2023-09-20: Dangerous Meetings

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<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Disassembled machines and defunct monitors dominate this part of the warehouse, which from the outside is nondescript except for a keypad entry at each door. Kaguya had to disable the traps to let people in, of course. But she's already gone a long way to dismantling this particular laboratory.

The tubes in which plantlife might live are empty, though there's still a nice little garden of tomatoes and other useful vegetables in a spot under some sunlamps. There are gunsmoke ARMs and ammunition on tables, as well as a few more exotic parts, grenade cores aplenty, and a number of boxed-up magical components like lightning marbles and fire gems.

And Kaguya has set up a chalkboard and a few chairs for people to sit in while they're talking. There's also a basket of individually wrapped candy bars (Kattlelox specials!) and some beer (bottled) on another table, and water next to it. There's a sign: 'don't get greedy' beside them in Kaguya's handwriting.

She is a little restless, a little impatient, dressed in ordinary Filgaian clothes as per usual. Her ARM is hidden under her overlayer in a shoulder holster, but her other ARMs are all over. Some of the machinery is hard to identify...

But it's all got to go.

"We'll get started once everybody sits down and stuff. Take notes or don't, whatever. But you might find this info's important." 

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    Magilou, of course, IMMEDIATELY grabbed a candy bar and bottle of beer with abject greed in her heart.

    And Magilou -- is here! This is somewhat notable, because Magilou's been very scarce ever since Xenobia died. Somehow, though, she still heard about this. Somehow, she's here, right in time to trash the place.

    "I'm not carrying anything heavy," she insists, after a gulp of beer. "That's Ruth work!" JUST VOLUNTEER PEOPLE, WHY DON'T YOU.

    But once she's drained that bottle of beer -- she tosses the empty over her shoulder to go somewhere else -- Magilou pulls out a leather-bound journal. It very much resembles the tomes of Mayvin's Accounts, except of course that Magilou's name is Mazhigigika Miludin do Din Nolurun Dou, so they can't be one and the same.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

The interrupted ambush of Shijie left... a lot of unanswered questions. For many reasons. (Heck, the almost-invasion of Meria Boule also had it sown share of unanswered questions.) So when Hannah got word that explanations would be offered, in exchange for some work and manual labor (neither of which she ever shied away from), she was determined to be there. She's dressed in her normal drifter attire of a denim jacket and jeans, with a well-worn satchel behind her, and, of course, Zephyr, a red-tailed hawk, riding on her shoulder.

Upon entering the warehouse, though, despite the tempting nature of the chalkboard and chairs that promise learning, her attention is instead drawn to all of the leftover technology on set out. First the ARMs, then she casually picks up a grenade core to inspect it. She holds one up, calling, "Oh, Kaguya, what's the yield on this?" but sets it down when she spots the monitors.

"... Oh, is that a real cathode ray tube display?"

Zephyr chirps at her, and Hannah huffs. "I know, I know, but a little peek won't hurt..." Zephyr chirps a bit more forefully and she sighs. "Fiiiiine, but if they get packed up before I get a chance to check it out..."

Hannah considerately grabs just one candy bar and a bottle of water. To Zephyr she says, "Don't worry, we'll get you somethin' special when we're done." She sits down in front of the chalkboard, in the front row even, and pulls out a journal to take notes.

She's trying very hard not to catch Magilou's notice though, just staring at her notebook and the board. After what she said last time... 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida took one bottled water and one candy bar and then took a seat. She's wearing work clothes--jeans, utility boots, a flannel shirt open over a sleeveless top, /scandalous--and visibly unarmed. Since she arrived, she's been glancing around the shop, trying to identify what she can out of pure curiosity. The horticultural equipment is sophisticated, but Ida recognizes thesun lamps, and those are some nice looking tomatoes. They aren't even trying to eat anyone!

    "Don't touch anything that's glowing," she says, to Hannah. She's not touching anything without permission, because this is Kaguya's shop and Kaguya's tools. (Ida knows how irritating it is when people sneak into your shop and take your stuff, ETHIUS.)

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

Kaguya has things to tell everyone, and Jacqueline is willing to listen. There's been a lot of activity from the Veruni, of late... so, this kind of meeting would have been necessary sooner or later.

Jacqueline arrives on time, taking note of the state of the laboratory. It's clearly in the process of being dismantled... She supposes it makes sense that Kaguya would want to relocate. She offers her a small smile as she arrives and takes a seat.

"Hi, Kaguya. How are you doing?" Jacqueline asks. It's been a little bit since the last time they met. The others get a nod of greeting, as well. She nods back to Kaguya, then. "I'm ready."

Jacqueline, of course, already has her notebook out and ready for notetaking. She'd never pass up that opportunity. 

<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.

    Ruth is among those gathering and present, shuffling in with the usual gait of someone who just manages to carry what they have. Occasionally she pauses to stare at remnants of traps disabled. Veruni technology and methods aren't the same as all the repurposed Zeboim-era technology that got unearthed and salvaged for purposes of continued warfare.
 
     Some small details cut a little too close to those times. She's on the verge of risking disassociation when Magilou's yelling brings her back to the present.
 
     "I have a bad shoulder," Ruth says. This does not stop her from carrying a rifle that was originally intended for sharpshooting specialists of larger stature. This is an easy call-out.
 
     She's still overly dressed in too many layers in oversized clothes, as per her normal. Her ability to thermoregulate isn't tested by the temperature around her any more, which is always an obstacle in passing for 'normal-ish' in some climates.
 
     She takes her seat without grabbing any treats or snacks eventually. 

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Lan doesn't plan on taking notes. Which is a bad move, because her memory is notoriously spotty about things like 'important information that she might need later'. And names, and places, and how sayings are actually supposed to go.

    (She's one hundred percent going to ask Gwen later about anything she doesn't get, which may also be a bad move for a similar reason.)

    Lan looks at the snacks laid out on the table, and the beer, and nods. She opens up her rucksack and digs around until she finds her stash of homemade jerky, setting it out on the table next to the candy bars. She loves a potluck! (Lan, nobody even mentioned a potluck.) Satisfied, she takes two bottles of beer and a candy bar back to Gwen, handing the candy and a bottle over to the redhead. "I have no idea what any of this stuff is," she announces cheerfully as she twists the cap off of her beer and takes a sip. "Except for the plants, I mean." Because everybody knows what tomatoes are. 

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

Venetia Vuong has come forth to learn more regarding the VERUNI - Threat, or menace?

Probably both.

However, Kaguya has proven herself to be at least sort of kind of on the side of the angels, which is a significant portion of why Venetia was willing to come here at all. She also did not come alone.

Arriving, she eyes the sign, and selects one (1) candy bar and one (1) beer from the collection. She opens the latter first and takes a healthy swig from it.

And another beer/candy bar combo are taken by --

            JIMMY CHAN
            ACTION BACHELOR

YES: Another person from Void 41 is slouching in behind Venetia. He is carrying a STENOGRAPHY PAD. Jimmy will be TAKING NOTES. Jimmy is much as always, and he just straight up drinks the entire beer in one go.

"Generally a good policy," Venetia agrees with Ida. 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied is, of course, here to support her daughter in her endeavours, but the dangers of telling Mom that you're moving is that she might start to do too much. Especially when she's in charge of something like the Outreach. It might've taken a lot of explanation to stop her from fussing and ordering a bunch of cardboard boxes and packing material and gum tape and, and, and, my goodness Kaguya your grenade cores will need care in transit let mom handle it--!!

    Riese, please put down the grenade core. It's embarrassing momly behaviour. r
    Ida's chiding does get her to stop as well, and she clears her throat. "I just thought I would help have things be done in an orderly fashion......" 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    Where has Gwen been? Trying to reassemble her nest egg, of course, as a majority of it was lost during her whirlwind tour.

    She's missed a lot, unfortunately, while she's had her head to the grindstone.

    "Heey, Kaguya. Hope I ain't too late for the party." Giving a casual salute with two fingers as she walks in, Gwen just acts like she's been there the entire time. Like Magilou, she's grabbed a candy bar and a beer, obeying Kaguya's sign to the letter. After all, why not, if Kaguya's put all the effort of making a sign for it? She likes Kaguya.

    She wants to know what Kaguya feels is important to tell them.

    "Yeah, never touch a science experiment, unless you're in one, as Auntie would say~" Gwen casually remarks to Hannah and Ida, before plopping down into a chair and crossing her legs. "Just 'member which hand y'use so y'don't rub your nose with it, hehe."

