Library Trip

[telerib]

Forgotten at the end of the last write-up: The group had to find a THE Computer node in the library. We forget exactly why. But the library was undergoing a re-organization, and the hired contractors didn't seem impressed with the PCs' note from the ArchDean.

Infiltrating the library seemed the perfect job for Edward (because he could look like anyone) and Greh (because it was three inches tall and easily snuck inside with Edward). DelMonte was eager to help "distract" anyone who needed it. Solomon, not seeing his talents needed for this particular caper, took the opportunity to get some clean clothes from his dorm room and see the young nursing student down the hall about the hit he'd taken from the ogre.

The three remaining at the library waited for a re-org guy to leave; the fellow headed for the vending machines. DelMonte followed. The guy was big, strong, and bad-tempered, kicking and denting the machine when it wouldn't give him a soda. DelMonte offered to assist, getting the guy a Coke - which he promptly tried to inhale. "You *bleeping* said this was *bleeping* coke!" he said. DelMonte tried to explain Coca-Cola, then talk to the guy about his obvious anger management issues. It ended with the amorph and the re-org guy going back to DelMonte's room, where the re-org guy was most thoroughly distracted for some time.

Edward assumed the re-org guy's likeness and entered the library with Greh in a pocket. None of the contractors seemed affected by his pheremones, but all was going well anyway. There was a close call when an obvious library-manager type wanted to know what he was doing, and Ed smoothly replied that he was taking "The Art of War" to the art section, where it belonged. The super frowned and replied that it had to go to the "Of" section, whether he liked it or not. Something in his imposture wasn't quite right - he was being too polite and reasonable for the re-org guy - but Greh assisted by producing a well-timed noise of wet flatulence. That was apparently more in-character. One final pitfall was avoided: as Ed turned to go, the super wanted to see the book he said he had. The morph quickly modified his left hand into a hand-and-book combo, waved it at her, and headed off.

The route to THE Computer terminal was mostly out-of-the-way, as the pair found traveling the library's Jeffries tubes to be very easy (Edward just morphed into a multi-legged, long centipedey thing). But at one point, they had to exit the tubes to traverse a room with five robed cultists in it.

[The recorder here took a bathroom break; I know Edward impersonated Elvis, and I know that scared the cultists (who were probably more demons of Fate), and I know that a knife fight eventually erupted that stopped when Edward showed them his letter of marque from the ArchDean. But the precise details, including why the demons might have been frightened of an Elvi, are fuzzy to me].

Meanwhile...

Solomon had brought his guitar to the Pent; Captain Cannabis was there as well, philosophizing to the cats. DelMonte slithered up with the news that his/her/its distraction attempt was over now, and that the impost-ee was heading back into the library. The Captain decided that an immediate rescue attempt was in order and rushed to the library. There, the real re-org guy was in a knock-down, drag-out fight with the two guards. A blast of Calabite entropy caught the Captain and blew him out a window, where his faithful shrubbery luckily eased his landing. Waiting until the brawlers had brawled themselves away from the entrance, the three darted into the library.

The plan was to wait for the impost-ee to finally get in, and then drop bookcases on him. However, the fight at the doorway eventually brought the whole archway down in a shower of plaster and marble.

Hm.

Perhaps they should look for Edward and Greh? The Captain found an automatic library cart that ran along a rail system. But where to go? Solomon heard a voice in his head tell him, "G13." This wasn't the first time this had ever happened, and he initially assumed... well, he assumed his companions must also be related to the voice and had merely forgotten that G13 was the place to go. They seemed happy enough to head that way when he suggested it, so...

(With some time to think, he'd later realize that the voice couldn't really be what he thought it was, and it became rather more worrisome).

Unfortunately, the Captain drove the cart. The Captain was, as always, stoned, and the trio had to eventually bail out of the cart before reaching their destination to avoid death by splattering on a wall. They jumped out in some sort of switching station and were prompty surrounded by surly demons of Fate who wanted to know who they were and what they were doing here.

There was a whole slew of innuendos and subtexts, all of which the heroes couldn't understand. Captain Cannabis was almost taken to be a remnant Eli and DelMonte was assumed to be a Shedite. Casual lies weren't flying with these guys (Balseraph of Fate, Seraph attunement in residence), but they backed off when a copy of the ArchDean's note was shown around.

The team was reunited in G13, where another Mundane field kept almost everyone at bay. Solomon was safe; Edward found he could protect himself by morphing his skin into felt. Greh directed them to the center again, and in they went.

Unfortunately, this wasn't just an escape pod; this was an intact saucer! The thing had crashed into THE Computer terminal, and (as the pair soon discovered), its weapons systems were operational. The Captain threw in a bathroom mirror; rather than discover (possibly painfully) if the mirror would reflect the laser or shatter, Solomon flung it past the thing. When the laser tracked the mirror, he grabbed the weapons array by its slender neck and yanked. The saucer pulled free, was thrashed soundly for a few moments, and then started making that trademarked "about to explode" sound. The whole thing was tossed safely away, and Edward caught the escape pod as it attempted to flee. The pod went in the felt bag, and all was well.

THE Computer quickly repaired its terminal and reported its functional state. Damage to this node had kept it from reporting in to the ArchDean - the logic seemed dodgy to the non-technical members of the party, but Greh reassured them that THE Computer was being straight with them. THE Computer provided them with the locations of the other two Mundane fields on campus, and the heroes set off to finish their job.