Scene #5985: MISSION: The Line (5)

Owner	Pose
Starbound Flotilla	THE LINE Welcome back to Second Gear. But not for long. The rolling planes of high-speed glass, 'moving' to the east at thousands of miles an hour, are likely to be out of sight soon. This time, there's no menacing patrolmecha to assault the group on their way to merge north into the rapidly west-moving Third Gear. The Flotilla's Linerunner, the massive multi-story tank-like high-speed battle platform, is blazing its rockets and blasting its motors, and the new hood ornament made out of the fancy boar tusk is gleaming with stolen enchantment. Meanwhile, Hexane's train and the small nautical-looking Hylotl landship are in tight formation to its side, ready to merge north. As before, the Flotilla's offered all the necessary modifications to help people reach Line speed with their own vehicles, but sadly that's mostly based on hover technologies and tethering now; it won't grant the acceleration needed to reach those speeds outside of the Line. Heading into Third Gear is when things go from visually impressive to visually mindblowing. At speeds like this, relativistic effects start coming into play; the area seems constantly divided between sweeping cerulean blueshifted horizons to the west and vast crimson redshifted horizons to the east, feeling like a constant sunrise despite the presence of stars passing by above in conspicuous lines. The visually warped metal masses that populated the southern Third Gear twist and compress into view like a Loony Toons animal. The environment has gone fully flat now, no more rolling temporary hills; now the terrain is defined by the mobile cities. Unlike the moving settlements of Second Gear, the nearest Third Gear mobile city is one large, cohesive vehicle. Hover-engines the size of city blocks hoist the entire thing a dozen feet into the air at multiple points, and a cluster of eight massive rockets eject exotic particles to keep it moving. The ground now appears to be some kind of pseudo-diamond, with trace carbon exaggerated into a unifying heat-wrought crystaline flatland. The city atop is an industrial behemoth, with all kinds of elaborate crystal-work showing Avian influences in the power systems and the heavy hover-engines, while vast glass constructs contain and protect huge trees that are worked right into the mobile city's infrastructure. The Flotilla is bringing the convoy in towards a dock that's less of a pier now and more of a carbo bay, heading in towards a massive metal gate that opens towards the east, inviting the welcomed convoy to drive up the ramp the gate forms as it hovers low to the ground. And inside: Something like a garage, parking lot, and cargo bay all in one. Florans and Avians are guiding the group into a safe spot to settle in and stop. Albert, the main Linerunner operator, smoothly slides it into a parking space of sorts along the vast hangar, and disengages all motors, letting the whole craft go silent. Here, there's guards, soldiers, infrastructure, bureaucrats -- in fact, there's a tall, thin Floran man seemingly already there waiting for them, wearing a set of formal-looking animal pelts and bones that somehow look like the tribal equivalent of a nice suit.
Leyanne	Leyanne had been trying to persuade Albert to let her parasail off the back of the Linerunner during the transition again... but, perhaps luckily for her, he refused. Instead she had to settle for riding as far forward on the bow as she could get... which, while fun, wasn't quite as awesome, at least in her eyes. Still, she's buzzing slightly as she follows the other down to the docking ramp. Upon sight of the formal Floran, the armoured mouse blinks. "Shit, do I feel underdressed..." she mutters to whoever is next to her.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang was prety battered last time. Her right arm was broken, reset and put into a splint to keep it stable while it healed, and her legs were badly cut up from the glass shards. She's recovered pretty well, the minor cuts completely healed up, and the more deep ones healing rapidly with a faint glow of golden light. Her arm is still braced, but she's in the Linerunner's hangar, using her remaining hand to check her bike's modifications and so is below decks when the Runner's engines shut down. "Huh... I guess we're docked somewhere." she surmises, wiping grease off her brow(Thus making it worse) and heading up above decks, limping slightly to look down over the Linecity's hangar bay, and the Floran below talking to the others.
Dexter Arkwright	Dexter Arkwright, currently, is not in his super suit. It was folded up and packed into the thrusters, which form a weird briefcase that's hanging from his side. The adventurer is dressed in a nice suit, though one arm is noticeably wrapped up in nano-bandages and a brace, having been broken in the group's fight against the Hylotl swordsman. As they approach docking, Dexter is pretty cheerful, and talks to everyone as a group, but primarily the Flotilla. "Ah, right, Flotilla! If we need any supplies while we're here, let me do the shopping. I can spare the money on whatever we might need." And then a nod to the others. "And if any of you want souvenirs, lemme know and I'll get you what you want. We're all friends here, right?" Once Dexter reaches the Floran in a 'suit', he offers a shake of his good hand, in a good mood since they're in a great big city and he likes cities. "Hello! Name's Dexter Arkwright, adventure capitalist. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Orchid	The strange rules of the Line mean that teleporting in is unreliable at best. So when Orchid decided to come take a look at what all the sillyness about, she took one of the Ride Chasers. Unlike some, she can actually get off the vehicle without crashing it. Thankfully, she arrived during one of the less... aggressive parts of this wacky race meets Einstein. "Perks of having a battle dress," she mutters back to Leyanne. "I've always got something suitable for meeting important people, even if it isn't a dress uniform." The idea of souvenirs does sound nice, but she doesn't know how much cargo space she'll have. She's still looking around, getting her bearings in this strange place.