     Her gaze strays to Kaguya for a serious moment, a sober note behind those grey blue eyes. ... Then, when Lan hands her a bottle and a bar of candy, Gwen doesn't say anything and just gives Lan a thumbs up. "Hee, just in case, eh? If I knew these was a potluck, I would've spoiled everyone~" 

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth wanders the lab with glowing eyes and careful attention, standing on his tip toes and crouching low as he hunts idly about. Is he looking for something? Yes. But he's not going to find it here. (He still has to check!) Upon hearing sitting is required, Azoth ushers himself back to the seated area and plops down, perched obediently on the edge of a chair.

He, naturally, opts out of taking any snacks.

While Azoth had not been involved in the most recent violence, the Veruni -- and especially Kaguya -- were not entirely off his radar. Certainly not after the incident with Demetrioi, where hopes had been pinned and then destroyed on more than one level. And he wasn't of much help in all of that, sometimes because of efforts he couldn't make, and also because of the ones he could -- and had.

That, and Azoth's a horrible little vessel of data collection at all hours of the day, every day, but nevermind it.

"I can handle a fair share of weight," he offers in Ruth's place. "I'm stronger than I look." That would be fortunate, given his size. 

DC: The current IC year is 505 PC, 4072 GY, and 10372 SD.

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    Avril had been absent a time from Filgaia, and those in the Outreach -- among others -- know the reason why. The threat that the incident in Meria Boule had posed to her had been too much to ignore. Until the heat had died down, so to speak, the once and future Veruni Queen had though it best to retreat to Lunar and rethink strategy, as it were.

    It may well only be because Shijie Rohay is dead that she has made a return to Filgaia. But it is mainly because Kaguya is the one who asked and arranged this meeting that she is here as 'herself', more or less. Avril wears no disguise this day: here within the warehouse there is no need.

    Perched carefully on a metal folding chair, her gaze is in the moment not fixed anywhere in particular -- as if there were instead some point of interest in the midst of all these comings and goings. Her hands are folded in her lap and she is otherwise still, as if nearly a statue. 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Dean came by to help out--of course; helping is what Dean does--but he absolutely brightened at the snacks and grabbed a candy bar and a water to scarf down real quick. (Dean has never developed a taste for beer. Between this and the fact that his teen growth spurt was a whole two inches, it's no wonder people keep thinking of him as a boy even though he's well into his twenties now.)
    
    He squints at Ruth when she claims to have a bad shoulder even though she's carrying a rifle. But then, Ruth didn't specify which shoulders, so he says nothing. Instead, he grabs a second water and candy bar and brings them both over to Avril, next to whom he sits. He'd already told her about how things went down with Shijie, so... he kind of understands her overall quiet here.
    
    "I bet we can remember it," Dean tells Kaguya. To the others in general, he gives a friendly wave. Lots of people he knows here! It's almost like the Drifter community is actually pretty small. 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    "It's all right!" Ida says, offering Riese a slightly sheepish smile because both her hands are full. "I appreciate the paperboard boxes. The heavier items will need something sturdier, but I think those will go a long way, right Kaguya?"

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

Questions are why Kaguya is here! Though the questions she gets to start aren't the ones she expects. "Pretty high," Kaguya says of the grenade yield, "I use a booster in the ignition." Pause. "Sure is. You familiar? I don't see a lot of humans who know what those are..." She sounds at least a little impressed, or maybe just surprised.

The tomatoes are, indeed, not trying to eat anyone.

"I'll take care of the glowing stuff. I've got a plan. Some of it's too dangerous to be moved."

"Oh hey, Jay." Kaguya is a little awkward--but that pleasant greeting gets a small smile out of the Veruni. "I'm... okay. Little awkward with my people these days. How's it going?"

"...Mom," Kaguya says. "It's OK. That's why I got all these people together." It's... awkward, with her birth family, but Riesenlied is Riesenlied as ever. That's nice.

"You can supervise," she suggests. Then she looks over Venetia and Jimmy, and considers Jimmy's powerful beer actions. He's gonna take notes...

"Oh hey," she says. "More snacks, courtesy Lan. Good work, Lan." A laugh. "It's cool. I've disassembled the really dangerous stuff. And none of the guns have ammo in them, though you want to be careful even so."

"It's cool Ruth, no boxes for you. I'm counting on you being able to dispose of some of these ARMs, though. I've got more than I need and I don't want to spread them around." Pause, to Azoth, "Then you can get the monitors."

She looks over Avril next... and then nods, after a moment, as if deciding something. Then to Dean, "Yeah, you're not bad at remembering stuff." Pause. "Thanks for coming, everybody. I'll try to make this useful to justify the work you're gonna do for me."

A breath. Kaguya moves ahead of the folding chairs to the chalkboard, and looks out over the room.

"OK, so." Kaguya writes on the chalkboard the word 'Veruni'. "The Veruni are an ancient starfaring people who landed on Filgaia about a hundred and fifteen years ago. They immediately attacked, and were repulsed only by the intervention of Filgaia's most powerful and technologically advanced societies. Even so, they took over part of Eldru immediately. They've got territory all over the planet."

"The Veruni would tell you that we are stronger, smarter, faster, usually longer-lived, and tougher than humans, and thus worthy to rule you. Some of those things are objectively true, but what people don't know is that the Veruni's technology is deteriorating as the people who could maintain it are dying off."

"That's because the Veruni are under attack by the planet itself--by a disease known as the 'VR Factor'--the Veruni Rejection factor. This, rather than causing us to rethink our approach, has made the Veruni even more desperate than before--which means we're backed into a corner, and we don't like you."

"Now, why is this our problem?" Kaguya gestures at the room. "Because even in decline, the Veruni are a powerful opponent who want to rule the planet."

"For those people in the Control Zones, this is already reality. The Veruni only value strength. There are exceptions, but for the ruling party? This is absolutely the case. I'm not gonna get you bogged down with our factional politics... But with few exceptions--those of you who were out at Pentagulia met some--the Veruni are not your friends. Not even the ones who seem honorable and decent, so long as they support the Radicals."

Then, "Yeah, the boxes are handy. Any questions so far? There's a bit more." 

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    "You're big, you can handle it," Magilou assures Ruth. And promptly reaches over to grab a second candy bar once she's polished off the first. The CHEEK. It's fine, Lan brought more.

    Tragically, she meets Hannah's gaze entirely deliberately, with a VERY sharkish smile. Her stealth roll... it was contested...

    But give Magilou some credit: she does take notes.

    "Soooo," she says, once Kaguya pauses for questions.

    "If the Veruni are all space-faring supergeniuses, why didn't they go conquer Lunar once Filgaia attacked them with this VR Factor?" Beat. "Aside, of course, from the fact that they'd have to contend with me."

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    It's good, to have a reminder of all this; the Veruni have been her problem ever since she was managing the Photosphere's activities -- her first engagement with the Veruni actually was when they tried to assault the Photosphere a long long time ago, after all -- but the context has certainly changed since then. There are more people to work with; reasonable ones, that have their own viewpoints and perspectives.

    "I know, I know..." Riese does look embarrassed. "I will leave it to you. I am here merely as your support."

    There is a quiet bob of her head. "I first met the Veruni when I was struggling to find roads to acceptance for our people -- the Hyadeans. There, I met such wonderful people like you, Kaguya, and Avril and Dean and Rebecca as well..." Well, Dean and Rebecca aren't Veruni, but she considers them just as close among the group. "The news of a less-radical faction is new to me, however. Engagement with them may well find us a road where we have not before."

    A quiet squint of her eyes. "I have given the VR Factor a lot of thought. When I last communed with the Guardians, they were more amenable to support Hyadean presence on the planet with Mother deposed. It is difficult, but... I know it is not impossible to find a solution." 

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

 
Venetia takes a seat near the front. Jimmy sits in the middle back. Venetia looks around at others coming in; Azoth gets a nod, so does Dean, so do several other people as she sips from her adult beverage. Jimmy, for his part, gets his pad open and his pen out, because that's right: he's doin this up in shorthand.

Jimmy begins to write furiously as Kaguya speaks.

Venetia crosses one leg over the other and listens.

"Yes," Venetia offers, raising a hand up. "You may not have the answers but I'm going to broach them."

"First -- why did they come to Filgaia and not Lunar? Lunar would seem more commodious -- yes," Venetia says, pointing with her bottle, "exactly; and after they began falling ill they departed."

