etraya | text; un: romano

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT

Hello Etraya, a few of the newest arrivals are originally from wherever we told you we're from, but before coming here we were in Etraya's sister city, Solmara. Solmara has overthrown their AI and is ruled by a woman named Alrys. She sent us here on a recon mission to steal supplies, and while some of us were considering it, upon arrival we decided not to.

I can't speak for the others, but I know for a fact if Alrys got wind of what this place is like, she'd start a war. I'm not interested, not because I'm kind and noble (I'm not) but because making two whole cities miserable would be stupid.

Aurora has been informed of everything, but in the interest of transparency I'm letting the rest of you know too.

We will be answering questions but only if they're not stupid and you're super nice about it. Keep in mind we're probably gonna get tortured then killed then tortured again for snitching. 😃❤️🥳👍🚀🦈

PS: Any magical healers out there?

(The PS is not included on the things we will be answering questions about)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'll be there.

[Max is there, as anticipated — he'd actually already met a certain familiar person at the cafe before Sevika, so the routine is easier to work his way through again now that he doesn't have to traverse from the apartment more than once. One leaves, another arrives, and Max is putting another cube of sugar into tea that he's not so surprisingly fond of, considering he's from a place sorely lacking in supplies.

Looking up from his stirring, he offers her a quirked brow. One crutch leans beside him against the table, suggesting he's had a bit of a rough week. One minute you're collecting scrap from the junkyard, the next you're getting your gun stolen and kicked over by an android.

Anyway.

He immediately pulls out the frayed map and lays it on the table for her to look at.

Let's get started, then. These symbols won't explain themselves.]

[ Sevika does show soon enough, paper and pen in tow, to work on making a copy of her own. It'll be slow work since she's left-handed, and, well, her left arm is very much gone. She can manage, though. It's just a matter of drawing carefully and scowling at the paper a lot. ]

I take it the skulls on here are dangers?

Mm.

[A slight nod, as he casually sips on coffee.

He may or may not be forming a mild addiction he hasn't had since he was eighteen.]

Creatures that can kill you. Wouldn't recommend lingering in those areas long.

[Well, there's probably a number of people in Etraya who can try to fistfight those creatures, but Max isn't about to tell people to go and potentially throw their lives away (temporarily, anyway). Not on his word.]

The AI doesn't monitor much anymore.

Dangers aren't contained; places aren't upkept.

I'm hoping I won't have to be in those areas at all...

[ But she knows better. Oh, how she knows better. ]

Right. Skulls are obvious. So is water. [ She points to where the bigger buildings are. ] Main city.

[ Then the little tent-like symbols. ]

Other buildings?

[A hummm of approval; she's got it all in one.]

... Abandoned. Mostly just ruins now. Places to shelter, but nothin' much left in them. It's one of the reasons why Alrys seeks supplies outside of the city now; she used missions as a way to take more, before now.

Yeah. That'd be the only lifeline left. I'm guessing the last few missions have been slim pickings if she's looking at the other cities now.

[ At least, that's what Sevika would do in the same place. Easier to rely on regular missions than take a chance on somewhere that may or may not be easily accessible. Although, on that note? ]

Does Solmara have a mission schedule? Etraya seems to have something set up to go every other month.

[He leans back, nods.]

Mm.

Not always predictable. But the pattern's close enough. We're still under the same... 'rules' as you. [He makes quotations with one lazy hand.] 'Saving worlds'. So they say.

Wouldn't mind knowing exactly when Solmara will be empty. That would at least make poking around it easier for when people do go.

[ Sevika finishes copying down the rest of the markers. It's a shaky rendition since it's done by her non-dominant hand, but it's still good enough. Understandable. After a long look and frown at it, she'll nod and look up from it. ]

Because they will. This place has too many damn heroes.

[A soft sound of agreement follows. Of course people will want to investigate. In a way, he gets it.]

Don't want anything to do with the place... but I can tell you she won't let this city go; us being sent here was just a sample of her fixation. Couldn't tell you whether going there or preparing here is better.

[He rubs his scruffy chin with a hand.]

... D'you think Aurora would know? Their mission pattern.

Which means we have to deal with her no matter what...

[ Great. Sevika leans back in her chair and sets the pen aside, leaving the map copy open to let the ink dry for a moment or two. ]

Aurora might know. I'm not sure how in touch she is with the other AIs, though. [ Could be a lot, could be nothing at all. ] How'd you lot end up here, anyway? You came in through the hospital like any other arrival, but how'd Alyrs pull that off if the Solmara AI isn't cooperating with her?

[He raps his fingers along the top of the table.]

She would be a complete idiot if she actually told us how she did any of it.

[Said with an unspoken sorry. Because yeah, he's got nothing for you.]

Not sure she knows that Aurora can just keep us instead of us going back though.

That'll piss her off good.

Can't blame me for hoping she's a complete idiot in at least one sense.

[ Seems less and less likely, though. Grand. There's a sigh. She has a lot to think about now, and she'd rather not have to, but, hey, it's something to stay busy about, and her gaze drifts back down to the map, away from Max. ]

It'd be better to draw her and her crew to Etraya for a fight, where we have more control over the situation, but I get the feeling we won't be that lucky.

She's an idiot sending people who want to get away from her.

[Why she decided to do that, he doesn't know. Maybe she just viewed them as expendable? Maybe she didn't care whether they actually succeeded or not, as long as she could confirm the transfer into Etraya actually worked. Maybe she assumed they were all selfish enough to just want to get it over with and screw over this city, or maybe she didn't realize they wouldn't just be kicked back like a bunch of lepers.]

Home turf. Always the upper hand.

Better to know your surroundings, use them to your own advantage.

M'hoping that's how this pans out, but control is not easy anywhere. Let alone with 'Echo'.

[ See, that's what Sevika thinks, too. She sent expendable people, although sending away an actual doctor — that Romano guy — made that assumption slightly less certain. Chances are they'll never know, though, so she isn't keen to dwell on it. ]

Yeah, it'd be just our luck if Echo threw a few surprises in for fun as soon as we get invaded.

[ To avoid cursing them, she won't name a few ideas that spring to mind. But! The ink on her copy of the map looks dry now, meaning she's going to roll it up and stow it away. ]

Though I appreciate the map regardless of what happens.

[Max offers a slight nod as she starts to rise from her seat. As a man of few words, it's the perfect-sized conversation — straight to the point, all business. He appreciates it more than most people probably do. So:]

Mm. Try not to die.

[Translation: Be careful out there. Sevika can probably read between the lines, from a Zaunite to a Wastelander.]

text; un: romano

Feel free to handwave after this response if you'd like, but I'm down for either! 👍

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