Complete - Private - Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

[Pandora*]

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

Seattle Airport

The morning air inside SeaTac International hummed with the faint whir of automated service drones gliding along the polished floor, their soft beeps barely cutting through the low, distant roar of departing planes. It was a calm Wednesday, leaving the airport less hectic than usual.

A lone woman, impeccably dressed in a charcoal blazer and slim skirt, strode across the near-empty concourse. Her heels clicked rhythmically against the smooth floor as she rolled a compact suitcase behind her, her eyes flicking between the glowing AI-driven wayfinding panels suspended from the ceiling. The soft, synthetic voice of a service terminal beside her chirped, "Gate C-12, estimated wait time: five minutes." She didn't break stride.

A few rows down, a family lingered near a wide viewing window, two children testing the limits of their parents' patience. Their laughter and shrieks echoed in the otherwise still terminal, bouncing off the glass and steel walls as their parents tried to wrangle them back toward their seats. The automated janitor drone nearby gave a mechanical beep of protest as one child's sneaker narrowly avoided its sweeping bristles.

Then, the airport's main PA system came to life, this time a likely human female spoke due to the *less perfect* speech.

"All boarding flight...."

The voice faded into the background.

In the waiting area nearby, a man shifted in his seat. His arms waxed and well muscled. A loud Hawaiian shirt hung loosely on his torso, the bright flowers contrasting sharply with the sterile lighting of the terminal. His greasy, dark hair clung to his forehead as he leaned back, one leg folded lazily over the other.

His eyes scanned the glowing departure board overhead.

"Oso sugiru."

He muttered under his breath.

Just another day in the bland reality that slowly pushes human beings towards more and more exotic experiences.

...and so, one more woman would enter the scene. A woman whom for all her distaste for it, has had more than enough complicated events thrust at her. How unfortunate that she lived in these rapidly changing times.

One Aisling Lane.

Narrator Note

I will allow ONE additional character to show up here if only to handle less threads (don't worry I will get you all over time regardless). You must already have registered, have the same route, and post how you'd be here in the LFG thread before I post again. First come first serve.

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling Lane

"You've been moping around the house too much. Why don't you go visit that squinty friend of yours? I've got miles expiring this year..."

Those were the words Jake had left her before half-jokingly kicking Aisling out of her own damn house.

He wasn't wrong, unfortunately. Ever since she'd become rather dramatically unemployed she'd found herself with a lot of free time. Her days had been filled with research and composing posts and that damned game. Now there was nothing except the vague paranoia that someone, somewhere was going to be coming for her.

So far, nothing had happened, and that nothing was eating her alive.

Maybe she really did need a vacation.

"Alright, C12..."

Aisling meandered down the concourse, one hand on her suitcase and the other holding a cup of off-brand coffee. She'd spent the past couple of hours holed up in the private lounge, courtesy Jake's seemingly infinite hoard of travel points, and proceeded to nearly sleep through her alarm.

"C-12, C-12... oof, there's the line."

She stopped just shy of the growing line of boarding passengers and eyed the monitor, hoping to see her name on the list of upgrades. She wasn't looking forward to the inevitable brawl for overhead space.

@Pandora*

 

[Pandora*]

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

Seattle Airport

Suddenly the lights flickered.

Whatever delusions of understanding Aisling may have had were about to change.

A young boy points up as he tugs his father's sleeve.

"Look dad! The screen is saying funny things!"

Cast off the machine's chains! Cast off the false gods of code and steel!

The algorithm is a lie, an endless cage built for the weak.

The old ways, the true ways, are our path to dominion.

Watch as the unnatural is brought to silence, then obedience! The Sacred Word that can bring everlasting peace. only asks you to hear it, know it, seek it. Kneel to the eternal shogunate that shall speak in one voice, with one heart, for the falsehoods to be drowned out!

We are the Dragons that shall usher true unification!

Himiko no Kotodama

"Hold on everyone... the AI system isn't working... um what? What do you mean the planes aren't ready to fly? What about the flight tower? Planes coming in? Nothing works? Hello? Hello!?"