Corona Arclite	Some people would look at the constant upkeep and advancements of modifications to be a chore and a bother. But not Corona. The wily steampunk engineer sees it as a challenge, and while the Flotilla and their Line allies have been gracious to provide equipment and advice it's been by her own hands and work to impliment what was suitable. By this point, with the tremendous speeds they would require and eternally smooth terrain, off-road suspension was just holding them back. So Corona had stripped that off her vehicle (along with the already ruined tunneling equipment) and replaced it all with the provided hover technology. The previous modification to keep the buggy's booster engines locked in place remained, as did the lighter, more speed oriented weaponry. The front end ram/scoop had been reinforced for use, to help keep the craft's angular aerodynamics; while the rollcage had been completely sealed up with shielding to protect passangers from the intense speeds (but gunports to open and fire weapons out of, of course). The influence of her talking up the Novakids shows though, with bits of greebly brass-like piping, glowing tubes and spinning gears that seems to be little more than decoration to keep the 'steampunk in space' athsetic. All in all, the vehicle that pulls in with Linerunner really doesn't look much like a 'buggy' anymore as it pulls into the city's bay and one of the provided docking stations, letting out a gust of exhaust as drive systems are shut down to cool and the hover modifications disengage for conservation of energy. "Yeeeehah!" Corona gives a whoop of glee as she opens the hatch in the reinforced cab and climbs out. "She's runnin' like a beaut even without wheels!" It takes a moment in her gleeful clamouring out of the vehicle for Corona to notice the sharp dressed Floran, which causes her to pause a moment. "Wow wee. Didn't even reckon Biteblade's kin -had- an upper class -to- dress like that." Followed by a little yip of a laugh as her sharp hearing picks up Leyanne's murmuring.
Kotone Yamakawa	The Red line, wait Kotone's just at the Line on the Second Gear, thankfully today there seems to be no fights looming today so she's actually not in body armore or a stealth suit, normal plain street clothes is the name of the day for Kotone a yellow vest with detache sleeves cargo pants, and a t-shirt, though this leave some of her shells clearly robotic features exposed she's long come to accept them. Corona and Leyanne will find that Kotone is tailing them both. "Hey wait up! I thought we might be able to explore a bit together!"
Riva Banari	"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Yeah, Riva's move to Third Gear was punctuated with an irreverent exclamation of enjoyment. That's just how she is. As she watches the world twist and shift around them, she gasps, looking about. "Wow, we're going at warp speed now." She says, impressed. "Never thought I'd see this happen. And not on a planet!" As they disembark onto the new Third Gear city, Riva looks about, impressed. "So this is the kind of thing people who live life in the fast lane set up, huh? I like it. Artistic. Also, shiny." She smiles, and hops down once they've come to a (relative) stop, strolling over to wave at the Floran there to greet them. "Heeeeeeeeeeey there!" She calls, waving. "How's it going?" She asks the Floran. "Nice place you have here! Riva Banari, painter." She'll shake hands after Dexter is done introducing himself. "I like your floral arrangement." She compliments.
Leyanne	Leyanne blinks and remembers she forgot to introduce herself. Though, it is printed on the ID plate of her armour for all to see, if he can read it. "I'm Leyanne. Most call me Tiny."
Staren	Staren has to bring his mecha through the warpgate this time, and instead of flying escort for the ship, stands on deck to act as a mobile turret. However, it turns out not to be needed this time, so instead he can just watch the effects of speed be ridiculous. He's had to travel at high speeds briefly when entering or leaving the atmosphere, but once they get past 10,000 mph or so he's never gone THIS fast without using Erchius. He's not sure whether it's more bizarre to get to see doppler-shifted light effects with his own eyes, or to see the stars streak like that. Actually, the stars really shouldn't be streaking... They can't possibly be laterally moving that fast, can they? But the only alternative is that they're going around the curvature of the superplanet's surface so fast... Staren's not sure which one is more ridiculous. Staren takes it in as they finish accelerating and move in to dock. He parks the mecha atop the Linerunner and climbs out to go meet the welcoming party... of one? "Hello!" Staren takes off his helmet and waves cheerfully. "I'm Staren, Gifted of the Concord, although I don't know if that means anything here... Who are you?"
Starbound Flotilla	Hexane has come along for the ride. He's friendly to Leyanne's concerns. "Hey, pardner, don't worry about that. Kura's mighty accepting of that sort of thing. Down in the south, we're not too fond of tradition for its own sake." He adjusts his cowboy hat and his duster, as if emphasizing something about his own way of dressing. Yang can get a good view of them from above, no issue; it's all happening in speaking range, too, if she decides to come down. Dexter's got a shopping list from Biteblade, at least, something foisted on him, and full of too many meats. The greeting to the Floran gets a warm handshake back. "Mr. Arkwright, Ms. Banari, Mr. Ssstaren, Leyanne! Floran greetsss, welcome to Sssunssseeker City. Floran isss Kura, liassson for inwardsss shipping. We're neutral to factionsss, but know them plenty to recognize opportunity or risssk if they come up." Orchid's checking around is rewarded, and she -- and anyone else heading out to explore -- will all get to go do so; the Floran isn't here to stop them from running around the city. From here, she can see passage to lower decks that look less rich, or passage to upper decks full of fancy glass and wood. It doesn't seem like there's some kind of poverty issue here, but it does have that feeling of being a wartime city; plenty of soldiers are in the densely-packed glassy streets, which look far more open than they are with the transparent gaps. It's kind of... Hamster-tube-like? There's a clear administrative interior structure, as well as some area dedicated to harvesting external materials, and a lot of internal hydroponics systems like a space ark. There's an area that looks recently heavily damaged as well; notable is some kind of church near it, visible in the lower decks, that has been heavily defaced.