"Second, Are they settlers from another nation? Refugees, like the -- Hydaeans," Venetia says, possibly entirely because she can see Riesenlied out of the corner of her eyes, "turned out to be in the main? Why come here? It seems an awful far place to settle a somewhat difficult planet, and it sounds like they nearly died in the attempt." A beat or two passes.

"I bet you," Venetia says to Magilou, "they had a lot of their equipment damaged in the initial landing." 

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

"That's... understandable." Jacqueline replies with a nod. WIth everything that's happened... "I'm doing alright, myself. I've been taking advantage of the relative quiet."

Riesenlied gets a smile, as well - but it isn't long before Kaguya's explanation starts and Jacqueline focuses down, beginning to take notes. Some of this she already knew, but is explained in a bit more detail than before. Everything is recorded, and once Kaguya pauses for question, Jacqueline thinks to herself for a moment.

A lot of good questions are asked. The one most immediately on her mind, as she taps her writing utensil against her cheek, is...

"Do we have any way of contacting this friendly faction?" Jacqueline asks. "I never met them myself, so I've only heard what's been said by those who went to Pentagulia." 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida eats the last bite of the candy bar, folds up the wrapper, and pockets it for later disposal. In its place, she draws a little moleskine notebook and pen, and flips to a fresh page. As Kaguya speaks, Ida takes notes like the attentive college student she was...

    But in shorthand so dense it acts in part as a cipher. This is potentially dangerous information. Something occurs to Ida as Kaguya mentions 'VR Factor', and she frowns--but she decides not to comment on it. That's Kaguya's story to tell.

    "Mother was the keystone, wasn't she?" Ida says, to Riesenlied. "She wanted to consume Filgaia. To the Guardians, she was an existential threat; the Hyadeans were accessories."

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Azoth smiles brightly and waves to those who give him their own glances and greetings. Hello Drifters! It really is something of a small community...

When Kaguya calls Riesenlied 'mom', Azoth straightens, but does not comment. Once again the unlike comes together as family. (Somewhere in all that code, a variable ticks up.)

"I might be able to help with glowing stuff, too!" Azoth chirps. "Buuut I'll start with the monitors. Real efficient and gentle-like."

He falls quiet to listen to Kaguya's explanation in its entirety. No notes visibly taken. Azoth's data recordings are internal. But the timeline, the nature of the Veruni's beliefs, and then the VR Factor... That alone explains quite a bit of what happened with Demetrioi. If the planet, or even a piece of it, could have been terraformed to accept the Veruni, then the VR Factor would cease to be a problem.

There is a deep temptation to ask how the Veruni define strength, but Kaguya did just say she didn't want to get into the politics, and he would not be able to annoy the right people with that philosophizing in the here and now.

"Why the desire for rule? Dedicating resources to conquest with such a prominent illness in the population seems a terrible longterm risk... unless someone thinks there's something to gain on that front."

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    If she looks like she is doing anything at all other than waiting for Kaguya to begin, one might say that Avril appears to be steeling herself for the discussion that is to come. After all, she knows of the Veruni quite well at this point.

    "...If I may interrupt, Kaguya," Avril says at last, once Kaguya begins to speak of the arrival of the Veruni on this world and of their nature as an people from another world.

    And then she proceeds to do precisely that: interrupt.

    "What you say is true, but it is not the whole truth. The Veruni originated from Filgaia. They fled this world as it collapsed near the end of the Zeboim era, and sought life on another world. Yet it was not to be, and in time they were forced to return to their home." Briefly, Avril closes her eyes. "...Only to find that they were no longer seen as natives of Filgaia."

    So how does she know this one?

    Her gaze turns towards Venetia and Magilou as they wonder where Lunar fits into this schema. "I have my own thoughts, yet Kaguya would know of the matter best, I believe." In other words, she's going to make Kaguya explain this one... 

<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.

    Ruth's eye travels at the familial relationship Riesenlied and Kaguya developed between one another in some span of time and story before her place was taken along the closely-knit Drifter community, when Magilou once again brings her back to focusing on the world outside her head.
 
     Magilou is completely right, which is a statement surely always thought but almost never spoken.
 
     "I can do that," she replies to Kaguya's choice on the division of labor. She's already eyeing some of the ARMs and recalling pieces of her Etone days. Were the years following her desertion of the Order kinder, she might have eked out a living maintaining gunsmoke ARMs - but the Order of Ethos was right there and the golden standard.
 
     The Order is now gone and *that* service industry is a real wild west these days, but...
 
     Some of what Kaguya shares is startling enough her mind can't really wander along into the usual comfort-in-discomfort. Ruth still hasn't taken a seat, though.
 
     "Even years ago, in Celesti we thought the Veruni a myth." It's some context. Ruth is longer-lived than most of the gathered in her forties - a good sign about how well their presence was contained, all told.
 
     Avril gives further context - they were Filgaian natives so long ago, left near the end of Zeboim, and...
 
     "Who displaced them?" 

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Lan gives a cheery wave to Kaguya, and tilts her beer bottle towards Azoth. She is trying not to catch Magilou's attention yet, mostly because she's already going to need to pay attention to one supergenius and cannot afford to be distracted by a second.

    She settles in next to Gwen in the provided folding chairs, leaning her shoulder briefly against hers before straightening up to pay attention as Kaguya approaches the board.

    A first foray into explanation is given. And once again, people have come from space to Filgaia.

    It would have been really nice, Lan thinks, if everybody could have shared it. If there was enough to share.

    Wait. If the Veruni are from space, and Ethius and Homer are from space, does that mean they could also be Veruni???
    When there's an opening for questions, Lan slowly raises her hand. "Do uh... all the Veruni look just like huma-- oh."

    So maybe Homer isn't one.

    THAT STILL LEAVES ETHIUS 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Ooh, jerky! Dean didn't spot Lan's addition to the snack table at first, but now that he's sit down, he notices it, and it sure does look delicious. He'll have to grab some later (if there's any left (MAGILOU)).
    
    Right now, though, Kaguya's started talking. Dean gives her a supportive thumbs up, then listens.
    
    Some of this he already knew, of course. It's no less dire for it. He beams a bit at Riesenlied and to a lesser extent Venetia, but... it's a heavy topic they're discussing. Good thing at least some of them are taking notes.
    
    "I think so too! There's got to be a solution where everyone can survive," Dean tells Riesenlied. "Maybe we should get together later and talk about it?" To Kaguya, he says, "Nope, keep going." But then *other* people ask questions, and some pretty good ones, so he adds, "Oh, never mind! Answer those first. Then keep going!"
    
    Avril has something very important to add first, though. Dean gives her a nod too, resting a hand on her shoulder if she allows it. There's stuff *he* could add in too--but this is Kaguya's show, so he'll leave it to her. 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah looks interested when Kaguya mentions using a booster. "Oh really? What kind? It's okay if you don't wanna say, if it's some kinda trade secret or somethin'." About the monitors, she nods, "Well, mostly only ever read about 'em. Ain't seen many working ones..."

She's dearly hoping she does, in fact, get to see them in action, but that might have to wait for another time.

Hannah blinks and looks to Ida and Gwen. "Oh, those should be chemical explosives." She glances to Kaguya for confirmation, then back to Ida. "They should be relatively safe to handle without a trigger mechanism installed..."

Zephyr chirps happily when Lan puts the jerky out, taking off from Hannah's shoulder to swoop over and neatly pick up a piece in his beak, then retreating to a high perch to tear into it with talon and beak.

Kaguya calling Miss Riesenlied 'Mom' doesn't even make her bat an eye. Considering her own relationships to those she used to be close to...

Hannah very quickly looks away when Magilou meets her gaze. (Ruth might notice a spike of anxiety in tht reaction, too.)

Hannah greets those that she recognizes among the faces assembled, but pipes down when Kaguya starts explaining. From space, and rejected by the very planet itself... Hannah frowns as she contemplates that. VR factor... Radicals...

Wait, the Veruni were from Filgaia originally? Advanced tech that took life to the stars... and then got lost... Even knowing that Filgaia and Lunar are linked that's still surprising.

Kaguya asks for questions, and Hannah raises a hand out of habit. "So the environmental suit Xue was wearing before... was that meant to keep out this VR factor? Was it the same for Amaterasu's armor?" The armor that got breached during their fight... 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Wait, hold up." Gwen did wait until Kaguya asked for questions, but she's definitely shocked. "Y'sayin' the Veruni are also from space too? Like the Hyadeans? But obviously from a different place, since... there's a lot of sky n' space up there." Gwen vaguely gestures to the ceiling, as if to illustrate her point.

