Bee

Your name is Imme. You work as a Busy Bee for Honeypot Couriers, the only remaining human courier service in Dresda. Ever since the postal system has become automated there is a high risk of packages becoming folded, spindled or mutilated. Clients with important and fragile cargo trust Honeypot to deliver it all in one piece and on time.

You have just been dispatched on an important delivery to the Dresda Museum Of Natural History. You don't know what's in the package, but your boss Queen Bee says that the client stressed how important it was that it arrived safely. To a neurotic extent.

That's why she's entrusting it to you.

You pride yourself on delivering packages safely. You tuck it into your bag as Queen Bee waves goodbye.



You exit The Hive. Your boss's eccentricities are kind of weird but you humor her anyway. You really enjoy your job, after all!

You'd better get going! Where did you park?

>Just around the corner

A courier has to be prepared to run on a moment's notice! The parking lot is right next door.



Your moped is locked to the bike rack, as usual. You can't be too careful.

A quick scan confirms your identity. Yay!



Let's motor!

>Motor

IMME rushing to...
███████DRESDA MUSEUM

> Admire own obscenely low gas mileage.

Ciclo® is entirely electric, and its battery is charged by your pedaling. You beam with smug satisfaction at your eco-friendly transportation.

You know this city like the back of your hand. You'll arrive in no time!

no time: pass by

Inner city traffic, lemme tell ya! Whoo-ee.

Regardless, you have arrived at the Museum safely and on time. You fly in the face of literary cliché.



La de da ~ another delivery soon to be complete ♫

... What is that sound?

WWSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH



WCH-KOOM

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!"



"Owwwwww ..."

"I'll just be taking this off your hands, then."



"... W- ... wha?"




"Buh ... bag. Bag. BAG."



"MY BAG!"

"Pipe down. I'm only interested in what's inside of it. And if you cooperate you won't have to get hurt."

You can't just let him take it! It is your duty as a courier to deliver that package!

You call upon your companion in times of need.



"CICLO!"



Your robot friend, Ciclo, is called to action!



"How cute. But I don't have time for you. Nothing personal. I got what I came for."



They're gone. And so is that statue. You would make a mass extinction joke, but this is not the time.



You failed in your duty. Worse yet, you get paid piecemeal! If you don't deliver that package you're not going to be able to make rent!

That package is obviously of great importance. You've got to recover it. Your client and your apartment are depending on you!

But how are you going to get it back? You have no idea who that guy was, or where he is now. Where do you even begin?

> Piggy back on Ciclo

> Go inside and attempt to find/question the client.

Looks pretty empty. It is a weekday.

I guess you'd better go ask the receptionist where the curator is.

> Just ask the receptionist where the curator is. We don't want to waste time, the package is in danger.

"Um. Excuse me, I need to speak to the curator urgently. Where can I find him?"



"Third floor. The door that says "MUSEUM CURATOR" on it. You can't miss it."

That was painless. You guess.

>Hurry! Time is of the essence!

You're on the clock, and chasing down criminals is not in your job description. Your first priority is to meet the client. You're really not terribly anxious to get yelled at by your boss right away. She looks nice enough, but oh, the tales you have heard.



You locate his office without trouble. The floor tiles are giving you a headache, though.

You knock.

"Come in."



The diminuative octogenarian leaps out of his seat at the sight of your bright, recognizable uniform.

"You're the courier, aren't you?! Is it safe? Do you have it?!"

"Well, about that ..."

"Please, tell me you have it!"

"A funny thing happened to me on the way here.

I got mugged."



"Oh dear, dear me. I was afraid you were going to say that."

"I am sincerely sorry, sir. I was ambushed by a large robot and its pilot. They nearly killed me. Incidentally, you may want to take a look at the front steps and call your insurer."

He shakes his head. The distraught expression behind his moustache is making you uneasy.

"Then it's just as I feared."

You are obligated to keep your deliveries confidential, but you figure that has all gone out the window after almost losing your life. It's a good thing Queen Bee isn't here to see you violating your code of ethics like this.

"I don't suppose you would care to enlighten me as to why this package is so important? The guy who mugged me seemed to know exactly what he was doing."



The old man sighs resignedly.

"I suppose I owe you at least that much. You see, that package contained ..."

>The Heart Of Atlas

"That package contained a device known as the Heart Of Atlas, the result of a 50-year study on perpetual energy. They didn't quite succeed, but supposedly a single heart could power a major metropolis singlehandedly for generations. I'm not quite sure how it works, myself, but it was going to be the centerpiece of our technology wing for a few months."



"Do you really expect me to believe something so far-fetched? Why hasn't this already been implemented all over the world?"

"It's very expensive to make these things, you know! You can't just replace all of the power plants in the world in a day. I am lead to believe that the Heart is still experimental at this stage, and as such the only equipment that can properly tap into its power is owned by the scientists who created it."

"This is a little hard to believe! Surely, several fundamental laws of physics are being violated."

"Don't you read the news, young lady? Perhaps you'd like to take it up with your transforming, hand-crank moped robot.

I'm sure you could imagine that the Heart is an incredibly high security item. We sent a armored van decoy and gave you the real thing, but they still found out somehow."

""They" who?!"

"I haven't the foggiest. Any nation would love to get their hands on an almost unlimited power resource. But I can tell you that whoever does gets their hands on it could easily have the entire world at their mercy. A war of unimaginable magnitude could unfold. World conquest."







"I ... this is a lot to take in."



"You saw your assailant up close, didn't you? You may be our only chance to track them down before it's too late!"

"But what can I do? I'm just a courier!"

"Please, I beg of you! The entire world may depend on it!"

This is out of control! You've always liked spy movies, but you're no secret agent.

You feel obligated to recover the package as a delivery woman. But this sounds really dangerous! You could be contending with an entire army!

What do you do?

>get the Heart of Atlas and kick some ass

You're going to save the world, you guess? This is all very sudden. You're not sure you're cut out for this sort of thing.

>If you go save the world, you might meet a cute guy

You'd better get back to The Hive.



"Wait! I don't even know what I'm supposed to do!"

"Don't worry, young lady. You seem uncannily suited for this sort of thing. I'm sure you'll figure it out. Best of luck!"

That's just great. You guess the logical way to start would be to find out who ambushed you. And unfortunately, you know exactly who to ask.

But before you can do that, you have a promise to keep.

>Go ask the presumably unpleasant person you alluded to

As much as you'd like to avoid your boss right now, Klaus isn't working today. You'll have to wait until tomorrow. As for right now, there's only one thing left to do ...



You return to The Hive.

"Hey! How'd it go?"

You explain the situation to Queen Bee.



"I'm fired, aren't I?"



"Nng. I can't fire you for getting mugged in broad daylight, Imme! That package was insured, and we have no liability. My most pressing concern right now is RoBoten."

"What have they got to do with it? You don't think they're responsible for this, do you?"

"No, but they're going to have a field day with this when word gets to the press. RoBoten would love nothing more than to drive me out of business so they can secure a complete monopoly of postal services in Dresda. Headlines like "Robot Assailant Steals Priceless Technology From Human Courier" aren't exactly going to instill my customers with unshakable confidence."



"Well ... I guess I need to get that package back, then."

"Sweetheart, are you kidding? You're not a superhero! You let me worry about this.

Look, why don't you take the rest of the day off? You still look pretty shaken. I'll have Ilo fill in for you."

Well, you can't really object to that. You'd certainly prefer wallowing to working right now. You haven't had lunch yet, either.