Beam Saber - MEKONG: Symphony for the Devil, Episode 5 [LAW V. BULAKLAK]

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Mingleabar, everybody. You are now tuned into another exciting installment of Mekong, the southeast asian space opera adventure of epic proportions. We got another fantastic episode for you in the pipeline. Oh, pipeline. We're already here. We're already giving it to you. We're all here together. It's a story that's filled with political intrigue, passionate romance, generational trauma, and most importantly, some dope ass mechanical battles. All right, so you're tuned into episode five. So you, if you're back from. If you're tuning in from a previous episode, you definitely know who you are. Who we are. This is your first time with us. What Mekong is, is, you know, it's a little bit of Star Wars, a little bit of dune, a little bit of Gundam, a little bit evangelion, a little bit of Pacific rim for you cinephiles out there, a little bit of iron widow for you erudite book nerds, and lots of lore and world building. Based on the rich wellspring of southeast asian history and culture and a metric ton of hindu buddhist cosmology, this story will be seen through the eyes of warriors called ta nang, a caste of pilots who operate uniquely powerful, mechanized chassis called DC. Say xing chao pilots. [00:01:11] Speaker B: Xin chao pilots. [00:01:17] Speaker A: This is gonna be a story of how, through their deeds, decisions, and dice rolls, they will shape the fate of the stars that make up the seven sectors of the Mekong constellation, grapple with the obligations that drove them into this line of work, and perhaps changed the course of this cosmic river forever. My name is Jerry. I'll be game mastering this here game with the help of our amazing cast. Let's go down the line and say hello. First up, playing the pilot of the supadupa, fast flying advertisement called Sparky. We got Klaxon Bulakhlak. Say hello to Ryan. [00:01:51] Speaker C: Hey, everyone, I'm Ryan Omega. I am playing Klaxon Bulak Lock, whose life is full of dogs and sponsorships, and I don't have the dogs right now, so we're going to see what kind of trauma that creates while we're in this particular episode. [00:02:10] Speaker A: Second, she pilots the six armed slayer of demons, a mad Durga class kisi, lovingly called copper pod. We got rupiah taiyang, played by Pooja. [00:02:20] Speaker D: Hey, I'm Pooja, and I'm playing Ripya Tayyang, who definitely does not have any kind of trauma and or residual feelings for people that we have just integrated into our crew. Definitely not. [00:02:37] Speaker A: Nope. [00:02:37] Speaker D: Totes over it. [00:02:41] Speaker A: Thank you for your honesty, Pooja. I'm glad we could be transparent here. Next up, now, short of a mech and a kid and in the cockpit of his dead homies ride, we got, uh, Roman, Maxilla, Andrew Allende. [00:02:59] Speaker E: What is up, everyone? [00:03:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Called out there. [00:03:03] Speaker E: That's right, yes. Playing Roman Maxim. Pronouns. He, him, my pronouns as well. He, him. Uh, yes, I lost my kid, I lost my mech pilot in my dead friend's mech, and now I just adopted a bunch of teenage boys as we're. As we're going through space right now. But you know what? World's worst stat. How could it get any worse? [00:03:22] Speaker B: And finally, I'm getting you a mug world of Heyus, dad. [00:03:30] Speaker A: And finally, with her crownless head back on her shoulders, the pilot of the conquered Krasue we got already vug, played by my dear friend and incredible producer, Clara. What's up, Clara? [00:03:42] Speaker B: Hi. The worst things that could happen to me have happened. And everything is only up. We can only go up from here. [00:03:49] Speaker C: Right, Jerry? [00:03:52] Speaker A: Well, space. In space, there's no real direction that is up. You know, it's all kind of, like, around, you know, just because there's no gravity or nothing like that. We'll be playing Mekong using the beam saber rpg a forged the dark system written by Austin Ramsey, with additional supply drop playbooks written by J. Lo file hazard and Alfe DeMille. You can find links to the cast of Sword of social media accounts by sending exclamation point cast to the chat. And if you'd like to purchase beam Saber for your gaming group or yourself, go ahead. Type exclamation point system. The name of this campaign is symphony for the devil. It is adventure, written by Moi and contains themes that some viewers may find disturbing. There will be depictions of blood, gore, dismemberment, body horror, drug and alcohol use, politically motivated violence, warfare, sexual themes, excessive use of english and non english profanity, as well as references to physical abuse. I think we covered that in the last episode. But either way, the cast and I have discussed our lines and veils and confirm that everybody here is comfortable playing, but we want you watching from home to be safe as well. All right, so let's get this show on the road, shall we, folks? Yeah. And if anybody disagrees with us getting on the show, the road now, please speak in peace. No. Great. All right, let's get. Let's. Let's go. Let's go to a little constellation. I call me Kong. Yeah. Tufim. Mekong. Long ago, when the light of the stars flowed like a river across the heavens, after a harrowing ambush in the ruins of the new backer space colony, the fellowship of the Marigold departs from the debris field with their hides intact and an unlikely set of new allies. Following an emotional reunion with her old flame Dvinder Cage, the Taong Rupiah Taiyang with the assistance of Kallaxin, Bulakhlak and Roman Max lump successfully convince a band of Bajak pirates called the Lost Boys to join them on their mission to the planet Celadang in order to find the legendary sword of Rama. With Devinder serving as their captain, the lost boys revealed themselves to all be disexiled and disenfranchised young men cast out into the void of space as undesirables. Some, like Devinder, have been disowned by their families and had their imperial citizenships revoked. Forced to wander from sector to sector, the lost boys worked as privateers and bounty hunters to keep food in their bellies in hopes that one day they can buy their residency permits back and return to the warmth of atmosphere. It is then, when Devinder tells the group of the Lost Boys mission in Nubakua, they were tasked with capturing the conquered Kasu as privateers for the Chowfran crown. However, after some paternal guidance from good old coach Roman, the boys find a new sense of direction and purpose and join the group's quest and the two ships, the Marigold and the Neverland Express, charter course for Celadang as a caravan. That is, until Kallaxin receives an urgent call from his, uh, agent Angeline. His elder sister, Lady Rubina Bulakhlak, has severed him from his familys wealth, effectively making him a noble in name only, Angelyne panics and now that Kallaxin Bulakhlak racing Enterprises has shuttered and its racers all sworn as retainers for the new Chow Phryan regime, her and her bosss income streams are completely shut off and shes getting married soon. With the marigold of the Neverland Express in desperate need of resupply, the crew navigator Nina Jung agrees to make a detour to Klaxons homeworld of Lancaska, not knowing what awaits them all in the heart of Milayu space. They say home is where the heart is. But whats a home if your heart and all that you value are ripped away from you by those looking to ascend the castes at the expense of others, even with their new friends? Can this band of Tannong find Chandra Hasan Ramas sword in time to stop Bokap din? Or will this excursion to Lancaska make this movement of the symphony their swan song. Find out this week on Mekong simply for the devil. We open on a wide shot of Manjushri Sana palace on Chao Phraya, where a battle breaks out in the palace courtyard. The fighting is intense, and we see the kasu, the apalaki, and the copper pot all on the edge of defeat or outright fallen. Yet heroic music begins to swell, and from the lower half of the frame, sparky speeds up the stairs into the palace gates in that same charge, collapsing with that five. There's, like, five royal marines all kind of just standing there. And you draw your lance out, and you just impale all of them in the same blow, and you crash through the doors. Big cloud of dust kicks up, and, like, you hear, like, some pitter patterns of rocks rattling, falling over, and the dust clears. Big hero shot Sparky standing in the doorway light behind him. And you look inside the palace, you see this big ass portrait of Lady Rubina, your sister. What do you do? [00:10:32] Speaker C: I immediately look around for Lady Rubina, but while I have this insights, I run over to it and I slap one of my sponsorship stickers over her face, especially anything that looks like a monster. [00:10:55] Speaker A: You put, like, a hot sauce logo of, like, this, like, this big, of, like, like, thai chili pepper, but, like, with, like, a really mean face over her. And just as you do that, you hear a young girl shouting and dog yipping, mister block clock over here. And you think back like you did. You failed that first time. When you try to bring her that hope back to her dad, now's your time to finally see that through. Oh, you also hear miss misfits yipping. [00:11:29] Speaker C: He. Yep. He immediately goes for heads to the both of them and opens up a latch so that he can get both of them inside. [00:11:40] Speaker A: You crash down into the palace dungeon, and you see them behind, like, at the end of this hallway, right? And Sparky, you know, clambers over, like, runs towards them, and you see her waving and, like, miss misfit, like, jumping and jumping and just right when you get up there and you bring your cock, your latch open. As you get closer, the hallway seems to get longer and longer. And you kick in the thrusters on Sparky, too, I assume? Yeah, just to see if you can close distance. [00:12:11] Speaker C: Oh, absolutely. [00:12:15] Speaker A: This hallway just keeps going and going and going. And then finally, right when you think you're about to see, get to that last dungeon cell where they are at, and you get to the cell and both miss misfit and hope disintegrate into a thousand crows. They fly all past Sparky, and I. [00:12:35] Speaker C: Immediately don't being swarmed by a lot of those crows. And he just kind of looks around like, okay, something's wrong, something's wrong. And he just checks his sensors. Where are they going? [00:12:51] Speaker A: As the birds all kind of, like, fly past sparky, you hear Kuntilanak's voice. Your efforts will all be for nothing. You slowly turn around as the. All the. These birds, this flock of birds, slowly they reform into the silhouette of a woman. You cannot stop the devil symphony. You cannot save them. Maybe you should give up. [00:13:44] Speaker C: He raised his lance and immediately charges towards the woman. [00:13:53] Speaker A: As you charge at the woman, she disperses back into the flock of birds, all flying in two directions. And now you're charging at another silhouette that appears behind them. And on your. You look down as your sensors pick up a new Gisi signature at the end of this hallway, at the end of this dungeon. Before you can even read what the transport undercode says, you hear something on the radio. It sounds like Hope's voice again, but much more distorted, much more like layered, as if two voices are talking at the same time. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. How I wonder. And you look down at the transponder code that reads conquered morning star. [00:14:37] Speaker C: And. [00:14:38] Speaker A: You see the kisi that you're charging at. It looks like the archangel, but its golden accents have been painted blood red and its armor coated in a dark pitch black. Twinkle, twinkle, little star. [00:14:59] Speaker C: At this point, wed Klaxon think that he's in a dream, because a lot of this doesn't make sense to him. [00:15:08] Speaker A: You know you're dreaming, right? And you know it's a nightmare, right? But it's the kind of nightmare that you ever feel sleep paralysis. [00:15:18] Speaker C: Oh, I've had it in real life, and it is very scary. [00:15:22] Speaker A: You, like, like, you want to realize this is a dream, right? But you, as you try to, like, you know, you pinch yourself. You, like, slap yourself. No, you're stuck here, right? And you hear that twinkle, twinkle, little star speech continue. Dry your tears that fall like rain. Use your hatred to cause pain. Twinkle, twinkle, morning Star at this point. [00:15:52] Speaker C: Klaxon because he realizes that he's in a dream but can't move or do anything active. He just kind of sits quiet and observes everything. He thinks that if he's in a dream like this, that there must be some information that he can glean, which is going to be important that he can take back when he wakes back up. [00:16:15] Speaker A: You observe the conquered morning Star more closely as it sings this song, it takes steps towards you, and you see that the wings that were once angelic in nature had its feathers now resemble Quintilanak's feathers. And the. The mechanics on this mech have the kind of, like, almost like, biomechanical aura that the Kasus has, like, some sort of amalgamation between machine and monster. And she finishes her song, show them what you really are, and it charges right back at you. And. And that's when you hear Jackie shouting, like, jackie's voice, ethereally shouting, and you feel, like, sensations on the side of your face as someone's, like, smacking you, trying to get you out of this. And. And what's going through Klaxon's head right now as this monster machine just eviscerates the sparky. [00:17:25] Speaker C: So the thing that he immediately thinks of is that if this is a dream and he dies, he will wake up. So he does nothing so that he'll wake up immediately. [00:17:40] Speaker A: The machine tears open your cockpit, and you look, gaze into its eyes, and you feel its claws sink right into you, pull you out, and the crunch of ribs. And that's when your eyes snap open, and you're sitting in a meditation circle with you, Jackie, Roman, and Oridy, like, you finally remember what you were doing. Jackie has gathered the three of you here for, like, a traditional tandong warrior meditation, right? But you, I'm gonna let give you a level one harm. That is, you're. You have something. You can just even call it void shock on there. But you wait. Your eyes shoot open, and your hands are shaky, and you're. You're sweating profusely, like your whole jacket is just soaked. Mm hmm. You are not stable. And, like, you look around and you see, like, your fellow pilots, like, they're sat. Well, they're not sat. They're like floating crisscross applesauce. We're still in zero gravity in, like, the hangar bay of the marigold. But Roman and Orty, you see that Kallaxin is definitely not like, you recognize this. You being seasoned math fighters, you know what void shock looks like, you know, or as the medical term for adversary exposure disorder. You know, many cadet Tanrong experience this after their first encounter with the adversary. And usually it can be treated with, like, various grounding rituals, religious or secular. These are the telltale signs of that. [00:19:29] Speaker B: It's pretty obvious right away. Just already, like, kind of unknown unfolds a little bit to, hey, hey, hey. And, like, I'll