COUNTER/Weight 26: Do You Have Room For Me?

transcription by Rachel @vellichoir

INTRO [0:00]

AUSTIN: An excerpt from the best-selling lecture series, Man-Made Clouds: the Creation and Control of Strati in the Golden Branch Star Sector, by Dr. Jace Rethal:

MUSIC: “The Long Way Around”

AUSTIN: We know now that in the depths of his mind, a thing that was not quite Mako Trig would meet a thing that was not quite Executive Ibex – and they would recognize each other as not quite old friends. On that digital seaside, the phenomenon “Larry” would be the first to discover what the strati ostensibly trained by the September Institute really were.

There is an irony in this discovery. In Dr. Maryland September’s seminal text, Stratusphere, she wrote that the creation of her institute was, quote, “a most necessary precaution, as assimilation into the state structure is the only way to protect strati – from the cold cogwheel apparatus of an oligarchy desperate for a new weapon, and from its citizens who, ignorant of science, are terrified of evening phantoms.” To this day we cannot be sure if Dr. September knew the truth of how her strati operated. But there is no doubt in my mind that she knew just how many phantoms moved in the night.

MUSIC CONTINUES, FADES.

DETACHMENT ARRIVES [1:48]

AUSTIN: (hums, mimicking phone vibration) Beep beep beep beep beep…

KEITH (as Mako): Oh, I’ll get it, hold on – hello? Hi.

AUSTIN (as unknown voice): Hello?

KEITH (as Mako): Hi, who’s this?

AUSTIN (as unknown voice): Ohhh, it’s you. I read about you. My name’s Jerboa? I’m –

KEITH (as Mako): Jer–

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): I’m going to kill you now.

KEITH (as Mako): Me, now? Who’s – who are you?

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): ...My name’s Jerboa.

KEITH (as Mako): And what… does that mean to me?

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): Mostly, that i’m going to kill you now.

KEITH (as Mako): Why?

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): (clucks tongue) Well the thing is, you see. Uh, can you – could you do me a favor and put me on speakerphone?

KEITH (as Mako): Uh – you got it. Hi. Everybody say hi to Jerboa!

JACK: AuDy just runs to the cockpit at this point.

AUSTIN: You put the phone down, and like, because this is the cool future, a little hologram pops up from the phone, cause that’s what speakerphone is in the future? And there’s just like, a slick-lookin’ young black dude with like, a high-top fade, with like lines going down the sides. And he’s like,

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): Here’s the thing. You’ve been prying into things that are a lot bigger than you. And it’s really important that you –

KEITH (as Mako): You mean when I drove that Divine? That was a big. Thing.

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): Oh, that was you.

KEITH (as Mako): Oh you – that’s not what you meant? You weren’t referencing that specifically when you said “bigger than me”?

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): That’s interesting. The thing is, the… Diaspora needs to work out what it has going on right now. You can’t be allowed to interfere. Now, I’m not saying that the Vanguard has all the answers necessarily, but between that, and some of the things that are happening over in Oricon right now, meddlers can’t interfere. This is… how the important people –

KEITH (as Mako): Jerboa? I’ll stop you right there?

KEITH: I raise my right hand.

KEITH (as Mako): I solemnly swear that I will not meddle.

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): Too late, is the thing.

KEITH (as Mako): (sucks in a breath, ie. “yikes”)

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): So get your things. In. Order!

KEITH (as Mako): What, like a last will and testament?

AUSTIN (as Jerboa): That would help.

JACK: Oh my god, is Jerboa just Mike from season two of Fargo?

AUSTIN: (laughs) The comm turns off, and AuDy, in the cockpit you can see the new signal in the distance. It matches the files that Cass had pulled up about what Detachment is. It’s a fairly small sized Divine, like it’s about the size of a Rook, a little bit bigger than that, I’d say. And as I just –

KEITH: Ohh, that’s Jerboa.

AUSTIN: And as I described it before, it’s like, kind of humanoid shaped, but then has these kind of big, bulky, like, square but then rounded off on the edges, like – like a booster pack around its sides, basically? With little wings. And it’s incredibly fast. Like you see it – you see it for a second, and then it like, swings down across – around Counterweight, and picks up speed around the side, and it’s basically like, doing orbital moves, getting faster and faster and moving its orbit out to where you are.

JACK: Okay, I’m gonna send a message to everybody except Mako to meet me inside the cockpit.

KEITH: I’m already in the cockpit.

AUSTIN: (to Jack, laughing) How are you doing that?

JACK: Oh, uh, just with the console.

AUSTIN: Oh, okay, you’re saying like, text, basically. Okay.

ART: Wait, but Mako’s –

KEITH: I’m already in the cockpit.

ART: Mako’s the only way we get through this.

JACK: Yeah, but, so this is a conversation we need to have.

ART: Okay.

AUSTIN: Are you not letting Mako in?

JACK: No, not right now.

KEITH: I – I believe that I was – I had thought I was already in the cockpit.

AUSTIN: Everyone was in –

JACK: Then i’m asking you to leave.

AUSTIN: Okay!

KEITH: (pouty) Wait but why? Hold on, there’s a situation going on where there’s two of me.

JACK: There is a fairly significant thing that – that – yes, that is why. That’s the reason.

(Everyone laughing)

ALI (as Aria): Mako, we’ll sort this out. Just step away so other you doesn’t hear? And – it’ll be okay. We’ll take care of it.

KEITH: I feel like you guys have all gotten a really firm grasp on this “other me” thing?

JACK: Uh, two talked, a second ago.

KEITH: (continuing) ...In a way that doesn’t make – I’ve barely –

AUSTIN: (firmly) Yeah, really. He’s pretty – he’s pretty right. I don’t know how you guys figured this out so quickly.

JACK: Two of him talked!

ART: They refer to each other with different names!

ALI: (at the same time) That’s what he just told us.

AUSTIN: Right. He’s Larry –

KEITH: From anyone else’s perspective, all that happened was –

JACK: No, no, no. I’ve seen enough movies where this shit happens.

(Austin laughing)

JACK: And the characters are never aware, so I’m putting my foot down.

JACK (as AuDy): Mako, leave the cockpit.

(Austin and Ali laughing)

KEITH (as Mako): Alright, I feel like I’m the only one that can help you here…

AUSTIN (as Larry): I agree! I think we’re the only ones that can help.

KEITH (as Mako): He and I are the only ones that can help.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Both of us.

JACK (as AuDy): (continues over all of the next line) Cass… lock the doors. Lock the doors. Cass, lock the doors.

KEITH (as Mako): And can – and just, guys, on the DL, can you start calling me Larry, I think it’ll really help with –

AUSTIN: I think this is a – I think someone has to roll, to get Mako out of here.

JACK: (laughing) Okay.

ART: Was that Austin, or Larry?

AUSTIN: I mean, it feels like – what? Oh. (laughs) This is –

(Everyone laughing)

JACK: No, you mean Mako. Keith’s now playing Larry.

AUSTIN: (still laughing) Yes, this is Austin. It sounds like this is… (long, baffled pause) Uh. This is something. Someone’s… are you threatening him, to get out? Are you playing hardball?

ALI: No?

JACK: Yeah, okay. I’ll play hardball.

ALI: Oh, okay.

AUSTIN: Okay! Give me Edge.

ART: I thought we were just asking politely.

ALI: Yeah, this is...

AUSTIN: Larry’s not leaving!

JACK: Larry’s not leaving –

AUSTIN: Neither is Mako!

ALI: Should we...

KEITH: And again, please, could you call – if you called me Larry it would make things go way easier in terms of who’s the original.

AUSTIN: Right. Agreed. Sorry. Larry. (restating) Larry isn’t leaving, neither is Mako.

KEITH: Yes, Mako, the newcomer here.

AUSTIN: Correct.

(longer, even more baffled pause)

JACK: (deep sigh, laughs)

AUSTIN: Okay! Cool, good, good, AuDy failed his^[1] Edge check. Hmm, okay –

KEITH: So what – AuDy, what were you trying to do that you failed at?

AUSTIN: So, Play Hardball says, “When you get in someone’s face, threatening violence, and you intend to carry through, roll Edge. On a 10+, NPCs do what you want, PCs choose: do what you want, or suffer the established consequences. On a 7-9, for NPCs, the MC gets to choose what happens, and the PCs choose: do what you want, or suffer the established consequences; they gain +1 forward to act against you.” So… Larry, take plus one forward to act against AuDy.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: So the next roll you do against AuDy, you’ll get a bonus. And I, as the MC, get to make a move. That move is, while all of you fuckers are arguing, Detachment arrives, and like, picks you up in its orbit. The whole ship jerks and everyone takes one harm… as they’re flung to the top – to like – they are flung up as the ship takes on a sudden amount of speed and velocity.

KEITH: Are we – are we rolling for the harm?

AUSTIN: Everyone rolls harm.

ALI: Oh.

ART: That’s one harm – wait –

ALI: Oh, we’re not just putting it – harm in?

AUSTIN: Reminder that if you have armor, you can reduce that harm.

JACK: Oh, I have one armor, so I don’t take any damage?

KEITH: Do I have armor? We’ve gone back and forth on this, and how it works for me.

AUSTIN: Yeah, you have armor. You have armor on.

ART: Yeah, I also have armor.

KEITH: Oh, okay. Oh, how does that affect my last harm roll, then?

AUSTIN: You should subtract that one harm, then. Cause it was only one harm before, too. But everyone makes –

KEITH: Okay. but I still gotta roll –

AUSTIN: Everyone has to make the roll, but you make the roll with the amount of harm after you take the – after you subtract the armor amount.

KEITH: Okay. So just two d’s.

AUSTIN: So my suspicion is no one took harm there.

ALI and KEITH: Right.

AUSTIN: But everyone still has to make the roll. Oof! Oof!

ALI: I finally got a low harm roll!

ART: But I thought six was – was fine?

AUSTIN: Oh, right right, you’re right, you want low roll. Keith –

KEITH: Yeah, no, it was me. Me was the bad one.

AUSTIN: You – (laughs) that’s appropriate, given the scene. AuDy?

JACK: Mhm?

AUSTIN: Oh, good. So AuDy got an eight, and Mako got a tee-een!

JACK: So I – I have one armor, what does – do I just –

AUSTIN: Oh, did you just subtract – you’re supposed to not roll the – the plus – okay, so you… yeah, you’re fine. You’re – no one’s gonna take damage from this, because of the armor that they have. But everyone still had to make the harm roll. Jack – AuDy, you… hm. You lose your footing. AuDy is like, in – is getting up to get into Mako’s face, when Jerboa swings Detachment by and lifts everyone up. You lose your footing and wind up sprawled out of the cockpit, down, like – basically the ship turned on its side. The Kingdom Come turned vertically, and you fell through the ship to the back end of it. Mako, you get to choose one: you’re out of action –

KEITH: I will – I’m gonna take a harm.

