The trip from Ceres to the Near-Earth Hub and The Factory takes about a month, and while a great many stories are shared among the shuttle's passengers, the time still drags rather slowly aboard such a confined space.



Kayla and Dynamis's joint announcement that their destination will soon be upon them comes as a relief to most aboard.

OOC: Any unfinished business?
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:25, Fri 07 Apr 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 1):

The last few hours are filled with a "hurry up and wait" mentality, as the facility enters visual range well before you're actually close enough to see more than a blip in the starfield.

Eventually, that distance closes enough to make our distinct features. For those who have not seen the Factory before, it may appear to be jarringly underwhelming: a chunk of rock just 5 miles across, hurtling through space without a care in the universe.

Presently, the shuttle is close enough to the hunk of rock's local airspace to make out a few key features: a large, domed structure nearly a square mile in size is the tallest object to be seen, while the rest of the space seems to be taken up by a network of greenhouses and enclosed roadways.

There is no docking facility to be seen, nor anywhere obvious to dock the ship. At Xander's prompting, Kayla steers the shuttle toward the domed structure, which swivels and swirls to create a small opening at the very top. Antiaircraft batteries dot the perimeter of the dome, though they do not appear to be tracking your movement.

The shuttle lands in an isolated docking area nestled just within the top of the dome. A shuddering sound and a hefty CLANK follows the moment the ship touches down, indicative of magnetic docking clamps. Outside the shuttle, a group of five people are approaching the loading dock. Two of them are obviously soldiers -- armed with blaster rifles -- while the other three are dressed, respectively, in a white lab coat, an IDA officer's uniform, and a pair of thermal coveralls worn over a sleek bodysuit with boots, gloves, and goggles that leave no scrap of skin exposed.

These latter three can be recognized as Dr. Hawkins, Director Kelce, and Viceroy, by those who have met them before.

The cockpit's camera show them come to a stop not far from where the boarding ramp would extend were you to open it, and wait there patiently.

Xander bounds down the ramp with a spring in his step, clad in his custom red-and-black EVA/pilot suit.

Hey! he calls out to the gathered people. Doctor. Director. Viceroy, glad to see you on your feet again! How you feeling?

In reply to Xander (msg # 3):

Dr. Hawkins and Director Kelce smile at Xander and nod, but before they can respond, Viceroy bounds up and claps him in an enthusiastic hug.

"Xanderagent! So good to see-see you!"

He holds on a little longer than strictly appropriate, then releases him and steps backward.

"I forgive-forgive your kind question. I am feel-feeling better. Yes! Much improve-improved. The others have arrive-arrived, too?" he asks, cocking his goggled head to one side.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Thu 02 Mar 2017.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 4):

Nightmare comes out of the shuttle slowly, guardedly and last.  She hangs out at the back of the group allowing everyone to fawn all over the newcomers.  She approaches Dr. Hawkins separately from the group,

Have you seen the fruits of our labor yet?  Our group has managed to collate several major data dumps of information but are we just accumulating haphazardly or is there an endgame in sight?

In reply to Xander (msg # 3):

Muse is last down the ramp. All his belongings are in a rucksack slung over his shoulder. He sizes up the trio and soldiers, then turns to Battalion and speaks in a low tone.


"Do you trust these people?"

Billy heads down the ramp in front of Kayla and Muse, keeping himself between the two and the armed soldiers.  He waves casually at their welcoming party, "Director Kelce, I presume," he calls down the ramp, his pace unhurried.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 7):

Nightmare lurking in the back where I assume the cool kids are chimes in.

Nope.  Not one of them.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 8):


"Indeed," the director replies, offering her hand for Billy to shake. "Welcome back, agent. I've heard a lot about you. Commander Faust oscillates between infuriated and impressed, so you must be doing something right."

She smiles at Xander, nods toward Rebecca and Battalion, and blinks in surprise at Kayla and Muse.

"I wasn't aware that yours was a...personnel-recovery mission, Agent Lesueur-Fische. You should have sent word ahead -- we'll need to find bunks for them. I'm sure we have them somewhere."

"My name is Director Kelce," she says, directing her attention to Muse and Kayla. "I run this facility. If you are friends of the IDA, you are welcome here. We'll make sure you get where you need to go, or perhaps even put you to work, if you want it and an arrangement can be made. Details for another day, I'm afraid."

"But first, we'll need to get right to the business of debriefings," Director Kelce continues. "If you'll follow me, we'll go ahead and get started. Your new friends should come, too."

She motions to the soldiers, who stay behind with the shuttle at her command. Viceroy and Dr. Hawkins turn to follow her, and the implication that all should follow is obvious.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:19, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 9):

"Oh, it's all coming together marvelously," Dr. Hawkins says to Rebecca in hushed excitement as they walk. "Viceroy's done marvelous things with the schematics you've brought back to-date. I think you'll be very pleased! And I know he's eager to show-and-tell."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 10):

"Oh, yes!" Viceroy perks up, hurrying over to walk between Rebecca and Xander. "You'll both be overjoyed when you see-see how far along my Enforcers have come-come. They have lots of bells!

He cocks his goggled had to one side.

"One short-live-lived model had whistles, too."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:04, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 10):

"Your agent has a keen eye for talent, Director," Muse says, stepping to the fore and putting his bag down as though staking a claim.

He looks at the other two persons of note before continuing.

"My name is David Miles. I provide first-rate protection for VIPs, train combat forces for the most unrelenting of circumstances, and carry out highly sensitive dark ops solo missions with the utmost precision."

He looks around and asserts himself with an authority that threatens to overshadow that of his compatriots.

"As such, it is important that my presence here remain a mere rumor."

Muse (David?) stands tall in front of his three new presumed superiors.

"What can I do for you?"

In reply to Muse (msg # 12):

"That may depend on what you were doing for SAGE, Mr. Miles," Director Kelce responds, her expression betraying little but a neutral smile. "If you were providing them with protection, I see no reason why we can't work together. If you were training combat forces...well, SAGE is not supposed to have combat forces in the traditional sense, so if you were doing that, I hope it was under the umbrella of the protection service you offer. And again, we'd have no trouble working together."

She taps a finger idly.

"But the deep-cover secret agent bit? That might complicate things. I wonder if it will come up during the debriefing? I'm grateful to have your take on the situation -- as well as your friend's."

Director Kelce stops and turns to make her next point.

"The main rule here at The Factory is to stay out of trouble. Live and let live. If you don't make waves and are generally useful --" she glances at Battalion for a moment "-- then your stay here will be a pleasant one. Regardless, if your talents are as advertised, there's likely much you could do for the IDA."

She smiles again, and continues leading the way toward the debriefing area.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:44, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

"Oh yeah, something's a specialty of mine," Billy responds as his grasps Kelce's offered hand with his cool metal.  When she makes her observation about Muse and Kayla, and Muse subsequently asserts himself with military precision, Billy simply looks on awkwardly, " Uh, yeah, there seems to be a lot of confusion about the particulars of our mission, a debrief sounds great," he looks at Muse over his shoulder and silently mouths, "David?"

Xander follows along, noticeably more upbeat than you've seen him since Ceres. He chats with Viceroy about the improvements to the new enforcer models, and exchanges a few words with Kelce as well.

In reply to Xander (msg # 15):

Nightmare takes up residence next to Hawkins.

What were you able to make of Olson's research.  I've seen it firsthand and it is... terrifying.  In all honesty her 'solution X' doesn't even act like it follows chemistry from this universe....

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 16):

"You didn't think Muse was like, my real name, did you?" Muse says quietly to Billy as they walk.

In reply to Muse (msg # 17):

"Still puzzling that out," Dr. Hawkins murmurs to Rebecca. "That's part of what's so fascinating about it, because I thought the same thing. But Viceroy says he's studied reactions similar to those described in her data back before he starting working for IDA."

***

The group weaves its way through the facility, which is remarkably more straightforward than any portion of the SAGE complex. The corridors and rooms form an orderly grid, with regular signage and clear labeling.

The room Director Kelce eventually ushers everyone into is likewise different from SAGE's idea of a debriefing room. A generous space occupied by a large table, many chairs, and a wall-sized presentation screen, it would be more charitable to call it a conference room than anything else. A plate of breads, fruits, crackers, and cheeses has been set off to the side, next to stacks of cups and their matching dispensers for coffee, tea, lemonade, and water.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable," she says, taking her place at the head of the table and motioning for the others to fall in where they wish. "I gather we have much to discuss."

[Crossroads]
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:14, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 18):

Kayla, apparently taking her cues from Xander's enthusiasm more than Rebecca's trepidation, seems to be sightseeing as they make their way to the room. She looks back and forth with an incredulous smile, clearly pleased to be included.

When they reach the conference room, she walks over to a chair not far from the door, begins to pull it out to sit in it, and then stops short when she notices the food and drinks on the other side of the room.

"Real food?!"

She rushes over, decorum forgotten, and loads a plate with breads, fruits, and cheeses. Pausing only long enough to snatch a forgotten napkin and pour a cup of lemonade, she is soon eating happily at the table.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:37, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

"Pretty sure I asked you if it was," Billy retorts to Muse out of the corner of his mouth but doesn't stress the issue on their walk.  When they arrive he takes a chair near the door, declining to take any refreshment.  He makes shure his chair is oriented so that he's facing directly toward Kelce from his seat as he lounges into it.

Xander isn't far behind her, and soon has a plate piled high with cheese and fresh fruit in one hand and a tall black coffee in the other.

God, I can't think of a more welcome sight after two months of combat rations, he remarks to Kelce. I appreciate the thought.

He nonchalantly takes the seat next to Kelce, leaning back with a contented sigh. Is the temporal dilation brewery unit still working? he asks, adding with a grin I've thought of some improvements on the mission that I'd like to tinker with...

In reply to Xander (msg # 21):

Muse stands against the back wall for vantage on the entire room and closes his eyes. No snacks.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Fri 03 Mar 2017.

In reply to Muse (msg # 22):

How much do you know about Viceroy... I mean before the IDA, there is something that I feel like I'm missing.  A piece to the puzzle.  There have been some strange things centered around him and I'm getting curious. 

Nightmare will sit at Billy's right hand... he lounges to her left, Xander lounges across from her, she sits straight backed, declining refreshments as is her wont.  Her datapad in her lap tapping away.  She beckons Dr. Hawkins to fill in the chair next to her she whispers animated to him while they sit.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 23):

Dr. Hawkins whispers with Rebecca as the group gets settled in.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 24):

"It's still working, yes, though we've had to hide it from the techs," the director replies with a smile. "They were getting a little...shall we say, overzealous, with their experimentation during working hours."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 25):

She sighs and rolls her eyes.

Xander laughs. Well, I suppose there is something to be said for rigorous quality assurance testing...

In reply to Xander (msg # 27):

Dr. Hawkins frowns.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 28):

Nightmare blushes furious red

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 29):

Muse taps his foot and nods his head so as to slowly spur the debrief out of inertia.

In reply to Muse (msg # 30):

(Autofollow)

Battalion deigns attend the conference, taking the nearest available seat to the door. Duplicates are swiftly made to fetch him snacks and beverages; to massage his neck; and to take notes for him while he dozes.

All of this is done in an exceedingly heroic manner.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:41, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

In reply to Battalion (msg # 31):

"Is everyone settled? Good. Let's get started."

Director Kelce taps a few keys on the presentation console, and the wall-sized tablet screen activates. The screen depicts the inner solar system, with dotted green lines that you recognize as corresponding to your journeys since entering the IDA's employ.

"You've had a busy year," she says with a smile. "And a productive one. You successfully procured sensitive schematics from SAGE's installation on Venus, obtained the superdense alloy needed to create prototypes based on said schematics from ACE's Martian complex, and shut down one of the Alliance of Sol's most important revenue streams while reuniting many fractured families on EROS. Excellent work."

The map lights up during each corresponding phase.

"All of those were wildly successful -- even the AoS complication, given the end result. But the Ceren mission seems to have gone a bit less smoothly, at least from the reports we've gathered. Commander Faust is particularly vexed with you lack of communication and unilateral activities."

She rests her hands on the back of her chair, which she has yet to actually use, and sighs.

"That, in and of itself, it not problematic. Faust has a stick up his rear longer than his arm. But you DID return here with two additional passengers than we expected...and one of you in particular has been keeping our lawyers very, very busy trying to keep up with the nuances of squatter's rights, salvage codes, and ownership in interplanetary space. That's not to mention our sensitive standing with SAGE at the moment. It was important for our goodwill mission to have had the desired impact. Based on recent insurance filings and personnel openings we've intercepted, I'm afraid it may have...not."

