A woman believes she is descended from heroes and revolutionaries. Will you help her uncover the truth?
Level: 9
Start: Renata Sauvignon, Employment, Bordeaux Station
Introduction
The Job Office is especially animated today. Reclamation decorations drift through the air in hologramatic form while freelancers excitedly talk to prospective clients either in person or via CORETECHS.
A steely eyed colonist woman that your CORETECHS identifies as Renata Sauvignon flicks through holo-folders that float next to her, then sends them wafting through the air at freelancers who gather before her clamoring for the jobs. Brief pauses between flicks and wafts suggests she scans each prospective freelancer before assigning a job, potentially matching their metrics to the required task.
You note that the clamoring seems to rise in pitch for a moment, as her pause between flick and waft seems to have grown for one particular folder. She scans the freelancers before her, a furrow appearing on her brow, but doesn't seem to find a suitable candidate who she believes can handle this particular job.
After a long moment, her eyes seem to land on you. She stares at you, likely scanning what metrics and history are available, before eliciting a grunt of non-committal and giving a begrudging nod to nobody in particular.
With apparent practiced use of minimal expression, perhaps maximising efficiency, she raises her eyebrows at you, as if to say: Interested? Her fingers stand poised to waft her folder in your direction.
You have accepted the "One Egg, Two Yolks: A Reclamation Revelation." mission.
- Accept Renata's Folder.
- Decline Renata's folder.
Decline Renata's folder:
You smile and shake your head, declining the Reclamation Tenspan task. Renata shrugs and turns her attention back to the crowd before her. You do note, before walking away, that she files the folder away, apparently disinclined to offer it to anyone currently here. Voices raise once more as you turn your back, leaving the yapping freelancers to beg for scraps of work.
You have failed the "One Egg, Two Yolks: A Reclamation Revelation." mission. You can retake this mission and try again.
Accept Renata's Folder:
You nod your head to show you accept the task. A slight upturn of one lip appears to be the most acknowledgment you will receive before Renata flicks her fingers in your direction, sending the file floating through the air in your direction, before it is received within your CORETECHS. She then turns her attention back to the yammering crowd before her.
The file opens up within your CORETECHS, notifying you that the requester of this task is a woman by the name of Melanie and her current whereabouts are the local Inn. The dossier's contents are available for you to peruse should you like.
Read the task dossier or go find Melanie at the Inn on Bordeaux Station.
Next area: Inn, Bordeaux Station
- Search for Reclamation Tenspan on the Mesh.
- Peruse the dossier.
OR
Next NPC: Melanie, Inn, Bordeaux Station
- "Melanie? I've accepted your Reclamation task."
Search for Reclamation Tenspan on the Mesh:
You run a search on Reclamation Tenspan on the Mesh.
Reclamation Tenspan, your CORETECHS supplies, is the brain-child of governmental psy-ops divisions and came about as a way to help the collective community emotionally evolve past the near extinction level event that has been on humanity’s subconscious for hundreds of cycles. Thus, the theory goes, they can then focus on rebuilding from a fresh place.
The entry continues: Once a cycle, during this special tenspan, intelligence branches of the goverments offer their services to the public in order to help them to learn who they were Before, where their families may have come from. In accepting this knowledge, they can then leave it behind. An evolution of self through closure of the past.
At the close of the tenspan, an elaborate ceremony takes place in the ports of many stations. Intricately printed metallic eggs are sold to those citizens who achieved reclamation. Their histories are uploaded into these filigree receptacles and they are then all released into the black, drifting away and allowing citizens to start anew.
Read the task dossier or go fine Melanie at the Inn on Bordeaux Station.
- Peruse the dossier.
With a flick of your wrist, you open the folder floating before your field of vision, now visible only to you. It unpacks with various documents, a birth certificate, and some images. It appears this is the Reclamation Tenspan request of a woman by the name of Melanie, a local urban engineer. A holo-image of her projects in your field of view. She is an attractive Belter with two prosthetic legs, their curved metal appearing to have been modified in various places.
The dossier explains that Melanie has come to believe that she is the direct descendant of a local revolutionary war hero who helped overthrow a tyrannical commander during the days after the Catastrophe. Melanie is using her Reclamation allotment to reclaim her history and find out if this is true.
Find Melanie in the Inn on Bordeaux Station.
Next NPC: Melanie, Inn, Bordeaux Station
- "I read the Dossier, but tell me more." (if you've already met her)
- "Melanie? I've accepted your Reclamation task."
- "I've read the Dossier, where do you think I should begin?" (if you've already met her)
Melanie? I've accepted your Reclamation task:
Me: Melanie? I've accepted your Reclamation task.