AUSTIN: Okay. So now take – take harm. Take one.

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Okay.

KEITH: Which puts me where I thought I already was, so.

AUSTIN: Yes, totally. That works out.

TURN 1: NO FAKE GRAVITY [10:38]

AUSTIN: Uh, the ship is now, like, in weird orbit next to Detachment who has a weird gravity lock on you.

KEITH: Alright. I have to –

AUSTIN: What are you doing?

KEITH: I have to fog a Divine, again.

AUSTIN: Good luck.

ART: Fog the satellites, don’t fog the Divine.

KEITH: It’s –

AUSTIN: You’re not near the satellites.

ART: But that’s how he sees!

KEITH: Yeah, we didn’t make it that far.

AUSTIN: No, you did not make it that far.

KEITH: Everybody keeps wanting to argue instead of doing things.

JACK: No, I feel that there was a very… (laughs) You are two people right now! Keith, I don’t know if you’ve understood the severity of the situation – you are no longer Mako. You are playing a new character.

KEITH: (overlapping) No, I’m no longer Larry. Wink.

JACK: It’s – oh, jeez. Okay, right, okay.

KEITH: I’m going to fog this Divine. (proudly) The thing – it’s the thing I was made to do!

JACK: (somber) Yes, it was the thing you were made to do.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

KEITH: I’m gonna… roll… log in?

AUSTIN: Well, one second, like let’s – let’s get a total of where everyone is before you log in again.

KEITH: Okay, alright.

AUSTIN: AuDy is at the back of the ship which is now horizontal – or is now vertical.

JACK: So can I be attempting to climb the ship, sort of Spectre-style?

AUSTIN: Totally, yes, you can – you’re gonna have to make an Act Under Fire roll to do that. Uh, that’s – but that’s totally a fine thing for you to be doing.

KEITH: Wouldn’t the – wouldn’t the ship’s gravity maintain… where the bottom is?

JACK: We don’t have a gravity – oh, uh…

AUSTIN: Nah, what do you mean?

KEITH: Like, the ship’s fake gravity?

AUSTIN: No, it ripped you into its weird new orbit, that’s the thing. You were going –

JACK: We don’t have any fake gravity.

AUSTIN: And there is no fake gravity on this ship. That’s what I was saying before.

KEITH: Ohhhh, okay.

JACK: We don’t have a gravitational field.

AUSTIN: Yeah, like suddenly everyone is floating around unless they’re strapped in.

KEITH: I thought the rooms had it, but the hallways didn’t?

JACK: No, dude.

AUSTIN: No, no, nope! This is not a spaceship, so, no one –

JACK: I guess that means that there is stuff everywhere now.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: Just in the air?

AUSTIN: Yeah. There’s papers everywhere…

ALI: I mean all of our stuff was also thrown around, so that’s not –

AUSTIN: Right. That’s even worse, right, like the marines had already run through all of your shit and tossed all of your rooms, so now everything is just a mess in here. Um..

JACK: Wait, the Kingdom Come must have originally had some gravitational device, otherwise it wouldn’t have worked as the flagship.

AUSTIN: I think it did and that was just part of the weird thing, right, like that’s why Orth and his little crew were on there, but the main ship was the Seventh Sun.

JACK: Oh, okay yeah, that makes sense.

AUSTIN: Right, like that was just Orth’s weird personal ship.

JACK: It feels like a – it feels like a very Oricon thing, right, to have a flagship that is equipped for planetary combat.

AUSTIN: Yes, right, it’s about landing on planets and like doing those things. Plus, remember he was sent to die. Uh, so…

(Everyone laughing)

ALI: I think like some of the hallways have to have those things that you grab onto and it zooms you past?

AUSTIN: Oh yeah, definitely.

ALI: But like, there’s no upkeep cause it hasn’t been in space in a while, so half of them don’t work.

AUSTIN: (laughs) (mocking) “What are these weird handles – what are these handles for, this is weird. Why do we have these, get rid of these.”

JACK: (in the same tone) “I’m Larry!”

AUSTIN: Orth is like, struggling to climb up now that there’s no – I mean now there’s no – again, there’s no gravity, so it’s not like he’s struggling in the sense that he has to climb against a gravitational force pulling him down, but he does like, swim up to the co-pilot chair and get himself into that. And starts to –

KEITH: And the ship is probably still somewhat spinny.

AUSTIN: It is still spinny. And he’s trying to like, give it the counter – he’s trying to like reorient the ship such that it is facing in the direction that it’s moving, at least, for orientation’s sake. So that’s what he’s doing. What are the rest of you doing, go. Aria.

ALI: (taken off guard) Uh, I don’t know, floating? Yeah, I – I guess I’m trying to get to the hangar?

AUSTIN: Okay. That’s a good idea. Cass.

ART: I’m trying to read our opposition research and figure out what the fuck to do. What I’m actually doing is trying to figure out what I can pull out of my “I Love It When a Plan Comes Together” butt to save us right now.

AUSTIN: That’s a good plan, that’s a good out of character thing for you to be doing.

ART: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Uh…

JACK: I’m trying to climb.

AUSTIN: AuDy is trying to climb, and… M… Larry?

KEITH: I’m logging in.

AUSTIN: Okay. Where’s your physical body at?

KEITH: My physical body I’ve sort of like, I’ve sort of like pressed myself into a nook.

AUSTIN: I… I can’t imagine what you mean.

KEITH: Like a… like there’s a little corner where I can press my back against the wall, my feet against the other wall, so that I’m not floating around bumping into shit.

AUSTIN: It sounds – okay. I think you should also give me an Act Under Fire. Because that way I’ll know if your body is in a safe place or not.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: So, Aria –

KEITH: (has just rolled badly) No. It isn’t.

AUSTIN: It is super not, it is super not, so give me a second, Aria and AuDy also give me Act Under Fires to move to where you want to go.

JACK: Okie dokie.

AUSTIN: Aria, swish, nice work! Aria like, Aria takes to this in a way that is like – maybe it’s not that surprising because of her like, training as a pop idol? Like maybe she even had zero-g –

KEITH: Pop idols make great astronauts, and it’s on the record.

AUSTIN: It is on the record!

ALI: She’s toured Oricon space before, in a shitty Oricon ship, like, she knows what she’s doing.

AUSTIN: Totally. And – and then AuDy, give me the same roll.

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: Okay. Hmm. Alright AuDy, you can get back up to – into the cockpit, but… hmm. One second, let me think up a good – does anyone have any suggestions here before I… pull something out of my ass for “when you stumble, hesitate, or flinch”? Um…

JACK: Ummmmm…

AUSTIN: Let’s think. As you’re moving through… okay. You can – you can get back – okay, I’ve figured it out. You know the thing that Cene warned you about?

JACK: (resigned) Yes.

AUSTIN: That was like, hey, you have this cool heal gel, but it’s only gonna keep your mechanical systems clean, not your – not your…

JACK: My AI?

AUSTIN: Your brain, basically? Yeah, your AI? That system – a system starts to power on, a system that you don’t – that you don’t ever remember turning on before? It’s like an automated… self –

JACK: In the ship, or in me?

AUSTIN: In you.

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: It’s like a – it’s like a – you played The Fall, right, where like the spacesuit had automated systems for self defense and for – there’s a word I’m looking for. Just for like, taking –

JACK: Preservation?

AUSTIN: Yeah, for preservation. The system comes on, and it’s just like… its called the Liberty system or something, it’s like, oh, “You have fallen badly. Activate this system to navigate yourself with – with mesh – like, with networked coordinates to get through this thing as quickly as possible.” And you can either shut that down, and not get back into the cockpit this turn, or you could leave it on and get back. But it would mean connecting to the network that the Kingdom Come has. So like basically you’d be connecting to the wi-fi network.

JACK: I’m going to, uh… I think it turns on, and AuDy’s almost, like, instinctive reaction is just to turn it off, without even realizing what they’re doing?

AUSTIN: Okay.

JACK: And as they turn it off, they just lose the grip on the ladder or whatever and – and float back.

AUSTIN: Okay. And float back, yeah. They push back. Okay. Keith.

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: You rolled bad, you rolled a five on this.

KEITH: I did roll a five out of ten – out of twelve.

JACK: Things are going great for Larry, it’s fine.

AUSTIN: You… you’re there, and like, you go to jack in, and you can’t. Because you’re already jacked in. Mako’s jacked in. You’re here, cause you’re Larry. Mako’s jacked in. And you can’t jack in.

KEITH: (grumbling) Can I contact Mako?

AUSTIN: No. He’s busy right now.

KEITH: I hate this guy!

TURN 2: CASS HAS A PLAN [18:32]

AUSTIN: Next turn! Art? Sounds like Cass has a plan?

KEITH: (suspicious) This wasn’t the cool thing you were talking about that I had now…?

AUSTIN: Oh, it’s real cool.

KEITH: What is it?? Can I have it so that we can make the Divine go away?

AUSTIN: It’s fine.

ART: Alright, so –

AUSTIN: Cass, what’s your plan?

ART: So Detachment is small, right?

AUSTIN: Mhm.

ART: And the Megalophile is big.

JACK: How small?

AUSTIN: Uh huh.

ART: What if we just – just hit ‘im with the Megalophile.

JACK: Oh my god, did you not see Austin’s Kerbal Space Program videos?

AUSTIN: (laughs) He probably didn’t. It’s a very hard thing to do? I will let you do that – I will – I will –

ART: You can just tell me what the roll for it would be and I’ll tell you if I’ll do it.

(Jack laughing)

AUSTIN: Um…

KEITH: I could jack into it and pilot it in.

AUSTIN: You could do that.

ART: Can you??

KEITH: Cause I –

AUSTIN: It would be… it would probably have to be some sort of piloted thing. Like this would be really hard to do. To – without a pilot. I guess you could – no, it’d be really hard to do it without a pilot. Or without someone at least doing that sort of piloting thing. Uh, it would be an Act Under Pressure, it would be cool plus the vehicle’s p– ...No, because it’s so huge it doesn’t do – oh right, you’re saying that you would have bought an engine for it, is that’s what your move would be?

ART: Yeah, I knew this would happen –

AUSTIN: Right, because that’s how the move works.

ART: – and so we had an engine big enough to propel the Megalophile out of the – out of the ship at a –

AUSTIN: Uh-huh.

ART: – at a reasonable enough speed. I mean, it doesn’t have to go fast, right, it just has to hit it.

AUSTIN: ...Right. That would be, you know what I'm going to say, that would be Mix It Up, which is Synth plus the vehicle’s power, but you’d also have to spend a credit to have bought that engine.

ART: Alright hold on I’m –

AUSTIN: Also you’d better not miss. Also what I will remind you of is, one of the things that you learned about Detachment is until its satellites are knocked down, it has automated responses when things, like, hit it.

ART: My plan is for us to be out of its range when it – when it recovers.

