Inside the Great Maker - Exalted IC

[Psychie]

Needle quickly brings both Ray and Flowering up to speed about the discovery of the mystery datacube that she found on her doorstep. "I suspect that this has something of interest, but my naturally suspicious nature has me thinking that this might be of interest to our current investigations, and I didn't want to access the files in here by myself. Now, lets see what we have here, shall we?"

She then opens the first file to examine its contents.

 

[Sherwood]

The first, smaller file you look at is a simple text message. It reads:

Forgive my odd means of getting you this message, but my Nemesis has many pawns set against me, so I must be careful. I have watched you and your fellow Champions closely, and at last, I am convinced that you have not been tampered with by my hated foe. He has been working to incite a war between Kamak, Yugash and Estasia, and it was only due to your interference that his initial plot was foiled. Because of that, you and your Circle are in grave danger, along with the members of the Tripartite Assembly. I have learned that there is going to be another attempt to start his planned war in the form of a large explosive set to take out the summit, killing all that attend. This explosive is already in place, somewhere in the auditorium, and it is set to go off sometime in the middle of the negotiations.

I do not believe that our Nemesis is aware of your secret search for him, a fact that has kept you from becoming a higher priority target. He has ways of changing his appearance, so trust no one, and use extreme caution. If you are able to stop the bombing, I will attempt to make contact with you again.

Most Assurant of Three Assemblies

The other files show pictures of the auditorium that the summit meeting has been taking place, five images with notes saying that it is likely that the explosives are likely to be hidden away behind walls and floor panels.

A quick check of your chronometers show that the next meeting of the summit is due to take place in less than three hours.

 

[Psychie]

Needle lets out a low growl of anger. "This is damaging my calm. I am quite glad that you are here with me right now. We have to act quickly to determine if this document has any kind of truth to it, and if so, locate and disarm these bombs."

OOC Do we have any kind of database of Exalts from other nations? Have any of us heard of the Most Assurant of Three Assemblies?

 

[Arynne]

"Why not check for bombs first? For that matter, why haven't the Regulators or Ein herself done a deep-sweep for bombs? Especially after what's happened already?"

 

[Psychie]

Needle looks over at Flowering and says, "Who knows when the last sweep for explosives has taken place, and there is the real chance that the ones doing the searching has been affected by this unknown Exalt, this Nemesis, with their minds having been altered. We can alert Ein and let her examine the area, because if it is possible to alter her mind, we are already done for. It would just be a matter of time."

OOC I presume that we have means of getting in touch with Ein herself?

 

[Sherwood]

OOC I presume that we have means of getting in touch with Ein herself?

Normally it would take some bit of time and hoops to jump through to get to Ein directly, but in special circumstances you can pull the emergency card to get immediate access, just so long as you don't do it too often. Assuming that there are bombs in the conference room, you would certainly be justified. Do you call on Ein?

 

[Psychie]

Normally it would take some bit of time and hoops to jump through to get to Ein directly, but in special circumstances you can pull the emergency card to get immediate access, just so long as you don't do it too often. Assuming that there are bombs in the conference room, you would certainly be justified. Do you call on Ein?

Absolutely. Do we need to access her at her Core, or can we contact her from my quarters?

 

[Sherwood]

You are able to remotely contact Ein from your quarters, but if you wish, you can go to the Core and communicate with her 'in person'.

 

[Psychie]

Needle goes to the intercom and tries to get in touch with Ein. "Priority communication. I must speak with Ein immediately."

 

[Random Word]

Ray casually leans against the wall and polishes her essence cannon. Waking up Ein for this seems excessive - it is, after all, just an anonymous bomb threat - but Needle is wicked smart so if she wants Ein, she'll get Ein.

 

[Sherwood]

It takes a moment for the communication network to transfer your call to the heart of the city, but soon after you have a holographic avatar of Ein. "Greetings, Champions. Your incoming call indicated a priority situation. How may I assist you today?"

 

[Psychie]

Needle quickly explains the situation to the elder Exalt, making sure to go into detail of the warning that they have received from this unknown benefactor. She says, "Noble Ein, we must act as if this threat is credible, and the other resources we have may be compromised. I would strenuously request that you make another sweep of the meeting room and the surrounding areas."

 

[Sherwood]

Ein's avatar on the screen frowns, then says, "This is . . . troubling. I will dispatch drones to begin a thorough search, and will warn the Tripartite Assembly of the potential threat. In order to keep your names from drawing the attention of this Nemesis, I will not say where the tip came from. I hope that you are wrong about this, but after what happened at the landing pad, I suspect the worst. I advise you to continue your investigation, and keep me informed on what you find out. Try to establish contact with this Most Assurant of Three Assemblies, and to answer your question, no, I have not heard of any Exalt of that designation, either in Kamak, or any of the other nations around us. End of line."

What do the three of you do now?

 

[Arynne]

Flowering looks at her Assembly. "It would appear we have three choices: follow up on this personally and ensure the conference is safe, endeavor to identify the unknown Exalt, or address ourselves to the third question: what else might be happening right now that an enemy would want us distracted from?"

 

[Psychie]

Needle frowns at Flowering's suggestion that there might be a hidden agenda that might be underway to get them looking left when they should be looking right. "I can't discount that as a possibility. All of this is very disturbing to me. If I were to make the suggestion of what to do next, I would like to go to the meeting rooms and look into the tip that this mystery person has offered us and see if Ein is able to discover anything of import."

 

[Arynne]

"So, double-check for explosives first, then begin deeper investigations into this unknown person who contacted us." Flowering glances at Ray, knowing the other Exalt's preference for having the Assembly's objectives clearly laid out before initiating action. "Does that seem tactically sound?"