    Glancing towards Magilou, Gwen supposes aloud, "maybe it was because it was hidden? Like, if you look up in the sky, no one can see Lunar as Lunar, right? We just see the moon. Who's to say it wasn't th'same for the Veruni?"

    "The Hyadeans were a race that had gotten taken over by Mother, from what I know. If things hadn't turned out th'way they did, we might've become the next Hyadeans once this planet failed. Though, Gwen does wince at the idea of calling her home planet a puddle, Venetia's point makes a lot of sense. "I think y'got a point with the Veruni, though, Venetia. A lukewarm puddle in the desert might as well be an oasis if y'got nothin' else."

    Then, Kaguya mentions the VR Factor. "......" While it's not new news, as Gwen knew the effect it had on Kaguya, Gwen frowns, thinking back to the news she's gotten from the Little Twister orphanage, and the wider amount of children who have struggled, as well as died, in recent years. She and Silas, the current head, had wondered if it was due to the town's general economy and geography, as bad as it already was, taking a nosedive.

    "Volsung n' his lot don't wanna share the planet with anyone else if they had a choice. Whatever measures we take, we need to be real careful-like." Maybe Auntie could help, if she asked her old contacts... but that would put her in danger too. "I don't think they'd hesitate t'kill off their own kin, 'specially with Kartikeya there to do the dirty work."
     

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Trade secret. I used to be more willing to share my tech... but I saw on Lunar why that was a mistake. I may be able to tell you later, but not until I learn to trust you more. No offense."

Pause. "But yeah, chemical explosives. And the glowy stuff I've mostly defanged."

For Magilou, "As far as they knew until recently, Lunar was an uninhabitable moon. Now that they know, they're too entrenched to move on. ...Of course, I gave them a foothold on Lunar, but they were too arrogant to take advantage of it." Pause. "And... the VR Factor is slower on Lunar, but it's still there. It would only delay the problem."

"So that's why they didn't settle on Lunar; they lacked the resources to terraform what they knew as a barren world, and now that they're already here, there's no point in uprooting just to buy a little time."

She then looks to Riesenlied, and gives her a litle smile. "It's okay." She remembers meeting them too. "...You gave me a family when I was estranged from my own, distant. Now I have two of them... and now I'm even more estranged from the others."

"I agree--I think there's a way to stop the VR Factor, if we can get through to the Guardians... but with the Veruni in open war with the planet itself, it doesn't seem likely that we can bridge that gap right now."

Kaguya mysteriously doesn't talk about contending with Magilou though.

Contacting the friendly faction... "They're called the Moderates," Kaguya says. "I have contacts with them now," she explains to Jay, "But they're mostly concerned at the moment with avoiding the Radicals. I'm not sure what help we can expect from them until things change, aside from periodically sweeping in to save our asses like they did in Pentagulia."

Kaguya notices Ida's frown--and nods. "I'll explain something related to VR Factor in a bit, that's more personal. First I want to go over the general info."

Azoth has a question that garners a look from Kaguya. "You know that, and I know that, but conquest is what they know; the very idea of cooperation is essentially denying our culture. Further, they believe they can overcome the disease through various means. ...And that's true. There are ways to overcome it, though none that have worked for our people as a whole."

But Avril's interruption gets a nod. "Go ahead."

Avril explains, and, "That's exactly why. Filgaia is 'ours', so goes the thought. ...But the truth is that we abandoned Filgaia in its time of need, to save ourselves. No wonder the Guardians don't view us as part of their people anymore." She sounds... angry, on one level. Perhaps she has reason to be.

For Ruth, "It's in the Veruni's best interest to be viewed as myths--that's why Shijie Rohay's gamble at Meria Boule was so dangerous. That's why she had to be stopped, even by the Radicals--because you humans do have the numbers to overcome us, if you unite." But who displaced them? "Solaris and Shevat."

"The Veruni look like--well, me, but usually bigger. We mostly have pointed ears, and some of us have more distinct features unlike humans--my internal systems are a little different, for instance--and we trend tall. But we're not that different from humans, though few Veruni would admit it."

She nods to Dean. "I do hope there's an answer... But we'll see. I'd be willing to talk about it, but not with everybody. Sorry, guys; there's some sensitive info that I can't reveal to everyone. But i'm trying to share as much as I can."

She looks to Hannah, then. "That's right. The Veruni wear containment suits to keep out the environment of Filgaia; it's harmful to us in even minor ways. ...But to be perfectly honest, it doesn't really work. I got VR Factor in cold stasis, completely insulated from the world. It hits at random. Starting with the weakest."

"...So to sum; the Veruni left Filgaia and returned as conquerers. They didn't know Lunar was inhabited, and our ship won't move anymore anyway. Solaris and Shevat managed to repel us. The VR Factor is trying to destroy us, and the Radicals are fighting back as best they can. There are some of us who might be allies one day, but are handling their own business right now. And..."

"Shijie Rohay gave a dangerous maneuver that threatened to unite the world against the Veruni. It didn't, it looks like--but it was still risky. And..."

She nods to Gwen. "Definitely, definitely, definitely don't involve Frea. Even I was going to pretend to go along with them for a while longer, until sis figured it out. ...So I'm in danger! Ha ha ha."

"Whatever. Anyway." 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    Riesenlied does not find herself having to answer Venetia -- Avril explains that the Veruni were once of Filgaia. Magilou's question of why not Lunar is a curious one, though. Perhaps they did, and were rebuffed; she's not an expert on what happened there. Jacqueline is already asking the salient questions, as well as taking notes. She's very reliable in that way.

    "Yes," Riesenlied nods to Ida, on the topic of the 'keystone'. "Which is why I wondered if a similar arrangement existed... I full admit the Guardians are not..." A pause. "The best at explaining themselves, at the best of times. There was, after all, a time when the Guardians simply rejected us out of hand, with no explanation as to how we could resolve matters."

    Azoth's enthusiasm is infectious, as is Dean's; it's good to know the daring boy's optimism hasn't settled one bit. Hannah's curiosity is certainly charming too; she has to make a note to invite her to the Fereshte's innards at one point, perhaps.

    Her expression softens when Kaguya mentions of how she was estranged from her family when she offered one -- and now she's even more estranged from the others.

    "... I know it is difficult. There was a time when we, too, were estranged from the rest of the Hyadeans. But we had to persist... because we understood that it was the right thing to do."

    Kaguya explains this faction. The Moderates. And Kaguya's got a contact with them now... that's brilliant! It is a ray of hope, on making way on that inroad. 

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

Venetia's brow knits at what Avril says. "Well, that explains why they came this way, when there are doubtless other planets out there to badger." rude, Kaguya is right THERE

"I wonder where they went that turned out so poorly," Venetia muses. "Obviously there are other habitable planets... I know of at least one, and in fact given the timing I'm wondering if perhaps he was shot down in the fracas..."

She takes another sip of her beer, thinking about this. There's a lot to think about.

"They certainly aren't," she comments to Riesenlied. "But it's like a novel, I suppose: if everyone sat down and talked their problems out, we'd all be home in time for supper. Probably there's all sorts of apocalyptic disasters that do get averted. We might be averting one right now!"

"Write that one down, Jimmy," Venetia instructs the stenography. Jimmy does so... with resentment.

"It seems they'd need a motivator," Venetia comments, about the Moderates. "Some reason for your average Veruni to think: Those are my fellows." 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida's brows rise at Kaguya's description of Lunar. "The magic is that good," she remarks. Of course, people can just wait a little while, go outside, and look up; the Old Moon is as barren-looking as it's ever been, from Filgaia's surface. Ida still hasn't forgotten the first time she saw Filgaia in the sky, and all the feelings that went with it. She simply nods when Kaguya makes that note about VR Factor.

    Notably, Ida is less gobsmacked about the concept of the Veruni being aliens than the concept of them being Filgaians. As Avril explains, Ida turns to look at her, brows still arch. That raises more questions. "I... remember what happened when Volsung tried to capture Rek-Gora. That feeling, I... it was just hatred. I know I may be drawing a correlation, but--"

    Then Gwen casually mentions 'Auntie Frea', and Ida double-takes. "She's Veruni?"