You walked into the Inn to find, among other patrons, an anxious looking Belter with the name Melanie floating above her head in your CORETECHS. Her auburn hair whipped around as her head snapped towards you, an eager smile on her face. She leaps to her prosthetic and highly modified feet with an almost musical clinking sound. When she speaks, it is in an excited outpouring of words, heavily tinged with a Gaulish accent.
Melanie: D'accord! You have made my day, good Ser! Have you already read my request or do you need me to fill you in?
- "I read the Dossier, but tell me more."
- "I haven't had a chance to read it yet, give me a moment." (if you haven't read it yet)
- "I haven't accessed it yet, please fill me in."
- "I've read the Dossier, where do you think I should begin?"
I haven't had a chance to read it yet, give me a moment:
Me: I haven't had a chance to read it yet, give me a moment.
Melanie: D'accord. Of course!
Melanie leans against the wall and chews on a fingernail absently while you access your CORETECHS and bring up the Dossier.
Next area: Inn, Bordeaux Station
- Peruse the dossier.
I read the Dossier, but tell me more:
Me: Yes, I read the Dossier, but tell me more.
Melanie nods excitedly and invites you to join her at a table towards the back of the inn. She slides her lanky frame delicately into the booth and leans forward, her voice an excited hush.
Melanie: So, as you might be aware, our station of Bordeaux is one rich with revolutionary pride in its recent histories. While the military is back now, of course, there was a time after the Catastrophe when the case was not so.
I've read the Dossier, where do you think I should begin?:
Me: I've read the Dossier, where do you think I should begin?
Melanie nods excitedly and invites you to join her at a table towards the back of the inn. She slides her lanky frame delicately into the booth and leans forward, her voice an excited hush.
Melanie: So, as you might be aware, our station of Bordeaux is one rich with revolutionary pride in its recent histories. While the military is back now, of course, there was a time after the Catastrophe when the case was not so.
I haven't accessed it yet, please fill me in:
Me I haven't accessed it yet, please fill me in
Frowning for a moment, Melanie then nods and invites you to join her at a table towards the back of the inn. She slides her lanky frame delicately into the booth and leans forward, her voice an excited hush.
Melanie So, the basics of the situation are that I would like to use my Reclamation allotment to discover information about a potential descendant. I have strong reason to believe that I am related to a hero of Bordeaux!
Melanie As you might be aware, our station of Bordeaux is one rich with revolutionary pride in its recent histories. While the military is back now, of course, there was a time after the Catastrophe when the case was not so.
All choices continue:
- "I know the history of Bordeaux well enough. So, how can I help you?"
- "I'd like to know more, actually."
I know the history of Bordeaux well enough. So, how can I help you:
Me: I know the history of Bordeaux well enough. So, how can I help you?
Melanie: Ah, good then. So, the fact is that I have come to believe I may be directly related to the famous revolutionary hero that is featured so heavily in many of Bordeaux Station's folk tales and who, unfortunately, remains enigmatically anonymous. As it is the tenspan of Reclamation, I would like to find out more.
I'd like to know more, actually:
Me: I'd like to know more, actually.
Melanie: D'accord, of course. The most prominent tale, passed down for some generations, is that after the Catastrophe, during the dark cycles, a tyrannical commander from the Gaulish military took advantage of the chaos and confusion to reign with a corrupt and iron hand. Those days were, it is said, filled with paranoia, in-fighting, and chaos.
Melanie: A people's hero rose up and threw off this oppressive yoke, guiding the common folk to govern themselves and thus paving the way for us to survive those terrible cycles as a community. Eventually, of course, the military returned and the community had no choice but to allow them to rule once more. The oppression and corruption are not there, of course, but there will always be a class divide. The Court of Fools is always stirring with talks of revolution, even now. The main thing staying people's hand is that, the plain fact is, things are not so bad these days.
- Interesting, so now how can I help you find out what you need?
Melanie: So, as I say, I have come to believe I may be directly related to the famous revolutionary hero that is featured so heavily in many of Bordeaux Station's folk tales and who, unfortunately, remains enigmatically anonymous. As it is the tenspan of Reclamation, I would like to find out more.
Both choices continue:
Melanie takes a deep breath before continuing. Reclamation holo-decorations float by as patrons of the Inn enjoy the celebrations around you.
Melanie: On this day, as a freelancer undertaking this task, you will have been granted access. Therefore, I would very much like it if you could access governmental archives on the corrupt and tyrannical Commander our tales speak of, in order to try and discover the identity of who took her down!
