trans_9 | "Going where I list, my own master total and absolute" (Part 2

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"Going where I list, my own master total and absolute" (Part 2 - Diplomacy, Tourism, and Processing)

The trip down was uneventful. The view was gorgeous when the viewing window shields were raised again when they were through the atmosphere, especially as they passed down to Megalopolis, the simply-named giant city that was this world's capital. To the Earthlings there, the continents of this world would look vastly familiar, but that didn't mean anything, did it?

Eventually the sparkling city spires of the mega-city, interspersed with flying traffic, rose up to meet them, and Obs Deck, attached by its massive shielded umbilical cord, deposited them at the Council's private spaceport. It retreated back up to Stacy after they'd disembarked.

This world was a gorgeous world, that much they could likely tell while standing there on the landing pad, looking at the rounded curves of the beautifully designed spaceport. Buildings rose up above them in shades of white, paneled with multi-colored glass, in creative architectural designs. The air traffic weaved neatly in endless lines between buildings, and the overcast sky was in shades of orange and pink, with occasional slips of a bright blue peeking through.

The Council of Five was waiting for them in person, clearly glad to see them all, dressed in resplendent clothing.

"Welcome to the Megalopolis, our capital city, and welcome to Galilee. We are the Council of Five, and we're honored by your presence."

[ooc: The first subthread is now open. They have split into groups! All subthreads are now open! Please do not set up new subthreads. The plot-runners will set them up as needed as we go.]

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Harriet had been following the off-world party since they landed. Moses had wanted more information, and honestly, the thought of going off world was a rather fascinating one. She’d love to have a chance to talk to one of them. Just to ask them what it was like, to be heroes. To be brave and strong and travel the stars.

She knew Moses had the other groups being followed, but this was her group. She had to keep an eye on them and tell Moses what she saw. She was fairly certain that one group must have been their own personal clones, as one of the Councilors had taken them away to be marked. It was interesting, to see a group of clones who had no markings. Were they treated differently? Could they be? Could the world Moses saw exist somewhere else?

She paused, hovering quietly a few feet away as one of the off-worlder’s seemed to start an argument with the Councilor escorting them, lip caught between her teeth. It was never a good idea, in her mind, to give the realies reason for anger, but this off-worlder didn’t seem to care. He didn’t seem to be back down, either, and she would have the moment the Councilor yelled at her.

Well, she wouldn’t have given the councilor reasons to yell in the first place, realies were quick to anger, and kicking a fake was about as dangerous as kicking a stone. So long as it wasn’t someone else’s stone, no one would complain.

She continued to follow until Councilor Orin and the others had vanished into the Feelies, padding up to Howard with wide and curious eyes, he didn’t look much older than her own physical age, he should be easy to speak to. Moses would be proud of her, taking initiative and approaching one of the off-worlders once they were alone. She hoped, anyway. “Do you not want to go? Only, everyone on the planet wants to go to the Feelies, I’d like to. But they’re not meant for us. Is something wrong?”

ooc: Everyone else, continue on. Enjoy your regularly scheduled entertainments. This little mini-adventure is for Howard.

Howard notices the girl approaching before she speaks to him, but futilely hopes she's walking past him or going to talk to the guard rather than talk to him.

"Yeah, I totally want to get mindfucked by some bully's movies. That's exactly what I came to this planet for," he mutters around a mouthful of the hard candy. He's never felt any compunction swearing around younger children, but if he ever had the FAYZ would have stripped it from him.

He glances over at the little girl, more curious as to why she's bothering him than anything. Maybe it's the color of her skin, but something in her words really stands out to him. "Wait, what do you mean 'not meant for you'?"

