Episode 16

> *“'I hear the Divines never rust.' 'I've never seen one in the rain.'”*
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> —Code phrase exchanged by Tendency Porter and Aria Joie
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## Opening Narration

> ***An excerpt from the journal of Addax Dawn, former Candidate of Peace and current agent of the Rapid Evening:***
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> *Rust asked me when it was over if it was hard for me to keep my distance. It was but not for the reason she may have thought.*
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> *Not because the boy from September moved to familiar power that he couldn't control, as I once did. Not because the volunteer found faith at a cost, as I found the Evening. Not even because the idol moved like Jace did the first time I saw him: all fire, no fuel, desperate to play the part but knowing none of the lines.*
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> *No... It was the prince that made me want to reveal myself. So rarely do we have a chance to apologize to those we hurt most and I wonder now, in retrospect, how the Golden Branch might be different if I'd shown myself then—if we'd shaken hands and put the past behind us, before he learned how I hurt him.*
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## Episode Description

> This week, we bring our attention back to The Chime who have been hired to take a mysterious artifact from a familiar group...The Iron Choir. Dealing with them was easy enough last time so there will be no problem for our heroes this time around, right? AuDy debates who to confide in, Mako calls an old friend, Aria supports a small business and Cassander learns the value of good antivirus software.
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> This week on COUNTER/Weight: "The Rear Left Engine"
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> Got no teeth to lie through...?
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## Plot Synopsis

The Chime are called to meet someone for a job offer in Memorial Square. Aria, AuDy, and Mako arrive and exchange code phrases with a man named Tendency Porter, who seems to have agents all over the park. Porter wants the Chime to retrieve a strange gold sphere from the Iron Choir. He can’t tell them much about what it is or why the Iron Choir has it, only that he thinks that he should have it. The Chime accepts his offer

To find the Iron Choir, AuDy decides to meet one of their members at the dead-drop location that Sister Rust told them about when they freed her. AuDy brings Cass along, explaining to them that they never handed in Sister Rust for a bounty, and instead let her go and lied about using the money to fix the Kingdom Come’s rear left engine. As they go to the dead-drop, they are watched and followed by numerous robots.

They meet up with Tungsten, a member of the Iron Choir, at the dead-drop location, an abandoned wreck of a ship called A Collection of Inconsistencies. Tungsten says that they can only talk to Sister Rust if they meet her in Seabed City, and agrees to show them where that is if AuDy carries a shipment of goods with them.

Mako calls Orth to ask what he knows about the Iron Choir from being kidnapped by them. Orth tells him a little, but is still annoyed from that whole incident.

Aria visits an antique dealer named Caleb, who tells her that the orb is from Ziishe, and that it seems to have the power to create landscapes.

Cass tries to research the orb and discovers that it once belonged to the Rapid Evening. When logging out, Cass accidentally clicks on an ad that downloads a Liberty and Discovery Automatic Corp tracker onto their system.

Finally AuDy tells the rest of the Chime about Sister Rust owing them a favor, and the group prepares to fly to Seabed City.

## Featured Players

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