DEPLOYMENT 4: We Built This City on Blood and Gore

[walking_nuke]

[ACTION - A (Outside Mayfield Dairy, OPEN TO ALL)]

[On his first day in Mayfield, Caesar had asked Balin if he had any explosives or powers strong enough to destroy an armored building, referring to the attack made on the Dairy back in March. So today, while Mayfield is temporarily without a police chief, Balin is outside the Mayfield Dairy.]

[He

Comments

[ACTION - A (Outside Mayfield Dairy, OPEN TO ALL)]

[flameyedhunter]

I snuck in there once.

[walking_nuke]

[Huh. That voice is familiar-]

[Balin turns around and, sure enough, that's the same girl from a week or two ago who was keeping pace on the rooftops during his morning run.]

You did? Was it durin'a assault back in March?

[flameyedhunter]

That's right! Yuki helped me find my way into there, we found the big tank with some rather nasty surprises inside. [ She scowls a little. ]

Mou...

[walking_nuke]

A tank? [He glances back to the Dairy for a second.]

As in'a armored combat vehicle?

[flameyedhunter]

No, that part came later. The tank itself is a holding tank, what the combat vehicles were codenamed during the first world war to allay suspicion.

[walking_nuke]

Oh, holding tank. Ahright.

[Beat.]

What was in 'em?

[flameyedhunter]

From what I can tell the souls of drones. Their power of existence. It was powering the town itself.

[walking_nuke]

... So that's what the guy meant-

[Balin's expression is a mix of surprise and fury as he processes that. But he tries to keep his cool. Maybe Shana can verify this ...]

Are-are you sure it wasn't part of the "April Fool's" bullshit I've been hearin' about?

[flameyedhunter]

Could be. But I doubt it was all a trick. Something has to power this town and I haven't found a power station. Neither did sasa... [ She halts and grits her teeth. ] Neither did a friend of mine.

[walking_nuke]

["Sasa?" Balin feels a tinge of curiosity as to who she's not wanting to talk about, but information on the Dairy is what's most important here. He looks back up to the building, as if trying to sense where those holding tanks might be inside.]

Another guy told me that'a Dairy was leveled durin'a assault. But that it was restored'a day after.

Did them holding tanks get razed, too?

[flameyedhunter]

We saw to that, yeah.

[walking_nuke]

An' yet'a town's still here ...

[He frowns in thought.]

Was there anything else you saw while you were in'ere?

[flameyedhunter]

Friends that I had lost to droning, mostly... It wasn't a happy thing.

[walking_nuke]

[Balin blinks.]

What-they were keepin' their real bodies'ere or somethin'?