She's still smiling, but a little less warmly than before.

"So...that's the overview. I already know what Commander Faust thinks happened on Ceres. He wanted me to separate you all into little rooms to get individual stories, but I thought we'd try it this way first. You're reliable agents, and you've proven yourselves as far as I'm concerned."

She spares a glance at Kayla and Muse.

"And those who aren't are already neck-deep in sensitive knowledge. A little more won't change anything."

She inhales deeply, then exhales and clears her throat.

"I only have one major question, though I reserve the right to ask follow-ups."

Director Kelce finally slips into her seat, and steeples her fingers together as she places her elbows on the table.

"What happened on Ceres?"

"Is clusterfuck a technical term?" Billy offers in response to Kelce's question, "We were told to investigate a missing ship.  We found it, investigated it, and got sidelined by a mad scientist.  She was supposed to be there, we weren't, and we had to expend as much effort not being held at gunpoint as we did stopping her from menacing the whole planet."

Xander nods at Billy. What he said. The sparknotes version is that one of the SAGE researchers is a genuine psychotic scientist, who also happens to be an auger. She has some ability to dynamically alter code. At first she used it for healing, but things went to hell in a rocket-powered handbasket when she started making mutants out of the crew.

Xander slides over his datapad to the Director. There's a more detailed account. You should have also received the entire encrypted and warded contents of Olsen's research a month or so ago. If you folks haven't figured out the decryption keys, I can unlock it. Sophia worked it out a while ago.

In reply to Xander (msg # 34):

"Yes, we received the data package...we're still going through it. Your decryption key may aid the process considerably."

She frowns slightly.

"The mission's parameters were to locate and assist a ship that had lost contact with SAGE's facilities. You found the missing ship and rendered aid, according to your report. What was wrong with the ship? Why had it lost contact? Had this mad scientist conducted a mutiny? Did you have to board the ship and turn it back around?"

She looks over the datapad Xander slid to him.

"Wait, the ship had already crashed by the time you got there, and nobody on Ceres had noticed that?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:21, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

"There was a saboteur onboard, several systems had bugs installed, one took the ship off SAGE's radar, but everything still probably would have gone fine for the ship if the good doctor hadn't turned half the crew into savage monsters that attacked the rest.  Besides, the ship was only three days late when we got there.  If no one noticed the impact they probably figured it was a delay in transit." Billy doesn't stress the timeline but looks straight at Kelce as he says it, noting her reaction.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 36):

"Three days late?" the director responds. "That's...hardly unusual in space travel. But when did they lose communications? The ship was either traveling from Earth to Ceres or from Venus to Ceres. We would have needed to know weeks in advance about any kind of communication problem in order to send agents out fast enough to make any difference."

She frowns.

"That doesn't make any sense unless the ship had been blinded quite early in its voyage, Ceres staff noticed a lack of updates, and then notified authorities -- us -- to look into it. But if that's true, then somebody on Ceres had to know there was a problem. Someone had to requisition our help. Did you meet anyone there who was actually expecting you?"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 37):

Nightmare's head swings around as she watches everyone like a hawk but not quite contributing yet.

"No one expected us.  No one asked for help.  Like I said, we weren't supposed to be there," Billy states.  He looks appraisingly at Kelce's confusion before offering a follow-up, "The only people who knew the ship was missing are the people who paid to sabotage it.  Xander and Sophia found one of the bugs transmitting nav data back to a third party."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 39):

"Do we know who this third party might be?" the director asks, intrigued. "That sounds like a vital clue."

"They claimed to be Braeburn, but that's apparently all the evidence they provided to their inside man." Billy is quick to beat Xander to the reply, and to underscore the uncertainty, "That and money."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 41):

"That's good! Money always lead-leads somewhere," Viceroy perks up. "Not hard to veri-verify if the payments came-came from Braeburn or elsewhere. Even if cloak-cloaked! Did Xanderagent try-try yet? He is the best slicer we have."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 42):

Director Kelce nods.

"Viceroy's right. If payments were made to a saboteur in the name of Braeburn, we might be able to flag that transactions -- or the saboteur's accounts, if he was sloppy -- for further scrutiny."

She frowns.

"None of this makes sense. What would Braeburn gain from sabotaging a supply ship? Or from arranging to have us show up in its aftermath?"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 43):

"We are already disliked by SAGE," Dr. Hawkins offers. "And the reports indicate that had our agents been on time themselves, they may have reached Ceres before the supply ship did, right?"

He taps his fingers on the table in thought.

"What would you do if a ship of SAGE operatives showed up here today and claimed to be investigating the disappearance of Commander Faust's ship? We are expecting him any day now, and have no reason to believe he won't be here as planned. We would, of course, look into it. Perhaps reach out to the ship itself."

"If we managed to reach the ship, and were told by someone onboard that everything was fine -- say, a suborned operative who had overtaken the ship already, lying to us -- then we would treat the SAGE contingent unkindly, I should think."

"If we did NOT manage to reach the ship, or if the ship arrived without communication and plowed into the Factory in a crash landing, we would still not look kindly upon the SAGE contingent. We would be suspicious about what they knew, how they knew it, and what role they had to play in the accident. Which is not the term we'd be using, I wager."

Dr. Hawkins shrugs.

"I'm not saying that's THE answer, of course, but it's AN answer. If Braeburn had wanted to increase the enmity between our organizations, they would have succeeded. Though what the mad scientist has to do with all of this is beyond me."

"What would you do if upon investigation of this hypothetical crash and SAGE contingent you found blatant connection to ACE?" Billy looks between Hawkins and Kelce, "If Braeburn was responsible for this it's still sloppy. There's no reason they had to tell some asshole under their thumb who he was working for.  They could've told him it was an IDA sting and buried us deeper or as a backup plan.  SAGE and Braeburn aren't exactly cozy either."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 45):

Where did our intel of a missing ship that is not missing come from?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 46):

"Let's find out."

She taps at the console for a few minutes, then frowns.

"Hmm...the mission was assigned to you through Commander Faust, who received the mission through the standard distribution ch- that's odd."

She taps a few more buttons, and a series of portraits scroll across the presentation panel. From left to right, the portraits show an unknown man, an unknown woman, Commander Faust, Billy, and Director Kelce.

"Here's the chain of custody, as it were," she explains. "The tip came into our leads department from an anonymous source, where it was authenticated by our analysts. Then it was sent to Commander Faust for assignment, who assigned it to Billy, who is now being debriefed by me."

"The strange part is the tip itself," she explains. "They are anonymous, but we still collect the location information for verification purposes. In this case, the source has been completely obscured. Either someone erased that information from our system, or they were using hardened equipment when they called in the tip. But it couldn't have happened until AFTER the tip had gotten past Leads and Analytics, because they would have flagged it. Unless they're in on it, of course."

Director Kelce's brow creases in concern.

"Either way, it's a big problem."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:52, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 47):

Battalion nods sagely and taps fingertips together.

Clearly he is thinking deep helpful thoughts and not zoning out.

In reply to Battalion (msg # 48):

Muse considers taking a piece of cheese.

It sort of sounds like we're all getting played here, Xander remarks mildly. Can't say I'm a fan of the feeling. Any ideas on how to run this down, Director?

In reply to Xander (msg # 50):

"We'll start by pulling the lead generation specialist and the analyst into separate rooms and making sure their stories check out," the director says thoughtfully. "I'll also want to talk with Commander Faust when he arrives, get his take on all of this. If someone's screwing with his missions, he'll be first in line to rectify it."

She massages her temples with her fingers for a moment.

"Ok. Setting that aside for the moment, can we get into more detail about the Charlie Foxtrot? Specifically, the parts involving the loss of life, the destruction of the shuttle, and the part where you claimed it as salvage."

This last part is directed dryly in Billy's direction.

"I know your family likes to make the government pay for things it could easily afford to buy itself, but that's a little out of line, don't you think?"

She looks over at Muse and Kayla and blinks.

"We also should discuss our guests, their role in this, and what kind of future makes sense for them."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:59, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

I'd like to point out that Kayla essentially oversaw rebuilding the shuttle from the ground up, with limited time and even more limited resources. She keeps a cool head in stressful situations, and is more than a fair pilot. I'm not sure what she has in mind for her future, but the IDA wouuld be lucky to have her on board, Xander says.

He shoots a glance at Muse. And he has one hell of an uppercut.

Billy rolls his eyes at the pointed inquiry, apparebnly both used to and unphased by being caught red handed, "Doctor Olsen had help in SAGE's science department, possibly the head of it, but we can't confirm that.  Part of their security force had off-the-books upgrades, which apparently included explosives with remote detonators.  When we confrinted Olsen she blew up their security force.  One of them was minding our shuttle since we had only barely convinced them we weren't the badguys, while most of the rest of them were in the executive suite, which was turned to rubble thanks to multiple explosions.  We had no way of knowing until it was too late," he explains grimly.

When he's done he grins and shrugs, "Salvage rights were just a quick and dirty way to make sure the IDA had nothing to do with the mess, the only people who know who we really work for aren't likely to raise a stink about it, and anyone who might be suspicious about IDA involvement have a nice neat cover story." He pauses, looking smug for a moment before his smirk grows limp, "Also quite frankly a mission that makes no sense into a mess waiting to happen made me wonder how much I should trust our benevolent leaders.  Apparently a fear well founded if your tip is such a problem."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 53):

Muse caves and eats a piece of cheese. He looks up mid-bite when he hears "uppercut."

In reply to Muse (msg # 54):

"The IDA is tasked with maintaining peace and order within the inner solar system," Director Kelce replies. "If a ship has gone missing, it is certainly our prerogative to investigate it. I'll not abide piracy, after all. And the IDA must maintain its reputation as an effective police force if we are to continue to dissuade others from taking such matters into their own hands. That would end poorly for everyone."

She glances over at Billy.

"The mission was also an opportunity to get back on SAGE's good side. Hopefully we've at least accomplished that, given the magnitude of disaster we've helped thwart."

She taps on the console and clears the projector screen, replacing its contents with two headshot-sized boxes. One contains Kayla's portrait, and the other Muse's. The images were clearly taken about 3 seconds ago (Muse has cheese crumbs on his chin).

"Ok. David Miles, Security Consultant," she murmurs, the words populated onto the screen near his headshot. "And Kayla..."

"Wallin," Kayla provides.

"...Wallin, Astronautics Consultant."

A bright light shines forth from the console, and soon the director has produced two ID badges. She hands them to their respective owners.

"This should give you relative freedom of movement around here, so long as you are in the company of an IDA agent or other employee," she explains. "We'll arrange details like payments, contracts, transit elsewhere, duty stations, or whatever else you'll need to move on with your lives soon."

"In the meantime, you're dismissed. I'm going to look into our anonymous tipster, and call another meeting once I've gotten somewhere. We'll arrange for someone to show you to your bunks and give those who want it a tour of the facilities."

She frowns, as if racking her brain for something.

"Ah yes. Rules. You may enter and leave your legally stolen shuttle freely, Billy, but you're not to take it anywhere until further notice. We'll have a follow-up debriefing shortly. Other than that, enjoy yourselves."

"Battalion, you are limited to a single entity -- yourself -- while you are here. The extra bodies eat too much food, drink too much, and breathe too much. We appreciate your compliance."

"Xander, if you'd be so kind as to remain behind after the others have filed out? I'd like to... discuss this decryption key with you. In private."

"That'll be all. Thank you for your service. Hopefully we'll have more answers soon."

Of course, Director, Xander replies, keeping his face studiously neutral.

In reply to Xander (msg # 56):

About that reputation....

Nightmare almost spits the last word as she waits to get home and write something more complete.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 57):

Muse pockets a few slices of cheese.

"I never said I had a problem with the IDA," Billy states as he rises from his seat, "just the people who work there." He waves over his shoulder as he walks out of the presumably complete debrief, "I promise not to leave without your permission, or else significant fanfare," he heads not for the ship in question but the tech lab of the factory.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 59):

What authorities do we have exactly?  So far when attempting to justify our actions as a part of the IDA.  Or obtaining necessary resources to perform an investigations we are roundly ignored... occasionally ridiculed.  Then either shot at or in combat with Augers on a disturbing percentage of the time.  I mean look what happened to Blaise!
This message was last edited by the player at 13:03, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 60):

Lingering in the Board Room Post-Briefing

"Organizations engaging in criminal activities can hardly be expected to respect our jurisdiction," Director Kelce replies evenly. "ACE believes it can somehow OWN all of Martian space, while SAGE routinely refuses to publish new discoveries to the Archive. This allows them to keep a technological edge over their rivals, but it also puts us at a disadvantage when trying to enforce the laws that they themselves break."

