In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 45):

"Samantha," she says, taking the hand with a touch of trepidation. "Director Samantha Kelce."

She waits to see who else might exit the shuttle.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 46):

Just for the record Director, our group is... eccentric but to this point has indicated their commitment to the cause.

Xander came back to himself, unstrapping from the almost-useless cockpit. He stands, stamping feeling into his legs before making his way down the ramp.

Pleasure to meet you, Director, Xander says, extending his hand. And this is Abraxas.

On cue, the battlesuit activates, standing up and waving to Director Kelce. It then stomps off several yards to an unoccupied corner of the bay and powers down to await reparis.

Couldn't help but notice on the way in, was that a gravitational lensing array? he asks with a light of genuine enthusiasm in his eyes. Was wondering how you managed to hide an installation of this size from Earth. Or Mars, for that matter.

In reply to Xander (msg # 48):

"These are things we can discuss after the debriefing," the Director says with a slight smile. "But yes, a lensing array is involved."

She clears her throat and continues to wait patiently for anyone else who might be in the shuttle.

Xander lets out a low whistle. Color me impressed, Director. I didn't think that technology was anything more than academic theorycrafting. He shoots Samantha an unabashed grin. Looks like Captain Blaise wasn't joking about me getting to play with all the latest toys!

In reply to Xander (msg # 50):

Following Xander, JJ walks slowly down the ramp, space helmet tucked securely under one arm, surrounded by an aggressive-looking swarm of armed duplicates.

You may want to send someone to take a look in the shuttle, JJ muses cautiously.  Our friend is unconscious in a corner and could use some help.

JJ follows the mysterious Director.  His cohort keep a tight perimeter around him, giving everyone they see dirty looks.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 51):

Rebecca smiles apologetically at the director and shrugs in an 'i told you so' manner

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 52):

Director Kelce raises an eyebrow at the appearance of a knot of identical-looking goons, but motions for her guards to stand down.

In short order, the shuttle is moved to a repair bay while Flux is removed to a medical bay.

The facility looks relatively busy, with plenty of people milling about and few even bothering to give the group more than a cursory glance along the way.

Xander, Rebecca, and Battalion soon find themselves in a well-appointed meeting room equipped with fruits and beverages, passing through a variety of winding hallways to reach it.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 53):

"So," Samantha says, pulling the door shut and taking a seat at the head of the table. "Welcome once more to our headquarters. Make yourselves comfortable. Enjoy some water, maybe a fresh apple."

She folds her hands on the table and gives a no-nonsense smile.

"And then, if you please, explain exactly what the hell happened that caused Blaise to send you lot in a hobbled shuttle instead of coming himself in the Mastodon."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 54):

Rebecca sets the dolly down on the table infront of her taking a seat primly as the director's right hand and begins speaking in an efficient prattle of a scientist describing an experiment.

As you know our mission was to acquire several peices of SAGE technology.  As I'm sure you can imagine SAGE was less than willing to part with this information and would have preferred to destroy the prototypes than share them with anyone.

The room gets perceptably darker.  The doll scarier.

I had a little chat with one of their 'Doctors'

That chat ended with Blaise sending us here with the prototypes and information that was retrieved from the SAGE facility.  We are unaware of the final disposition of the Mastodon as it was disabled and taking heavy fire when we were ordered to retreat.

The SAGE ship sent out interceptors to stop us; forcing us to engage our prototype drives which functioned with mixed success, resulting in both our early arrival here and the state of our craft.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:55, Thu 14 Jan 2016.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 55):

She picks up the doll and holds it tight to her chest and sniffles.

I hope Blaise is OK. I liked him.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 56):

JJ refuses a seat at the table, instead opting to lounge against one wall while his clones surround him.  Thus, although you can hear his voice, nobody in the room can see the actual JJ talking.

More importantly... a smash and grab?  THAT's the big step forward for science?  That's how you all planned to further the race?

In reply to Batallion (msg # 57):

She resumes her implacable scientific face, all vestiges of a frightened little girl are gone.


Occasionally... unconventional, unsavory, or underhanded tactics are required for the advancement of science...

Watson and Crick stole the crystal structure for DNA from Rosalind Franklin.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 57):

"The mission parameters were left to Captain Blaise," the Director says toward the knot of Batallions. "If he settled on a smash and grab operation, it must have been because he felt it had the greatest chance of success among his other options. SAGE is a powerful entity, and employs unpredictable countermeasures. It's always best to take them by surprise if you can."

She clears her throat and smiles tightly.

"But! Here you are, by whatever means. What have you brought us?"

Xander cracks a grin. All kinds of goodies. We have an experimental space drive, complete schematics and readouts for a new type of light battle suit, a new breakthrough in gravitational distortion across small distances...