AUSTIN: (skeptical) Okay.

ART: Is that a thing?

KEITH: I – I – the thing I assumed was that the bla – the EMP that it sets off is instantaneous, as soon as it gets hit.

AUSTIN: That is.. yes. That is what I was trying to –

ART: (over Austin) Alright, this isn't my plan – I’m gonna come up with a new and better plan.

(Austin and Ali laughing)

JACK: Where’s Orth?

AUSTIN: Orth is the one who’s trying to right the ship and make it like, at least – it’s now facing the direction that the cockpit is – so the ship is like, heading, let’s say, space down, and – and previously the cockpit was facing space up, and now Orth has at least maneuvered it so that it’s facing – the cockpit is looking forward. The direction that it has momentum and velocity.

JACK: Okay. So –

KEITH: Now has – has, uh – has Mako done anything discernible to the sh– to the Divine, at all?

AUSTIN: We’re still in – there’s been three seconds. We’re like, no one has done anything yet. So no. Not yet.

KEITH: Cause who knows, maybe he’ll pull something out.

AUSTIN: He’s pretty good at – at fogging things right? Historically, Mako’s been pretty good.

KEITH: Historically Mako has – is – I think has a pretty solid track record in terms of plans and carrying them through.

AUSTIN: You know, I don’t get it when people say like, “Mako’s plans don't work,” like, Larry’s plans don’t work sometimes, but Mako… pretty good.

(Ali laughing)

KEITH: Yeah. I agree.

AUSTIN: Gimme a… what’s – who’s doin’ what?

ART: Um… shit.

JACK: Uhhhh…

AUSTIN: Oh –

JACK: What is –

AUSTIN: Go ahead?

JACK: What is Detachment going to do to us?

AUSTIN: I think Jerboa has been pretty clear.

(Ali laughing)

JACK: Okay, right, no, I’m – I mean… can we be any clearer as to the methods? Or…

AUSTIN: Uh, yes. And the way that that is cleared up is –

JACK: Oh, fuck, no, I don’t want to be cleared up on the methods.

AUSTIN: Are you sure?

JACK: No, okay, tell us. It’s gonna happen anyway.

AUSTIN: A – like an incredibly… I guess it’s not – again, it’s not loud, I’m trying – I’m trying to be honest with space sounds, I’m really trying. But there is a vibration that like – the ship rocks again, as Detachment, on one of its like, almost lancing runs around you, takes a shotgun blast towards you and Orth just barely skirts to the side of the – of the blast.

JACK: Okay, I need to get back to the cockpit.

AUSTIN: At the wide – there’s a wide angle and like some of the debris in the debris field behind you just like… (tiny “explosion” noise) blows up and drifts away.

ART: Remind me what intel is good for again?

AUSTIN: You can spend it to get a plus one. Forward. On the next roll that you make.

KEITH: ...Oh, really?

AUSTIN: And also, it can allow you to just do a thing. Like you can say, like, “Oh, but actually I have this intel that says… that there’s a secret door here.”

ART: I have an intel for –

KEITH: Does intel c–

ART: – for this.

AUSTIN: You totally do.

ART: I have a Detachment intel… should I just use it on my “hit it with an exploding Megalophile” roll? I mean if it’s – if he’s busted I don’t think he can EMP us, I’m just – that’s just logical –

JACK: How fast can we go?

AUSTIN: (skeptical noise)

JACK: Can we match his speed? No, no way we can match speed.

AUSTIN: No. You cannot match – again, you can if you take out one of those satellites. The like, the super-engine satellite.

JACK: But they’re so far away, the satellites.

AUSTIN: Ehhh, you can get to them if – if you could get to them.

ART: Ugh, that was Mako’s job…

AUSTIN: That was Mako’s job.

ART: And they’re all – Mako’s Larry and Larry’s Mako –

KEITH: Yeah, Mako’s in there!

AUSTIN: (pitying) … Uh-huh!

JACK: Okay, I wanna get to the cockpit and talk to Orth.

AUSTIN: Alright. You’re able to get there.

JACK: Orth… I assume Orth’s in the pilot’s seat, right?

AUSTIN (as Orth): (harried) I’m working right now!

JACK (as AuDy): Yeah, no, listen. Um… we need to reach the satellite.

AUSTIN (as Orth): Which one?

JACK (as AuDy): … Any of the Detachment satellites, we need to reach –

AUSTIN (as Orth): Alright –

JACK (as AuDy): How fast can this thing go?

AUSTIN (as Orth): I thought you were the captain now.

JACK (as AuDy): You’re – who’s chair are you sitting in?

AUSTIN (as Orth): Um… alright, well, let’s switch.

AUSTIN: And he switches.

(Jack laughing)

JACK (as AuDy): I’m gonna ask you again, how fast can this thing go?

AUSTIN (as Orth): I… it’s been a while since we’ve been in space. Pretty fast. Not as fast now that you’ve added the fuckin’ warehouse to the bottom of this thing.

JACK (as AuDy): I did blow a mech out of the airlock.

AUSTIN: Are we really gonna get rid of both mechs that we bought the warehouse for??

(ALI laughs)

ART: Well then we could jettison the warehouse, then our maneuverability problems will be over.

JACK: Can we… jettison the warehouse??

AUSTIN: I don’t think so. I don’t think you can jettison the warehouse. Unless it’s – yeah.

KEITH: Since there’s – since there’s no weight, in space, does the size and weight of the warehouse –

AUSTIN: Yes. There’s always a mass, and mass still requires force.

JACK: It’s to do with how fast we can accelerate.

AUSTIN: I’ve been getting a lot of comments on our Kerbal Space Program vehicles – er, our videos, and I’ve been thinking a lot about “f=ma,” so.

KEITH: Yeah.

JACK: (laughs) Okay. Um, who in my crew… my crew… has the most, uh, satellite knowledge?

ART: I do.

AUSTIN: Cass. Yes.

JACK: Alright. Cass – is Cass in the cockpit?

ART: Yeah, I thought so, yeah. That’s where I was, and I didn’t get moved.

JACK: Okay. Oh, nice!

JACK (as AuDy): Right, Cass, where do I need to point the ship?

ART (as Cass): I mean –

AUSTIN: I just want to look at my audience really quick, at our audience – there’s like a real obvious satellite solution here that nobody is thinking about and it’s –

KEITH: Well, can I hack the satellite?

AUSTIN: – it’s fucking killing me. No. Not – no, cause you have to get towards them.

KEITH: Are we that far away?

AUSTIN: Yeah. Yeah, you’re not within range right now, but like you could –

JACK: Wait a second.

AUSTIN: Uh-huh?

JACK: Can we just wait? For the satellite to come round on the orbit again?

AUSTIN: N– sure. Sure, but that’s like still a turn where – where Jerboa will be able to attack you, basically. Basically, Jerboa’s going to – for every turn you make, Jerboa’s going to make an attack. Uh –

JACK: And there is a way we can solve this. In one turn.

AUSTIN: It’s not an instant thing, but like everyone is talking with one solution in mind, and there are probably more than those. More than that.

JACK: Okay, so we are attempting to move towards the satellite to get… Mako-or-Larry to hack it. Which he –

AUSTIN: Yes.

KEITH (as Mako?): Hello. It’s – it’s Larry. (stage whisper) It’s really Mako, but the other guy thinks that my name’s Larry.

AUSTIN: Cass, do you want to do a – an assess, maybe?

ART: Yeah, I think I really would.

JACK: Yeah, that’s a good idea.

ART: Am I – am I at the front, finally? It only matters if I fail.

AUSTIN: Yes. Yes, take a plus one. Yeah. That is true. (Art rolls) Look at that. So you get a hold.

ART: Yeah.

AUSTIN: What’re you gonna spend that hold on?

ART: … “What do I notice despite an effort to conceal it?” Or is it “Where can I gain the most advantage?”

AUSTIN: It – I think it’s the first one, which is like… you guys keep talking about hacking these satellites – which is a way to do it, and, and, it is a way that if you know that you can pull it off, will have less repercussions than this other thing I’m going to say. You could also just blow up the satellites!

ART: I thought we were too far for that, too.

JACK: Yeah, I thought we were pretty far.

ALI: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Yeah, but like that’s… Mako also has to just be at the satellites, to hack them. You have to get close no matter what –

ALI: Ohh.

AUSTIN: But like piloting – taxi-ing Mako around one to the next feels like you’re going to die doing it.

(Ali laughing)

ART: Feels like.

AUSTIN: I – I suspect you’ll die here.

ART: Alright, so –

AUSTIN: If you – if you just try to do that. Whereas like, oh, Mako could go hack this one, Aria could go kill this one, and Cass could go blow up this third one, might work. Or might at least help. In terms of timeliness.

ART: Alright, I love it.

ART (as Cass): Aria!

(Austin and Ali laughing)

ALI (as Aria): Yeah?

ART (as Cass): Let’s blow up some satellites.

ALI (as Aria): (clearly grinning) Sure.

JACK: Oh, man. Oh, I guess in the anime at this point, right, that Cass just reaches past AuDy and hits a button on the thing, and, (delighted) klaxons start going, and red lights start spinning?

AUSTIN: Yes. Yes.

JACK: And the Cowboy Bebop drums start going.

AUSTIN: Yes.

ART: All of that happened.

AUSTIN: All of it. You’re in – let’s just get you into your mechs, I’m not gonna – now that – now that, between AuDy and Orth, the ship is back in control, you’re able to – it’s at least –

JACK: [unintelligible]

AUSTIN: Yeah, well, it’s mostly able to be stable enough now to where you can get to your – your, uh, mechs, and launch? This is our first space launch with mechs!

ART: Yeah!

JACK: Oh, Jesus, is this gonna work?

AUSTIN: Yeah! ...Yeah. Totally.

JACK: Wow, you sounded… really unconfident.

AUSTIN: How is – so, so then I guess the plan at this point is, the Kingdom Come goes for one of them, the Regent’s Brilliance goes for another, and then the Arete goes for a third. Right?

ART: Yeah.

JACK: So – so we’re basically taking, um, Larry to – my job is to fly Larry to a satellite while the mechs attempt to go and destroy another one?

AUSTIN: I – yes. Presumably. Uh, Larry, what are you doing?

KEITH: I – I think that I am trying to find some way to secure myself so that I don’t get –

AUSTIN: Totally.

KEITH: – jostled around for the third time.

AUSTIN: You could totally do that. Like, I think there are probably chairs throughout the ship here and there that have like, straps that you can strap yourself into.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: It’s just, those aren’t things that get used very often any more? But you’re able to find them. Totally.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Who is going to which satellite? So again, there are four satellites. There’s like – I guess you don’t know. I guess I’ll have to – you know what, I’m just gonna roll when you get to satellites. Cause I don’t think you figured out which satellite is connected to what system. Uh, which is fine. Like that’s not – whatever.