kind of push off and, like, put my hands on Kallaxon a little bit, just to, like, give him stimulation, like to touch him like something real. [00:19:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:19:50] Speaker C: Kalexin right now is just moving his hands back and forth like this, almost like a repetitive motion to get back into his body instinctively. And he is breathing raggedly, very heavily. When Ordi's hands touch his shoulders, he collapses a little bit, but he continues to move his hands in that same motion. [00:20:16] Speaker B: Yeah. And I'll move my hands down towards your hands. Hey, look at me. [00:20:21] Speaker D: You're here. [00:20:21] Speaker B: We're awake. We're here. Yeah. Okay. I need you to do me a big favor, and it's gonna be really hard because we're in space. What? What? I need you to look at me. What are. What are four things that you can see? [00:20:35] Speaker C: I see. I see a wrench that is floating. That should be in. Attached by Velcro. Someone did not put that away. I see. I see floating sticky rice that was served in the last meal. Why is that floating? Their wife. I see you holding. Holding my hands. I see. [00:21:07] Speaker B: That's three. [00:21:08] Speaker C: I see an area of the showers from this distance, and they boys need to close the door. Oh, my God. [00:21:20] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, close the door. [00:21:23] Speaker C: Oh, my goodness. [00:21:24] Speaker E: Immediately when Klaxon says that, you hear. You see Roman, and you see just the tiniest little twitch of an eye, like, damn it. [00:21:34] Speaker A: We're gonna work on that one open door policy. [00:21:37] Speaker B: Okay, that's not what that means. [00:21:42] Speaker A: But, yeah. Ordie, as you look at Kallaxin. Yeah. You can definitely see he's got all the trademark symptoms of adversary exposure disorder. The reason why it's not categorized the same as, like, you know, PTSD or shell shock or the like is because it's believed that the energies emitted by the Kanma have lingering effects on the human mind and can create visions or delusions or dreams that resemble a Kanma's direct influence in your mind. But it's really like they're just still. They're just sitting in your synapse until you let you make them go away. But some people handle that worse than others. [00:22:16] Speaker B: Cool. I love this for us. And I feel like Kallaxin, like, are you. Does it feel like you're coming down a little bit, or is it, like, is that working for you? [00:22:27] Speaker C: It's working a little bit. It's just. That was intense and probably a sign of things to come. [00:22:36] Speaker A: Jackie's like, what usually the nature of these visions are, I hate to say it, prophetic. So it might be of our best interest for the sake of the quest. What did you see? [00:22:52] Speaker C: Well, I saw that I was racing in a palace, trying to. And I see hope and miss misfit in the distance. And as I am trying to speed towards them, and I put on my thrusters, I don't get any closer. And then when I get there, they just. They disintegrate and turn into a lot of birds. Then they form into a woman, and the woman is basically prophesizing doom and attacks me. [00:23:29] Speaker A: You saw kuntilanak? [00:23:33] Speaker C: Yeah. Oh, my God. Yeah. That's what. That was the same as when I looked outside all that time ago before we were all brought into this, uh. [00:23:46] Speaker D: This group that happens when you make contact. [00:23:55] Speaker B: Uh, she'll be with you for a little bit. [00:23:57] Speaker A: Uh, did you see anything else? [00:24:04] Speaker C: Uh, nothing that I. I'm sorry. I wish I could articulate more. It just happened so fast. [00:24:15] Speaker B: Um, if, uh, is there, do you have a look at. To Jackie? Do you have a notebook or something? [00:24:24] Speaker A: Um, I don't, but let me see if I ask if I can ask Captain Cage. And, yeah, I'm sure I don't know if these boys have. And she, like, pushes off and, like, goes off to go look for Devinder. I was like, I'll be right back. [00:24:39] Speaker B: If you can write anything down. Sometimes it helps to just get it out. Right. [00:24:46] Speaker C: I think also at the point where I realized that I was in a dream, I was putting so much of my energy of trying to wake up and get out that I wasn't paying attention to anything else. [00:24:59] Speaker B: Mm hmm. In case anything jogs your memory. [00:25:03] Speaker A: Roman, did Kolaxen mentioning hope at all do anything to you? [00:25:10] Speaker E: I'm gonna roll for that, actually. [00:25:12] Speaker A: Please. [00:25:12] Speaker E: Yeah, let's see, it completely. It completely affected me on that one. And you hear just, we're doing the meditations, and the mention of hope is, you know, it's starting to make me sweat a little bit. And there's a calming mantra, a prayer that I would say to hope every night before tucking her in to try to calm myself down. Angels east, angels west, north, and south, just do your best to guard and protect her while she rests. Amen. And you see his hands as he's. As Roman's meditating. Start to clench just a little bit and then relax. Roman is still under a lot of stress, considering he's taking care of, you know, a million, you know, young adult boys now. And the thought of hope and also the lost Archangel, you know, compounding now seems to be okay, but, you know, the stress level still, the blood pressure is a little higher than it should be. [00:26:25] Speaker C: Let's say that Klaxon realizes at the point where Roman talks about archangels, like, oh, the archangel. Something about the. The crows merged with the archangel and then suddenly became blood colored. [00:26:44] Speaker E: I'm sorry, they did what to my baby? [00:26:50] Speaker B: Or do you like. I, like, push away a little bit just to float away, just to float back? You know what? Roman's under a lot of stress, and I'm just gonna get out of arms reach. [00:27:02] Speaker A: Yeah. Roman, the thing that you're encountering on this travel, like, the vibe right now is akin to, like, a really dysfunctional summer camp where all the adults are, like, semi functional camp counselors, and all these boys, like, despite your best efforts to parent, like, you've had some successes, but a lot of the times they're like, well, Devinder said it, and it's just a kind of back, like, da Vindra. So we could do it this way. And then there's kind of, like a disconnect happening between two male authority figures. Happening. [00:27:34] Speaker E: Right. I'm gonna. I'm gonna look to the rest of the team right now. You know what? [00:27:40] Speaker A: We're gonna. [00:27:41] Speaker E: I'm gonna go handle that little shower thing. Right, right. I'll be right back. And Roman gets out of the. Out of the circle. Yeah. [00:27:51] Speaker B: Before you go, I'll kind of spar later. [00:27:56] Speaker A: Spar? [00:27:57] Speaker B: Yeah. You can actually see, I think, already has, like, a few bruises because I think they're both handling. I think we're both handling our stress a little. Not okay. [00:28:12] Speaker E: Where's the rage room when you need one? [00:28:14] Speaker B: I think they're like, it's fine. We're vets and we're just gonna punch each other until we feel better. Yep, let it out because we called it sparring. [00:28:24] Speaker E: Yes, it's sparring. [00:28:28] Speaker A: Rupiah, what do you suppose you're doing right about now? I'm sure now that you've reunited with your old beau, you reunited? You had something on the agenda with that? Did you have anything? [00:28:44] Speaker D: Honestly, I think after all of the big explosions and everything from before and then the merging of these two crews and all these kids coming with us into this, what is bound to be a war zone, Rubia is handling things very well by avoiding defender at all costs. [00:29:08] Speaker A: Rupiah, you're kind of just, like, chilling in your quarters with the door kind of ajar, and you see Jackie past her, pop in through the door. She's like, say, rupiah, you wouldn't happen to see Captain Cage, have you? [00:29:24] Speaker D: Nope, nope, nope. Probably, you know, in engineering or something. I don't know, it's not like I'm keeping track of where he is so I can be where he's not or anything. Not at all. [00:29:36] Speaker A: The yantikara being the spiritual type, jackie, like, takes a second, looks you up and down. You know, it's fine to have attachments. It's like, it's a totally human thing to. And I understand that sometimes navigating those can be a hassle, but. [00:30:05] Speaker D: Attachments are fine. It's the loss of attachments that sucks. [00:30:20] Speaker A: I promise you, it might serve you some good to not bottle things up. We're already flying in a tin can, so the last thing we would need here is any flare ups or anything like that. If you need any spiritual counsel, I'm always eventually kind of, like, floats down the hallway. Just let me know. [00:30:44] Speaker D: Yep, I will totally do that. [00:30:47] Speaker A: And. [00:30:50] Speaker D: I think rupiah takes whatever part of this whole. She's avoiding current defender, and at the same time has been obsessively rooting through all the little mementos and knickknacks and things that she kept from her previous life. And one of those things is her marked up copy of the script to the last show that they were working on before that last mission. [00:31:25] Speaker A: And everything went so badly, your eyes wander and you see the third name on the violine Shireen. And does that have any, does that do anything to rupiah? Seeing her name and not seeing her here? [00:31:42] Speaker D: I definitely, like, I touched the name, like, and it's a little worn. It's like, lighter than other markings on it because she has touched these names so many times, it's worn down the ink, and it's like, I had no idea it had gotten so bad for him. But, Shereen, you were always so much better at the emotional stuff than I was. And I wish you were here now. And I hope the reason that you're not isn't what I'm afraid of. And on that, she. I'm gonna close the script. [00:32:24] Speaker A: And, like, you see standing in the doorway, Devinder's like, afraid of what? [00:32:31] Speaker D: Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Hides the script behind her, like, shoves it half under the blanket. [00:32:40] Speaker A: He leans on the doorway. You see the hook hanging out from the coat. I just want to come by and let you know that we're going to be exiting jump space soon. We're coming up on a Lankasuka, so just letting you know. [00:33:01] Speaker D: Thanks to defender. [00:33:05] Speaker A: Yeah, like, wraps his knuckle on the doorway and then floats down where Jackie went. [00:33:16] Speaker D: Get out and find the rest of the crew. Hopefully they know. Let me let them know. [00:33:20] Speaker A: You go off to find the rest of the crew. You head to the hangar, opposite direction. Before you head the opposite direction, and in the hangar, where all the mechs are, you see Klaxon and orty sitting or floating and Kallaxin in a cold sweat with his hands doing the thing. [00:33:37] Speaker D: It's like, Derp was an exercise we used to do a lot to center yourself before performance. And since we're all about to perform the role of our lives, you want to try it with me? [00:34:05] Speaker C: Sure. Sure. [00:34:07] Speaker B: It's not sure. [00:34:13] Speaker D: And lead you through a whole routine of theater warm ups. [00:34:19] Speaker B: Oh, God. [00:34:22] Speaker D: Where it is a full sally. South seashells by the seashore onto. And then you throw your arms up and go down, down towards your toes. Roll up slowly. Feel each of your vertebra go back into alignment. Let the anti gravity take your head. [00:34:57] Speaker A: Right on the precipice of you feeling any peace whatsoever. Just right on the edge, you hear two of the boys, fife and Laruek, shouting at each other like they're chasing each other through the hangars. Like, no, give me that back. No, you can't look at that. It just, like, totally kills the vibe as these two boys just run past you and, like, you see Fife, he's, like, holding up what looks to be, like, a sticky magazine with some sort of pinup on the front. It's like, no, no, no, you can't. [00:35:30] Speaker C: Are they naked? [00:35:31] Speaker A: No, they're not naked. You can tell. But, like, there's sleepwear. Like, you can tell. You can tell. Fife very clearly just went into Larue's quarter, Larue's bunk, and stole his magazine. And that's why they're fighting through the hangar and down the hall. [00:35:48] Speaker B: I grew up with one brother, and honestly, he's still worse than all of these fuckers. But can I get. I don't actually want to touch that magazine. Can I get between them? Can I intercept the situation? [00:36:04] Speaker A: If you want to. Yeah, go ahead. [00:36:05] Speaker B: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. And, like, kind of. Again, another little push off to get between the kids. The guys, like, I think grab one of them by the, like, waistband. Like. [00:36:19] Speaker A: Ah, don't touch me, man. [00:36:22] Speaker B: Yeah, I know. I didn't want to. What the fuck is happening? [00:36:26] Speaker A: He took a fife, went into my bunk, and he took my magazine. [00:36:32] Speaker B: Okay? [00:36:33] Speaker A: It's the last magazine for that. It was the last thing I have from home that. That I can. That I don't know if I could. I don't want to talk about this with you. [00:36:43] Speaker D: Uh huh. [00:36:44] Speaker B: Okay. Say less. And I look at five, I'm like, did you take the magazine? [00:36:49] Speaker A: What magazine? [00:36:50] Speaker B: I can see the one I can literally see in your hand. [00:36:54] Speaker A: He has both his hands behind his back. Is like, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just. I'm just chilling here. And then Larue, you know, just got out of my business. [00:37:05] Speaker E: So can roman show up right behind Fife and be like. You mean. You mean he's gonna put tap five on the shoulder? You mean the magazine I see right behind you, buddy? [00:37:15] Speaker A: Do you wanna, like, drive it out of his hand? Yes, you take it out of his hand. It has a really handsome looking skin model on it. Like, he. It's a dude. It's just a jockstrap, Calvin Klein underwear, and, like, you know, pose like one of these. You know, it says Scotty nungwa, which means Scotty too. Hottie. [00:37:43] Speaker B: Ah. [00:37:47] Speaker C: It'S. It's my boyfriend. [00:37:50] Speaker A: You have a boyfriend? [00:37:52] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:37:53] Speaker A: That. [00:37:54] Speaker C: The guy that's on the centerfold, that's Scotty Tuhadi. That's. That's my significant other. [00:38:03] Speaker B: I think. I think I've already, like, slowly gets kicked all the way back to basic. [00:38:09] Speaker A: It's just like, what five's like, what, you find her, you find him on the Internet? Huh? Klaxon? Huh? You tell me. You met him on a chat room and then you just. [00:38:18] Speaker C: No, we didn't meet him in a chat room. We just have a common activity of. We both like dogs. [00:38:27] Speaker B: That's so fucking cute. [00:38:30] Speaker A: It's actually quite wholesome. [00:38:32] Speaker D: That's the most wholesome thing I've ever heard in my life. [00:38:35] Speaker A: Ludicrously. Can I have my magazine back? I read the articles, okay? There's a lot of good men's care stuff in here. [00:38:43] Speaker B: Oh, I bet. Yeah, it's not working, but I bet it