She sighs.

"The solar system seemed like such a big place a century ago. Now, it's already starting to feel crowded. History repeats itself. Colonies vie for independence the moment they feel they can sustain themselves. But that doesn't make cutting them loose to tend to their own devices the right thing to do. Particularly given the morally questionable activities we've caught them engaging in."

The Tour

Kayla, at least, takes the Director up on her offer of a tour of the facility.

She is first brought to the mess hall, a large cafeteria that offers little privacy. Piping-hot plates of food and ice-cold flagons of ale appear to be available for any who wants them.

The groups eating in the mess hall seem to be self-segregated by class. There are blue-collar folks clustered on one side and white-collar folks on the other. No security forces or officers wearing the Director's style of uniform can be seen at all.

The tour's next stop is the laboratory facilities, which are run by Dr. Hawkins.

The laboratory looks like a cross between a chemistry classroom and a veterinary clinic, with cages of rats, tanks of fish, and fly habitats lining the walls. Interspersed between these are large tubes filled with a reddish-pink liquid -- there are four such tubes in all, each reaching from the ceiling to the floor and wide enough for a man of medium build to occupy.

Two are, in fact, presently occupied. One contains a female humanoid and the other a male humanoid. Each are naked and free-floating in the center of their individual tubes, and their eyes are closed.


Other stops include the docking bay, maintenance wing, hydroponics stations, residential areas, and more.

The tour's penultimate stop is at sleek, modern-looking module nestled not far from the maintenance wing -- though still apart from the domed facility itself. This is identified as The Factory.

"You'll need Director Kelce or Viceroy to gain access to this particular module," the tour guide says, explaining why they can't go inside to get a better look.

The tour concludes at the dormitories, where Kayla secures a room and tries to relax.

The Factory

While he has no trouble moving freely in the facility otherwise, Billy finds that his badge is insufficient to grant him access to the Factory itself. It's actually a different building entirely from the domed area in which the meeting had been held, connected by a solid, tube-like passage that leads a fair distance away to a separate building with sleek, modern features.

Fortunately, Viceroy isn't far behind him.

"Billyagent! I didn't know-know that you were interest-interested in take-taking a tour. Come-come! I'll show-show you around."

He puts a hand to the door panel and admits them both to the Factory floor.

The interior of The Factory is a roboticists's wet dream. Operating tables are strewn throughout one massive side of the hanger-like facility, upon which torsos, arms, legs, treads, and other components are scattered in varying states of assembly.

Beyond that chamber is a basketball court-sized arena with smooth floor panels that curve up the walls themselves like a skater's half-pipe. Within, two armored figures appear to be sparring using exo-armor -- a battlesuit alternative that is strapped directly to the user's arms, legs, chest, and head.

Those who have familiarity with high-tech warehousing practices would recognize the design as something often employed by workers and freight movers to augment strength and reduce injuries.

The building is tall enough for there to be a second floor, but there doesn't appear to be an access point to one if it were to exist.

"We do-do development, testing, prototyping, and fabrication," Viceroy explains in his strangely chittering voice. "Always learn-learning."

Billy gets a better look at the man, noting that his clothing is the same as it was back on Mars.

The man stands just five feet tall, and wears a pair of thermal coveralls over a sleek, long-sleeved garment that completely covers every inch of his skin. The coveralls truncate at a pair of thick, reinforced boots, and the sleeves end in gloves with bulky metallic wrists and slender, fingered gloves. The sleek bodysuit beneath the coveralls encompasses his head, as well, and a pair of modified welding goggles obscure his eyes completely. The greenish glass glows and flickers periodically.

"Were you look-looking for something specific?" he asks.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:35, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 61):

Nightmare follows on the tour and when they say you need better badge access to enter an area she smiles sardonically.

She remains close to Billy Kayla throughout the tour.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:53, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 62):

Muse completes the tour with the rest. His cheese stores are depleted by its conclusion.

((OOC: Billy's not on the tour, he took the direct route))

Billy lets Viceroy show him around but either doesn't know or doesn't care what the majority of the equipment does.  When Viceroy finishes and concludes Billy responds immediately, "Fabrication.  A couple of those prototypes you're contractually entitled to.  Probably installation too," he looks appraisingly at Viceroy as he judges whether he really wants the little man poking around in his hand.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 64):

The Factory

"Oh? Oh, yes, the contract. If they can be made-made at all, they can be made-made here. Which prototypes did you have in mind?"

He toddles over to the nearest table, brushes everything that was on it off of it with a clatter, and sits down.

"Do you have the schematics?"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 64):

If Billy's not on the tour then Nightmare will peel off from the tour taking Dr. Hawkins with her at the lab.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 66):

The Conference Room

After Rebecca, Dr. Hawkins, Billy, Kayla, Viceroy, and Battalion have all filed out, Xander is left alone with Director Kelce to discuss the decryption key, as requested.

The Laboratory

Dr. Hawkins converses with Rebecca.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:34, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 67):

In the boardroom Nightmare nods solemnly.

What of the data we have confiscated?  Is that to become property of the IDA?

"Do you have a datapad?" Billy retorts before tapping his skull, "I don't have as many plugs as Xander," he clarifies.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 69):

Board Room, Pre-Tour

OOC: Minor timewarp here.

"We'll see," Kelce says to Rebecca. "If it doesn't pose a threat to public safety, we'll post it to the Archive so the scientific community can learn from SAGE's selfish research. If it does, we'll have to classify it so it cannot cause further harm. We can pick and choose -- possibly redacting sections of research -- to preserve as much as we can without endangering lives."

At this point, Rebecca leaves the room with Kayla, Muse, and anyone else going on the tour.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:56, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 70):

The Factory

"Datapad? Here? Unnecessary!" Viceroy says, putting both hands on the table, palm down. A portion of the table shimmers and turns into a transparent touchscreen -- making it an enormous datapad with dynamic space for many smaller screens or fewer large screens.

"Is that sufficient?"

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 70):

Time warp back to the lab.

Nightmare huddles with Dr. Hawkins over a datapad showing him tables, charts and images.  She describes the work she did with Charles, Gayle and Redford.  Mentioning about the trigger of Olson's goop.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 72):

The Lab

Dr. Hawkins scrolls through the data, taking notes here and there and making interested harumphs from time to time.

Xander answers all of Director Kelce's questions about the decryption key thoroughly and in great detail.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 16:20, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

"Well, if it's not you're gonna need to start keeping a backup datapad," Billy says as he pokes at the tabletop.  After a bit of jabbing and swiping and accessing an email account and then subsequently deleting access to the account, he brings up a number of schematics.  He drags two across the surface toward Viceroy, one for a standalone electronic chip, the other for some kind of high tech manacle, "These two prototypes, accessories to augment basic military applications.  This," he drags a third schematic for an EVA suit, "Is custom, but absolutely necessary for quality testing of this," he pokes the manacle schematic, then leans back appraisingly before tentatively touching the fourth schematic, still on his side of the table, "This one's unrelated.  I kinda brought back homework from our last mission.  If you can get it to record readings, still images or video or something, that'd make it a little more useful?  And don't tell anyone about it until we can check it out.  Rebecca might get mad."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 73):

Nightmare makes side duck lips as she looks at the datapad.  Eating the last of the cheese she stole from Muse which is terrible etiquette in the lab.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 76):

The Lab

The scientists continue to chat. And to mourn the loss of their cheese.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 77):

The Factory

Viceroy takes one look at each schematic and rubs his hands together.

"Fascinating," he says.

His greenish goggles flicker to life, and 3D projections of each schematic appear in the air. Viceroy interacts with the wireframes directly, moving pieces here and there until they have been assembled in a configuration that he likes.

"Yes, I can make-make these. Can upgrade-upgrade them, even. Have the parts. What are your priorities? May take-take a few days to do-do them all."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:30, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

"The chip first then the cuff, it'll probably require some modifications to my hand to make sure they marry properly.  And it better dampen my thermal sensors when it's hooked up too, Hank would leave that out until I noticed.  The hard way.  I don't need the suit until we're supposed to hit the road."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 78):

After dropping his bags in his quarters. Muse goes to make friends with the chef and offers to wash some dishes.

In reply to Muse (msg # 80):

The Factory

"I understand-understand," Viceroy nods, the wireframe display winking out abruptly. "Schematics have been provide-provided pursuant to the terms of the contract. I'll get-get right to work-work."

The Conference Room

As Xander opens the door and steps into the hallway to leave, Director Kelce puts a hand on his shoulder.

"Wait. Just one other thing," she says.

Xander returns to the room, and the door closes again.


The Mess Hall

Muse has no trouble finding the chef, who is hard at work preparing for the evening meal. He has a lot of automated equipment but not much in the way of flesh-and-blood assistance.

"Haven't seen you here before," he says, looking up from a large boiling pot. "What can I do for you?"

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 81):

"I'm new, just off assignment. Got some downtime, looking to pitch in where I can. You need a hand in here? If not, point me in the right direction. I'm also looking for your heavy hitters," Muse says, straightening his stance to illustrate he's not after the Factory's baseball team. "Where are they at?"

In reply to Muse (msg # 82):

The Mess Hall

"Could always use a hand," the chef says after a moment's consideration. "Don't usually get agents or contractor's lookin' to lend one, though. Thank you."

He points Muse toward some piles of potatoes that need peeling, and some dishwashers that need loading and unloading.

"Heavy hitters? What, y'mean hotheads and lunkheads? We've got our share, sure," the chef replies, looking Muse over a bit more carefully. "I let 'em into the kitchen to play cards after lights-out three times a week. Next one's tonight. You should come."

"Great!" Billy replies to Viceroy as he remains standing where he is and watches the coveralled man, apparently intending to stay for the duration.

After his debriefing, Xander makes his way to the Factory to catch up on the latest upgrades and improvements the IDA has made, and oversee the repair and rearming of Abraxas.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 83):

Nightmare pokes a beaker, perturbing the flies  within.

There was an old lady who swallowed a fly....

she begins singing

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 86):

The Lab

Dr. Hawkins looks at the fly idly.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 87):

Viceroy toddles over to a workstation and projects the 3D image of the first wireframe into a strange box-like apparatus. The box springs to life, and robotic hands quickly get to work assembling a fuselage of sorts around the projection. Viceroy then begins to put together the complicated circuitry constituting the device's innards by hand.

He allows Billy to sit and watch, fully engrossed in the task at hand.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 88):

"Sounds like my kind of game. What time's lights out? I'm David, by the way," Muse says, picking up a peeler and extending an hand. "You are?"

"This thing have access to the rest of the...the place?" he waves idly toward the door while poking at the tabletop, experimenting with its capabilities first hand.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 90):

"The Factory is insulate-insulated from the rest of the Near-Earth Hub," Viceroy replies, without turning around. "But! The same is not true in reverse. Access-access should be full and total, though clearances and passwords remain-remain a factor."

"Huh," Billy replies as he prods a short series of password prompts unsuccessfully, "Those are a little more insulated, I guess, huh?" he jokes casually before suddenly perking up, "Do I even have a password?  I really should have gotten more details about this whole job description." he says more to himself than Viceroy this time.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:23, Tue 07 Mar 2017.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 92):

I don't know why she swallowed the fly... perhaps she'll die.

A surprising pleasant soprano.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 93):

The Laboratory

Dr. Hawkins looks increasingly uncomfortable.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 94):

Nightmare looks extremely frustrated.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 95):

The Laboratory

Dr. Hawkins continues to talk with Rebecca in hushed tones.


The Factory

"You have an internal comm address and access to many files, though you'll need-need to ask-ask for any that are classified from the appropriate channels. Password default-defaults to 'IDAFirstnameLastname123*'. Request system is automated."


Viceroy continues to work on the chip -- this may take a while.

The Kitchen

"Gus," the man says, taking Muse's hand. "And lights-out occurs once every 16 hours, lasting 8 hours. Next one's in 7 hours."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 96):

Xander eventually makes his way to the dorms, where he encounters Kayla. Together, the pair make their way to The Factory -- where they find Abraxis awaiting them.

A quick call to Director Kelce opens the doors, admitting them to the roboticist paradise that is the The Factory.

Viceroy and Billy are already there, engrossed in some other project off to one side.

Xander beams an excited smile at Kayle as they walk into and behold the full scope of the Factory.

Isn't in incredible? he raves. He walks over to where Billy and Viceory are working. Need a hand with any of this?

