both at an impasse, you think it's appropriate to change topics. "Another thing. Yesterday, I met Lorppo. In the Lehto."A gentle cackle comes from the avalonian noita as he gets pulled from his deep inquisitive thought. "What an encounter that was, I imagine.""It was friendly with some children I had found there. They knew it by other names. It gave the impression that, to the overpopulation, it was at least amicable? So, since there are aberrations that can live with those in the Stormdrains, I was wondering if there were aberrations could be tolerated, in regular society. In Helsinki, even." The cackle turns into a heavier chuckle. "Well! That's an interesting question. I could talk at length on why the Hiisi aren't accepted and have no intention of being accepted, but there lies a more succinct answer. We accept every aberration we don't notice or care about. Every minor mutation your or my bloodlines have endured since the Calamity is still a mutation, but by our being here, it is an acceptable a mount. There may be others who have endured worse, but are still acceptable, written off as genetic deformity. The mask of humanity slips most clearly when it had never fit at all."Percival's calm, sleepy eloquence and insight was almost reassuring to hear. You heard stories of more kind-hearted aberrations like the Waldleute, and the level of restraint that even Lorppo afforded you reminded you of the cute little stories your father told you from time to time. Not that such a massive monster of unbridled violent potential could be compared to pie baking buschweibchen.
>>6159563One last thing. The Noitas should probably be made aware of this, if it's important. "And about the Lehto. I noticed there was an impression for a tree in its center, but, there wasn't anything there. Would that be affecting the sanctuary there, in some negative way?"He sat up straight. "Oh."There is a long, awkward silence."You noticed."... Noticed what?With a sharp intake, he says "I will attend to that matter at a later date."You were hoping the perplexed face you were making was a loud enough nonverbal question for him to give you an answer, but he clearly stepped right up and over it.Percival rises from his armchair, brushing off his scholarly adornments, and begins speaking with the same intensity that he had when he recruited you to face the Nalkainen. "In fact, there was a matter that concerns you I am aware of, and if nobody else has told you, I'll take the liberty of doing so. You've been selected for a special operation taking place tomorrow. I've been made aware that you were going to visit Leshy at his research facility; once you return, report to Ms. Jousten's office in the Undercroft for a proper briefing and dinner."Special operation? Dinner? With Katriina Jousten? What? "I thought we were getting two days off?""And indeed you would have, if Leshy did not suggest your participation," Percival retorts. "Leshy may subtract this endorsement if you can convince him, if it is your wont to do so." Stepping around his desk to you, he offers his hand. "I would suggest you make good use of your time, Katriina does not appreciate tardiness.""But what about the swans? The, uh, Cygnus-""You don't have to worry about that right now," he assures with a weary voice and absolute certainty.You don't like where this is going.With a very brief dismissal, he leads you out of the room as he accepts another to come talk to him. Your steps toward the stairwell out of this secluded office are slow, your new and ominous assignment a heavy burden on your mind. As you descend the stairs, you find a nice place in the back of your head to put your worries for the time being and focus on the chat with Leshy you wanted to have.
>>6159563>Percival's calm, sleepy eloquence and insight was almost reassuring to hear.>insightHehehehehe
>>6159561Phantom Baby is REAL? Is it FEY? Maybe wicht, rather?>>6159567Here we go, back to the grindset... Can't a lady ever get any rest?
