[color=silver]The tired sounds of a city that never slept were muted behind hundreds of feet of compacted dirt, steel and concrete. Beneath the streets, there were no crowds to drown out the ambiance, no space for satomobiles and no large glowing neon signs advertising the most popular spirits in the district. Down here, there was a little known Zen den and with the right words, a door to another world... or at the very least a piece of it. Here, there was nothing but silent whispers through ever encroaching walls, the scratching of mice in the darker corners of forgotten rooms and the sound of water droplets eerily reminiscent of lazy, lost rain. The Underground, as some would call it, was very much a maze where any and all discernible paths or rooms seemed to be cut crudely out of the Earth itself. Some efforts had been made to make it seemingly more or less comfortable with a smattering of metal and wood panels from the filth left of the world above. The collage of repurposed trash woven together vaguely described the boundaries of each space, giving way to some crude excuse of an underlying structure. This structure in turn described something of a genesis of a patchwork city, still in its infancy but growing nonetheless. Throngs of thick bundles of exposed wiring marked the lifeblood feeding whatever struggled to survive down here. They fed into lights, half of which were shattered and danced sparks haphazardly into the air. They fed into wayward appliances like the lone radio in the corner or the shattered monitor on the wall that blinked images of the Middle Ring and the impending celebrations. It also fed into a peculiar table situated in the center of a dusty room. Lights flitted around quietly just under the surface and lasers pushed those lights into the space directly above it, constructing a three-dimensional render of their slice of the lower ring.

[color=white]"Cutting power would be the most effective way."[/color] There was a short pause and a man pointed at a section of the image, touching the edge of a building and highlighting it red. [color=white]"The one plant powers the entire city and yes, they have the backups but with Holding [i]here[/i]..."[/color] He tapped another edge and highlighted a second building that stood only an arms length away from a third building that was highlighted in yellow. A thin red line appeared tracing a path between the two. [color=white]"...We have enough time to get in and get her out before they kick in and return power."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"I don't like it."[/color] Another chimed in. [color=6ecff6]"The risk... it's high. And if we decide not to do anything, there's a chance RSF might release her because she [i]isn't[/i] a Bender. She's done some shady shit in the past but she's smart. She's clean. Kept everything off the books."[/color]

[color=white]"How about out of her head?"[/color]

[color=f9ad81]"That is a lot of fucking names."[/color] A third voice.

[color=white]"That is a lot of fucking faces."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"My point is. We go in and we fuck this up in any way, we don't get the shit fucks for security we're dealing with now. They'll start sending troops from the inner rings. You're talking about upsetting [i]all[/i] of the Republic to buy maybe a [i]minute[/i] of a window. Even if we get in there and get her out, it's all chaos afterwards."[/color]

[color=f9ad81]"You came to us because we have the manpower and the weapons for this. We know and if not, I can get in contact with someone inside. Have them do her in there."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"No. W-we're not fucking killing her. And we're not about to start another war."[/color]

[color=white]"What we're not going to do is risk everything for one person. Maybe she doesn't talk. Maybe she's got it in her to cut off her own tongue before they can ask questions but she's rubbed shoulders with too many people. She's been alive too long. Knows too much."[/color]

[color=f9ad81]"They have ways."[/color]

[color=white]"Ye-, they have fucking ways to pull that information out and they will. Besides, when was the last time you heard of the RSF letting someone go who was evenly remotely involved or related to someone who could [i]potentially[/i] bend.[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"...Never."[/color]

[color=white]"Either way, she's a liability now to [i]everything[/i]. It has to be done one way or another."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"She's not going to like this."[/color]

[color=white]"[i]Sakani[/i] is not here and if she were... Look, I get that she was close, that you both were. It's a hard decision but it has to be made."[/color]

[color=6ecff6]"Yeah. Fine. So plan A is the break out and plan B is... taking her out. Parade will start soon and security will be pulled from the outer ring to the middle. Do we start then?"[/color]

[color=f9ad81]"We start now. There is a Pai Sho tile on the board that just so happened to arrive. Free for the taking."[/color] The third man hit a button on the edge of the table and the render of the map was dropped for another image. This one of a girl with blonde hair.

[color=6ecff6]"Who is that?"[/color]

[color=f9ad81]"Leverage. Keep the RSF at bay or if we must... may keep your 'Gran-Gran' alive."[/color][hr][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent][indent]
[sup][h1][sub][sub][sub][sub][sub][img]https://i.imgur.com/dQjIHRb.png[/img][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/sub][/h1][table=bordered][row][cell][/cell][cell][/cell][/row]
[row][cell][img]https://i.imgur.com/HcDIa6Z.jpg[/img][/cell][cell][center][color=2e2c2c]__________________________________________________________________[/color]
[color=2e2c2c]__________________________________________________________________[/color]
[img]https://txt-dynamic.static.1001fonts.net/txt/dHRmLjQ0LmZmZi5Wbmx6YTJFZ1RHa2dUVzl2YmcsLC4wAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA/signoria.regular.png[/img]
[right][i][color=gray]...is arrived at the plant in the Lower Ring.[/color][color=2e2c2c]___[/color][/i][/right][/center][/cell][/row][/table][/sup]
[/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent][/indent]
[color=lightblue]"Do you need this?"[/color] Jack held out a device about the size of her closed fist; A rebreather designed to be as small and as easy to use as possible. This one in particular fit comfortably around the mouth, creating a seal around the lips and nose without a loop around the ear.

Vyska, however, shook her head. Although she'd wrinkled her nose briefly, she was quick to force her lungs to adjust. There was a near constant tinge of metal and dust in the air, enough to taste it on her breath as she exhaled, but she wouldn't let it affect her. [color=bca346]"It stinks."[/color] She answered honestly. [color=bca346]"But no. You?"[/color]

Jack shook his head as well. [color=lightblue]"Believe it or not, I grew up in this."[/color]

[color=bca346]"I know."[/color]

There was a short pause before Jack's expression turned to mild amusement.

[color=lightblue]"Oooh. Okay. Someone's in a joking mood today. You do know that I'm in charge of your well-being right? I could probably end you, get rid of the body and still have at least the rest of the day to chase after Ms. Xiao before anyone knows what happened."[/color]

[color=white]"Ms. Moon!"[/color] A man in a hard hat and an orange vest called out to her as he entered the landing pad. A badge dangling off the breast pocket read him as Mark Maxis. [color=white]"Mark. It's a pleasure to see you again!"[/color] He reached in for a handshake which Vyska took. 

[color=bca346]"And a pleasure to see you as well. It's been some time since my father had me here for a tour."[/color]

[color=white]"Yes. You've grown so much since then. Oh!.. And as I'm sure you're already aware, he's doing fine at the Synergy Plant. Said he was looking forward to hearing about you chastising us during your visit. We've buttoned up in anticipation of your arrival because of his warnings."[/color] 

Vyska let a genuine smile pierce through her more professional poise to the girl underneath who was simply excited to do the work her family had been for years. There was a hint of anticipation in her eyes as she started toward the doors that lead to the rest of the plant. [color=bca346]"I promise not to be harsh. I'm sure everything is running smooth. Besides, this is less an inspection and more my continuing acclimation to my duties."[/color]

Mark followed quickly behind, slowly over taking the woman before they reached the doors and opening one up for her.

[color=lightblue]"What's that?"[/color]

Jack's voice stopped her before she'd stepped inside and she turned to follow his gaze toward the large security gates at the front of the plant. They were open when they were supposed to be closed although barricades had been put into place and it seemed like there was a small number of men in hardhats crowded around it.

[color=white]"Ah. Maintenance. Routine."[/color]
[/color]