turnsheet_bureau:5:spring_cleaning [Contagion]

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======Spring Cleaning======

It begins with a whisper.

A rustling of canvas in the wind which turns quick to heated voices.

You limp over, only in time to see Mars stalking away, two guns slung over their back. Eris fumes but a weighted glance from Mars stalls further protestation.

You scramble to get to your workshop, but Verity is already there, calmly collecting up anything that could conceivably be a weapon.
“You don’t have any more guns, do you, Juno?” she smiles at you.
You feel the weight of your pistol on your hip as you shake your head.

It seems the Bastion has its decisive new leadership. You are no stranger to the dangers of concentrated power. There is no scene, as there was with Chris’s attempt at a gun registry, or Guneir’s theatrics. Just a quiet assertion of the new order.

Clark’s volume is undiminished by the change of scenery as he regales you with his ‘big news’.

“So… so! Yeah, so I’ve been thinking about this whole contagion business and I think I’ve got something HUGE! See, those lot in charge, they’re just not thinking outside the box enough--” 

-- he taps the side of his head -- 

“--but if you deep it, then really it’s simple! We just have to come up with an idea of how to cure this thing -- and I’ve got LOADS -- and try it out on like Chris or Guneir or one of the zombies out there. Maybe you say, oh, what if it doesn’t work, you’re so silly Clark and handsome too, and I’ll say thank you very much but here’s the clever part -- we figure out which bit went wrong and do that bit… differently. It sounds simple, but that’s just cos I’m so good at explaining things, I’ve been in the tank for DAYS working this out. And if you’re even more clever like ME, then you start thinking, well there’s only so many different things out there, so maybe instead of trying to prove things right we should be proving things WRONG. Which I know probably sounds totes bonkers, but eventually there’ll only be one thing left that’s right. And I KNOW it works because I just used it to PROVE that it works.”

His words wash over you soothingly even as his voice grates on your ears. A jester may be ridiculed, but still they provide a topic to discuss over dinner, a story to repeat, a mistake to laugh over. And as the Bastion dwindles, there is plenty of space to spare to house his loud frivolity.

The first couple days of working on the generator are lonely. Loosha points out the missing parts before throwing her hands up. The Relic Seeker is occupied on an expedition to Din Talin.

Mars and Kathleen are hardly sympathetic to your cause -- either they don’t care or they don’t know where Eddy kept all the electrical parts. The shelves of the generator room may have once been well-stocked, but the only evidence of that now is patches where the dust is merely half an inch thick. You try to patch together a replacement for the missing conduit, but most of your metalworking tools have been confiscated.

The return of the Relic Seeker sparks some hope, which soon turns to collaborative failure. Her arm is wrapped in heavy bandages, brushed off as a workplace incident. The frequent wince betrays her. You make a fine pair, with six limbs between you. The days don’t feel wasted, though, as you talk -- about the Bastion, the weather, even an in-depth discussion of the best way to construct a prosthetic limb. It feels constructive: though the generator still lies in disarray, you feel once more like there could be a community here, if you built it. And, eventually, there is progress in your task, too. It takes until your final day of attempts for it to happen.

The journey down the corridor of the substation to reach the generator is short, but so cluttered that with crutches it becomes a daily obstacle course. You hear the Relic Seeker, already beginning the day’s mindless bumbling.

And then a shriek.

You half-run half-tumble down the remainder of the corridor, falling through the door to see the Relic Seeker clutching her arm. A bandage hangs, charred and smoke rises from a… wire? (something metallic) emerging from just above the wrist. Her arm spasms as she tries to shield it from you, stammering out some noises which could be words as it knocks into the generator--

And there is a choking cough. The sound of a motor whirring. And the lights flicker back into life above you.

The Relic Seeker pushes past you, almost the entire right side of her body rebelling. But whatever she did -- evidently with some sacrifice to herself -- it’s working. The Bastion still has some breaths left in her.


{[]}{{tag>writeup5 gm_ben complete}}