"It's fun. Everyone wants to be a hero sometimes, or see the universe, or be a pirate. I've seen the home vids, it's not so bad." She wrinkled her nose at the description of the councilor, trying not to laugh. Realies were bullies, especially higher ranked Realies. They thought they could do whatever they wanted. She was surprised the off-worlder had gotten his way, he must be stubborn. Or the councilor had simply decided he wasn't worth the effort. He was young, after all. Maybe his companions were more important. But even the people who weren’t important could have useful information, or at least that was what Bilbo said. Don’t judge people by how they look and pay attention to the people that others dismiss.

"What did you and your companions come to the planet for?" She knew that traveling together didn't always mean friends, companions was a safer and more neutral word choice. Besides, Moses would like to know, she knew that for certain. A chance to ask directly had simply presented itself; even Guy would be pleased with her.

She tilted her head, eying the guard curiously. Really, if only they'd left the off-worlder alone, she could have been more direct, but as it was she would simply have to pretend to be as cute and innocent as she appeared.

"People like me." She made a gesture to her forehead. "You know. You have people like me traveling with you, don't you? That's why the other Councilor took them to the processing center."

The guard hovered, watching the conversation with narrow eyes, but for the moment made no move to drive the curious girl off. She would have her time, another moment, perhaps two, and then she knew she would have to leave.

"Not me." Howard would have liked nothing more than to stay an average middle school student and grown up into an average adult instead of being thrust into this roller coaster thrill ride of the odd year. He's had enough of heroics and seeing the universe.

So. He catches the way her nose wrinkles. The kid doesn't like Orin Calad either. That's something they have in common. Still, he doesn't know what he should tell her, if anything - even if his experience with Stacy's diplomatic missions means he's already expecting this is blown, he'd rather not be the one blabbing something that might be confidential. "Trade. I don't know why I'm here, but the ship chose me to go along with this and so, here I am."

He glances over at the guard and hunches a little closer to the girl, spreading his hands open like in a perfect gesture of 'I don't get it' and then pretending to give her one of the candies as a cover.

"Where'd you get the mark?" he whispers, then getting slightly more nervous as he realizes what group she might be talking about. The one with Zouichi, maybe? The diplomats in that group hadn't looked so certain where they were going. "Wait, what processing center? What happens at the processing center?"

"Anyway," he says a bit more loudly. "The feelies can't be that much cooler than X-Box Live."

She didn't like any of the council, or most realies. Realies wanted them to continue being weak and helpless and slaves to their whims, she just wanted to be free. They could never be free so long as the realies ran the show, they had to stand up and fight and never back down. That was what Guy said, anyway.

"Trade? There's a lot of you for traders. You must have a really big ship. Is your captain really bossy, to order you down here without telling you what you're doing?" So, he might not know anything, but more likely he was just covering.

She glanced at the guard. How could they not know what was happening to their clones? Didn't they know the law?

She let out a pitch-perfect squeal at the gift of the candy, carefully throwing her arms around his neck after she had finished making the guard flinch. "Thank you, Mister!"

She whispered, low and quiet and quick. "I'm a clone, they mark us when we're born. Made. Pick your own word, if you wanna. That's what they're going to do to the people they took to the processing center." She bounced back, cheerfully unwrapping the candy and popping it into her mouth.

"What's an X-Box, Mister? Is that some sort of transport? Is is an animal?"

The guard was giving her a baleful stare, still rubbing his ear. "Girl, where is your guardian? What's your number?"

Time to get out of here.

Edith swept into the scene, more scarves and skirts than a hand cart, enough fabric to completely obscure both gender and any hint that she had once been made for pleasure. "Poppetttt, Popppetttttt. Mummsy was SO worried about you, she finished getting her nails done and look! No poppet! Don't you scare Mummsy like that, poppet." Really, there were times she thought Edith enjoyed the act too much, the arms around her were far too tight and the sudden whack on her nose hurt. "You know Mummsy doesn't like to punish you poppet, she only does it when you're a naughty girl. Bad, Bad girl."

"Of course, Mummsy. I'm sorry." She tucked the candy into the side of her mouth, pressed against Edith's side and gazing at the pair apologetically.