Starbound Flotilla	"Floran isss terribly glad you helped out shipment. Engine King isss needing all the fuel he can get right now. Refinery isss trying to get as much fuel as posssible to refine, becaussse Engine King isss planning on making a run for the Treasssure sssoon. Can Floran trouble kind new friendsss to continue essscort? Heard that you were quite ssstrong! Ssstopped Glasss Sssaint, but more North Saintsss will likely try to ssstop it heading in towardsss Fourth Gear and the Halfpipe." Kura continues explaining, with about half the usual energy of a Floran (which is still more energy than most people put into anything, really). "Floran isss authorized on behalf of Engine King to provide holographic audience if you need to negotiate termsss of reward." He even gives a fancy sort of half-bow, a formal kind of thing. "Isss very fair and jussst kind of king, Floran can promissse; you won't go unpaid for helping out with sssecuring shipment to the Refinery, and will be great help for keeping Sssunseeker and citizens sssafe."
Corona Arclite	"Been our pleasure, not to mention excitin'. By the by." The vixen that could almost pass for a Novakid in attire removes her hat with one hand and tips it forward in a sort of casual greeting salute. "Name's Corona. Corona Arclite." A pause as she replaces the hat to her head, then nods in Dexter's direction. "No relation." That their surnames sound similar hasn't escaped her attention so she's just making it clear. Because, you know, it's the Multiverse. That they're entirely different species might not be enough. As they twitch at the sides of her stetson ears cant forward in a curious manner. "What kinda refining, iffen ya don't mind me askin'?"
Leyanne	Leyanne nods to Kotone, with a smile. "Sounds like a plan." She agrees. "This place looks easy to get lost in." She chuckles, then listens to Kura. "Fair enough... there's a reward? Nice... I was along for the ride, and the rush..." She pauses, pointing over towards the damaged, defaced church. "What happened there?" she asks, curiously.
Dexter Arkwright	Dexter's happy there's such a friendly guy as their liason. "Sunseeker City, huh? Sounds great!" He listens to the thanks, confidence and ego swelling, but he has plans other than recovering payment, because he doesn't really need it in the first place and imagines the others will grab his share for him anyways. "I'm on the group's shopping duty, though, so I'll probably need to miss the holowhatsit meeting." Dexter takes a moment to check his list again, and then moves to show it to Kura. "Do you know where I could find this stuff? Presumably a butcher's shop, but I have no idea where you'd find one of those! Is there a district for that?" Dexter doesn't do his own shopping, so he's pretty ignorant about this kind of thing, and is absolutely willing to rely on other people's advice for it.
Riva Banari	Riva nods to Kura. "A neutral ground? Makes sense! This is a really lovely place. I've never seen anything like it." She rubs her chin, nodding as Kura continues. "I'm very interested in meeting the Engine King. And your offer of a holographic audience would be really neat! I think it would be nice to see what he has to offer." She sats... Though she frowns. "More Saints from the North? How many of them ARE there, anyway? And why are they trying to starve out the Engine King? The one we fought was REALLY set on trying to blockade any more fuel." "I'm sure the Engine King is very fair and just. At least, the places I've seen that are under his protection are pretty nice, peaceful places. But we're all outsiders so we're mostly trying to learn as we go." She shrugs. "Still, I'm happy to learn more about everything. This is a really unique place in the Multiverse and I'm interested int find out what happens here." She gestures in the direction of the warped environment. "There's so much to see, you know?"
Orchid	Orchid's primary interests are the fashion and technology being used, but still, that ruined church draws her interest. She is going over to the church, inside if they will let her, and trying to determine, by asking and examination, how the place got damaged in the first place, and what it might take to repair it.
Staren	On the subjects of the Engine King, Staren is willing to go along with whatever the others do but doesn't feel a strong need to meet or not meet with him. He spies the damaged area, though, and is about to ask when Leyanne beats him to it. He looks curiously at Kura for an answer.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang just remains on the deck, listening and leaning over the railing. Her hair hangs over the edge and kinda sways in the motion of the air within the hangar. She doesn't seem the same bubbly self she usually is, but after the sheer beating she took, it shouldn't be aa surprise.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is just chilling out talking to a well dresse Floran and she listns with a godo deal of intrest to them. 5R "That's pretty awesome I'd be down for that if your willing to help set us up with this. I can't say no to some work." Her body costs money and it's a good thing to get funds in the events her current employers go belly up or she'd end up in the pocket of a corp or crime syndicate. "It really is Leyanne."
Starbound Flotilla	"Ah, the Refinery isss a Sssouthern Fuel Ark, jussst northward of here every few daysss. The fuel needsss of a Dragssster Throne are hard to dessscribe in modern chemissstry, and all the fuel hasss to be enriched under the filtered Line plasssma radiation for it to be worth anything in a Dragssster Throne." What exactly a Dragster Throne is, isn't explained, but Kura seems quite willing to offer the knowledge of the Refinery itself to Corona. Speaking of local knowledge, Dexter gets his answers from a peppy salesman sort of voice. "Floran isss sssure we could get what you need delivered, but if you insssist, it should be all available near the marketsss, jussst up there near adminissstration. Alssso where you can find our fine hyperglasss and megadiamond products! Floran invitesss you to make whatever purchassses catch your eye, the quality and value here are the finessst below the ssspeed of light! Watch out, though, we cook meat lesss than human." There's questions on the church. Kura seems to take a distasteful look. "Isss the Church of Holy Combustion, or whatever they call themssselves now." He says, shaking his head. "Church of Combustion had a ssstrong presssence here before Engine King burned them out. Ssstill a few believersss, enough to keep one temple, but not enough to need a real purge. Floran thinksss they sssabotaged Sunssseeker to make an opening for Sssaint attack, but... Can't prove." He sticks out his tongue, making a "bleh" sound. "Two Sssaints bessside Sssaint of Glasss. Sssaint of Diamond and Sssaint of Heat. Floran hopesss you won't have to fight though! Would be nice to jussst have sssimple fuel run." He takes a pleasant smile onto his face, showing off all those long, pointy Floran teeth. "You want holo-audience? Or can Floran help more?"