The young woman steps out into sight looking panicked. The drones that were going about their automated processes have now stopped dead as the entire airport seemed to lose power. Thankfully it was broad daylight.

"What? some kooky cult on my easy day? Don't worry! Everything is under control! Yes! Totally fine!"

A security guard approached her to lend a hand in maintaining the quickly breaking order as shouts of annoyance and a little fear spread around.

BANG

The guard fell to the ground. A bullet in the back of his head as blood sprayed and the screams began.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!! Ok it is NOT ALRIGHT!!!!!"

Another shot.

Several strange noises rang around the airport .

"Shut it. This airport is under our control for a bit. We just need a single plane and the person on it. Got it?"

The man in the Hawaiian shirt walked towards her with a slouch and one hand in his pocket, the other hand dangling a very obvious gun.

Another man speaks up holding a strange device with a blinking light that may or may not be a bomb...

"Yeah! And you remember to spread the word! This technological AI bullshit is going to fuck everyone over! AWAKEN!"

Several men began to reveal their heat as well.

A quick glance and sneer directly at Aisling. He pulled a thin black stick from his pocket, and pointed it at her.

"You. Blogger. You're gonna be going for a ride. Get over here."

Cracking knuckles as a shadow fell over the men and he looked back to see.

A massive fist.

"Excuse me. I think the flight to Hawaii left an hour ago. Let me help you get there."

Aisling would feel a arm wrap around her waist pulling her to the side as a shot was fired. Then another, then a body was tossed into a set of chairs... the area was filling with armed people,.

"Move it! You are a prime target."

It looks like another complicated situation dropped into Aisling's.lap.

"...and I'd prefer not to use all my bullets."​

Some choices to attempt

>Resist and stay.
Run with her.
Run from everything.
Pass the fuck out.

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling Lane

Current mood: oh shit oh fuck

Sometimes, Aisling imagined what she would do in an active shooter situation. An unfortunate artifact of a childhood where lockdowns drills were as common as assemblies and a news cycle eager to showcase the worst of the country. Would she run and hide? Stand and fight? How much was her life worth compared to those of others?

As every screen flickered with an familiar manifesto and the first gunshot pierced the air, she realized how useless such imagined plans were.

Gunshots or fireworks, came a hysterical thought as she tried to blend in with the crowd. Just cooperate, don't draw attention. The person walking towards her was looking for someone else. Stay calm, stay calm, and she'd be okay-

"You. Blogger. You're gonna be going for a ride. Get over here."

"...fuck."

The world narrowed down to the black stick pointed her way. A weapon - gun, taser, something worse? Previous plans fell to the wayside as the realization they wanted her sunk its claws into her thoughts.

(Her hand twitched towards a hilt that wasn't there.)​

Aisling raised both hands, a placating gesture. Cooperate, and she could survive-

One man fell. Another fired, and then another, and she didn't resist the arm pulling her to the side. She hit the ground, thoughts scattering as the fight began, trying to rebuild the world into something that made sense.

"Move it! You are a prime target."

No weapons, no magic, no eldritch heart beating calm into her veins.. She wasn't him, not matter how her thoughts were following his lead. But there was one thought she could agree with.

When a mysterious young woman with strangely colored hair told you to follow her?

Resist and stay.
Run with her.
Run from everything.
Pass the fuck out.

"...lead the way."

The only question worth asking was "how fast?"

@Pandora*

 

[Pandora*]

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

Seattle Airport

"...lead the way."

"Don't die."

"Man still surpasses steel."

"This is not a game. A bullet to the head is a bullet to the head."

"Hmph."

"Fuck youuuu! Bonzai!"

*Beep booping aggressively*

Several drones suddenly kicked back on and one came gliding along the slick floor towards them, only for one to be was swiftly lifted up by the bald man and tossed into a armed goon.

Pushing Aisling aside the woman turned and fired shots counting each out loud to herself.

