[META-orp] The Mandatory Choice

[Hivestuck]

An immense, circular structure has been erected in the middle of Old Hemisect City. Military flags hang proudly from its perimeter, and from within the building quite the crowd is forming. At first, it seemed as though a few dusty Old Hemisect residents had just shambled into the building. But as time passes, trolls from all around Alternia join the scene. You are one of these trolls, making your way into the center of the building for the mandatory briefing.

The structure itself appears to be a makeshift military base, erected for overseeing the construction of Old Hemisect City. The outer ring of buildings contain housing for trolls in the service (enlisted or voluntarily) in the military, and the rare adult troll can be seen flitting from room to room. In the courtyard, the center of the great ring, simple booths have been set up. You take a quick look over the tables, and find that the military’s presence and commitment to Old Hemisect is undeniable. Familiar flyers are laid out promising glory and change to the great city, while other booths display materials and supplies to be used in the reconstruction. They appear to be of impressive quality, you note. New military technology going towards a planetside project is exciting in itself.

A loud table for kids promises “security, safety and fun”. An enormous infographic on “Spotting Questionable Trolls and Reporting Them” hangs above the table, with bullet points written detailing frequently asked questions such as “Are rebels really living in Old Hemisect City?” (Rebels can live everywhere, but be assured that the reconstruction of Old Hemisect will prove to kick out dissenters and secure a safe place for all Alternians! There is currently limited rebel activity in Old Hemisect due to recent efforts by the Alternian Military.) and “How do I report my friends?” The information you see is sponsored by the Young Alternian’s Surveillance Association, a group that has slowly begun to grow in numbers since the Mother Grub’s illness and is mainly kids. You’re not sure of its effectiveness yet, but time will tell.

The atmosphere is peculiar. Part nationalistic fervor, part self-interest, with a heaping dose of curiosity and hesitation. Many trolls have just come off of the shuttle – a special shuttle for this occasion was quite the luxury for some trolls who stand here before you now. The night is still young, and the soporific sleepiness of the crowd is just wearing off. Anticipation for a speech from the queen is in the air, but mostly the motley crew of teens and kids (and many a lusus) seem anxious to get out of the cramped space and clear up what exactly needed doing in the coming weeks. You’ve got some time to get set up here and familiarize yourself with other trolls.  

[FoxFire120]

Standing there was like standing in front of a million stampeding beef beasts, scary and uncertain what would happen. He knew he wanted to be just like the high-bloods, he wanted them to see him as a equal. He had read the note over and over in his head and out loud to make sure he understood everything that was written in front of him in bold letters. He held on to the railing on the shuttle even harder then he had the entire shuttle ride into the meeting area.

"What did that other letter mean? What are they lying about? Who were these trolls who wrote this letter? Why have it at the same time as the queens meeting?" Vitula thought to himself as the shuttle began to slowly come to a halt. His eyes focused to the doors that had just opened to let all the trolls out into the meeting area. He followed behind them with his lusus still propped up on his horn. Parrot pop would not move from this spot when ever him and Vitula walked among trolls they did not know, especially when they weren't in Chittentown.

He walked into the middle of the area and looked around at everything that was set up before him. He had brought everything he thought he would need for this trip. His best suit, Parrot pop, some beetles, and of course his violin case. He wondered if this was the right choice. He took a big gulp and began walking to the booths, he just hoped what ever happened would turn out to be good for him.  

[DraconicFeline]

The moment Keionx saw the note and its promises of glory, she knew exactly where she was going to go.

She left a proud and waving Beastdad with Zariah again and, bravely and on her own, found her way to the Busthind special shuttle to the military establishment.

While others were sleepy in the early evening, Kei was pumped up. This was another chance to show her prowess with sword and shield, and another step closer to her dream of nighthood.

She took in the infographic, trying to read it. But she had no idea what it meant. Too many pictures, not enough words, and the language was too simple for her. Plus, why report when she could deal with the problem herself? That aside, she was also certain that her friends were not rebels. How could they be anything but good? They were her friends.

She turned to the materials.

So, they would be building things? Good. Reconstruction was an honorable task for a knight, not beneath her at all. Nothing was beneath a knight, for they were paragons of righteousness and goodness!

Thus infected with the national fervor, Keionx began to look for a place to sign herself up.  

