January 18, 2019, 5:08 pm.

"Uhhhh. Yeah, they're amazing," Beth answers noncommittally, glancing at the model ships for a second. "Now, any chance you can tell us what happened here, bud?"

"My name is Luggett Ell. You can call me Lugget Ell," he replies, ignoring her question while crossing his arms once more, the model ship held carefully.

"Sure thing, Luggett Ell. Any chance you can tell us what happened," Beth repeats with a straight face.

"Uh-huh. Forerunners happened. They invaded during the final evacuation. Killed Calvin Sbohh'n right in front of me. Condemned poor Vincal Sbohh'n to her soul-death. She was his bond-mate," he starts, swinging his hands wide, playing out the motion of being stabbed.

"Pretty sure that's all that saved me. When she attacked them, the Forerunners ran after her, not bothering to finish me off. Then I stumbled my way up to my room. I tried to send a distress call, but we'd already taken ourselves offline in preparation for the conservatory barrier going up. Since it felt like I was dying, I finally told Cook he was an ass, locked my door, then climbed into my stasis chamber. I'm amazed the Forerunners didn't break in here to steal all my models. You know this one is worth over 200 essence?" He asks rhetorically while cradling the small 'stack of plates'-shaped ship in his hand. Even as he's talking Beth tries to interject several times.

"Wait. Forerunners attacked you? Why?" Beth asks when he finishes, sounding shocked.

"Who can know with those forge-bound fanatics. Probably because I was in the way. Attacking me, boarding my ship, stealing every piece of system tech they could get their hands on, they're almost as bad as Reavers. Luckily, they're not able to stay for long before the system catches them," Luggett replies as he lovingly sets his ship back on the display case.

"Does this happen often, Forerunners stealing system tech?" I wonder. I'm still uncertain of how I feel about them. I mean, the Forerunners kidnapped and sent us to a strange world where we had to struggle to survive. But they also gave us awesome abilities to deal with it. At least I'm thinking it was them. Plus, I'm not certain, but I have a suspicion they're the source of our citizenship too.

"Uh-huh. Once or twice a decade at least. Course, I've been asleep for a few hundred years, so that could have changed. I'm a little out of date," Luggett admits as he settles himself into the chair at his desk with a grunt.

"What are these Reavers you mentioned?" Roberts inquires.

"Reavers are….. Well unpleasant. They're a genocidal hivemind whose drones are immune to the system. They create all sorts of different biological servitors. They have a bunch of different sub-species. Including their gene-morphers who show up prior to their invasions. Reavers aren't much of a threat to a core world, but out here? Well, I'm glad the barrier is up. I'd rather not be skinned alive then forced to watch something slip into my skin like a suit."

"Nasty," Josh mutters.

"This barrier. You mentioned it's shut down travel. Is there any way you can help us with the quest?" Beth asks. "Or is there another way to get off-world? We don't have a lot of time. Our home is under threat from some form of apocalypse. Something called a mana-swarm, I believe,"

"That's unfortunate. Not much you can do once a mana-swarm tendril starts snaking its way towards a world. Might consider the inability to get off-world a blessing. At least this way you don't have to watch your world go through the upheaval. I hear that's hard on natives."

"Is there anything you can tell us about mana-swarms?" Beth nearly begs.

"Sure. Lots and lots. But you need to fill out non-disclosure form B-41, consent form A-3, non-liability form C-3124 and agree to the proprietary, citizen-only, mana-swarm awareness subsystem terms of service," he answers, holding a pad out in Beth's direction. When she taps the pad, her eyes go distant.

"Always was jealous of people who could do forms in their heads," Luggett sighs as Beth works.

"Are you unable to do so?" Roberts inquires politely from his position next to Josh who's just staring up at the orc.

"Ha. That's putting it mildly. Builders aren't allowed to be on the system. That's why we all have these," he answers, waving his pad in the air.

"Do you want to be on the system?" Roberts asks while leaning on his staff.

"Nuh-uh. That's more of a second life thing. I'm too young to be worried about that. I haven't even found my bond-mate yet," Luggett sighs while pulling a new model kit from his pocket which he starts assembling on the desk. "It would make the paperwork easier though."

"It says here that I'm not allowed to discuss any of the information I learn using the PCOMSAS with anyone who hasn't completed these forms or I'll face a system imposed penalty. What is the penalty for breaking the rules?" Beth checks, her eyes focusing on Luggett.

"For a citizen, a fine of a few integration points. Deducted from your attributes if you don't have any points saved up. You do not want to go through that process. Incredibly painful," he answers, flicking a glob of a metallic substance into the air which arcs down to land on his model. When I reach out with metal manipulation, I discover it's liquid titanium. Is he making models out of titanium? No wonder they last so long.

Beth's face twists into a grimace as she asks, "Is that every time?"

"What? Nuh-uh. Once you've broken the rules and paid the price, the system doesn't care," Luggett answers while carefully holding two pieces of his model together.

