Zechariah contemplates that answer for a few moments.
Interface, Scion: <True enough. But there must be balance between the fear and the will. If you have too much willpower, you get someone like me who is extremely unstable.>
After that horrible attempt to speak to his host, Zechariah rubs his forehead with one of his hands ((If he is physically present)).
<That... that was my fault, not his...>
Zechariah: Third and final attempt: unless the host notices, search once again for what group my host is in and why he's in it. Also, fix the Interface so it isn't so loud. More like a whisper, preferably, but conversational tone is fine.
Host: >Go to the door and tell the bouncer you're with a guest named Raul.
((I don't understand what you mean by physically present. You're a voice in his head. The "lower your mental mic's volume" was just me trying to be a smart-ass while telling you you failed your roll.))
"I think this is the first time I am in agreement with you."Nope, lady luck still hates your guts. No info for you. I like giving exposition but you keep rolling badly for some reason.
You approach the bouncer.
"Err... hi there!" your host says nervously. The bouncer gives you a blank stare.
"Good day today, isn't it? Eh, I mean, the weather is... cold and...""Smooth.""I'm here to see Raul. He's a guest. Err.. I mean, I'm his guest. He's expecting me." The bouncer continues to give you a blank stare.
"Eeerm... So I guess I'll be going now, right?" You're starting to wonder if this guy is mute or deaf or maybe just staring down inside the depths of your soul. You start walking towards the door.
"So... Ehhh... Nice talking to you, mat- I mean Sir. Sir. Have a good night... or shift." The bouncer continues to stare as you walk inside.
"It must be true that luck favors the idiots, because I can see no other way this guy has managed to survive that long doing a job like this."The inside of the restaurant is filled with tables, though about half of them are empty. There's also the obligatory cheesy faux-Japanese decorations. Red lanterns, shōji, kaiga, things written in Japanese, etc.
On the opposite wall, there's a square platform standing a bit higher than the floor in one side of the restaurant, where a band is singing a jaunty
song with sad lyrics about love. There are also stairs leading up to a balcony and some private rooms.
On the right wall is a bar along with a small lectern for the maître d' and a door leading to the kitchen.
On the left wall are the doors leading to the restrooms.
Hmm, a man of action. That can be both good and bad.
Let my host go on into the house, I have no reason to do otherwise. Try to find more out about my host, without being a noticeable influence.
Lady luck seems to hate exposition tonight. You get nothing except a name: Faron Butler, Agent 14.
Your host quietly approaches the house and checks through the window. There is a man inside, reading something or at least trying to read something. He keeps moving around, looks a bit nervous. Doesn't look too dangerous though.
Your host decides to take the simplest approach. He knocks on the door.
"Here already? Just a second, I'm coming." comes a voice from inside.
After some waiting he hears footsteps behind the door. The moment your host hears the click of the door latch opening he immediately kicks it. The door impacts the man standing behind it, knocking him down. Your host enters and closes the door.
The man kicks you from behind while trying to get away. Your host endures the hit without the slightest hint of pain. He leans over the prone man and pins him down, his hands around his neck.
"
Edward Kerr. Tell me what you know about Target Amethyst."
The man's face tells you that he recognizes the first name but not the second.
"Fuuu..." the man tries to curse you while chocking. A hit to the face forces him to reconsider.
"
Target Amethyst. What do you know about her?"
He seemed to react to the word her. He definitely knows something. How best to make him speak though? Interrogating him would take a while... Or perhaps you should just eliminate him and search the house and his body for information?
Walk in. Remain unobtrusive.
Alan: Attempt to make host order a glass of milk.
Your host enters the shack and shoves his way to the bar. Too many people gathered in here, most of them clustered around the musicians. The white smoke floating around the room from all the cigarets is thick enough to be confused with mist. The smells of cheap booze, sweat and vomit fill the air. The noise means you can barely hear anything.
A guy has passed out on the bar. You shove him to the floor and sit in his seat.
"What can I get you?" asks the bartender.
Give me a glass of mi- I mean beer. Your host shakes his head and your Interface beeps red a couple of times.
Give me a glass of beer.The bartender bends down, retrieves an unlabeled bottle and pours the liquid into a semi-opaque glass. You have the suspicion that that glass might have been clear once.
"Bottoms up."
>Keep driving. If there's music on the radio, turn it off.
The music is off. But who needs the radio when you have your entity along for the ride?
"So there once was this guy. He goes to the doctor. And he had a bit of a speech impairment, he stutters a bit.
'Goo-goo-goodmorning doctor.' he says.
'Goodmorning.' responds the doctor.
'I- I- I have a pro-pro-pro-'
'Proposal?'
'Problem. I have a problem with ma-my voice and it's inte-inte-interfering with my job.'
'What is your job?'
'I'm a fa-fa-farmer and I have du-du-du-ducklings. I have a small fa-fa-fa-farm with du-du-ducklings.'
'Yes, but, if I may ask, I don't understand, what does your voice have to do with your work? I mean, the ducklings are ducklings, it's not like you have to talk with them on the phone.' asks the Doctor confused.
'I-I-I will e-explain to you. You-you see every morning I get u-up at si-si-six o'clock I-I drink my co-co-cofee with my wi-wi-wife and then I-I get up on my tr-tr-tractor a-a-and go a-a-and pick up my ducklings.'