[Sypon]

Once Tamiya had read the letter sent by the military, she had no doubt in her mind what she was going to do. The paranoia brought on by the dissenting letter had caused her to immediately bundle it up with her belongings and march straight to the base in the middle of the city.

She had forgotten to check in with her companions to see what their travel plans were. For a moment she felt a sense of dread -- would they betray her? She swallowed the thought and walked alone with her lusus, carrying all of her necessities to the site.

The first thing she was going to do was request her hive be left ALONE. It was perfect. The second was to assist in the planning of the New Old Hemisect (that name certainly wouldn't catch on) so that everything could fit to her specifications for the spiritual safety of all residents. And the third thing... Turn in this damn letter. The rebel threat had to be snuffed out - it was a danger to the delicate balance on Alternia. Unacceptable.

Here she was. There were plenty of trolls here, and it made her nervous. She avoided brushing shoulders with the others.

She wandered over to the booth for the Young Alternian's Surveillance Association as she waited. Perhaps she'd see a troll she recognized -- those bluebloods from the WACKY debacle, perhaps. Currently, all she spotted were lowbloods. She leafed through the pamphlets and idly scratched Kabukidad's ears.  

[seekingCylem]

[ The atmosphere was certainly different here now than it was during the Bloodfest celebration.

Sinter shuffled his boots against the dusty street. He was standing on the outskirts of the mandatory Military... meeting? It looked like a convention with all of the booths and pamphlets. Sinter flipped through a flyer he'd been handed earlier and pretended to look busy. He'd made sure Lophie had gotten off the lusus train car alright, but had gotten separated when an older troll had hurriedly shepherded all of the children onto the trundle canister into town.

At least with all the sandy beaches, Lophie wouldn't be too far removed from her element while in Old Hemisect. Sinter still waited anxiously for his lusus's arrival. He hoped she'd get there before the grown-ups started delegating tasks, or whatever was supposed to happen there tonight. ]

 

[Green Minuet]

∞ Ephias Sagine

The empire had not spared any expense for the reconstruction of Old Hemisect City. The luxury train ride, temporary lodgings, good food, the grand central hub, equipment stations, flyers, youth groups... and there was so much more to be seen. Ephias was impressed. If anything, it demonstrated that the empire was dead serious on getting this project done and wanted to recruit as much help as possible. Ephias was happy to oblige.

For the most part.

The underlying threat in the recruitment flyer had bothered him immensely. It was the principle behind it. Ephias could not quite articulate why, though even if he could would not dare, but the empire forcing its people into action was wrong. Still, at least it had its citizen's best interest at heart. That made it forgiveable if not justifiable.

There was one other thing that had distressed Ephias though: that strange message that clipped through the radio announcement. It did not take a genius to figure out who was most likely behind the hijacking: the rebels. With how busy they had been lately, they were at the forefront of everyone's thoughts. From what Ephias had seen they appeared to be ruthless radicals. However their words had unsettled him. Reestablishing dominance as an oppressive force? Crushing the populace? No doubt it was alarmist propaganda but... if it wasn't?

No. It didn’t matter. There might be things wrong with the empire, social issues that needed to be addressed, but rebellion caused strife. If things continued to escalate, people would only get hurt. Pointlessly. The rebels may have been fighting for a just cause, or at the very least they believed they were, but their methods were lacking. It was not worth it to sacrifice the populace of Alternia in hopes of instigating cultural change. The empire may not have been all in the right, but at least this way less people were likely to come to harm. Right?

Ephias fidgeted, squeezing his fingers into a fist. A shred of doubt still teased his thoughts, but Ephias buried it at the back of his sponge. He was with the empire. He could not afford to have doubts. Not now anyway. He needed to focus on the task before him.

And what a task it was.

Ephias gazed out at sight before him. The past two minutes he had spent staring and thinking made the sight no less impressive. He wondered at how long it had taken to erect the structure. Perhaps what was even more impressive was the sheer amount of trolls. Ephias was used to seeing a lot of trolls—Chittentown was a busy place after all—but to have so many gathered in a single space…! He would have to be careful not to suffocate. The crowd pressed in around him and he felt almost claustrophic. He wanted very much to find some place quiet but duty called. He could at least figure out what he was supposed to be doing.

