Quote Originally Posted by SlickSlack View Post
6B29E2A7-CCF9-4897-B237-2408D0044BED.jpeg W-What?! We could get killed by the Stalkers too?! That’s bad... but no time to dwell on that, let’s go see what that Submerged Sublevel is about.
As the morning comes, you head out to the Exacta Broadcasting Company Offices, having heard Aurorawatch has intentions of trying to radio anyone outside the city for help. You’ve also heard the building’s days are numbered, and with the clock ticking, the window of opportunity to find anything useful in that building is quickly passing. Once it falls, that’s it and anything that was still inside is forsaken.

You walk down the dusty roads toward the Northern Reach, realizing the wind seems to be a bit stronger today than it has been in the past. At times, it feels a bit like a minor sandstorm, but it doesn’t impede too much on you to keep pressing on.

After stepping into the Northern Reach, you keep careful watch around you, knowing Aurorawatch’s surveillance on this area is very limited. As you avoid the open roads and use whatever cover you can, it seems to work and you avoid detection. You spot a ghoul Mightyena and a ghoul Zigzagoon, sniffing and on the prowl for the meat of the living, but they never notice you behind the ruined cars and walls you use for cover. Eventually they wander off and you continue making your way to the office building.

Once you arrive at the Exacta Broadcasting Company Offices, you see for yourself how bad the situation is. Countless windows broken, webs and jagged forks of cracks, and piles of rubble and debris everywhere. Even as you look upon it, you can hear the distance echoes of rocks and rubble falling and clapping against other piles of debris. Meanwhile, the whole back of the building looks like it was eviscerated with its concrete and furniture innards spilling out like entrails.

You decide to make this quick. While you don’t consider yourself a stellar structural engineer, any common Pokémon even without the slightest bit of formal education can see this whole building is standing on the equivalent of splintered toothpicks when it comes to structural support.

You follow Nia’s report of the flood sublevel and you find exactly what she was talking about once you locate the stairwell just past the ruined elevators. As you look down the flight of stairs, there’s nothing but water and you imagine there must be at least twelve feet of depth to it, if not more.

After jumping right in, you swim down the stairwell, allowing your vision to become more adjusted to the darker depths.

{Submerged Sublevel: +Water Type+}

From what you can tell with the very limited illumination, this entire subfloor was meant to be for archive storage in addition to all the building’s utilities including heating, air conditioning, as well as water and power. However, everything you see is ruined thanks to the water. Boxes and boxes of video recordings, computer storage devices, and data disk have likely all been corrupted due to water damage. Meanwhile, some of the older equipment has likely been turned to deadweight now.

You find another room with some older broadcasting equipment. Most of it seems well beyond repair, but you do find one Namaxa broadcasting console system that despite being underwater for a while, may just be salvageable. However, there’s definitely water damage that needs to be repaired and beyond that, it would take someone with technical expertise to reconfigure it. It may be a long shot, but given there’s a possible chance it could become what Crez is looking for, you decide to take it with you and see if there’s a chance to restore it.

[Damaged Namaxa Broadcasting Console: <Technical> AND <Repair>] has been added to the Team Inventory.

You search some more in the lower basement level, but you don’t find anything else worth taking. It crosses your mind that you’re likely going to be the last Pokémon that ever sees these submerged rooms before all of this becomes crushed and buried under tons upon tons of building rubble once the building finally collapses. Still, despite that realization, you honestly feel everything else down here is already long gone anyway.

You decide to head back and return to the stairwell with the damaged Namaxa Broadcasting Console. As you emerge from the waters, it’s dripping wet, but once it has dried off and all the damaged components and circuits are restored, maybe it can help. It’s definitely worth the shot.

You then head out of the building, walking your way past the building rubble heaps, broken glass, and other piles of debris. You feel a bit of a sprint in your step, as if the building is already collapsing right on top of you at this very moment, although you quickly rush out the broken front door and it seems you’re totally safe and nothing is falling apart quite yet. Still, you can’t help but wonder how many more days it’s going to be until it all comes crashing down…

As the sun begins its descent, you head back to the steel mill to make preparations for tonight.

Misty the Palpitoad (M: Water/Ground)
Health: 20/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 20/20
Battle Stance: Flee
Perk: Medicine | Abilities:
EQUIPMENT:
Attack Weapon: [|AW| Utility Sledgehammer] (Adds 3 damage to successful attack rolls)
Defense Armor: <Empty>
Jewelry: <Empty>
Utopian Aspect: <Empty>
MERCENARIES:
#1: <Empty>
#2: <Empty>
PACK:
  • $150 Sochas