'Yes, but I still don't understand, the ducklings are ducklings, why-'
'I-I-I will e-explain to you. You-you see wh-when I get there with the du-du-ducklings it's still early in the morning and the du-du-ducklings are saying 'qua-qua-qua-quackquackquack', be-be-because they want to e-e-eat. So I open the do-do-doors of the tr-tr-trailer and I say 'u-u-upupup' and the du-du-ducklings co-come and get u-u-up in the trailer and si-si-sit there. So I-I-I close the do-do-doors of the tr-tr-trailer and dr-dr-drive them to a-a-a field to gr-gr-graze. When I-I-I get there I-I-I open the do-do-doors of the tr-tr-trailer and say 'do-do-do-downdowndown' a-and the du-du-ducklings come come do-do-down and gr-gr-graze. While I-I-I'm waiting for the du-du-ducklings to gr-gr-graze I-I-I drink another co-co-cofee. Then co-co-comes the ti-ti-time to pick up the du-du-ducklings again so that I can get them back to the fa-fa-farm. So I-I-I say a-a-again 'u-u-upupup' and the du-du-ducklings know that that-that means that they ha-have to get u-u-up on the tr-tr-trailer so they get u-u-up and sit there.'
'But there's one du-du-du-duckling that has a-a-an attitude a-a-and it doesn't get u-u-up.' continues the farmer in anger.
'So I say again 'u-u-u-upupup' but the du-du-duckling just sits there a-a-and stares at me. So I-I-I kick it and tell it 'u-u-upupup get u-up' and it re-refuses a-a-and ju-just stands there loo-loo-looking at me. And I ge-ge-get so-so fu-fu-fucking mad, I-I-I'm see-see-seeing red and I shout 'Fu-fu-fuck this-this fu-fu-fucking du-du-du-du-' and the du-du-ducklings from the tr-tr-trailer come do-do-down again.'
..."
See? Quality entertainment.
{Irine}
Check if Zoe has any... unique... abilities. (please PM me the result of this)
Do not influence her at this time.
{Zoe Hunter}
still trying to get there and talk to Ed.
Driving and probing, driving and probing. That's illegal in some states, you know.
Meanwhile...
"Ooh..."
Focus on obtaining powers, including a general telekinetic one.
Examine and play with the controls. Try to figure out what they do. Also try not to break anything important. Or anything, ideally.
You get the ability to move things with your mind. You are capable of lifting much more than the average man.
You gain the ability to teleport your body to locations you can imagine\remember reasonably well. You are also able to teleport other people and things you touch if you will it so, assuming they're not too large (larger than say... three humans). It takes a few seconds for it to recharge after use.
Using the control room presents a problem in that everything seems to be written in an unknown language. And while the shapes on the screens are reasonably easy to understand, interacting with them would require a great amount of blind luck.
Despite that, there are various schematics of the city, or part of the city and different views of the city on various screens, some of them overplayed with various colors, so you assume that if something were to change dramatically on the city, you would notice the change on at least one of those screens or cameras.
John wasted no time. Preparation was his thing- he needed to prepare. No known weaknesses, pseudo-organic, likely some EMP shielding... what about a direct electricity hit? Probably wouldn't work, since big things attracted lighting. It'd have to hit somewhere exposed. Explosives? Think hitting a tank- a grenade wouldn't phase it- you needed to pierce the armor. Armor piercing rounds, then. A big damn gun.
Begin summoning a AP-round firing howitzer. It'd need to fire big shells- at least 200mm. If it's too big, abort (It doesn't need to be mobile, just aimable. Less artillery, more turret.
Let's see if you succeed... Yes! I now get to use your large construction chart.
The cannon begins assembling, individual pieces of black metal materializing and getting attached to each other, forming a base for the cannon to rotate on. The pieces of metal then continue appearing, this time merging together to begin forming the barrel of the cannon. Looks a bit larger than you wanted it, but bigger is better, right?
There are also other things materializing and merging with the barrel. Thin pieces of metal that looks like very fine brown hair and some thin pieces of something that looks like black leather.
Please stand by while your weapon is materializing and assembling. Assuming nothing interrupts you, you don't need to roll again, except if you decide to change something. You can also choose to stop summoning if you want.
"Okay. You there, reddit fedora kid. What can you do? Tell me quick."
Look around for spaceships with the keys inside (Figuratively, they should be able to start), then look around for any pilots that haven't been evacuated.
"Me?" Rune says. "Heh, I'm pretty sure I should keep that hidden for now. In case we ever meet in less friendly circumstances."
Assist Fniff with looking for useful things.
This is a ghost town. You can see a few abandoned cars if you look over the edge and some things littering the street. Looks like everybody left in a hurry. The chances of you finding someone will be slim at best. Nevertheless, you start looking around for anything living and/or flyable.
The first vehicle you approach looks like a delta wing VTOL with a very wide front section. All and all, it's about twice the size of an F-16. It has big engines on its back and underside. Its topside can open to store cargo/ And, what luck, its door (which is in its nose, by the way) is unlocked and it seems to be on standby, ready to fly.
The inside of the vehicle is cramped, built to maximize the load it can carry. The 2-seat cockpit is fairly intuitive (
looks like the cockpit of a passenger aircraft with an added vertical thrust control lever for both pilot and co-pilot and a whole lot more buttons and switches and screens), however there are all sorts of buttons and screens around here with labels written in a language you can't understand.