exists. [00:38:49] Speaker E: I have the magazine. I'm going to give it back. Hey, listen, it's. It's fine. It's fine. Respect each other's property. All right, guys, remember, we talked about this, all right? Respect. I get it. It's open door ish. Respect each other's property. All right? We'll talk about this later. [00:39:09] Speaker D: I think that phrase means what you think it means. [00:39:12] Speaker E: We're gonna be doing. [00:39:12] Speaker A: They're gonna be doing labs for days. I swear. [00:39:14] Speaker B: We gotta tell about the calm man that, you know, when you, like, do pesky things, it, like, gets into your. Gets into your underpants drawer. You know I'm talking about, right? [00:39:24] Speaker C: Also, I have way hotter pictures of my boyfriend than this. [00:39:28] Speaker A: Five floats. Five floats away. And. And. And so does Larue. And Larue five's like the roof likes guys. [00:39:38] Speaker C: Yeah. And. [00:39:40] Speaker A: Yeah, and I just think it's funny. All right, look, love is love, but I just think looks like. Can you. Can you not, dude, can you. I'm trying. Okay. All right. Are we done? The captain said we're gonna. [00:39:51] Speaker B: I've made out with more women and more men than you. [00:39:54] Speaker A: It's not a competition. Except if it was, I'd be winning. [00:39:58] Speaker C: High five already like that. There we go. [00:40:04] Speaker A: We fade to the two ships, the two interconnectorships exiting jump space. And all of you are, like, all the boys have, like, their faces planted against, like, the viewports as they see in the distance. It's not the same blue and green ball as chow Phraya is. It's got a more orangey brown hue to it. The planet. And you see that there are several O'Neill colonies in orbit from this distance, more or less the. One of the centers of the Malaya sector. I assume all you were gathered in the cockpit for this to see. To see this kind of, like, initial approach. And Kallaxin, how does it feel looking at home? [00:40:46] Speaker C: So when he returns home, he originally normally would think, ah, it's good to be home. But he gets a solid feeling in the pit of his stomach because he knows that he's going to be dealing with a lot of things. But his eyes immediately dart off over to some familiar racetracks and also a lot of the places where the Ayurveda Grand Prix take place. So he looks at those buildings and then tries to look for the block lock racing buildings and his. And he kind of sinks a little bit, realizing that his sister has taken those away from him. [00:41:39] Speaker A: Zung Zi. Finally, like, he gets onto the bridge and you see him dressed in his full bureaucrats regalia, his full ao Yao Lin and his turban. And you see him, like, put it, like, just putting everything on. As you guys make the approach to the plan, he's like, okay, so we got a lot of stuff on the agenda while we're here. I know we're gonna need a big resupply for both of our ships here. I know Captain Cage needs to do some repairs on the Neverland, and so do we did get a little banged up over a new backor, so. And I believe he turns to you, Roman. He's like, I promised you I'd make some phone calls, so. And I know you. I know Lord Lockluck here also has some business on world as well. So I. Me and Nina, we're gonna head to the viceroy's office and try to leverage some connections. And Captain Cage is going to take the ship in to the dry dock in Bandar and Khasa, one of the big colonies in orbit of the planet. And while. While that's happening, I think we will meet up once the repairs and the resupplies are done. Does that sound good with everybody? [00:43:06] Speaker E: Sounds good. [00:43:07] Speaker C: Sounds great. [00:43:08] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:43:11] Speaker A: All right, then. Everybody good? Voyager, like, zooms. He's trying to keep his spirits up, but you can. You can kind of tell that, like, Austin, you're looking at him. And just by sheer empathy alone, you can also tell this bureaucrat has, like, a lump in his throat in a similar manner. Not from, like, the anxiety of, like, something being taken away, but, like, he. You can tell just something's off with him. [00:43:36] Speaker C: He looks around and says, soon. See? Can we have private convo a little bit? [00:43:41] Speaker A: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, sure. And he kind of, like, floats off to the side. [00:43:51] Speaker C: You look uncomfortable for a bureaucrat, and that's saying something, because bureaucrats are, just, by default, uncomfortable. They're more uncomfortable being here at Lankaska. And. So what are. So what's going on? [00:44:06] Speaker A: I I know. I have connections. I know. I I told the four of you over dinner about, you know, the guild and all that stuff. I'm anxious. I'm scared. I'm anxious that I'm not gonna get the. I'm not gonna give you guys answers that you like about what's happening back on chow, phraya with hope, with your dog, with the king. Or the former king now. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Well, I would rather get bad news than lies, because we cant operate off of lies. But we could do something when we hear bad news. [00:44:50] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:44:54] Speaker C: Would you like to talk to everyone before we depart so that we know what were encountering? [00:45:04] Speaker A: I I don't know what we're encountering just yet. I'm gonna go into the. I'm gonna go into Viceroy's office. I'm gonna. I'm gonna send a couple messages through the deep space beacon array, and maybe here's hear something back from dung san or someone else. And I'm gonna. I'm gonna pull some. I'm gonna see how many strings I can pull. And if any of these strings go taut or whatever, this metaphor is falling apart. Just be safe down there. If you guys do get what you need done down there, and I'll get. Me and the captain will try to get what we need done up here, and I just don't want. I just don't want to disappoint you. [00:45:52] Speaker C: Listen, I think the fact that we've been thrown into this horrible, chaotic situation, you know, obviously not by choice, have to save an artifact. A lot of us lost everything, and you were still managing to try to get things done. That's a tick in my book. Because other bureaucrats that I know would have just been paralyzed. You, at least are aware that things are hard. I just need you to let us know when things are bad, because, again, we could do something about bad glossing things over. We're not the public. You don't have to put on PR face for us. We're not the PR. We are your crew. So you give us what, infer whatever information helps us do the mission, and also protects us as a crew. Okay. [00:47:03] Speaker A: Yeah. Go and make a consort. Rule. [00:47:04] Speaker C: Consort role. [00:47:05] Speaker A: Yeah. You got two ranks in there. It's two. D, six. You're in a controlled circumstances. [00:47:10] Speaker C: Four. [00:47:11] Speaker A: It's a four. All right, so it's a success. But something's gonna happen on the. On the back end. I'm not gonna tell you what happens, but you right now. But I will tell you right now that Zung will take off his cap, put in front of his chest. You would make a fine guildsman. Lyrical lock. Lock. I'm humbled to have you in my crew. [00:47:36] Speaker C: Thank you. Ironically, the person who would also tell me those compliments would be Rubina. Ironically. [00:47:43] Speaker A: Ironically. [00:47:44] Speaker C: Yep. She's glad that I'm the second kid. [00:47:49] Speaker A: Your sister's an opportunist is what I get the sense of. She's. [00:47:55] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, like, that's obvious. She didn't have to shut me down. That was overkill. In fact, if not, unless she had. [00:48:04] Speaker A: A reason to believe that you were standing in her way. [00:48:07] Speaker C: Yeah, I mean, she thought I was standing in her way when I didn't agree to go along with her plan, that she didn't discuss with me and try to pressure me to make a decision under an alternatum, and I don't like that. And those decisions don't ever work for business. The fact that she tried to do that with me speaks poorly of her, because we're family and we're supposed to talk. And she believed that political expediency justified overriding any kind of familial ties that we had. So until I can talk to her, I have to just talk to my connections, see what's up, and most likely try to grab and salvage what I can and then leave this place. [00:49:05] Speaker A: Very well. All right. Um, Nina. Yeah, uncle? Let's. Let's, uh, let's get. Let's get going. Good luck to you. [00:49:17] Speaker C: Thank you. I try to contact Angeline, um, to see what. To see what's up. And also maybe, um, because I remember I previously discussed with oradie, looking for ahead with that custom model when going to Lacosca. [00:49:38] Speaker A: When you contact her from orbit, she says she'll be waiting for you at the spaceport with the usual welcoming committee stuff. She'll have a little sign and everything. [00:49:48] Speaker C: I would say no sign this time. [00:49:51] Speaker A: Oh, no sign? [00:49:52] Speaker C: No, you're just like, oh, no. [00:49:54] Speaker A: So you want to keep it? [00:49:56] Speaker C: We're going low profile, entourage, not big people with. With signs. This is not a pr event. [00:50:03] Speaker A: Okay, I was. I was just gonna, you know, the little paper one that just. But if no fanfare whatsoever, I can just. Okay, I'll get you guys for the spaceport, and we'll work something out from there. [00:50:15] Speaker C: Yeah. Also, do you happen to have connections to. Let me just double check here. I am looking for, like, a custom headpiece for another pc. [00:50:33] Speaker A: Ah, yeah, yeah. My fiance can actually get you connected with that. We can discuss that when you get without. When you get down here. [00:50:41] Speaker C: Okay, great. [00:50:43] Speaker B: I'd like to invoke the blue spirit skill here. I think that would be worthwhile. Go on. Full print, Zuko. [00:50:49] Speaker A: You. I see here in your inventory you have documents. I'm just going to assume that you just have alternative decoy identification papers for reasons of traveling inconspicuously. So you just have that. It's already in your pilot gear. Okay, you just tell me how Ordy is going to present herself. [00:51:08] Speaker B: I don't think that there's a huge difference in what she looks like. [00:51:12] Speaker A: You just do the Clark Kent thing. Just put glasses on. [00:51:15] Speaker B: Yeah, I think orchid glasses. [00:51:18] Speaker A: Just put a pair of glasses. [00:51:19] Speaker E: Oh, we're doing the whole, like, marvel thing where you're disguised as a hat and sunglasses. [00:51:23] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a pair of glasses and like, a salat team hoodie. Like a skateboard right over your shoulder. [00:51:30] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:51:30] Speaker B: Hello, fellow children. And she kind of, like, parts her. [00:51:32] Speaker A: One of the lost boys, like, passes by you as you're, like, doing this whole thing, and it's Muhammad. He's like, you look like a cop. [00:51:39] Speaker D: He's not wrong. [00:51:41] Speaker B: Uncompify me then. [00:51:43] Speaker A: I don't know, like, be more effortless with. If I don't. Rupee, help me out here. [00:51:50] Speaker D: Oh, first of all. Okay. And I, like, start. I take out, like, a pair of scissors from my pocket. [00:52:00] Speaker B: And I will fight you. [00:52:02] Speaker A: No. [00:52:02] Speaker D: No one is coming for your hair. No. Who would do that? [00:52:05] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:52:06] Speaker D: Who do you think I am? [00:52:07] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:52:08] Speaker D: But this hoodie's now a crop top. The hat goes. And instead what I do is, like, sweep up your hair into, like, what is the latest style on the latest social medias? [00:52:23] Speaker B: An insane thing. Okay? [00:52:26] Speaker D: And you know what? It's a lot faster than it looks. And it holds up all day. Who would have thought it? It's a mezzanine bun that somehow miraculously ends up with, like, just a fan of hair. [00:52:38] Speaker A: Nice. [00:52:39] Speaker B: Oh. [00:52:39] Speaker D: Sticking out from the back, like, feathers. They call it the peacock. And. And then, like, snags another coat, but from Roman. And it's like a light duster and sweeps that around you. So you've got a nice, like, little eclectic layered look going. [00:53:01] Speaker B: Okay? And this is not. And this is subtle. [00:53:06] Speaker D: Subtle is not what you need. You need to not look like a cop. [00:53:11] Speaker B: I don't. Why does everyone. [00:53:13] Speaker A: Hey, aren't you royalty? Wouldn't you, like, know what an undercover cop looks like? Don't they? Like, don't they, like, aren't they, like, on your payroll? [00:53:20] Speaker B: Well, they're undercover, not. Well, so I don't know what they look like. [00:53:24] Speaker A: Yeah, no, because they always got, like, the jeans and, like, the hoodie and then they like. And, like, you can tell. I don't know how many cops you've seen, princess. I don't know. What do you think Tasleen and Tass is like? She's fine. She's fine. She's fine. She's fine. [00:53:42] Speaker B: Well, I'm glad to have passed the pre teen test. [00:53:45] Speaker A: Wait, I'm 19. [00:53:47] Speaker B: They're all five to me. [00:53:50] Speaker A: The two boys, like, pass by you, Roman. They're like, your princess friend needs to. [00:53:53] Speaker E: Like, hey, hey, boys, boys. [00:53:58] Speaker A: What? [00:53:58] Speaker E: Don't mind it. [00:53:59] Speaker A: Don't mind it. Go clean. Go clean. [00:54:04] Speaker E: I heard that. Swear you're doing laps when we land. [00:54:09] Speaker A: Doing laps. So, yeah. The two ships, they pull up to the side of the large mass, the Bandar and Casa space colony. The docks in the dry dock. The group of you that are descending down a planet, you kind of, like, unload your stuff, your mechs, onto the colony to surface shuttle, and it will be the four of you. Unless. Did any of you want to bring any of the cohorts with you? [00:54:39] Speaker B: If there's a boy that we trust to kind of guide, like, an older teen, to guide the younger teens, six flag style, I would love to be able to get them to do the food supplies while we do our more necessary mech supplies. Right? [00:54:58] Speaker D: I think we should send Jackie with them, I guess, or all we're going to end up with is hot sauce. [00:55:08] Speaker B: Yeah, that's valid. [00:55:10] Speaker A: We cut to you trying to talk Jackie into chaperoning these kids, and she's like, you know, I really believe in protecting my Zen and Jackie. [00:55:24] Speaker D: Rupiah, I heard that having attachments is all right and that we shouldn't run from them. [00:55:31] Speaker A: I'm not running from them. I'm just letting you know that. Look, fine, fine, fine. Big talker. Very well. Let me get my bag. [00:55:44] Speaker B: Just torturing a priest now. That's fine. [00:55:48] Speaker D: She shouldn't come in my room and try to give me therapy uninvited. [00:55:53] Speaker B: And we'll unbag that later. [00:55:56] Speaker A: We see her grab her a duffel bag out of her quarters, and she grabs a rosary and she's counting them and grumbling as she goes along with you guys towards the shuttle. [00:56:06] Speaker E: I think we should pull Mohammed, to be perfectly honest. I think we