The Man Out of Time
Transcript
Step 1
Investigate the time scars Lodi has located.
- Aionian Campus time scar investigated
- Curtilage Divide time scar investigated
Lodi wants to know if any of the scars in time are traversable. He's seen things he can't explain, and he's hunting for answers.
Ghost: Scans show this ship is semi functional. It will need some work, but we could get it home.
Lodi: It's gorgeous. Always dreamed of flying something like this. Guardian, I had a… vision? I don't… I don't know what to call it. And not just that; I saw these time scars around the planetoid. I saw people I recognized. They were… around a table. They were laughing. It smelled like a holiday. I know this sounds foolish, but I was wondering if any of them… are a door instead of just a window. If they are a door to pass through, I might be able to get back to where I came from. Guardian, can you check if any of those time scars are two-way? Will you help me leave?
The Guardian heads to the first time scar.
Lodi: Observe. Connect. Conceal. Conform. Comply. Return. Return with your life if possible, with evidence if not. Damnit. Back in the DEO, we had guidelines in the event of extraterrestrial abduction — we each carried a coin with the steps, just in case. They called it "Odysseus Protocol". Guess I was the first to use it. Didn't work great.
The Guardian interacts with the first time scar.
Ghost: A time scar. Lodi, like this?
Lodi: Yes, that's it. I'm in the ship you found, just seeing what's in here. I haven’t been on Earth in a while. What's it like these days?
Ghost: The Last City is doing well, almost back to normal now.
Lodi: The LAST City?
The Guardian finds and interacts with the second time scar.
Ghost: No luck on this time scar, Lodi, just one way. Are you at the ship?
Lodi: I used to crew something like this. My vision gave out. Thought they were gonna sack me, but boss realized I had brains, so they sent me to school instead. Service is probably different for you, Guardian. You're a lot older than we were.
Step 2
Investigate the next time scar Lodi has located.
- Caldera time scar investigated
Lodi has another lead. Perhaps the time scar he's gotten wind of in the Caldera may reveal something more.
Lodi: Thanks for checking out that time scar, Guardian. Still goes one way. Someone left a-a book on the ship. You people not know how to use bookmarks anymore? Damn. No publishing date. Meet me back at the ship. Onwards and upwards.
Step 3
One time scar remains to investigate.
- Final time scar investigated
Although hope is waning, Lodi still wants to be thorough. Investigate the last of the promising time scars he's found.
Lodi: The things you can learn from one ship alone. Little details. The labels on the readouts. The placement of the screens. But I'm a details guy. The bigger picture is usually someone else's bag. Wonder what the higher-ups would make of this… That ship shouldn't take much more to get running. Maybe Mr. Drifter knows for sure. These aren't like the birds we have back home. I can handle one of those no problem. Er this is a little more complicated. [sighs] Anyway. There might be more to do here, but knowing there's someplace to go when it's done helps, right?
Lodi transmats away.
Lodi: That thing that dragged me here—that Nine—I don't think it can send me back. Way I see it, I've got two options. I can stay here feeling sorry for myself, waiting for the Nine to wear me like a rented tux. Or I can come back to Earth with you and figure out what I'm supposed to do with what I've got left. 'Course… the place I'm going isn't the Earth I remember. Guardian, do you wanna learn to salsa? Play football? Write cursive? You wanna speak Welsh? I'll name a dozen dead things, and you tell me which one you wanna learn. Then you teach me how to fly my spaceship.
Category:Quests