"W-Wolly," he said desperately. His lusus perked up, attentive. Ephias gave him a pleading look. "Please help." For a moment the lusus stared. Then he leaned forward to nuzzle Ephias’ forehead affectionately. The troll recoiled faster than a cat on hot pavement.

"Agh! N-n-no!" Ephias exclaimed, voice taught. For a brief moment his expression had turned furious. The sheep huffed unhappily, drawing away. Ephias sighed; he felt bad. "Just help me through the-the crowd, please, " he mumbled. Wolly obliged though he did so with his head down and tail limp. As he forged a path through the trolls, he could not resist sending his charge a sad, despondent look over his back. Ephias tried very hard not to face-palm.

With his lusus taking the lead, Ephias was able to make his way through the base with almost no physical contact. He was astounded by the wide variety of trolls that had come to help. There was a shifty looking yellowblood, a chorus of laidback, eagerly chatting greenbloods, a rough-and-tumble orangeblood, and even several highbloods. He had very nearly run into a particularly fierce looking purpleblood and her terrifying lusus, but quickly skittered out of the way, stammering an apology. Ephias almost stopped to look back, but he was already losing Wolly in the crowd.

Eventually, Wolly and Ephias arrived at the centre of the ring, where a train of booths had been set up. Immediately he was drawn to the technological side of things. Weapons or not, no doubt many great minds had been behind these kind of scientific advancements. Just by looking at them, he did not have the faintest idea of what any of them did or how they worked but boy, they sure looked cool! He moved along the stalls, glance nuggets feasting on everything. At last he came to a stop beside a rather dapper looking yellowblood around his own age with... what was that? A violin maybe?

Ephias sucked in a deep breath. It was time to be… conversational. Wolly had begged him to practise socialising. "It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?" he said. After a beat he added, "Are you fr-from around here?" Oh god, that was kind of creepy, wasn’t it? Wolly was right. He did need to work on his social skills. Or maybe he was too far gone all ready. That would be nice. Then he would never have to worry about doing this ever again.

Ephias kept his expression as neutral as possible, hoping… hoping anything really.

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OoC: Oh my god, I am SO SO sorry that this is such a monster.

FoxFire120

 

[Gl!tch~]

This would be, what, her second big outing in the history of ever? It didn't even feel that long after the WACKY adventure! It didn't feel as...exciting...either. There was nothing to hunt, nothing to capture. None of the adrenaline she was hoping for.

That said, Luxara was still pretty pumped. 'Luxury transportation'? She wouldn't have to pocket her own food for the ride? What great silver lining!
She hadn't, however, put it together that EVERYONE had gotten this note so EVERYONE was cramming onto the shuttles. It was quite a fight just to get a nice seat! Stagdad, in the meantime, stood anxious and fidgety in the cramped space he was shoved into. It would be a long ride.

On the ride up, she took the letters out of her pocket and gave them another look-over. She compared the official order to the rebel note. As demanding as the royal order was, didn't it have their best interests in mind? Recovery projects were a GOOD thing, right? Luxara squinted, confused. Despite working on the rebel side before, she hadn't taken them especially seriously. Yes, things could be a little...unfair for lower bloods. Considering how she was used to avoiding being shooting practice for highbloods, and as much as she liked to act like it was just a big game, she knew upper hemospectrum entitlement all too tell. But how could the construction efforts be a crime against the entire population? It just didn't make sense!

The shuttle lurched to a halt, and Luxara quickly folded her reading material back up before hopping off the shuttle as soon as she could. Stagdad nudged her along. He wasn't letting her go at her own pace, a punishment for dragging him along for this nonsense.

"Quit it," she scolded, pawing at his face in the hopes of getting him off her case. "I TOLD you you didn't have to come, silly!"

Stagdad just snorted.

"Uh-huh."

Luxara slowly got her bearings. This place sure was official. So very...military. A little too overdone, in her eyes. Very rigid. It was almost intimidating. She wished she was back in the desert running around with a net. Things had been so much looser back then.

But maybe she could climb to the top of the base later, when no one was paying attention... Seemed like a good challenge, anyways.

Drifting over to one of the tables, the short stuff of a greenblood picked up pamphlets she quickly flipped through, looked over infographics, the whole shibang. They might as well have a big sign with NO REBELS ALLOWED in red. It sure wasn't looking good for her, considering her last big move.
Would they be mad that she had helped The Enemy?
Would they be able to tell? Would any of her friends report her if they were here?