want. I want Muhammad out there. Because if he's gonna learn how to be. Can I talk to Muhammad. [00:56:16] Speaker A: Yeah, about this, actually. [00:56:18] Speaker E: So as. As we're landing, I'd like to go to Muhammad back. Hey, hey, listen, kid, you. I. Yeah. For helping us out on the ground. [00:56:29] Speaker A: Yeah, depends. So, what, does the food down there any good? I've never been here, to be honest. [00:56:34] Speaker E: I don't know either. But listen, you. You're pretty handy with that rifle. I watched you as we fought, kid. And you, you know, you. [00:56:42] Speaker A: Yeah, I blasted princess's head off. It was fucking great. Was. You see that shot? So. That was so baller. [00:56:49] Speaker E: All right, you're good. But I need you to learn more about your surroundings. There, we had you. So I think the experience is gonna do you good, and I think the control is gonna do you a little good. Okay, look, I'm not the best talking about this, but hey, listen, time out there could be good. Learning to work with somebody else out there while also learning to work remotely as well, if we need you. But I want you to explore your surroundings. [00:57:14] Speaker A: And again, can you make me one promise, Roman? Just. [00:57:16] Speaker E: What's that? [00:57:18] Speaker A: We've been in space for a while, and, you know, I. I've never set foot on under atmosphere in several years. I just want. When we're down there, do you think you could take me fishing? [00:57:41] Speaker E: Do we have. [00:57:42] Speaker C: Do we have fishing poles here? [00:57:43] Speaker A: We can buy some down there, right? Like they have those right? [00:57:47] Speaker E: Tell you what, tell you what, Mohammed. We complete what we need to do, and Roman puts a hand on Mohammed's shoulder. [00:57:54] Speaker A: Let's. [00:57:55] Speaker E: Let's go fishing once we're done, all right? Promise you? [00:57:57] Speaker A: Yeah? Yeah. Yeah. Okay? Yeah. All right. I'm your man, boss. I'll do whatever you want. Let's get this. Yeah. Fuck, yeah. We're gonna eat so much monkfish when we get. I'm gonna get it, though. The boys are gonna be so jealous that we took me. And you hear him, like, excitedly talking all the way to the shuttle as you go. [00:58:15] Speaker E: As he's talking, I'm like, mama, what's salmon tastes like? [00:58:19] Speaker A: Roman, I've never had fish fish before. [00:58:23] Speaker E: You gotta have to find out. But remember, we go once we finished, okay? [00:58:27] Speaker A: Yeah, when we finish. When we finish. Yeah. Okay. [00:58:29] Speaker E: Remember. Remember, take orders. Nice. You're gonna listen to the calls from everybody. Whatever we need. This is from all of this team here. Whatever we need, handle it. We'll tell you what to do. We'll guide you, and then we'll go fishing, buddy. All right? [00:58:46] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. Like, you see, like, he's just, like, on the ride down, you see him in the sea. You just, like, bouncing. It's like a fish. The shuttle departs with all your mechs in tow, in, like, the lower compartment. And you, hand begins the slow descent onto the planet. As you descend, we see you are flying towards a city known as Banang Pradhu. On the approach to banang pradhu, you first break through some very dense clouds. But these aren't clouds made of, like, water vapor. They're all made of smog. Like the air here, the sky here is not the color it should be, that's for sure. Unlike the very temperate chow phraya the air on Lancashire, as you like, land, and, like, the door opens, it feels like tiny stingers invading your lungs and biting your eyeballs. And the place is more or less a chemical soup. And when you finally make out the silhouette of the silhouette, the silhouette of the metropolis behind the spaceport you see it is a densely packed cityscape with thousands of, like, prefabricated living modules and shacks stacked atop of each other in these tall spiral towers. The banang pradu is at the foot of a volcano called Mount Manna Dara. [01:00:13] Speaker C: So. [01:00:14] Speaker A: And you can see, like, the mountain, like, in the furthest back part of the horizon, but just barely through, like, the thick smog. You see power lines connected to substations built over, like, a bunch of these geysers and steam vents from the volcano. And it seems like the people here, they harness the power of the mountain and to power the municipal utilities and the communal baths and all the amenities the city would have. As far as you can tell, this place has been. It's had a lot of development urban wise. Right. But at the same time, this development wasn't exactly done in the most responsible manner, if you can tell just based on the amount. Just like, how the air. And on the way in, you see piles of trash floating down the river. And in the sky, you also see these platforms, these floating communities just above, I guess, more or less the poisoned ground level. Right? But here you are, Kallaxin. This is normal for you, if anything. The stinging sensation of is like, oh, it's like a warm hug coming home. [01:01:41] Speaker C: I just think of this as eternal sunset. [01:01:44] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:01:44] Speaker D: So, honestly, I've been in worse. Like, it's kind of. It's kind of middle of the road. Breathe through your mouth for a little while. You're fine. [01:01:56] Speaker B: I think it's been a minute since ordie's, like, been in pretty bad areas, but it's been a minute since she's, like, between Ciao, Freya and, like, pumped in atmo. She's like, mmm, we're fine. Like, you can see, like, her eyes instantly have gone red. [01:02:19] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:02:20] Speaker E: You see Roman just like, oh, God. All right, let's do this. Let's. Let's get out here. You see him, like, trying to shake his muscles out. Be like, all right, cool, we're back. We're back on. Back on the ground now. [01:02:34] Speaker A: It's kind of. [01:02:35] Speaker E: All right, let's get this done. [01:02:37] Speaker A: The adjustment to gravity isn't like you guys have done. Have landed before, so it's not like there's too big of an adjustment. Like, the gravity's about the same. It's. It's really only the air quality and the lack of light unfiltered through haze and soot that really bother you. But as you, like, walk from, like, where the shuttle ends, you see the mechs while being, like, pulled out from behind the shuttle and being, like, parked where there's, like, a. Most cities have, like, a general area where Tanong can park their. Their kisi. It's. They don't charge you a fee for anything like that because, you know, you guys defend the planet from. From space monsters. It would be not be in their best interest to. To bill you for that. So they kind of park it over to the side of the spaceport with, like, about 50 or you see it as, like, the mechs get, like, placed onto the docks. They're flanked by a bunch of other pc, but they're, none of them seem built outright for warfare. They are all sleek, like sparky. They are all built aerodynamically. And they're also all covered in advertisements and sponsors. This is clearly a racers world. As you, like, exit the spaceport and collection. You're walking them to overwear the area, the spaceport where Angeline would usually pick you up. You guys see that the city itself, there's several platforms and stairways and bridges that connect all these different towers together. And you see massive hologram billboards fly by, being towed by drones that advertise various liquors, repair services, fast food change. And they're all endorsed by the many racers, celebrity racers here. And you even see one with Kallaxon's face on it, like, Klaxon, what ad do they see as they floats by? [01:04:30] Speaker C: They see a floating picture of me holding Miss misfit, advertising the equivalent of Puppy chow. [01:04:41] Speaker A: Big ass Klaxon face just slowly move. Like, have you ever seen Blade Runner? Just like one of those. And as the advertisement passes by, you see Angelyne with, like, a big van, like, waving. [01:04:56] Speaker C: And I wave back, hey, Angeline. [01:04:58] Speaker A: Angelyne is an enthenes woman who's been Klaxon's right hand since more or less the start of his racing career. So she's a petite woman of about 411 with pinned, matte black hair, faint brunette highlights, and she wears a form fitting Chong San, like those, like, Hong Kong China dresses with, like, floral patterns and bright colors. She's got a little flower in her hair, and she waves and you guys walk up and she, likes, opens all the, all the doors of the van, and you guys get in. Was the flight okay? Everybody was. [01:05:33] Speaker B: Yeah, I think Ordi, like, she does this every time she gets under atmo, like, because, like, after traveling in zero gravity and she's, like, popping every joint in her, like, body, basically, like, oh, yeah, gravity. [01:05:49] Speaker A: All the van doors close and the hover engines start up and it starts flying off. And, yeah, you guys are driving together. She's like, I wish we were here on better circumstances, boss, but I'm glad you're back. [01:06:12] Speaker C: Yeah, I know you have a wedding coming up. [01:06:14] Speaker A: Yes. Yeah. Here. I actually asked him to come, to come meet us. We were gonna hit your, your house first, right? [01:06:24] Speaker C: Oh, yes. I figured be good to see, say hi to Scotty, but also just figure out what's going on. [01:06:33] Speaker A: Oh, Scotty. Scotty's, um. He, he had a, he had a shoot, actually this today, so we're not gonna see him at the house, but he did want to say hello. I'll explain when we get there. I'll just. [01:06:53] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, that's fine. [01:06:59] Speaker A: Muhammad's face planted against the window, looking out the city, like, whoa. Like it. The look on this boy's face, just, like, the feeling of gravity pressing down on him. The feeling of seeing people walking around and, like, living lives, like, with the, like, even if this place is, like, dirty and. And polluted and, like, you see, like, a little tear, like, formal. Like, is it really like this all over? All over the sector? [01:07:54] Speaker C: Just here in Lankasuka? Yeah. [01:08:02] Speaker A: Are there even fish in that river? And you look down at the river, it's, like, full of sludge and, like, plastic and, like, different. Like, you see, like, a bicycle floating down. There's, like, several pipes, like, dumping, fucking, like, different. [01:08:16] Speaker C: So, yeah, mudfish tend to live there. Like, they eat a lot of the stuff that most other, like, bacteria and other things that just kind of, like, live down there. Like, a lot of the things just adapt. [01:08:34] Speaker D: And if you're really lucky, you'll catch one of the massive crocodiles that live. [01:08:39] Speaker A: What's a crocodile? [01:08:42] Speaker D: It's huge. [01:08:44] Speaker A: Like, as big as a ship. [01:08:48] Speaker D: Shuttle. More like a shuttle. [01:08:50] Speaker A: Whoa. Yeah, we cut to the wide as the van kind of, like, fly. The hover van flies up to this large platform. Could you describe to me the Bulak lock estate collection? [01:09:03] Speaker C: So the Bulak lock estate is a gold tinged mansion. Not actually gold, but it really reflects a lot of the atmosphere. So it just has this gold iridescence to it. Also, you don't see a speck of white because it makes no sense in this kind of atmosphere. You also see a couple of towers which almost serve as air filtration in the area. So the, so the area around the state is noticeably clearer than anywhere else because things, like, circulate in and out of it. It almost looks like a gaudy version of the White House. You could see, like, a couple of. Of statues of, like, various gods. In the same way that a mansion in Beverly Hills would have several greek gods. This would be, like, several different, like, local gods. A couple of them look like Rubina. A couple of them look like Klaxon and a few of the bestial characters. One of them distinctly has miss misfits face. It doesn't look classy, but it is very much that type of vibe. Like, rich people live here. [01:10:51] Speaker B: I'll bet they do. [01:10:54] Speaker D: They definitely do. They definitely do. [01:10:56] Speaker B: Are we going with you to the Bulak lock mansion? [01:11:00] Speaker A: Yes, all of us. [01:11:03] Speaker C: Why not? [01:11:04] Speaker B: Didn't your sister try to help a coup? [01:11:10] Speaker D: She didn't try. She succeeded. [01:11:12] Speaker B: Client. [01:11:13] Speaker C: But still, it's going to be one of those cases where the family is still the family regardless of what business happens. And the compound is large enough that we could still be on opposite sides and still do business because that's how mommy and daddy wanted it. Regardless, if we're fighting, we're all still in the same place. [01:11:35] Speaker B: Is it a good idea for me to go with you? Like, I'm just genuinely worried. [01:11:42] Speaker A: Mohammed speaks up. He's like, I mean, it would be safer. They don't look. You don't look. You don't look anything like princess already, as far as I know. Because you look like a cop. [01:11:56] Speaker D: She does not look like a cop. [01:11:58] Speaker A: She does not. I know, I know. I'm giving her shit. I'm giving her shit. [01:12:01] Speaker B: Okay. [01:12:03] Speaker C: Ow. [01:12:05] Speaker A: And Jackie, Jackie's Jackie. Just like. Like, looks at you guys. Like, we done? We done? [01:12:12] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:12:13] Speaker C: Rupiah did really great with the styling, by the way. [01:12:16] Speaker B: All right. I just. I just think it. [01:12:19] Speaker C: I mean, what do we call you? [01:12:21] Speaker B: Uh, yeah, I think that's. That's fine. [01:12:27] Speaker C: No, no, I mean, no. What do we call you? Yeah, like Yen. Okay. [01:12:31] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah, let's go with that. [01:12:33] Speaker C: Yen. Angelyne. Do I have to ask? Angeline, do you know who this is? [01:12:39] Speaker A: Um. Is it a cop? I hope it's not a cop. [01:12:47] Speaker B: I'm not. [01:12:47] Speaker C: Okay, we're fine, we're fine. We're fine. [01:12:50] Speaker A: Okay. [01:12:50] Speaker D: I feel fine at this point. It's you. It's definitely not me. [01:12:54] Speaker B: I did it. I'm cool. [01:13:00] Speaker A: Okay. Okay. I just thought you're. Maybe she's just one of your racing friends. Right, Klaxon? Okay. That I. Great. I look, Lord. Look, Lord. Kallaxon has a lot of friends in high places. I try not to ask any questions. I'm sure they're all lovely people and I'm sure you are too. It's just. Anyways, here we are in the garage as the van pulls in and everybody gets out and you walk the ground, this floating complex, towards, I would, I assume, Kallaxon's section of what? I'm sure Klaxon has his own kind of like section of the estate that's like his house with his belongings and such and such. Right. [01:13:48] Speaker C: With Kallaxon's part of the estate, you see a large house, but you also see a much larger warehouse, which is a garage full of kisi and all and other things. So. So the racing department is pretty much his personal racing department is, like, pretty much attached to his house. [01:14:10] Speaker A: As you're walking through, there's a real estate sign in front, like, just swinging in the wind, like, for escrow. [01:14:20] Speaker C: That bitch. Okay. [01:14:24] Speaker A: And you see Angeline