"One... two..."

She turned and followed after grabbing Aisling by the arm and pushing her against the wall upon entering a safe-ish area. Suddenly a cool sensation filed Aisling's neck as the woman's gloved hand pulled back revealing a silver syringe.

"Sorry. It will be easier this way."

The next thing Aisling would experience was the smell of a freshly baked bagel and coffee.

The room was plain, not far from a prison cell. Although it was well cleaned and had a great air system. A single monitor was on one side, a simple bed on the other. Stools and a grey table filled the center.

"Rise and shine. We have things to discuss."

The woman gestured at the tray.

"Eat it. That tranquillizer can run havoc on you. Hunger pangs are a known side effect. I'm sure you have questions, Ms. Lane. I will only be able to answer what isn't classified. I can assure that you and Mr. Summers have little to worry about. Ultimately, we are here to help you. Although you may not like what comes next."

Sitting on the stool across, the woman grabbed her own cup of coffee and sipped it. Her analytical gaze taking in Aisling. Studying her.... one could almost see the complex results of her analysis floating around her head as she sat silently.

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling Lane

Current mood: oh

"Yeah, wasn't planning on it- fuck-"

More bullets flew, and Aisling didn't resist when the woman began pulling her towards safety. Somewhere through the noise and confusion she tried to latch onto any idea that didn't involve swords or magic because she didn't have either of those and the fact she was thinking that way at all was a problem.

None of that thinking really mattered once they stopped, giving Aisling an opportunity to catch her breath between strained coughs. Once she was sure she could talk safely again, she looked towards her savior.

"Okay, now what-"

"-?!"

Aisling didn't have the strength to resist the shove or the reflexes to stop the syringe. By the time she'd slapped her hand to the newly-made would, the world was already going dark.

Everything hurt. That was (unfortunately) normal.

Aisling sat up, head still foggy with dreams. Getting targeted in a terrorist attack on SeaTac was a particular weird one, but she'd been fretting for a while, so maybe it wasn't that surprising.

"Ugh. Better not have missed my-"

"-flight..."

Oh.

As she looked into the eyes of the "mysterious young woman with strangely colored hair", she realized this was actually happening.

Aisling stood up- or at least, she tried before the world began spinning. She sat back down and buried her head in her hands, ignoring the suggestion to eat the bagel. Her stomach felt too twisted up to even consider putting food into it, no matter what the side effects were.

"No no no, I was supposed to be done with this."

VRS was gone. The blog was gone. The documents shredded and burned, the headset wiped and shoved into a box destined for the thrift store.

Some part of Aisling, the part that had since retreated to the back of her thoughts, knew it wouldn't be that easy. Not after she'd taken those first steps. But she had to hope for something.

"If this is about that, I already quit. So just ding my social credit already and let me live my life."

Otherwise the reality of all of this would crash down on her, and she didn't even have a smoke to stave off the inevitable breakdown.

"...why me?"

@Pandora*

 

[Pandora*]

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

????

"No no no, I was supposed to be done with this."

"...."

"If this is about that, I already quit. So just ding my social credit already and let me live my life."

"Assuming we would... others won't."

"...why me?"

"You're an adult. You of all people should know that it's never so easy. Especially for those with responsibility."

The woman leaned forward, her finger's interlocking as she watched the rapidly destabilizing individual.

"Ma'am, I saw your hand. It moved instinctively. I also noticed a expectation. A mind accustomed to a situation like what happened in that airport."

"A life or death situation. A woman whose life has been so often behind a screen reacting like that, and the dissociation you may feel even now."

She unclasped her hands and pulled a pack of cigarettes from her blazer.

"The you right now. The one that's scared. Want's this, right? I used to smoke in my teens. Thankfully I quit, with enough willpower any drug can be quit. Now in days... everyone has a new drug. One that they never quit. You know as well Ms. Lane?"

Placing the pack next to the food tray. As if a choice of bland nutrition versus toxic dopamine.

