"I lost the scent, not the track," Ilari responds to him, "We should keep moving until we find the point of entry.  I'll be able to ID that fairly quickly."

They keep moving until finally they reach a shaft that leads up towards the skin of the Last Refuge.  Ilari frowns.

"I smell death up there.  Want me to go first?"

Daniel nods as it turns out Ilari was still on the trail. "Good."

As they reach the shaft and Ilari notifies him of the reek of death, he frowns and looks up, focusing.

"...Not dead, but dying. Demonic. May be more victims. Go first, see if it's too late to help."

He isn't far behind, however.

"Got it."  Ilari clambers up the ladder.  The Lunar climbs up three rungs at a time, looking more like a monkey climbing a tree than anything else.

And when they reach the top they don't find just a demon- they find the corpse of a man, frozen in death, with a quivering pile of goop extending a pseudopod topped with a blinking, vaguely human eye.  The man has a huge hole blown in him, big enough that it essentially cored out his torso.  He's equipped with a skinsuit and some other equipment that mark him as one of the Voyagers.

"A perroneles." He kneels by it, touching the shuddering protoplasm.  He shakes his head, "Give me a moment.  Their anatomy is... challenging.  It's obvious how the man died, but looks like his body suffered vacuum exposure afterwards."

"Morningstar?" The Perroneles opens a mouth near the gaping wound, a void like a cheeping bird, "The dead are here.  Candlelight Gunzosha infiltrators.  I am so sorry."

It was obvious what awaited them wouldn't be pretty, but Daniel nonetheless sighs as they find the corpse. Turns out the more resilient Perroneles was still alive, however!

As the demon speaks, he walks closer but stays standing to leave Ilari room to work. Being addressed as Morningstar by someone who's dying caused his demeanor to shift, his gestures and voice becoming softer without losing their sense of urgency. Like a holy man receiving what could be a last confession.

"You were outmatched. If you did the best you could, there is nothing to apologize for."

He glances around the room and the way they came as well as any other exits before returning his focus to the Perroneles.

"We slew one of them and followed their tracks here. You were outside when this happened? How many were there? Where did they come from? Do you know where they went or what they're here to do?"

"Six," The demon responds as Ilari starts pulling some strange syringes out to inject into the thin flesh of the demon, "It was so quick.  Dassid was shot in the back before he knew what happened.  I played dead and listened.  They came from Pandava Force."

The demon's voice is urgent.  It's been saving as much strength as possible for this moment.

"They clung to the outside of the cruisers and then jumped off and floated through space for days to get here.  They didn't say where they were going but they mentioned a Target.  They're here to kill someone specific.  They can't be allowed!"
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:49, Sat 12 Nov 2016.

"Are you sure the Target is a person and not something else, like a building or system? Did they say anything that could help identify who they're after?"

Lucifer frowns, wondering at which point the infiltrators had clung to the Pandava cruisers. They had to have come from the outside, right? Or was part or all of Pandava compromised?

It was likely to have happened during the Raid on the Buchenwald or its aftermath. But that was an investigation less urgent than the current one.

He regards the mortally wounded Perroneles, then the Lunar striving to save its life, trying to deduce whether he should be giving the demon its last rites or incite it to fight for its life. For the moment he leans toward the latter to keep it engaged and talking, but he keeps his third eye trained on the demon's ebbing life force to let him send it off properly should its fate be sealed.

"They won't be. For Dassid's sacrifice and the cause of the Living I will see these Void-tainted husks thwarted and brought to ruin. You've done well contributing to their downfall, Perroneles. Tell me, what is your name?"

Ilari may be trying desperately (and shaking his head while doing so) but this demon is dying, and Lucifer can tell.  If it had just been hurt by itself, that might've been another story, but it was too bonded to Dassid to recover.

"They mentioned tracking the Target."  The Perroneles responds to him, "So it has to be a person, probably in the Underdecks or the Extremities.  Anything closer to the Core or the Reactor would be found and stopped too quickly."

The perroneles extends a trembling psuedopod towards Lucifer.

"I am Okidokapeskimono, Dassid called me Pesky.  He was a hydroengineer from Tel Aviv.  It was a blessing from the Yozis to be bonded to him.  We gave each other meaning."  The lone eye blinks, "It isn't fair, Morningstar.  There are no more Yozis to receive the essence of their progeny.  My essence disappears into nothingness.  When Dassid is reborn I won't be waiting for him.  It isn't right!  It's not right for him to be reborn alone!  Promise him prayers that he finds another perroneles to share his burdens.  He doesn't deserve to go through another life without a demon-companion."

Lucifer shakes his head as Ilari's valiant efforts turn out to be for naught. He places a hand on the Lunar's shoulder, signaling him to save his resources as he kneels by the dead human and his dying Perroneles symbiont.