"I'm sorry my poppet bothered you, young man, she's such a curious thing. Only two. Prone to wandering off. My word, I must get a leash for her. Wouldn't you like that Poppet?"

Howard tries not to let how tense he gets, both at the hug and the new information, show in his body language to the guard. Although, a moment after she breaks contact, he imagines it wouldn't be out of place for someone to react with discomfort at being touched by a clone, if they're some marked group of outcast citizens - or worse.

So yes, it would be Zouichi's group, probably. He remembers some of the Med Bay files. Marking can't be that bad, can it? Not unless there's some kind of reprogramming too...

He really doesn't want to deal with brainwashed Zouichi again.

"An X-Box?" He takes a chance that the guard won't know what it is either. "It's a game system that you can turn on after midnight, and it lets you play trivia games with people in a mile radius of your lodgings. I usually point it north, because that's how you get the most information for the game."

Total bull, and he hopes that, having just made it up on the spot, the little girl can get his message while the guard won't.

He backs up when Edith arrives, partially out of legitimate surprise at the bright colors and loud voice. "Oh, it's fine. Nothing like kid germs to make a planet feel complete," he says, glancing again at the guard and waiting to see the reaction to letting a little disdain fit into his voice. See, guard, he doesn't like these obvious outsiders, he's just being polite to an inquisitive child.

After midnight, questions, north of the hotels they ended up in. If she understood his code, then he wanted to meet up later. Which would give them an even better look at the group. She hoped Guy and Moses and everyone would be pleased with her. "I bet it's a fun game, Mister. Does it work better if you leave the window open? How late can you leave it on?"

"Still, I'm sorry my poppet bothered you, she's such a mindless thing sometimes. Just a pet. But she tries so hard to learn things beyond her understanding." Edith was laying it on a little thick, wasn't she? Harriet tried not to grimace, tightening her hand on the sleeves engulfing her.

The guard scowled. "Just get her out of here, Ma'am. This is a diplomatic party member and we don't need curious pets nosing around."

Edith giggled, patting her head. "Well, I was busy. Don't you like my new nose? Isn't it just sublime? And my nails!" Said nails were shoved directly into the guard's face, allowing the children to finish their coded communications. "I just love this color, isn't it perfect for my hands?"

"Yeah, you can leave it open to get a better signal, but you don't want to keep it too late because you have to be places in the morning. And if that doesn't work, sometimes you have to tie the curtains up." He doesn't know if they can open the windows at the hotel - hoping they're at a hotel at all. Might as well have multiple ways to signal.

God, Edith's even intimidating the guard. Probably best to cut it off now. "Yes, and said diplomatic party member would like to see more stuff, if that's okay." He pulls away from the clones and the guard, forcing the conversation to spread out. "Unless I'm supposed to stay in one spot while everyone else gets feelers in their brain."

Besides, he needs to find a map or something of the city if he's going to accurately judge a mile. And a flashlight.

"Better hurry, Mister. The best shops will close. But I sure like your game, I'll look around the market and try to find one."

She smiled, hiding her face in Edith's sleeve. Moses must be happy with her, he had to be. She'd even arranged a meeting with one of the off-worlders.

Edith hummed, smiling as she withdrew her hand. "Thank you for looking after my poppet, darling." She hooked her hand on the child's shoulder, guiding her into the crowd. Within a moment they were away and the grip on her shoulder loosened. "Did you catch his name, Harriet?"

She shook her head. "I didn't have time, but he didn't ask mine either. We'll talk more later, I want to find out why they're here. We'll need to report in." There were people around them, and they were quiet, but not whispering, letting their chatter blend with the crowd's level of generic noise. Better to hide in plain sight, for all of them.

The guard frowned after the perfumed pair, glancing at Howard. "Sure. What do you want to find? We'll need to be back by the time the Councilor and your party have finished and we can't leave this area."

