World Tree MUSH

    Having found Tingyun with Diting's help, and properly calibrated the little Ingenium dog to track by scent, the group, and Tingyun head to Stargazer Navalia. The area is a strange mix of shipyard and vivarium, large cuboidal containers with various strange contraptions seeming to grow within them hang in neat rows. More can be seen with what looks like the vestigal form of a StarSkiff inside. Seems the Xianzhou grow their craft instead of traditionally build them.

    Tingyun bows formally as she steps off the Starskiff she brought the group on. "Before Diting can start tracking, as I'm sure you remember, we'll need to find some leads. If Kafka is hiding in Stargazer Navalia, she will have left behind traces. Let's spread out and look for them. Leave no stone unturned~." she says, setting Diting on the ground. "Just so you know, benefactors, once we do find Kafka, I'll have to leave the fighting to you. This is already far beyond my remit as an Amacassidor of the Sky-Faring Commission." she adds.

    The area is wide open, but feels claustrophobic at the same time, the container stacks, some opaque, others that can be seen growing the various models of StarSkiff the Xianzhou use on a daily basis hem in the areas where they're stacked up.

    So the group found Tingyun! This is good. Moving on.
    The group needs leads.
    Clara and Svarog- while cloaked- start to look around.
    "Um!" Clara seems to have found something.
    She's pointing to a broken Cloud Knight glaive that looks like it's been CUT clean through in places.
    

    Talia was following Diting like she was stuck to him with glue, reaching the shipyard in little time at all. She nodded to Tingyun before she took off towards the storage area, poking around with her eyes alert. Using the Force, Talia tried to sense anything that could give her a hint as to where Kafka was, or what she was doing here.

    "Hello there..." She murmured softly as her eyes settled upon a shattered Jade Seal. Curious, what would such an item be doing here?

    "I FOUND A GRENADE!"

    Jessica's voice isn't upset or panicked. Oh no, she sounds excited! Sure, it seems to be a dud, but should she really be waving around the purple, lipstick-marked item she found? At least she's wearing gloves while handling it, huh?

    Unlike a certain someone, Bi De is far more cautious. The chicken clucks, drawing attention to himself before hopping up to perch on a small chest. He fluffs his wings and announces, "I found a trap."

    At least he assumes it's a trap. It's like when your story opens with the arrival of an unmarked package from a strange man in a trenchcoat. You just gotta roll with it and find someone willing to open the mail bomb.

    March follows Clara, and kneels down to inspect the shards. "Kafka must've done this, she's got a scary-sharp sword." she remarks. She gathers a couple of shards up in a little bag so her scent doesn't contaminate the shards too much.

    Talia's find earns Tingyun's attention. "A, a Jade Seal. The Shipwrights use them to access various areas... it looks like someone used it, then destroyed it -- Likely this was Kafka." she remarks, and crouches to gather the broken passkey and put it in a little bag.

    Stelle blinks at Jessica. "What's that on the side? Lipstick?" she leans in, unconcerned by the apparently unexploded ordnance. "A small something for the lost... that definitely sounds like Kafka."

    Welt comes over to inspect what Bi De has found. "Kafka is a dangerous woman, but she doesn't use traps like this. It feels more like a simple taunt, but we had best not open it just yet... from what I can hear from the others we may have enough to get started at least." he remarks to the rooster. "Come, let's meet up with them." he offers, "You can perch on my shoulder if you like, Mister Bi De."

    Once everyone regroups, Tingyun offers the items gathered to Diting, who woofs and scampers off toward a transfer lift. Following along, Welt offers a few words to instill caution. "I think we've rounded up all our suspicious clues... but did Kafka leave them behind on accident, or on purpose? It seems that the Hunter might just be the Hunted instead."
    March grumbles. "She put a lot of work into this gag, and we're the punchline. I can almost hear her whispering: 'Come and get me'."
    Stelle nods. "That would be suitably Kafkaesque."
    March snorts. "Why don't you go and marry her, huh?"

    "Remember, she is on the IPC's most wanted list. A fugitive that noone can seem to pin down for long. We must be swift, benefactors, time is of the essence and we must be getting close."

    "She does seem to be that kind!" Jessica huffs. "We had to deal with stuff like that sometimes back home, but usually they weren't so um... casual about things, you know?"

    As for the comment of Welt, Jessica points out, "Unless she makes a habit of kissing her grenades, this is probably on purpose." A pause. "Um... not that... doing that is a problem if it's um... a custom here, it's just not what we do at home, because a lot of our grenades have originium in them. So it's not safe. But maybe it's okay here! And that's fine!"