"I dunno," Billy replies to Xander, his tone bored as he gives Kayla an offhand wave, "You have higher clearance than I do? I was looking up your Venus vacation, but aside from the mission report I can't even tell what's what," he closes the report in question and flicks a list of Classified across the table.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 99):

The Factory

The table-sized tablet screen seems to know what Billy intended, and the files right themselves for Xander's orientation as he looks down at the screen.


Kayla gushes at pretty much everything, pausing in particular to admire the series of exosuits on display in varying states of disrepair near the arena-like testing area.

Xander glances over the classified files taken from Venus. Hey Viceroy, you made any progress with any more of this tech since we left? I'd like to get the updated specs to tinker with.

In reply to Xander (msg # 101):

"Yes and no," he says, his attention still unwavering from whatever he's currently working on.

"I made-made another version of the Plasmic Thrusters. The hyperdense alloy casing contain-contains the stress, but it remain-remains far from stable. And although the engine no longer shake-shakes itself apart, the same is not true for the vessel on which it is placed. Frustrating. Good for emergencies only!"

"The Gravity Guns can-cannot be mobilized. Attempts to do-do so are science fiction," he chitters, annoyed. "The 'science' behind those schemata is preposterous. More efficient to use-use the energy need-needed to power the weapon AS a weapon."

"The Gravitic Shield was only 10% complete when we got-got it. More of a concept than a proof. Lacking materials and a sufficient power source to continue its development."

His voice grows to a higher pitch.

"But the Carbonate Starfield Plating function-functions as intended. When give-given enough power, light can-can be warped around them. Invisibility! Downsides not insignificant: weaker than traditional armor, highly reflective -- obvious target! -- when unpowered, and the power needs are significant."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 102):

Team Potato

"Good to meet you, brother."

Muse peels the shit out of those starchy tubers in no time at all -- much like you'd expect from the best martial artist on Earth. He's quite careful with the dishes, though.

Afterwards, he heads to the training facility and hits the weights, hoping to regain some mass he lost from the mutation.

Interesting. Viceroy, if you don't mind, could you please provide access to the schematics to Billy? I think he had some ideas he wanted to tinker with.

Xander turns to Billy. Muse managed to...liberate...one of the stolen SAGE EVA suits. He thought it might be a good idea to try to reverse engineer some of it. After all the whimsical shenannigans we got up to on Ceres, I tend to agree. It would be nice if we had some kind of reliable suit better tailored to keeping us safe when shit inevitably goes south on us.

"What?  I figured it was a bring your own or wear standard issue situation," he waves at Xander, "Where'd you get yours from?"

My current suit is a modified Braeburn test pilot getup that I tweaked. Muse stole a SAGE planetoid exploration suit, and we also have our IDA standard issue. I think the idea was see if we could put our heads together, maybe along with some of the toys we've recovered, and create something custom to us.

Xander scratches his beard absently. I also think we should look into modifying the Persephone, if we're to take her out on the next mission.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 105):

"...Kelcedirector has made-made it clear that...'Billyagent's proclivity toward assume-assuming ownership of IDA property preclude-precludes access to sensitive schemata relate-related to things that could benefit-benefit his businesses'."

This last bit is recited as though it has been memorized verbatim, perhaps under some slight duress.

"I am sorry. No copies. Can show-show projections, though. Can talk-talk it over!"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:27, Wed 08 Mar 2017.

Xander flashes Billy a lopsided smirk. Looks like you're getting a reputation he says with a chuckle.

Billy crosses his arms at Viceroy's recited explanation, "Sounds like she's just upset to no longer be the only one assuming ownership of things," he says cattily before turning to Xander, "And if she thinks my preoccupation with owning shiny new technology benefits any of my businesses she is sorely mistaken!" he pounds his natural fist firmly on the table and sits back in a huff. "I cost a fortune," he mumbles as he taps on the table before uptimately sliding a schematic for an EVA suit at Xander, "It's tailored, and I won't stand for the print to be reproduced, but it kick's standard issue's ass."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 109):

The Factory

If Viceroy has a response to Billy's barbs, he keeps them to himself.

Billy and Xander compare notes on the benefits of all three suits at their disposal (IDA, SAGE, GunBlazers Inc.) on the tablet, with Kayla wandering over after her self-guided tour of The Factory is complete.

"This place is a wonderland," she gushes. "I'd be happy to work on adapting the suits or upgrading the shuttle while you work on Abraxis and...whatever it is Billy has Viceroy doing."

"Working," Viceroy helpfully supplies, still not turning around. "This chip is intricate. Should be done-done in another hour."

The Kitchen

Gus proves himself to be a pleasant conversationalist, and he swaps stories with Muse about how the latest bouts in the ISS (Inner Solar System) Combat League have been going.

The Laboratory

Dr. Hawkins and Rebecca continue to converse quietly about boring science concepts that will surely have no ramifications to your short- or long-term future plans.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:01, Thu 09 Mar 2017.

"I own the shuttle," Billy states in response to Kayla as if this has only just occured to him, "Oh hey now no one can yell at me about liscensing restrictions or contractual limitations," he states as he gets to work on something apparently very exciting.  After a moment he pulls up yet another schematic, this one much rougher and clearly not final, depicting some kind of relay installed into the nose of a luxury craft, "I guess I never actually got a copy of the final version.  Kayla can you put something like this in our ship?  I can get you an updated copy," Billy looks at her hopefully.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 111):


"I'm...pretty sure I could install something like this, sure," she says after squinting at the schematics for a short while. "As long as we can find the right parts."

She glances at The Factory floor, which is strewn with all sorts of components, and grins.

"I don't think it'll be a problem."

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 112):

Muse listens to Gus's recounting of Combat League bouts with rapt interest.

In reply to Muse (msg # 113):

The Kitchen

Gus and Muse continue to banter while cooking dinner.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 114):

Muse nods along as he stacks the last of the dishes.

In reply to Muse (msg # 115):

Time passes relatively quickly, broken up by the station-wide tones announcing the evening meal service and, later, station lights-out. Those in The Factory may notice that Viceroy neither eats nor sleeps (nor expresses the desire for either) while in your presence.

The Near-Earth Hub (namewise, 'The Factory' really only refers to the piece of the facility that Viceroy occupies and maintains) is on an artificial 24-hour cycle that provides 16 hours of 'daylight' conditions followed by 8 hours of 'nighttime" conditions.

Everyone receives a notification from Director Kelce that she has scheduled their follow-up meeting for mid-morning two days hence, leaving plenty of time for tinkering, conversation, and exploration.






The day of the briefing arrives without incident, and those who choose to gather as instructed find the room much as you left it -- and occupied by the same personnel.

CROSSROADS
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:51, Thu 09 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 116):

Muse enjoys swapping stories and hitting the gym with some new buddies -- even shows them a move or two -- before making his way to the second debriefing. He's standing at ease by the door when Director Kelce and the rest arrive for the meeting.

"Director, how are you?"

Aside from supervising Viceroy's production of his personal requests and batting ideas at Kayla and Xander while he's there, Billy confers with Rebecca about some tech of her own devising.  Once Viceroy is done with his things, Billy grabs Xander from whatever he's doing and, presenting him with a screwdriver insists he remove Billy's hand.  It's quickly revealed that a small pannel at its base conceals a release that is unlikely to be triggered by normal activity, and is evidently difficult to operate one-handed.  Or one-handed with a screwdriver in one's mouth.  Once the release is activated and he's done shuddering and making faces at the strange discomfort of it, Billy once again supervises the installation of his chip, and the replacement of some of the chrome around the hand's base with brushed metal components.  This operation he is much more impatient about than the parts' production, eagerly snatching and reapplying his hand once the upgrade is complete.

Once his hand is finished most of Billy's downtime is spent aboard his ship, hanging a hand-scrawled "No IDA allowed" sign above the boarding ramp, asking Dynamis's opinion of affairs and attempting to naturalize the AI's speaking habbits.  He's willing to help Kayla if requested but doesn't offer to join in on anything done to the ship.  He asks Rebecca to show him the binder from the deposit box she mentioned in her email, and if allowed, inspects its contents curiously.

Billy rolls into the briefing at about the prescribed time, flops into a chair and looks like he's fallen asleep on the spot until addressed directly or the briefing proper begins.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:52, Thu 09 Mar 2017.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 118):

Kayla once again helps herself to lemonade, fruit, and pastries. While she's freshly showered and wearing clean clothing, she's had a hard time getting the smell of fabrication oil out of her hair. Her expression dares anyone to comment on that.

Xander spends most of his time in the Factory, though when he isn't working on any of his numerous projects he's nowhere else to be found.

Abraxas consumes the majority of his energies, and Xander can be seen planning and building extensive improvements to both the chassis and the railgun. He isn't too busy, however, to help Kayla with customizing the EVA suits, and logs more than a few hours at the worktable with her, poring over designs and mods.

He shows up slightly early to the meeting, cleaned up more nicely than one would have expected for a grease monkey and wearing a smart red and black jumpsuit. As he piles his plate with refreshments and pours himself some coffee, he makes some adjustments to the module at the base of his neck.

Those looking closely might notice that the chrome input jack now features a small LED display that looks like a signal strength meter.

The WiFi module seems to be working, Sof. Feel free to browse the archive at your leisure. I'm sure it will be more interesting than being cooped up in my head all day.

I've even allocated you a storage partition that you can use as a cache and file repository. No more need to fill my tablet with a hidden folder of harlequin romance novels. He smirks. Did you think I wouldn't notice Howl of the Highlander? I know it didn't download itself...
This message was lightly edited by the player at 16:24, Fri 10 Mar 2017.

In reply to Xander (msg # 120):

It might have. Maybe I know you better than you think. Sophia retorts good-naturedly. But yes, we seem to have a good, strong signal. Let's test it by downloading the sequel, There Can Be Only Love. Don't worry, I won't spoil the ending for you.
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:58, Fri 10 Mar 2017.

In reply to Sophia (msg # 121):

Nightmare spends a good deal of her time in the lab with Dr. Hawkins working on improving some of his designs, meditating and sparring with Muse.  She is actually seen a few times in the factory and she takes the SAGE shield and attempts to make duplicate copies for the team.  She is not shy about asking for help if she gets stuck or confused.

She shows anyone who asks to see it the contents of the safety deposit box.  If anyone goes to look at it she asks if you recognize anyone or if you can see any patterns in the X's and O's.

When Billy scrawls his NO IDA sign up over the Persephone she stands at the Base of the ramp and looks up at it for an unnecessarily long period of time, looking hurt and betrayed.

But... but... does that mean I'm not allowed?

She shows up as per usual early to the meeting.  She takes a small plate with cheese on it but never actually touches it.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:07, Fri 10 Mar 2017.

"You're not the IDA, shortround," Billy says with a sigh when confronted about his sign, "You're twelve."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 123):

age and employment are not equivalent.

She says but still skips her way onto the ship.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 124):

(autofollow)

Battalion slinks into the room sulkily, taking the nearest seat without comment.

In reply to Battalion (msg # 125):

"Good, we're all here," Director Kelce smiles. "Let's get right to it."

She gracefully activates the wall-sized tablet from the console near her seat, and the images of the two go-betweens involved in the mission assignment process pop back onto it -- this time as 3D holograms rather than simple badge-level head shots.

"Last time we met, we identified these two individuals as potential persons of interest. They are not based here on Near-Earth Hub, but are on Earth itself. Or they are supposed to be."

She sighs.

"The Lead Generation Specialist's name is Carlos Ortega, and the Analyst's name is Penny Brighton," she continues, looking grim. "And they're both missing."

Direcetor Kelce pauses to let that sink in.

"They haven't come to work in a week -- no notice, no PTO, nothing. They aren't at their homes, and while both are single and live alone, their neighbors and other family members haven't heard from them or seen them in that time frame either."

"We've frozen their assets and appraised local law enforcement as to our interest in finding them, but so far there haven't been any leads. I'm thinking if it's an extended manhunt to conduct, we might need to consider...using some of our resources differently."

She looks at Battalion appraisingly for a moment, then swipes the missing people's information from the screen with a simple gesture.

"Moving on. I was hoping Commander Faust would have arrived by now, but he's a little bit behind schedule. As such, he will be joining us via comms. I warn you, he is profoundly unhappy about the disappearance of these people who led him to send you all into a...charlie foxtrot, I believe we agreed to call it? Anyway, be nice."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 126):

The comms buzz, and a distorted image of Commander Faust appears. He's wearing his usual uniform, though he looks both unshaven and exhausted.

"Good morning, Director," he says gruffly. "And good morning, agents. By now you've probably realized that someone's been tugging on our strings like we're some goddamn marionette."

He slams his fist against...something, offscreen.

