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1 qev013101_MSG0001 Ho there, friend! Would you lend an ear to some[ST:n ]of my poetry? The words are free if you wish it,[ST:n ]though tips are always welcome.[ST:wait ]
2 qev013101_JNK0010 Tip
3 qev013101_SEL0011 Listen and give some money.
4 qev013101_JNK0020 Refuse
5 qev013101_SEL0021 Refuse to contribute or listen.
6 qev013101_JNK0030 Inquire
7 qev013101_SEL0031 Ask if he is one of the Celeste Three.
8 qev013101_MSG0002 I'm not some low-rent hustler, if that's what[ST:n ]you're thinking. I merely wanted to offer your[ST:n ]day a poetical parenthetical.[ST:wait ]
9 qev013101_MSG0003 Though most claim my works are...disturbing.[ST:n ]One reviewer even called them \"incantations[ST:n ]more befitting the wailing of the damned.\"[ST:wait ]
10 qev013101_MSG0004 This world is as black and cold as your heart![ST:n ]...Ah, but I understand. People must save their[ST:n ]precious coins for their own pocket.[ST:wait ]
11 qev013101_MSG0005 Egads! How is it you know of the tragedies[ST:n ]of my past?[ST:wait ]
12 qev013101_MSG0012 The mass disappearance just after our arrival[ST:n ]here on Mira...[ST:wait ]
13 qev013101_MSG0013 The three of us were left behind as everyone[ST:n ]else involved simply...vanished.[ST:wait ]
14 qev013101_MSG0043 I'd assumed the truth of that incident would[ST:n ]remain forever obscured, and yet...[ST:wait ]
15 qev013101_MSG0006 No. This is fate. The will of the heavens![ST:n ]A chance of which I never dared dream![ST:n ]O muse, thou art a beast of fire![ST:wait ]
16 qev013101_MSG0007 If you would hear more of the Celeste Three,[ST:n ]then I must ask something of you.[ST:n ]...But not here. Too many ears.[ST:wait ]
17 qev013101_MSG0008 If these scrabbling wretches knew that we carried a[ST:n ]load of white gold, the streets would burn with the[ST:n ]chaos of avarice![ST:wait ]
18 qev013101_MSG0009 Let us speak in the diner at night, when the[ST:n ]secrets of men might better slink soft around[ST:n ]every fog-beshrouded corner.[ST:wait ]
19 qev013101_MSG0010 Midnight it is, then. I shall await you at the[ST:n ]Repenta diner in the industrial district.[ST:wait ]
20 qev013101_MSG0011 It's no trouble if you're a bit late.[ST:n ]I shall abide there until the first pale rays[ST:n ]of dawn alight on my pancake stack.[ST:wait ]
21 qev013101_MSG0014 Thank you for coming. I suppose I should[ST:n ]begin with an explanation of the incident.[ST:wait ]
22 qev013101_MSG0015 Anyway, yes. It was a short while after we crashed[ST:n ]here on Mira—just over a month ago now.[ST:wait ]
23 qev013101_MSG0016 A large convoy of BLADEs were transporting[ST:n ]a sizable shipment of rare white gold.[ST:wait ]
24 qev013101_MSG0017 But they suddenly disappeared...and their cargo[ST:n ]along with them.[ST:wait ]
25 qev013101_MSG0018 They called the few of us who remained the[ST:n ]Celeste Three.[ST:wait ]
26 qev013101_MSG0042 But this was no paranormal phenomenon[ST:n ]such as the urban legends claim![ST:wait ]
27 qev013101_JNK0040 Show Interest
28 qev013101_SEL0041 Keep listening.
29 qev013101_JNK0050 Express Doubt
30 qev013101_SEL0051 Ask where the other survivors are.