Access archives at the Government Center on Bordeaux Station to find out more about Melanie's possible past.
Next area: Government Center, Bordeaux Station
- Access historical archives.
You arrive at a government building festooned with Reclamation holo-decorations. Brightly colored eggs float over and through delighted travelers here on their business. The building ceiling is awash with spinning lights and scenes of cosmic beauty that make the entire area feel as it is drifting through outer space, inexplicably with a small sea of floating eggs.
You make your way to one of the many holo-terminals available for public use and access the historical archives. A special Reclamation Tenspan subroutine, activated once you had accepted the dossier, notifies you that you have special dispensation and increased clearance whilst on this job.
You utilize your upgraded clearance to search as far back into the archives history as you can. You locate a number of logs and journal entries seemingly linked to the corrupt Commander from Melanie's stories. There are also mentions of an individual most likely to be the 'war hero' who usurped this Commander. Curiously both their names have been redacted.
Curiouser and curiouser still, following the archival threads further down the proverbial rabbit hole, you discover an entire tenspan redacted from the Commander's timeline. A quick cross check confirms the same redaction has occurred for this 'war hero' nemesis of said Commander.
Try and uncover some clue from the redacted information on the terminal at the government center on Bordeaux Station.
- Attempt to trick the system administrator to clear the redacted information.
- Attempt to hack past the redacted information.
Attempt to trick the system administrator to clear the redacted information:
(Social check)
Failure
While the system admin does not seem particularly bright, he does seem quite distracted and possibly even inebriated. You don't seem to be making much headway but keep trying!
- Attempt to trick the system administrator to clear the redacted information.
- Attempt to hack past the redacted information.
Success
Through a measure of cajoling, intimidation, and a fair amount of patience you eventually manage to convince the system administrator to look away from the office party just long enough to give you a nugget of information. Eager to get back to the celebration, they offer up one redacted fact. A location entry for both the Commander as well as the 'war hero' during the particular tenspan that appears blocked. Both individuals were logged at a medical clinic somewhere on the station.
Attempt to hack past the redacted information:
(Intelligence check)
Failure
You attempt to hack past the redacted content but, while the security itself is not that sophisticated, the celebratory noises around you prove quite distracting. Keep trying!
- Attempt to trick the system administrator to clear the redacted information.
- Attempt to hack past the redacted information.
Success
You shake your head and focus, doing your best to shut out the auditory and visual distractions of the Reclamation celebrations all around. Finally, you manage to uncover just one piece of data from behind all the redactions. A location entry for both the Commander as well as the 'war hero' during the particular tenspan that appears blocked. Both individuals were logged at a medical clinic somewhere on the station.
Either success continues:
This seems like a nugget of information Melanie might need to hear about, as well as the strange complications in retrieving it!
Contact Melanie on Bordeaux Station via CORETECHS.
- Call Melanie.
You find a relatively quiet spot and call Melanie on your CORETECHS.
Melanie answers and listens intently as you tell her about the archival logs on the Commander as well as the individual they were at odds with who you presume is this 'War Hero.' Melanie seems unsurprised that so much information was redacted, however.
Melanie: I mean, I guess it makes sense, n'est-ce pas? Such folk tales of the people can be perceived in a number of ways, few beneficial to the ruling military classes, even today. This clinic you mention, however, is of interest.
Melanie pauses as if in deep thought. A few long moments pass with Reclamation revelers weaving past you in complicated paths of inebriation. Finally, Melanie speaks up.
Melanie: My mother, before she passed, used to speak of a clinic her father, my grandfather, used to work in. There are no medical facilities currently available for non-military personnel on Bordeaux, lovely no? But I know my grandfather's clinic was located within the now ruined part of the station. It is, no doubt, a stretch but perhaps there is some network there we could patch into and follow this thread.
Melanie provides you with as much information as she can concerning memories of her mother's stories concerning her father's clinic. There are just enough landmarks and directions to provide a trail.
Find Melanie's grandfather's clinic in the Ruins on Bordeaux Station.
Next area: Ruins, Bordeaux Station
- Locate the clinic.
It takes the better part of the day but you manage to piece together Melanie's memories of her mother's stories just well enough to follow a trail through the ruins. Distant and muted sounds of celebration filter down through the vast and broken metropolis around you as you travel around fallen building and dusty detritus.
Eventually you come across a squat building with a flickering holo-symbol indicating a medical facility. A quick look around confirms a number of landmarks from Melanie's stories that confirm this must be her grandfather's old clinic!
You begin to enter the dilapidated and broken building when, suddenly, you hear hushed voices within. Pausing a moment to listen, you realize a group of scavengers are inside and they do not sound friendly!