TURN 3: A BRICK IN A WASHING MACHINE [29:25]

AUSTIN: What’s it like out in space, Aria and Cass?

ART: I mean, what’s it like in this – I’ve never piloted this mech in the – in an atmosphere, so…

(Ali laughing)

AUSTIN: Yeah, at all. It’s like, the mech is cramped and it’s like, a lot more – it’s a lot less like sitting in a construction robot and a lot more like sitting – or like – it’s a lot more like standing. First of all. Like, it’s – you’re technically in a chair, but it’s at such a high incline that you’re basically like, leaning backwards? Um, and its really interesting to see stuff – to see a – a robot with co– or with Apostolosian operating systems in it. Like you’re not used to that, you’ve gotten so used to piloting this modified rigger that it’s weird to be in something that’s like, yours. Do you know what I mean?

ART: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Uh, but it it feels good. What doesn’t – what maybe doesn’t feel good to be, is in space, like this is not like being on the ground, at all. Um, and that is – like, orienting yourself is really weird. It’s really hard when there’s no ground, to know – to give yourself a clear direction.

ART: Ah, there’s a – there’s a weird thing here on my weaknesses tags on this new mech? Its, uh, it’s cramped, picky, cramped, owned?

AUSTIN: Right. Well get rid of “cramped.” The second “cramped” should – should not be there. It’s really cramped.

ART: It’s so cramped in here.

AUSTIN: It is – it is owned, though, because, like that was me – that was me using owned earlier. Like oh, this is Apostolosian.

ART: Sure, no, totally.

AUSTIN: This is not yours. Uh, so, you two are in space, uh, give me – both of you can give me a, um, an Act Under Fire to – to get from where you are to the satellite.

ART: Is it s–

AUSTIN: Detachment has picked up on you both launching.

ART: It’s still Cool even in the –

ALI: Oh.

AUSTIN: Uh, I don’t think it is Cool. I think it is… Yeah, it is Cool. It’s Cool plus your vehicle’s power.

ART: Alright, so it’s this…

ALI: Alright, so it’s – I have that plus one.

ART: And I have that plus two.

AUSTIN: So nine.

ALI: So a nine and a six.

AUSTIN: Wait, a nine and a seven.

ALI: Oh, a nine and a seven, yeah, cause it –

AUSTIN: Yeah. Whew! That was close, it was like, “uh-oh!” Uh, alright, so the thing that you can – you can both make this choice is – you can get there now, this turn, this next turn you’ll be at the satellites? But you will lose contact, radio contact, with each other and with the Kingdom Come. Because you’ll have to break from – you’ll have to lose, like, laser sight. You have to lose, like, line of sight to them. Uh, and – and won’t be able to do communications any more.

ART: Yeah, that’s fine.

ALI: (uncertain) Uh, hmm, yeah.

AUSTIN: Uh, so you both pop out as – as Detachment is doing one of its runs, uh, and is like, tries to slash at – at the Arete, and like, Cass, you duck under it with like, these like, jets that are popping up from your shoulders upwards? Like, that just push you downwards, and that happens like, almost automatically? Uh, and then turns and shoots a shotgun blast at the Queen – or, the Regent’s Brilliance, and I think, Aria, you just like, do that rad thing of like, drawing Jace’s Whiteblade and cutting those bullets down as Detachment keeps moving down towards the Kingdom Come. Um, AuDy, the – Detachment is now like, behind you. What are you doing?

JACK: Um, we are… setting a course for a satellite and attempting to make evasive maneuvers.

AUSTIN: Okay. Uh…

JACK: I think that those are – I think Orth’s doing one and I’m doing the other.

AUSTIN: Yeah, good call. Which one are you doing?

JACK: I’m making evasive – I’m assuming I have, like –

AUSTIN: Alright –

JACK: Ship control, right?

AUSTIN: Yeah, then that’s Act Under Fire. so.

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: Same thing. Cool plus the Kingdom Come’s power.

JACK: Uh, which is… two!

AUSTIN: Nice.

JACK: So I’m just gonna roll Cool and add two to the result.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: Ten!

AUSTIN: Nice! Beautiful. So you – so again, Detachment like, does its – its pass at you, and – and you manage to like, flip the ship just in time, and it goes skirting past you.

JACK: Oh man… I’ve worked out what this is, and we’ve talked about the Kingdom Come making evasive maneuvers a lot.

AUSTIN: Mhm.

JACK: And… um, did you ever see those videos of like, people throwing bricks into washing machines and watching them destroy themselves?

AUSTIN: Mhm.

JACK: Recently a video came out of – somebody put a washing machine with a brick in it on a trampoline? And it just moved in the most alien…

AUSTIN: Oh, weird.

JACK: Heavy, ungainly way?

AUSTIN: I think I’ve seen that, yeah. And it just like, bounces – it like flips away but with no grace, really at all?

JACK: Yeah, I cannot imagine… you’re essentially watching something move impossibly, you know, this ridiculous –

AUSTIN: Giant –

JACK: You’re watching a warehouse dodge bullets.

AUSTIN: (laughs) Yes.

JACK: Um, and that looks kind of amazing and horrifying at the same time.

AUSTIN: Mhm. Like, dangerous? Like, “Oh, no, you’re, aaaahhh, don’t!” And then eh, you’re fine somehow.

JACK: Like, how is it doing that? Yeah.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Good question. Larry?

KEITH: (slight pause) Yes.

AUSTIN: You realize that… you can’t log in to Detachment. But you can log in to Mako?

KEITH: Okay...

AUSTIN: You see like – you – your kind of, uh, your stratus training, I guess, lets you see the – or whatever it is that they’ve done to your weird brain – lets you see the opening there.

KEITH: Okay… to be – to pos– to jack in to me?

AUSTIN: Yes. Give me a Log In roll.

KEITH: (deep sigh)

AUSTIN: Okay.

KEITH: Alright, there we go.

AUSTIN: Eight. So you get – and then do your other thing?

KEITH: Uh… Console Cowboy… so, hold on – what hap– on the seven to nine, there are… consequences…

AUSTIN: There are.

KEITH: Um… can – what happens… Okay, I’ll just roll Console Cowboy before we talk about this. (rolls) That’s a miss, that’s nothing.

AUSTIN: Yes. Well, now you’re getting – oh. That’s – that’s actually not nothing, that’s “I get to make a move, cause you made a move and failed.” Uh, but –

KEITH: Oh, okay, cause this doesn’t specifically say that I – that there’s any consequences.

AUSTIN: (overlapping) Whenever you make a fail, I get to make a move as hard as I want. That’s like, the way all of – all of the Powered by the Apocalypse world – uh, moves work. Is, whenever a player misses, the – the MC gets to do whatever they want, basically. (laughs)

KEITH: Alright.

AUSTIN: Uh, but – but I get to tell you what that is. So the – you wanted to know what the consequences were, again, for Log In?

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: For getting a seven to nine on Log In? Uh, you… either a passive trace, plus one trace – a trace is a thing that certain ICE need on you in order to hurt you a certain way? Uh, so for instance, an ICE that is trying to do damage to you physically? Needs to know where you’re at physically to do that. And so it might need a trace of two, or something, to do that.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: (continuing list) ICE is activated – means ICE is activated.

KEITH: But – oh, no, but I guess what I mean is like, if I fail on logging in to my own body?

AUSTIN: Yes.

KEITH: What is ICE?? What is that – is it my ICE trying to keep me out?

AUSTIN: Yes. We are going to talk about that, now.

KEITH: Okay, well then I would like it – I would like ICE to be activated.

AUSTIN: Okay. Um, so you log in, you’re like – I imagine you like, strap yourself in and then go into your like – you close your eyes into your meditative state – uh, and the first thing you see is what the – is what Larry is seeing. The actual Larry is seeing. Which is, uh, Larry’s in a French Republican courtroom. Like uh, a – a revolutionary court. And, at first, you’re seeing from Larry’s position. And then you zoom out a little bit, and then you’re behind Larry, wearing the – wearing like, um, noble clothing? You are. Larry turns and is dressed in like, the clothing of the everyman. The French everyman. And as you look around, all the people in the stands, who are calling for your death, are you, also calling for your death.

KEITH: (sighs) Why’re they doing that…?

AUSTIN: You also see a weird shadow – or like a specter of Larry, like, stepping forward, out of where his body is, forward through – just walking like a ghost, through that wall, and the wall shimmers, and then beyond that, you see briefly, is a forest. What are you doin’?

KEITH: I – I – (laughing incredulously) let me think for a second.

AUSTIN: Okay, well let’s move on.

KEITH: Alright.

AUSTIN: Uh, Aria. What’s up? You make it to one of the satellites. It’s beeping. Cause I – I guess that’s a thing satellites do? Has all those blinking lights, maybe? I hadn’t really thought about what the satellites looked like, real talk?

ALI: (laughs) They look like, you know, satellites.

AUSTIN: Oh, yeah, right. Of course.

ALI: (laughs) Um, okay, I attack it?

AUSTIN: Yeah. I think you just get to blow it up, if you want. Like, I don’t – they’re not defended in that way, right, like they’re defended by Detachment. They don’t have like – I guess they have armor, but – but you have good weapons, though, yeah, you cut through this thing –

ALI: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Um, give me a d4 roll?

ALI: A d4?

AUSTIN: Yeah. I wanna see which of these satellites it is you’re blowing up.

ALI: Two.

AUSTIN: Okay. So the second one is… (laughing) uh, it’s actually a good one. Um, you… this is the one that – so, as you blow it up, the first thing that happens is Detachment – there’s like a blast of energy and light from Detachment as it sloooows down? And like, goes – kind of comes close to where the Kingdom Come is. It loses all of its speed at once. Like it, whatever it was that was, uh – actually, you know what it actually is, is like, the boosters stop firing, and then it detaches from those boosters. And then they kind of drift for a little bit, and then they explode. You knocked out, like, its motion core. But then this blast of energy happens that knocks the Kingdom Come’s systems all offline.

ART: Fuck.

ALI: (nervous noise)

ART: Uhhhh, “I Love it When a Plan Comes Together,” I put everything in EMP-proof armor. Ehh? Ehhhh?

AUSTIN: Okay, give me – how much did that cost you?

JACK: (overlapping) When did you do that?

ART: Shhhit.

AUSTIN: That probably cost you a lot of money.

ART: I’m pretty sure I got it secondhand? This is used EMP shielding – okay, I didn’t do any of that. Sure.

AUSTIN: Okay. You could! If you want to spend two credits –

KEITH: (overlapping) How about EMP shield paint? That’s way less expensive than armor.

AUSTIN: Here’s what I’ll say, is you can – you can – for free, you can have that happen once.

ART: No, we’re gonna need it. I’m gonna save my –

AUSTIN: Okay.

ART: – three unreasonably expensive…

AUSTIN: (laughing) Okay!