    Ida winces, a little, as Kaguya confirms what she suspected. "Are you... doing better now?" she asks, a little hesitantly. 

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    Magilou grabs a third candy bar and just lobs it at Ruth, entirely without warning. Candy bar to the chest, and she's to blame. "Snack attack!" Why is she bullying Ruth so much today?!

    (It's definitely not because she can recognise the way Ruth's eyes keep proverbially glazing over.)

    Kaguya doesn't comment on contending with Magilou... because she's wise enough not to, Magilou thinks. Still, she nods, and scribbles down some more notes.

    She does snicker when Kaguya says the Veruni trend tall, though, with a shit-eating 'I didn't say anything' grin.

    "You? In danger? Perish the thought." Magilou dismisses that last thought, underlining it in the process.

<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.

The Moderates. Jacqueline nods, and 'hm's to herself as Kaguya explains their situation.

"...I see. So they have their own problems to deal with, too." Jacqueline considers. "It would be too much to put our own on their shoulders when they're already having to worry about protecting their own people. We'll just have to take what help we can get, and be ready to see what we can give in return, as things happen."

She quiets down, then, continuing to listen as she takes notes. The Guardians and the Veruni... it certainly seems like a tall order, getting both sides to get along. It's... going to take a lot. 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

"No offense taken, Kaguya. Was just curious." Curiosity is a trait Hannah has in abundance, for good or ill. "We're all entitled... to our secrets."

No heavy thoughts there, certainly.

Hannah will absolutely enjoy seeing the innards of the Fereshte more--she was awe-struck enough taking the airship ride over to help with the reconstruction at Harmonde...

More notes, as more explanations come, even if there are definitely some names she does not recognize that other people seem to. "You got VR factor even in cold storage?" Hannah is guessing that's some kind of hibernation, but the important thing is... measures to keep it out don't seem to work. "So it's probably not chemical or biological then..." she mutters to herself, sketching out some ideas in her journal.

Out loud though, she asks, "If VR factor is the planet's way of combating the Veruni, why hasn't it chosen a similar method for other threats? Is it just because they came from this planet originally?" 

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

With Avril's interruption, Azoth leans forward on his chair enough to look at her, his mouth a perfect 'o' of surprise. He blinks once, then twice, each slow movement of his eyelashes audible with a mechanical clickclack. Then he turns back forward, tapping his chin and searching his own memory banks in futility. Not even the faintest scrap of data in his memory from that time.

"How many of the Veruni know that?" he asks Avril.

Back to Kaguya, he winces, with a glance to Gwen's added observations. "So they're still 'us or them', no matter how self-destructive, huh? Sorry. I don't mean to rub any salt into the wounds." It just doesn't seem logical... There must be a piece he's not understanding. But it sounds like there are those that disagree. There is hope in that.

But as to what displaced the Veruni... Ah. Solaris. Again. Of course. Azoth should have put that at the forefront of his guesses as to way everything is more of a mess now than ever before.

"Hey, hey, not whatever." Azoth frowns at Kaguya. "Is that something we can mitigate?"

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    The Guardians are not known for their solid grasp of humanoid-style communication. "Yeah, it's... definitely mostly a feelings kind of thing," Lan admits, perhaps just a little sheepishly. It works for her most of the time, but...!

    Somehow it feels a little bit like trying to make excuses for a batty auntie...? 

<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.

    *thunk*
 
     Magilou's deadly witch ninja snack bar toss wedges a snack between some coat buttons. If that were a knife, that could've been the knife that felled a terrible monster!!!
 
     Terrible ones. She's arguably very good at being a monster.
 
     She takes the snack in hand, considers, and opens it gently and daintily. She's been repressing hunger subconsciously again. The moment there's an opening of tasty goodness, chomp. Greedily. Kind of a miracle she didn't just try to eat the wrapper with it.
 
     "...Thank you," she murmurs with mouth full.
 
     "It's... true we forgot there used to be more forests," she muses, "I wonder if some of our memory of the Veruni reappearing was taken with it." That's something the Veruni wouldn't have counted on happening, would it?
 
     Solaris and Shevat displaced them. She's going to have to stew on that.
 
     Her right hand idly touches at her own elf ears as Kaguya talks about how most of them have pointed ears. Between elves, Veruni, Beastfolk... she might have to wonder if the round ears of humans are the anomaly (for an 'anomaly' of the most common race of people, as it were), but she doesn't muse aloud.
 
     "There was a time it felt the world was willing to unite against Odessa. That... that wasn't long ago," Ruth says, with a little smile like it could be another spiral of hard-won truths that could slip.
 
     she starts busying her hands with disassembly as some of the sympathetic worries of those gathered carry in the emotional ambience.
 
     "Maybe there aren't that many places left to live," she asides to some of Venetia's musing. 


<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "At least here, y'need an education before you can sling magic or bullets anywhere, I 'spose," Gwen says, on the subject of Lunar being ignored.

    Ida asks the obvious question, and Gwen blinks, then frantically waves her hands. "Nonono, she just collaborated with some Veruni scientists way back over the Mockingbird. The surgery that installed my ARM would've been impossible without Veruni tech at the time, 'specially out in the middle of nowhere. I didn't even know about it until I came out n' asked her why Kartikeya mentioned her name t'me when we fought."

    Turning back to Kaguya, Gwen nods. "N' yeah, I ain't. Even if Auntie Frea could contact those Veruni she collaborated with, that was 'bout a decade ago. N' Kartikeya's mention of her name t'me tells me they might be keepin' tabs on her just in case she becomes a big enough problem worth dealin' with. Who knows if one of them'll turn out t'be a spy."

    It's a miracle that hasn't been the case already, due to Gwen's own activities.

    ".... Man, it ain't that much different from seed city politics everytime an election comes up," Gwen groans, finally opening up her bottle of beer and drinking. "Just, the violence is more out in the open n' the leader of the other side can drop giant boulders on people for makin' nice with them." She looks at Dean over that one, tearing into her candy bar. ".... Though, who knows if those tactics might work with the moderates." Chomp, chomp.

    Pointing the candy bar at Azoth, Gwen says, ".... Honestly, I wouldn't think this is the case for all Veruni. Just the ones in power. So.... man, they really are like us." She pauses, patting Lan on the back. "... I mean, it's gotta be complicated or else we'd all be havin' tea parties with the Guardians, right?"

     Ida mentions Kaguya again, and Gwen tilts her head towards Kaguya. "What she said. T'be honest, I'm surprised you didn't just decide to make yourself at home on Lunar. The fact that y'didn't.... that's a lot of faith bein' placed in us that I hope we can live up to." 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    "I should think that they all know, now" Avril says to Azoth. "The Veruni have long lives. There are surely those who landed who yet live." As a matter of fact, until only a scarce few years ago, there was only one Veruni who did not know that.

    Avril doesn't shy away from Dean's touch, not even for an instant. If anything, he'll find that the tension in her shoulder eases when his hand rests there: he's been her friend since the moment she awoke so how could she react any differently?

    "In the past," Avril says, as Kaguya speaks of such things, "there was scarce any difference at all. But for our manipulation of Ether and long lives, we were as any other child of Filgaia." The transit through space had changed some things -- perhaps in so doing, had changed them so they could no longer be recognized by the planet as its own. Yet, haven't there been others who have come to Filgaia from other worlds...?

    "The Veruni are... desperate," Avril says. "They have been misled. Yet, that does not mean they -- we -- are any less your enemy. You must not underestimate the Radical faction. What Shijie did will not be attempted again soon, but I should not think... that would be the only time they would attempt something so drastic, if it would save the Veruni people."

    And allow the Veruni to dominate as their society dictates, Avril thinks but does not say. 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Yeah, definitely," Dean chimes in with Lan and Riesenlied. "I've gotten Moor Gault to have an *actual* talk before? But it wasn't easy!" He nods decisively to Riesenlied and Kaguya. It's fine if they talk more later.
    
    He rubs the back of his head at Gwen's comment. "The Moderates are good guys--me and Avril and Rebecca have talked to him, along with Kaguya-- but they also like to fight. So I don't really know?"
    
    He also just doesn't know much about politics in general, so.
    
    How many Veruni do know about their origins? That, Dean doesn't actually know. He looks from Azoth to Avril for the answer. ...one which makes sense. The Veruni *are* a lot longer-lived than humans, huh?
    
    He frowns slowly as Ida brings up Volsung and that feeling when he tried to capture Rek-Gora. It'd been so long ago, but... Dean isn't crazy about her bringing that up right on the heels of her mentioning that the Hyadeans' "Mother" was the keystone in getting the Guardians to accept them.
    