"I want to apologize for sending you off half-cocked, and I'm glad to see that everyone made it through in one piece. You even managed to salvage some good from the situation, from what I've heard. That's commendable."

He looks at something (also offscreen), then taps a few buttons of his own.

"We're about two days out, but I wanted to get that off my chest up front. See you soon. Faust, out."

In reply to Commander Faust (msg # 127):

The transmission ends, and Director Kelce lets out a pent-up breath of air.

"Much as I'd love to sit around and kvetch about the past mission and the weirdness by which it came to us, we have an endless stream of pressing operations requiring more immediate attention. Your team in particular is in high demand for the...unique resolutions and opportunities it provides, relative to our other teams."

She taps a few buttons and the screen shifts back to a neutral color.

"I'm currently looking over the parameters of a pair of missions that I think you'll be able to complete in tandem. Both involve the Alliance of Sol. I presume none of you have any problem taking them down another peg?"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 128):

"Are you asking if I want to fight terrorists for the IDA?" Kayla asks, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "I'd love to be considered part of the team, but I'm more of a pilot than a soldier."

She smiles slightly.

"As long as that's understood, if there's anything I can do to help you guys take down the AoS, I'm in."

I'm in. Xander replies. He favors the Director with a lopsided grin. Making terrorists' lives difficult seems like a great way to field test these new mods I've been working on. What's the mission?

In reply to Xander (msg # 130):

"We've followed the money trail from the EROS station you liberated and/or stole from the Alliance of Sol," she explains, looking at Billy sternly before pressing onward. "And it turned up something interesting. The company that once owned the facility is a shell organization called The Alexis Foundation. We arranged to have their books...audited, let's call it, and now believe it likely that the TAF is at least indirectly affiliated with the Alliance's ongoing operations."

She taps at the console again to show some specs on the screen.

"The Alexis Foundation is registered to a man named Cornelius Husker. Depending on who you ask, he's either a legally enabled thief or a philanthropist. He owns an luxury starship and is keen on taking pleasure cruises to nowhere in particular at a moment's notice."

The screen changes to display a flashy-looking freighter-class ship, flanked by two fighter-class ships of unknown design.

"His escort's ships, seen here, bear striking similarities to some of the AoS ships we captured in our nets at EROS. We sent an agent to learn more, but he suffered an industrial accident at the hangar that left him in a coma."

Director Kelce narrows her eyes.

"If Husker wants to play hardball, I'm happy to oblige. Our agent managed to transmit his schedule for the next six months before he was tagged."

Said schedule populates the screen.

"As you can see, he has a three-week 'aimless spaceship voyage' planned shortly. The mission is to follow him and see where his trail takes him. Hopefully, in doing so you'll find another one of the Alliance of Sol's bases."

She smiles slightly.

"And if you do, we'll be able to plan the second mission: wrecking it."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:07, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 131):

"By 'accident' you mean your agent was made and dispatched?" Muse asks. "Won't they be waiting for us? 'Aimless space voyage' sounds like one giant bear trap."

Muse gets his back up off the wall and hovers just behind Billy's chair as he begins to get himself involved.

"Xander, could Persephone fight off two fighter-class ships?"
This message was last edited by the player at 15:56, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

The Persephone is unarmed, but if those fighters are similar to what we saw in the AoS facility, I'm pretty confident I could handle them in Abraxas, Xander replied.

If this is a tail and smash mission, though, it might not be a bad idea to give Persephone some fangs.

He pauses to think for a moment.

Actually, we do also have an extra Wasp battlesuit we captured from SAGE. We could bring that along too, for some extra oomph, provided one of you is capable of piloting it.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:56, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Muse (msg # 132):

"They'll be alert for the possibility of further interference, sure," Director Kelce replies. "But they won't be expecting a tail once they leave Earth. Very few organizations are capable of tailing someone through space. We don't think they knew who our agent was working for, just that he wasn't working for them."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 134):

"Correction," Kayla says, raising her hand. "Persephone was unarmed. Billy had me install something that I'm 99% sure will allow him to use his, er, laser fist from the cockpit."

"D has suggested additional ordnance capable of independent operation would be a worthwhile investment, however," she adds, mimicking Dynamis's voice for the second half of the sentence.

She blinks at Xander.

"I think you and I are the only pilots we have, though I've been teaching Rebecca a thing or two. She could probably fly Persephone in a pinch if I had to mount up in a Wasp."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:04, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Xander (msg # 133):

"Good, we're going to need it," Muse says to Xander. "While you're at it, something to cloak Persephone would be good too."

"No offense, Billy, but your laser barely scratched Olsen. How effective would it be against fighter ships?"

"Look, Director. Your agents -- myself included -- are all capable of putting ourselves in harm's way and wrecking things. Believe me. But this is a honeypot, and you have a leak."

Muse folds his arms.

"The way we're set up, Husker's the lure. We need to be the bait, not the fish. And we need to keep careful track of who's exposed to the details of this mission."

In reply to Muse (msg # 136):

"The adaptive armor we stole-stole from SAGE provide-provides excellent cloaking," Viceroy pipes up. "Only downside is that it is more brittle. Thinner, weaker armor overall when install-installed."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 137):

"Do you have any suggestions on how to change our dynamic from fish to bait?" Kelce asks Muse. "All ideas are currently on the table."

She looks over at Viceroy.

"If things go well, weaker armor won't matter because they won't be seen at all."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 138):

"I'd need to know more about Husker's interests. You said some fancy him a philanthropist. What kind of philanthropy are we talking?"

Two battlesuits should be sufficient for close-in support versus enemy fighters. I'm more concerned about larger vessels. Unless Billy has a means of substantially amplifying out raw output of his laser, it's going to be useless against anything larger than small craft. Especially if our main objective is to blow up a facility, we're going to need more firepower.

In reply to Muse (msg # 132):

Nightmare taps her lips thoughtfully.  The sighs loudly.

Remember that thing I told you about not being a thug?  Yeah that...

That being said...

She looks to the team in turn.

Collateral damage does seem to be our specialty as much of the group lends themselves

She fixes her eyes on Battalion

To use as a blunt instrument.

I have a question on the subject of the Eros base... and why does everyone keep saying stole?!  Its totes the wrong word.

When we left the Eros base we were to be in touch with a man named Gestalt.  How did Faust assume Billy's place as the controller and not trigger his alarm bells.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 141):

"Why blow up a facility at all? Why not grab Husker, give asylum to defectors, then hunt down the rest? If we're within range, let's just cut off the head. Trusting this guy is as bent as you say, Director. I'd like to see your dossier on him."

In reply to Muse (msg # 142):

"I want to wreck the operation, not necessarily the facility itself," Kelce clarifies. "And we can't just snatch-and-grab Husker outright because we can't prove what we suspect in court. That's part of the reason why I want you to tail him to wherever he's headed -- to confirm what we suspect. Bonus points if you can figure out how the 'industrial accident' happened to Agent Finley and get proof of that, too."

She taps a few buttons and Cornelius Husker's profile appears on the screen.

"Meet Cornelius Husker, head of not only secretive Alexis Foundation, but also of HeartworX International."

OOC: You've all heard of HeartworX, a Red Cross-like company involved in disaster-relief efforts across the globe.

"The organization provides aid to poor and needy communities that have been wracked by war, famine, and poverty. Donation-driven, of course, though there are some who have suggested that the wars, famines, and such they alleviate are...unnatural. Husker has been informally accused in the past of profiteering -- of effectively getting paid to destroy a village, selling weapons to the warlords doing the destroying, then collecting donations to make the repairs. A tidy scheme, if one can manage it."

She shakes her head.

"Nobody's been able to prove anything, sadly, but it's shady as hell. If he's working for AoS, it wouldn't surprise anyone."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:35, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 143):

...and Gestalt?

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 143):

"So you need dirt. What kind of listening gear do you have? This is sounding more and more like an infiltration mission. Subtlety isn't exactly this crew's strong suit."

In reply to Muse (msg # 145):

PSH speak for yourself....

As she says this Percy wanders silently off of the table.  He then suddenly pounces on Muse's foot like a cat from a box.

In reply to Muse (msg # 145):

"I'm fairly confident the alarm bells got triggered after we captured a chunk of AoS ships and property coming to the EROS installation after you left. That's what Commander Faust has been overseeing. I'm certain that both Gestalt and the Alliance of Sol are aware that EROS is no longer a friendly facility for them -- but running afoul of the IDA is nothing new for them. It's hardly as though either of us has gained a new enemy here."

She shrugs, then turns to Muse.

"We tried the infiltration approach. It didn't work. I think heavier hitters are called for here."

"I'm not terribly concerned with trying to figure out the profiteering charges -- that's not our job, nor our concern. Terrestrial law enforcement can handle that. The scope of this mission is to tail our unwilling friend to what we hope will be another AoS base, allowing us to capture everyone involved."

"As for listening, the AoS has proven itself impervious to our bugging devices and protocols to-date. Viceroy has cooked up an improved version of our transmission interception relay for you to use on this mission; we'll make sure it gets installed before your departure."

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 146):

Muse shakes Percy off his leg, bends down and gives him a gentle two-handed push back toward Nightmare.

"Hah. I had visual on you on three separate monitors. Remember that detachment of guards I kept from shooting you?"

Muse chuckles.

"So Director, is this a clandestine op or a smashmouth mission?" he says, still working to grasp the mission parameters.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 18:57, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Muse (msg # 148):

"It starts as the first one, and becomes the second one based on what we discover. You'll have support for that part, though. If we find enough to warrant a siege of the facility, we'll be sending in Faust's fleet to provide backup."
This message was last updated by the player at 20:43, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 149):

"Hm. We get in, find the smoking gun, call for backup." Muse says, tone neutral.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:18, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

Once the briefing commences, Billy sits up straight, and goes from apparently sleeping to apparently bored for most of its duration.

"First of all," Billy points at Muse, speaking up very suddenly, "Olsen was wearing advanced combat gear, the fact that I could get through it at all was a feat.  Starship plating is closer to the walls and floors I had a lot less trouble penetrating.  Second of all, I haven't been hanging out in the Factory just because of the company, upgrades do a body good.  Third of all, I can fly the Persephone if Kayla wants to man a fighter.  Fourth of all, if you're gonna put thinner, weaker armor on my ship," Bily glares smugly at Kelce as he says it, "Someone better improve the thrusters and maneuverability, I am not expecting hide and seek alone to keep her from getting shot."

In reply to Muse (msg # 150):

"Or! You find-find nothing, and are paid-paid for a starsee-seeing vacation. But more likely the first one."

He taps his goggles with one finger, and a greenish 3D projection appears in front of him, levitating above the table.

"This is the ship you'll be tail-tailing," he explains. "And here are the escorts."

A large ship and two smaller ones appear, each with an orb placed around them that stretches out a good distance from the ships themselves. The orbs are multicolored and overlap in several places.

"I've shown-shown each ship's standard sensor radius and field of vision," he continues, adding a fourth ship to the mix -- one that looks a lot like Persephone. "Your shuttle's own sensor suite is weak right now, but we will boost-boost it to give-give you more room."

The orb surrounding Persephone doubles in size, neatly tagging all three other ships without being tagged itself.

"Easy to follow-follow, unseen. But transmission intercept-interception can-cannot be done-done at that range. Need-need to get-get closer."

The bubble shrinks by 40%, giving you only about 10% of the sphere as wiggle room between being within sensor range and not.

"So, can-cannot listen-listen at all times. Must pick-pick and choose-choose carefully to avoid-avoid too much risk. Careful piloting need-needed. Install-installing the adaptive armor will help-help, too."

He looks apologetically at Billy.

"Shuttle already has-has the best thrusters and engines we have-have, for a shuttle-class ship, except the plasma drive. Even normal armor is too weak for that -- is the main problem with the engine. Adaptive armor would be even worse."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:59, Mon 13 Mar 2017.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 152):

"With enough parts, we might be able to upgrade it from 'shuttle-class' to somewhere between 'starfighter' and 'freighter'," Kayla says. "But all of that takes time, so we'll have to prioritize. Especially if you want to re-hull the thing..."

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 153):

"This is a time-sensitive matter," the director says, "What other information do you need beforehand? Once you get within observation range, you'll want to limit communications, cut WiFi, and go dark to avoid detection, so better to ask up front if you can."

She passes out dossiers with information on Husker, the various organizations, the ship, the starfighters, and other relevant data.

"Take your time to go through it," she says, gesturing to the refreshments. "We're prepared for a long meeting today, if needed."

"Cut WiFi?! What happened to being out of sensor range?" Billy waves at Viceroy, "He made bubbles!"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 154):

Billy's objection is taken away from by a large, loud, obvious yawn from Battalion.

