MSPNPC Erbil — Turyon Planet-Hopper
Yogan Yalu
(( Provisional Government Complex, Tecra, Da'al ))
Erbil’s offer of a fake prisoner escape might have sounded appropriate coming from a military commando or an actor in a thriller production. From his mealy, mid-sixties bureaucrat mouth, it sounded ridiculous. Laughable. Absurd.
And yet, they were short on options.
A group of rioters began tearing chunks of the building apart in an attempt to widen the hole and gain entry. MacKenzie and Dakora would only get out of the place alive with the assistance of Erbil’s encyclopedic knowledge of the complex.
MacKenzie: We’d better go…
Dakora: Hope you've got another way out of here, or your turn as a Jailer is going to be short-lived.
Erbil nodded. If they hurried, they might just outrun the advancing mob and slip away unnoticed.
Erbil: ::whisper-shouts:: Follow me!
Erbil didn’t wait. He just booked it out of the room and down one of the corridors.
MacKenzie: Where are we going?
Dakora: Minister, it kinda feels like we're going deeper into the complex. Isn't that sort of the opposite of what we want right now?
Erbil, not the strongest runner on the Interim Government’s intramural spolaball team, found it hard to articulate and sprint at the same time. He gesticulated and sputtered, hoping that his Starfleet “prisoners” would get the hint.
Erbil: This—— ::heaves:: entry—— ::heaves:: secret—— ::heaves:: under.
Either they got the message or they quit caring. Either way, MacKenzie and Dakora followed the old man deeper into the complex. Erbil made a sharp turn down an ordinary looking corridor and stopped in front of a piece of wall. The sound of his heart pounding and everyone’s heavy breathing made it difficult to listen for pursuers, but after a moment, Erbil was reasonably certain they hadn’t been followed. He placed his hand on a section of wall and it separated, revealing a narrow set of steps leading down.
MacKenzie: What’s down there, Minister? Lieutenant Dakora needs medical attention and we have to hurry…
Erbil’s answer was cut off by the sound of shattering glass in the middle distance.
Dakora: We're out of time. They're coming!
Erbil: Away we go!
Erbil waited for MacKenzie and Dakora to head down the steps, then sealed the secret door and followed them.
The steps descended a few meters down and seemed to open up to a tunnel at the landing. It took a moment for Erbil’s eyes to adjust to the dim lighting. He squinted at the tunnel that lay ahead of them.
Dakora: At least it's not a torture dungeon?
MacKenzie: response
Erbil: Every provincial capital has a crisis bunker like this. They were constructed in the olden days, when we thought we’d never need to use them. ::knocks against a pipe:: Dedicated air and water supply, independently powered communications equipment, and provisions to ensure continuity of government in the event of a breakdown in law and order.
Erbil let out a rueful chuckle. The fresh air helped to clear his head, but the emotions rushing to fill the void left by the retreat of mindless rage weren’t any good, either.
Erbil: I’m so sad. Continuity of government? Please. ::beat:: Everyone in Tecra has lost their minds.
Dakora: Does this tunnel lead out of the complex? Or are we trapped in here until the rioters get bored?
Erbil: ::points:: If you go down that way, eventually you’ll come to a landing pad. As far as I know, there should be two overland wagons and a six-person Turyon Class XI Planet-Hopper moored there. The only other way out of here is back up the way we came.
As his voice echoed slightly into the tunnel, Erbil leaned against the wall and wrung his hands.
MacKenzie: response
Dakora: Commander, do you know how long this Lex-o-whatever-it-is will last? ::He frowned.:: I'd really rather not lose my mind and join the crazy mob, if at all possible.
MacKenzie: response
Erbil: You better hurry. ::snuffles:: Sounded like your crewmates are in trouble, too.
MacKenzie / Dakora: response
Erbil glanced back up the steps. The narrow flight faded into blackness and he couldn’t see the secret door from whence they’d come.
Erbil: ::shakes head:: No, it’s time for me to go back upstairs and do my job. I’m still the Interim External Relations Minister, dammit. It’s time I started acting like it. The Federation has been nothing but helpful to us and all we keep doing is play ourselves off each other. For what? To get blown up by a meteor and turn into ragesters. None of you deserved to get caught up in all this.
MacKenzie / Dakora: response
Erbil: The Planet-Hoppers operate on voice command. You shouldn’t have any trouble operating them.
Erbil started for the steps, knowing full well that by re-entering the fracas in the government complex, he’d either become the hero who managed to quell a mob riot or the idiot who walked face first into a fist full of madness. Or perhaps, he'd get caught up in the rage himself and enjoy the sweet, sweet release of madness. He slowed his exit, hoping against hope that they’d ask him to come along. He put a foot on the first step. Nothing. Second step. Still nothing. Second step again…
MacKenzie / Dakora: response
Tag / TBC
MSPNPC Da’al Erbil
Interim External Relations Minister
Da’al Interim Government
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