TURN 4: SYSTEMS OFFLINE [40:10]

JACK: Wait, hang on a second, Austin, what does all the systems going offline mean?

AUSTIN: Oh, it means everything.

JACK: I mean, we’re using – we’re using gas engines here, like –

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: We’re using jet engines?

AUSTIN: Sure. Those have –

JACK: What type of a jet engine?

AUSTIN: Those still have circuitry involved.

JACK: I assumed the circuitry was just like a starter motor, though, right?

AUSTIN: Uh, maybe? So yeah, maybe the engines are still on, but like… the life support is not.

JACK: [unintelligible, in the background]

AUSTIN: The – the direct – yeah, the navigation is not.

KEITH: (underneath Austin) And that’s a very important one.

JACK: So we’re running out of oxygen.

AUSTIN: Oh yeah.

JACK: Which is not a concern for me, but is a concern for Mako and Orth.

AUSTIN: Totally.

JACK: How long do we have?

AUSTIN: (hums “I don’t know”)

KEITH: I can hold my breath for f – twenty-nine minutes.

AUSTIN: That’s not…

JACK: Alright, Guybrush.

(Jack and Austin laughing)

AUSTIN: You have other problems, too.

JACK: Yeah, dude! Nah, I’m just going to – you know, they say break it up into smaller problems.

AUSTIN: Okay.

ART: Does – does AuDy still work?

(big silent “oh shit”)

AUSTIN: Oh, shit.

JACK: Oh. It’s an EMP, so, no.

AUSTIN: So no! I had – I literally didn’t think about that. Thanks, Cass.

ART: You got it!

JACK: Do we have a dead man’s switch? On the cockpit? Cause otherwise we’re just gonna keep going in the heading that my – [unintelligible]

AUSTIN: Yeah, I think you’re just gonna keep – you’re continuing to go in this heading, towards that satellite, though. Like, at speed. Orth is like, losing it. Orth and Jacqui are now running through this ship, trying to figure out –

JACK: Oh my god, and oxygen alarms are going off, and –

AUSTIN: Yeah. Trying to figure out how to turn this thing back on, and like – I guess, you know, you probably boot up your second – they probably figured out how to boot up the secondary… like, the backup power, right? They probably… probably? That’s probably a thing, right?

JACK: Do we have… that?

AUSTIN: I don’t know, maybe not. Maybe you don’t have a backup generator. Anyway.

JACK: Oh, god, Art just said in the chat, uh, in real life, an EMP will permanently fry electronics.

AUSTIN: Let’s – AuDy is at least hardened enough for that. Like I bet you the – the – you know what, here’s exactly what happens, is that same system, AuDy? That bot – the Liberty system that I mentioned before? Boots up really briefly again, and shuts you down, it’s as like, “INCOMING EMP” and you shut down defensively so that you won’t – your active systems will be… not fried.

JACK: Oh, man, I know what it’s doing, is that inside me as well, some sort of like, almost like, clockwork combination of weights?

AUSTIN: Mhm.

JACK: Is just spinning, uh, a dynamo, at this point?

AUSTIN: Nice. Yeah.

JACK: Attempting to charge reserve batteries.

AUSTIN: But that’s –

JACK: It’s like, tiny. It’s like the size of a playstation controller’s force feedback thing.

AUSTIN: (laughs) Perfect.

JACK: But it’s attempting to charge a dynamo.

AUSTIN: Yes. Um, good news, Mako?

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: When that satellite blows up, the revolutionary court, with all of its like, people moving towards you, effectively knives out? They disappear, and you’re in a white space in front of a forest that just like, that is just like, ahead of you by fifty yards or so.

KEITH: So the ICE melted.

AUSTIN: Not just the ICE. The whole simulation melted.

KEITH: The whole – so okay. I do have a question.

AUSTIN: Sure.

KEITH: Does that count as uh, my reputation getting me in trouble?

AUSTIN: Nnnn (considers it in the middle but then) nnnno. No.

KEITH: Okay. And my other question was that I’ve got the move Melt ICE –

AUSTIN: Yes.

KEITH: Which uses Edge.

AUSTIN: Correct.

KEITH: But I also have the move, uh, Rep, which is that Edge is replaced by Synth, for Play Hardball?

AUSTIN: R…ight.

KEITH: Does that carry through into Melt ICE, which is the Synth Hardball?

AUSTIN: (overlapping) No, because Play Hardball is not, uh – Melt Ice is like the Synth Mix it Up. It’s like “actually I wanna fuckin’ kill this thing” whereas Play Hardball is, “I’m going to threaten to do this thing, to kill this thing, and if it doesn’t listen to me I’ll hurt it.”

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: That’s the difference.

KEITH: Cause, I was thinking cause they both used Edge instead of Mind – [unintelligible]

AUSTIN: (overlapping) Yeah, no, they are different – they are different things.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Play Hardball in – in cyberspace would literally be saying, “No, if you don’t fucking do what I – what I want, I’m going to melt this ICE.” Or, “I’m going to melt you – I’m going to do damage to you directly,” or, “I’m going to blackmail you,” or whatever it’s gonna be, you know?

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Alright. Let’s go to Cass?

ART: Alright, I should also take out a satellite?

AUSTIN: Totally. What’s the… how are you doing it? What’s your – what weapon are you using here?

ART: Uhh…

AUSTIN: I’m not gonna make you roll, but I want the image.

ART: I think I’m not comfortable with that sword yet, I think I’m gonna use the missile pods.

AUSTIN: Okay. So like a stream of missiles fires out of your – I don’t know where they are on the Arete yet. We’ll think about it.

ART: I think they’re like on the chest?

AUSTIN: Okay, I like that. They’re like a chest pod. I like that. That’s cool.

ART: Yeah. Lower than the theoretical but of course nonexistent nipples.

AUSTIN: …Okay, you sure they’re nonexistent?

ART: I’m pretty sure this robot doesn’t need to nurse.

AUSTIN: Okay. If you say so. Uh, it fires a bunch of missiles, and the – the pod – the pod goes up again, and Jerboa releases a second EMP, knocking off the backup systems on the Kingdom Come. Uh, this was, you rolled a one there – actually, roll a – oh, you did. You rolled a d3. Good job, Art.

ART: You got it.

AUSTIN: You saw exactly what I wanted you to do. Uh, so you rolled a one – I’m just gonna say what these are, just so you know. Um, the first one was a thing that hadn’t come up yet, thankfully? Which was a thing that protected it from any direct attacks. Um, which – which would have like, basically reflected the damage back from certain types of weapons. Not from missile pods. But from anything that was like, a projectile weapon, or a beam weapon. And so you knocked that out. Good job! Good job, that.

ART: Yay.

ALI: Yay!

AUSTIN: Bad news, for the people on the ship.

KEITH: That’s me.

AUSTIN: And AuDy.

JACK: Uh-oh.

AUSTIN: Hi. There’s a very loud noise. It’s like metal breaking? And then it’s like everything inside being sucked outside? As a sword gets plunged into the bottom of this ship, as Detachment crawls onto it?

JACK: Ohh… Am I conscious yet?

KEITH: Now, has –

AUSTIN: (to Jack) N… not yet? Uh, yeah. Let’s say it boots back up right then. Weird – here’s what happens. That second EMP fires, and for whatever reason, your weird internal servo dynamo like, catches that energy, and it fires you up.

JACK: (laughs) Ah, man. And we’ve just been – ah, okay.

KEITH: Um, has Mako made any progress?

AUSTIN: Yeah, you’re in that forest now! Oh, oh, you mean Mako.

KEITH: Yes, Mako, not Larry.

AUSTIN: Not Larry. I’m very confused now. Uh, not yet, no. Mako is working through these systems trying to head towards the heart of this thing.

KEITH: (sighs) Oh my god. See, now –

AUSTIN: You’re in the forest –

KEITH: When Mako first showed up, I was like –

AUSTIN: Uh-huh?

KEITH: “Well, this is very sinister.” And then I was like, no, he’s just a goof, and then I was like, oh no, he’s very sinister –

AUSTIN: (laughing) Uh-huh.

KEITH: And then now I’m like, (clicks tongue) he’s just a fuckin’ goof.

(Ali and Jack laughing)

AUSTIN: He’s a little bit of both, right? He, um, so you – you’re in this forest, right? And all around you are, like, just men and women in like, lumberjack outfits? Sitting on… very old looking riggers. Like bright orange and yellow construction riggers, with –

KEITH: Now is this – is this me, am I – is this –

AUSTIN: You. You, the original Mako. This is you, in you, in Detachment.

KEITH: (overlapping) Right. Right. Okay.

AUSTIN: You’re like, piggybacking now. On Detachment. Or, on –

KEITH: Oh, so I’m –

AUSTIN: You’re piggybacking on you, in Detachment. Yes.

KEITH: I understand now. Okay.

AUSTIN: You see what I mean?

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: And – and in effect, are – in effect, Larry is ahead of you. The real – I’m just gonna call you Mako, and “it” Larry at this point. Larry’s ahead of you, and what it’s doing is like, directing all the defenses inside of Detachment back at you, so that it can move on to the next stage, basically.

KEITH: Now why wouldn’t – why doesn’t Larry wanna cooperate?

AUSTIN: Because like, if you’re dead, he gets your body.

KEITH: But –

AUSTIN: So, all around you are old riggers. And they point at you – or, sorry, the old, like, the lumberjacks, basically, the cyber lumberjacks, are like –

AUSTIN (as ICE): It’s one of Rigor’s. He’s a spy.

AUSTIN: And they climb into – a couple of them climb into these –

KEITH (as Mako): Uhhh, no, no! Not a spy, actually.

AUSTIN: Uh, they are coming right at you in these, like, old… deforestation riggers.

KEITH: God damn it. Shit. Alright, hold on, um… Can I – since I’m in a new system, can I, uh – cause the other thing vanished, can I re-Console Cowboy?

AUSTIN: No, this is the same console.

KEITH: Okay. Um… (hesitantly) then I would like to fast talk them.

AUSTIN: Okay.

KEITH (as Mako): No–!

KEITH: (cutting himself off) Um… shit, okay, hold on. Cause I don’t want to send them after Larry, cause that would – I just – I don’t want –

AUSTIN: Uh-huh.

KEITH: Anyone to notice anything that’s going on in here. Um… but I can’t…

AUSTIN: (with sudden gravitas) Above you in the distance, is a Divine maybe larger than… even Order was. It is bulbous, and black smoke pours from it. And it stomps through the woods towards you, and it’s behind you, and from their perspective, they look up and see you in – as part of it.

KEITH: So this is – so this is a thing that is, (knowingly) like a thousand feet tall?

AUSTIN: Yeah. I’m not – I’m not sure that you’re sure which here is the ICE, maybe they’re both ICE…

KEITH: Uh, well, can I – can I reach out and see if anything can be jacked into from in here?

AUSTIN: You’re – no, you’re in the system now.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

KEITH: Is there a way for me to manipulate… the Divine?