been terribly distracted of late, update right now
>>6159567Even before the Calamity, the climate has been in flux, and warped much of the land along with it. Finland's forests have become exceptionally dense with ground foliage from the late autumn deluge of rainfall and subsequent blizzards that have come to be a common occurrence. When you read up on Finland when studying to join the Stormwatch, studies said that it the region gained something called a "great lake effect" that makes it rain and snow heavily as cold northern winds shift downward over warmer waters. You're not sure if it was the global warming of old, the bombs, the nuclear winter that followed, or the controlled eruption of Yellowstone, but for the past thousand years the planet has been conspiring this day where it would rain on you during the precious few hours of daylight you have as you bike out the Helsinki border checkpoint and through the scarcely maintained forest roads. You wonder what they do on days like these, up at Leshy's botany compound. There's plenty to see on the surface, but you have no idea how much of it is actually underground. Last time you met with the Old Oak, you weren't allowed to meet him in the flesh. He interfaced you through a special tree perched on a hill that was covered in cameras suited for monitoring the gardens. Leshy also had access to a network of cameras attached to trees all across the northern Helsinki forest region.If this mission that Percival has for you, and that call you got from that Old Oak named Zephyr, are related...What the hell does an Old Oak with control of montioring and controlling the filtration the Stormdrain's water system doing that's dangerous enough to warrant such a lockdown on the Stormwatch's own operations? Poisoning the water? Booby traps? All of it? The experts of the situation know, and they'll probably tell you. If not the Stormwatch, then certainly Leshy. Right now, all you can do is just guess.
>>6161535"Is the rain bothering you?" A voice behind you says between exerted breaths.You forgot that you had brought a friend. L1 Kai Jonkeer, a tall and rather fruity man from the flooded Netherlands who accompanied you when you first met Leshy. You've always felt a certain attunement to the world, and just assumed it was natural before realizing some feel it better than others having grown up around it, but Kai is very captivated by nature.There's not too much that you know much about Kai, aside from how good it felt stepping on solid dry land for the first time when leaving Amsterdam. His port city home is made primarily of platforms and giant rafts, so he was surrounded by suffocating artificial smells his entire life. You don't blame him for being so enthusiastic when it comes to leaving cities - the feeling is mutual, though you do notice that he is rather fanatic about how people grow things. Unusual, but you don't hold any reservations at him for his hobbies. You hold reservations because he's Dutch."Yeah," you assure him. "Work has been on my mind, is all, Kai."The dutch man gave a rather elated sigh. "I understand. Dreary stuff. But it feels good to be out here. It just smells great out here!" It does, you guess.You bank onto a barely perceptible trail off the main road, onto a forest trail, and then dismount your bikes to carry them up the barely noticeable path deeper into the woods. Each step through the dense forest floor, you try to clear your mind again. Think, think. What should you ask? What can you ask? You don't have the timeframe of an ongoing mission holding you back from anything. This is a free, casual conversation you can have. It can be anything that he's willing to disclose, and he can just not answer you if you approach a topic too sensitive for either you or Kai to hear.
>>6161538"Hallo, sir," Kai greets a peculiar bush along the trail as he follows you.The bush does not respond for a moment, before whoever wearing it begins to laugh, jiggling the whole mound of foliage. The hole in the branch coming out of it was very odd, you realize. Kai is very perceptive. "You've been verified. No need for introduction, Mr. Jonkheer, Ms. Jarnafeldt. Go in. There's nobody to see us, but don't point us out."Passing you a stupid, happy grin, Kai follows you, humming, like the rain wasn't there at all. Climbing up the hill and cresting over into the cauldron-shaped vale, the tall elk skull clad sniper from before is leaning up against a well-like structure in the middle where the pooling rainwater is funneled into. The many cameras on her horns perceive you, and as you pace down the steep hill, she makes her way toward you, heavy rifle in hand."The old oak doesn't usually take up cordial visits," the tall Norse woman speaks in her burly casual tone. "But I've heard you're not just here to sip tea."The Dutchman steps forward with glee. "I am!"The groundskeeper raises her hand to the jaw of the elk skull helmet. "Ohoho, you'll see. Just head on up."The rain continues beating down on the hood of your jacket. "Is there an upstairs area inside one of these mounds?""No, he's on the hill," she confirms, pointing out the large tree with the black and white wood. "You'll be dry under the boughs."Even when it is raining, you are still not allowed inside? How much does he actually trust you if you can't even be allowed to sit in a lobby?Or is this the only way the old man can talk to people?