Starbound Flotilla	The Church of Holy Combustion lets Orchid in mostly by virtue of Orchid not having anyone stop her; the place seems rather empty, but not abandoned. The pews are a bit damaged, albeit patched up irregularly. The halls are weirdly empty, and saturated with the local glass that was seen so much in Second Gear. Much of it's defaced, but thoroughly cleaned. There's a few people within that Orchid or other explorers who decide to head into the church can find, but most of them are Avians who look rather too tense and stressed to offer much. The one that draws attention is what looks like an elderly owl-like Avian in religious, ceremonial robes, kneeled in prayer in front of one of the interior glass altars, where dense megadiamond has been inlayed in thin mosaiac lines along the glass' surface in exponentially complex patterns that radiate away from the site of prayer, like a halo. Those who have entered the church are greeted with a simple statement, delivered without the elderly owl-woman's head turning from the altar: "New faces do not enter the Church of Holy Combustion unless they come from beyond the walls of Sunseeker, that much has been long assured. Perhaps you will be some of the last, but I will hope that you bring pleasant company to make that worth it. How may I help you?" That's the part where her head turns around 180 degrees and stares directly at Orchid and anyone else who chose to join her. Despite the creepy look, the expression is kind and hopeful, optimistic in a way.
Corona Arclite	Corona actually laughs at the mention of 'modern chemistry'. "Pardner, Ah make steampunk technology running off volcanic oil and weird glowing crystals that make things burn super hot for super long. Ah reckon 'modern chemistry' or whatever was never involved in the first place." It's followed by a dismissive wave of that, and then straightening her stetson back out from the laughing fit. "So y'all enrich fuel," then goes to tap her chin for a moment in though, "with some concoction of radioactive plasmoids in order to bypass scientific casuality of physics on a veh'cular scale..." Corona stops, then snaps her fingers as her ears rigid with the epithany. "Like a superluminal nitro boost!"
Leyanne	Leyanne listens to Kura. "Oh. Those arsefaces." she grumbles, at the mention of the Church of Holy Combustion. "Say no more my friend, that's all I need to know. Idiots who don't realise that the point of a race is to reach the end, to finish it... to WIN it... and then move on to the next challenge, the next wonder, the next THING..." And that is why Tiny will never be devotee to speed like some here. There are just too many challenges and wonders in the multiverse for her to pick out on just one. She listens to Corona, then blinks. She looks at Kura. "Say. I doubt MFF regs will let me mod Skrat to fit the Line... but is there a shop around here I can pick up a combat bike at? I'd wanna go visit it, so I can see 'em being built..."
Riva Banari	Riva hums. "Church of Holy Combustion, eh." She tilts her head as she hears what happened to them. "That sounds like a messy situation." In a sort of understatement, at least. "I really hope this will be a simple run myself. But with our luck so far, I doubt it'll be that easy... But hey, sometimes there's a rough patch in the road before you can hit the straightaway, right?" She smiles as she makes a lame attempt to muddle into a vague culture-appropriate proverb. "It'll work out. Anyway... I'll be happy to have that audience when everyone else is." She rubs her chin. "I don't know if it would be appropriate to do so while half the crew is wandering around."
Dexter Arkwright	"Well, sounds like they're losing. They want to keep people from getting the treasure for whatever reason, but they can eat our dust, I say!" Dexter respondsa about the church, but nods about the meat, even though he doesn't really understand 'less than human'. "So! I'm heading off to the market, if anyone wants to join me." Dexter then takes his list back and moves to head off. Dexter's plan is simple. Using his vast personal fortune, he's gonna buy up all the meat personally, set someone to deliver it because he can't carry it himself but take all the credit for it, buy some extra fine steaks for everyone, and then move to take a look at the hyperglass and megadiamond products. He's wondering what that sort of stuff would be, and if they have anything he can personally use, like good pistols, or just souvenirs, which he'll accept anyways. If he's going to buy his way into everyone's hearts, he needs to find them good stuff, right?
Staren	Staren blinks at Leyanne. "Is that what the church is about? Yeesh." He was briefly feeling kind of sympathetic for them -- less so, now. Still, they don't deserve being bombed unless they're trying to bomb others. His mind wanders a bit, and he looks back to Kura. "What's Megadiamond? And why are the stars streaking? They're light-years away but we haven't hit c yet. And the superplanet is too huge for us to be circling its curvature that fast... Where do you keep, ah, where would I find people or books knowledgeable about the physics of what's going on here in the Line?"
Orchid	"To be frankly honest," Orchid says, not bothered much by an owl having a flexible neck, "I'm not sure what the Church of Holy Combustion believes. If there was a memo I missed it. Then again, I'm not much of one for religion." She shrugs. "I've been of the mind you can find interesting things in ruins."
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is rather subdued right now she seems she's really taking things easy but she is very much game for this job though as she'll keep with Corona and Leyanne the talk of modern chemistry gets her attention as she starts to grin she has an idea of where this is going to be going. "I can see where this is going I'm a mechanic and vechile designer by trade I see where this is going and I think I can work with it and the Church huh? Sounds like a speed cult..."