AUSTIN: Sure, that would be – that would be the defenses one. Or security.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Compromise security.

KEITH: Compromise security? Alright, I would like to compromise the security –

AUSTIN: Okay.

KEITH: – of this.

AUSTIN: M-hm.

KEITH: I do get a hold one?

AUSTIN: (overlapping) From before. Yes.

KEITH: Okay.

AUSTIN: Alright, great, partial success, which gives you one, what are you – what are you doing with it?

KEITH: I want to use the Divine to melt the ICE?

AUSTIN: (in that GM “I’m so glad you did that” tone) Sure. Yeah. Uh, the thing that happens –

KEITH: (overlapping) Because I don’t have a great Edge.

AUSTIN: Nah, that’s fine. It – it… it does it. You’re basically turning two bits of ICE in – on themselves? And as you like, walk through the forest past them, they – the men and women in the riggers are like, charging forward with these devices that were not meant to fight a Divine, and just being like, crushed underfoot. Like it’s no big deal. And there’s something about this that sticks with you, as being – like, you’ve fogged a bunch of systems before. None of them have felt as… material as this? And it’s –

KEITH: Yeah, it feels sad.

AUSTIN: It’s very… it’s very physical.

KEITH: It’s heavy, doc.

AUSTIN: Yeah. And as you pass through the forest, you move deeper in, and past – at the edge of the forest is a beach.

TURN 5: WHY ARE YOU HERE? [51:08]

AUSTIN: What are you doing, AuDy? The ship is not back online yet. Orth and – and Jacqui are both very nervous. Jacqui is looking for – Jacqui’s like,

AUSTIN (as Jacqui): You don’t have any fucking oxygen tanks on this thing?!

(Jack laughing)

AUSTIN: Orth is like,

AUSTIN (as Orth): (nervous, defensive) There used to be. There used to be oxygen tanks. Back when I piloted this thing I made sure. There were lots of – there was an oxygen tank in every room! …Oh, that was a fire extinguisher, that was not a – there were not – there’s never been oxygen tanks in here.

JACK (as AuDy): Orth, how long before you two stop breathing?

AUSTIN (as Orth): I don’t know how to do those calculations very quickly. I suspect… not very long. Not now that there’s a hole in the ship.

JACK: …Do we have any space suits?

AUSTIN: I – I don’t know, do you? Also what are you doing about the robot stabbing the ship?

ALI: Say yes.

JACK: I’m – I’m getting there. Small problems.

AUSTIN: Okay. Okay.

JACK: Uh, no, we don’t have any space suits, do we, cause this is not a ship designed for space.

AUSTIN: No…

JACK: If we wanted space suits we’d have bought them.

AUSTIN: You would have bought space suits. Yeah. M-hm.

JACK: Right. Okay. Um…

JACK (as AuDy): Orth, close the blast doors connecting the rooms which the… dagger – which the sword has entered.

AUSTIN: Orth is like, very carefully moving in that direction, and like, closing these doors with like, cranks, right?

JACK: Yeah, I guess – oh! Um… I think probably before… before he closes the door I want to get into the room with the sword.

AUSTIN: Okay.

JACK: I’m not worried about depressurization.

AUSTIN: No, you don’t need to be, it’s – and that room is now depressurized. So like, you step past it, and he closes the blast door? And he’s like, I think he puts a hand on your shoulder, and says like,

AUSTIN (as Orth): Be quick, whatever you’re doing.

JACK (as AuDy): Okay.

JACK: Right, uh…

AUSTIN: (as a sound effect) Crank crank crank! Uh, Aria and – and Cass can now be at the next satellite, I’m guessing you’re doing the same thing again?

ART: Yeah, right, it’s not like we can – it’s not like more EMPs are gonna hurt, and we’ve learned that they just cycle AuDy.

ALI: (doubtful) Mm –

AUSTIN: Well – they do cycle AuDy. So AuDy, you’re in that room, with the sword. And it’s just stabbing in that room again, and again, and again. It’s stabbing into… the empty – (laughing) the empty – I guess it’s not empty, the hangar corridor, where the other mechs were. I guess the Megalophile… is still there? Yes. The Megalophile is still there. But it’s not… this is where the engine would have been if you hadn’t bought that warehouse.

JACK: (laughing) Oh, wow.

ALI: Wait, is – but where – how many satellites are there?

AUSTIN: There are two more.

ALI: Okay. Cause if… hmm…

AUSTIN: M-hm? You don’t know that. Aria and Cass have no idea. Or, you know that there’s EMPs, but you don’t know what’s happening on this ship.

ALI: We don’t see it? Like...

AUSTIN: No, remember like, you’re out of – yeah, you’re – you’re very far away, you’re in space. Space is big.

ALI: Okay.

JACK: Wait a second. Has Detachment decelerated to our speed? Or have we accelerated to Detachment’s?

AUSTIN: Detachment decelerated to your speed. Because –

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: Because –

JACK: Because otherwise the centrifugal force would destroy us.

AUSTIN: Right. And Cass knocked out – or Aria knocked out the jet booster system. Causing it to need to slow down.

JACK: Okie dokie.

AUSTIN: And it has now, again, mounted that ship. And now, yeah, you’re – I actually like you like, looking – you’re on what would have been the roof of this room? Looking up at the bottom of the floor? Where a giant sword keeps being thrust into it?

JACK: Okay, I would like to assess.

AUSTIN: Good call. Gimme a roll.

JACK: (laughs) what is the Assess roll? Oh, it’s Edge.

AUSTIN: It should be, yeah.

JACK: Okie dokie, that’s alright, I’m okay at Edge. He says, about to make a low roll.

(Austin laughing)

JACK: Oh, okay.

AUSTIN: Oh, eight’s fine. You gain one hol – one hold. Which one of these questions would you like to ask?

JACK: Okay, uh, I would like to ask… I’d like to ask, “Where can I gain the most advantage?”

AUSTIN: Very close to it. It – if it’s emitting an EMP, but not deactivating itself, there must be a safe zone close to it.

JACK: Okay, I’m gonna hold on to the sword.

AUSTIN: Okay. Cass and AuDy – or, Cass and Aria? Like, let’s just time this out perfectly, like torch those last two, as the EMP goes off AuDy is like, just slipping up past it into the, like – into the safe zone around the sword, into space.

JACK: So am I pulled out of the ship?

AUSTIN: Yeah, you’re pulled out of the ship. And are now floating towards Detachment.

JACK: Am I floating, or am I holding on to the sword?

AUSTIN: I mean, it’s up to you. But yeah, you can just be – if you hold on to the sword, it’s just gonna keep driving it in and out of the ship. And then I will make you make a roll for that. I like this enough to have not made you make that first roll, but now if you stay on it –

JACK: I keep picturing the way AuDy moves as like, Spectre –

AUSTIN: Actually I’m gonna make you make a roll anyway.

JACK: (distantly) Oh, geez.

AUSTIN: You just get a plus one forward from the Assess, that’s how Assess works. So make – make Act Under Fire.

JACK: Okay, cool. Um…

AUSTIN: – Act Under Pressure.

JACK: Oh my god. (laughing)

AUSTIN: Well, you get a plus one, though. Plus one, so it’s a seven.

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: Uh – which arm do you wanna lose?

JACK: Oh, the one without the shotgun in it.

AUSTIN: Yeah, okay, that’s cool. So you lose that arm –

JACK: My… left arm.

AUSTIN: Take… two harm. And roll the harm –

JACK: So I take…

AUSTIN: Take two harm.

JACK: …two harm, and lose an arm, and put that in…

AUSTIN: You know what, take – take one harm, and – and…

JACK: What box should I put “an arm has fallen off” in?

AUSTIN: Uh… the one in the kitchen.

JACK: (laughing) What?

KEITH: I’m sorry, why did you lose an arm?

AUSTIN: Cause he tried to climb a sword!

(Ali laughing)

ART: (laughing) I’m not sure that’s the right tone for that.

JACK: Sssssssix. No, it wasn’t cause I tried to climb a sword, it’s that I was holding on to a sword as it was pulled out through the roof –

AUSTIN: Yes.

JACK: – of my ship, and that is not a clean hole.

AUSTIN: It’s not a clean hole. So go ahead and roll – roll harm. Oof. Okay. Eight’s okay. Eight’s fine. Um… hm. Let’s decide. Which thing I want to do to you. Uh… yeah. Okay. You lose grip on whatever you’re holding. So now you’re floating, through space, towards Detachment. But you’re floating –

JACK: I don’t have any EVA stuff, do I?

AUSTIN: No, but you’re – you’re floating right towards it, I think.

JACK: Okay.

AUSTIN: Uh, Mako.

KEITH: Hi.

AUSTIN: They’re sitting in beach chairs, on the beach, looking at the sun setting. You get closer, and it’s – it’s you, it’s Larry, in one of them. And it’s Ibex in the other.

KEITH: Ibex? Why is he there?!

AUSTIN: I don’t know. They’re drinking very fancy drinks.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Oh! Glad you could join us! Hey, Larry.

KEITH (as Mako): H… Hi, you guys.

AUSTIN (as Larry): How you doin’?

KEITH (as Mako): I’m a little bit – I’m a little bit peeved.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Whyyy’s that?

KEITH (as Mako): I feel like you’re trying to kill me?

AUSTIN (as Larry): Mmmm… no.

KEITH (as Mako): No?

AUSTIN (as Larry): Nah.

KEITH (as Mako): Well, I feel like you’re at least trying to leave me out of things.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Well that’s true. You got me. I just feel like I could do a really good job, at this. This is fun!

KEITH (as Mako): Have you stopped, um… the Divine?

AUSTIN (as Larry): Eh… we’re working on it.

AUSTIN: And they both – both point down the beach towards where there is a bonfire, where there’s like a bunch of people hanging out around a bonfire.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Yeah, we’re gonna finish these drinks, and then we’re gonna go down there and take care of it, no big deal.

KEITH (as Mako): Uhhhh… yeah, it’s like, you’re really going like way too slow, and you gotta kinda keep focused on the mission, I just feel like uh… you’re not doing a very good job.

AUSTIN (as Larry): (overlapping, skeptical) I learned a lot of things from you, I… what I learned from you is you gotta have a good time when you’re – when you’re on a mission.

KEITH (as Mako): You gotta have a good time but you’ve also gotta do it… You’ve gotta do it in a fast amount of time.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Hmm…

KEITH (as Mako): A good, short, time, so that our friends don’t die.

AUSTIN (as Larry): You’re being real serious right now, I don’t like it.

KEITH (as Mako): I’m being real serious, yeah, I’m gonna have to go – I’m just gonna go finish up, you finish your drinks and I’ll finish up down there.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Okay, but how are you gonna do it? Without – without Righteousness?

KEITH (as Mako): …Sorry, without what – I don’t – I don’t need Righteousness.