"Much as I'd like to paw through a folder filled with bureaucratic...y," Battalion says, propping his legs up on the table to rest his feet upon the untouched folder. "But this seems like a waste of my time. Sneaking around following people doesn't get your name in the papers. Not in a good way, anyway."

"We've thought of that, actually," Director Kelce replies. "We think a big damn hero like yourself would probably jump at the chance to return to Earth and bask in the glow of a job well done."

Battalion looks at her funny.

"Yeah...what's the catch?"

"The 'catch' is that you'd still be working for us, just in another capacity. We're conducting a manhunt to try to locate Carlos Ortega and Penny Brighton, recall."

Battalion stares at her blankly.

"The missing lead checker and the analyst."

Battalion shakes his head, indicating how little that helped clarify things for him.

"We're going to pay you to make an army of duplicates to comb through the streets with investigative authority, knocking on doors, searching buildings, walking through parks. Bars. Casinos. Everywhere."

Battalion grins slightly.

"Sounds like something I MIGHT be willing to do," he says. "If somebody replaces the shuttle you people destroyed."

"That will all be taken care of," Kelce replies. "Keep your nose clean, if you can, and we might be able to wrap up your...general situation afterward."

Battalion stretches, and climbs slowly to his feet.

"Well then. I'm in. I'd say it's been fun, guys, but..."

He lets the sentiment fall flat.

"Remember, kids. Just do everything I did, and you might be Big Damn Heroes someday, too. Not as big or heroic as ME, but...everyone has to start somewhere."

With that, Battalion gives a half-hearted wave to the room itself more than its occupants, smiles slightly, shoves his hands into his pockets, and pops out of existence.

Kelce simply shakes her head and sighs as the duplicate fades away.

"So...where were we?"

"Billyagent was yell-yelling about the mission's parameters," Viceroy supplies.

"Ah yes. It's just an added layer of precaution," Kelce says. "The illustration shows what we believe the various ranges to be, but there's no reason to tempt fate by broadcasting more signals than we absolutely have to. You don't have to be dark for long -- only while you're tailing them, and ESPECIALLY when you're close enough to use the interception module."
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:49, Tue 14 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 156):

To the room with now no Battalion clones

I'll actually miss you... jerkface.

Wistful Nightmare disappears as fast as the Battalion clone and pragmatic Nightmare reasserts herself.

Director, I've been doing some research into what we have encountered with Dr. Olsons and Baxter and I found a journal article that is completely redacted.  Is there any way that you could gain me access to this journal article?

She sends Kelce a copy of the redacted journal along with the completed citation from a paper written by Dr. Baxter.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 157):

"I...maybe?" Director Kelce replies, the frustration of being sidetracked from the next mission again quickly giving way to curiosity as she accepts the files. "Where did you find them?"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 158):

A friend at SAGE mentioned them.  Since we are preparing for the next mission I would like some reading material.  I feel that this may contain something that will link together all of the disparate fields of research that we have managed to gather together.

...a kind of unifying theory.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 159):

The director seems to accept this explanation and simply nods. She takes her seat and idly munches on an apple cinnamon muffin while waiting for the next inevitable question.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:51, Tue 14 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 160):

"How do we know we'll overhear something incriminating? And how far out are Husker's reinforcements beyond those two fighters? Can we outrun them if we're detected?"

In reply to Muse (msg # 161):

"We might not hear anything useful at all," Kelce concedes. "But that won't matter if the ship actually goes to an AoS facility. Then we have him by association, with or without audio confirmation."

"As for reinforcements...there shouldn't be any beyond those two escort fighters, unless the AoS throws its own weight into the defense. That would prove what we're after, as well, and then you can punch out if a fight looks unwinnable. We've installed military-grade hardware on that shuttle. There's very little that could catch it."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 162):

"If you're confident in our cloaking and propulsion, Director, I'm satisfied. We should work out any contingencies we haven't already," Muse says, yielding the floor.

In reply to Muse (msg # 163):

I seem to remember thinking similarly of Blaise's ship. Are we truly more fortified than the Mastodon?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 164):

"...no. But why would you think that you were?"

The director brings up an outline of the Mastodon next to the Persephone, which is absolutely dwarved by it.

"The Mastodon was a cruiser-class capital ship, with heavy armor, generous weaponry, a full launching bay, and a cumbersome engine system. You aren't meant to be that fortified. You're meant to be much smaller, much faster, and much harder to detect."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:42, Tue 14 Mar 2017.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 165):

I didn't believe so but I think that you are underestimating our destructive ability... even without Battalion.  Pretty much every ship we have been in has ended up demolished.  Including the Mastodon.  You'll have to forgive me for being concerned after the events of our last two missions.  I feel that we have been... ill equipped and ill prepared and I would like to rectify that. 

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 166):

"Agents are expected to think on their feet. We would like to see a reduction in the destruction of IDA technology allocated to your missions, as well," she replies dryly.

"Also! Two of those ships explode-exploded while using untest-untested experimental technology. Not your fault." Viceroy chimes in.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 166):

She cracks open the file and reads to se if she can find out anything about the ships that they are tailing, capabilities, makes anything like that.  Also looking into the people involved to see if anything stands out.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 168):

Kelce sits back quietly and flips through her own dossier again while she waits.

OOC: Kelce will continue the meeting until everyone's asked what they'd like to ask. Let me know if you're ready to move on!

Xander paws at the dossier in order to justify posting a purely OOC snippet in the IC channel.

OOC: I am ready to move on, though I have some last minute prep to do before launch.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:44, Tue 14 Mar 2017.

In reply to Xander (msg # 170):

Is there anything in the file we haven't gone over yet?

"Follow rich asshole, find terrorists, ruin terrorists' day.  Easy peasy," Billy announces, "We done here?"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 172):

Wait... why are we following you?  I thought we had another target.

"Eh heh heh heh," Billy laughs sarcastically through a scowl at Rebecca.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 174):

She smiles broad and toothy looking very pleased with herself.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 175):

"What's the plan if we're found out? Hightail it or fight?"

"If we don't find anything before they find us, fighting is likely to give us a whole new flavor of Charley Foxtrot.  If we find what we're after it sounds like the plan is to do something they are certain to notice, so it's a moot point."

Xander shrugs. Depends on whether or not we can win. In the past, we've both stood our ground and fled, depending on the situation. Subtlety and unit cohesion is not our strong suit, but adaptibility most certainly is.

In reply to Xander (msg # 178):

"That's fine. Just wanted to bring it up ahead of time -- before shit hits and someone decides sacrificing the entire team is the way to go."

In reply to Muse (msg # 179):

"You have the right of it," the director smiles. "If you're compromised before they break any laws, try to talk your way out of it. If they fire on you, that's a crime. Report it and bolt...I'd prefer we not 'self defense' our lead into oblivion."

"If you're compromised after they break laws, you should already know how close Commander Faust's fleet is to your position and you can play it by ear. Fight or flight, at your discretion. Though obviously we would prefer the option that results in the least property damage, witness deaths, and general loss of life."

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 180):

The rest of the meeting contains a brief overview of Husker and his activities, a directive to take hardened, digitzed copies of the dossier with you for reference, and other general planning.

The departure date is set for three days from the present.

"Muse, Kayla? If you'd stay behind after the meeting, please? We need to discuss your status in the organization."

Once the others have filed out -- including Dr. Hawkins and Viceroy -- Director Kelce is left alone with Muse and Kayla.

"We've currently brought you aboard as contractors, but I'd like to offer you a better deal: provisional agency. From what I've heard, read, and seen, your abilities round out our away team quite handily -- particularly now that Battalion has been reassigned."

She passes a folder to Kayla and to Muse in turn, which contains contract information.

"You'd both be considered IDA agents in the field during your provisional membership, which would end once you complete this mission. We could evaluate from there to see if you'd quality for -- and be interested in -- full-time employment. A test will be involved...one that I'm fairly confident several other members of the team will want to retake. Leadership roles are assigned based on test performance."

"Think it over carefully, but I'm afraid if you decide the deal's not for you, you'll have to remain behind. I can't send non-agent contractors into the field on a mission like this without more lead time, and we just don't have it."


***

OOC: If there's anything you want to do between now and go-time, have at it. In-depth conversations with NPCs can occur here or in PM threads (if you're going to PM mask most of it anyway, probably better to do it in the PM threads).

Note that PM masking is great for keeping interesting secrets from the party, but doesn't need to be applied to everything folks just happen to not be at. We can trust IC/OOC filters to be sufficient for that :)
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:10, Wed 15 Mar 2017.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 181):

Kayla doesn't even read the paperwork, instead rifling through it until she finds the place where she's supposed to sign, doing so, and sliding the folder back to Director Kelce.

"You won't regret giving me this opportunity," she says, trying to maintain a serious expression but failing to suppress her smile. "Thank you, Director."

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 182):

As the meeting is dismissed, Muse pulls Xander aside, tone low and dead-serious.

After the meeting lets out Billy is the last one to leave the director, Muse and Kayla alone, slouching against a wall within eyeshot of the door to the conference room, clearly waiting for the rest of class to get out.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 184):

Nightmare slumps next to Billy assuming the same posture.

Who are you waiting for?

Billy glances down at Nightmare for a second, "The director," he finally answers.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 186):

Me too... Do we trust her?

"Do we trust Xander?" Billy asks back, "He trusts her."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 188):

Muse accepts the Director's offer.

In reply to Muse (msg # 189):

...I guess we do.  Though I am concerned that he has other motives for thrusting.....
er... uh....

She turns bright pink and shrinks a bit at the (IRL Keyboard) Freudian slip.  She rapidly changes the subject.

Do you mind sharing the director?  Is privacy of utmost importance?  I'm going to ask about the black box from Blaise. 

Billy shrugs, "I guess it's fine.  I'm just curious who's the idiot in charge, if it's not her."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 191):


Director Kelce chats with Kayla and Muse for a short while. Kayla is the first to leave, followed by Muse not long afterward.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 192):

Nightmare will follow Billy both in physical steps as well as aping his attitude and posture.

Billy gives Kayla a nod when she leaves the conference room and waves to Muse as they pass in his way back into the room, "Director," he states as soon as he's through the door, "We had a couple questions that didn't have to do with the upcoming mission, just wanted to borrow some of your time." He waits for Rebecca to enter then closes the door behind them, looking expectantly at his younger companion.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 194):

Director Kelce nods and beckons for you to sit if you'd like.

"Of course. What's on your mind?"

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 195):

Kayla returns to Persephone, beckoning Xander to follow.

"Let me show you what I've already put together," she says. "Then we can talk about other possibilities. But if I'm being honest, she's already in excellent shape for a shuttle."

She shows him a large ovoid piece of equipment, as well.

"This is what Viceroy wants us to install in order to enable transmission interception. It's bigger than I thought it would be, so I hope we can find room for both it and the GunBlazer Saddle. I might just take out the navigation seat entirely, since D can handle those calculations himself."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:20, Thu 16 Mar 2017.

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 196):

Rounding out the departures, Viceroy returns to The Factory, while Dr. Hawkins returns to the lab.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 197):

Nightmare will defer to Billy's questions first.  Then when he is done she will speak

Director, do you remember when we first met and I brought you a box from Captain Blaise?  Has anything been done with those effects?  I would request the box back in its entirety.   If the personal effects have not been returned to his wife then I would take it upon myself to do so.  I think that he was trying to tell me something and the information in the box was a part of it.  I will review it given the information we have gathered since the presumed destruction of the Mastodon.

I miss him very much.  Did you know him well?

Rebecca's deference leads to an uncomfortable silence, followed by a small round of terse whispers to the effect of "You go," "No you," before Billy finally insists she just ask her stupid question already.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 199):

She rolls her eyes.

Fine.

Then asks her question.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 199):

"The effects meant for Captain Blaise's wife have already been delivered," Director Kelce assures her. "The rest of its contents consisted of a full data dump of Mastodon's core. Captain Blaise seemed to predict his ship's destruction, and took efforts to ensure the fruits of its many years of service were not lost to us."

Her expression softens at her second question.

"He wasn't a personal friend of mine, but he was a dear coworker and a valued colleague. I miss him, too. Losing personnel in the field is, without doubt, the hardest reality of our job and of our mission."

She shakes her head.

"It's still possible he's alive," she says, though she doesn't sound optimistic. "But that would mean he was either stranded somewhere or taken captive. I find it hard to believe any captor would have waited this long before trying to ransom him back...and if he was stranded, his fate is unlikely to be different than if he went down with the Mastodon."