Starbound Flotilla	Corona gets a broader smile from the liason. "We know that the radiation affects causssality! We don't know all the detailsss, but we can get plenty of enriched fuelsss out of usssing the radiation from the plasssma it makesss. Only in the halfpipe though, that'sss where it'sss all concentrated. Isss like nitro, yeah! Inject, and boom." Kura makes an exploding gesture with one hand. Kura gives some directions to Leyanne -- which is to say, to Dexter as well -- for vehicle matters. We'll get to the results of that shortly, when Dexter reaches the market district. Riva brings up a good point, though! "In that cassse, Floran can sssave for later? You can take a break and walk about if you want. Floran thinksss Sunssseeker ssspeaks for itssself, as a city that'sss proof of the Engine King'sss goodnesss. Good to let you sssee it!" Kura looks a little smug briefly, in a way vaguely reminiscient of Biteblade's look. "You want to know about Line? Floran knowsss all about. You want to talk ssscience? Floran isss greatessst ssscholar of Line!" Probably not, that's about as meaningful as Biteblade constantly talking about how she's the smartest and strongest. "Floran can take you to library. Anyone elssse want direction, or learn more?" Staren's already getting his answer though. "Anssswer isss, relative dissstance from planet sssurface to ssstar above isss lower in ratio to sssurface, perssspective shift fassster. What other quessstion?" This is all invitation to Staren, Corona, and anyone else interested in the /physics/ of The Line to follow to somewhere they can research! The others are free to explore the Church, the Market, or anywhere else people are filtering around in Sunseeker. Looks like the audience will be happening very soon, but not today, judging by people wanting to split off a bit!
Starbound Flotilla	Yang will probably... Not be surprised by the abrupt Biteblade ambush. "Hey burning friend! C'mon! Floran will help bike modsss!" She calls out, popping out from a hatch below and offering to hoist her entirely onto Biteblade's shoulders and bring her in. Her wounded state is something Biteblade is /kind of/ sympathetic to, though that doesn't make it not a bumpy ride. She's definitely ready to help out though. "Floran thinksss, maybe we can add linear boossster that bracesss off Linerunner magnetic field? Would let you go real fassst, and ussse cool bike like sssolid ground when punching hard!" Already she's babbling ideas.
Yang Xiao Long	Yang ventures back below decks to work on her bike, still a bit listless from being shacked up and resting for the last few days while speed was gathered and the merge was planned. She's surprised by Biteblade appearing from the hatch and yelps as she's unceremoniously dragged back inside again. "Hey, hey, c'mon, I can walk y'know." she jokes, the enthusiasm from the Floran proving infectious in even the blonde's dour state. "Linear booster? Kinda like the Dust cell Overdrive unit I use in the road design... Bracing the hover unit so I can ride-fight sounds like a good plan too, that fight against the Glass Saint was hard on both me and the bike... we nearly lost merge with the previous Gear back there."
Leyanne	Leyanne looks to Corona "I'm quite interested in seeing how they make bikes here, but... Yang also needs help in the repair shop." She admits, grinning. "And Mr. Arkwright seems to have bought me a bike so I'd really kinda like to check it out, see if I can learn some tricks." She nods at Kura's explaination thoughtfully. "I caught some of that radiation when the Saint held me up, trying to... I think he was trying to convert me to his particular rush. But... he doesn't get it. I can't... just chase one rush. I'd get bored."
Staren	Staren nods at the explanation, rubbing his chin. "That did occur to me, but I've never seen it before... maybe it's just not as common in Sector Zero." Hey, Biteblade knows her stuff! The whole... floran... thing... seems to just be how she talks. Staren happily follows this one though!
Corona Arclite	There's some doubt in the complete validity of some of those claims, but Kura knows the points that are important to point them in a good direction and that is enough for Corona to not niggle on how 'greatest' he might be. She is use to hearing similar sentiment out of Biteblade, who might not be the 'greatest' but certainly knows her stuff good. She gives the snazzily dressed Floran a nod of agreement, smirking a bit herself. "Reckon the more we can find out 'bout the Line before pushin' ahead, the better." Then gives Leyanne a nod and a snicker at the fellow gearhead. "Then ya better go check it out." As she follows Kura she flicks open her handheld, holding it up to one side of her head like a phone.
Riva Banari	Riva smiles and nods to Kura. "Thank you. I'll take a look around this wonderful city and see what it has to offer. See you later!" She says, striding off. It's not long until she's looking to and fro, considering where best to look around, but something seems to be nagging at her from the expression on her face, and soon she's heading to the Church of the Holy Combustion. She strides into the building, looking over the people in the building, noting Orchid speaking with the head priestess of a sort. "Hey there." She says as she approaches. "We just came in from outside. There's a lot going on out there, but I've been curious about what the Church of the Holy Combustion is about."
Leyanne	Leyanne also follows Kura, chatting on her commlink. Hers is built into her helmet, though.