AUSTIN (as Larry): (scoffs) He says he doesn’t need you, I guess, that’s weird. Okay.

AUSTIN: Uh, you walk towards –

KEITH: Why is he here? Hold on, sorry,

KEITH (as Mako): Why is he – why are you here?

AUSTIN (as Larry): He’s always been – what are you – what? He’s been here forever.

KEITH (as Mako): Righteousness has been here forever?

AUSTIN (as Larry): Uh-huh.

KEITH (as Mako): Righteousness lives inside of, uh… Detachment?

AUSTIN (as Larry): (laughs) Oh, no. No, sorry. Uh, inside you.

TURN 6: SOMETHING OF VALUE BREAKS [59:40]

AUSTIN: (cutting off the scene) AuDy, what are you doing?

KEITH (as Mako): Why does Righteousness live inside of me?

AUSTIN: What are you doing, AuDy?

JACK: Uhhhh… panicking. For the first time in my life.

AUSTIN: Okay.

JACK: I was supposed to park cars. There were boxes. They were demarcated by thick white lines. I put a car inside the box, and then I get out and go to another car.

AUSTIN: AuDy?

JACK: I’m floating through space with one arm missing.

AUSTIN: When you get close, that system boots up again for half a second, and the cockpit opens. And there’s Jerboa, sitting there, with a big fuckin’ grin on his face.

JACK: (laughs) Can I… I guess I can’t talk, can I? Cause I’m in a vacuum.

AUSTIN: You’re in a vacuum. He’s in a space suit, thankfully.

JACK: Alright, I’m just going to turn on all the lights on my body.

AUSTIN: Nice. Good. He sees you, and hits a couple of buttons, uh, on the side – to a panel on the side, and like, starts reaching, looking for something in the cockpit, and isn’t finding it. What do you do?

JACK: Well, I – uh… Oh, um, I deploy the shotgun in my right arm?

AUSTIN: Uh-huh?

JACK: And I point it away from Jerboa and I fire it.

AUSTIN: Nice.

JACK: In an attempt to, “Wall-E”-esque, shoot myself towards the cockpit.

AUSTIN: You’re headed right towards it? What do you do.

JACK: I want to grab on to one side of the cockpit and throw Jerboa out of the Divine. Oh, wait, no, I only have one arm. Okay.

AUSTIN: (laughs) And it’s a shotgun, currently.

JACK: Okay, I – (laughs) Okay, let’s work this out. I’m going to, ah, re-conceal the shotgun –

AUSTIN: Mhm.

JACK: – as I move towards it, I’m going to grab Jerboa with one hand, and I’m going to use my legs to push...

AUSTIN: Like, do a flip?

JACK: Yeah, essentially.

AUSTIN: Okay, give me a Mix It Up.

JACK: Yeah, I’m going to mix it up. And I’m a small gang.

AUSTIN: You are a small gang.

ALI: This is the first time you’ve said this that you’ve actually been a small gang.

AUSTIN: That’s true!

JACK: Uh, so when I mix it up I act as a small gang! Austin, you might need to explain –

AUSTIN: That means you do more damage, and take less. It means like, if he shot you, it probably wouldn’t hurt much.

JACK: Okay. Sure. So I just roll Mix It Up normally?

AUSTIN: M-hm.

JACK: Okay. Please let this work. (hisses) Eight.

AUSTIN: That’s – that’s alright. In fact, like, this is where Mix It Up might totally – or where your small gang might actually totally help.

JACK: Mil-Specs.

AUSTIN: (laughs) It’s just called Mil-Specs. So on a seven to nine you choose two: “You make too much noise, advance the relevant mission clock,” or, “You take harm as established by the fiction,” I would do harm with the weapon Jerboa was looking for, or, “An ally takes harm as established by the fiction,” or “Something of value breaks.” Which two of those do you want to choose?

JACK: Okay, so. Presumably the mission clock that would get advanced would be the action clock?

AUSTIN: Correct.

JACK: Um… we have three spaces left in the action clock.

AUSTIN: You do.

KEITH: I would recommend not that.

JACK: I am moving away from that as an option.

(Ali laughing)

AUSTIN: Okay.

JACK: I now have three limbs, out of a usual four –

AUSTIN: Uh-huh.

JACK: So I’m a little concerned about the weaponry of a Divine being deployed against me. Um, Keith?

KEITH: Hi.

JACK: How d’you feel about me maybe letting you take harm as an attempt to remove you from the predicament you are currently in?

KEITH: Oh… I think it’s best for me to be where I am.

JACK: So you really do not want to take harm.

ART: Wait, does Jack get to choose –

AUSTIN: He could take –

ART: – who takes harm, or is it just any ally?

AUSTIN: No. “An” ally takes harm.

JACK: Oh.

AUSTIN: As established by the fiction. So I would have to decide –

KEITH: I feel like if –

AUSTIN: –which ally takes harm. As established by – like I don’t think it’s Aria or… or… uh, Cass.

JACK: (at the same time) Cass.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Neither of them are – have established damage coming towards them. Orth and Jacqui do, Mako does. I could hit any of them.

JACK: Um, Art just typed “R.I.P. Orth” into the chat.

AUSTIN: Or Jacqui.

KEITH: Jack, if I had to put my two cents in, I would say that the two best options here are you take damage, or an ally takes damage, and only one of us is a small gang.

AUSTIN: You can – you also take – he has to choose two of these things.

KEITH: Oh, okay. Well then, I guess those are the two.

AUSTIN: What are you taking?

JACK: What, I take harm, and an ally takes harm?

KEITH: Yeah, those seem like the safest two options.

JACK: I’m trying to think about what I could break.

AUSTIN: I can think of some things.

JACK: Yeah, of course you can.

KEITH: Oh, Jack, do you get to pick the thing that breaks?

AUSTIN: No.

JACK: I – No.

AUSTIN: “Something of value breaks.” I know exactly what it is.

KEITH: We need all of our things of value.

AUSTIN: I know just what it is.

JACK: I’m not picking that one.

KEITH: If – if Austin knows what it is, then you don’t wanna pick that.

AUSTIN: (low and ominous) Let me break a thing. Let me break a thing.

JACK: (laughs) I thought this was supposed to be partial –

AUSTIN: Fuckin’ let me do it. I’m – I am – hold on one second, let me look at my things really quick… “Entangle the characters in the Sprawl,” uh, “Fill the characters’ lives with action, intrigue, and complication.”

KEITH: If – if Austin is excited to break a thing, you cannot let him do it.

AUSTIN: Fuckin’ let me break – Jack. Please let me break this thing.

JACK: Alright. Austin’s gonna break a thing, and then… um…

AUSTIN: Nice.

KEITH: I’m very upset.

ALI: It’s probably fine.

KEITH: It’s never once been fine.

JACK: Uh… I’ll take harm.

AUSTIN: Okay. Jerboa produces, um… let’s see, what does he, what does he – he produces his big brother’s gun, the gun that he wore during the war, his pistol, and shoots at you a couple of times. Um, it’s two harm, but you’re a small gang, and also have armor. So you still have to roll – roll the harm, but both – you’re soaking both of those shots. “Soaking” is a White Wolf term, I shouldn’t have –

JACK: Oh, Jesus!

AUSTIN: Oh my god.

JACK: I rolled an eleven.

AUSTIN: That’s good, something’s gonna break on you anyway. But you still get the thing you wanted before, which was ejecting Jerboa into space.

JACK: Do I take any harm?

AUSTIN: No, but I get to make the highest thing on the Harm move, or you get to. In a second.

JACK: Right.

AUSTIN: One second. So I’ll finish – I’m gonna do all of this at once.

JACK: Sure. Yeah, yeah.

AUSTIN: So we get a full – a full image. Aria and Cass, you’re on your way back. You see the Divine clearly in your optics now, as it’s stabbing; you see AuDy – you like zoom in, you get like that cool enhanced view that’s kind of grainy, of AuDy leaping off the sword slash falling off the sword, missing an arm. The cockpit seems to open up. AuDy flies into it. Um. Alright, on a ten… so, so AuDy, I need you to choose: you are unconscious, out of action, trapped, incoherent, or panicked? Or, take full harm of the attack before it was reduced by armor, or lose the – (laughing) use of a piece of cyberware until you get it replaced, or lose a body part? Um. Let me tell you what the other step of this is, before you make that decision, because maybe you’ll make one that’s really interesting, I don’t know. The thing that breaks is your ability to keep the Liberty system off. The wall that you’ve built to keep yourself off the mesh? Breaks. And you hook into the Kingdom Come, and also into Detachment. And all of the systems come back online in the Kingdom Come, you’re able to like, reboot it very quick– with like, a speed that is terrifying. A speed that you did not know that you had. And next to, like – you see this – I guess it’s like – I don’t know, what does – what do diagnostics and stuff look like in AuDy’s field of vision?

JACK: Uh, you mean sort of like, tech – like –

AUSTIN: Yeah, do you have like a heads-up display, or, yeah. Like when you’re running software, what’s it look like in AuDy’s vision?

JACK: I think it looks like… it looks like Archillect, right, it looks like –

AUSTIN: Okay.

JACK: Black and white UI elements.

AUSTIN: Okay. So it’s just like a black screen that says LIBERTY: ONLINE. And then underneath that it says, DISCOVERY: ONLINE.

MUSIC: “The Antenna”

AUSTIN: Detachment closes, and you’re inside of it, and you see the – the thing that Jerboa did, before you sent him into space to presumably, slowly die – painfully die – is, he did the thing Divines can do? I don’t know if you can – if you remember this, but we talked about this in the Kingdom game, which is, as long as you have two Divines, you have a Divine in one place and a Divine in the other place, they can open up like a wormhole? To send other things through? And so, immediately, above the Kingdom Come, the Seventh Sun arrives. Just as Aria and Cass dock. What do you – what’s the thing you’re gonna pick, AuDy?

JACK: I’m trapped.

AUSTIN: You’re trapped in Detachment?

JACK: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Oh, buddy. Also trapped in Liberty and Discovery. Yeah.

JACK: Being networked for the first time is horrible.

AUSTIN: Can I tell you a secret?

JACK: Yeah.

AUSTIN: This isn’t the first time you’ve been online, AuDy. And it really rushes back to you. A looooong time ago, before you knew there was the Golden Branch sector.

JACK: As I was being manufactured?

AUSTIN: No… well, I guess someone built you. We haven’t quite figured out how they build Divines yet.

MUSIC FADES

CLOSING [1:08:58]

AUSTIN: Alright, let’s talk about, uh, relationships.

JACK: Help.

(Everyone laughing)

AUSTIN: I think the actual end of this episode has to be, Mako, you do get booted back… Does Detachment get on board, or… I guess here’s the question, do we want to pick back up at this moment? Or we want to pick back up with the Kingdom Come out of orbit?

JACK: I’m prepared to call this the end of this adventure. Provided we can work out, at least visually, how this episode ends.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Me too.

