It's Turbin' Time (Library of Ruina Modded/Arknights)

---

4.2 - A Road Walked Together

For the moment, you think, as you walk through the hallways of Rhodes Island's Medical Department, Turbulence Office should be the priority. With them by your side, you can do this- you can accomplish anything, anything at all.

You have their locations, but- those might change. They have certainly changed so far.

"Such is the nature of this sort of bizarre cartography. You blink, and innacuracies bloom." whispers Abel. "This hoard of maps inside your brain... it is confusing, but all of those events you have predicted, all of those possible futures- are they absolutely assured events? I am unsure, but I am inclined towards "no." They remind me of attempting to navigate the waters below, in the Well..."

...the Well?

Has Abel been there, too?

"Yes. Moving from one mind to another is... typically done through the Light that permeates the air, faint as it is, but for long distances, and for following Carmen's trail... sometimes I have to resort to following the Light into the place all emerges. Move through the deeper connections." he explains. "Nevertheless, you should consider that the maps in your mind can change, and that your very attempts to follow the course charted for you will alter it."

That is true.

But you think you'll be ready. Even if the map in your head isn't fully accurate at all times... hey, still useful. Knowing what was true at some point is still priceless information, isn't it?

"Fair enough, I suppose." Abel answers. "Ah, we are here."

In this case, "here" is a lead you think you that should have persued earlier.

Operator Silence- one of the doctors who worked on you, regarding the matter of the Fairy shards' removal- knows something about Memento, and Turbulence Office. And you think it could shed some more light on what, exactly, was going on with him since he arrived on Terra.

As far as you know, he might be arriving soon- the Rhodes Island landship hasn't diverted its course all that much, essentially still going in a straight line- so if he does not change his path, you will meet in time. There's no guarantee, but...

You have a feeling it will happen. That is all.

Ah, here she is.

Dr. Olivia Silence.

Is there anyone in there, right now?

...you knock on the door of her office, and try to recall what she was like.

You haven't seen her around much, hm. Brown hair, a disposition that brought an owl to mind, an aura of perpetual exhaustion- if you recall it right, her Oripathy messed with her sleep cycle- and not much else. You know she's a skilled physician, apparently, but-

That symbol. You recall it, faintly. The emblem of infinity, a plus and a minus. It's from Rhine Labs- the same corporation that you saw H and Alvar attacking- hitting some sort of convoy, right? She is likely affiliated- was she sent here for some sort of multi-corporation collaboration project? Would she know about them as well?

Well, no one's answering. Is she here? Your ears are quite good- you can pick up a muffled sound of someone perusing through papers.

No, placing them back in the file, hurriedly.

You knock again, and hear another sound coming from the inside of the room. A cabinet opening? Sounds like it. Something being stuffed inside that cabinet. Then, the sound of it closing, and someone falling on a chair.

"...come in." you hear someone mumble.

You open the door.

Silence is just as she was last time you saw her, only a bit worse for wear. There are faint, but noticeable, bags under her eyes. Have her sleep problems grown worse, or has her Oripathy-induced maladies simply compounded with other matters and started to take a greater toll?

It's likely not your business.

"...Operator Sarasa, if I recall it correctly?" she asks, an eyebrow rising.

"Yes." you answer. "Are you busy, as of this time? I have some questions to ask you."

She frowns. She was not expecting this.

Then, comprehension dawns in her eyes. Is she guessing why you came here? Maybe.

"Please have a seat." she offers. You nod, and she looks into your eyes.

Well, into the place where they should be, if it wasn't for the hat covering and shadowing them.

You take the chair. It is... standard. The same as the rest of her office. Very... frugal, not much decoration. The most you can see are some certificates hanging on a wall, filing cabinets, a photograph of herself with a young girl with horns.

Before anything, you recognize a feeling. The... mood that this office carried. It reminds you of the one you used to own as a Fixer.

Not the one in the Nest you lived in until recently. One of the many offices you had through the years, in various spots accross the Backstreets, and the one just before you ended up going with Turbulence Office.

It's... punishingly frugal, almost. It is not a need of more luxuries, that's not what is missing. This is the office of someone that was like you- lonely, but unwilling or unable to recognize it.

Oh well. You suppose it's not your business. You might be reaching too far, even.

