Recap Session 19: "The Cyber House Rules"

It's a brave new world in Oceania where the boys are coming to term with some of the harsh realities of living under the Orange Regime. But they're coping, which is more then can be said for others in their stead.

Hiding on board the Great White Whale, our heroes arrive at Oceania, seeing the effects of the explosion at the Oceania/Gaul gate, and surprised to find the mighty Flying Buttress "Arm of the Lord" casting a pall over the system. But while the military might of the Theocracy in the system is impressive, their effect on traffic is much less so. While the fighters and corvettes of the Dome Oceanis are trying their damnest, they don't impress these people. The Oceania/Gaul wormgate closing, however, had much more effect. The Theocracy are building the new stations to watch over the gate, which might be a step for more order.

Our heroes depart the "Moby Dick", and land in "Three Angels Spaceport", a big port near the great floating city of New Orleans, and from the moment they land they are busy, busy, busy.

Hill meets Meow, the fearless leader of the ex-military technicians from the Hong Kong Space Corp, who got their walking papers after the Theocracy moved in. Meow tells Billy the Orange Beast is digging its claws into New Orleans, building the Basilica Orleanis and the Tower near Monangé. Meow wants to blow up the Tower, but Hill decides against killing 600 civilians, no matter how effective the massage. Meow also wants a rep to sit in the ECAR, and Hill agrees to send "Seafood" Sally Cho to Buanos Aires in Lima, no matter what Mubai thinks. After showing this bit of leadership, Hill spends some time with his girl walking about town, before going to the renovated Musée de beaux-arts, to meet the Rainbow-eyed Man. There REM wants to buy the scans, and reminds Saif she's on the clock. Pissed off, she goes to buy cake, and, reminded discretion is the better part of valor, the Rainbow-eyed Man leaves them. To pay the check.

White Hill talks, Rain walks. He and Gail collect what information they can about the "Ambrosia" and the actions of Fury. It seems Fury kept himself busy, killing five people, including a kelp-farmer, a street-punk, a business noble and two mambas (the female equivalent of houngans). Rain sends the two anxious Cypriots to walk it off, while he decides what best do about his brother. Meanwhile, he helps his friends staying alive mainly by escorting them to meetings.

Anansi, never a man to stay out of trouble, stirs much of it by talking with more AIs about the great summit meeting he's trying to organize. He ends his efforts by convincing Kali to speak with Morgana, not an easy thing at all.

And the ever-busy Powell speaks with business buddies, to try and break the economic siege on Hera. Successful or not, remains to be seen.

These four then travel to the Mary Celeste, one of Hong Kong's moons, to Jiffy Lube Sys., to meet the young Young Li Murphy, who worked on both Plant-3 and Plant-17, and decided to spend his time watching the captured station and think up of ways to help. Since if something can go wrong with his plans, it probably will, no one really expects much. He does, however, shines for a rare moments, when he agrees to get our mighty duck on to a Barge inbound from Plant-3 to Plant-17, so they can enter the space station and see what they can find. Hopefully, nothing would go wrong.

Finally, there are also two surprise visits: the young Fregatten Kapittän Molotov comes to talk with Powell and take "Nick the Greek" out to dinner, and Niv ben-Lilith, a pious man from "Brith Ne'eman", came to help the gang to manage Plant-17. One shines, the other annoys, but both survived Rain, so they get a cookie.

When we left the party, they were just settling in after a long day of scheming and planning, just to receive a disturbing video from the Oxygen Line of the Massacre on Falstaf moon and a chilling warning from the JBI: the gates must remain open.

So now all the ducks are in a row, our heroes just need to squint through the sight and shoot. Will they hit anything? That remains to be seen. What we know for sure, is that it'll be a blast.

Kaboom!