Director Kelce frowns.

"If you would like to see a grief councilor, we do have one available. Given your...history...I didn't think to ask how losing a colleague might have affected you."

She seems pained.

"I am sorry for that oversight -- that one's on me."

The director pauses for a moment, then realizes there was more to Rebecca's question.

"Right, the core," she says. "I'm afraid I can't just hand it back to you -- it has already been tagged, bagged, archived, and locked down -- but if you'd like a copy of the data dump, I can certainly arrange for it to be sent over. Would that suffice?"

She looks at Rebecca carefully.

"Whatever it is you're looking for, I do hope you'll let me know when you've found it. We're all on the same side here."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:10, Thu 16 Mar 2017.

"Speaking of all of us," Billy perks up, "I was just curious who's idea it was to send our team specifically on the Ceres trip.  Was that you?  Faust?  Just curious," he reiterates, to be clear there are no suspicioins, barely restrained mistrust or grudges involved.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 202):

"That question has a longer answer than you're probably expecting," Director Kelce says after a moment's consideration. "I was off-Hub at the time, and Viceroy was still in his coma from the EROS incident, so Dispatch was routed to Commander Faust. Mostly because he happened to be here at the time."

She shrugs.

"It was more a matter of convenience than anything. We needed to send a team almost immediately, and your team was already here and wasn't on any other assignments. If I'd been here, I'd probably have done the same thing."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:26, Thu 16 Mar 2017.

"Oh, so everyone's stupid.  Great," Billy rolls his eyes and turns for the door, shaking his head, "I belong here," he mutters.

In reply to Director Kelce (msg # 201):

In response to the mention about the items being archived she says

The data will do nicely.  I assume this would include the star map, the most important thing I want to see... and the assets and contacts for Blaise's organization.  Though the thing I am most curious about is the metal sphere.  It exhibited some strange properties that I would like to analyze in the context of my new knowledge of the darkforce.... unless you know what it is?

She asks hopefully.

At the mention of the councilor she shrinks, looks very embarrassed and takes a half step behind Billy.

He pulled me out of the psych ward at boarding school.  I think they were going to expel me... or already had.

She quietly nods her acquiescence.

This time it will be different.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 205):

Nightmare turns and walks out with Billy as a testament to their out of syncness they fight over who gets out of the door first.  Nightmare doesn't phase this time and shoulders him with surprising strength.

What about the Viceroy thing?

She asks in a whisper once they are out.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 206):

"I'll see if we can have it pulled, but the ball was probably just the backup drive being used to store the Mastodon's data," Kelce replies retroactively. "I'll let you know if that's not the case."

Billy shrugs outside the conference room, "What thing?  His name showing up?  I dunno.  Why don't you ask him?"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 208):

Do we trust him?  I mean that will lay all the cards on the table.  I have to say that I don't like everybody knowing everything I do... I know I know (she adds quickly) I need to work on that.

Also this is like inverse Jeopardy! where I have to phrase it in the form of a statement...

"What are you even talking about?" Billy asks as he starts heading down the hallway, toward the factory as they talk, "We don't have any cards, do you really think he's the center of some multi-organizational conspiracy that uses his name as some kind of ...what?  password? secret code?" he shakes his head, "I don't even know what you expect to find out, just ask him why his name keeps coming up without him if you're so curious."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 210):

She flushes read and looks at the floor...

Yes, I do.  There is a leak, there is an obvious connection that can't be coincidental.  He is high up in our organization.  How does this NOT scream conspiracy... or... something.

"It's just a word, that's not a conspiracy.  Conspiracies have a purpose.  You conspire to do something.  Go focus your paranoia on that and get back to me."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 212):

Is it paranoia if they really are out to get you?

She asks as she phases through a wall and works her way towards the foundry to find Viceroy.  She hands him the SAGE shield and asks if he will help her fabricate a few new ones.

Billy makes his way to the factory as well, arriving after Rebecca due to the inconvenience of having to navigate hallways and doors en route.  Since he neither has a key nor the ability to walk through doors, once he arrives he bangs on the large main entrance vigorously.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 214):

Nightmare opens the door.

About time.

She says looking him up and down.

You can unload the delivery over ther....

Oh Billy!  Hi. 

Billy reaches out to flick Rebecca's forehead, and if denied impact, waves his hand around the middle of her head to make the point, "Hey Viceroy, did Rebecca tell you about how much she likes your name?  She keeps seeing it everywhere," he announces loudly as he walks past Rebecca, "The medical robots that thought you were dead used it, you should hear the whole story, I bet it's fascinating, he walks up to Viceroy's work area and grabs a device off it, "You have a power source for this?  Eh, I'll figure it out," he snatches up a battery pack and backpedals back to the door, "Anyway, you two should chat, it'll be fun," he waves and gives Rebecca a wink before bolting out the door and going to find Muse.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 216):

She responds to the wink by flicking him off.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 217):

Muse is meditating at the observation deck. "Billy," he says warmly without opening his eyes.

"David," Billy replies pointedly.  Looking at Muse's serene posture in the somewhat odd location, Billy simply goes about trying to wire his confiscated device to the power source without saying anything more.

In reply to Muse (msg # 218):

The Factory


Viceroy agrees to have a look at the riot shield, but when he sends someone to the shuttle to find it, they are unable to do so.

(I didn't delete your stuff; another player has the shield right now.)

"You're heard-heard stories about my name? What stories? Are they fun?" Viceroy asks Rebecca when Billy brings it up.

In response to Billy's question about power sources, he raises an index finger and says, "Oh yes! It's compatible-compatible with any-" then stops, because Billy has already grabbed a battery pack and walked away. "-yes.."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 220):

Elsewhere

Muse hears Billy rummaging around with something, but can't see what it is since he hasn't opened his eyes.

"Okay, say cheese," Billy says after a couple seconds of setup, before pressing a button on the device now affixed in front of one of his eyes.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 222):

Elsewhere

Muse's meditation is interrupted by a bright, obvious, sustained burst of light that he can't help but notice behind his eyelids.

Anyone actually watching would see a cone-shaped column of blue light lance forth from a circular gadget resting over one of Billy's eyes.

The light flickers for a moment, then fades away harmlessly -- though any night vision you might have been enjoying is thoroughly obliterated in its wake.

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 223):

"New nightlight?"
This message was last edited by the player at 18:46, Mon 20 Mar 2017.

"New camera, hell of a flash," Billy states as he turns to leave, "Stence says hi, by the way."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:47, Mon 20 Mar 2017.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 225):

Muse hears Billy's voice begin to trail.

"Wait. What did you need my picture for?"

In reply to Muse (msg # 226):

Nightmare musters her best fake smile.  Knowing she does her best talking while she is working she sends people to find the shield.  Not finding it she mutters under her breath and taps an email to the team.  While she does this she brings her new EVA suit to Viceroy asking to make a mount to the specifications of the shield on the left arm.


Viceroy...

She begins.  Then stops.  She digs into the work at hand.

uhhhhhh... so...  I don't think you remember what happened at the Alliance of Sol base as you were unconscious the whole time, but they had given you an ID tag.  That number was Viceroy in 'leet', that ticked me a bit but then it really got driven home was on Ceres.

You have had no interaction with Dr. Olson.  She works on a different planet with a different company.  The lock on her datapad was v-I-c-e-r-o-y in phoenetics.

This cannot be a coincidence.

She says letting the implications hang in the air.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:45, Mon 20 Mar 2017.

Billy turns around to face Muse but continues backpedaling down the hall, "Stence asked for it!" he shouts, "Don't worry, I got your good side!"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 228):

doublepost
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:27, Tue 21 Mar 2017.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 228):

"Thanks," Muse calls after Billy. "And if you want to stay on my good side, warn me next time."

In reply to Muse (msg # 229):


The Factory

"I sleep-slept through that entire adventure," Viceroy replies, cocking his head to one side. "It is nice of you to care-care that they got-got my name wrong, though."

He is quiet for a moment after the second revelation, then raises a finger.

"Your correlation is interesting, but I do not under-understand your point. If it is an accuse-accusation, say-say what you want-want to say-say plainly. But I think-think I know-know what you are hint-hinting at. And I do-do not like-like it."

Viceroy taps his goggles, and a projection of what looks to be a toilet springs into the air between him and Rebecca.

"Wait-wait! What's this?! I just search-searched the Archive and found-found a curious schematic. It seem-seems to be name-named the Relatively Endearing Biologically Educated Child Crackpot Apparatus."

The goggles' lenses flicker in an approximation of a blink.

"R...E...B...E...C...C...A!"

He lets out an exaggerated gasp.

"That's you! But that would mean-mean...could it be..."

The image snaps out.

"...that Rebeccaagent is full-full of crap?"

Viceroy toddles over to the nearest tablet and flips it over to reveal thousands of pages of blog-driven drivel from conspiracy theorists trying to tie various projects to various people using similar methodology.

"Not only can those incidents be coincidences, but they are coincidences. Do not involve-involve me in conspiracy theories. Read-reading too much into acronyms is a waste-waste of time. Too many smart people are draw-drawn away from important work because of the distraction."

His chittering tone softens.

"You are very smart. And I like-like you a lot. Do not be one of them."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:30, Tue 21 Mar 2017.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 230):

She sneers at the acronym.  Percy appears infront of her, once again in a defensive posture.

RELATIVELY ENDEARING!!!

She composes herself breathing in deeply then breathing out as she briefly phases out then back in.

It is not an accusation Viceroy... fine.  I'll speak plainly.  Here are the facts:

She slips into Viceroy's speech pattern staccato listing of facts.

You are an auger.

You may not be human.

You have worked with a substance similar in nature to Dr. Olson's substance x.

Your name has been seen in a manner that is not a coincidence with 0.000000001% certainty.  It's not like your title is commonly used vernacular.

Rebeccaagent is full of worry that you are entangled in something that you don't even know about and the net is closing around you.

Rebeccaagent is full of concern that there is information about how our cases have been interconnected that we either haven't been told or haven't figured out yet.

Rebeccaagent is full of dismay at the idea that Kelcedirector and Viceroy don't know what is going on that may walk strategically into a trap.

...so as you can see.  Rebeccaagent is full of many things.  Crap is not one of them.  Too many scientists ignore the field.  Don't let yourself be blindsided.  We have a chance to do much together.  This cannot be taken lightly. 

She takes a deep breath

Holy cow!  Is this what denial looks like?  Between Viceroy and Kayla I'm getting one hell of a mirror held up to me... Though this still leaves the question what am I.  Alive?  Dead?  Both?  Is that possible?

/ooc I really REALLY wanted to follow with her leaving again just to be annoying... fyi.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 231):

"Regressively Endearing," Viceroy amends, then falls silent as Rebecca rattles off her Festivus-style list of grievances.

"Rebeccaagent lack-lacks data. But does not ask-ask questions. Back-back to Relatively Endearing!"

He then goes through the unasked questions in reverse order.

"I am not take-taking anything lightly, and can-cannot be blindsided. See well -- better than you! Would see-see a trap if there was one. If a mouse is place-placed into five different mazes, which have nothing to do-do with each other, the mouse will think-think they are related. But they are just five different mazes. No correlation to each other."

"Not that Rebeccaagent is a mouse! Example only."

He waggles his fingers experimentally.

"If there is a net, it is a bad one. We are unrestricted. Yes! The probability of the correlations you witness-witnesses is not in the nano spectrum. Check-check your math; did you carry-carry the 1s? I got-got a different number. Still small. But less small. So, more!"

"I have work-worked with many substances. All of them, I think-think! One was bound to be similar to another -- and all are, in some respects.."

Viceroy's goggles glint slightly.

"Your remaining facts are more interesting. Substantive! And observant. I am not an auger. Falsehood. Wrong. Augers are a subtype of humanity. Genetically alter-altered. Biologically enhance-enhanced. Not me."

He lets that hang for a long moment, walking closer to Rebecca until he is within arm's length.

She suddenly becomes aware of how alone she is in The Factory, and of how quiet everything has become. A humming sound she didn't notice before can now be heard -- and felt, when she is solid, pleasantly resonating like heavy bass through her boots. She tries to remember whether The Factory's walls always had a faintly glowing reddish hue, or if that's new as well.

"Rebeccaagent. Listen-listen. Why would you think-think that I was not human? Why would you think-think that my name is my title?"

His voice, while still chittering, has lost its lilting cadence and sounds somewhat strained.

"It is very important that I know-know. Tell-tell me."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 232):

Kayla whistles as she walks toward the shuttle, already excited by the prospect of outfitting it with futuristic armor-like plating.