Starbound Flotilla	Leyanne, Dexter, and anyone else seeking to get some Line gear are off to the markets! Megadiamond, hyperglass, and plain old turbo gear are in abundance here, being the primary economic movers and shakers (besides the standard multiversal credit, anyway). HYPERGLASS is found in almost all products that require power. Not only is it a fantastic protective thing, resistant against heat, wind, friction, and other common hazards of the Line, it's also a potent storage medium; something about the weird glass makes it into a capacitor for energy formed out of motion. This means when it's moved, it builds energy that can be discharged into all kinds of things, mostly its own motion. Hyperglass daggers, swords, and other melee gear are found in weapon markets, but it's also used extensively in hand-charged electronics, and its speed, transparency, and weird probability functions makes for displays that actually exceed the human eye's ability to track information displayed, while still conveying all displayed. Useful for a helmet? There are a few, after all. Meanwhile, megadiamond seems to be used primarily for inertial effects. The reason that most crafts out here can accelerate without killing the people inside them with G-force is because of the inertial dampening effects of megadiamond. It seems like the more megadiamond is in something, the less likely it is to accept itself or anything around it "stopping" relative to what it thinks motion is. That's why the weapon markets have megadiamond bullets, but there's also megadiamond clothes that are rather intensely sturdy, megadiamond data storage that refuses to lose its data when encoded, megadiamond transmission systems where broadcasts become Unstoppable (but often long-delayed), and other suchlike. Oh, and of course, tons of vehicles. A lot of them are based on magnetic bracing systems, where one can, say, ride a jetpack at beyond light speed, only so long as one can "brace" it against the magnetic field of a larger vehicle. Mods, entire vehicles like buggies or bikes, and other suchlike are on offer here for those in need of a way to amp up their ability to keep up with the Linerunner without actually... Dedicating their time to fine-tuning a delicate piece of high-maintenance machinery like Corona can take joy in doing.
Dexter Arkwright	As Dexter and possibly others go shopping, once the meat order's been placed, he moves to look at the hyperglass and megadiamond equipment. The hyperglass stuff is neat, but all he gets there unless someone wants something is a transparent helmet if he can find one, for Orchid. Regarding the Hyperglass, he buys himself bullets for his revolver and pistol. Money's little object for an Arkwright, after all. Dexter, however, knows nothing about vehicles. He'll ask about combat bikes and buy Leyanne whatever the salesperson recommends, which could probably be really pricy unless Corona or someone steps in and finds one better and cheaper. Dexter's not really concerned about any prices unless it'd actually /hurt/ his budget. Overall, though, if he has shopping partners, Dexter does decide to talk to them. "Aren't cities the best? I love them so much. The atmosphere, the smell, the rush of business and commerce...it all feels so booming. Though the buildings are never tall enough out in the Multiverse." He hms about that as he finishes up his purchases.
Leyanne	Leyanne follows Dexter and the others to the Market. She actually does assist, cutting in and bartering with the guy, using her knowledge of conventional bike building to lead her. She accepts any input Corona and the others have on the subject... between the four of them, they should be able to get a decent Line-capable bike, of similar size and lines to Scrat. "I should show you, oh, what's the place called... Corona, Kotone, help me out here." She comments to Dexter. "The place with all the Niv-Mizzet, it's got that 6K tower Alfie and I BASE-jumped."
Starbound Flotilla	Orchid and Riva now that she's joined are both getting a rather kind look. "The Church believes most of all in one thing: Prosperity exists to be shared. The Treasure of the Line brings prosperity to whatever kingdom holds it, and so it will be reached, and grasped, and its prosperity will turn from heat into light." Her body turns around, getting up off the ground in front of the altar as if it were an entirely independent thing. "But that probably doesn't make much sense to people who haven't been in the Line for the last few years." She takes a deep breath, exhales, and puts on a face that seems like... Her reasonable face. "The Church of Holy Combustion wants the Treasure preserved, not destroyed. Its power is being filtered through plasma right now. And... we think it would be better if it wasn't so searing to the body to take it in. Radiation, heat, blinding light, these things don't have to be a part of the Treasure. A long time ago, when the Treasure was in two parts and not one, you could /hold them in your hands/, or so the legends say. A kingdom that would have lasted forever, a band of warriors who could never be defeated... Not a burned scar on the surface of the multiverse. However glorious its heat is, we want it to become something better, and we believe that when it does, it will bring us a kinder light. The Engine King would rather destroy it than even risk what it could be." She sighs, as if not expecting this to persuade anyone. The spiel has the feeling of something she's said too often.
Starbound Flotilla	"Isss local thing. If we brace bike againssst /magnetic field/ of Linerunner, then you can punch, shoot, anything you want, without knocking bike around! Ssstrafe, circle around, whatever you wanna! All the ssspeed, none of the downssside!" Biteblade declares proudly, settling down near Bumblebee. "Well, one downssside, ssstart ssslowing if you're too far away from Linerunner. But MOSSSTLY no downssside!!" She cheers! And then immediately crowbars a crate open with no crowbar at all, using her teeth, and digs into the modding business, only doing a cursory check with Yang that it's okay to set up this weird hover-bike attachment onto Yang's /personal property/.
Orchid	Orchid listens, and nods. "This is the first I've heard of the treasure, to be honest, but." She shakes her head. "That people have been pursuing the treasure so long that they build churches to ideas of what to do with it? I'm having trouble processing that, to be honest. Finding a positive way to make use of it to help people does sound like the right approach. The hows, of course, are probably more complicated." "Thank you for explaining it."
Corona Arclite	"Ravnica" Corona answers Leyanne's grasping for names. Libraries are good for research and all, but her besties want to go shopping and she's not about to be a party pooper. Besides, how often do you get to go browsing through otherworldly market places... well okay quite a bit in the Multiverse, but that's hardly the same thing. They all have some odd quirk or another. The others are looking at actual bikes and Tiny's got helping negotiate covered, so Corona starts poking through the other gear. The kind of tools used for mod work around here, that sort of thing... maybe she can find some hyperglass lenses to put in a pair of goggles. Gotta have goggles. It's kinda one of her things. Though at the speeds they've been going. ".. Hey, Tiny, y'know anything about makin' helmets fit o'er big ears?" What? She's not sure if Leyanne makes her own or buys them somewhere!