She thought about Did, Gan, Kur.....
Naaaaaah. If she wouldn't ever think to report them, they wouldn't report her, surely.

Speaking of her friends, maybe they WERE here! Luxara spun around, searching the many gray faces getting off the shuttles, seeing if there was anyone she might recognize.
All that previous worry-warting was gone in an instant.  

[FoxFire120]

Standing at the booth area, Vitual began to look around at the different things this "meeting" had to offer. He had never been to Old Hemisect, New Hemisect of course. He never thought he would find himself here though. Looking at the booths he saw some set up for the youth and other set up for more older trolls. He stopped at one both that had tech laid out all across the table. Not ever really understanding about much tech, he mostly just gazed at the items and commenting how nice and cool looking they were.

After a bit of looking at tech he made his way down to more booths that had been lined up. It was at one booth that he happen to stop at that another troll his age came up next to him. When the troll began to speak Vitula moved his head to face him and see what he was saying. The only part Vitula had heard was the question of is he from around here. Vitula blinked at the troll trying to figure out what the first part the troll in front of him said. After a few seconds to try and avoid awkwardness, he quickly responded to the troll in front of him.

"Oh, hello! First let me make myself known. My name is Vitula Picato. It is very nice to meet you! I am actually not from around here, I live in Chittentown. How about yourself?" Vitula spoke in his usual proper manner. He had the bad habit of talking to people for a short amount of time before he properly introduced himself to them. It was indeed a habit he must and would try to break.

Katanari

 

[Hivestuck]

The mumble of the crowd was soon silenced by drones circulating through the spacious arena of the base. Fanfare began with tinny bleats from the announcement speakers, splintering the sponge clots of trolls who stood too near. It was the signal for a speech, and it demanded silence. An elusive sense of disquiet overtook the audience. There would be no elaborate announcement of the queen tonight. The military trolls who surrounded the group kept a vigilant watch for any suspicious characters in the crowd, humorously enough. It seemed as though primarily young children had emerged to assist the royalists this day, and the amount of lusii hissing, barking, and causing a general hushed racket. It was a rather uncanny sight, but after all, rewards had been offered for every age group.

Finally, a figure strode out onto the stage at the far end of the circle. Only when she began to speak did some in the crowd realize that the queen would not be making an appearance – this representative from the military cut quite the figure regardless. A short adult troll dressed sharply in military uniform, she embellished her rank with the deep blue symbol of her blood color. Her hair was pulled back in a tight braid; everything about her seemed constricted down to the pursing of her lips. She barely blinked as she took a firm stance and delivered her address.

“I am Captain Mapuye Puchen. I have been put in command of overseeing the reconstruction of Old Hemisect City,” A hiss of a voice filled the base. Mapuye took a moment to look over the crowd. “You are here because you have responded to the call to action sent directly to you by virtue of the Queen. This is where your voluntary service begins. Welcome to the Old Hemisect Coastal Base. After this briefing comes to a close, you will be directed to your place of stay for this time period. For those of you who have served the Queen in times of past trial,” she hesitated to look around for familiar recruits. None. Useless layabouts, all of them. “You will be duly rewarded for your prior service,” Her look harshened. This was no time for niceties, but she supposed that she would have to warm up the kiddies in the crowd so that they’d stick around.

“As you may know, the illustrious history of Alternia has had tragedies. And that of Old Hemisect’s destruction is one of the most painful memories in recent times. The freak accident that caused the city to fall without warning sent shockwaves through us all – and until now, progress has been impeded to a great degree,” Captain Puchen did not budge from her spot. She gesticulated in quick, subtle slashing motions. “We will never get back the countless lives lost, both on-world and off-world, from that fateful day. Old Hemisect was not just an eminent city. It was a symbol of our people. We owe it to the lives lost, and to posterity,” Another sharp glass at the children in the crowd. She hoped her history lesson reached their young ears; they were before the time of such conflict. Perhaps she could stir their sympathies with great rewards. “You have made the correct decision in appearing here today. The reward of glory and distinction will be a given with your participation. Those who have made the decision to leave their hives in Old Hemisect to give to the cause are highly lauded for their efforts and given great reward. Having assisted in the reconstruction will earn you a proper living space once the city is restored.” Her speech paused after this point. She finally took one step, and then another. She slowly paced the stage, her gaze scanning all recruits, young and old, in the crowd. Identifying them as residents and outsiders was easy.