>>6161541With a sigh, you stomp up the wooden steps up the hill to the tree over the botanical gardens.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EV8FQpA7IyMNot even the gray downcast skies and torrential waters can mute the bright colors growing in this place. A few workers stand by the plants, observing the soil as water pools and pools and pools within the earthen barriers separating the plots of land growing each different exotic plant. The life grown here is engineered as thoroughly as any technological marvel you can think of, such you could tell by the massive fruits and densely packed berries and grapes in concise, well kept bushes.Above it all stands a black and white tree of exceptional size. It has rooted itself in to the dirt and watches over this garden, clad in unseen cameras and speakers. It's the overseer of this place, and the only way you can talk to the Old Oak Leshy.The pleasant, grandfatherly voice booms, as though across the hall of a manor's study from the seat by the fireplace. "Hello, Jarnafeldt. Jonkheer. Would that the sun could come and greet us too this day, but, alas..."There's a lot of things you want to ask about. Looking around as if to find your thoughts written on a sign somewhere, you peer around and-L1 Jonkheer looks speechless at the genetically modified tree from which the voice of the Old Oak is coming from. And you mean speechless. Beguiled, enraptured. It looks like he's seen the faces of his gods. If there was a crack in the clouds, it would be beaming on his face.Roll Attunement. Two anons, roll 4d6. Target 4.
Rolled 1, 3, 4, 4 = 12 (4d6)>>6161557
Rolled 4, 2, 5, 5 = 16 (4d6)>>6161557
>>6161557it would be funny if in the middle of one of these missions we just win that lottery for having kids.speaking of those, I had a question OP. If we do earn the right to have kids, do only we need to qualify, or would we need to find a man who also qualified?
>>6161651>>6161684Would you two like to reroll this?>>6161688Category 3 Citizens need to find other Cat-3 Citizens to have a maximum of two children (it is polite to just have one). A higher grade of citizen could take anybody they please, and the officials can, official population counts permitting, at the expense of the lottery and all who play it, unilaterally declare any member of overpopulation an official citizen. Generally this happens during large raids where the agents are expected to die and people like Katriina are on the ground for the explicit purpose of shanghaing a person of unique interest and skill into civilized society, but they technically could take someone as a partner.
Guess we're taking that as it lies. Writing.
>>6161651>>6161684Did... Did he get into the Noita stash when nobody was looking?"Kai?" You call out in sincere concern.He looks at you with wide eyes. "Do you... am I- am I seeing things?"You look back at the tree, and... you're going to be honest, you have not a fucking clue what the hell Kai is talking about. Recalling other things that you read about the old world, there were once people who would be so sheltered in their artificial worlds that they would become cripplingly emotional the moment they came into contact with anything on the outside. This poor man's body realized it needed fresh natural air its entire life, and now that he's been getting some he's going hysterical. The dutchman's senses are as fragile as they are sharp.He needs help. As a superior you should be looking out for him, even off duty. Firmly you reach up and grab his shoulde- he's too fucking tall. You grab his jacket and pull him down to look at you in the eye. "Kai, Kai, Kai, calm down! It's normal! There's nothing weird about this. It's like this everywhere. It's... a nice tree, I guess, but it's just a plant. Is there something wrong?"The old man lets out a long drawn out exhale as the rain shakes the boughs, as if he himself was as stressed as Kai was. "Deep breaths. Calm. Calm..." Groaning in frustration, Leshy clicks his lips. "Take a walk around the garden, Kai. I have important matters to discuss with Fiona that I had intended to discuss later - but, seeing as you need time to compose, you should take your time. Head on over to one of the tents. Have tea with one of the gardeners. It would be rude for us to let our guests be in such... duress."Without a word, Kai saunters, his first steps like a baby boy's first few into the world, down the hill, nearly tripping over the sloshing mud and stone before regaining his balance and shaking himself back to his senses.A long, pained groan bellows from beside you. "This is not the first time this has happened. He will come around. Delicate is the heart when it first feels." You imagine he'd pass you a look about now. "I hope this is none too concerning. There are matters of more... grave import we need to discuss.""Yea. I have a feeling," you reply, the rain coming down on you with the same weight of dread you've been feeling all morning."I hope you will be there for him, for others. Like I, regretfully, have not."Oh... scheiße.