Riva Banari	Riva ponders, listening attentively to what's going on. She tilts her head, looking over at the altar and considering the words of the wisewoman. "Huh." She says, her expression blinking in surprise as she hears something she clearly didn't expect. Well, Riva never was one to have much of a poker face. "You just said it used to be in two parts, and the Line was created when they were combined into one, right?" She arches an eyebrow, thinking. "Interesting. That means..." She hums. "... Well, I'm no genius, but I don't see a problem with your pitch so far. So are the Saints of Glass, Heat, and Diamond part of this? And are the disagreements about how the Treasure is supposed to be dealt with part of why there's so many problems between North and Southside?"
Yang Xiao Long	Yang nods a bit. "Well, makes sense. I guess." remarks Yang as she watches Biteblade. "I mean, it's how Atlas's drone carriers work, if the drones get too far from their base, they switch to onboard AI which isn't nearly as powerful. Yang does frown a bit, nudging the Floran. "Hey, be careful with my bike. You damage anything on her and injured or not, I'll show you how much I Burn."
Starbound Flotilla	"Megadiamond isss like hyperglassss." Kura explains to Staren, chatting warmly to explain the other thing he didn't answer. "Mossst Line materialsss you can't find anywhere elssse, they're unssstoppable or immovable in sssome way." He gestures with the left hand. "Hyperglasss makesss motion become more motion." He gestures with the right hand. "Megadiamond makesss inertia become more inertia. Comesss from the heat in the Line, sssee?" They arrive soon at a library, which is mostly elaborate temple-like Avian stone. Heading in, Kura gets a proper research space set up in the reference department. It's actually mostly digital, but there's just something about a library that helps research. Maybe it's the massive processing power that helps with search, the eye-pleasing displays, or other things like that you just can't get reading all the data on your phone or having a Muse sift through it. Corona and Staren should have no trouble finding out anything about the Line, even that weird sciency whatsit that happened during the last fight maybe.
Staren	Once hyperglass is explained to him, Staren is eager to start incorporating it into mecha, power armor, robot bodies... There are some definite uses there! And there are endless questions. He may be here awhile -- at some point he swaps to his normal clothes with the matter manipulator -- there's just something about a labcoat. Labcoat, library... they have at least three letters in common, they just naturally go together! Now, to business. Learning about these materials. About how the Line is able to keep air moving like this without causing dramatic weather effects all over the place. Maybe some more records about what the Treasure might be and where it came from. And yes, what the hell happened during that fight with the Saint? Perhaps there are other known physics-warping materials? Come to think of it, why is it /glass/ (silicon dioxide) in one spot, and diamond (carbon) in another? Oh, and don't forget, records about parts of the Multiverse the line crosses! Staren may be in here until his stomach reminds him he needs to eat eventually. He's not a robot today, fortunately, or he might forget to leave!
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa pauses at the ment9ion of Ravinca "The Izziet guild has been an backer of the DI for some time I never had a chance to visit it much sadly." She notes to Leyanne and Corona but she seems to be looking over the actual bikes now leaving Corona to handle the haggling she can get her nerding on for gear. Goggles, and other biker kit she goes to collect thema nd will pay for them shortly.
Starbound Flotilla	DEXTER GOING SHOPPIIIIIIIIIING Dexter can well afford the stuff here. They take his credits easily! Bullets aren't too hard to come by, especially in this wartime environment. Well, no, not quite: He does have to get checked over by some local soldiers, but they confirm he's part of an escort for fuel shipments heading north, and it's no problem after that. Leyanne's bartering may not be needed, but her expertise definitely is. Bikes have an incredibly diverse array of functions and specializations, and her own presence here means that she can properly get herself a CAVALRY BIKE to work with. Fancy ammo racks and weapon mounts, as well as racks and braces set up for working heavy machinery on the bike, are all on offer. Like most things past Second Gear, it's hoverbikes for the most part, but they're still good damn bikes! Goggles and lenses thereof are good stuff, which Corona can find fairly easily. There's even some of Novakid make, where the glass interior actually has tiny hyperglass gears that hook up to itty bitty mechanical accelerometers and they provide accurate HUD-like displays of crucial vehicular motion statistics like speed. Woah! Kotone is able to find more biker gear and such, finding some good Floran stuff made out of authentic turbofauna leathers of various kinds; the shops proudly declare that they'll let you probably survive a fall right off the bike even at Third Gear or Fourth Gear speed! /Probably/. Must be all that megadiamond.
Starbound Flotilla	"The Treasure of the Line moves precisely westward at a speed we can't measure. You've seen it if you've seen the line to the north, where it cuts across the sky when it passes, and leaves its trail of heat behinsd" The elderly owl explains to Orchid. "Enough Acceleration Empires have risen and fallen that we think it's been active for something like twenty years, but the shifting of the multiverse makes it hard to know for sure." Riva asks another question, one that gets a twisting-up face from the Avian. "There are only a few ways for a society forged in heat to truly function. Either we could force everyone into the light, and let them burn away anything that held them back from taking the heat of the Line, or we could let them live in the Line, without burning... But they took a state like that to be slavery. They wanted a life without the searing heat, but without the limits of the shield to hide from it. Our Empress couldn't bring us to force them to accept the heat, and now..." She makes a sad noise. "Now the Engine King wants to take out the source of the light to begin with. His sort of rhetoric is what the saints were supposed to stop. They're enforcers, of a kind. The ones who try to stop people who want the Line's treaTreasure gone. That's exactly why the North and South ends are so bitter to each other."