"...has your recovery went well, Sarasa?" asks Silence, shaking you off from your thoughts.

You chuckle. It's been some time since people have called you by your number.

"It has, yes." you answer. "...I have come here to ask you a question, you see."

"A question?"

"Regarding something you said, back when we met- when I woke up here for the first time."

She seems puzzled. She's not recalling what- then she blinks. She's almost gotten it.

"...something I said..."

"It's been some time, so you might not recall it. But you recognized some names I said aloud at the time. Have you heard of someone called "Memento," Mrs. Silence? That, or "Turbulence Office." You seemed familiar with them."

Silence closes her eyes, and sighs.

"I have."

"Good, good. Let's... make sure we're on the same page, you see. What would you describe him as? In terms of appearance, personality, I mean."

She clicks her tongue.

"Completely covered in bandages. Silent most of the time. Speaks slowly. He is always morose, and has ...a void for a face."

Yes. That is exactly who you were looking for. You sense a heavy feeling in your chest.

"...how has he been... doing?" you ask.

"Tell me something first."

You shrug. Why not? She can go for it, as long as she answers your own question

"...what is your relationship with Memento?"

There it is. Familiarity, caution, a bit of anger. She knows him, knows him enough to grit her teeth at this, and to question your motives. She knows him, and cares about him...

Why?

"He's a friend. We've been separated for a long time, and... and I want to find him, again."

Silence considers your words.

"You're a member of Turbulence Office, aren't you?"

"I am their leader."

This gives her pause.

"It's... a long story."

"And I have time."

---

"I think... I think it's watching me."

---

"...we met back when I still worked with Rhine Labs."

You tilt your head.

"Have you left them?" you say, your gaze pointed at her uniform. "...why the-"

"It's complicated." she interrupts. "Just... let me continue."

You shrug. Might as well. She looks guilty, for a second, moving her head away from you and towards the window. She gazes into the world outside for a second, before sighing and turning back.

"He was a test subject."

...what?

"Memento was... a test subject. He was unresponsive, and so... inhuman looking, that it was believed he was some manner of Arts construct. He remained in the same site as I for quite some time, and we formed, well, a connection."

"What kind of connection?"

"He wrote little poems, when he wasn't being observed, or when he was moved to somewhere without surveillance. He stored them inside..." she pauses. She knows it sounds absurd. "You... you know him, don't you? He stored the poems inside his face. Inside the void."

Ah.

Yes, he does that.

You are unsure of what to say about him being a test subject. If Rhine Labs is anything like the research conglomerates you recall, that means nothing good. Nothing good at all. But this is a new world- are the rules the same? You can't know. But you'll expect the worst. The guilt in her eyes does not give you much hope for his treatment.

And his poetry... you miss it. It hasn't been that long, but you miss hearing him in a recital. He liked to visit those- it was one of the few social activities that you didn't have to push him into for his own good, and... you think he felt better.

The idea of them mistaking Memento for some sort of construct is... infuriating, you won't lie.

Though you suspect he might have made an effort to mantain the misconception.

Nevertheless, you gesture at her to continue.

"I found him taking a bundle of the poems out of his head one day. No one was looking, and I was surprised. I almost..."

She almost ratted him out, if unintentionally.

"From that day on, I started finding them around. But those little pieces of paper would vanish as soon as I took my eye off them, and one day I decided to write on the back of one of them. I was already... doubting Rhine Labs. Like I said, it's a long story." she recounts. "From there, he started asking me about where I was from, and... he told me the same. About..."

She stops.

"About "Turbulence Office." It wasn't much. Personal details, things he liked about his friends. He asked me if I had seen any of them around... and I hadn't." she says. "One day they stopped. He'd been moved to another site, under the wing of the Originium Arts division. And... that's it, mostly. I wish I could have gotten him out, and I tried, but... I failed to do it. I'm sorry."

"...I see." you say. "Thank you. He was not treated well, has he?"

"No. I don't think he was." Silence answers.

She's growing heated- beginning to grit her teeth. So are you- you can feel your hand instinctively tighten, as if around the pommel of an invisible blade.

You are so used to holding the motion back that it's become completely unnoticeable to an outside observer, and you yourself rarely pay attention to it.