Find a way to lose the scavengers so you can search the clinic in the ruins on Bordeaux Station.
- Intimidate the scavengers.
- Wait the scavengers out.
Intimidate the scavengers:
(Strength check)
Failure
You burst into the room and bluster and shout at the group of surprised scavengers. They stare at you with wide eyes, but seem either too surprised or too scared to actually move! Try again.
- Intimidate the scavengers.
- Wait the scavengers out.
Success
Initially trying a loud and boisterous tactic that proves unsuccessful, you decide to change tack. You growl and leer at the frightened group of scavengers, thoroughly creeping them out! Hastily, they back away from you and out of the clinic. They may be back with reinforcements, but for now, you have the place to yourself!
Wait the scavengers out:
(Stamina check)
Failure
The scavengers seem to be taking their sweet time, even settling down for a quick snooze! This could take awhile.
- Intimidate the scavengers.
- Wait the scavengers out.
Success
Time ticks on, units turning into long segments as you huddle in the shadows. Eventually, just as every muscle in your body feels like it is beginning to cramp up, the scavengers appear to exit the building, leaving whatever they didn't find of interest for you to search.
Either success continues:
Remembering the flickering holo-symbol outside, you try your luck at a holo-terminal and enjoy a modicum of success! It seems that just enough power still runs to this facility that you can just about access its archives. Thankful to the everlasting power of fusion, you begin a search of the facility's databanks.
Much of the data and logs are corrupted, but as you travel farther back through the stream, you actually start to find some footage. You're not sure if it was somehow protected by being so far within the dusty servers but you manage to access a security camera from the particular tenspan that was redacted in the government archives.
You watch with increasing bewilderment as a female appears to be in labor. Her powerful stature and features match the corrupt Commander! Even more bizarre is the fact that the anxious man standing by her side appears to match the descriptions of the 'war hero' Melanie is so eager to find out about.
You watch as the scene unfolds. The woman's labor appears especially difficult, and the doctor at the scene appears to be struggling. You note that there are no other staff present but the 'war hero' is doing his best to help the doctor. After several segments a child is born and handed to the couple, they hold hands as the woman kisses the baby's head. Suddenly, the Commander's head lolls to the side and the man calls out anxiously. The doctor rushes in and the scene seems to freeze.
After making sure you're not getting anything further from this, you upload the footage to your CORETECHS and decide its time to call Melanie once more.
Contact Melanie via CORETECHS on Bordeaux Station.
- Contact Melanie.
You exit the broken old clinic and call Melanie via CORETECHS.
Melanie listens as you explain what you found and then takes a long moment to review the footage you upload to her. She seems to watch it several times over before finally speaking in faltering words and a hushed tone.
Melanie falls into an exasperated silence.
Melanie: Those two…they do indeed appear, as you say, to be the Commander and the War Hero! But that other man…the doctor, he is my grandfather! He is much, much younger here, but his bearing and features are unmistakable! But, what is happening here? Why are there no other staff, and how are these two together? This timeframe, the redacted tenspan, it puts this event right at the time of the revolution! The very fall of the Commander.
- "Where is your grandfather now?"
- "Perhaps you need to search your house?"
Where is your grandfather now?:
Me Where is your grandfather now?
Melanie He passed…many cycles ago now. We…rather I, live in his old house. My parents have passed on as well.
- "Perhaps you need to search your house?"
Perhaps you need to search your house?:
Me: Perhaps you need to search your house?
Melanie: Yes, I was thinking just that. It is bizarre that the trail would actually lead to what is now my own house…I will go now, meet me back at the inn when you can.
Meet Melanie back at the Inn on Bordeaux Station.
Next NPC: Melanie, Inn, Bordeaux Station
- Approach Melanie
You return to the inn and find Melanie once more sat at the booth you had satin previously. She is staring ahead, a faint glimmer in her eyes the telltale sign that she is viewing something on her CORETECHS.
As you sit, she looks up and acknowledges you with a nod, her expression quite wooden. Without a word, she flicks her fingers and your direction. A notification via your own CORETECHS notifies you of an incoming file, if you wish to accept.
Activating the file, you seem to be watching the confession of an old gentleman. His bearing and face seem similar to the young doctor you witnessed performing the delivery. Melanie's muted voice filters in over the video, confirming what the old man is saying almost in unison.
Melanie: The child in the footage, she was my mother. The doctor, he adopted her at the behest of..well of my real grandfather. He was a minister at the time, Laurence Roslin. My…Grandmother, Barbara D'Ma, was the local Commander. She did not survive the labor.