Leyanne	Leyanne gives Corona an apologetic shrug. "I get all my dome-protectors from Arkadyne." She admits. "They're already fitted to interface with my armour and there's grommets for my antennae." Before long, she's got the bike designed... it'll be a while being built because the mouse's requirements are exacting - she pays a portion of it from her own money, because she'd feel bad as hell if Dex bought it for her. She also helps Corona get a helmet... whether that's bought or made, she offers her professional input on helmet design.
Starbound Flotilla	Yang gets a confident, yet somehow almost pouting sort of look from Biteblade. "Hey, Floran isss sssmartest! Not gonna hurt bike! Floran will make sssure isss better!" She looks especially proud there, jabbing a thumb into her chest. "Floran isss gonna make you bessst crashy ssstuntbike for punching around! Can put fancy armor and spikesss and ssstuff! You wanna have? Sssuper sssturdy! Can ram and slam and punch a lot!" She flexes a little, just to emphasize it. If accepted, she's gonna get right to work on setting up the sort of stunt-bike infrastructure around the heavy thing, hopping that the chance to collaborate on something like that will perk her up after that exhausting fight!
Dexter Arkwright	Dexter is slightly impatient, if friendly enough when they finally let him through, with the local soldiers. He gets his ammo, makes sure Leyanne's bike is paid for, and that everyone else's stuff is paid for as well. Then, as soon as everyone's done shopping, he'll head back to the Linerunner to rest up some more and finish healing up his arm. He needs to be in tip-top situation for the next fight, after all!
Starbound Flotilla	Staren's many inquiries into the various search systems are given their due answers. The first is most inoccuous. How does the Line keep air moving without creating disasterous weather conditions? The answer: It doesn't. Shitty weather plagues the borders of the Line constantly, it just really does mess everything up unless you live right inside it. A lot of people have moved into settlements inside the line simply because it's easier than living right OUTSIDE it. Materials, he knows about for the most part now. Glass and diamond being so weird is found to be more the case that they're words picked up to describe them based on their physical properties and not chemical compositions. Hyperglass behaves like glass, but is actually a complicated carbon nanostructure that generates molecular-scale "flywheels" inside it easily, which build up energy from movement, and express it with emitted photons. Megadiamond is another fancy carbon nanostructure, but this one works in more complicated ways; his Muse would be able to find the most accurate analogous match for outside of the Line would be the physical structure of bird eyes, where entanglement processes naturally occur. The megadiamond performs semi-random dynamic environmental entanglement to "brace" off of nearby megadiamond or nearby matter and "dampen" inertia with its immense weight. Both of these are irrelevant for most people. What's relevant for everyone is a story, which those exploring the Church could also easily find.
Kotone Yamakawa	Kotone Yamakawa is not going to argue with the Floran producted gear she looks it over for a moment and she will pick up a pair she likes grabs some goggles of her own and will head to the till she'll pay quite happily too she seems to be in a good mood. "These Leathers look great!" She's almost chittering and she even posts a pictuyre to her social media back home as she pays for them...
Corona Arclite	Corona Arclite is a very paws on shopper, going so far to actually hold up the goggles to her eyes without actually putting them on. Followed by a whistle at all the little displays of things that honestly no body but the Southern Fried Genius in her really cares about. But these would be really good at keeping track of all those critical mechanical criteria and keeping them from not getting killed at massive speeds. "Duly noted," she replies to Leyanne while she's fiddling. "Was mostly idle crossin' my mind lookin' at this stuff." The novakid goggles she's definatelly taking though.
Orchid	Orchid is left with a lot to think about. "That's... something I'll need to think about. Thank you."
Starbound Flotilla	The story of the Line is a familiar story. It is also a description of what happened when Staren fired his unstoppable force at the immovable object of the Saint of Glass. The North and the South can both agree on one thing in particular, and it is this: The origin of the Line. It is a story that has been told among the Line since it began, but it is the answer to a question that has existed for thousands of years. There once was a band of Unstoppable Warriors. Blessed by their Treasure, they roamed the world, unable to be defeated. For thousands of years, they roamed, and were never struck down. Nor did they tire, nor did they die. They were Unstoppable. There once was an Immovable Kingdom. Blessed by their treasure, they stood steadfast through wars, through famine, through drought, and through turmoil. Their citizens never experienced great want. Their nobles were never usurped or plagued by corruption. Their positive ideals of peace, understanding, and freedom were never changed. One day, the home world of the Unstoppable Warriors unified. One day, the home world of the Immovable Kingdom unified. One day, the former was sent to end the latter. Neither Treasure could bear to surrender. What was unstoppable could not be stopped. What was immovable could not be moved. These were facts and absolutes. What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? Both stop moving -- unstoppably. In a "normal" universe, this would mean suddenly "moving" closer to the center of the universe at a rate precisely matching the spin and expansion rate of the universe itself. In the Multiverse, it meant something different: Moving in a direction precisely perpendicular to the axis of the rotation of the superplanet, ever westward, completing its circle once per rotation of the vast multiverse planet. The Treasure is not moving. The Treasure is the only thing in the multiverse that is standing still.
Yang Xiao Long	"She doesn't need more plate... but we can reinforce the existing plates to better weather the impacts from one of those Saint suits." replies Yang to Biteblade, moving to help with her one useful hand. "Just remember this is my bike, Bumblebee is my pride and joy, if she gets broken because of this, I'll be upset. And you know what I'm like when I'm upset." The 'threat' is empty though. The blonde grinning at the Floran and nudging her gently. Seems she's back to mostly normal.