>>6161855"So that man on the radio was real? He really was an Old Oak?""Zephyr was... well, he struggled to find a place in this world. And I believe that he always had." The northern skies are dark, cold, and rainy. An unwelcome place for any soul, but yet from that north, the heart of the world yet beats.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FD-2K-VRSELeshy parses his words. "We... our group found him, wandering the desert. He had been walking for so long, exerted so much, that his mind wasn't... all there. Zephyr did not remember a single thing about his life, only that he wanted to walk until he found a good enough place to call home. So we took him in, out of mercy. Back in those days, we were touring majorly as a military company, and-""Who is this we you keep bringing up?""What you call the Old Oaks. We were-... our group was helping MNP secure power, at the time."Really old. Really old. You know MNP been around for centuries... but then again, MNP is always looking to expand, so that it could include more nations under its doctrines. This might be deceptively recent..."And, for lack of anything to keep him occupied as he came along with us, as we trusted him not with any duties as he recovered, we permitted him to engage in the war simulations we brought with us for practice. And he was a prodigy. Within hours, he could calculate trajectories half as fast as any high-end targeting computer we had. He showed promise, and after having heard his worldview and finding it aligned with ours, we had taken him in proper.""And for years, he had wrought havoc on everything Mother Nature's Providence pointed him toward. Zephyr was a sharpshooter, artillery fire direction specialist, naval gunnery officer, pilot, poolshark, anything that he could apply his knack for visual calculus he mastered, and one day, he came to our leader and said that he was tired of scorching the earth and taking life. He was discharged, and given a position where it was assumed he could peacefully spend his days using his skills." "Directing the flow of water to optimize its purity as it reaches the bay does not seem like a job for such a skilled individual. However, as water passes through filters, they leave a trail. He could track the stream of impurities to its sources using the logic of hydroflow and displacement. The water filter system has, for decades, been critical to identifying where centers of overpopulation are located. And he was good at it. But now..."
>>6161865Hearing the story, you can start to see why Zephyr takes every little bad thing the Stormwatch does so personally. "He was still getting people killed. And he was tired of it. But I don't get why he snapped so... violently?"Leshy's voice sinks into a deep ravine that is all too familiar to him. "He wanted to live without taking. But even if he could, he said there would always be predators. Zephyr has been lashing out ever since."There is a reason you are hearing this. There is a very specific reason you are hearing this. And that reason is-"I had called the Deathwatch on him. And it was not enough."Those gas-mask wearing thoroughbred hunting dogs of the world government that were incredibly disappointed by a four-armed murder bug weren't enough to kill him!? What the fuck is this guy made of?!"And now the Stormwatch is seeking to finish the job. There is a trusted and powerful cabal preparing to... put him down, but they request more numbers, and sought me to offer endorsements. Fiona. Jarnafeldt. Your father works with us. Your mother works with us. I see no point in denying you what your forebears have proven well to do. I would like to work with you, and I hope, with this first, we can be of great assistance to one another.""But, this is a truly perilous mission. Like facing down a jotunn, but different. Zephyr has precious little lethal ammunition for him to work his marksmanship, most of his stockpile consisting of compressed air, rubber slugs, birdshot at worst, and you will be provided a selection of Helsinki's finest equipment for the task, but... he wants to die. He will try to kill Katriina, Nonoka, Judge Gabriel, others, and you, at any cost. Because he thinks you are monsters.""If you are not comfortable, I can retract my endorsement. But if you are willing...">Accept the mission - cut down an old oak.>Decline the mission - there is a child you have to see one day.
>>6161874>Accept the mission - cut down an old oak.We have to fight for the future of the children
>>6161874>Accept the mission - cut down an old oak.Completely irrational guess: this Zephyr guy sounds like a secret robot.
>>6161874>Accept the mission - cut down an old oak.Surely if we kill a fucking OLD OAK they let us be grade level 3 and have a kid right. Even if they want us to kill a child, an Old Oak is worth more of em no?
>>6161874>>Accept the mission - cut down an old oak.