He makes sure not to make it obvious that he's keeping an eye on where the two go, instead pretending to be just edgy around the guard. "Can't I wander? Feelers last longer than a few minutes, don't they? You guys keep bragging about how great your culture is, but I haven't seen any of it yet that hasn't given me the creeps."

He keeps several steps ahead of the guard's stride, which puts him at a rather fast walk. "What's 'this area', by the way? How big is it? Is it just within eyesight? Why can't I leave? What if I have to go back to the ship for my Med Kit?"

Questions, hopefully persistent and many enough to dull the guard's memory of Howard's run-in with the little girl. Not to mention that he really does want to know why they're so strict about what the visitors can see. What better way than to stick them in a movie where they have to spend two hours in seats?

"Feelies." The guard corrected absently, frowning. The others had been allowed to join the Councilor in the feelies. And he? Well, he had been left to guard what amounted to a child, hardly the most dignified position in the universe.

They would all owe him once they got off shift. "They'll likely last at least an hour, but we're not allowed out of view of the building. Anything you can find within immediate walking distance is allowable, sir, we simply can't use the transporters."

He paused at the barrage of questions, obviously taking a moment to gather himself before answering. "If you wish to return to your ship for anything, then you will need to wait for the rest of your group to finish, Sir. The councilor wished us to wait. And I assure you, should the need arise, our medical facilities are the best in this universe and more than adequate to any injury you might suffer while touring the entertainment district."

The doll and her guardian were quickly forgotten.

Howard's used to resentment. He can practically taste it radiating off the guard. It's familiar. Hardly anyone ever really wants him around.

Resentment is good.

"Whats out of view of the building? Can people see me from in there?" he asks, feigning alarm. "What are your orders, sir? If I know what they are, I can work my hardest to comply and make your life a hell of a lot easier. I'll stop asking questions, promise."

Laying it on a bit thick, probably. He pulls some money out of his pocket and heads towards a nearby store, figuring if he keeps doing stuff, he might be able to keep the guard from thinking too hard on anything.

The guard had no interest in any of this, it was a job. A job his family had been involved in for generations. To guard the council was a great honor, not something undertaken lightly. A job he took pride in, for the most part. But this...well, guarding - and he might as well call it what it was, he was babysitting - a foreign diplomat might seem important any other time. But at the moment, it was simply watching a trouble maker. A non-conformist. Someone who might cause more problems than he helped solve.

"No, the building is closed, keep the building in your view. I will tell you if you've gone too far." He frowned. "My orders are to escort you until the Councilor is done, it is unsafe with the terrorists about to allow you to wander our city on your own."

"Whoa, whoa." He puts his hands out. "Terrorists? The briefing didn't say anything about terrorists."

He decides to play up the fear a little. The guard's clearly already written him off as irrelevant, but you can never be too careful. "Why are we even in the district if there's terrorists? Are they like...terrorists with bomb? Or lasers? Oh God, lasers are freaky. Do they torture people? Do they kidnap kids like me?"

"Your diplomats will be briefed on it, it obviously wasn't seen as something important for you to know. We're safe enough, I know where to stay."

The implication that Howard did not was left unstated, guard walking stiff shouldered behind him into the shop.

"You don't need to worry about that, nothing will happen to you as long as you follow the rules. You would have been even safer joining the councilor in the Feelies, rather than deciding to wander. You are a visitor here, and unaccustomed to anything on this planet."

Only an idiot disregards the suggestions of his hosts.

"You guys are never going to let that go, are you? Haven't you ever heard of 'just say no to mind-altering stuff'? That was like, lesson one in sixth grade."

Howard doesn't mind the implications that he's unimportant. He prefers it that way. The less attention he gets from the guard or the Councilor, the better he can get information, and the easier it will be to sneak out later tonight.

"So anyway, these terrorists are bad enough that you have to stick around babysitting me, but not enough for me to know about? Seriously?"

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"Going where I list, my own master total and absolute" (Part 2 - Diplomacy, Tourism, and Processing)

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