going fishing [ open ]

[descens]

who ; Lev, the Underworld and YOU (remember to tag in!)
what ; Lev has invited a couple of Sacrosanct's residents to meet in confidence with him. He may be getting more than he expected.
where ; Asphodel - Underworld shadow market, equatorial tunnel section
when ; after his transmission
warning(s) ; TBD. Please see event notes.

Comments

ENTRANCE [ guards ]

[singularitymods]

[ Access to the market is a trial in itself, accessed through a narrow passage above the hydraulic pipes between two layers of maintenance tunnels. The area itself seems to be half a natural cave, half an abandoned mine foyer.

But before you can get a good glimpse of it, a massive figure with a gun almost as large as he is steps in to block your path. ]

All right, that's far enough!

[allshock_notalk]

[Soundwave tilts his head at the guards. He supposes he should have expected as much; everything here is. Different.

Certainly not Earth. That's almost refreshing.

Gently, he scratches Dug behind the ears, looking at the guards. He changes his voice to the more human-sounding version he's been acquainting most people with. "Joe".

He pushes up his sunglasses.]

Canst thou draw out leviathan with an hook? Or his tongue with a cord which thou lettest down?

[Human mythology. Many different flavors. Some more curious than others. It took some thinking and defining of his personal data to define what the message meant.]

[dug_the_dog]

[Dug is fascinated by the smells and the sights, but he is a loyal and good dog and remains close to Joe's side, even as he sniffs at the alien dirt.]

[singularitynpcs]

[ The guard stands firm for a long-ass moment, assessing them both. Then, cautiously, he lowers the gun, stooping to inspect the dog. ]

Yeah, you're a regular orator, all right. Anyway, he's toward the back, go on. Your animal here have all his shots?

TRADE STALLS [ merchants ]

[singularitymods]

[ Once you get past the guards, you walk further into the cavern and find the market unfold before you. There's just barely enough illumination to make out the dark tent flaps and the bustling tradesfolk poring over tables of dingy goods. Men, women are in equal abundance, some less human than others, a few shadowed by blankfaced modified automatons.

Here you'll find very little for sale but a great deal to barter for. Some of the merchants, seeing you, might even be interested in making use of your talents. You can get anything here-- for the right price. ]

[allshock_notalk]

[It's terribly unfortunate that he doesn't precisely have the monetary support he used to. Back in the City, he was quite well off -- either due to his dance club, or because of StarWave.

Now, it's a matter of survival, instead of having the comfort.

It is what it is.

Soundwave will progress to Lev in due time. Not as a confrontation, but for data. That's what it's always about.

Here, he'll see if there's anything that catches his eye.]

[singularitynpcs]

[ Or maybe Soundwave will be the one catching someone's eye. Namely, one of the scruffy men standing near his wares, a motley collection of spare mechanical parts for everything from tanks to vacuum cleaners. There's also a few weapons, though it's hard to tell if they're functioning from all the pried off panels and dangling wires. A blank-faced synthetic is acting as cashier, while the owner calls out to likely prospects.

He tries to catch Soundwave's gaze, stepping forward. ]

Hey. Hey you. You from up top? You look it, you stand out. Hey I got lots of stuff you can't get up top. You wanna see?

[allshock_notalk]

[The synthetic catches his eye, mostly. It doesn't really please him, their point of view on inorganics. Pretending to be human is such a chore. True, his current body is completely human in almost every way possible, but he is -- at spark -- still Cybertronian.

He turns his head when the merchant approaches, then folds his arms as he peers at him.]

Depends on what you have. What is being offered?

VEHICLE BAY [ mechanics ]

[singularitymods]

[ Hot steam belches from above the partition leading to the vehicle bay, where the insurgents keep their jeeps and larger mechs. A peek inside shows that repairs are always going on, the human and hacked automaton mechanics using multi-purpose lifts and cobbled-together tools. There are at least two shuttles like the one you flew down on, but it, too, has been heavily modified.

It's clear you can't take any of these out for a spin... but you might like to ask what the large mobile suit kneeling in the corner is for. ]

Threadjacking is welcome.

[loltraitorlol]

Starscream ignored the market, for the most part. Oh, he certainly made a mental note to examine it more thoroughly in a little while; but for the moment he was more interested in other things.

Things like information.

He wasn't normally the sort to go digging for intel - that, after all, was the place of communications officers. However, he obviously didn't have his communications officer at present (indeed, he suspected that if his former comm officer knew that he was in this reality and alive, said comm officer might attempt to kill him. Or at least make his unlife considerably more unpleasant) and so he was forced to rely on old methods.

No matter. He had been originally specced as a scientist, after all. Gathering data was an integral part of his programming.

So. His intent was to find a computer terminal, slip inside and cruise whatever poor excuse for a network these humans kept. Hopefully they didn't have any strong AI in there, and hopefully they didn't have anything that would detect a bundle of sentient positrons

CONTROL TENT [ technicians ]

[singularitymods]

[ A thin, pale-faced technician stands up as soon as you enter, blocking your view of his array of tiny TV screens and flickering holographic projections. As modest as the ad hoc towers of computer equipment and wires appear, this is actually one of the most important tents located in the market-- the surveillance and security hub.

If you've gained Lev's trust or schmoozed your way past the guards, the techs might be amenable to explaining about their operations a little. But don't touch, please. ]

CLINIC [ doctors ]

[singularitymods]

[ When you first step through the tent flap into the squat little clinic, you might wonder if you walked into a repairs shop on accident. As will become clear very quickly, doctors here have to wear two hats, curing colds and tuning artificial joints. And they're quite busy. ]