kind of looks a little guilty. Like, I wanted to parse this out a little bit. I know you already got a bunch of news already, so. [01:14:35] Speaker C: Um. All right, so, um, first off, um, we need to figure out, um, all the moves that Rubina has made. Um, send them to our lawyers. Not the family lawyers, our lawyers. The ones that I deal with for any sponsorship. Right. Like, anything that deals with the sponsorship contracts. Anything that has me in those contracts usually have to go through me, since it's my face and my appearance. Anything that is like any of the other drivers, I'm pretty sure that I lost those. Anything that features my dogs obviously has to go through me, because I'm the caretaker for the dogs. So there are ways that we can maneuver salvaging, like, part of the sponsorships for contracts, because they're literally based on me and my actions. Not necessarily. Bullock lock racing enterprises. Oh, my goodness. [01:15:32] Speaker A: And as you walk through the house, you hear a lot of barking as an entire, I want to say, squadron of dogs all kind of like, run, come pitter pattering down the stairs, all the one by one. Like, they all basically charge the group of you in all at once. Whoa, whoa. You hear mama go, what? And Jackie's like, ah, lots of furry friends. [01:16:02] Speaker C: Yes. [01:16:03] Speaker A: So galaxy, please tell. Tell us what dogs are in the house right now. [01:16:07] Speaker C: Okay, so, so there are about. We're gonna say it seems like a lot. You know, there's only twelve. There's only twelve. And they range in age, breed. We have a smaller dog with a husky with, like, oversized eyes, wearing a little white bib with the name puddles written on it. And also, it's the only dog that is wearing a diaper. [01:16:43] Speaker A: And they're, they're all kind of just like, hopping up, licking your face, and they're like, running circles. [01:16:48] Speaker C: Yeah. We also have, like, a couple of corgis with little booties on their feet because they're very, very sensitive. We have a chow chow, Mister Chow Chow, who is always impeccably dressed. So it's not just a chow chow, but there is clothes that are custom made for this chow chow. There's a Pekingese that looks like a big poof ball that just kind of, like, runs around, almost seems like its own vacuum. Or its own mop, because every place that it goes, it just kind of automatically cleans up. So each of these dogs has been on an advertisement for a sponsorship. And you all. You also see, like, maybe, like, some of the dogs on the kisi for Sparky because they've been in those advertisements. [01:17:42] Speaker B: Oh, my God, I'm in love. [01:17:43] Speaker D: I love all these dogs. [01:17:45] Speaker C: I know. These are. These are wonderful. These are mine. And then, like, a couple of these, like, there's one that. That looks like Miss Misfit, another Dalmatian, but is full of spots. It's like, so that one is Scotty's. And, like, I don't. He works out with that dog, so it doesn't, like, really want me to, like, you know, put it in advertisements. And then next to him is. Is rough, like, the very sleek greyhound, which I really, really wanted him to go into a lot of these advertisements because, again, sleek is a greyhound, but, you know, he's not into that because they're. They're workout dogs. [01:18:34] Speaker A: As you have this joyful reunion with your coterie of pets. Angeline walks over, like, she takes a right, and you hear her talking to someone over, and she, like, she's like, hey, boss. Yeah, so I'm getting married next week, and I just thought, maybe this is my fiance. I just. I just want you to temper your expectations. This has been happening for a while. And out from the door, I want you to imagine, you know, those, like, filipino ukulele, soft, swaggy boys that, like, you know what I'm talking about. Imagine one grew up, did a 180 on his whole Persona in his early twenties, and now it's just, like, spent the next 15 years refining himself into what looks like Brown Robert Downey junior. You see, he says, hey, old pal, I didn't know if. And realize that Angeline is engaged to your longtime rival, Armin law. And she's like. And she, like, walks next to him and, like, wraps an arm around his arm, and she's like, I wanted to do. I wanted to let you. I wanted to. We wanted to pace. We wanted to pace ourselves with this announcement. It's just I. Oh, wow. Look. Hey. We cut to this wide of, like, this awkward reunion of you watching this man who you've raced against several times and you've had beef with and who's screwed you over and you screwed him over. Mmm mmm. [01:20:34] Speaker C: I'm so conflicted right now because I don't. He looks him up and down. First of all, I don't hate this. I don't hey, I don't hate this. It's just, you know, our, our history is there and then what I'm seeing just doesn't line up. But also, I have bigger fish to fry. But Armin, nice to meet you. He just puts out his hand in a very, he's very, very stiff. Just very unlike Klaxon. He is not comfortable. Just, hello. [01:21:08] Speaker A: Good to see you. Welcome back. And he, as he, as he grabs your hand and shakes it, that will be our break for, that will be our mid session break for now. I think we're so, thank you for tuning into me, Kong here at Queen's court games. We'll be right back after a few messages. Thanks for tuning back into Queen's court games. You're watching more Mekong symphony for the devil, where we last left our daring band of pilots. It's kind of an awkward situation. Klaxon has brought his compatriots back to his long time home, the Bulakalak estate here on Lancashka, and only to find out that one, the house is for sale, and two, Angeline, his most trusted business partner, is now engaged to his longtime rival, Armin law, the paladin of Pulangi. So with that being said, I think we're just going to cut straight into it. We're going to hard cut to. Everyone's at a table and there's some automated servants with serving trays putting food down for everybody. And they're also filling the dishes of, like, the twelve dogs who also have their own little eating area off to the side. And in the dining hall, there are several posters, promotional posters for different races that Kallaxon has participated in. But the ones that draws your attention and the one that Armin is sitting in front of is there's one that, that is promoting the local race, or in this case, the biggest race in the sector. It's the Ayurveda Grand Prix. But this case, this particular promotional poster has, it has a much younger armin and a much younger Kallaxon, like, squaring off like boxers. And then at their feet are also two boxer dogs and big text, it reads like the king bitch, the Paladin of Pulangi, the rematch of a decade. And he's just sitting in front of it with angeline sitting next to him as, like, the robot servants. Like, put down the plate. What's a meal look like in the bulak lock household? [01:23:32] Speaker C: So a meal in the bulak lock house kind of varies, but a lot of it is family style. So a lot of large plates of food with several serving spoons in order to grab what you want. And also some smaller plates for finger foods. Since a lot of food is usually eaten with the hands. And so with the exception of, like, with the exception of things that are, like soups and stews, which are in bowls, everything else is usually just eaten with fingers. So. So you see, like, a whole lot of rice because you can't have a food. You can't have a piece like this without rice. A lot of fish, a lot of, a lot of sauced beefs and. Yeah, like, it's just kind of gone all out, especially since they haven't had food like this in a while. While. So he wanted to make sure that they could eat like this because he is not exactly sure when he could come back here and eat like this. [01:24:46] Speaker B: Like, look down. There's, like four dogs. Like, okay, I get what you mean. [01:24:52] Speaker A: Like, mohammed kind of like, like, pushes whatever. Like, you have your own. Get out of here. [01:24:59] Speaker C: It's like, I look at some of the dogs and I'm like, okay, that one, um, that one can have food because it's been good. Those two are on a diet. That one definitely cannot be here. So he just kind of names them off because he's aware of their diet sensitivities. The two corgis cannot, are really, really sensitive. Um, but one of the other dogs, the Pekingese, can eat anything. It's fine. [01:25:24] Speaker B: Already is doing a. Is, like, trying to be subtle about it and is going full length. One for me, one for you, one for me. Like, a little bit of, like, seasick every time. Like, it's fine. [01:25:38] Speaker A: Armin, he, like, puts his hands on the table. He's like, I'm sure we should address the elephant in the room. Right, old buddy? He's being very friendly to you right now. Klaxon much more than you have ever been in your entire working relationship, period. [01:25:58] Speaker C: Kallaxon has this smile that's very wide plastered on his face because this is how he deals with nervousness. Just really wide smile, just very pr. It's like, yeah, this is the elephant in the room. And this is. And he just takes a lumpia and just puts it in his mouth. [01:26:22] Speaker A: Angeline kind of, like, nuzzles into arm and shoulder. Like, okay. [01:26:30] Speaker C: I'm sorry. So tell me how you two met. [01:26:39] Speaker A: How did this happen? [01:26:41] Speaker C: I'm really curious. [01:26:47] Speaker A: Angeline, like, looks up, she's like, hey, boss, you sound. I feel like there's a little air of animosity in your voice here. Maybe I'm misreading. I just. [01:26:58] Speaker C: Oh, you are definitely misreading. [01:27:00] Speaker B: I'm. [01:27:01] Speaker C: It's not so much animosity. It's just. I'm surprised. [01:27:05] Speaker A: You know, he's actually very sweet. There's a real soft side to him that. And you see Armin, like, raise her hands, like. Okay, I will admit, when I first came to Angeline, when I reached out, it was for vindictive reasons. I was trying to, but, you know. And we got to talking, and turns out we have a lot in common. And she loves the opera. Loves the. And I love the opera, and she has a great taste in whiskey, and I love her a lot. And I thought, you know, she deserves. I gotta say, this Sisig is really doing something for me. It's like the fat. The fat is so creamy and melts in your mouth. Just with the combination of crispy skin, it's delightful. It's. It's. It's really good. I. Compliments to your chef. [01:28:12] Speaker C: Oh, yes. Um, yeah. [01:28:15] Speaker A: Um, are you. Are these. Are you also racers? Uh, like, gestures to the. To the group. [01:28:22] Speaker C: Oh, uh, I know. [01:28:25] Speaker A: I know. You're. You're a social butterfly out there in the seven sectors. I know you pick up a lot of friends. [01:28:29] Speaker C: Oh, yes. These are actually, uh, tan on. [01:28:33] Speaker A: Ah, you. I see. Okay, well, real the world warrior. Okay, so you're not. Not set for the racetrack, but more so, like, squaring off with the demons and. Okay. Yeah, yeah, that's. That's. That's. That's really cool. That's, um, uh, angely. Like, uh, excuse me for one moment. I gotta use the restroom. I think she, like, slides out and, like, stands up and leaves. And now that she's gone. [01:29:12] Speaker C: Why have you come visit? [01:29:16] Speaker A: And you expect, like, he's gonna say, like, something backhanded right here now that you two are alone, away from his fiance, but he actually, like, leans back and sighs, like, okay, couple, I I need your help. [01:29:33] Speaker C: Uh, the. The plastic smile kind of leaves his face and goes, oh, okay. [01:29:38] Speaker A: So, okay. For. But last time we. I've. I've done a lot of thinking. I've done. And there's also. I'm also kind of in a bit of trouble. So, first off, I think you and I are both in the same place right now. We're. We are racers without racing companies. [01:29:56] Speaker C: Ah. So how did you acquire that news? I'm curious because I was not here at Lancasuca, and I just wanted to know. [01:30:07] Speaker A: This was before I did. You know, I did a lot of thinking and had kind of a turnaround with my life circumstances. But they tried to unionize, and I fired all of them because, you know, I. And that was poor. That was a poor judgment on my part. Like, that's poor business. [01:30:26] Speaker C: Try to fire your crew for trying to collectively come. [01:30:32] Speaker A: Yes. Okay. It was a bad decision, all right? And. And I knew it was a bad decision. I regret it. And. And so I either I felt really bad half, like, a couple weeks afterwards, and then. And so I started talking to Angeline after that, just, you know, like, well, you know, like, I made a bad decision. I feel bad about myself, but, you know, I'm gonna piss off. I'm gonna piss off Kallaxton and, you know, you know, sleep with the secretary to make sure really get back, but. But then I have no claims to her. [01:31:02] Speaker C: Okay, she. [01:31:02] Speaker A: Okay, either way. Either way. [01:31:05] Speaker C: Okay. Okay. [01:31:07] Speaker A: And so I. When that was happening, while I was in my feelings, I took the corona out. The corona chaser is his racing mech. It's the exact same model as yours, but instead of, like, dog and dog chow advertisements, it's covered in, like, fine liquors and, like, cat food and, like. And, like, different beers. So, like, there's beer loud. There's Heineken on it. I took her out and, you know, just to, like. Cause, you know, I take her around the track to, like, work out my feelings, and I crashed. I spun out, and I've crashed it in this lake. And I thought I blacked out. I thought that was it. That was over. I was done, right? And then I wake up, and I'm on the shore, and there's this tall lady standing over me, right? Real tall. And she's got, like, the sun behind her. She's glowing like. Like a goddess, right? I swear to you. And I thought I was like, oh. Oh, shit, that's a. That's a bota. That's a boat. That's a bodhisattva. And she's here to spirit my spear off to where I was next to me. But then I was like, it's Guanyin. It's Guanyin, the bodhisattva. And I look closer. I was like, why? Why does. Why does Guanyin look like Princess Anusha? And she's standing over me. She's looking all holy and everything, and I can't remember what she told me, but I knew. I remember something along the lines of not racing away from my problems anymore. And I was slow down and be present and take the time to leave behind something better than when I arrived. And I guess I thought. I'm thinking back to this still, and I'm thinking, she saved me. She saved me twice that day. Okay? She saved my life. But then she also turned my life around. But I remember that day, and I'm telling you this story now because I want to make amends for this lifetime of animosity. So that's the first part. Now here's the help part. [01:33:02] Speaker C: Okay, admittedly, I'm a little confused. Uh uh. Angelina is only 411, so. She's not tall. [01:33:15] Speaker A: Yeah. Um, height never mattered to me. Okay, I. Look, I love Angeline. I really do. She wasn't the one that saved me that day. [01:33:27] Speaker B: If you look over, like, already is holding Olympia and the insides of out, like, she just crushed it. [01:33:36] Speaker A: Are you okay? He, like, turns it. [01:33:39] Speaker B: And I, like, hand the lumpia to the dog. To one of the dogs. Yeah, I'm good, I'm good, I'm good. [01:33:46] Speaker E: Yeah. While Roman is now wiping lumpia bits off of his face. Thanks