But it's still there.

"It's best if you leave, at least for now." says Abel.

Yeah.

---

As you walk through the corridors of Rhodes Island, under the fluorescent lights, you hear something- back-to-to back slashing sounds.

Blades crossing, dashing through the air... a pleasing melody, for sure.

You even recognize some of the notes- one is certainly Arabella, going by the constant slicing noise of a blade through flesh. Her own flesh.

But who is she fighting?

It's a practice match, at least. If it was a real fight, she'd be more aggressive.

You step through the door of the training room, and you see someone you weren't really expecting.

Gladiia stands in the middle of the room, holding off a veritable storm of blood droplets with large sweeps of her spear.

You frown.

You haven't exactly interacted with her much. You know Arabella has some sort of interest, but you can't really bring yourself to treat her with this much friendliness.

You decide to sit down, and watch the fight happen. Who knows- maybe you'll learn something.

Arabella's learning, you think. Gladiia is extremely quick, and extremely strong- her explosive bursts of speed could easily make a puddle out of your companion through sheer momentum imparted with each blow, if she was allowed to land any hits- which is why Arabella can't allow her to land any.

The droplets are vital in this regard. Each of them is a deadly trap for the "Abyssal Hunter."

Normally, for less agile opponents, Arabella has to fling them into the enemy like bullets, but here she has to do the exact opposite. Keep them in place, or at least in a stable trajectory, don't let them get out of her way. It doesn't matter if they're not moving fast.

If the elaborately-dressed woman charges through them at lightning speed, she'll find herself with some new holes anyway- her reaction time can't quite beat her own agility.

You have the feeling this is a trick she's tried before, but now she's doing it with a bit more care.

That's interesting, at least.

Not a perfect solution- she's pushing through them with swings of her spear anyway and certainly doing it quickly enough to have the advantage- but Arabella's doing well.

Very well, for what is certainly a Color-level opponent.

Then, all of a sudden, Arabella sheathes her sword. Gladiia lowers her spear. The blood droplets fall from the air, and seem to flow back, wrapping around Arabella's outstretching hand slowly, gently.

The Abyssal Hunter lets out a sigh and walks away. Arabella blows her a kiss as she does so. There is a bandaged man in a corner of the room, outside of the designated ring for the fighters. Arabella blows him another kiss as she walks towards him- though this one is more of a mocking sort?

Ah, you didn't recognize him like this. Has he changed his bandages? It's Quintus.

Arabella's head turns towards you. You walk into their little corner, and give her a little pat in the shoulder.

"This was a good fight. The trick still needs some work, though- what if she just leaps upwards to avoid your projectiles? You had lower coverage of the area above her."

Arabella shrugs.

"It's a bit more difficult to manuever the droplets into that position." she says. She does not elaborate on why.

"...where's Ayam?"

Indeed, her... child is nowhere to be seen.

"With Beats. He's taking care of them for me."

Oh boy. Given your experiences with that child...

Well, you're sure he can do it.

Quintus is staring at the floating tendril of blood coiling around Arabella's arm. He seems disturbed by it on a profound level. Arabella seems pleased at his expression.

"So, got any plans for the future?" asks the Bloodfiend, smiling at you.

"...we'll be looking around for the rest of the Office soon."

She tilts her head.

"How soon?"

"...soon-ish? I don't know. Still gotta go check with our higher-ups."

Arabella frowns.

"Our higher-ups, eh? Don't tell me we're going to stick around all that much longer- as employees, at least."

"I think we'll have to stick around for some time, still."

"Ah, natürlich!" she sighs. "Were it only that we had not taken that contract. We would not be tangled in all of this confusing nonsense. I appreciate the drama, but not the lack of freedom."

Quintus doesn't seem to care much about your conversation. Arabella throws a hand behind her in a theatrical motion, picks up her companion by the scruff of his neck and leaves, laughing all the way.

...ever since you've briefed her in, well, what you know of the Distortion and the story of Ayin, she's been like this.

Half morose, half excited.

Some part of Arabella is very excited to be wrapped in a story like this- a confrontation for the fate of the world.

But another part of her seems simply annoyed, and missing home.

Though it hasn't been much since you left, has it?