    When Venetia mentions a motivator for the Moderates, Dean glances at Avril. "...It's sad that we have to fight them, when they just want to live. But sometimes fighting's the only way to make someone understand." Like Asgard, or Zed. "I just hope we can get them to understand before it's too late."
    
    And that of course is why they have to figure out a solution--so it's not just empty words they have to offer. Amaterasu had a solid point about that. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Cool," Kaguya says to Hannah. "I guess we are, huh?" "There's a lot of habitable planets... But there's a lot of space out there; they're out there, but not easy to find." A pause. "From what I hear of our history, the reason it went so poorly is that we used up what resources the planet had. We just... took until there was nothing left."

"It's what we'd do to Filgaia, too, under Lord Volsung."

So she nods to Venetia, and then considers the matter of a motivator. "Yeah. They'd need something to suggest that our cause is the winning one. If we can get that, maybe we can get them on our side. Maybe. They still have Veruni pride, they're just not so much dicks about it." She looks to Jay, "Exactly. They've gotta protect their own people too--from the Radicals and from the planet."

"Well, that," Kaguya says to Ida, "And when we left, the moon was barren. Lunar didn't get settled until the fall of Zeboim--which is when we left." Volsung and Rek-Gora... Kaguya doesn't comment immediately.

Instead, "I could still fold you in half, old lady," Kaguya huffs at Magilou at her shit-eating grin. She does appreciate Magilou noticing the danger, but she's not sure how she feels about her pointing it out more. VR Factor, as Hannah says, "Nope, not chemical or biological. It's spiritual. And as to why just us, and not the Hyadeans... I don't know. Maybe the Hyadeans are too alien to inflict this on."

She looks to Lan. "...Let's talk later," she says. About the Guardians, maybe. "Last time I talked to a Guardian, they didn't even acknowledge I existed. I uh. I got pretty mad about that. Really mad. I used to hate them for what they did."

Azoth though, "It's cool," Kaguya says. "It is irrational. The logical solution would be to work with humans. But when I gave them a proposal to do as much, they didn't take it."

Pause. "The danger? You're already helping there, you're helping me go to ground. That's about what we can do. I'm pretty tough and pretty good at getting out of the way, so don't worry too much about me. But it's nice that you'd worry a little anyway."

Ida asks if she's doing better... and Kaguya hesitates. "Yeah," she says, "But to get this way I did some really dark magic. I figured out a way to turn the power of the Guardians' ire on the world around me, instead. Ever since, I've been immune to VR Factor. But I try to hold that power in. It's... bad. Really bad."

She considers Ruth then, as she eats a candy bar... and forgetting? "I think they just never knew where we came from. We sort of came out of nowhere as far as most of the world knew. ...But it's like you say--the world, or at least the region, was willing to unite against Odessa--how much more could the world as a whole do? ...I'm not..."

She shakes her head. "...I did make a home on Lunar," Kaguya says to Gwen. "It's still there. I just... after all the things I've done, I've chosen to take responsibility. To try to help the world. I helped wreck shit. I can help build it back up."

"Yep," Kaguya says to Avril. "I was born about a hundred and forty years ago. I remember the ship." Then, "...Yeah, it's changed, since then. But either way... Avril's right. Our people are the enemy. And they will do whatever they think it takes." She looks to Dean. "...Until we find a solution. Until we learn a way of understanding, a way of breaking down the wall between humans and the Veruni. Until then... There's not much we can do."

"So that's the Veruni as a whole. I also told you I'd tell you about Shijie Rohay, and what she did."

"Shijie's an ancient Veruni who survived since the exodus. Well, she was. Yue's her daughter, who did a crime in ancient days. Xue's her much younger daughter. Shijie's been manipulating events to some end for a long time, and now she's got her daughters even more wrapped up in it. That's about what the deal is with them. Shijie had a lot of influence in the Radicals..."

"And we don't know what consequences her death will have, yet."

"More than that is personal to them, and I don't feel comfortable sharing the personal data, but I'll take questions if you'll accept I might say 'no' to answering them. ...And yes, it was my sister who killed her. And my sister who'd kill any one of you if she thought it'd get the job done." 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida's lips tic on one side as Ruth brings up the Ignas Anomaly. "God, I'd almost forgotten," she says. Again, she thinks, but doesn't say. She also successfully suppresses the urge to disrupt Kaguya's lecture with sudden, desperate laughter.

    (It's cool, Azoth, Ida sees you.)

    She turns to Gwen, then, trying to dial the suspicion in her eyes down to about a '4'. "Then--Kartikeya must not have a reason to kill her yet?" She doesn't buy it. Even if it feels like her old friend is ignoring something obvious because it's disquieting. Also disquieting: what Kaguya confesses she's done. "I don't blame you for wanting to survive. The illness is--it's terminal, isn't it? There's no cure, even if pallative treatment exists?"

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

"It could be," Venetia answers Ruth. "We know of five planets where people have lived at some point... and it sounds as though two of them have either failed or were not able to get going. Yet at the same time, Lunar was a barren planetoid in the eyes of the Veruni of that era, and obviously, now it is not."

"Which suggests!" Venetia says to Ruth with an upturned index finger, "that this is not inevitable, and indeed that comfortable planets can be created! (If with difficulty.)"

"It is unfortunate," Venetia asides to Dean, "especially if they're from here originally. At the same time, it's not as if they came here hat in hand and were sent away. ... I presume." Venetia knows little of Solaris, but what she does know suggests that to be very probable. She finishes her beer.

She has no questions for Kaguya. She's ruminating, though not literally (unless you count the candy bar she opened). 

<Pose Tracker> Riesenlied has posed.

    "Resolving things in time for supper is the prerogative of a mother," Riesenlied pleasantly remarks to Venetia, with her hands laced gently. Lan and Dean both comment on their own difficulties in talking to the Guardian, though Dean's actually had a full talk with Moor Gault before! That gets a measure of surprise from her.

    "I have wished to speak more with Odoryuk myself, but... it has not happened yet, but I have not remotely given up hope," Riesenlied muses.

    Desperate... yes, that certainly rings true. For her people, and for the Veruni too. Dean says that the Moderates, too, like to fight. A pause from Riesenlied, and she admits: "Perhaps... it is somewhat ingrained, like how I would never chide a Hyadean for having a battle spirit." She herself isn't certain.

    But as Dean mentions how it's sad that they have to fight to get someone to understand, Riesenlied's expression is softer. "Even if it looks like conflict may be the only way, I have seen you reach the heart of another time and time again. As you have Avril, and myself. Perhaps someday, you may reach Volsung too."

    Kaguya explains how she figured out a way to turn the power of the Guardians' ire around her... and she has become immune to VR Factor, but... it does not come without cost. She has seen that cost. "Kaguya..."

    Then she talks of how she chose to take responsibility to help build it back up. "And of course, I will be there to support you every step of the way, on that journey of yours." 

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

"I see," he says to Avril, nodding along in thought. Not difficult at all then to spin the narrative around Filgaia 'really' belonging to them, nor a sense of betrayal concerning VR Factor. How the Ignas Anomaly plays into anything is an entirely different complication for Azoth to calculation. Imagine how much data is completely ruined by that particular event...

Azoth mimes a sigh as he looks back at Gwen. "Ain't that always the way? Get a few up top with terrible ideas defining what power is even allowed to mean." He manages a small smile. "Hey, maybe tea parties with the Guardians would be a start."

He's only half joking. Azoth jerks his head toward Dean as a means of pointing his direction. "Unfortunately, if they understand fighting best, then..." He gives a whole armed shrug. "I've observed less effective forms of communication, to be honest."

"At least we have that!" Azoth notes cheerfully concerning the danger levels in this. "I think a little worry is rational. But I know you can handle yourself." She threw a boulder at him once! "As for your treatment... it doesn't sound like 'not bad' is a luxury you've been afforded. I'm glad the VR Factor is stable, at least."

But at the mention of faith, Azoth's smile turns to something softer with a knowing look at Kaguya even as he's speaking to Gwen.

"Faith begets faith, I imagine."

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    Magilou chomps some jerky -- don't worry, Lan, she hasn't forgotten about you -- because of course she's sitting close enough to the snack table to just lean over and raid it. Greed in her heart! She is, at least, writing a lot of notes down. What she has to say is: "Crime story! Crime story! Tell us the crime story, Kaguya!!" She can't just mention an ancient crime and not go into it.