He nods at the demon's final pieces of information, then seems ponderous at its request. After a brief moment of thought, he shakes his head. "I will make no such promise, for the path Dassid's soul walks must not be preordained. It is the greatest curse and mightiest blessing of man to be born and die alone with no purpose but that which we define; yet the meaning we find, the bonds we build, our victories and shortfalls ripple through Creation long since our passing. To deny this clean slate, harsh as it may be in thrusting him to the world without comfort or meaning, would be to deny his humanity."

He takes no pleasure in his apparent denial of the demon's wish, seeming somber but resolute as he lays a hand on the edge of the gaping wound where dead human and dying demon are one.

"But take heart, Okidokapeskimono, progeny of the Guardian of Sleep and companion to Dassid. While the Yozi that once were are beaten and laid low, they are not wholly lost to the Void. Much of their progeny still lives, pieces of those who were rent may yet be reclaimed, and their Chosen yet resonate with echoes of their power while they grow to shape it anew. Just as Dassid's soul will move on, not to the Fallen Sun or Moon but the bearer of their mantle, so too might your essence find solace from the Void."

A golden disk flares into being on Lucifer's forehead as he starts purifying the mortal's remains and the dying demon alike, golden wisps of flame caressing them as they slowly unravel.

"What I will promise is a world of possibility and meaning for Dassid's soul to return to, and a chance for you to go as you lived: together. Say your farewell as he passes and follow; whether or not you find him again, your ardor will be carried with him."

"Thank you, oh Morningstar.  May all your walks be short."

The perroneles hastens its own death, growing more pseudopoda and stabbing itself all over in a rather ritualized fashion.

Dassid Levitt, bone of my skin--"  The chirping voice is too low to hear as it whispers last words to its companion.  The two disappear in flakes of golden flame, leaving nothing behind.

"Well, that narrows things down." Ilari says after a few moments of silence.  He starts rolling his sleeves back down, "There aren't many high-profile targets that can be found reliably outside of the Upperdecks anymore."

Lucifer stays still, kneeling until nothing remains of the Voyager pair. He looks solemn as he slowly gets up, then dusts himself off and nods to Ilari.

"Yeah, Juno and Smoker should be able to get a list of possible targets quickly enough based on this. I'll inform Smoker", he says as he starts digging out his phone. "Can you pick up where the others went from here? We could try tracking while Smoker and Juno figure out the targets."
This message was last edited by the player at 22:18, Sat 12 Nov 2016.

"Yeah, I should.  Let me dig out a map first.  They're definitely up the way we kept going, so the one I killed split off right around here." He pulls a small map on onion-paper, looking over an incredibly arcane-looking schematic.

Smoker picks up immediately.

"Hey Lucifer.  I've not had any luck.  What's going on at your end?  What's your location?"

"We're at..." Daniel looks for some identifier in the room, asking Ilari about their location or giving an approximate location if none is available.

"More importantly, we found a dead Voyager whose Perronele was still alive. It confirmed there were six Candlelight Infiltrators, and they talked about tracking a Target. Apparently they clung to the Cruisers of Pandava Force, leaping off and traveling several days through the vacuum to make their way here. Unclear whether Pandava didn't notice or was in on it."

He pauses for a moment as Ilari gets his bearings.

"That means they're after someone in the Underdecks or Extremities. Any ideas?"

"Maintenance shaft PZ.501A RS-E." Ilari fills in for him.

"Christ, who came up with the terminology for these things?  Lemme see... so six total, one down.  From Pandava Force, huh?  Interesting." Tap tap tap, a cigarette feverishly tapped against a bowl, "Pandava dealt with a bunch of Marlboros trying to ram into them.  In case you didn't notice, they all made a b-line for the Enterprise during the raid.  Ignored the easy kills, too!  Some of the Marlboros were carrying Candlelight then.  I'm sure there's a bunch of other ghosts."

He finally sighs, "OK, found you.  This shit ain't easy, Lucifer.  Alright.  Underdeck or extremities, and here's their entrance point?  Assuming they didn't just enter because it was the very first place they landed- which is a shitty idea- we're assuming they know what they're doing." He grunts, "Fuck.  Alveua is my guess.  You keep going in the direction away from where you started and you'll head right for the Underforge, where she's working.  She's pretty much integral to the war effort.  Not only does she have a big hand in the Underforge's maintenance, her Forge of Night puts out parts we use for some of our more advanced machines.  And, also, she keeps up the sesseljae population.  We lose the stomach bottle bugs, we may as well start wallowing in our own filth."

Daniel nods - not that it'd really carry over without video. "Most likely. Best to have someone capable of detecting ghosts visit Pandava to be sure. Could be more lurking somewhere."

"It's safe to assume they know what they're doing. Candlelight doesn't tend to do otherwise barring extraordinary circumstances."

He looks to Ilari, checking if the way to Alveua was consistent with the Lunar's trail. "That'd make sense. We'll follow the trail and head to Alveua if we lose it. Could you try notifying her of the danger?"

