level_act37side_05_beg

<p=1>New Auchterigg, Vehicle Factory</><p=2>December 21st, 1098, 6:13 P.M.</>

There you are, Captain! Here, take a look at this blueprint. Occ has been saying it's pointless to design a new electrical transmission distribution valve.

But more and more big guys are gonna roll out from our factory to the other plates of Londinium!

I say we ought to make preparations ahead of time.

I don't want to hear people complain when they find that these things don't have enough power and torque—

'Those short-sighted idiots!'

Stop calling me captain. This is a factory; we're not in the Self-Salvation Corps anymore.

Besides, I'm sure Occ has thought about it too. It's just about saving costs where you can.

I know, I know... but it's the young ones coming after us who would have to deal with any problems.

I know how you feel, Martin.

But we have to take things one at a time. Closure shared a bunch of drone technology with us that I would love to put into our new four-legged crawler.

But problems like power supply and automation don't just solve themselves. It's all good to have them in the blueprints, but let's take one step at a time, starting with the present.

Let's do it Occ's way for now and get a basic version out to meet our present needs.

File your blueprint with the Londinium Industry Development Association. Don't lose it.

Its mission is to restore Victoria's technological superiority, with the support of Parliament. New ideas should be respected.

Whatever you say. You're a consultant for them, after all.

There have been so many new ideas lately that it's getting hard to keep up.

People are enthusiastic. They can feel that things are changing because of their ideas.

Yes. Factory production lines, a railway system that links all the districts, and walls and artillery that protect all of Londinium.

We can build them the way we want, with our own two hands.

I could agree with everything else, but please, not the way you want, Feist, or we're all gonna end up in one big amusement park, where the only form of transportation is ziplines.

Come on, that's just the one that drew the most laughs amongst the proposals that got shot down. Not all of my ideas are like that.

By the way, are you sure your factory wants to keep Occ in the core workshop? I heard he didn't get along with you at the old place.

Each factory has its own technical secrets, and there's been friction over competition for orders...

Well, that's true. Not all of our workers were in the Self-Salvation Corps.

But if Catherine could convince the other factories to join the association and share technologies, then there's nothing for us to hide—

Somebody! Help!

Matthew just got pummeled!

Have we met before, sir?

Not exactly, Madam Speaker.

The name's Matthew, a humble businessman who owns a little factory. I simply felt the need to speak up about the present situation.

You can write to Parliament, or seek assistance from the Industry Development Association. I have... other things that require my attention.

I have written to Parliament on behalf of a dozen factories that were shut down. My letter's gone unread for the better part of a month.

It was the decision of Parliament to shut down a number of factories. You know better than I the state of Londinium's logistics.

The burden of one factory's debt can crush hundreds of families in Sudean or Highbury.

We're just asking for the scales to be tipped a little towards us—even if only in a private manner.

Workers from factories that have been shut down could not even afford to buy medicine on the black market. An experienced line worker is worth ten pieces of machinery.

I believe in my workers. There is much that they can still do for the city.

Meanwhile, invaluable Oripathy suppressants are being wasted on dying soldiers on their beds in the Sanatorium.

What are you on about?!

Explaining the realities of economic—

You bloody—

Vina's fist found the man's nose before she knew it.

The man by the name of Matthew grabs his bleeding nose with one hand and searches haplessly for a handkerchief with the other.

Blood continues to seep from the gaps in his fingers, dyeing his clothes red.

More and more onlookers gather, all of them staring at Vina.

There is no hostility or anger in their eyes, but each and every gaze reminds her of her helplessness, of her ill-timing.

I—

I understand why you're angry, Madam Speaker. I know... but someone has to say it.

I assure you it gives me no pleasure.

I was part of the Self-Salvation Corps that stayed in the city. You came with the Cautus girl, and then you left.

When the Exemplars came, and I learned from Catherine that you're their leader, I agreed to turn on the boilers to welcome you without a second thought.