 

[Random Word]

At her name, Ray looks up from polishing her spirit, bemused, but nods amicably. "Wise, as always, but none of that sounds like the destruction of the enemies of the Great Maker. You have fun with the Needling, and give me a signal when you need to go in loud," she says with a smile of anticipation. "You want me to protect the team doing the explosives sweep in the meantime?"

 

[Sherwood]

Do you head for the meeting rooms to oversee the search?

 

[Psychie]

Needle suggests that they all go join the investigation into the meeting rooms, looking for any signs of tampering. "I honestly don't expect to find anything that Ein herself cannot, but I want to see if our mysterious tipster is on the level, or if we are being sent on a wild hunt. Shall we?"

 

[Sherwood]

The three of you move through the inner passages of the city quickly, and the citizens seem to be able to sense that there is something going on that makes them clear out of your way with haste, leaving you with easy access. As you move further in, you reach the higher security areas where the Ministers of the visiting Tripartite Assemblies from Estasia and Yugash are staying near the meeting rooms. A member of the outer ring of the security detail offers you a salute as you approach.

"Greetings, Champions. There are no meetings underway at the moment, and our two guest delegations are both in their respective rooms and are resting after their long travels and the chaos earlier in the day. Is there anything that I can assist you with?"

Just then, before you have a chance to reply, dozens of large moonsilver drones come scurrying up, escorting Ein's most commonly used avatar. The security team all snap to 'attention' as she walks up, and the elder Exalt barely gives them a sideways glance as she says, "I have received word that the meeting rooms may have been sabotaged with multiple explosive devices, so I am now conducting a sweep of the area. Stand clear."

"Of course, Noble Ein! Make way, you louts!"

Under the watchful eye of Ein, the drones begin their detailed scan, and soon more security teams are on scene, looking confused but following Ein's order to stay back out of the way. It does not take long before one of the drones comes out with a large device in its claws and hands it to Ein. She turns it over and examines it. With a nod, she hands it back to the drone and it scrambles off. "Crude, but it would have been quite effective." With a glance over at Needle, Ray and Flowering, Ein says, "It would appear that there are people interested in causing full out war. If it were not for your timely intervention, the loss of life would be incalculable, both in the direct casualties of the moment and from the resulting conflict with Estasia. Well done."

The Estasian Exalt, Glorious Will of the People, comes walking out and heads over to the four of you. "I have just been told that there have been several explosive devices that were located in the meeting areas. Is this true?" She seems remarkably calm, considering the news.

 

[Arynne]

"Unfortunately, some individual seems very eager indeed for a war to break out," says Flowering.

 

[Psychie]

Needle nods in agreement. "Fortunately, there are those among us that still desire peace, despite the level of tension between our nations. War would only bring forth needless casualties and foster hatred between our peoples for generations to come." She watches as Ein's drones continue to examine the area, then turns her attention back to Glorious Will of the People. "I must ask a strange question. Are you familiar with any Exalt titled Most Assureant of Three Assemblies? This Exalt made contact with us, telling us of the risk of the explosives, hinting that he or she is currently hunting a rogue Exalt that is behind all of this, trying to start a war between Kamak and Yugash on one side, and Estasia on the other. It is normal for the names of the Exalted to be known through their deeds, but this is one Exalt I am not familiar with from any nation nearby."

 

[Sherwood]

Glorious Will pauses, deep in thought. "No, I can tell you with certainty that there is no Estasian Exalt named Most Assurant of three Assembies, and I have never come across that name before in connection of an Exalt of another nation." She is quiet for a moment, then says, "If what you are saying is true, we must do whatever we can to counter the actions of this . . . enemy. I would like to request that you continue to keep me informed of what you find out, and I will do the same for you."

Over the course of the next hour, Ein and her drones find two more explosives, ones that were powerful enough to cause massive casualties had they gone off as intended. Under the watchful eye of the elder Exalt, the bombs are successfully disarmed and taken away to the forensic lab to be fully examined for any evidence as to the identity of the bomber. It does not take long for the investigators to determine that these explosives were also pulled from the armories of this city, showing that this perpetrator has ready access to the most secure areas of Ein's innards.

The fact that your own Tripartite Assembly would have been included in the massive explosions has given Glorious Will reason to accept that this is all being pulled on you by some unknown party that is trying to cause a massive conflict. It is at this time that Glorious Will returns to her own people to update them on what has been discovered and the theory that there is an agitator trying to spark a war.

After the Estasian Exalt has left, Ein approaches the three of you, indicating that she wishes to speak in private. Her avatar leads you to the very center of her Core in the heart of the metropolis. Once you are all secured in place in the high security area, Ein sits down in front of you. "My friends, I have some very serious concerns about the timing of these threats to our and Yugash's security, especially with the work being done on Project Sunburst. If I am not mistaken, the three of you have not been briefed into the Project. I must stress to you that what I am about to tell you cannot be shared with your Estasian counterparts. This is a matter of national security. Are there any questions that you have for me before I start describing the details of this to you?"

 

[Psychie]

Needle feels a thrill of excitement at the thought of getting involved in some secret program like this Project Sunburst. It has to be something significant if it has a need to be kept secret even from us. And it sounds like it might involve Yugash somehow. What could it be? She looks at Ein and shakes her head. "No, Noble Ein, we are not familiar with this project. What can you tell us of it?"

 

[Random Word]

Ray kneels and recites silent prayer in this sacred place, consecrated to the Great Maker, while Ein speaks. "I am... not good at lying, and I understand need to know. You want me to wait outside for this?"