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Lan is already doing potlucks! Don't give her any ideas about tea parties.

    Gwen pats her back and Lan leans over again, closing her eyes and gently bumping her shoulder and temple against Gwen's. Her beer yet remains mostly undrank, and Lan gets back to work at it after straightening back up. So, she has a mouthful of suds when Kaguya asks to talk later. "Mm!" Gulp. "Huh, yeah. Yeah, let's!"

    It's not like they can just ask the Guardians to stop giving VR to the Veruni who want to coexist. ...Can they?! "I mean. I don't blame you. I would be really, really mad too."

    "...Was that dark magic what caused the corrupted spot in Alcidamas? When you... when Demetrioi was taken?" If Lan knew the word 'caustic'... it took her hours to purify a single blighted circle!

    She turns her bottle of beer around in her hands, thinking. "Sometimes you have to beat up people so they stop doing stupid things." 

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Spiritual affliction... Hannah nods at that. That makes sense, considering the Guardians are involved. "Too alien... So the Verunit are similar, but not similar enough...? Hmmm."

She scribbles some more notes down, then picks up her journal and gets up... and moves to help Ruth with disassembly. She works slowly but efficiently, and even though she doesn't particularly look like she's facing the conversation anymore... her journal is still open besides her, and she's writing random notes in it.

Zephyr may or may not be helping with keeping track of the conversation.

But her head snaps around when Kaguya mentions turning the power of the Guardians' ire to other ends, and she just kind of stares for a moment.

There is no note made for that. She'll remember it regardless.

But the conversation moves on to Shijie and her daughters, and Amaterasu's part in slaying her. And that prompts a question. "Dunno if this is too personal, or I shoulda asked earlier in the general portion, but... why did Yue attack us? I know she had to play along with Shijie 'cause of that ARM in her, but she didn't need to keep playin' along after she died, right?" 

<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.

    Ruth continues the disassembly of the ARMs within reach, neatly arranging similar parts between items into their own piles. She only has to pause sometimes to deal with a twinge of pain in her left shoulder and wince-worthy wince to go with it. She's not setting speed records, but the life of a professional soldier never fully leaves someone.
 
     "Created... maybe." Lunar's verdant gardens, even stained with corruption of matters spiritual and organizational, is proof enough of that. Something wondrous was created from nothing, somehow, filled with bountiful fields of food and game. "But... it doesn't sound like it's being kept," the older generation bringing down the lofty dreams and hopes of a newer generation starry-eyed dreamers for the skies (and ground)!!
 
     She doesn't quite fully face Venetia. "Maybe it can be different for you."
 
     Still, Kaguya points out that the Veruni really *did* come out of nowhere to history. Recorded history on Filgaia is almost impossible to find before the tallied years of the Post Collapse era, since things... collapsed, but even she's looking up when Kaguya talks about redirecting some power that's 'bad' which has helped keep the VR Factor at bay. (Which happens before the response, but, immediate chronological hiccups aside--)
 
     Putting aside the musing about Kaguya owning her circumstances and doing what she can, Ruth's rate of disassembly slows anew as discussion comes up of Yue having done something so terrible that everything that's happened thus far seems intent on making her suffer for it, and...
 
     "Your sister is terrifying."
 
     Strong words simply spoken from someone who, herself, has traumatized a generation in Zoara. 

<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.

    In this struggle, they can only trust the Moderates, who have lost as much as any: the faction is truly on its last legs, with only the ship Captain Bartholomew has comandeered as its largest 'ace in the hole'. They are allies, but they are a drop in the bucket against the might that the Radicals command. And even if the might of the rest of Filgaia assailed against them would shatter the Veruni, that is not the same as defenseless.

    And Avril is with Kaguya on this: she might caution them to not take the Veruni lightly, but neither does she wish to wage a war of extermination against her very own people, whatever their designs on the world might be. They are desperate, as she had said, and misled.

    But, ah, Magilou wonders after the nature of the crime--

    Avril draws herself up, becoming perhaps that much more icy than she had been moments prior: a glacier's chill to that of the statue.

    "Yue Rohay had said that she had been imprisoned for the attempted regicide of Avril the Lolithia, the Ice Queen of the Veruni. ...In other words, me."

    So Avril says, though her expression betrays no glimmer of apprehension or fear. She is merely repeating the tale she was told: she has no memory of that event.
    Or anything prior to her slumber at all. 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    Dean smiles ruefully at Azoth. "And hey, at least we've got a lot of experience with it," he quasi-jokes. Riesenlied's encouragement makes him perk, though. "Thanks, Riese! I'm not gonna stop trying!"
    
    If they never manage to reach Volsung, it won't be because Dean ever stopped trying. Maybe next spring, he should try to send him another box of sakuramochi? Something to consider.
    
    Kaguya's right, though. It's not just about Volsung. They've got to tear down that wall between Veruni and humans to make a difference for everyone.
    
    He looks over at Avril as she relates Yue's crime, and for a moment, his expression is morose. It's an unusual look for him. Don't worry, though; it won't last long. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

    "Probably just not worth the effort to kill one old lady who's just been growin' nothin' but hot as hell chili peppers and squashes. She doesn't even have her library from back then, since, uhhh, I kinda accidentally burnt it down when I was still learnin' how my ARM worked." Which might have been a point in Frea's favor, now that Gwen thinks about it. "....

    One good point, against shit ton of points calling out the loss of knowledge and ancient texts. It works out, right...?

    "... I 'spose." Gwen considers what Dean said. "I mean, what's a better way of showin' you ain't all just talk by showin' you can walk the walk as well as talk the talk." She chomps on her candy bar, then turns her consideration back to Kaguya.

    Gwen nods towards Azoth. ".... y'can't take an entire group of people's sins on your own shoulders, Kaguya, but y'can fight against it." Gwen holds up her gloved right hand in front of her, looking at it. "Their technology's probably saved a lot of lives, including my own. It's just that some are dicks, and right now, those people are the ones in power. Their technology might even be the key t'helping the planet, since... it ain't like it's been tulips n' daisies for everyone not affected by the VR Factor." That is, until Kaguya reveals her discovery. ".... So the VR Factor can be manipulated, but ire's got to go somewhere." Gwen frowns. "... Please tell me the Veruni in charge don't know 'bout that, or, that they know how to do that."

    Yue's death. Gwen's eyes widen at this, and she looks down, frowning as she rubs her hand through her hair. "...." She takes a drink from her bottle, quiet as she digests this. Eventually, she turns to Avril, patting Lan on the head. ".... That person... was a different person," she says, as if trying to defend Avril even if Avril herself doesn't seem emotionally affected by her own statement. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"At the time," Kaguya says, "I didn't want to just survive--I wanted power. And I got it. ...And it turns out, power doesn't solve all your problems. Especially not a power like that. ...I used to have better control over it, but... Things changed. I changed."

She looks to Venetia, "I agree with you. Just because we didn't find another doesn't mean another wasn't out there--we were just running out of fuel and had to decide whether to risk it or whether to go back to our 'home' world. Terraforming is..."

She thinks of Demetrioi. "Not simple."

But she nods to Riesenlied. "I know. I appreciate it. I know if I need the help I can go to you." A pause. "Yeah, Veruni battle spirit is pretty ingrained. Even when it's not violent, we're competitive."

Azoth's look gets a faint, soft look from Kaguya, too. SHe remembers. But it's easy to miss because she's all normal again as, "Thanks. It's... Well. It's what I wanted. But not how I wanted it."

"...But that faith does."

Crime story. Kaguya puts a pin in that. Instead, "I didn't understand the big picture, at the time. ...But yeah, that's exactly it. That corrupted spot? That's what happens when that power comes out. The world... dies a little more. It's strong--really strong--but..." She shakes her head. "It's the opposite of what I want to do."

Hannah's stare gets her attention more than her dutiful note taking did. "...Right," she says. "So, Yue has no reason to believe that Xue will be safe if she doesn't go along with her mother's wishes. Shijie was the type to have a lot of contingencies. ...More than I'd hoped."

Kaguya appreciates Ruth's work, at least. She can imagine similarities between them--but her sister? "...Yeah," Kaguya says. "And what's worse, she's doing it for me. She's always been really protective. Since I was young. I was always small... I was a child prodigy, but never got as big or strong as she was. ...Well. Now I'm stronger. But what she thinks is 'best' isn't what I think is best... and I can't show her that until I find a real, better solution."