“Squatters, vultures and looters of our once fine city have attempted to reclaim the land as their own. Alternia herself will have none of this. It is necessary to remove the boils and impurities of such trolls from the land at once. An unacceptable mining of our culture is at hand. Even treasonous rebels have gutted the likes of Old Hemisect for their personal gain, uprooting the very foundations of our people. I understand that there has been some interference over the radio and even in some print media.” This part of the speech seemed unrehearsed. Drones in the crowd began to look around with a worried glance as Captain Puchen stalked the crowd.

“If for a second you believe the vitriol that spews from the treasonous likes of the rebellion, you have fallen prey to their game. Equality is not their goal, recruits. What is in the cards for all of them is a regime run by chaos, where horrors occur nightly. There will be no sanctuary for traitors, in this rule or in the future that they so foolishly pursue.” There was silence. Captain Puchen lipped her lips and regained her posture, now standing again in the center of the stage. Her words were passionate as they were threatening, and it was without doubt that she believed every word of her assessment.

“Serving and protecting Alternians is our primary goal in this trying time. The horrific incident that we remember today will not keep us down for long. Soon, we will push full force into a future expanding once again into the stars for the exaltation of our Queen and our people. This reconstruction project is a major milestone in this goal. Your service is essential, and will be remembered for generations to come.”

And with that, Captain Puchen stepped back and out of sight. Silence. After a couple of confused seconds, a greenblood assistant up to the front of the crowd with a mic. He wasn’t as prepared as his predecessor, but clearly she didn’t have any intention of informing the crowd of what their tasks or the actual construction plan itself would be.

“A-at this time, I’ll be finishing up the debriefing…” he fumbled, and pulled out a large folded document. An excited chatter had started again in the base, and he tried to calm down the recruits with less success than Puchen. The mic gave off a fair amount of feedback from the crumpling paper, which he finally turned upright and began to read aloud.

“Hello, recruits! We are happy to see you all here tonight…” He clearly was trying to skim down what the Captain had already covered. Finally regaining his composure, he addressed the crowd. “There are many duties that will be established at your time at the Coastal Base. You can refer to the written materials at any of the booths and posted in the information kiosk around the base. At this time, we will now take questions and then assign trolls to their temporary housing for the period of the construction... Does anyone have any questions?”

Trolls/OHC residents who haven't posted yet are welcome to keep arriving until August 17th. Camps for both royals and rebels have been set up!  

[Green Minuet]

∞ Ephias Sagine

Ephias was surprised when the yellowblood responded so enthusiastically. Giving his name right from the get go? Was he he someone that Ephias was supposed to recognise? Or was he just overly friendly? And what was with his weird manner of speaking? It sounded kind of pretentious...

"Oh, uh..." Ephias stumbled over his words. He had not wanted the conversation to switch back to himself so quickly. "I'm also from Ch-Chittentown. No real surprise there." With Chittentown hosting the largest population of lowbloods, it was hardly coincidental that he and Vitula came from the same city. Of course he had never seen the troll in his life before. Chittentown was home to thousands and besides... Ephias was pretty much a home-body. Getting out and socialising was not in his skill set.

Speaking of socialising, Wolly was pretty busy getting to know Vitula. The sheep lusus had wandered over to the yellowblood and proceeded to sniff his hair, his violin case, and the parrot on his shoulder.

"Wolly!" Ephias exclaimed in alarm. His tone was still flat but there might have been a mild note of panic in his voice. The sheep lusus looked up, expression quizzical. He was sincerely confused. What was Ephias so upset about? The redblood's mouth pinched a fraction. This was really embarrassing. He tried to communicate his embarrassment with his eyes. Wolly simply stared. Ephias was about as expressive as a rock.

"Come here, p-please," Ephias said with a sigh. The sheep gave the yellowblood one last good sniff then trotted over to his charge's side. Ephias returned his gaze to Vitula. The other troll was probably mortified. "Anyway I'm Ephias," he mumbled, in a voice that was barely audible. He was at a loss of what to do next but fortunately the appearance of Mapuye Puchen saved him. Ephias gladly turned his attention to the stage.