But I didn't recognize you when I saw you standing in the middle of the street, dressed like a king, promising a better life for everyone on behalf of Parliament.

You knew that some promises could never be fulfilled. You chose to sacrifice some people to save others, didn't you?

She wants to shut him up.

She grabs the man by the collar and lifts him off the ground, but she can see his eyes, and the eyes of everyone standing around.

'Siege solves problems with her fists.'

She wishes she could make these problems go away with her fists, the way she used to.

Something falls out of her pocket and makes a clanging sound on the ground. It has been a long time since she had candy. She forgot the box was in her pocket.

We believed in you when we agreed to shut down and relinquish our Originium fuel. But now, we can only hope that we're not the ones being marked for sacrifice.

Not all problems can be solved by your fists... <i>Siege.</i>

Vina!

Let Matthew go. Please.

<p=1>Speaker's Office</><p=2>December 21st, 1098, 7:32 P.M.</>

...Matthew's views don't represent those of all the workers.

Neither do mine, of course.

All I know is that a few friends have reached out to Rhodes Island through me, hoping to improve the state of equipment at the Sanatorium. We can't make new equipment appear out of thin air, but maybe we can make the existing kit more efficient.

Most workers still support the current medical system, I think.

No, you don't have to explain, Feist. I was the one who let the blood get to my head.

You have done as much as you could possibly do.

Improved medical equipment effectiveness, reopening the fast transport tunnels, the central heating system under experimentation... a lot of people have benefited from the changes in a short period of time.

It's all thanks to how you've given us the green light and fended off trouble for us in Parliament.

That's my job. How is Catherine?

Granny?

Well... I doubt she would answer, even if I asked. She won't even let people see her cough.

Otherwise, she's the same. Still busy, even though she's not working at the factory anymore. I rarely get to see her.

I had a conversation with her like this last month. She sat on this very chair, and turned down my invitation for her to become a Member of Parliament.

The secret workshop that you kept hidden from the Sarkaz, and the weapon inside—

Londinium doesn't need it anymore.

Yes, I have reached a consensus with Catherine on this matter.

As long as you and Catherine are able to unite most of the workers, it's not a bad thing for the weapon to stay under your watch.

Parliament needs oversight. So do I.

The system of Parliament is yet immature. We're still searching, and there are people trying to get something done through it.

But sooner or later, they must understand that the Parliament which revolved around the king is long gone.

Was it when the king was—er—

No... nothing changed with Parliament when he was hanged, other than power being transferred from the king to the dukes.

It was only recently that the surviving fellows of the Royal Academy of Sciences were able to resume work on the chronicle of Londinium—

A million words that took half a lifetime to compile and edit, encompassing every aspect of Londinium.

I never thought I would get to know my own home again from this angle.

It was only after reading it that I realized the city's resistance began a long time ago.

'When the Sarkaz gained control of the city, it was the Londiniers who still lived within who had, of their own accord, come together to maintain the city's core functions, irrespective of upbringing and status.'

The Academy's fellows see it as the precursor to the new Parliament.

Seems a little... far-fetched? But it does make sense, in a way.

But I see another side, Feist. During the war, we were able to set aside our differences, our own interests, in our struggle to survive...

Now, though, I'm not sure.

There are times that I can't even guarantee my own reason. I need someone to pull me back when I—

You want it to be us?

That was my promise with Catherine. It was you lot who gave me my sword, after all.

The war destroyed many things. Londinium needs your help in order to not fall behind the changing times.

Some of your ideas may create headaches in Parliament and the Royal Academy of Sciences, but that's not such a bad thing.

Hehe.

A city defense system that belongs only to us, automation that the dukes have long ignored, and a new deterrent for a post-Steam Knight era...

Your help is needed in all of this. And it must be for Londinium, not for any individual.

I don't deserve your trust, Feist, and neither does Parliament in its current state... send Matthew my apologies again, if you see him.

I will continue to lobby Parliament for policies that will improve the condition of workers.

