epidemiology | [open] i would give it all

CHARACTERS: Keith + anyone willing to help
DATE: From the opening of the upper levels to the end of the mission (with caveats that conditions will change depending on overall game plot parameters)
WARNINGS: None.
SUMMARY: A purple bounty! Keith has decided to rename himself Robin Hood. Or, more accurately, he's stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. (mood music)

[All his life, Keith had always preferred action over words. Associating with other people can be difficult. In fact, it can almost be impossible when the going gets tough. Becoming a Voltron paladin had been an answer for him. He could help people. He could fight. He wouldn't have to think too hard about it all, because he could follow Shiro.

And then ... things changed. Things changed back home and things changed here, most recently as a member of Hathaway. There's a lot of baggage associated with that change, so Keith has been keeping his eye on a single prize. He doesn't know how to set up a new government or do diplomacy, but he does know about providing goods to those who need it and helping them out of a bad situation. He knows what to do to survive. Not everyone has that strength or the ability to have someone help them. Simply put: not everyone has a Shiro to help guide them toward the right path.

He's not going to fool himself into believing that he can be "a Shiro"—that's the problem with being him, right? But he knows he can do good. So, he hatches his plan, and calls in for assistance from his guildmates. It's a three prong plan, with different actions needed.

To find out that Keith is doing this, there are two ways. One, he spoke about it on the magitek network. And two, he's doing some set up in the hotel, and is probably stealing some stuff from there, too. The robots won't miss it. Probably.]

a: theft of goods

[Keith plans on overseeing all of the thefts, in part because he doesn't want any of his teammates to be caught unexpectedly.

He shows up at every point of theft in full Marmora gear: a black suit with purple lights, as well as a mask that conceals his face and gives him a voice that sounds like Keith, but comes out through a slightly robotic filter. It also has a helpful hood, because of course it does. Would it look cool otherwise? Probably not.

His targets are specific when it comes to theft: food. Clothing and other goods can be gained through other means, and probably should be. But food? Food is something that he can see that the upper levels aren't doing without.]

Try not to hurt anyone. Take the food and bring it to the agreed upon location. And keep your masks on. We can't risk being fugitives.

[Of course, there are also other versions of theft. Not all of them are as scheduled or efficient.]

b: trafficking of stolen goods

[When it comes to "trafficking," the parameters remain the same. Keep on a mask. Make sure no one gets hurt so there's less of an excuse to follow someone. Get everything from the upper levels to the lower levels quickly, and use designated locations that have been picked out along the way. Avoid surveillance at all costs.

The "trafficking" involves a lot of backpacks and hoods, so that people can hide that they have a bunch of food on them that's being carted down. Anything that's perishable is frozen before it's brought down. Keith figures that "freshness" isn't measured by whether it was frozen first. Or, well, he hopes not. He's not exactly the guy who cares if something's been marked as "previously frozen."

There's a final designation just before the depths of the lowest levels. That's where other goods, like blankets or boots or jackets, are kept waiting. They don't need to be snuck down as carefully, because there's no chance of them going bad. Plus, they were probably mostly acquired "legally."

Emphasis on those quotation marks.]

c. delivery of stolen goods

[Charity is far from a common thing for the people of the lower levels. Charity that could seem suspicious and involves stolen goods is even more difficult. How to get things out there? How to offer help? This is going to be the most difficult task: convincing people to take goods, convincing people that they deserve it, and most importantly, asking what else they might need.]

Take note of anything else they might want. We'll come back later with it. Or, uh, someone will.

[ooc: this is a purple bounty, and the different prompts are loose parameters. I am looking for a thread of at least ten comments so I can meet my bounty, but I figured this would be a fun thing for people to do!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[On some level she knew this mission was going to be a great deal of starting and stopping...but even if she'd done better at patience in recent years that didn't make it any less frustrating. Probably because there was a part of her that was itching to take out the guards and just be done with it.

Of course, that would completely ruin the idea of stealth, so Korra holds back. She slips into the shadow alongside Keith, she strains to listen but also starts eyeing their surroundings. Maybe there's something she can bend in the opposite direction to give them an opening to move.]

It's not like they have a description. Do we just wait him out?

They might not have a description, but they might begin to track our movements. [All of this depends on how good the Vakdir are at their jobs. Keith's good at stealth, and more than that, he's good at improvising on the fly. He may not have the best plans for the long-term, but he can think up something in the short term. He knew that his instinct to make the Vakdir ignore them in the most aggressive way possible was wrong ... so he did the opposite.

Is doing the opposite, to be more exact.]

I don't want to, but ... whoever's up there—you think they're in trouble?