All of Turbulence Office had a different reaction, either way.

To Wympe, it doesn't seem to really matter. As long as everyone remains together, it's all good for her- you are the only friends she has, so she has no particular attachment to the City, despite her hope of proving herself.

She wants to prove herself to you and your Office, not to the City.

Sleepy was much the same, except he doesn't care nearly as much about the second matter.

Capone seems to have long since given up and decided to let this madness simply go on.

Beats just found it extremely funny, for reasons that elude you still. Ever since he excused himself from the position of commentator in the Kazimierz Major after the, well Adam incident, he's been grumbling about this whole matter- apparently, this particular explanation was, in his own words, "perfect."

Linette did not utter a word. And a few days after the briefing, you saw her writing a letter to someone.

The one who was most taken aback, though, was Nicole. She hasn't spoken to you since. You recall something heartbreaking- there was betrayal in her eyes, however faint.

And you know why.

It's... best if you give her some time.

LINE

You sigh into your cup of tea.

This has been an interesting day.

The cat-eared woman across you gives off a look. Stoic, a bit unnerving. The sort of piercing eyes betraying no emotions you'd see in a top-ranked executive, or a Zwei squad leader during an interrogation. You've dealt with both.

Hm.

Now that you think of it- perhaps...

It might be a little bit difficult for the average Terran to not sneak a glance at the fragments of Originium ore poking out of her shoulder.

Having those fragments be out, in the open, certainly is a statement, isn't it?

Kal'tsit breaks eye contact with you to look at the window, at the sunset. She sighs.

"...are you well?"

You take a sharp breath, and nod.

"I'm better, now. Thank you."

"Have you made a decision?"

You pause to think. Yes, you have.

You want to go look for your friends. You want to go find Turbulence Office. But despite how deeply you believe that finding them will be the key to defeating Carmen, you're not the one in charge here.

This isn't just a matter of decisions. You have to sell this to her as well.

Materialized in the chair next to you, diffuse and partially dissipating Light-projected fingers on a cup of herbal tea, Abel spares a glance at you. He gives a single nod.

"I believe that I can help you better, that we can help each other better, if I have access to my full team. I have very accurate information on their current locations, and most of them have firmly entrenched themselves in the local scenes- I believe that if I can bring them into the fold, we will all ultimately benefit."

Kal'tsit raises an eyebrow.

"I will not be dishonest with you." she states bluntly, "My resources are limited. Despite what it might look like, we cannot be seen moving large amounts of combat-capable Operators through national borders. If I am to approve an operation to recover the members of Turbulence Office, you cannot all go."

"...I see. And I do not believe moving us covertly would be possible, would it?"

"Despite Ascalon's work on rooting out the agents of foreign intelligence networks and similar infiltrators being more then adequate, I won't make promises I can't keep. There are many forces keeping a close eye on Rhodes Island, and you yourselves have not gone unnoticed."

"That is true. What do you think of the plan itself, though?" notes Abel. "I am still not entirely certain on the focus on Turbulence Office- I apologize, Sieg, but I have to say it."

"It's nothing." you say, brushing him off.

"It is adequate." Kal'tsit answers. "If I am not wrong, the locations are..."

"Columbia, for Alvar and Mr. H. Memento is in a collision route with the landship, and keeping a close eye in the current area might find him. I have forwarded a description of him and all the other members through the landship network." you explain. "the Rat King, Stock Man and Max are all scheduled to appear only in the future, though Rat King will appear in two weeks, in Sami. Lech... I have no idea, frankly, but you know him already. He's with Reunion. Emil in Siracusa-"

"Lech... is with Reunion?"

"...I presumed you knew this already. Lech is with them, yes."

Malkuth is nowhere to be seen. She wasn't anywhere in the vision. It worries you- did she survive the Library, as well? You asked Linette about it, but she didn't know- she was the first to be taken down in her reception. They prioritized her- good thinking, obviously, but still annoying.

"I did not know his whereabouts." notes Kal'tsit, snapping you out of your funk.

"...really?"

"Yes."

"Huh. Didn't you... fight against Reunion?"

"If he took part on the attack on Lungmen, he was not observed at any point, anywhere. Neither has he been observed by anyone else, on any operations."

"That's..."

