barrierabovethecrowd | CMO 4/2024 ー名前を呼んでくれー

[ Of course she can't have normalcy for even a good hour, a feeling from her time at the Foundation that she hasn't missed in the slightest. It's this kind of rush into action that makes her realize that she's had it good for far too long in Starsand.

She has to let out a breath that she hadn't thought that she was even holding, finishing the last bits of her sandwich before stretching her hands up and hopping right off of her seat. ]

Okay, looks like it's back to work, huh?

[ Inaba says this as if dealing with this sort of thing was just another day ending with "y" as she goes ahead to walk towards the supply box and start grabbing what she's going to need.

Her unfamiliarity with the world and how things work does put her at a rather obvious disadvantage in a dire situation, but she'd like to think of herself as quick-witted enough to pick up on things as she goes. She's had to fly by the seat of her pants before in the past plenty of times, now is absolutely no different.

Once supplies are obtained it's time to crack her knuckles and properly set up--if she's lucky, locations will be marked. If she's not, well that's what asking's for. ]

We haven't really been able to catch a break, either, if that's any consolation...

[The mapping device is intuitive enough, at the very least -- Inaba fiddling with it will eventually lead to the map itself being opened up and displayed as a hologram, one of a bird's eye view of St. Fountain. There are a number of spots marked off with places for Mei and Bronya to deploy to, and several signatures displayed as rings expanding outward before dissipating. The map also has a pin squarely where Inaba first showed up in the area - marked as 'Unusual Honkai Reaction'; follow-up notes indicate that it wasn't the product of something called a "Stargate"...

More urgently, there's four signatures marked with several names -- Carole, Adam, Lyle and Timido... and closer observation will show that the group of four is moving towards a bridge overlooking the outer regions of the city.

Bronya double checks her map in preparation, and scans through; in her rush, it looks like she's overlooked this, and is preparing to set off to the area marked as the Van Hoek Hotel...]

I'm going on ahead. I should be able to catch them before they run into anything else. Squad Leader Raiden, are you ready?

I'll be doing a sweep of the hideout. I'll follow after you soon.

[There's not much time before she sets off...]

It's not, but at least I'll be aware of what to expect...

[ Her eyes do light up at the hologram, however; technology like this wasn't really all that common in both her hometown of Yokohama, Japan or even Starsand, so her interest is absolutely piqued as she looks at the map. It's rather extensive, to say the least, which is good for her.

She'll have to ask for a glossary of terms later, though, once she has the time to. ]

They're heading towards a bridge...?

[ It's spoken aloud with quite a bit of curiosity. She doesn't have enough knowledge of this world to know why they would be heading in that direction besides the obvious - being able to see the surrounding areas for a better view of the situation. ]

[Just as she was about to get moving, Bronya catches what Inaba said--and that sets off an alarm in her head, bringing her to an equally sudden stop.]

Did you say 'bridge'--!?

[The closest thing to Bronya raising her voice also pulls Mei out of leaving the room. There's a heightened urgency that wasn't there before--]

Lion's Head Bay Bridge is walled off...! They're going to get trapped against the barrier if they keep going that way!

[--and when that's the first thing out of her mouth...

If Inaba follows up on Mei's information, she'll find a marked line that forms part of the circular barrier encasing St. Fountain, denoting a 'previously-absent' segment; whatever is keeping them in has also firmly cordoned the bridge from access... and the four signatures denoting the rest of the pair's squads are drawing closer to it.

Bronya has to grit her teeth at all this. What are they thinking--!?]

Looks like doing a sweep just outside the hideout will have to wait... Bronya, let's go!

Right! [She turns to Inaba as she redoubles efforts towards setting off.] We need to focus on clearing a path for them. Try to get them to go towards the hotel instead.

If they ask, tell them you're an associate of ours. They'll get that much straight away.

[ Yep, she's immediately checking in on that the very second that she gets the new piece of information. Bronya's not the only person who finds themselves gritting their teeth; it sounds like the information about the bridge might have potentially been common knowledge, which only raises even more questions.

But there's no time to think about that right now, she has to refocus her efforts-- ]

Alright, got it. I'll try and get into contact with them right now.

[ Hopefully she actually can, though. She's going to try and patch through... ]

Thank you. Hopefully it isn't too late to get through to them...

[And with that, both veterans set off, leaving Inaba by herself in the hideout. ...it probably feels a lot emptier, in the silence that hangs overhead while she tries to patch a connection through. She might even be disconnected at least once -- at least that didn't have anything to do with whatever interfered with communications leading out of the barrier. The lack of a response to Inaba's hailing might also be a problem in itself, before long.

Eventually, someone does pick up -- the girl from earlier. She sounds a bit more out of breath now compared to the earlier call...

"Sorry, can it wait--!? We're still trying to get away--!"]

[ The emptiness and loneliness... it's something that she is admittedly used to; from working at a cubicle filing away paperwork like a drone at the Foundation to her early years isolating herself from other people because she was afraid, because she didn't trust others.

She can't say that feeling has gone away, not entirely.

But she shakes it off when the other voice spoke up. ]

It can't. [ Inaba's voice is sturdy and calm. ] Hi, you probably don't recognize me, I'm an acquaintance of Mei and Bronya's-- they're on their way, but they also told me to inform you that you guys are heading straight for the bridge and that's not going to help any of you and that you should try and head towards the hotel because otherwise you'll be trapped against the barrier; which I can only guess is a bad thing for all of you.

["Wait, wait, I didn't catch all of that--!?"

Adam catches the fuss -- there's the sound of something being ripped out on the other end, followed by... screaming? Wailing? It was hard to tell what that noise was supposed to be -- but it seemed like one of the monsters they were dealing with was dead. It's still not a sound anyone wants to hear.

Either way, Adam isn't sure what's going on, but if the Squad Leader brought in some help, they have to be some level of trustworthy...

"We didn't have much choice in the matter--!" There's brief struggling, then something being smacked away before he continues. "We nearly got caught by a self-destructing construct!"

One of the other names -- Timido -- pops up on the feed. The meek voice contrasts heavily against the situation on the other end. "It was my fault... I--I'm sorry you had to go out of your way...!"

...Mei and Bronya haven't patched in. It might be a bit before they get in touch and help coordinate.]

[ Inaba finds herself wincing a little bit at the awful sound; it's definitely not something she wanted to hear at all... she frowns and opts to ask: ]

Is there any way you guys can loop back around?

CMO 4/2024 ー名前を呼んでくれー

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