Continuing on with the enthusiasm of the cat that ate the canary, he provides a succinct summary of each of the technologies stolen from SAGE, and the extent to which the team had a chance to make their own tweaks and improvements.

In reply to Xander (msg # 60):

God... science....

Got anything to eat around here?

In reply to Batallion (msg # 61):

"There's plenty of food," the Director says. "And you're welcome to it. All agents enjoy complimentary room and board along with their usual stipends. You'll have to relay the agreement you had with Captain Blaise to me, though; I'm afraid he kept you close to his chest, and I don't have you in our database. Just enter your details and those of your contracts into the terminal in your room when you have a spare moment, and we'll handle the rest."

Kelce's eyes light up with Xander's explanation, and she rubs her hands together giddily.

"That is fantastic news! We'll put our scientists to work analyzing, tweaking, and building at once. We should be ready to immediately begin prototype construction by the time you return from your foray to the ARES installation."

She makes eye contact with each of those present -- contenting herself with a random Batallion for this purpose -- gauging the reaction to these words.

"That's the next step, of course. We'll need the ultra-dense minerals the ARES mining complex has been stockpiling. I was told that one among your number had the appropriate access levels. Is that you?"

She directs this question at Batallion. Well... one of them, anyway.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 61):

An apple is suddenly propelled at the knot of Battalions.  The doll is giving you the finger.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 63):

Rebecca's face remains placid but a raised eyebrow signifies her questioning of the order.

That would be our injured compatriot.  A heist on the Ares plant seems... ill fated unless we have better machinery.  They are every bit as big as sage and twice as mean... and neither we nor Captain Blaise acquitted ourselves well against SAGE.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 64):

"Oh, you'd be requisitioned with a new ship, never fear," the Director says. "And the plan called for more subterfuge in the ARES facility, given we'd have an executive with us. Fewer eyebrows to be raised. It's as simple as diverting an existing shipping contract, but such orders can only be given on-site for the materials in question. Such is their security."

She purses her lips slightly.

"We'll have to see what the recovery time for your companion looks like before making more plans, then. In the meantime, if you wanted to be put through the paces, we have a training room designed to put agents through lifelike simulations of mission parameters. I could set something up for you, if you'd like."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 65):

VERY kind of you, I'm sure, JJ drawls through his guards.  But I have to admit, I'm a bit worn out what with the smashing, stealing, running, chasing, fighting, accidental spacings, triage, and all that.

Works up a hell of an appetite thought, doesn't it?  I'll leave the techies to talk... tech with you and I'll take a rest and a meal.

Oh, and as for the details of our contracts, I'll handle that for the team.  No need for them to bore themselves with paperwork.  It was pretty straightforward stuff anyhow.

In reply to Batallion (msg # 66):

Rebecca shoots JJ a look that screams

I don't know if I should trust him or not... lets gamble and see what happens

Outwardly:

I would like to practice a new ability that I found sorely lacking in our previous encounters involving non proximal adversaries.

Additionally in any spare time I will assist Xander and the team on repairs and upgrades to the ship and/or the prototypes.

She waits for the others to start filing out.

That being said... and I mentioned this to Blaise as well.  I do not feel comfortable with the direction of things as of late.  While I understand the by any means necessary stakes of this mission I am uncomfortable with espionage, subterfuge and general thuggery that we have so far encountered.

Is there any other way?
This message was last edited by the player at 16:55, Fri 15 Jan 2016.

In reply to Rebecca Taylor (msg # 67):

"The general thuggery approach is one we'd like to hold in reserve, to be used only if absolutely needed," Kelce smiles. "Provided our ARES contacts cooperate, I see no reason why we can't be in, out, and on our way without anyone quite realizing what happened until it's too late to do anything about it."

She folds her hands on the table.

"After all, we only need to requisition a specific amount of that mineral to conduct our tests and construct our prototypes. It's not like we'll be conquering the ARES mines to drill it ourselves. That's both expensive and impractical."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 68):

While Xander and Rebecca remain in the boardroom to chat with Director Kelce, Batallion takes his leave. Upon entering the hallway, he is met by two armed guards, though their weapons are holstered.

"Can we help you find something?" one asks him. "It's a big complex. We'd hate for you to get lost."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 69):

Rebecca sighs heavily.

I feel I am heading down a slippery slope Director.  How many more heists am I going to have to pull from major corporations.  We haven't even healed from our combat at Sage and you are already asking to infiltrate an ARES base.  I will execute this command... however, if you next want me to take something from Braeburn then I will have heavy thoughts on the matter.

I know that Xander and myself do not have a background in this type of work.  I am aware of Battalion's history... and Flux is something of a cipher but appears to cooperate well with Battalion.  I'm uncertain if I would be able to continue along the path that has been set for me.