for that. Yeah. [01:33:54] Speaker B: Sorry, there's more. [01:33:56] Speaker C: It's fine. It's food. [01:33:59] Speaker A: So you probably saw the signs when you came in the race. The pre. It's. It's. It's coming up soon. I'm thinking as a wedding gift, I want. I gotta get. I'm gonna get her a ticket off of this. This place. And. And I know you're the better racer than me. He has to, like, kind of, like, dribble that out of his mouth. Like, I know you're the better racer than me. So do you think we can form a team and win it for her? Because here's the other thing, right? Those guys I union busted before I had my. My. Before I found religion again, right? They call themselves the devotees of Joanna now. And they're also in the race, and they know I'm entering. You know how, like, every five years, they. The race, they allow weapons. I think they're gonna kill me if. [01:35:09] Speaker C: Oh, this is the weaponized year. Okay. [01:35:11] Speaker A: Yes, yes. [01:35:13] Speaker C: Oh, f. Okay, so it's. [01:35:15] Speaker A: I'm glad you brought some ten dong and who know how to. How to scrap. Um. [01:35:21] Speaker C: Do you want me. Are you asking me to bring the tan onto this as well? [01:35:27] Speaker A: Yes. Yes. You, me, a team, these. These people. And it doesn't matter. Like, as long as one of us crosses that line first, then we can get, you know, the metaphorical elixir, right? The one that. That. That they. The one that they pulled out when they. In the Ramayana. You know what I'm talking about? Like, whoever wins this race gets whatever. That's basically whatever the sponsors can, can give them. And so I was thinking we can get her out of this place and maybe, you know, with the prize money, you and I can start like, an enterprise together, like an ethical one. Like one where we're not, where I don't make bad business decisions, like firing my. Yeah. Okay. [01:36:17] Speaker C: So I have a few thoughts. Number one, I don't hate this idea. I think sometimes, as Jackie has sometimes said, like, sometimes certain things are meant to line up that are beyond your control, and there's a reason for that. Number two, since Angelyn is really the type of business partner that we both care about, I think Angelyne would be the perfect person to. And Klaxon immediately gets up and walks over to the poster with the two boxers and say, listen, we have been rivals, but teamed up for something that's bigger. And I think Angeline can spin this. And if we do this correctly, and if one of us wins, and I look at the whole group, if a single racer of ours wins, the exposure will be so huge that whatever failed business practices you did and whatever my sister took from me, we can overcome that new leaf. And what I would probably suggest is, because I would never ask Tanong to race in their pc. We still have the generics that we can modify. [01:38:08] Speaker A: Oh, I can modify their current kids. Don't worry about it. I understand that these tandong have certain bonds with their KC, and I don't want to take that away. I know that's a, that's a winning quality that that's, that's won battles, that's defeated space demons, and it can definitely get us a lead in the race, at least an edge. [01:38:35] Speaker C: I look over at. Is it Muhammad that joined us? [01:38:39] Speaker A: Yeah. Muhammad's, like, sitting there. He's, like, at the process, like, wait, are you. Are you, are we gonna be on a. Are we gonna be on a racing team? [01:38:51] Speaker C: Mohammed? [01:38:51] Speaker A: He looks at Roman. [01:38:54] Speaker D: No. [01:38:55] Speaker A: What? [01:38:57] Speaker B: How fast are you, Muhammad? [01:39:00] Speaker A: It's. Well, here's the. It doesn't matter about the speed, right? Because it's a team race. One of us just has to cross the finish line. And if it's a lethal race, what? Some of us have to play security, right? Especially if all these other racers are coming in with guns and swords and the like. And like, right. Like, it's. That's basically a gladiator match at high speed is what we're talking about. Right. [01:39:25] Speaker B: I was gonna say. And one of y'all has a really, the tiny. The tiny Gremlin guy, right? Yeah, I mean, we have some pretty speedy little fuckers as well, but. Yeah, no, I think. I think we might be able to help them, right? [01:39:47] Speaker C: I think we might be able to help ourselves too. I mean, yen, we can replace a generic thing for you. [01:39:56] Speaker B: Oh, shit. Yeah. [01:39:58] Speaker A: Yeah. Look. And you hear Armin pixel. Like. Look, I got. I know some pit stop guys that can do. Do you real nice. All right? You just gotta. We just gotta put. Do a couple modifications. Get some, uh. [01:40:13] Speaker B: Can you fix a Concord class? [01:40:17] Speaker A: You can fix anything, all right? We. This is. This. This is the Grand Prix. All right? This ain't. This ain't no fucking, uh uh, you know, box cars in your auntie's backyard, right? No, this is. [01:40:31] Speaker B: I'm gonna look at Roman, who's sort of our dad. You're the one. I mean, we're both kind of operating on kisi that are actually, all three of us have a kisi that are trashed. [01:40:45] Speaker D: I mean, I wouldn't say trashed. Don't ever let her hear you say trashed. [01:40:54] Speaker B: I'll put it this way. I can't. I don't think that I. Yen, can take my kisi anywhere on this planet. [01:41:05] Speaker A: Jackie speaks up. Well, I did take the crown off. And it's not like you're not the only conquered out here. [01:41:17] Speaker C: Slap a few stickers on it. [01:41:19] Speaker A: That's true. Armin's like. That's true. There's that advertising money. There's advertising money in this. If we put our cards right. [01:41:27] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, if we add some stickers, you can just put a sticker on it, actually. Any sticker, but, you know. [01:41:37] Speaker A: Yeah, well, make. Wouldn't that make sense, actually? [01:41:40] Speaker B: Armin and I think I just remember this. How long ago did you, like, have this come to bodhisattva moment? [01:41:53] Speaker A: I don't know. A few weeks ago? Like, she looked like time. Time works differently when you're kind of in an existential crisis. [01:42:05] Speaker B: No? [01:42:05] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, but why you some sort of adherence? You're the religious type. I thought the Yanta car over here would be asking this question. [01:42:16] Speaker B: I dabble. No, I was just curious. What was. Where was the lake? [01:42:22] Speaker A: Oh, it's Lake Colomb. It's like a few. Yeah, but it's like outskirts of town, you know, just doing a couple laps around it. [01:42:34] Speaker B: Maybe a good place to practice. [01:42:36] Speaker A: Oh, yeah, definitely. I mean, I did spin out. I don't know if that would indicate any of your luck here, but. Yeah, it's. It's. You know, it. It's a spot. [01:42:52] Speaker C: So why don't we do this? Let's finish up eating. If people want some holo hollow afterwards, you know, we can have that. [01:43:03] Speaker A: Did somebody say halo? Halo. And, like, anjali comes back with a tray of, like, you know, the shaved ice and the ice cream and. And, like, the syrup and everything just, like, starts, like, panning about, like, me and boss man. We love these. After every race, just, like, good memories. Good memories. Do you want one, babe? And Armin's like, oh, yes, please. Please. Yes. [01:43:25] Speaker C: So, Angeline. [01:43:27] Speaker A: Oh, yeah. [01:43:28] Speaker C: Armin and I have a. An agreement that we kind of want to put forward. And you are in the unique position and brilliance to help. [01:43:45] Speaker A: And you see, like, a big smile coming. I'm so glad. I was really worried that you guys would be at each other's throats, but I'm glad this all worked out. And she looks over at Armin and he's like. And he nods, is like, absolutely, boss. Anything you want. Look, I'm still on your team. And fuck. Fuck your bitch sister. Like, we fuck my bitch sister and we. Oh, everybody raises the hollow. [01:44:18] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:44:18] Speaker A: Okay. [01:44:19] Speaker E: All right. [01:44:19] Speaker A: What? Let's. Let's. Let's talk game plan. [01:44:23] Speaker C: All right. [01:44:25] Speaker B: I gotta check out that lake. I think I'm gonna grab rupiah, maybe. Just like, I just. I think I just want to grab someone and be like, we're gonna check. [01:44:34] Speaker A: Out this lake Roman's going with. [01:44:37] Speaker E: Then I'm not gonna be part of. [01:44:40] Speaker A: This awkwardness, which is not quite awkward, but still awkward, but just on the. [01:44:44] Speaker D: Way out, I'm just gonna put my hand on Kolaxen's shoulder and just lean down. It's like, just remember Kolaxen, it's not about the money. It's about the trust and character of the people you keep around you. [01:45:00] Speaker C: It's also about the money. It really is. And fixing RKC and having access to resources. But character is important. It was money. [01:45:12] Speaker D: Yes, but what I'm saying is, don't let him steal the money. [01:45:15] Speaker B: Is that from Linkosco drift? Yes. [01:45:19] Speaker D: But you know what? It's full of good life lessons. [01:45:22] Speaker B: Okay. Just making sure. [01:45:23] Speaker C: Uh oh. And then I just. I just realized something. And he, like, he looks on a dresser that is full of just different stickers that is, like, in the dining room. And he picks out one and looks up at it and then hands it over to Rupiah. It's like if there was the. If there was a sticker that probably would go on your KC. It's going to be this one. And it's a sticker with two masks, a comedy and tragedy mask and an award in the middle. And, and it says on the, and it says on the. On the bottom. Sutra theaters. Oh shit. [01:46:24] Speaker D: Thanks, galaxy. [01:46:26] Speaker C: Of course. I think having your KC endorsed by Sutra theaters would be amazing. And. Yeah. [01:46:39] Speaker D: Yeah, and you know, at least mine isn't currently wanted for anything else. [01:46:47] Speaker C: Oh yeah, absolutely. That is usually a plus. That has a plus. [01:46:52] Speaker D: Yes, yes. [01:46:57] Speaker C: And like, if you continue making commercials, there probably might be more of these if you want them. [01:47:04] Speaker D: Well, let's talk after you figure out, you know, what's going on with your new frenemy. [01:47:12] Speaker C: What's a frenemy? [01:47:14] Speaker D: Friend, enemy. Frenemy. [01:47:17] Speaker C: Oh, I love that term that we made up. I'm gonna use it. [01:47:20] Speaker A: Mohammed turns to you. Romans. Like so. Hey, Mister Roman, how do you feel about all this? [01:47:29] Speaker E: Kid, I'm being very honest with you right now. Best not to involve your stuff. Not to involve yourself with stuff like this. [01:47:38] Speaker A: But it's a race. Cool. [01:47:41] Speaker E: Yeah yeah, yeah, I get it, I get, I get the race. It's fine, it's fine. Just focus on the race. Focus on what they need right now. [01:47:50] Speaker A: Kid. [01:47:50] Speaker E: This is why I never got married, you know, little too much here. A little, little too crazy. Focus on what we got to do. Okay. Don't forget going fishing later. [01:48:00] Speaker A: All right? Okay. All right. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:48:07] Speaker E: Just try not to get entangled, okay? And do me a favor, just keep your eyes on everybody while you can, all right? Just keep a watch out. [01:48:15] Speaker A: My eyes are peeled wide open. They're burning a little from the air, but it's fine. [01:48:22] Speaker E: Naturally. [01:48:23] Speaker A: That's fine, that's fine. Yep. Yen, having heard about this lake and the alleged appearance of your elder sister as you kind of like walk off from the house while Kallaxon and his coterie gather to discuss details of the race, you flip open your wristlet and you summon the kasu and comes flying and lands at one of the landing platforms. [01:48:51] Speaker B: I think also, I don't think I'm very subtle about it. I think I just go, it's like. [01:48:57] Speaker D: Poke Roman on my way out. [01:49:01] Speaker A: I'm. What? [01:49:01] Speaker E: What? Sorry. Uh oh, right, right. I'm gonna follow. Yeah, yeah. Hey, uh hum. And I'm totally gonna like elbow. [01:49:12] Speaker A: Oh yeah, yeah. What's up? Come on. Okay, okay, I'm good. I'm done. I'm your humble servant. You can only just like goes along with you guys. Jackie, like looks over and also follows after. So now there's this whole and yen, as you like, you know, the cross. You takes a knee. The cockpit opens, and you're about to, like, ascend. And then you turn and you see, like, the rest of the crew, like, has followed. After you. [01:49:39] Speaker B: Is the dining room is empty. [01:49:41] Speaker A: No, there's, like, dogs. [01:49:43] Speaker B: Maha. [01:49:47] Speaker A: What? [01:49:48] Speaker B: We can't take a parade to this. [01:49:52] Speaker A: Where are you going? [01:49:54] Speaker D: I mean, you're not going alone. [01:49:57] Speaker B: I mean, I'm checking out the lake. [01:50:00] Speaker D: Mm hmm. [01:50:06] Speaker B: It's been. It's been months since we've had contact with Anoosha. I wanna. This is the first time I've ever heard about her resurfacing anywhere. [01:50:17] Speaker D: Yeah, you're still not going alone. [01:50:20] Speaker A: What's. [01:50:20] Speaker B: What's gonna happen to me, right? [01:50:23] Speaker D: I don't know. Maybe, you know, like, your head, your mexican gonna get shot off again. [01:50:30] Speaker A: Not by me, though. I take full, full clip. I take, like, that was cool. And I. I have sole ownership of that. Just. Just wanna put that out there. What? [01:50:45] Speaker B: Fine. Fine, like, fucking go. Jackie, you do not need to come, do you? [01:50:51] Speaker A: No, I just want. Everyone else is going out here. I just want to see what was happening. I was going to go down to town, get parts and supplies. [01:50:58] Speaker D: That would be awesome. [01:50:59] Speaker A: Some of us had detours to make. [01:51:05] Speaker B: Why don't you take Mohammed with you? [01:51:09] Speaker A: Listen, Mohammed, come on, let's go. And it's like he looks back at romans. Like, I'm going. I'm gonna do this. You're gonna be so proud. [01:51:22] Speaker E: Very fishing afterwards. [01:51:24] Speaker A: Yeah. [01:51:24] Speaker E: Go, buddy. [01:51:25] Speaker A: Go, buddy. I'm gonna buy the biggest rod. Phrasing. You see them, like, walk off and take a shuttle back down to the city. [01:51:33] Speaker E: We really need to work on his people skills. [01:51:36] Speaker B: You gotta admit, it's kind of cute. [01:51:38] Speaker D: I was about to say awkward. Works for a lot of people. Yeah. [01:51:42] Speaker A: Yeah, that's fair. You're right. [01:51:44] Speaker E: You're right. Anyway. Yeah, you're not going alone. So lead the way. [01:51:50] Speaker A: We cut to this wide shot of the three of your mechs, kind of like bursting out from the bulk of the smog of a city out into the Lankoskian countryside. You see here that the countryside is much less pastoral than you expect. This entire world seems to be almost, like, more defined by its pollution than it is its natural surface. There's waste all over the place. And you, even as you, like, fly out, you also see large ships coming down from the sky, presumably from Banda Ankasa, the space colony in orbit. And they just dump a bunch of waste onto the land freely and then fly away. You get the sense that. Or you're kind of familiar with why this phenomenon