Not actually that impossible. If Lech has found some way to reload his internal supply of time, he could operate exclusively at speeds beyond what an unaugmented eye can track, and you wouldn't put it beyond him to recreate TimeTrack utilizing Terran components and technological principles, or at least figure out a way to keep it charged.

"...oh well." you continue. "I don't think we can find him, even if he wasn't part of Reunion, very easily. He's likely moving around the world for his job."

"You are unconcerned with the possibility of him becoming your enemy, then?"

"I will not be his enemy."

"If it comes between you, and the progressing of Reunion's goals, do you believe you know what he will choose?"

"I am utterly loyal to the members of my Office." you say, with the utmost conviction. "I would die a thousand times over for each of them. I would not expect them to sacrifice themselves for me as well, but I have been with them for enough time to know, with certainty, that they would do the same. For me, and for each other."

It's the truth, and nothing but the truth.

"...are you sure?"

"He is." notes Abel. "As someone who lived in his head for some time, I can confirm he is."

"I am."

"I see." she answers, closing her eyes. "We will return to this at some point. For now, we have other matters to concern ourselves with. Such as the Library."

"Yes...?"

"I believe that there are unresolved matters between you and them?"

"What gave you this impression?"

"They approached me, recently, to ask for something. That being two books. The Book of the Dreaming Current that you revealed to us earlier and the "Book of the Poor Screenwriter's Note." They knew that those books should be with Abel and you, and wanted to broker a meeting since you had been avoiding them."

...well, fuck.

"Ah, and they requested Rhodes Island's assistance in keeping the "Khaganquest-" contained." she says- sounding somewhat divided on regards to the creature.

Khaganquest.

It's somewhere deep in the bowels of this landship. It can be killed, and you think it should. But the Library clearly thinks otherwise. Do they believe they can obtain something from it?

"What has been going on, with the Library and you?"

"For the time being, the Library are our guests. Communication with their leader- the Pale Librarian Angela, I believe- is growing difficult, for a reason that eludes me and that they have not disclosed."

They're keeping their cards close to their chest. That might- that might be a grave mistake, regarding the matters of Carmen.

Are they still under the impression that they are under a Wing's hospitality? They probably are.

Perhaps you should correct that. You don't... you don't think Rhodes Island deserves to be called such. They are, obviously, not people you know all that much about, but you don't think a Wing would do half the things you have witnessed Rhodes Island doing. If they did, they'd do it a bit louder, perhaps, make a big show out of their kindness.

They'd be making much more money out of all of this, too.

Abel has been listening intently to your conversation, but Kal'tsit's words seem to have shocked him.

"The Book of Poor Screenwriter's Note?" he asks.

"Yes."

"That is... strange. I was absolutely sure that the book returned to the Library's domain..."

"Are you sure?" you say, tilting your head. "Didn't I kill it?"

"Abnormalities are immortal. At that point I had not fully entered your world- I was in a sort of middle point. When I took your hand, I recall very vividly that the Book and the Abnormality within returned to the place where I took them from."

"Could something intercept that?"

"I do not think it could, but- I could be wrong. I am not an expert on alternate-dimension mechanics."

"What about her- Carmen." notes Kal'tsit. "Could she intercept this book? And for the matter, is it as powerful as the Book of the "Plague Doctor" was?"

"...it shouldn't be. The Abnormality was extremely unreliable and all E.G.O weaponry it produced tended towards either extremely low-grade or simply lethal to the user." notes Abel. "In matters of Carmen..."

He is deeply worried about this. The lines in his face, his age- it all seems especially pronounced now.

"But it has been nearly a month. Why has she not made any use of the Book, if she seized it?"

"...can she?" ask Kal'tsit.

"I do not know."

"There are far too many unknowns, then. This is something that should be corrected. I will authorize the plan to find your Office members. But you will have to fix matters with the Library, before you depart."

And find out what they are themselves going to do.

"I see. Well, I can do that."

"I also believe it would be in order for you to mount a team of Operators. I have brought some documentation on possible members for the taskforces."

You blink. Well...

"But I have more then enough members. We only have to search in Siracusa and Columbia- or is Sami not as off-limits as I believed it was?"