Melanie pauses before continuing in a shaky voice.
Melanie: The times after the Catastrophe were bad, and they were getting worse. Military presence on the station was scarce as many had left to deal with the unknown threat they believed must have attacked the station. There was rampant paranoia and blame abounded. Nobody knew what had really happened, and as always in such times, imagination loves a vacuum.
Melanie: People began forming tribes. Groups blamed other groups, theories were formed and arms were raised. Barbara foresaw doom just on the horizon. With station systems already stretched, people starting to fight would send everything spiraling to our end.
Melanie: So, she and Laurence, her lover, formed an idea. The people needed an enemy, a focus for their fear and confusion. For their anger. Barbara offered up herself, sowing the stories of corruption and tyranny. Laurence would be her nemesis. Close as they were, it was easy to plan accordingly. Her pregnancy was a complication, but in my grandfather they found a man they could trust. He carried the secret well past his dying day.
Melanie takes a moment to catch her breath. A hologramatic filigree egg drifts past in silence as she gathers her thoughts.
Melanie: Laurence, grief stricken over the loss of Barbara, could not raise my mother. But, out of love of his Commander, he kept his promise and honored her wish that their plan continue to its end. Thus, the evil commander was defeated, apparently killed during some raid. Laurence was a hero and the people of Bordeaux came together to survive the oncoming cycles. Cycles that would prove difficult indeed…
Melanie: But…this…what do I do with this? Its so much bigger than me! I just wanted to chase this dream of being something more than I am…but this is huge! For all of Bordeaux!
Help Melanie reach a decision at the Inn on Bordeaux Station.
- "The truth could mend frictions here."
- "Folks need their heroes…"
Truth:
Me: The truth could mend frictions here.
Melanie looks thoughtful. Biting her lip, she slowly nods in agreement.
Melanie: There is no doubt that there is hostility between the people and the military here. Some of it is still deserved, there is much elitism and class divide but… this could go to some way of healing that rift. Or at least starting to.
Melanie smiles and slides her hands across the table to grasp yours.
Melanie: You have given me much to think on, my new friend! And you have performed my Reclamation task beyond my wildest dreams! I will be in touch, mon amie!
Melanie rises and walks away from the booth. He prosthetic and modified legs curve and lend an odd grace to her gait. As she exits the Inn, a notification on your CORETECHS informs you that you received payment for the completed job.
Two tenspans later, you hear the soft buzz of a delivery drone as you walk through the hallways of a station. The drone buzzes a message towards your CORETECHS and drops a package at your feet.
Melanie: Mon amie, I have taken your advice. The story, the truth, she spreads like plasma fire! Not all are happy, many do not like to lose a reason to hate, to fight. But, some seeds of a better way forward are planted. Mayhaps they will grow. A man came to see me, a military man. He brought to me something of my Grandmother. I think you have earned it. Till we meet again my friend!
You have received 500.00 credits.
You have received 1 'Barbara D'Ma's Battlestars'.
You have completed the "One Egg, Two Yolks: A Reclamation Revelation." mission.
Folks need their heroes…:
Me Folks need their heroes…
Melanie leans back, her expression thoughtful. After a moment she seems to concede the point with a raised eyebrow and a nod.
Melanie It's very much a truth. This story, this plan of my grandparents, it sparked something. A fire that grew and bonded the people, it kept them warm through the coldness ahead. To reveal the truth now.. perhaps it would dishonor that. I have what I wanted, maybe that is enough, eh? Besides, this is what Reclamation is all about! Reclaim, move on!
Melanie leans forward and claps you on the shoulder with a boisterous grin.
Melanie Merci, mon amie! You have proved a worthy freelancer and, indeed, a better confidant! I will think on what you said. I hope to meet you again!
Melanie rises and walks away from the booth. He prosthetic and modified legs curve and lend an odd grace to her gait. As she exits the Inn, a notification on your CORETECHS informs you that you received payment for the completed job.
Two tenspans later, you hear the soft buzz of a delivery drone as you walk through the hallways of a station. The drone buzzes a message towards your CORETECHS and drops a package at your feet.
Melanie My friend, I did as you said. The truth is my secret, and mine alone. In fact, I even put it into the egg, as they say. But I did not float it. The secret is owned by us both, therefore, it is my gift to you to keep! Till we meet again…
You have received 500.00 credits.
You have received 1 'Melanie's Reclamation Secret'.
You have completed the "One Egg, Two Yolks: A Reclamation Revelation." mission.
Notes:
- It is possible to get both rewards by re-exploring the mission for 9 bonds and choosing the other path.
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