    Another pause. "Right let's go!" Chasing criminals much better than social awkwardness.

    "I do not think kissing explosive ordinance is a custom here." Svarog speaks up from where he's cloaked. His voice just comes out of nowhere.
    "It is most likely a personality quirk of the target."
    ONWARD though!
    Clara goes to follow Jessica.

    Through all of this, Bi De just... generally doesn't ask to ride on shoulders. It is a risk to ask if he'd like to! The kung fu rooster may take it as an insult, after all.

    From how he wiggles as he settles heavily on the shoulder, that isn't the case.

    "I agree. Perhaps it should be held back until we truly need a new clue. It is so easy to become distracted in your task, and we should focus on what we have now."

    "Curious that this professional criminal would keep a dud on her for this. Maybe a calling card?" Talia asks as she inspects the unexploded grenade. She scratches her chin curiously. "Seems she has fun toying with her prey. A confident criminal is often either overly sloppy, or crafty enough to outmaneuver you."

    Diting is studious in tracing the scent trail... until it stops dead in its tracks, it barks once. "What do you mean you lost the trail?" asks March incredulously.

    A trio of Cloud Knights step out from behind some of the crate stacks on a higher balcony area overlooking the one the group are in. More seem to appear from other areas, surrounding the group. Kafka then steps out on the balcony. "When the trace of the hunted disappears, the hunter better thing twice~." she coos, "It might mean the tables have turned."

    Tingyun looks at the Cloud Knights, "These people aren't Mara-struck, what did you do to them?!" she demands, shifting into the middle of the gathered fighters. She isn't a fighter, after all.

    "Just a little persuasion to get them to listen to me. but you know about that already, don't you, Stelle?" replies Kafka with a little chuckle, and a wink toward the grey-haire Trailblazer. "What a hassle, this place is too far for the diviner... see you up ahead~." she says, before sauntering off as the Cloud Knights suddenly become aggressive.

    They follow the trail!
    And there's Kafka!
    But more problematically are the Cloud Knights that have been pitted against the party.
    "... Please don't hurt them too badly, Mister Svarog." Clara pleads.
    This is when Svarog de-cloaks...
    And finger flicks a man on the forehead with enough force to knock a man out.
    "Affirmative, Clara."

>> SUMMARY[Clara] >> This is Svarog being 'gentle'.

    Talia raises a brow as suddenly Kafka makes her entrance. "You made this easier to find you than I expected." She says, "I can't promise you a fair trial but I -will- do my best to get you one. But you have only one chance at that."

    The goons rushing them are met with Talia's will, as she uses the Force to try and knock them off their feet, even grabbing one by his ankle and tripping him up so his fellows stumble like dominos.

    "Oh dear..." Jessica's pistol is out, but she hesitates. It's not exactly non-lethal after all, and it sounds like these are people that she shouldn't be just shooting! So she scoots toward the back, only taking a shot to disable a weapon if she can, and humning worriedly.

    "I really don't like people who use human shields..."

    A pause.

    "Or chicken shields. Or robot shields."

    This, then, is more Bi De's area of expertise. Nonlethal combat! Of course, leaping from the shoulder, his talons gleam... but those are not used to assault. Instead, he does a twirl, buffeting with wings and qi-enhanced body slams.

    "They may have bruises, but they should survive without permanent or serious injury," he adds, hopping back before his Aegis flares, to block a strike and protect some of the others.

    March is with Jessica on this. Her arrows aren't exactly non-lethal, so instead she points at Svarog, and a skin of Six-Phase ice grows over his armour plates. The sheeting doesn't hamper his movements, but a lucky glaive strike that gets past any deflection finds no purchase in it and the strike glances clean off. "Don't worry about your defenses Mister Svarog, I've got you covered!"

    Stelle, meanwhile, is using her bat. It's blunt, it hurts more, but it also doesn't cause as many nasty injuries that can lead to infection or that annoying thing called 'blood loss'. She bonks helmets, concaves chestplates, and otherwise disables as many as she can, while frowning as she goes over Kafka's words.

    Talia manages to domino a whole squad of Cloud Knights, the seven or so troopers all collapsing into a groaning pile, while Jessica manages to shoot the blades off a few glaives with the high-power of her handcannon's rounds.

    Bi De finishes off the rest, his Aegis redirecting a few final strikes back at their issuer and sending them sprawling from the feedback.

    Most of them are confused, but alive. None of them ask questions, just lay where they fell, clearly unable to fight anymore.