31 qev013101_MSG0019 I've heard talk it was the work of a supernatural[ST:n ]force or an alien abduction. Some even claim[ST:n ]the spectral hands of ghosts were involved![ST:wait ]
32 qev013101_MSG0020 Ah, an excellent question, my friend,[ST:n ]for that is at the very heart of the incident.[ST:n ]Was it aliens? Ghosts? Something else?[ST:wait ]
33 qev013101_MSG0021 Alas, no. It was simply...a slaughter.[ST:wait ]
34 qev013101_MSG0022 Briggs, the team leader, wanted the white gold[ST:n ]for himself, and—maddened by the sickness of[ST:n ]greed—began killing the others.[ST:wait ]
35 qev013101_MSG0023 ...And I helped him. God save me, but I did.[ST:n ]In fear for our own lives, myself and a man[ST:n ]named Moorehouse helped murder our own.[ST:wait ]
36 qev013101_MSG0024 Briggs had us move the white gold to a[ST:n ]hiding place, then sent out an SOS and[ST:n ]waited for help to arrive.[ST:wait ]
37 qev013101_MSG0025 We swore to tell no one of our dark deeds,[ST:n ]and to a man bespoke an oath of silence.[ST:wait ]
38 qev013101_MSG0026 Then we returned to the city and assumed the[ST:n ]role of victims. Just three men caught up in[ST:n ]an inexplicable incident...[ST:wait ]
39 qev013101_JNK0060 Assert
40 qev013101_SEL0061 Propose that Briggs should be brought to justice.
41 qev013101_JNK0070 Blame
42 qev013101_SEL0071 Censure Fosdyke for his role in the crime.
43 qev013101_JNK0080 Insist
44 qev013101_SEL0081 Demand the white gold for yourself.
45 qev013101_MSG0027 Ah, a crusader for right! I saw it in your eyes the[ST:n ]moment we met, which is why I brought you here to[ST:n ]beg this boon.[ST:wait ]
46 qev013101_MSG0028 I don't deny my part in this. But what justice can be[ST:n ]served while the man behind the slaughter goes free?[ST:wait ]
47 qev013101_MSG0029 If his atrocities can be brought to light,[ST:n ]I'll happily accept whatever punishment awaits.[ST:wait ]
48 qev013101_MSG0030 Your directness is...surprising. But if that is[ST:n ]your aim, you'll need to track down Briggs.[ST:wait ]
49 qev013101_MSG0031 Unfortunately, Briggs was a step ahead of us[ST:n ]the whole time. He vanished soon after we[ST:n ]returned to NLA, along with the white gold.[ST:wait ]
50 qev013101_MSG0032 After this whole chain of events, all I was left with[ST:n ]was a marble-sized chunk of white-gold ore.[ST:wait ]
51 qev013101_MSG0033 You must take it and meet with Moorehouse.[ST:wait ]
52 qev013101_MSG0034 He was closer to Briggs than I was and may know[ST:n ]something of his current whereabouts.[ST:wait ]
53 qev013101_MSG0035 Moorehouse is a suspicious man, but this[ST:n ]bauble should convince him, for he and I[ST:n ]hold the only two in existence.[ST:wait ]
54 qev013101_MSG0036 I leave this in your hands, then. Just remember that he[ST:n ]is in the same circumstances as I—once he realizes[ST:n ]what's happening, I'm certain he'll cooperate.[ST:wait ]
55 qev013101_MSG0037 Moorehouse quit the BLADEs just after me.[ST:n ]I wager he's living a quiet life somewhere[ST:n ]in the shadows of New LA.[ST:wait ]
56 qev013101_MSG0038 Look for him in places like the commercial district's[ST:n ]storage areas.[ST:wait ]
57 qev013101_MSG0039 Spoke with Moorehouse, have you?[ST:wait ]
58 qev013101_MSG0040 Good. Next comes a reunion with Briggs[ST:n ]and the lost white gold.[ST:wait ]
59 qev013101_MSG0041 It's time to drag all the skeletons out of the[ST:n ]closet and into the light, where we may[ST:n ]finally set them to dance![ST:wait ]