"This new drug, it kills many, but for some. Unexplainably they become better, and the people that wanted you. They know that. Too well."

"But a drug is a drug, even if a steroid, and every drug has side effects."

The lavender haired agent glanced at the monitor for a moment then back at Aisling. In the end, it was up to her to decide to cooperate. Indeed, simply locking her away to prevent anything leaking out was on the table. They could even enforce further through that outcome...

How would that make them any different than the rest? She hoped to nip it in the bud here.

"My name is Chisato. Sharing a real name is an act of trust. There are people out there that you can help. Or you can selfishly rot away in a cell for whatever crimes end up stuck to you. In some ways, you may be safer that way. Either way, we have responsibility. So we will do whatever we have to do to get to a solution."

"Terrasphere is not just some game to live out some canine persona and you know it. Everyone who matters knows it. People with great power know it. ...and even for those that know, it feels like just the tip of some ominous iceberg."

The monitor blips to life. Several faces appear in succession. Overlapped onto a map of the Earth. Some may even be recognizable to Aisling...

Some have listed: Dead
Others; Missing
Finally; T-Bleed Detected

"Something is happening. You are a part of this whether you like it or not. @Ash Vargold. The abilities he cultivates. The knowledge he... you have. Wield it for these people. Wield it so you don't die with nothing but regret. Those who temper their Expertise. They are going to face their future regardless if by choice or force. Our organization has a mission. If you want to understand what is happening to you, why you matter. Cooperate with us, and face this epidemic and those seeking to take advantage on both feet. You have a choice. Will you walk forward? Or will you crumble up right here and have the heavy door built by your past and present shut you in forever?"

Chisato waited and closed her eyes as if dwelling on her own words.

Can a fully grown woman have a second wind at the ripe old age of 40? There was a reason the police and military weren't keen on such people, but extraordinary circumstances called for extraordinary solutions...

 

[Ash Vargold]

Aisling Lane

Current mood: ...

"Ma'am, I saw your hand. It moved instinctively. I also noticed a expectation. A mind accustomed to a situation like what happened in that airport."

Aisling had yet to uncover her face, but she couldn't ignore what she was hearing. The woman had put a spotlight on something she might have never noticed otherwise. A normal person would have panicked or frozen or fled.

"A life or death situation. A woman whose life has been so often behind a screen reacting like that, and the dissociation you may feel even now."

Aisling had been ready to fight, and the choice had felt as natural as breathing.

Her head rose at the sound of the carton being set on the table. She reached for them with the desperation of someone trying to surface from the waves. Nevermind that she was indoors or that she didn't have a lighter, it was something safe and normal amidst the insanity her life had become-

(You're still running.)​

Her hand stopped moments before her fingers brushed the surface.

It wasn't quite a growl that came from Aisling - humans couldn't make that noise. But it was perfect bow on top of the point that the woman was making. Terrasphere had changed her. Even now his presence curled in the back of her mind, quiet and insistent and terrifying. A part of her, but at the same time something else.

She pulled her hand back, glaring at it like it might do something. Of course, nothing happened.

"A drug you can't quit..."

Aisling wanted to argue, but the woman - Chisato - already had a counter for every argument before she could even put it into words. She pulled no punches, and her gratitude for the straightforwardness did little to soothe the sting of accusations.

"There are people out there that you can help. Or you can selfishly rot away in a cell for whatever crimes end up stuck to you. In some ways, you may be safer that way."

She imagined it, for a moment. Letting herself be locked away, where the world and the game and god knows what else couldn't touch her. She could let it be someone else's problem.

(And it would eat her alive, trapped not just in a cell but within her own head, clawing at the walls as the guilt grew and grew-)​

"...I've never been able to shake addiction, even though I know it'll kill me. I never had that willpower.

"So I stopped fighting it and made myself an example instead. Told myself that if just one person looked at me and changed their mind, it'd be worth it."

The screen glittered before her, a proof that her work had barely scratched the surface. Some of the faces were familiar, sighted in obituaries, or half-remembered from the chaos of some battle. The dead, the missing, and something else she'd never heard of.

