Episode 04

## *The Bells Are Ringing*

> "*The bells are ringing!*"
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> —Aria Joie
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## Previously On...

*But I'm imagining you in a public space on the ship with the person that you kidnapped.*

*We could maybe do the Batman 'I'm going to throw you out of this craft if needs be,' but I don't think it's gonna come to that.*

*Do you wanna just start with that?*

*"Our guiding ideal is things were better back before we on speaking terms with the fucking Diaspora."*

*"So you're sort of like a terrorist thing."*

*"No, we're sorta like patriots."*

*"On the screen, you see the Kingdom Come in the sky, and the fight that you just had. And that just plays for like 45 seconds."*

"*We work for...a...construction company that is contracted out to do repairs on Mag-Lev stations."*

*He's going to keep-- he's trying.*

*"I don't—I don't see anything. I don't see anything."*

*"Go ahead—where's the tour manager?"*

*"The tour manager?"*

*"The tour manager?"*

*"Jorne is the sales associate here, but--"*

*"It might've been Jorne."*

*"He wants us to come in and pretend we have a tour as well."*

*"Tell him we're not going to do that."*

*"I'm telling him we're not gonna do that!"*

*"No no no—"*

*Yeah, I think I like the rip-down-the-camera plan. It's not a good one but I like it for some reason.*

*We don't know whether or not this door is locked or unlocked, do we? Alright, I'm just gonna punch through where I think the handle's gonna be.*

*Okay, do that. Punch through it, there's a handle there.*

*AuDy, what is your Detect score?*

*Ohh, okay. My Detect score is...two.*

*I'm going to try to give you the adjective 'Shadowed'.*

*"There's not really a lot that we can talk about, but we're interested in what more you might have to offer in the future, you know?"*

*"Mining is very big right now."*

*He nods.*

*"I think I understand*—*I think I get where you're comin' from."*

## Episode Description

> The Chime continues their rescue of Cene Sixheart, the brilliant roboticist kidnapped by Snowtrak Industries and forced to work on a mysterious project in a research and development facility. Surely things couldn't get any worse—or ridiculous—for our heroes, right? AuDy (Jack de Quidt) makes a scene, Aria Joie (Ali Acampora) makes a statement, Mako Trig (Keith Carberry) pushes the limits of his charm and Cassander (Art Tebbel) tests their skills as a doctor.
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> This episode of MechNoir: "The Bells are Ringing"
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> Gotta lose some to win some!
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## Plot Synopsis

AuDy and Cass enter the room in which Cene is being held some two floors down from the catwalk they're on. AuDy jumps down from the catwalk and pretends to be a malfunctioning robot, drawing the attention of Cene’s guards. Cass takes the opportunity to move down to Cene and finds them entranced in front of a set of monitors.

Jorne reveals to Aria and Mako that they’ve rediscover some ancient technology buried on Ionias that might allow for better A.I. operation. He leads them to the server room where AuDy’s body remains on the floor and Aria spots Cass picking up Cene. The guards grow suspicious of Mako and Aria, and while Mako is able to convince them he is innocent, they identify Aria immediately.

Aria draws and fires her gun to try and intimidate the guards, but ends up getting her hand shot. Using their remote link, Cass fires the Megalophile’s missiles at the facility and creates a hole in the wall. AuDy uses the panic to take out one of the guard’s legs.

Another guard takes Aria as a hostage, so Mako throws his water as a distraction. This gets Mako shot in the chest, but Aria manages to break the guard’s hold and knock him out. Cass scares off the last guard then escapes with Cene in the Megalophile while Aria and AuDy escape on the Brilliance. While making their escape, Aria and AuDy are attacked by a chasing car operated by security forces from Snowtrak, though Aria loses them in the city streets.

Mako—still masquerading as a buyer—manages his way back to the reception area and gets an ambulance.

With Cene on the ship, Cass calls upon their experience as a field medic and treats what they recognize as a type of psychological dissociation. Aria’s wounds overwhelm her, so she is taken to Koda, who manages to save her but has to replace her arm.

When Cene wakes up, they thank the Chime and describe what they were working on: some data that implied the A.I. Snowtrak found was a divine. When AuDy contacts Orth to confirm the job is complete, they don’t reveal this bit of information, though Orth suspects that AuDy is holding something back.

As Mako is recovering in the hospital, Jorne comes to visit him and reveals that he knows that Mako was using an assumed identity. Mako confirms this and then agrees to pay for the robots, which Jorne is happy to catch on tape.

## Featured Players

* Austin Walker
* Ali Acampora
* Keith J. Carberry
* Art Tebbel
* Jack de Quidt