[Korra didn't like the sound of that. They were having enough trouble from Vakdir without being tracked. She tilted her head back towards the scene of harassment.]

If the Vakdir is involved it's likely that the person they have in front of them is in trouble. I've had my own share of run ins with them and they don't need much of an excuse to mess with someone they see as beneath them.

We have stuff to do, but—[Well. They're not superheroes. But it would be stupid to land someone in the slammer just because they happened to cross paths with actual (technical) criminals. Keith doesn't think of himself that way, but he didn't as a paladin of Voltron and according to the Galra, they were criminals then. It was just more personal thanks to Zarkon.]

Let's create a distraction. If the guy harassing him thinks something bigger is happening, they'll let him off. He'll probably forget he was bothering him.

[Korra had thought the sneaking and bringing food to others was a good idea. However, if there's a chance to send a Vakdir on a wild goose chase of a distraction she's in. There's even a twinkle of mischief at the idea of it. Though she doesn't have a concrete plan just yet.]

I can create a big fire if you want...do you think that would attract his attention? Unless you had something more subtle in mind.

Maybe not a big fire, but ... a fire would do the trick. Something that looks like it was on purpose. Can you do it from a distance? [Tempering someone else isn't Keith's strong suit, but he's getting better at it as the days pass by. He has no choice.]

[Korra considers that, starting to look around for something she can set ablaze (despite the rain) and avoid causing anyone harm by setting their house of fire. She's still listening though and answers Keith's question even as she's scanning the street in the direction opposite from them.]

See that pile of garbage outside of that shop? I can hit that. If I blast it while he's distracted he probably won't tell it came from over here.

All right. We can make this work. I'll listen in and tell you when to go. Can you do that? [When it comes to this stuff, Keith trusts his instincts above anything else. He might not be the most tempered person, but he is getting there. Time is helping him get there.]

Of course.

[Korra moves away from the wall, but still stays far enough back that she is in the shadows. She gets into a fighting stance, ready to act when called upon.]

Ready when you are.

[In response, Keith crouches down, turning his body into the smallest form possible as he shuffles closer, keeping his head down. Given his black suit and the dark nature of the Drakstaden streets, it works out.

Keith holds up a "hold" symbol with his hand, until he switches to only holding up his index and middle finger. He waves it forward in a motion of "go go go."

It might occur to him later that she might not speak this particular universal "silent" language, but it hasn't yet.]

[Luckily for Keith it's universal enough that it is used where Korra is from at least. It's even more to his benefit that, while it had been a few years, Korra DID take some time to work with a task force that used hand signals like this a lot.

Between those two things, Korra is able to act precisely when Keith signals her to do so. There's a bright burst of light and Korra punches the air -- a blazing fireball arcs across to the garbage pile and sets it ablaze despite the rain. There's no trail showing it originated from their alley, but Korra creeps over to Keith, staying low.]

Did that work?

[Keith doesn't respond right away. The Vakdir officer sounds agitated after a few beats that the fire doesn't seem to disappear. In fact, it begins to grow without his attention. He makes a huffy sound and says that he man he's accosting is lucky, and then puts out a call for more assistance. Thankfully, it's not growing so much that anyone's in danger, but he seems aware that ignoring it could possibly cost him his job. Which is surprising. So maybe he's just afraid of fire.

Yeah, that's the likely culprit.]

All good. Let's get moving. The guy he was bothering already walked off quickly.

[Korra nods. Now that they have a distraction, she doesn't want to waste this opportunity and lose their opening. She moves in the direction they had originally been aiming for in the first place. Her footsteps light and quick as she sprints to the next spot where they'll at least be out of sight from prying human eyes. She doesn't bother to check for Keith, since he's proven himself capable so far and knows just as well as she does where their destination is.

Perhaps even more so, since after getting a safe distance she pulls up short and waits for the next direction.]

[After a few beats and steps—which equals levels—Keith comes to a stop and motions for Korra to join him. Once she's there, he relaxes a little.]

It should be easier from here on out. They want to catch us before we get down here. They'd rather not bother with us otherwise.

That's reassuring.

[She doesn't quite relax though, she won't be able to until they're done with this mission entirely. Of course, she understands they'll never quite be done -- but at least with this delivery is what she's thinking.]

Makes sense though--given that they don't seem to like to bother with the lower levels.

Plus—I imagine they don't want to be seen down there unless they're throwing their weight around. Patrols and surveillance aren't nonexistent, but they also aren't a near constant thing. It's all about how people perceive what's down there, rather than what's actually happening.

[Unfortunately, Keith knows he can't change public perception. He wouldn't know where to start.

So, this is the next best step available to him.]

[open] i would give it all

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