Markesha’s found her runners rhythm, but the sudden sound of Audrey’s voice throws off her groove!

This week readers voted to learn about the anatomy of a Kong in Parkour! Click here to vote for next week’s world-building notes! -> https://www.patreon.com/posts/22976389

If Markesha were to train you on running in Trinity one lesson would include “the Kong.” To learn about this move, one must first understand the purpose of Parkour: get to a destination as fast and efficiently as possible, by running, jumping, climbing, ect. Established in the 21st century Parkour is less a sport and more of an art in forward momentum. The Kong is a staple move, where the body passes over obstacles with the legs between the arms. Momentum is first gained with by running, and then continued as the runner plants their hands on the obstacle surface and launches themselves forward with their arms. At its core the Kong is a simple vault, but it’s power comes from building upon and then keeping pace of momentum. It’s perfect for covering long obstacles and gaining distance at the same time, which makes the Kong one of Markesha’s favored moves.

It’s Toshi’s turn to ask questions, and Link is really thankful Markesha’s dad can’t see his terrible poker face.

This week readers voted to learn about Markesha’s running habit! Click here to vote for next week’s world-building notes!

Markesha’s been running ever since she could remember. An active child from the get-go, Markesha had a habit of disappearing on her parents in slow moving crowds. Racing against other neighborhood kids was a favorite pastime, but much of that changed after the disappearance of her mother. Alienated by those around her, Markesha found creative ways to avoid others at all costs. She abandoned the stifling streets to bound across the open skyline. Over time running became less of a practiced talent and more of a coping mechanism turned career path. Unfortunately, there is no outrunning a broken heart…

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Link throws off Toshi’s groove.

This week readers voted to learn about Toshi’s music! Click here to vote for next week’s world-building notes!

Like every writer, Toshi has his own routine for getting work done. Part of that routine includes music. Toshi’s playlist includes gifts from past clients, fellow writers, and a few he’s procured on his own through simple, but no-less nefarious means. Most of his collection is modern, but he’s rather fond of Old World music, specifically chill-hop, jazz, and crooner. Markesha can tell Toshi’s hit his groove not only through his flying fingers, but also his singing. The more focused he is, the more likely he’ll sing along.

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Markesha’s close. Audrey’s ready. But the comm-line? Not so much.

This week readers voted to learn more about the team’s call signs. Vote on next week’s world-building notes!

Call signs are assigned to each team member by Orson, but he’s not a despot about it. Though he has final say, Orson works with each team member to find the right call sign that they’re comfortable with. For his field agents the call sign naming convention is based off of the alphabet for simplicity’s sake: Ajax, Bolt, Cage, Dexter, etc. Support agents, like Audrey, Link and himself are a different story – he stuck with call signs that started with the same letter. The first to come was Audrey. At the time her hold on English wasn’t as practiced and she literally thought Orson was trying to rename her. Once the confusion was cleared she left the call sign up to him. Based on his personal observations of the engineer, Orson thought the call sign Atlas worked well for her on multiple levels. Link was an eager participant in the call sign process. Orson originally suggested Loki, but it was turned down because another Spyder was using it. Link finally settled on Lenox after a legendary Old World program that was considered impenetrable…and because it sounded fancy.

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Audrey and Link struggle against the limitations of their half-calibrated tools. Happy Halloween, y’all!

Outer Trinity is home to several motorbike racing leagues. Each league has it’s own culture, colors and expectations for riders and their bikes. Small races are held once a month by an individual league, riders who place in these “dust-ups” are rewarded with a slot in the OT Street Ride. Held once a year the OT Street Ride is an unsanctioned event that weaves a path through the Outer City streets at night. Audrey’s had a keen interest in the sport, and never misses the yearly showdown. Orson has tagged along a few times. He listens politely as Audrey gushes over the pros and cons of specific bike modifications, engine choices, or fuel sources. While Audrey seems a passionate fan, she also seems to know more than she should. She’s never given a straight answer as to whether she’s been involved with one of the leagues.

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Audrey and Link scramble to find their AWOL agent!

Without getting too bogged down in the technical details, the Pack has a unique power system. Energy is always flowing into the device. This is a double edged sword. On one hand it means the user has a technological advantage. But if the energy overflows the Pack becomes volatile and prone to damage that would be irreversible in the field. Orson has hounded Audrey to provide simple solutions to the damaged-in-the-field problem. This request has clashed hard against a promise he made when she joined his team: No one will ever know the inner-workings of this specific technology, including him. In the years they’ve worked together Orson and Link are no closer to understanding exactly how the Pack works now, than they were on day one. Link thinks her taciturn response to Pack specific questions are because Audrey’s too lazy to explain it in English. Orson’s theory is much darker.

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Julian dodges Orson’s questions, but they’re interrupted by HSF guards. The other inmates worry for Julian’s fate.

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Public executions were common during the wild and rough early history of Trinity, but have since fallen out of favor. Now, executions are only shown during special circumstances and broadcast to the public. The favored method of execution by the HSF is through firing range. Multiple prisoners are brought to the top of the wall. They’re lined up on the edge of the wall with ropes tied around the ankles and anchored in place. When shot the executed fall backward they’re left to hang from the edge of the wall for a few days. While public executions have fallen out of favor, the hanging bodies are usually so small most people don’t notice them.

Julian wants to get some answers, but Orson turns into the one asking questions.

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The SADP sigil is a bastardization of an Old World flag from South America. It depicts a white crescent representing the moon over a blue field representing the earth. Popular thought in the SADP is that the moon is a guardian of the earth. Therefore, they see themselves as protectors of their lands, and seek to find, preserve and guard all manner of flora and fauna. The flip side of this is that the SADP has a well earned reputation of theft. Other city-states rarely welcome SADP humanitarian aid due to fear of some part of their plant or seed stores turning up missing.

It’s never a good day when you lose the new hire and your secret tech in broad daylight.

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The rooftop access to the Nin apartment was added by Markesha’s mother, Cassie. The latch and hinge system was installed for quicker access to the clotheslines on the rooftop. Over the years this windows function has served less as a path to getting laundry done and more as a convenient escape hatch for Markesha. It’s gotten to the point that Toshi doesn’t really expect Markesha to use the front door anymore.