"Sami is indeed off-limits for the time being." she answers. "But I believe it would be for the best if we cooperated in this matter. It would allow us to cover ground on both regions better- and I do not believe all of your Office has experience in this new terrain."

She hands you over a thick dossier, full of notes and reports and files on various Operators. You place it next to your empty teacup and give her a thumbs-up.

"I can see your point. Thank you."

"...perhaps the Library could move as well? I believe they have access to a powerful sort of travel method- those golden portals. It could be useful."

"Do you recognize them?" asks Kal'tsit.

"They belong to the Abnormality known as the King of Greed. I did not know they could be used to cover such a length... but well, I don't know how far away from the arena they were when they teleported."

"Do you have any information on the Abnormality itself, should it get out?"

"It shouldn't. They are, at most, using its E.G.O weapon. I doubt they actually brought the Abnormality out. But to answer your question, it is a massive Abnormality with the appearance of a... fish." he says. He sounds a bit unsure about the wording. "A giant, monstrous fish that devours all in its path to sate her greed."

He takes a deep breath. He has clearly repeated this before.

"A frontal assault against her is highly ill-advised. Damaging the King's body with pure physical damage is nearly impossible as well. Attacks that do not target the body, and curses, are viable."

Curses?

"Black damage is the official terminology. Weaponry corroding both the mind and the body." he whispers in your head, before continuing to speak in a more physical manner. "The King's speed is fairly low, and her portals are not suited for combat, unlike what her EGO allows. However, she can still use them to relocate to an area devoid of threats to devour everything that comes her way."

He clicks his tongue. Dwelling in this memory is not very pleasant for him.

Even thinking of the King of Greed dredges up resentment and bitterness- the sort that comes from speaking to someone who took something- or someone- you cared about.

"But she can't turn around very easily. She likes to attack in areas where you can't exploit that, such as corridors, and as long as people attack her from behind and do not flee directly into her maw..." Abel says, sounding very resentful- "it should be fine."

Abel is not afraid of the King of Greed- but he is uncomfortable even speaking of it. What history does he have with this specific Abnormality?

"...thank you."

"It was nothing."

Kal'tsit turns towards you.

"There are three more things."

"...shoot."
"We have not received any information from our sources regarding the "End of Ursus." If it is still alive, it has been contained. Are there any more Distortions we should be keeping in mind?"

"If you have any mentally unstable Operators..."

Kal'tsit frowns.

"Well, just keep an eye on those. For the record, there's one in what used to be Gaul. One in Columbia, we might cross paths during our mission. And one in Leithanien."

"I see."

Question number two, then.

"What are your thoughts regarding our ally- the one you call "X?" We have not spoken much."

X, huh?

"Pretty okay dude, I guess?" you answer. "Not much to say on him. I haven't really gotten to know him very well. He seems... happy. Happy to be here."

Happy to be out of the loop, you leave unspoken.

"And in regards to his- to his predecessor's plan?" she asks. You suppose that's question three.

"The process? The timeloop, I believe?"

"The results, as well. The entire equation. What we are fighting against, what they produced- everything."

Abel told her of it, you believe.

In truth…

You just don't trust it.

You don't trust the Light. At all. Abel seems to have full trust on its potential to save the City, but you just find it… strange.

It feels as if it's something that is barely understood by anyone at all. You do not trust it. You can wield it as a weapon, and you spread it with every breath, but you cannot truly understand what it is. You haven't made a lightclone since you came here, and since you got Lech's blade in your hands you found yourself using the Light less and less.

Is it a response against Carmen? It might be. But can you really trust something that has changed so many people so completely, if it truly has changed the City in the ways that Abel and Carmen claims it has?

And the inconsistencies in the story of its founding.

Not really… inconsistencies.

It feels to you as if Abel was simply utterly divorced from the process of actually creating it. He underwent the cycle, but… he was never truly running the mechanisms behind the scenes. Neither was Angela.

Whatever arcane Singularity maintained and facilitated the Seed of Light's development, Abel was never in charge of it. He was never in control of anything at all in any step of the procedure. You have nothing against him as a person, but you don't trust his outlook when he formed his views on it while so much information was being withheld.

And it feels as if none of the parties involved in the cycle had any idea of what the actual processes of the Seed's unleashing "fixing" the City would be like. Yes, dreams would be restored, the people would be cleansed from this disease of the mind. But what does that entail?