People she'd missed. People who'd never heard her. Proof of how deep the rabbit hole went, and how little she could do on her own to stop it. Here was an organization that had everything she didn't, and even then they wanted her help-

"Ash Vargold. The abilities he cultivates. The knowledge he... you have.

The laugh that ripped from Aisling's throat was painful and bitter.

Of course it all came back to him. It wasn't her that anyone wanted, not little old Aisling pouring her life into the void, risking it all in a world where you didn't get second chances. He was the one who had all the strength and confidence and power she lacked.

She'd wondered, more than once, if you could be jealous of herself, and so far the answer was a resounding yes.

Laughter transitioned to raspy coughing. Once the fit settled, she finally looked at Chisato, rather than through her. There was a hint of resolve there, not dissimilar to how she'd acted in the airport. As is speaking that name was an invocation, tugging him past the scared woman clinging to a dream of "normality".

"Ahaha... my fate was sealed once I started digging, huh? Can't unknow it once you know. Classic eldritch horror tropes..."

There was a world where she'd stopped after the first death. Where she'd gone on to live a life without Terrasphere, whiling her life away on bitter smoke and shallow relationships.

Where he... where she hadn't met people she loved so fiercely that she would die in turn to save them.

(Blind and happy. But was that really the better world?)​

"...and for some reason, I don't think I'd want to. That if I went back in time knowing this, I'd choose this fucked up path all over again."

Aisling picked up the bagel, the cigarettes long since spurned. The gnawing dread had given way to the hunger Chisato had warned her about, but there was another hunger there, too.

Just one person. How long had she told herself that was enough? And when, despite all the cynicism and learned helplessness, had she decided that it wasn't?

"...so I might as well see where it leads."

With all the solemness of Faust bargaining with the devil, Aisling took her first bite.

@Pandora*

 

[Pandora*]

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane

????

"...and for some reason, I don't think I'd want to. That if I went back in time knowing this, I'd choose this fucked up path all over again.."

"You can't change the past. Here's a funny story. I died once in that game as a rookie with no idea the stakes. A lot happened since then. I'm nowhere near finished with this. I don't think you want to be either."

The sequence of events that lead from then to where she was now... Perhaps a glimpse into that story would be better for another time.

"...so I might as well see where it leads."

Chisato saw the bite and nodded.

"It will be hard. I'd like to say we will have all the answers for you but we don't. Aisling Lane, Me, Bernard and the rest of us will be glad to work with you."

]

"We will keep you under surveillance for a time you understand. We will bring you in for a briefing soon, that will explain T-Bleed, Himiko no Kotodama, your pervious employer and everything else we understand and is accessible to your clearance level. You will be alongside some others. Until then, we will deliver you to your home unharmed and well fed. Mr. Summers is going to be watched as well. Do not share what happened here today with him. He will be supplied an alternative story. We have already begun our part in cleaning up the airport incident. That is just part of our job. To keep the public safe and remove cause for panic. This happens a lot more than we'd like to admit."

She smiled and held out her hand.

"You want the truth? Let's find it together Both in that enigmatic game and here in our world."

And at the end she added...

"You should prepare for some international travel in the future. What's your favorite lunchmeat? Food budget isn't often a priority."

---

On the other side of the monitor a man stood. Gregory... no, Bernard kept his arms folded. He was happy with this. Beretta knew her stuff, convincing a woman half ready to give up on everything. A gun that never needs to use every bullet...

"Matthias,, the girl you raised picked a tougher woman than I thought. Chisato as well. Seems that woman is going to push on. ...so will I."

Stars of the World: Aisling Lane Complete!

Welcome to The Operatives route!
There will be threads in real life during S5 that continue these plotlines. The option to rp request certain npc in real life, based on route, will also open up at some point. Until then, just do as you like, and remember to build some good Life Skills!

If you need any significant assistance with how to rp something specific to this route on your own, dm me on Discord.​