is usually, like on chow Freya. Waste disposal usually happens where they put it all on a big ship and they just shoot it into the sun and have it be the end of it. But some people don't want to pay the fees for that. And it's often just easier to just lay waste to a planet and just with the state it's already in, um, cut corners, um, it's, it's, it's a sad sight in terms of, you know, poor governance. Right? And all the loops, all the loopholes that were set out for, for this to happen. But eventually, the three of you make your way out towards this, this lake. It looks to be a crater on the side of this because all of Bannang Pradhu, it's at the bot. It's like, at the foot of Mount Mandara, this large volcano, right? And so one of these craters looks to be like a feature of the entire volcanic landscape here. And it's filled with rainwater, as opposed to there's no rivers flowing out of it or anything like that. And you land and you see that there are several mandalas, all kind of like, like, it seems like worshippers have taken bits and pieces of the trash and die and, like, and, like, painted the edge of this lake with imagery of the bodhisattvas, the story, the story of Prince Gautama, and many other religious imagery that you would find familiar in a bhikkhu's temple. Right? But here it looks like this entire lake once. And the lake is clean, like the other bodies of water have been filled with sludge and pollution, but it seems that it's crystal clear. [01:54:47] Speaker B: I guess we found a fishing place for you and Mohammed. [01:54:52] Speaker E: Much appreciated. [01:54:56] Speaker B: Why is this place so rever, like, revered? [01:55:04] Speaker A: You could ask someone there you see a couple of worshippers of laypeople. They're dressed in, like, the blue robes as they like. They've hiked all the way up to this lake and they, like, leave a couple of offering. They, like, make a little shrine. It's, you know, just a couple of young men, heads shaven, not monks, but definitely very faithful people, I think, like. [01:55:33] Speaker B: As they, once they've landed, like, when they land, like, already, like, basically fall back, falls out of the cockpit, like, trying to get out quickly. [01:55:43] Speaker A: Salutations. I see you took the short path up. Honorable Ted monger. Thank you. We are grateful for your presence. [01:55:57] Speaker B: And already nods. Her sash is actually backwards, uh, because the lining just like, it's, uh, you can't see it just so that you can't see the royal sash. Uh, her, um. And she, like. Uh. Yeah. Um. What is this lake? [01:56:18] Speaker A: It's. It's Maitreya's lake. The lake of the coming Buddha. The one that. The one. The future. The. You recognize the term maitreya? It's like the general term for, like, a Buddha who will arrive, like, the next one. Right? Because there have been many throughout the cycles of B con. Right, but the term maitreya is one used for the next one who will attain enlightenment and possibly bring about better times and such and such. Not so much a messiah figure, but more like, this teacher is going to teach us a good lesson for this lesson lifetime. [01:56:56] Speaker B: All right, this is the lake, and you guys, like, we know this? [01:57:02] Speaker A: Well, she was here. She. Lord Armin actually, supposedly saw her, and we just thought we'd pay our respects for her, blessing us with her presence. [01:57:20] Speaker B: Is she still here? [01:57:21] Speaker A: She is. She's among all of us, sister. [01:57:27] Speaker B: But is she physically still here? [01:57:31] Speaker A: Well, with the physical, you know, it's. It's. It's temporary. It's impermanent. Right. It's. It's all about, um. I'm sure, like, we have some. Like, if you want to do some reading about it, I can certainly oblige. Like, we're more than happy to share the lessons. [01:57:50] Speaker B: I briefly consider punching a pilgrim. [01:57:53] Speaker D: Okay, well, I'm curious, as well, so I think I'll get down same. [01:58:08] Speaker B: Do you think that. Have there been other places she's arrived? [01:58:15] Speaker A: Not that we know of. None of us really tend to get off world, but she goes where she's needed. [01:58:27] Speaker B: She's needed back on Chow Fria. [01:58:33] Speaker A: That's a chow freya. What? That's strange. It's quite a ways away from here, is it not? [01:58:48] Speaker B: Yes, actually. Incredibly interesting. [01:58:52] Speaker A: Well, look, everyone could benefit from having more of the lotus in their life, and I'm sure chow Fry could, as well. All the worlds of Mekong are and are, you know, on the same wheel as the rest of us. We are all trying to overcome our own suffering. And hopefully, if you find your own maitreya, then maybe you can help that as well. [01:59:18] Speaker B: You are. You are faithful folk. How do you. When choosing. Enlighten. When choosing a path like this? This would lead harm to more people. It would cause harm to other people. Why would you do it? [01:59:41] Speaker A: That I do not have the wisdom to answer. The circumstances depend between all of us. What matters most is we leave less pain than from when we arrive. And we continue to do that with every coming cycle. And hopefully he's, like, struggling for words here. [02:00:06] Speaker B: It's fine. And I think already kind of, like, already kind of, like, turns away, like, walks away from them to, like, get back to Rupiah and Raman. [02:00:17] Speaker A: Safe travels. [02:00:18] Speaker B: You too. Sounds like she hasn't been here in a while, but I guess she's actually doing the Siddhartha thing, right? [02:00:38] Speaker D: Maybe. [02:00:43] Speaker B: I just don't understand why. I wish she'd told us. I don't understand why she would have abandoned her people like that. Because clearly this is way better than anything that she could have done from the throne, obviously. And I kind of gesture at all of the trash mandalas. We had a coup, and the planet is going to go to Konoa, and we have trash mandalas here instead. Thanks, Nui. [02:01:34] Speaker D: Obviously I'm not one to talk about refinding people that you lost. [02:01:41] Speaker B: But. [02:01:53] Speaker D: You probably don't want to hear this, but I'm going to say it anyway because I think you need to. She wouldn't have fixed all the shit that was wrong with your home. She couldn't fix your brother. She couldn't fix your life. And these people make trash mandalas because that's what they fucking have. [02:02:23] Speaker B: I just wish she had chosen a better way to do that or given anyone any warning, except for, I guess, my dad. Because this is not what anyone wants. [02:02:41] Speaker E: No, it's not what anyone wants. Let's be clear. You're right about that, that everybody's got to make their own choices. Your sister made hers. And it's unfortunate that you don't know where she is. But listen, she's doing the best she can. We're doing the best we can right now. That's really the only way that we can look at this right now. We're doing our best. And if it's any consolation, you know those teeth that the pilgrims you spoke to? At least they still have hope. They still got something to believe in. And that, to be fair, that is something to keep fighting for. Don't lose hope, kid. [02:03:38] Speaker B: I think I already looks over at some of the mandala that's starting to wash away from the lake and nudges it a little bit with her foot, but doesn't actually erase it. Let's go fucking win a race or something. [02:04:00] Speaker A: Yeah, let's go win a race. As you fly away, we cut to the wide of the lake, and at the very far end of the lake, watching the three of you fly off, there's a glowing, feminine figure standing on top of a lotus, watching you fly off. [02:04:24] Speaker D: Okay, I have a contact named Denari who is a smuggler. And I know that she was in this sector. This is her main haunt. So it's possible that we could get some, some gear. I don't know that we could get a replacement head, but it's possible. You never know what she's gonna come up with. [02:04:56] Speaker A: You relay that over the radio, and as you do that, you fly back into Ben on project proper. You head towards kind of like the undercity, like closer towards the river, like in the shadow of all the big residential towers and everything like that. And as you park your mechs and you start walking to where Denarii would be, the three of you see rupiah. You take them to, like, you ever. You know those, like, base, like, basement places in New York where it's, like, there's a stairwell and then there's, like, a little den beneath the building, right? You take one of those, and right on the stairwell, there's some yellow neon lighting, like the kind that, like, you know how dispensaries have, like, that green neon lighting, right? So this is, it's very inconspicuously marked as a honey den, right? Like, you, you know, this is, this is where they wheel and deal in that trade, right? You're standing out at the top of these stairs looking down at not a honey den. Not, like, for legal purposes. It's just some cool lighting. [02:06:14] Speaker D: You know, just sometimes they'd sell some totally legal sugar. Everybody could use some serving sugar. [02:06:25] Speaker B: Already. Gives Ruvia just the, like, flattest face possible. Hmm? Hmm. [02:06:36] Speaker D: Yen, please. Try to look less like a cop. [02:06:43] Speaker E: Just got a point, you know? Uh, yeah, yeah, I want to work on that. [02:06:57] Speaker A: Guy. Never. Just. [02:06:59] Speaker B: Just. [02:07:05] Speaker D: I know it sucks. Everything sucks. Everything sucks for all of us. [02:07:09] Speaker B: Just go do. Fine. Let's do our absolutely not illegal, illicit thing that we're going to do. Okay, now I get. I hear it now. [02:07:18] Speaker A: Okay. The three of you descend the stairs, and, um, you get to a steel door that it opens up, and then you go in, and it closes, and it's just, like, a concrete, dark room. And there's another steel door behind that one with, like, a little isolate, and you see, like, some yellow light coming out from it. Rupiah, you. You knock. You try to open it. It's locked, and you knock, and the isolate, like, flickers, and you see two eyes, like a pier code word. [02:07:56] Speaker D: Dance with the deep. [02:08:00] Speaker A: Let me check on that for you. That's an older code. Are we okay? Tell dot it quote, s g. We don't want. We have. We have no business with her. It's not. No, this, like. Like, after all that business, I knew backcourt that, like, she has to go elsewhere. I'm sorry. [02:08:25] Speaker D: Like, that I'm not here for her. [02:08:30] Speaker A: Sss. She says, I over there, just bang. [02:08:35] Speaker D: My head against the door a couple of times. [02:08:36] Speaker A: Roll a sway. Check. We only rolled, like, three rolls this game, but it's fine. [02:08:42] Speaker B: Listen, we've seen how roll 20 treats us. [02:08:46] Speaker D: I think sway is my best one for this, and I'm gonna use my spark to try to. [02:08:54] Speaker A: Okay, so that's three d, six. [02:08:58] Speaker D: Don't fuck me here. Five. Five. [02:09:13] Speaker A: You see Denarii's eyes in the slit now. She's like, hey, girl. Oh, my God. The door opens, and you see this elegantly dressed. I want to say she's like a Longford woman. She's big, big, kind of curly afro kind of thing. Brown eyes, almond skin. And opens the door, she's like, it's. How long has it been? [02:09:42] Speaker B: Oh, my. [02:09:43] Speaker A: Get over it. And she, like, gives you a big hugs, like, ugh. So, like, how's that play going? [02:09:54] Speaker D: You know, the art world is fickle and never helps. When your theater gets shut down by. [02:10:02] Speaker A: The hornets, she, like, ushers you in. So she ushers Roman in, and then she stops at word at the end. [02:10:09] Speaker D: She's like, not a cop. Don't worry. Not a cop. [02:10:12] Speaker A: Okay. Thank you. Closes it. You guys are now inside a Lankoskin honey den. You see there are several, like, low tables with hookahs with. And little attendants, like, applying little, like, gobs of honey onto the top. And it's. The sweets smell of. It feels. It smells like you're in a bakery, but everyone's stoned. And she walks you through rose, like, so what brings you to Costco? How's it going? What's going on? [02:10:43] Speaker D: You know, you would not believe the deal. [02:10:48] Speaker A: Are you here for the race? I hear it's really exciting. It's the lethal year. They're gonna. It is, ah, so exciting. [02:10:55] Speaker D: And hopefully, we're gonna kill some other people. [02:10:57] Speaker A: What? [02:10:57] Speaker D: Before they kill us. [02:10:59] Speaker A: Hold on. Slow down. Slow down. Hold on. You're telling me that the diva is gonna. Are you entering the race as part of a team? [02:11:10] Speaker D: I got not conscripted, but look, the deal was really good. [02:11:17] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. And she like. And she takes it to, like, this back office kind of thing. It looks like, you know, it's like a corner desk with, like, a computer, and, like, you know. You ever worked in food service? You know, the back of a restaurant. And she like, and she, like, puts down, like, three those little, like, short plastic square stools you find at the asian market with, like, the little knockoff cartoon characters. She's like, here, you sit down, and she, like, opens a drawer, and she pulls out a honey stick and starts rolling it. She's like, all right, so tell me more. Who's your hand? Who's your handsome friend? And she, like, looks at Roman up and down. [02:11:57] Speaker D: And look at Roman. Denari, this is Roman and my friend yen. [02:12:07] Speaker A: Hi. You thespians always have, like, the hottest friends, I swear. Like, where do you cast these guys? Seriously? [02:12:13] Speaker D: Perks of the job. [02:12:14] Speaker A: I guess so. All right, we're talking business. We catching up. What are we doing? [02:12:22] Speaker D: I mean, I'd like to talk some business. [02:12:24] Speaker A: She passes the joint to. Passes it to Roman first. [02:12:28] Speaker E: Uh, thanks, thanks, thanks, but no, uh, no, no, thanks. I I need to focus before the, uh, the, the race tomorrow, so clear. Mind you. No, no, no offense, though. Uh, and he's quite nervous right now. [02:12:46] Speaker A: Okay, all right. Passes it to rupiah. [02:12:55] Speaker D: I take a, you know, take my puff. [02:12:57] Speaker C: Puff. [02:12:57] Speaker D: And I say, as much as I would love to catch up, and we need to catch up, because I feel like you may have be slightly out of the loop, I think we should talk business first. And I give it to, I give it to Ordie. [02:13:12] Speaker B: I think that she looks at it and is like, no, thanks, I'm a cop, and hands it back to Denari. [02:13:21] Speaker A: Wait, do you seriously say, no, thanks, I'm a cop? [02:13:23] Speaker B: Like, she's joking. Hands it back, and then laughs about. [02:13:28] Speaker A: The second the word haha thinks I'm a cop. You see a gun produce out of her pocket, and she points, I'm joking. [02:13:36] Speaker B: And I hand it over to her. [02:13:40] Speaker A: She looks at Europe for, like, confirmations. Like, I know how to use this thing. I just want to let you know. [02:13:45] Speaker D: We all know, we all know she's not actually a cop. She just has a shit sense of humor. [02:13:51] Speaker A: Look, we. This operation is very ship tight, okay? So I just wanted to, you know, cover, and she, like, puts the gun back in. [02:14:00] Speaker B: If I was a