    Poit poit. Jessica's ears quiver, and she keeps her pistol handy. "Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!" She shouts as she threads through the fallen defenders. "We'd better hurry to catch up! But be careful! Miss Kyras, can you help make sure we aren't walking into more traps?"

    She's not entirely clear on what Talia's powers are, so is just going to assume she is some kind of space wizard with a Detect Traps spell.

    Hopefully Talia didn't subclass into Jedi Evoker or something.

    Svarog, thusly shielded by March's ice, goes to town.
    Fingerflicking guys left and right like it's the wild freaking west, pew-pewing dudes down like a sheriff gone rogue before he steps over the unconscious guys.
    "We should proceed, but cautiously." You know.
    Before Kafka can get away.

    Talia uses martial arts to disable goons left and right. There's no point in cutting them down when they can be u brainwashed later. She'll apologize later, with tea hopefully. Her punches kicks and joint locks aren't as simplistically effective as Svarog's hits, but Talia has her own finesse. And the Force!

    Now on his own two feet, Bi De dashes forward, wings fluttering to keep his step light and 'hopping' along. This will also make it a lot harder for, say, pressure plates, but he's largely just doing it to keep up with all these UNREASONABLY LONG LEGS that are moving. "It appears they are all largely unharmed, but they likely were not meant to hurt us, only to slow us down."

    March, once the last stragglers goes down, darts off. "Quick! Don't let her escape!" she shouts.
    Welt calls after her. "March, not so fast!" but it's no use, the archer girl is already deadsprinting.

    Following March, and Kafka by extentsion, the group spot Kafka at the top of some stairs, walking almost casually away. "So close, and yet so far... you'll have to pick up the pace~." she drawls, walking through an access door in one of the partition grates, and waves her hand at the mechanism, causing it to close behind her and go into lockdown.

    "There's no way through?" asks Stelle, tapping at the door, then at the grate-work around the door, then eying if she could maybe make a jump over it.

    "Don't worry about locked doors, benefactors. We can use the conveyer belts." suggests Tingyun, as she saunters up after the group have stopped... seems she's not much of a runner either.

    A short puzzle of moving freight containers and moving conveyer belts later, Diting chimes in with a yip, and scampers off. "Looks like Diting's picked up the trail.

    After following the little robo-doggo, Kafka can be seen standing out in the open, arms folded under her chest. She smiles condescendingly. "Welcome, Astral Expressers. Looks like you caught me~."

    Talia's agility and speed carry her from crate to crate She even helps the less agile through the conveyor belts with grace and a smile. For her this is just an exercise where she parkours across obstacles and jumps over gaps.

    Once she corners Kafka, Talia draws her lightsaber and it flashes to life as she aims it at the thief. "NOW will you surrender? Please?"

    Svarog is good with box pushing puzzles.
    He can push boxes all day. He's just that strong.
    "Please come quietly." Clara says gently when the party encounters Kafka once again.
    "Come quietly. Or there will be... Trouble." Svarog does his best Robocop impression to back Clara and Talia up.

    Boxes are something that Jessica is used to, even if she isn't buff enough to do a lot of pushing. She can help, but largely she ends up... uh... standing on one of the boxes as the belt moves, looking comfortable on the high perch.

    So when the group finally makes it to seeing Kafka, she's there! With her gun! "You've really put a lot of effort into this! Are you going to make us keep doing this the hard way?"

    Kafka seems completely unfazed by the group charging up.

    Stelle levels her lance at the Stellaron Hunter. "You have the right to remain silent."

    Kafka... actually remains silent.

    Welt adjusts his glasses. "Admit it, Kafka. You planned for us to come here.

    Kafka scoffs. "I didn't plan anything. It was the future. We interfere on countless future possibilities and make the best one, real." she replies. "You speak too highly of us, Welt. The Stellaron Hunters are merely... destiny's slaves."

    "Best future? For who!? As if you'd consider anyone but yourself." snipes March, bringing her bow up and nocking an arrow.

    "If I said 'Best for the Universe' would you believe me?" asks Kafka with a mirthless giggle. "Best for me, naturally."

    "If you want to fight, quit stalling!" barks Stelle, getting uncharacteristically angry.

    "We're taking you to the general of the Luofu. You can profess your innocence all you like, but the general will decide your fate." states Welt as he lifts his cane and brandishes the grip at Kafka.

    "Oh... thanks, but no thanks. I can't stand moving at someone else's pace." retorts Kafka as she gestures... pink 'threads' come into view, as a group of more Cloud Knights step out, as if puppeteered. "We don't have much time. If I were you, I'd make a move before it's too late." she purrs, and draws her katana, and unholsters one of her submachine guns.