The medicine that we purchased from the dukes is on its way. Things will get better, once supply routes are secured.

Hah, who dares threaten the dukes' cargo ships?

...I'll continue to communicate with the ducal representatives in the city.

We're here for you if you need any help.

Feist stands up, but then hesitates. He does not leave the room.

Granny always scolded me for my fancies.

But she said nothing the day I brought back the proposals for the future from the Industry Development Association.

She retired from the line soon after, claiming health issues.

We like to dream about the future, Vina. We'll pull through.

The office falls quiet. Vina stares at the mountain of papers on her desk, then turns on the radio.

*Bzzt*—

Late afternoon today, citizens witnessed the Speaker of Parliament, Alexandrina Victoria, put a scoundrel in his place.

It was reported that a gentleman had attempted to bribe the Speaker for his own selfish interests, which the Speaker rejected in the most direct manner possible.

Many citizens speak highly of Speaker Victoria's charisma and believe that she—

<p=1>Londinium Underground</><p=2>December 21st, 1098, 8:01 P.M.</>

I guess we've finally learned to trust each other a little bit.

Whether you're confident that this supply route is safe enough for one person to manage... or that most of you have left Victoria, just as you said.

Some sign of trust when you have your little trinket in plain sight.

This is a city full of homeless, desperate people. Who knows if somebody won't get ideas?

Never said you're not part of the threat, of course.

Not that many people in Londinium remember Reunion's past.

Go ahead, check. Everything on the list is here, and I'll deliver the next batch of medicine on time.

You said most of you have left. What about Nine?

Left. Along with many people for whom there is no place in the city.

Our factories outside the city won't be affected, of course. And the routes you found for us will continue to be useful.

You're not going with them? Londinium isn't a great place for Infected anymore.

'Isn't a great place.' Spoken with true Londinier irony.

When I was little, I was fascinated by the Londinium in the storybooks. The palaces and the gardens where the king and the young princess lived, the adventures to be found in the maze-like factories.

Now I find that Londinium is no different from anywhere else in Victoria. It's no place to make a home.

I stay because somebody has to, and I like doing good, honest work. Besides, the treatment of the Infected in Londinium today is... not terrible.

Really?

I followed them because they saved my life. I'm not like those who are ready to die, who've already figured out how to die for something worthwhile.

Besides, in the end, it usually isn't worthwhile. Nobody deserves to die.

You saved a lot of lives. Thank you, on behalf of the workers.

Stop by Highbury the next time you're passing out pamphlets in the city. I'll see right through that disguise.

The goods check out. I'm off, then.

One more thing, Catherine...

Go ahead.

...If the rocks hurt at night, I know a few techniques to make you feel better.

I think you know... our medicine doesn't work as well as the stuff from the big pharmas.

Yes. It may fool the other workers, but it can't fool me. Same for most of the suppressants you can get in Londinium right now.

At my age, though, I don't have too many lucid days ahead of me. And I guess you could say I've seen worse.

One more day with my senses is one more thing I can do. That's plenty.

Our men have tracked down Reunion's hideouts outside the city, two major factories, and their supply routes.

Should we shut them down?

No need. Based on available information, they are not a threat to the citizens of Londinium.

Vina says she has personal reasons to be wary of Reunion.

But even she admits that they were a big help to us when they incited the citizens to oppose the dukes.

As for the gray market... just make sure we keep track of everything that's going on. Percival is not stupid. She knows what she's not supposed to touch.

The Reunion threat is much diminished now that their main members have left Londinium. Continue to monitor the situation.

I will even go so far as to say that establishing contact at a private level is an option, if there is consensus about improving the Infected situation.

Understood. We will continue to monitor Reunion activity without taking direct action.

I suppose I'm wasting you lot on this kind of work.

Of course not, Lady Delphine!

From the day we left the Duke of Windermere's ship, to setting intelligence work aside to focus on the assault of Londinium, and now...

...Do you miss the waters of Lynncardine?