Some Important Follow-Up

[photonicfighter]

Excuse me. If everyone who went to Santa Carlita has a moment?

[Dakki pauses briefly to give people a chance to pay attention. That's how this is done, right?]

I've followed up with Tachibana, and it turns out that he put a tracking device on something that belonged to me. It's gone now, but apparently, the agents are now on the lookout for interdimensional aliens, not just ones from other planets.

I should have been more cautious. I'm sorry. Could the other agents confirm if they've planted anything, too, before I go and get everyone shaking themselves down for bugs?

...and that said, now that we're all back to ourselves, I'm very curious... did the 'aliens' pose any actual threat? What was that all even about? I'm not impressed with a government whose first reaction to extraterrestrial life is to panic and try to lock it up. That can't be the entire story, can it?

Comments

[claudiometer]

....oh. Gr-twelve. [Yes, she did just say 'gr12.'] Another world that hates us.

[photonicfighter]

Ger-twelve?

[Now there's some slang she's not familiar with. Right...?]

...how many does that make, now?

[claudiometer]

Internet slang. I'm not sure if it's a direct offshoot of the inflationary-language comedy gag or just a rhyme pun, but the original was 'gr9.' In this case, the exaggeration is because this is not in fact great by any stretch of the imagination.

As for places that hate us... Nova Venezia, the Illuminants, maybe not all of Bando but certainly the empire that lost the peninsula, Newport assuming the Manticore didn't stay down, possibly some corners of Pogworld, the new Olympian regime doesn't hate us as such but will definitely have planned for our interference if there's a next time, and who knows what other swaths of destruction got left in people's wakes before Moebius.

And that's just the stuff I've been around for. The only one I can say we got positive attention for any amount of standing out on was the Grid, because Programs are very forgiving of their Users by design.

[photonicfighter]

Oh? Ohhhh, I see, so it's playing on a purposeful typo, that plays on an accidental typo, that...

...that's not very great at all. That many places have it out for us now? I don't know if I should feel better, or worse.

[claudiometer]

Subtlety is not exactly our strong suit.

[photonicfighter]

A team is only as stealthy as the noisiest member....

[claudiometer]

'Hate' is pretty strong wording for most of those, really. More... definite suspicion and wariness.

Those of us who actually dealt with folks in Bando were more grateful for the help than upset about where it came from, but the kind of splash made there? That's gonna get around. Greece is more a problem in the sense that Prometheus plans for contingencies - we shifted things in his favor way more than we didn't, so his first plan won't be 'kick them out,' but that'll probably be on his list. That's just How A Prometheus Do.

The Manticore and the Illuminants are the bigger problems, the former because we kinda killed him and the latter because they've already broken into Liminal once. I'm really not sure how to classify the eldritch crap from right before I got here - it was definitely a threat, but either they hate everything or don't understand the concept.

[photonicfighter]

Suspicion and wariness aren't going to be in our favor, still.

I do remember something to that effect being mentioned about Prometheus. I think that situation is more likely to be... delicate, than actually negative. Here's hoping we recognize that in time, if it comes up.

...broken into liminal? So that's something that's possible? That makes sense, when you really think about it.... It's good to get this information circulating on the network again, at least. Some of this, I've heard. Some of this, I haven't.

[loyalrebel]

I have firm suspicions, as one of the.... overlays who was an Illuminant, that they care more about stopping the Arcana than us as Travelers.

Regardless, the Illuminants are highly aware of us and should be treated with utmost respect at all times.

[photonicfighter]

An overlay of something that powerful?

[She's stunned silent for a few moments, processing that.]

I'll be sure to keep that in mind. How would I know one if I saw one?

[loyalrebel]

Technically my overlay willingly became an Illuminant, but yes. Powerful overlays are not that rare, uncommon yes, but not unheard of. I mean, people were recently greek dieties.

[Seriously.]

They may look human, but their ideologies hinge on the aspects of their particular color. They also have utter mastery of their color of magic, beyond that of any other mages skill with it.

Appearances change though, as they are simply inhabiting a mortal vessel for a time.

[claudiometer]

It took all eight of 'em to pull it off, and they got kicked back out before too much trouble, but. Definitely a thing to be mindful of if we ever end up back in the Dolorosa neighborhood.

[photonicfighter]

Given what Malik has said, too, I'll be sure to be mindful of that.

[breakaleginhalf]

Space mall isn't fond of us either. But I think that's more cos like, half of the Empress's crew had bounty posters.

[claudiometer]

That's because pretty much everyone on board when she left Gehenna was a criminal or political prisoner.

[dino_zarf]

That's just regular crime stuff though, that's easier to handle. It's the ones who are on to us as Travellers we need to worry about.

[breakaleginhalf]

...well Matic was definitely onto me. 'cos portals.

[dino_zarf]

Aiya. Well, at least he wasn't a government agent.

He knows something's odd about Rose too because she decided she'd had enough of gravity.

[breakaleginhalf]

Antigravity baby and interdimensional ninja. It's like the most fucking obscure pub joke ever.

[dino_zarf]

Something something a duck and a cucumber.

[breakaleginhalf]

Two blokes walk into a bar. The third one ducks.