Maybe it's your view as an outsider, but it feels to you as if none of them had any control over anything at all.

And...

Strange Singularities, strange messiahs that promise to singlehandedly restore everyone's dreams and aspirations- as if they were ever gone in the first place, who were they to declare them gone?

Who was Carmen to say that the City had forgotten its dreams?

It sucks. The City sucks. The Head sucks. You can see that clearly, now more then ever. But is it really fair to say that?

Wasn't she a random Backstreets preacher? A Nestborn, even? What experiences had told her that? How could she possibly say that? What evidence supported that theory? How could she possibly acquire that evidence, how could she know billions of people intimately enough to declare their dreams gone?

You know that yours weren't.

"I don't agree with it." you say. "I think it was a shitshow, and that none of them- no offense, Abel-"

"None taken."

"None of them had any idea of what they were doing, and that now we have to live with the consequences."

"...I see. Thank you."

---

Later, you find yourself in your bed, staring at the dossier of Operators. There's many of them- with suggestions and notes in Kal'tsit's impeccable handwriting.

Two missions, plus whatever the Library's planning to do.

It's getting late- you'll talk to the Librarians tomorrow. Get this all settled. You have no intention of giving up the Book of the Dreaming Current, but you have to settle this.

Now...

You pick up your notebook. Who'd be best for each mission?

There's some suggestions you think are interesting, but you could also request to bring some of the people you know already- maybe you'd get along with them better? But you also need to pick someone who knows the terrain...

For Columbia- the Rhine Labs members associated to Rhodes Island. Could any of them be supplying information from here to their employers? Corporate espionage happens all the time, obviously, but this seems a bit too blatant.

And you can't judge their loyalty to the company based on this dossier, even if it does sound like Rhodes Island isn't picking the any diehard supporters out of the deck?

You'd have to get a feel for it more personally, in an actual mission. All of them seem to be researchers of some sort- that said, what's this... Saria.

Director of Defense?

Ex-Director of Defense.

"Interesting. "She has made contributions to the fields of life science, microbiology, and Originium Arts. At the same time, she has also proven herself formidable when it comes to demolition, protection, and anomaly containment missions." That..." chimes in Abel. "I will not lie, I am rather interested."

Given that apparently she left Rhine Labs after some sort of... incident?

You skim through the next page.

Ah, child experimentation. Yes, this is just like home.

"Kal'tsit has left quite a few recommendations for this specific Operator." says Abel, raising an invisible eyebrow. "Yes, it's quite obvious she wants her in the Columbian team."

Well, you put her in a mental list for further consideration. Who's next?

Silence is also Rhine Labs, but very obviously some sort of whistleblower- oh?. Yes, whistleblower. Diabolic Incident as well. She seems to be nominally affiliated, still, but you don't think that status is going to offer any sort of protection.

There's Blacksteel. Mercenaries, a private military contractor, and a firearm supplier? They hold the patents on a lot of the technology from what you know. Hmmm.

You don't actually have all that good of an experience with R-Corp's troopers. They're a gamble. Some are objectively awful to be around, like the Rabbits, a dangerous liability at best like the Rhinos, and, well, the Reindeers are the Reindeers.

The Rams and the Raccoons are pretty good to be around. The Rams are invaluable fortress-crackers and shock assault troops, and nobody does sabotage like the Raccoons.

So, overall, you can think you trust those Blacksteel guys to be professional.

...maybe.

You do think that guy- Mlynar, right? He could be useful. You think he's only actually tagging along with Rhodes Island because of Linette, but you're not entirely sure. She did complain about how hard it was to get him to do anything with his niece- Maria, was it?

Hm. "Chiave's Gang." Siracusans.

Maybe you should ask Capone? He probably knows. You don't think he should go to Siracusa, obviously, but he might have contacts there, and, well, maybe someone in Rhodes Island has a reputation there... sorting out through the archive in your head for something so specific is going to be a bit difficult.

(Voting must be done by plan format, selecting Operators and Fixers for the two missions, with a maximum of five for each, plus a leader for the respective expedition.)

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Some random Limbus identities I thought of while writing the next chapter of my other quest.