"I'm already putting in a request for Voyager assistance as we speak.  You're goddamn right.  They're not going to go ahead with a mission like this unless they have it all planned out to the numbers.  Fortunately, *I* know how they think."

Ilari checks the map. "It's a solid plan.  This duct is a main trunk, and one of the side trunks leads right to the Underforge bellows.  Those're automated, so they could slip right out and then start skulking around the Underforge with no issues."

"I can try, but she can't leave the Forge of Night forever.  If they want, they can find places to hide their armor in the scrap, dematerialize, and wait years if they chose.  We'd have a hell of a time just sweeping everywhere for them, too many places to ward and hide, and they'd be smart about it.  In the meantime, whenever she's not working on the forge we're losing production, so it's a long-term loss for us.  Area denial, my man."

"C'mon Smoker, you know me better than that. I never said she should evacuate; I said she should be notified so she can prepare for an attack, whether through traps for a counter-ambush or - preferably - fortifications until we get there. Either way with even a little preptime in her Forge she will have a significant advantage."

He looks to Ilari and gestures for him to start leading the way. "We're on our way. Tell me if something comes up."

"And you know I have to deal with a vast, unthinkably stupid bureaucracy.  The moment I make it official that she has to watch her back that sets up a list of codes and procedures not fit to touch my bunghole." He snarls at the thought of the bureaucracy, "Approved by Command, of course.  The Forge of Night isn't the most defensible place.  I'll contact you with her location."

He hangs up.

"Moving,"  Ilari responds, gun up.  "Losing the mother of the sesseljae is probably the stealth-worst case scenario.  They breed but not fast enough with all the waste we output."

Daniel sighs and shakes his head as he hangs up. "We're so bound by red tape we're better off not warning someone who's about to be assassinated? Really?"

He instinctively puts a hand on his anger patch, then grunts and hastens his pace. "Yeah, and the Firmin aren't without their uses either. Let's make sure it doesn't come to that."

"We're run by Command.  Last I checked, they loved having things in nice, orderly boxes."  Ilari answers him as he starts jogging down the tunnel, "That's true.  They make wonderful scalpels and acupuncture needles.  But they don't die as fast as the sesseljae."

He looks over at Daniel as they jog down the corridor,
"Assuming we find them, I'll attempt to bog them down.  Hit weak points, make them vulnerable.  You can pick off whoever I hobble."

"It's nice having things in orderly boxes, but even more important is having no one knock them down."

He nods at Ilari as he jogs. "Gotcha. Take care not to get surrounded or otherwise susceptible to focused fire, though. They know I take a good while to bring down so they'll jump at a chance to reduce the numbers quickly should they have one."

"Then let me ask you a question.  If it comes to blows, would you rather I run and get help?"  He asks seriously, "I don't want to get in your way or otherwise compromise your fighting style.  I'm in this to get victory, not personal glory, and if you think I'd be better off hiding in a lead-lined box than participating I'll gladly jump right in."

"I doubt there's better reinforcements than you nearby", Daniel replies matter-of-factly. "I don't think you'll hinder me, and if we can make them spread their fire so much the better. Just withdraw if you get hurt enough and try to avoid being singled out."

"You know Candlelight and Gunzosha better than I do,"  He points out, "But I'll be quite happy to back you up."

He leads them down a maintenance shaft, through a smaller air artery, and then finally into the last tube that leads them to the edges of Underforge.  The brilliant light generated by the reactors, furnaces, and the Overflow permeates the city as if it were solid.  Odd corners and jutting pipes throw stark-black shadows, and here and there the two can see Underforge residents sleeping in the shadow.

"Not sleeping," Ilari points to one of them.  He drags the young man out into the light and cuts open the man's shirt, pointing at a small puncture wound in the ribcage.  "Right for the heart.  It was probably quick.  They're definitely here.  Probably hiding in the occasional shadow.  Underforge is full of weird illusions and visions, so they might be able to avoid easy detection."
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:17, Thu 17 Nov 2016.

The Underforge was a place Daniel had visited before, but he was still far from being able to claim familiarity. As they find another victim of the infiltrators, he nods with a frown. More victims were to be expected and finding this one was a fortuitous confirmation they were heading the right way, but he couldn't say it made him happy to find another life snuffed by the Void.

He takes a knee by the corpse once Ilari's done examining it, laying a hand on the man's lifeless body and sending him off in a golden pyre like all too many others before.

Once he gets up, he nods to Ilari. "Most likely. If you're still on the trail let's follow, if not let's head for the Forge of Night. You keep your natural senses sharp, I'll keep an eye on the supernatural. Luckily I have a little personal experience differentiating illusion from truth."

"The trail's gotten confusing.  We can probably follow the bodies but while we're here things are going to get steadily more difficult.  We should head for the Forge of Night," He agrees as he starts trying to get his bearings, "We can't count on the locals.  You know the Gunzosha- would they ditch their armor at any point?"