cop, why would I tell anyone I'm a copy? [02:14:03] Speaker A: Because you legally have to. That's what they say. If I ask you you're a cop, you have to legally tell me you're a cop. [02:14:08] Speaker B: I don't think that's true. [02:14:10] Speaker A: I know. I'm fucking with you. All right. [02:14:11] Speaker B: Okay. I'm glad we have this relationship now. [02:14:17] Speaker D: I think they could probably both use some. [02:14:20] Speaker A: They sure do they sound. Your friends have sticks up their butts, huh? [02:14:25] Speaker D: Yeah. Don't always get to choose your cast, huh? Uh, but, yeah, so we could use some parts. Ran into just a bit of. [02:14:43] Speaker A: What kind of parts? [02:14:44] Speaker D: Interest on the way here. [02:14:49] Speaker A: I can get you parts, but you gotta tell me what kind. [02:14:53] Speaker D: Look, somebody ripped off copper's arm. One of them. [02:14:58] Speaker A: Poor baby. Okay. Yeah, I can't. [02:15:00] Speaker D: Arm, no less. [02:15:01] Speaker A: Oh, who would do that? Okay, um. All right. And she, like, pulls out an outpat, she writes down, like, one ma Durga class arm. Okay, what else? [02:15:13] Speaker D: And a concord head. [02:15:16] Speaker A: Concord. [02:15:19] Speaker D: I knew if anybody could do it in this whole sector, it had to be you, Danari. It had to be you. [02:15:32] Speaker A: Okay, um. It's a big ass. I, uh. I know we're friends, but, you know, you're asking me to, you know, get you some classified military hardware like this is. [02:15:48] Speaker D: We're friends, yes, but it's business, okay? The compensation won't be there. [02:15:53] Speaker A: You wanna roll another sway check? Or. What's a check you want to do here? Or does anyone else want to roll any checks here that would. [02:16:00] Speaker B: I'm gonna make it worse. [02:16:01] Speaker D: I think Roman should roll something because. [02:16:05] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. [02:16:06] Speaker A: So, Roman, you already have, like, an edge in this conversation because you can tell Denarii's, like, keeps giving you, like, flirty eyes, you know? So anything you say right now, you might be able to charm her into getting what you need, but that's up to you. If. [02:16:23] Speaker E: I don't know, I'm considering it right now, and. Well, I mean, look, Ruby's right. [02:16:30] Speaker A: It's. [02:16:30] Speaker D: You know, I make significant eyes at you. [02:16:34] Speaker E: Yeah. Look, we're friends, but it is business. [02:16:37] Speaker A: There. [02:16:37] Speaker E: There's. There's a. There's a. There's a sizable take for this. And look, we. If we do this, you know, maybe. Maybe we could spend time. Maybe I. Could you spend time here, you know, just enjoying your. Your fabulous establishment. [02:16:57] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:16:58] Speaker E: Yeah, why not? I mean, you know, if we. [02:17:01] Speaker A: If we. [02:17:02] Speaker E: If, you know, if we complete what we need to do. Do here, if you help us out, maybe I'll spend some time here. I would love to learn more about all this, what you've got going here. [02:17:14] Speaker A: Okay. [02:17:15] Speaker B: I've never seen a man drown out of water. [02:17:21] Speaker D: I mean, technically, half of that could be taken as innuendo, so it works out fine. [02:17:25] Speaker B: Yeah. Wow. But also. [02:17:34] Speaker A: Go ahead, roll sway, rupiah. And you can. And, Roman, go ahead, take two stress points for helping that role. Wait, wait, I'm taking two because you're assisting. Yeah, I'm the next stress now. Holy shit. [02:17:50] Speaker B: I was just watching that. [02:17:52] Speaker D: Do you want to roll? Do you want to roll this way, and I could help you? [02:17:57] Speaker E: No, no, no. [02:17:59] Speaker A: I'm gonna take the stress. [02:18:00] Speaker E: I'm gonna take the stress for that one. [02:18:01] Speaker A: Yeah, go ahead. Roll. Three d six for me. Or however many sway that you have. Plus another d six from Roman assisting. [02:18:12] Speaker D: Okay, so that is three five. [02:18:19] Speaker A: That's a five. So you do succeed. She's like, okay, I'll get you your concord head. Um, I I'll see what I can do. But you did roll a five. So, um, you said you were racing, right? [02:18:39] Speaker D: Yeah. [02:18:44] Speaker A: And it is the lethal one. Um, say she, like, opens up a drawer and. And, like, takes out a piece of paper, and she flips it, and to reveal, like, a. Like, a private eye photo of Armin law. Like, from afar, she's like, say, this guy. You know this guy by any chance? I mean, he's one of the lords around here, is lord Arming? [02:19:16] Speaker D: Reputation precedes him. [02:19:17] Speaker A: Yes. He's also racing, and I know a few guys that kind of want him dead. [02:19:29] Speaker D: Dinar. You put me in a situation here. [02:19:31] Speaker A: You put me in a situation. You're asking for fucking classified military hardware. [02:19:35] Speaker D: Okay, you're asking me to be an assassin. [02:19:39] Speaker A: I'm asking you. It's not an intentional assassin. It's a race. Things get messy, and we all know how Nubaccorps went. I know you're good at getting messy. [02:19:50] Speaker D: Don't fucking talk about new pepcorps. [02:19:53] Speaker A: Sorry. Whatever it is, just make something happen. If you promise me something happens to this guy. [02:20:04] Speaker D: I make no promises. [02:20:05] Speaker A: Well, okay, then. I can't promise you this. Conquered it. I'm sorry. [02:20:09] Speaker D: I mean, you do the best you can, okay? [02:20:12] Speaker B: But. [02:20:17] Speaker D: You know, there are lines I won't cross. Never again. [02:20:22] Speaker A: All right. Something. Something to consider. Look, look. You and I, we're both hood brats. We fucking hate these rich assholes, all right? This guy, union busted, all right? Like, we can't even get, like, working stiffs like us can't even fucking, you know, get. You know, get how, like, a quarter of the woolong this guy gets. I'll tell you. [02:20:46] Speaker D: I'll tell you something. I'll give you some information, okay, sure. That hasn't for free. [02:20:52] Speaker A: You're gonna give me information for free? [02:20:53] Speaker D: Give you information for free. [02:20:54] Speaker A: Wow. [02:20:56] Speaker D: Hit the general public yet? [02:20:57] Speaker A: Okay. [02:21:01] Speaker D: Mister Law had a religious experience. [02:21:05] Speaker A: Oh, did he? [02:21:09] Speaker D: Mm hmm. Rumor has it a bodhisattva came to. [02:21:15] Speaker C: Him. [02:21:18] Speaker D: And told him his life was shit. And he was making it shit. [02:21:31] Speaker A: That's it. [02:21:31] Speaker D: So it's possible that at the end of this race that it's going to be a new lord Armin that walks out of it with a whole new attitude. [02:21:54] Speaker A: Where'd you get this info? [02:21:58] Speaker D: I give you some information for free. I don't rat my sources. Who the fuck you think I am? [02:22:04] Speaker A: I don't know. I thought you were my friend. [02:22:07] Speaker D: Yeah, I thought you were mine, too. And you're asking me to kill somebody. [02:22:11] Speaker A: I am asking you to bring justice. I thought you cared about that. [02:22:15] Speaker D: I care about justice. [02:22:17] Speaker A: Okay. All right. Looks like we're at an impasse. [02:22:25] Speaker D: Tell you what, there's got to be something else. There's got to be something else you need that I can provide. [02:22:36] Speaker A: She looks at Roman. Maybe you do, but maybe. How about sleep on it? I'll come back to you before the race tomorrow. I'll see. I'll see. I'll see what happens. Okay? I'll find you if I don't find somebody else to do this for me. But that's that, you know? But either way, I will see about the conquer. I can get you your arm. No. No problem. Like Swedenborn parts. That's easy. Where do the fuck. Dude, who's. Who among you is flying at Concord? [02:23:31] Speaker B: The cop? [02:23:33] Speaker D: You really. You really need to stop saying that. [02:23:39] Speaker A: No, no, I. Tomorrow morning, I'll find you, all right? [02:23:48] Speaker D: Okay. [02:23:49] Speaker A: Now, if you want to stick around and have a smoke, you can, or otherwise I'll have one of my guys walk you out. [02:24:01] Speaker D: I'm gonna look to the two of you. [02:24:08] Speaker E: Will smoke, alleviate some of this nervousness? [02:24:12] Speaker A: Oh, definitely. Yeah. I got. I got all sorts of strengths for helping calm your nerves, but you don't. Don't. Don't even worry about it. [02:24:19] Speaker E: Out of character. Will smoking reduce my stress? [02:24:23] Speaker A: We can roll for it. [02:24:27] Speaker E: Okay. [02:24:28] Speaker B: Okay. [02:24:29] Speaker A: Okay. Let's pretend we're taking the downtime action of let's pretend we're taking the bonding downtime action, right? [02:24:37] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:24:41] Speaker A: Okay, so for cutting loose, you're going to smoke some sinners, honey. Okay. [02:24:48] Speaker E: Yes. [02:24:49] Speaker A: Roll two d six. Because I'll consider this one. I'll consider this. As you and rupiah are bonding over suicide. [02:24:57] Speaker E: Right? [02:24:57] Speaker B: Look. [02:25:00] Speaker D: We'Re not in dare here. [02:25:03] Speaker A: Yeah. [02:25:08] Speaker E: Look, I just. I'm not used nice doing this. I mean, you know, we cut to. [02:25:14] Speaker A: Her, like, usher you to sit down in front of one of the hookah things, and she like. She packs like. So you see her like, packs of, like, sticky substance on the top and lights it, and you see, like, the smoke beginning to form in the little. Little water tank. [02:25:28] Speaker E: Look, I'm just saying that, you know, I had. I had to provide a good image for. For hope, and that really meant I. But I mean. I mean, I guess I always have been pretty curious about this stuff, and it was a three, okay? [02:25:47] Speaker A: You get three points of. You recover three points of stress. Sick. Go ahead and add a bond. A point of bond between you and rupiah. You see denarii, like, take the handle. Just, like, shove it into your mouth. It's like. Okay, now pull. It's okay. It's okay. First time for everything. It's okay. Daddy. Big papa. You good? You got this. Look, you're so strong. I appreciate. I appreciate. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Okay, whoa. [02:26:28] Speaker E: That's not bad at all. [02:26:30] Speaker A: Okay, I did roll a three. Mm hmm. It is not bad. All. You feel like you're. You're. You feel a calm kind, like, flood all of your body. You feel, like, laid back, right? Yeah, that was just the first. But then as the come up starts to happen, right? Just like, you find. Then you hear Danar is like, oh, I also cut this with some. I cut it with a couple of. Some spices. They'll help you see a little bit better, right? It's a new blend. I'm just trying it out. I just want to. To see how. And, Roman, as the come up happens, you. The room goes dark, right? And you see yourself at the end of another long hallway. The same hallway that Klaxon saw earlier in the session, right? Twinkle, twinkle, morning star, how I wonder what you are. And as you look down and. And you see the black frame of the conquered Morningstar with its red eyes and its black wings, and you realize, like, oh, shit. You smoked sinner's honey while also having void exposure, right? And gets closer. Dry your tears that fall like rain. Use your hatred to cause pain. Cockpit opens, and you see the pilot, and you hear Francis's voice in the back of your head shouting, what do they do to you? Eyes red mass covered. Twinkle, twinkle, morning star. Show them what you really are. And we cut to the wide romance. You scream like hell. And that's our episode today, guys, thanks again for tuning into Mekong. If you like this game, please be sure to check out the beam Saber RPG on itch IO. And if you like us and you want to see more, be sure to follow Queen's court games on all the socials and on Patreon. Otherwise, my beautiful players, now is your time to say who you are what you got going on? What's happening? How you doing? How you feeling? And also what you got going on? [02:29:22] Speaker C: Hi, my name is Ryan Omega. You could find me on Twitter and TikTok. I've started to kind of do that. Not really, but I just want to reserve the name under Ryan Omga, under Instagram, under Ryan Omega. I have a few things going on, and if you wanted to check all of that out, you could find that all on my socials because I do a lot of hosting and then appearing at conventions tagged. [02:29:48] Speaker E: All right, I'm in. I'm in. What's up, everyone? Andrew. Andrew J. Landi here again, pronouns he him, played Roman. Max alum, also pronounced he him. When I'm not being the world's okayest dad, really not okay right now. [02:30:06] Speaker A: Exactly. [02:30:08] Speaker E: When I'm out here again, you can find me Twitter and Instagram. Andrew J. Allende. That's Andrew, the letter J. Then my last name, Alandi, would love to hear speak from. Speak to as many of you as possible. Again, love meeting new people. I'm at a lot of different conventions. Follow me on my socials there as well. It's where we keep up with everything. And let's see, let's send it over to the wonderful Pooja rupiah. [02:30:34] Speaker D: Hello, I'm Pooja. I have been playing ruby at a. You can find me on the socials as forgotten saves. If you want to hear me play more ttrpgs, you can find me on the happy tracks rpg, either current games or in their back catalog, just depending who knows what's going to happen in the future or the present. And maybe sometimes we know what happened in the past. And you can also find me on the podcast twelve sided stories. [02:31:04] Speaker B: I am Clara. I'm all over the Internet as clearly golden. Unless you're into mermaids, in which case you can find me on Instagram as mermaid clarity. I also do technically have a Instagram for clearly golden. It is just more shit post y you can find me on. You can find me over at Happy Jacks with Pooja sometimes playing all kinds of games there. And also you. You can find me here at Queen's court games, playing our award winning TTRPG show, the all night Society. And now everyone will know when we recorded this. But you're award winning character. [02:31:44] Speaker D: The award winning. [02:31:45] Speaker A: Yeah, dog. [02:31:46] Speaker B: Yes, someone thought someone chose to validate me, and now they can never escape my goblin energy. But yes, Twitter is the best place to find me for all of the things that I'm doing all the time. Forever, Jerber. [02:32:02] Speaker A: And I'm Jerry law. It's been an honor and privilege telling this story with all of you. Thanks again for tuning in. If you want to find me on socials, I'm ijeriamore at Twitter and on Instagram. Thank you for watching. I hope you come and see the exciting conclusion to the. To this really, really interesting art going on here. So, yeah, come back next time to see some mech racing and some inter party tension because somebody gave drugs to someone who didn't want them. [02:32:35] Speaker D: Oh, no, no, no, no. I'm sorry. [02:32:38] Speaker E: To be fair. No, no. This was this. I was not given them. I took them. [02:32:43] Speaker A: That's fair. Let's be fair. That's fair. [02:32:45] Speaker D: I checked in. [02:32:49] Speaker E: Yeah. [02:32:52] Speaker A: Spare thee. Well, stay hydrated. Tell someone you care about you love them, and stay off the honey. Have a good night, everybody. [02:33:00] Speaker B: Good night.