Shock! Intrigue! A Leader's Speculations!

[sonofgucun]

[1]

[Wang Ding Bang has been apprehended... but things have gone from bad to worse. The so-called traitor was't one at all. Wang Ding Bang... was innocent. The man had been beaten and dragged along by Qiang and other insurgents that had left Gucun to draw attention onto themselves...]

To get us away from Gucun....

[Qiang himself didn't seem to be leader material as well. Rather a man who's example is followed by his men - but lacked true leadership ability - another person to throw off suspicion. And then there was Jia Wu. He gave direct orders to bring Wang back alive. Yet she had pulled the trigger with the intent to kill... Gucun soldiers - especially an elite squad leader like her would have had more discipline....]

[Cheng was pacing back and forth. The moment his information was verified Wang was already headed back to Gucun in secret. He made something of a show of having him under guard in the Chalice - but the moment he was sure he could get away with it - he sent him back with a pair of the Thaumata recruits he inducted. Funny. For all the wrongs people seem to believe he had commited, it seems to have paid off here... there is no telling who he could trust aside from a select few... and if anything he needed Wang's eyes in Gucun.]

Everything is escalating further...


[2]

[Cheng is alone once more, digging through every single one of the reports than Han Zhi had sent previously. Every single one of them was positive. No sign of insurgent activity in the State...]

[His scowl deepened, every report he reread he soon flung away. His suspicions were growing. There was no way for ALL of the insurgents to have left Gucun. It would defeat their purpose of trying to wrest it from hmself and Devon...]

[He took the last report he was reading.... then tore it in half...]


[3] [Locked to Technological Experts]

I need a listening device. One that can be planted without the intended target noticing.

[Cheng had sought you out in the dead of night - the graveyard shift - when practically no one else was around. Especially not his bodyguard detatchment.]

It is of great importance.

Lost Boys

[srwuga_mods]

[1]
[A combat(?)/shanenigans prompt]
At night, White Chalice is invaded by strange intruders. Small submarines with arms and legs have climbed up the floating ship's sides and are now all over the place, stealing mechanical parts and supplies in particular - but everything they can get their hands on in general! They are very stealthy and sneaky-like, but as soon as detected they flee in fear rather than fighting.

Capture them to retrieve your things! But beware - as soon as they make it under the waves they are suddenly much faster and harder to chase.
[For the sake of plot and see below, don't use lethal violence.]

[2]
After the raid it turns out some of your stuff is missing - including doctor Oenone Zero! Time to interrogate the captured pilots to learn about their base's location.

But how will you do that when the pilots turn out to be but mere children? Because that's what they are. Little boys - dirty, hungry, scared out of their minds. Lost boys.

Is harshness really the way to go with here? It looks like life was harsh enough on them already.

[2a - locked to Oenone]
Figure this out - during the night, a band of children have abducted you in their tiny submarines, and brought you to their underwater base. They also took your tools of the trade as a surgeon and Stalker mechanic. What could they want from you? Only one way to find out, as you have an audience with their leader...

[3]
Eventually, one way or another you've figured out where the Lost Boys' base of operations is. It's on the ocean floor - hard to access on one side, but on the other, you meet no resistance once you actually get there. No surprise, the Lost Boy subs are unmanned and at foot they have knives and slings at best. A poor match for armed combatants.

The place seems to be falling apart, with rusted pipes and dangerously unstable boilers everywhere, especially on lower levels where Lost Boys live in crowded hovels. Is this really a place where anyone can survive for a long time? But don't forget your mission, to find dr Zero.