The following speech given by Mapuye was certainly inspiring. They were rebuilding the city, restoring an empirical symbol, creating new hives for homeless trolls, and eliminating looters. Despite all that, the speech struck as ominous to Ephias. As he tried to puzzle out why, a greenblooded troll took the stage.

"What did you think of the Captain's speech?" he whispered to Vitula, when a few trolls piped up with questions.

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FoxFire120

 

[ChaosTheories]

Abrila had been living for a fair amount of time on the outskirts of society, picking at the fringes like some stray barkbeast. Her hive in NHC had yet to be repaired, as far as she knew. But things had been so crazy, she hadn't truly been keeping track. To crazy for her, anyways. Others may argue that she could have pulled her weight, made some real effort into improving her life, but she was too lazy, too confused, even too alone if she was honest, to know what to do. She hadn't even seen her lusus since the earthquake, and all her Alternian possessions could fit in a ratty old backpack.

Sleeping without sopor was also taking it's toll. Sometimes she had trouble telling what nightmares were real and what was all in her head. Just the other night, she could have sworn her cardboard box had been talking to her... but that was silly. It couldn't randomly sprout teeth and start singing, right? Right.

It was by chance that she found out about the military gathering in OHC. Vague memories sprung up of a nice military-issue recuperoon to sleep in, "nutritionally balanced" things to eat, and a clean uniform. It all sounded like Troll Paradise to her, even if it did involve highbloods, socialization, effort...

Eh, she supposed she could stick around for some grub grub and fall into whatever they were planning this time. At least she didn't have to think for herself much.

The orangeblood had found herself stuck on the lusii coach because no one had appreciated her smell. By the time they arrived and she was able to extract herself from the last of the noisy beasts - many whom's charges had run off - Mapuye had almost finished her speech. Abrila slowly pushed her way through younger trolls to hear the end of it better, and then observed the nervous greenblood. Ahh, so she would get housing... Funny she couldn't get housing where she lived.

And then Atiqua asked the important question. Her bile sack rumbled in anticipation for the answer.  

[Sypon]

iStoleYurVamps

The greenblood looked blankly at the tall troll... Did... She just ask that question? That was her question? He was a little disappointed that the rousing nationalism within Mapuye's speech was lost on the crowd. Perhaps he'd messed it up by stuttering and taking so long with the document...

He cleared his throat and spoke into the mic clearly. "Yes. Food and lodging is supplied, mess hours will be posted in each ring's hall."

And then he returned to looking around the room, almost pleadingly, for another question. He felt a bit stuck up on stage actually. Fidgeting with his mic cord, he turned to the others in the audience. A hungry looking orangeblood. A fluffy lusus with its redblood charge, and a snappily dressed yellowblood. It was quite the diverse cast.

"Any more questions?"  

[Gl!tch~]

Near the end of the great big speech, Luxara found herself more conflicted than ever. Yes, the captain was very official and knew more than she did. Or else why would the troll be there giving orders? After all, Luxara had trusted her own captain whole-heartedly and that worked out great!

Yet she still doubted a little despite herself. Was it really so bad that trolls were squatting in an abandoned city? Did it really matter THAT much? Honestly, this all seemed to be a bit much. Probably because Luxara herself was kind of a looter. And fought for rebel forces. Hopefully the captain couldn't see it on her face or smell it or anything or she was s-c-r-e-w-e-d.

While still contemplating, an awkward greenblood guy stumbled onto the stage. Luxara only caught the 'questions' bit, having tuned out for the rest of it. She put a finger on her chin, thinking. What WOULD be a good question at a time like this...?

That wasn't about food. Which was silly. Why did that matter? Was it really so hard to hunt or scavenge for your own? Maybe. This was coast-side, and who even knows how to deal with water life, considering the purple bloods who might gut you for reaching in their turf.

...OH! Here's a good question! "So this Old Hemisect, right? It's gonna be a NEW city when it's finished? So will it be Old New Hemisect? Or something different? Cuz calling it that might be kind of silly. Or will it be New Hemisect and what's ALREADY New Hemisect have to be renamed? If you guys don't have any ideas for city names already can we help with that since that could be part of the project, maybe?"