JACK: Because the Kingdom Come is essentially just – it’s come online, and Orth is scrambling for the controls as an enormous hole in the middle –

AUSTIN: Yeah.

JACK: Aria and Cass are – are presumably jetpacking through the wreckage of destroyed satellites.

AUSTIN: Okay, here’s how it comes all – here’s how we do it, then. Is… yeah, it’s all that stuff, and the thing that is like, your window to escape, is as soon as the second – or the Seventh Sun comes through, there’s the shot in the distance of the two Minerva ships coming back. And the – the Seventh Sun just like, beam of laser tearing through them? And moving towards Counterweight? Like, over – like literally on top of you. Over you. Towards the planet. And then yeah, I guess everyone just gets back on board… I guess avoids the depressurized space?

JACK: We shut blast doors.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Right. Right.

JACK: What do I do with Detachment?

AUSTIN: It’s just in that hangar that – that the Queen Custom used to be in?

JACK: I can park Detachment inside –

KEITH: Yeah, it’s very small. Smaller than the Megalophile.

AUSTIN: Yeah, it’s small. Like once it’s been… yeah, totally.

JACK: Okay, sure. It’s also nonfunctional, though, since we destroyed some satellites.

AUSTIN: You destroyed some satellites, and the Liberty and Discovery system just overrode it. Like, opened it up for you.

JACK: (sigh)

KEITH: What happened with, uh… Larry?

AUSTIN: So, yeah, the shot there, I guess, is like… (pauses, sighs) Huh.

ART: I mean it’s a bit of a cliché, but we could do a mirror shot, right, we could do –

AUSTIN: I think it’s – yeah. I think the three of you are just standing on that beach, the – the bonfire in the distance as Jerboa gets tossed out, and Detachment gets shut down – it’s like, the bonfire goes out? Like it just snuffs itself out – or, the water from the beach rolls up onto the bonfire, and like, takes it out, but you’re still in that beach space? And yeah, and Larry and Mako are in a mirror shot, and Larry says, uh –

AUSTIN (as Larry): You know… I’m just a little jealous. Because like, when you met me I thought we could be a team. But then I got here and… you already have a teammate. You already have a partner.

AUSTIN: And Ibex smiles at you.

KEITH: Wait, so, so Larry said that, and then Ibex smiled?

AUSTIN: At you. Yeah.

KEITH: At me.

KEITH (as Mako): Um… I’m not – we’re not partners. I’m not partners with Ibex.

AUSTIN (as Larry): I don’t know. Do you have room for me?

MUSIC: “The Long Way Around”

AUSTIN (as Larry): …I’ll be quiet.

KEITH (as Mako): You’ll be like, for real quiet?

AUSTIN: He gives Ibex, like, a scared look.

AUSTIN (as Larry): Yeah. He – yeah. I’ll be quiet. I – I know I shouldn’t goof around as much like that, now. He told me.

KEITH (as Mako): As – as much?

AUSTIN (as Larry): Well, you know, a goof here and there.

AUSTIN: And he smiles. And like, steps into you. And then it’s just you and Ibex, on the shore, with the waves hitting. And Mako wakes up – (laughs) in the common area, strapped in.

KEITH: Aw, shit, I woke up? God damn it. Who else is in the room with me?

AUSTIN: I think it’s just you. Or –

KEITH: Just me?

AUSTIN: Jacqui’s in there, maybe. She’s like, staring at you.

KEITH (as Mako): Jacqui, Ibex is in my head!

AUSTIN (as Jacqui): …I don’t know what the fuck you ever are talking about.

(Everyone laughing)

AUSTIN: And then yeah, the Kingdom Come just goes in the opposite direction as the Seventh Sun, and it’s – I’m guessing some additional ships with it go to land on Counterweight.

MUSIC CONTINUES, FADES.

POST-GAME [1:13:55]

AUSTIN: Let’s do end of session stuff. Directives!

JACK: (quietly) Ohhh my god. (more clearly) Okay, so my directives are:

AUSTIN: (laughs) Uh-huh!

JACK: I’m just trying to find where I have these written down…

AUSTIN: Uh, “Whenever you discover more information about the cause of your sentience, mark experience.”

JACK: Uh, technically, yes.

AUSTIN: Yeah, take –

JACK: But at the same time, no.

AUSTIN: Take one. Yeah, take one. “When you follow them and it hinders the mission – when you follow –” Oh, sorry, sorry, the laws of robotics. I’m gonna say no there, I don’t think that’s a thing you really did?

JACK: Such petty concerns are no longer.

AUSTIN: (laughs) Yeah, a little bit! Um… Aria. Heroism? Or drawing – or fame?

ALI: Uh… nah, I tried to protect Larry at some points if that kinda – [unintelligible]

AUSTIN: You did try to do that. That’s true. No, I don’t think either of those. Cass?

ART: I tried to do two.

AUSTIN: Uh, yeah. Yeah. I think you definitely do “Rejected: when your former membership in the Apostolosia–” Yeah, totally. Mark that. Um… Mako, mark two. (laughs)

KEITH: Mark two?

AUSTIN: Yeah, “When your lies about your identity or your past put the mission at risk…” Just like, you didn’t really understand what it was you were lying about.

(quiet laughter)

AUSTIN: Um, and then, when you – “When your adherence to your persona hinders the mission, mark – mark experience.” That definitely happened.

KEITH: Wh – which part – which part of it do you think that was happening?

AUSTIN: A – the hindering??

KEITH: Yeah. The hindering.

AUSTIN: Oh, a whole bunch, dude.

KEITH: But –

AUSTIN: Especially the – the Larry stuff was that all coming home to roost, right?

KEITH: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Yeah.

KEITH: I just – I just wanna know the specific moment.

AUSTIN: I just need to say any of them. Like, I think it’s –

KEITH: Any moment?

AUSTIN: I think it’s any moment that Larry and Mako were talking at the same time, and distracting people from the things that were important?

KEITH: …I didn’t start any of those arguments.

AUSTIN: Oh my god. Is that it?

JACK: (to Keith) You started a fairly major one.

AUSTIN: And then take two more for mission directives: get past Detachment and complete the job, and escape Counterweight. And then it’s, yeah, it’s just the Kingdom Come drifting towards a bright star, a bright red star.

ART: Do you – do you level when you fill the last box, or – okay.

AUSTIN: Yes. Yup. The second you fill that box.

ART: I have to do that.

KEITH: You said take two more?

AUSTIN: Yeah.

KEITH: Okay. I’ll probably level next episode, maybe.

ALI: Uh-huh.

AUSTIN: And then – so the last thing is relationships. For – for links. Alright, here we go. Uh, “At the end of each, uh, mission, each player chooses another character who, as a result of the mission, has a better idea about how your character operates. Explain what happened and what they now know about your character. That character increases their links with you by one.” Who knows you better?

ART: Um… I mean I feel like I worked the most with AuDy?

AUSTIN: Sure.

(simultaneously)

AUSTIN: What do they –

ART: We were up in the cockpit trying to figure out how to make everyone not die? None of it helped, but, y’know.

AUSTIN: Okay. Yeah. What’s – so is that what he knows about you – or what they know about you now?

ART: Yeah. “Not helpful.”

(simultaneously)

AUSTIN: Is just like, you’re – not helpful. Got it.

ART: That Cassander, not helpful.

AUSTIN: AuDy – AuDy increase your – your link with Cass to three?

JACK: Cool.

AUSTIN: AuDy, who knows you better? (laughing) Other than the audience.

JACK: (laughs) Uh… Mako and I went to see J-M together.

AUSTIN: You did.

JACK: But I’m not sure whether or not – though, is that – though is that moment when we went and saw J-M where… uh… they were asking me if I was a robot.

AUSTIN: Yeah. That did happen this episo– this mission. And you were like, “I’m… shut up! I’m definitely –”

JACK: And just kind of didn’t do anything.

AUSTIN: M-hm!

JACK: And it turns out that AuDy is the most robot.

(Austin laughing)

JACK: Um… yeah. So I think plus one with uh, with Mako.

AUSTIN: That sounds good. So Mako, take one with AuDy.

JACK: Do I get one as well?

AUSTIN: Yeah. No, no no. Only – only Mako does.

JACK: Oh, right. Sure.

AUSTIN: You give one to somebody else.

JACK: That’s cool.

AUSTIN: Cass wants to change their answer. What’s up.

ART: I think it’s Aria, cause Aria was there when I got the mech, I think that’s – that’s the… that’s the moment for Cass that’s special, that’s the –

AUSTIN: Oh, sure.

ALI: Awwww!

ART: – a family moment, that was a…

AUSTIN: Yeah.

ALI: Yeah, I got to like, see your facial expression and like –

ART: Yeah.

ALI: Probably talked about it on the way home.

AUSTIN: Yeah, I like that a lot. Yeah, so go ahead and –

ART: Which I didn’t sell in the moment but should have.

AUSTIN: Yeah. Totally. So yeah, change that, so AuDy, lose that one, and Aria, pick it up. Mako? Who knows you better?

KEITH: Uh… I spent a lot of time either alone or being attacked by AuDy.

(Austin laughing)

JACK: You got attacked by me once.

KEITH: Right, so.

AUSTIN: I would take – yeah, that seems fair, though. AuDy, I think, probably takes the – the plus one to Mako.

KEITH: Um…

AUSTIN: I think that that sounds right to me.

KEITH: I don’t know if – I don’t know if that made AuDy know me better. (laughs)

AUSTIN: Can I like, pull the veil real quick?

KEITH: Sure.

AUSTIN: Aria, do you – do you know what you’re doing yet, Ali?

ALI: Um… I… I don’t know, I was gonna go with Mako cause I spent a lot of time trying to be like, “Hey, Mako, that’s a good idea, and also I don’t want you to get hurt”?

AUSTIN: Right.

ALI: Um, I think I’m gonna go with Mako for that.

AUSTIN: Okay. So Mako, take another one with Aria.

KEITH: Alright.

AUSTIN: Alright! I am Austin Walker, I’m gonna pull up – pull back the veil just to my players, in a moment, I decided. I decided not to pull back the veil to my audience, I have to leave a little mystery. Right?

ART: Yeah.

AUSTIN: Uh… Austin Walker, austin_walker on twitter… where can people find you, Keith?

KEITH: You can find me on twitter @keithjcarberry, you can also find the let’s plays that I do at youtube.com/runbutton.

AUSTIN: Jack?

JACK: My name’s Jack de Quidt, you can find me on twitter @notquitereal, or play the game that I recently wrote on Steam for free, which is called Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald.

AUSTIN: Still a good name. Ali?

ALI: You can find me on twitter @ali_west.

AUSTIN: And Art.

ART: Hey, you can find me on twitter @atebbel.

AUSTIN: Okay! Thanks again for listening as always, we will be back next week!

END OF EPISODE