"It sucks," plainly.

That glacial chill... Kaguya nods to Magilou. "Got it in one," she says of Avril. "So her sentence is indefinite. We take regicide real seriously, you see. Because hierarchy is important to us. Because... Well, more reasons than that. The Ice Queen is more than just a ruler, she's..."

Kaguya shakes her head. "Anyway." Dean is still trying... Kaguya has complicated feelings about that, but she says, "Yeah. I know you won't. It's not very smart, but you're more of a feeler than a thinker. ...And your approach works a lot of the time."

Gwen makes Kaguya sigh again. "Yeah. It's not my fault, everything they do. But some stuff is. And that i'll take." She pauses. "...True. Their tech could do a lot of good, in theory. But..." Pause. "No, I didn't tell the higher-ups how to do that. It was my ace in the hole. My way of competing with Amaterasu and the Sentinels, if I had to. So I kept it to myself."

"...But for Yue, her mother's broken her spirit, I think. She'll go along with her plans, to protect Xue, and because she doesn't believe it can be otherwise. ...It sucks, but..." She's not sure what to do about it. 

<Pose Tracker> Dean Stark has posed.

    "Yeah, you're proof!" Dean says cheerfully. 

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh," Kaguya sighs. 

<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.

     "Yeeep, I agree with Dean," Gwen says with a wide grin, taking another drink from her bottle. "Anyone who gives free food is a good egg." 

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    "Who knew you were so important!" Magilou gasps, looking to Avril. "I thought you were just a grumpypuss this whole time...!" Magilou's fated boat ride with Avril (and a couple of murderers) was a fun time. For Magilou, anyway.

    Still, she writes more notes, and... "It sucks, but you'll probably have to kill her!" Magilou spells it out, cheerfully. "Since even if you drag someone like that out of their situation, they'd just be a broken doll, anyway! And how are you going to get her mother to discard her when she's so useful? Why, I'm sure she's never failed her. Yes, there's only one way out of this one!" Magilou is... being a jerk for no reason?

    She's definitely not offering Kaguya a plan.

<Pose Tracker> Azoth has posed.

Crimes! Royalty murder kinds of crimes! Azoth smiles at Avril uneasily. "I take it the Radicals don't hold a queen's opinion in high regard."

That would have been too easy.

"A distressing amount of experience!" Azoth replies to Dean, matching the joke tone perfectly. It is distressing though. Truly. They weren't even created for this purpose and look at all the fights they get into. "But you do have a logical approach, if you ask me." He pauses, then nods sagely after Dean's exchange with Kaguya. "With proof of its effectiveness."

To Magilou he scoffs, facetious. "And what's wrong with a broken doll?" To Kaguya. "Because she doesn't believe it can be otherwise, you said. Showing people other options is something of a Drifter specialty, yeah? Looks like you're asking the right people for help."

He pops up out of his seat and dusts his palms off against each other. "Aaaanyway, lemme see about those monitors."

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Zephyr's been keeping up on his high perch, enjoying the jerky and helping Hannah keep tabs on the conversation... but now that he's finished it he swoops down to perch somewhere conveniently in front of Lan... and gives her a happy chirp. Then he flies over to the table, snatches up another piece of jerky, and flies back up to his high perch.

Hannah sighs, commenting, "Fine, but that's the last one." She looks over to her shoulder at Lan. "Zephyr likes your jerky." 

<Pose Tracker> Magilou has posed.

    "That's a weird-looking dove," Magilou asides, finally, on Zephyr, "but I guess it's valid."

<Pose Tracker> Ruth Pauling has posed.

    'She's doing it for me.' 'She's always been really protective. Since I was young.'
 
     A LONG TIME AGO
 
     A thirteen year old girl with pointed ears holds a smoking revolver steady in both arms, as a younger girl hides behind her, shaking and crying. They never should have left home together, she keeps repeating. Guara Bobelo was the kind of place where 'the rough part of town' was, with few exceptions, 'all of it.'
 
     "You're still scared," the elf whispers. She was, too, numb with what she just did, but the younger girl held onto her tight and kept crying.
 
     ROUGHLY 496 PC - PORT TIMNEY
 
     Ruth was ragged, disheveled. Not a gil to her name beyond some scavenged ammunition that her rifle would jam up if she tried to shoot with it. She couldn't believe her luck, that she'd find her after so many years. She fussed with her hair to better show her ears, after knocking on the door. Her stomach rumbled, and she could smell the food inside.
 
     The door opened, a young boy standing vacantly in mild alarm to a heavy-set woman holding a newborn in her arm. This was her, years later--
 
     "Sister," Ruth said, voice weak, eyes too dry to cry. "I--"
 
     "Who are you?" She asked.
 
     Her voice was too hoarse and dry, the question too stunning, to say it.
 
     The door closed. She never knocked again.
 
     THE PRESENT
 
     Ruth's smiling because that serves as an emotional dam. "I could... I could sympathize," she leaves it at that.
 
     The crime story is shared. Avril, right there, is the Ice Queen of the Veruni, sitting in a meeting where some of the secrets of the Veruni people are being shared to outsiders. Another disassembled handgun - this latest one trickier because its make is a bit more exotic than she'd expect from a gunsmoke line (the 480s have been over for years, gunsmoke ARMs have seen some advances since those days). She gently pushes the parts into piles as she considers how much Yue seems to live in shame, despair, guilt, over that. Would she have felt the same way if she managed to put a bullet in the very head of the then-ruler of Celesti?
 
     Feeling the make of her gloves is a good sign that maybe she shouldn't drift towards that line of thought for a while after a near miss down memory lane. She busies herself with pulling apart the gunsmoke ARMs before her, systematically with care. 

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Even if the discussion is heavy and the world is in peril (again) (always) it's nice to simply exist. To be surrounded by friends who will work together to find a way to save the day. To sit with Gwen and drink beer and watch a bird eat jerky.

    "Oh!" she beams at Hannah. "I'm glad! I brought it to share. ...I should try a candy bar..." Because they're right there. "I hope it's okay for him to eat that much goat..." 

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida sucks in a breath between her teeth, but her look isn't unsympathetic. Far from it, in fact. "I know the feeling," she says. Kaguya knows she knows. "If there's anything I can do to help, please." The rest... Ida listens, patient and calm. There's a lot of buried history here. She needs to listen, without judgment.

<Pose Tracker> Kaguya has posed.

"Whatever," Kaguya says to Gwen, "I just got it out of the vending machines."

Magilou though... Magilou is offering a plan, and Kaguya thinks about it. "Hmmm..." It might sound like she's instead thinking about killing Yue, but it's not quite that simple.

"Maybe so," Kaguya says, and then grins at Azoth. Oh, she ignores that sage nod, but, "Right. Showing people alternatives... That's our angle."

The monitors are perfectly good; Kaguya is willing to part with these in ways she's not willing to part with the weapons. "...Yeah," Kaguya says. "You mentioned a sister," she says to Ruth then.

Then to Ida, "...Weird," she says. "I think you actually mean it." She says this quietly. "I'll keep it in mind, though. Thanks."

She grins at Lan. "The vending machines across the block are empty, now. So you better enjoy them!"

She... might've paid for the snacks. It's possible.

"But once you're done with your snacks, time to get some stuff moving! If you want something that's not a weapon, you can take it off my hands free if you tell me you're doing it; the weapons are all either going with me or being disassembled. Tell me if anything glows and don't touch it." 

<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.

    AFTER EVERYONE LEAVES
 
     "I am aware I am late." A simple, to the point statement. A silhouette shows of someone in heavy, protective gear against radiation - specialized equipment occasionally in ciruclation around Kattelox, much of it imported from over in Zoara. The kind of gear that you lease from expensive equipment specialists.
 
     The rumbling sound of a heavy bomb disposal lockbox on a rickety cart follows, pulled into the secret laboratory and what remains of it.
 
     "I have a four hour window before they catch on that the identification I flashed was a pastry," they remark, "as long as the remainder materials are out of the way..."
 
     A suited hand goes up to their helmet, resting against it. It's very silly! It's habitual!
 
     "I should be able to see the rest to a place that will not be disturbed in the immediate future, according to Kattelox's own hazardous material disposal procedures. What's here will be indistinguishable from what's already there, at that juncture."
 
     They pause, lowering the hand from their helmet. "Unless any new complications has arisen in the interim."

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