"Excellent. Then the others don't have to bother filling out the form?" Beth checks with a giant grin on her face.

"Nuh-uh, not if you want to pay the costs. You'd have to be crazy to give up five integration points to avoid some paperwork."

"Yes. But I've always hated paperwork," Beth replies with a perfectly straight face. I'm not sure what she's thought of, but I imagine she has a reason she doesn't want us all signing.

Conversation dies out for another minute while we all wait for Beth to finish. I reshape the platform into a two-sided bench which we can all relax on. I form a few platforms for Smoulder to play on while we wait. Again, I decide to create platforms using two elements at once. Lightning and stone is a useless combo. It's basically just stone. But lightning and earth is interesting, it allows me to create a platform that kind of breathes, expanding and contracting every two seconds.

"Okay. And done," Beth proclaims as Smoulder finishes my mini obstacle course for around the fifth time.

"Really? Wow. That was quick. One second," Luggett requests while setting the model he's working on to the side. "Just let me give a quick double-check. There's usually a mistake or two."

He scans through his pad, his finger flicking against the screen repeatedly. "This is complete. Impressive. I haven't had many people fill out non-liability form C-3124 without missing either the unintentional side effects or accidental death and dismemberment sections. It's poor form design in my opinion, but I'm not going to be the one who fills out form Ω-1 to request a change."

"Thank you. So, how do I…" Beth starts before falling silent. "Ah. I see."

"Oh. This is going to be rather intensive, isn't it?" Beth adds after a moment of reading, looking up at Luggett.

"Uh-huh. But it's a comprehensive package. It should have every piece of information the system has related to the mana-swarms. Well, I guess it's a few hundred years out of date now, but new discoveries haven't been made regarding mana-swarms in thousands of years."

"Okay. I'll read over this tonight. I think it's time for us to head out. What about you?"

"What do you mean?" Luggett replies with a yawn. It's a big yawn, but he's a big guy and he did just wake up from four hundred years of sleep.

"Are you staying here, or do you want to join us?"

"Oh. I'm afraid I can't leave. Not allowed now that the dungeon protocol has been initiated. Going outside would be an instant end. Quick trip to my second-life," he replies with nonchalance.

Beth stops for a second, looking at him before she speaks, "So, you're just going to stay here then?"

"Uh-huh. I'll take a look at my equipment. As long as the Forerunners didn't steal the important bits, I'll let my people know I'm still here. If they did, then I'll have to cobble something together. Then I'll hop back in stasis and wait for retrieval. Luckily, the fools didn't make their way in here. No way they'd have left an original Asimari Vette behind," he proclaims while gazing at a small, sleek model that's all rounded curves and dark lines.

"Wait, if you're able to build machines from scratch, does that mean you're an engineer?" I ask, the model ships suddenly seeming like they should have been a dead giveaway.

"Uh-huh. I'm a communications and data specialist. Graduated shortly before deployment," he answers, puffing out his chest.

"So, if this quest wasn't in the way, could we fly this place out of here?" Beth asks.

"What? Nuh-uh. The city-ships never leave an integrated sanctuary world once we've installed them. The drives are one way," Luggett replies, shaking his giant head, "why not use your own ship?"

"As it happens, our own arrival was also a one-way trip," Beth answers, shrugging.

"Ah. Then I'm afraid you may be here for a while. Unless," he pauses as he uses his pad for a moment, "yes. You'll be able to travel to one of the core worlds in six months and five days. If you're copper rank that is. Which is technically possible. If you dedicate yourself to completing dungeons and are able to resolve the anti-corruption issue quickly enough."

"I'm sorry, but what precisely would getting to one of these core worlds achieve?" Roberts inquires.

Luggett looks at Roberts as if he's a child, which given our size difference is kind of funny. "I don't know how you managed to earn citizenship without knowing about the core worlds. But to answer your question, you can arrange passage from any core world. Even to systemless worlds, though it'll cost you."

Beth stands from the benches, "well, thank you for the answers. How much longer until you go into stasis?"

"Oh, a couple of days at least. Most of my equipment was already set in standby mode when the Forerunners attacked. It's one of the only times we're actually vulnerable. So, I'll need to reactivate it. Of course, that's assuming that the Othere-cursed Forerunners haven't stolen everything. I'll be working for a week if I have to rebuild the transmitter from scratch," he answers while setting the partially complete model to the side.

Beth nods as she prompts the rest of us to get up, "Well, if you don't mind, can we stop back in? We have a lot of questions that you could answer."

He's nodding his large head before Beth's finished speaking, "Uh-huh. It's always a pleasure to talk to those who've proven their dedication to the Techdom. There are some things I'm prohibited from sharing, even with citizens, but I'll answer all I can."

"Thank you. We'll let you get back to your work Luggett Ell," Beth bows slightly, then the rest of us copy her.

"Nice meeting you," I add, reclaiming my metal before I follow Beth out into the hall.

"Well, that went surprisingly well," Roberts notes as we step back outside.

"Agreed. And I've got a lot of new information to go through. Let's finish sweeping these Quarters then get out of here. I'd like to hit another challenge today," Beth says, leading us to the next floor down.

"Hey Beth," Josh interjects before we start down.

"Yeah slugger?"

"Did you see him pull that pad out from under his bed? Do you think the cook had a similar storage space?"

Pausing, Beth turns back to look at him. Right, I almost forgot about that.

"I expect it's a standard feature," Roberts notes.

"Think we should ask Luggett about it?" Beth responds with a grin.

"I'll go," I volunteer.

"We can all go," Beth counters before we turn back, knocking on his door. I considered flying straight in, but now that I know it's his room, that would be weird.

"Oh. Hello again, citizens," Luggett greets as he opens his door.

"Hi. We just had a couple more questions. Oh, I'm Alexis by the way," I inform him while holding my hand out to shake.

"How can I help citizen Alexis?" he asks, shaking my hand gently.

"First, is it okay if we keep searching through your ship?"

"Uh-huh. It looks like everyone else is gone," he indicates his pad as he responds, "and they won't be coming back. Otherwise, now that we're in a dungeon, technically everything is free for you to take. Except my ships. Don't touch my ships."

"Oh, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't mess with any of the equipment in engineering until I've sent my message. If you find anything interesting, just ask me and I'll let you know if I need it."

"So, if we were to find something in, say, the cook's room, we could keep it?" Beth asks.

"Uh-huh. If you manage to get into his larder, you should let me know. I've always wondered what he kept in there."

"Excellent. Thanks again, Luggett Ell," Beth responds, turning away as I wave goodbye to the green giant.

Heading back up, we go straight into Cook's room, Beth and Roberts going to where we saw Luggett pull his pad from beneath his chamber.

It takes them a minute to figure out how to operate it. Roberts and Beth are arguing back and forth about how to properly lever it, to get it open, when Josh steps forward. With a quick tug, he pops the compartment open. Inside we find several mana essences, a few more recipes and a journal written on the plastic book pages.

Pulling it out, the first thing we do is count the mana essence. There are twenty-three iron rank mana essence. That's huge. That's roughly the equivalent of four points for all six of us.

The journal has hundreds of entries. After a cursory check, Beth makes the executive decision to read through it later. Roberts volunteers to go through it as well as the recipes, so Beth hands them over.

Now that we've met Luggett, Beth has decided we can split up for the rest of the search. I reach out to Rufka, letting her know we're just checking a few more floors.

"Good. I think I've figured out how we can modify these gliders, but it's going to take me more than a week with the tools and resources I have on hand. I think Raz might be able to help knock that down though. With the stuff I've seen him put together, he must have access to a workshop of some kind," Rufka answers. Oh yeah. I may have forgotten about the gliders.

"Cool. You know how last time we explored this place, we found almost nothing? This time, we discovered a whole bunch of stuff. We even met a Builder," I reply as we continue our search.

"Truly, what's he like?" Rufka asks. I fill her in. After telling her about Luggett, his model ships and how he'd been attacked by Forerunners, I continue telling her about everything else as well. Especially telling her about the observatory where I carried out my experiments with teleportation.

We make excellent time as we search the remaining floors. It helps that they're completely empty. We're finishing the last room right about the time Rufka has started asking me for more details involving the Phothen world-ship. I try to tell her what I can, but she's not satisfied with my crude 'over the phone' description. She extracts a promise that I provide her with several sketches of the world-ship once we get back to Raz's.

But I don't give it to her for free. In exchange, I demand my own flask of moonshine. I tried insisting on something better tasting than the moonshine. Unfortunately, the next best she's seen, for health edge at least, is a juice that provides four health edge. And it only lasts for two hours.

"Deal. Pleasure doing business with you, Lexi. Just remember, I want at least one sketch before I give you your own flask," Rufka states as we're making our way back through the tunnel to the surface.

"What, you think I'd cheat you?" I pretend to be offended as I respond.

I can see the light from the surface shining down our tunnel when Rufka answers, "Nope. Cause I'll never let you." I can practically hear the smirk in her voice.

Stepping out into the surface, a flash of light draws my attention. Looking up, I see a stormcloud overhead with torrents of rain and lightning crashing down. But the dungeon seems to be shielding us from it, the lightning crashing against an invisible dome, but not having any other effect. Then I realize it's not just the lightning. The rain is washing up against the side of the dome as well.

"It kind of feels like looking through a windshield, doesn't it?" Josh remarks from just behind me, his rose petal helmet unfolding to reveal his face.

"Yeah. It really does," I reply, looking to him with a smile, Smoulder's tail wrapped around my neck like a scarf. A very floofy scarf.

"Another reminder of just how far we have to go," Roberts adds, leaning slightly on his transparent staff.

"Yep. And we'll never get there if we stand around gawking at the rain," Beth states, stepping forward, her dark armour contrasting her fiery hair.

"Let's get to it, people."