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 233):

Nightmare smiles that she figured out the game thanks to Dr. Hawkins.

By the end of the conversation I expect to be labeled Remarkably endearing.

But that wasn't my calculation.  Ask Sophia. The fact is that you are willing to bet the life of Xanderagent and Billyagent and Kaylaagent on a nano-scale possibility that it is a coincidence instead of addressing the almost assured nature of the evidence trail. 

She states matter-of-factly.

As Viceroy steps forwards Nightmare takes one foot and slowly sweeps it behind her in a stance she learned from Muse

I need an adult!

Percy takes a more neutral stance as well, shifting from being defensive.


Fair enough.  I'll trust that you can see whatever is coming; though just know if I find a third instance of your name I'm going on high alert and will expect and explanation.  Additionally I'm alerting Kelcedirector to this observation and will clearly state your injection that this is coincidental.

You cannot make more of the Olson substance.  Wish that we could but I bet you are close.

As for your nature...Brace yourself.

She says focusing inward.  [Illusions 63: Yellow success]

If you have an organic brain you will see something terrible.  You do not.

The J-9 units on the asteroid were unable to scan you or remove your suit. They could neither confirm you as alive or dead.

Commander Faust referred to you as being 'damaged' on the AoS base.  Not injured as a normal person.

Additionally Commander Faust said that your 'medical attention' could only be affected at the factory.  Therefore you do not have standard physiology.

I have a special sight that I can see augers.  You are different but similar.

I'm betting that you are a bio-mechanical interface of some kind.

As for your name... it is a title.  She quotes the dictionary definition:



She cocks her head to the side as she frames her next questions/statement.

...but Kelcedirector is not that sovereign.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:17, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

Xander eagerly works with Kayla to convert the armor on the Persephone.

After a while of working Kayla and Xander suddenly hear pounding footsteps and an exicted "Guys!" heading their way in the hangar.  Billy carries a datapad and small power source in one hand and a tripod under the other arm before he stops short in front of the work site and starts setting up the tripod.

"Guys," he repeats as he plugs his power source into a device atop the tripod too small to be a camera, "This is awesome, come here.  Xander, stand still," he points the tripod at Xander, regardless of his apparent cooperation, and pushes a button which causes the device to project a cone of blue light at him.  Halfway through the lightshow Billy gasps, "The robot! Where's Abraxis?" he asks whipping his head around the hangar, already distracted from whatever he is doing to Xander.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 236):

The light washing over Xander is harmless and doesn't seem to do anything.


Kayla, working nearby and not caught up in the flash, gives the device a sidelong glance and a curious expression plays across her lips.

"That looks like...why...why does that look familiar to me?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:28, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"I dunno, Baxter was out cold when you met him.  Did he do that at you when he was a monster?" Billy shrugs as he plugs the datapad into the device and taps at it a couple times, "Ha!  It can see Sophia!"

Xander raises an eyebrow bemusedly, and shrugs. Well, now you have proof I'm not just pretending to be a girl online, he remarks before returning to his work.

"Yeah whatever," Xander's joke doesn't sem to land as Billy looks around the hangar before pausing, quirking and eyebrow and twisting the device to point at the ship itself.  Quirking an eyebrow he again initiates the blue cone, intent on testing the full extent of his new toy.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 240):

The cone of light extends 10 feet from the lens. It will take quite a while to paint the entire ship with it at that rate.

"Boring," Billy laments before twisting the device to point at Kayla, not even bothering with the pad this time, "Say cheese," he hits the button again. "Xander, you've known Viceroy longer than I have, do you think he'd warn someone about potential side effects of untested equipment before letting them take it?"

I, uh...I would say that likelihood is probably inversely proportional to how excited he is about the technology.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 242):

"Hey, watch it with that thing," Kayla smiles, shielding her eyes with an arm. "I don't like have pictures taken while I'm working...I'm a mess."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:21, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"Oh," Billy replies to Xander and stares off thoughtfully, "Okay well then..." he rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out slightly, "This is probably fine.  Yeah.  Yeah, this is fine. I don't think he cared much," Billy says with finality.  After a pause he speaks up again, "That means he'd say something right?"

When Kayla's scan finishes he looks at the datapad and taps at it again, "It's fine, we're all a mess. It's got these color overlays," he flashes her the datapad screen briefly, "I'm gonna have to find Batallion if I want to hit him with this, aren't I?" he asks woefully as his shoulders slump.  He sighs before shouting at one of the IDA soldiers in the area to come over.  As soon as he's in range Billy fires the cone of blue light at him, now almost certain it's not causing sterility.

In reply to Kayla Wallin (msg # 244):

"Organic?" Viceroy repeats slowly. "Why would being comprise-comprised of carbon matter? Short-sight-sighted, limit-limiting your definition of life to that."

His goggles flicker slightly as Rebecca attempts to use her terrifying fearbomb on him and fails.

"Oh! Yes. I can-cannot be harm-harmed, detect-detected, or control-controlled by mental abilities or those who wield-wield them. Nor can machines program-programmed to help-help humans assist-assist me."

He taps his covered head knowingly.

"My brain work-works differently. Body, too! Humans have an incredible power they never think-think about or appreciate. You can-can heal-heal yourselves over time! Naturally. Which is good -- you are all so fragile and self-destruct-destructive."

Viceroy takes a step back wistfully.

"I can-cannot heal-heal without help-help. Need-need chemicals. Liquids. Solids. Machines. Have them all, but only here. Can-cannot move-move them easily. Will-will not move-move them if I can-can help-help it."

"I do-do not know-know what aura you are talk-talking about. But if you mean-mean that I have auger-like properties, you are right. But again. Not auger!"

He holds a hand out in front of him.

"Not mechanical either. Wear-wear suit to survive. Carbon-based life? Ridiculous. Live-live in corrode-corrosive gases. Among corrosive fluids. Breathe-breathe them! Oxygen is dangerous. Toxic! It is fascinate-fascinating."

The squat man seems to notice Rebecca staring at him, and cuts this train of thought short to address her final concern.

"No," Viceroy says simply, his goggles glinting with a faint green light. "She is not."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:56, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 246):

The Maintenance Bay

"Yes sir!" the IDA guard says, trotting over when beckoned by Billy. "How can I OH WHAT THE HELL!?!"

Blue light washes over him, and he stands blinking mutely for a few moments, his expression one of utter incomprehension.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:58, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"Thank you," Billy remarks matter-of-factly in response to the soldier's reaction once the scan is done, not even looking up from the datapad. "Hey! We should put one of these on the ship.  Like above the entryway.  We could have Dynamis scan anyone who comes on board, instant threat assessment! I'm a genius," Billy smiles, basking in his own self-satisfaction.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 248):

"Threat assessment?"

Kayla puts a hand on her hip and raises an eyebrow at Billy as the bewildered IDA guard stomps away.

"Ok. What is that thing and how does it work? Based on the size of the power source it's using, installing it above the ramp shouldn't be hard at all -- as long as this powered armor doesn't guzzle way more energy than the specs say it should."

She grins slightly at him.

"Though you WILL have to leave it here if you want it installed, you know."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:13, Wed 22 Mar 2017.

"It scans people and color codes them based on what they're capable of.  See that guy?" he shows her the results of his scan on the datapad, "He's boring.  You are a multifaceted rainbow," he again shows her her own scan, long enough for her to register this time, "and Xander has two people in his head," he shows her the result of Xander's scan, "It comes with instructions, we can teach Dynamis to quantify everything and it'll be even better." He glances between Kayla and the tripod before snatching the latter up in one hand, "And you can install it later, I'm going to go scan Rebecca.  Ooh, no, I'm gonna scan Percy!"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 250):

I never said that was my definition.  That was the J-9 units. 

She says at the unfair rebuke.

At some point you and I are going to have to talk about the nature of life.  Don't forget, I'm dead... kinda... but not.  So yeah.  We can deal with that later.

At the revelation that oxygen is toxic she starts back slightly.

If you are not human, or mechanical, or carbon based... then you must be a silica-based alien.
While she is startled at being confronted so easily she sounds excited.  A scientist with a new toy.

In response to the sovereign bit she takes another stab.

I also don't think your sovereign is in the IDA.

This message was last edited by the player at 11:15, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 251):

"Oxygen IS toxic. Factual. Non-subjective," Viceroy replies, cocking his head to one side and projecting a 3D image of an O₂ molecule. "Highly reactive. It causes corrosion in metals. It enables combustion. Even humans can only tolerate-tolerate it when dilute-diluted down to 21% under normal pressure-pressurization. And when it is a liquid, it can cause-cause spontaneous detonation."

The wireframe vanishes, and Rebecca notes that the ceiling and floors are also glowing with a faint red light, just like the walls are.


"Carbon. Silicon. Or other! I prefer-prefer not to discuss-discuss my biology. That is part of our agreement. Need-need to know-know basis. And Rebeccaagent doesn't need-need to know-know. She want-wants to know-know."

His goggles glint again at the mention of the IDA. He appears to have caught onto the game by this point.

"I am work-working with the IDA. The distinct-distinction between that and sovereignty is not relevant."

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 252):

The Maintenance Bay

Kayla and Xander continue working on the shuttle. Barring further disruptions, they will be finished by the end of the day tomorrow.

The Factory

Billy can't find Rebecca anywhere. If he heads to The Factory, he'll find that his card doesn't work (so, nothing new). It is not glowing or anything from the outside.

When Billy arrives at the Factory, with hands full of datapad and tripod, he raises his foot and stamps it agat nst the door as hard as he can, rather than knock, "I really feel like I should have a key here!" he shouts, "I'm pretty sure that contract you signed technically makes me part of R&D, even if only as a test subject!"

In reply to Viceroy (msg # 252):

She smiles at Viceroy mischievously.

Correct.  I do WANT to know.  Badly.  That being said I will respect your preference.  As much as I know about your biology will suffice until such a matter becomes relevant.

Don't think I don't notice that you said 'with' and not 'for' there is a significant distinction between those words.

She looks around at the room.

Viceroy, as we have been speaking I've noticed more and more of the room is glowing in a manner that appears to mirror your growing agitation of speaking about uncomfortable topics.

She lightly brushes a wall testing it to see if it is hot.  She looks around to see if it is just the wall or if the equipment or anything else appears to be 'taking note' of the conversation.

clearly a design defect, wasted Brownian motion, an artifact.  Nothing more.

She says dismissively.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:59, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 255):

As Billy kicks at the door he feels a tug at the hem of his pants.  It's percy holding a picket sign that says

'one moment please.  Your call is important to us and will be answered in the order in which it was received.'

Before Billy can unload himself or set up Percy disappears back through the wall.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 256):

"The Factory is fortify-fortified," Viceroy replies, gesturing at the walls. "That is what you are see-seeing."

He glances over at the still-closed door and fires a projection of Billy standing outside, hands full, into the air via his goggles.

"We should get-get back to work-work."

"Hey what the-" is all Billy can offer to Percy's hold message.  After a beat he begins stamping on the door even harder, "What the hell?  Did you find the actual illuminati password or something?  I demand an agent fee! You weren't even gonna talk to him if not for me!"

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 258):

The Factory

Not waiting for further response from Rebecca, and apparently not caring about the fact that Billy doesn't actually have clearance to gain access to The Factory himself, Viceroy toddles over to the entrance and opens the door.

The red light fades as he walks over, such that it is entirely absent by the name the door opens to Billy.

"Billyagent! Come-come in. What do you have-have for me to work-work on today?"

"A key would be nice," he remarks as he holds the tripod up and lets it slide through his grasp until his hand is wrapped around the device at the end, "Also pictures.  This thing is cool," he presses the button to bathe Viceroy in blinding blue light offhandedly even as his gaze settles on Rebecca, "Hey, lemme see what this does with your little monster."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 260):

As she sees the camera she squeals in glee

IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS?!

She appears suddenly by his side shoulder to elbow.  Looking intently at the pad or camera or whatever Billy is looking at.  Percy struts infront of the camera turning his back and looking over his shoulder... yes it is....



Percy looks extremely disappointed when Billy inevitably loses his interest and walks back over to nightmare who flounces into view.

DO ME NEXT!!!!

She poses herself then goes back to Billy.

Whats it say?!  Who else have you done?

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 261):

Blue light bathes Viceroy, who doesn't react much at all. His goggles might have an automatic tinting solution installed.

Ostensibly, Billy next targets Percy and Rebecca.

After attempting to blind Viceroy, Billy plugs the datapad into his improvised camera and lets Rebecca look as he saves the scan and captures Percy's short-lived modeling career "Its the thing I told you to incorporate into your design and you never updated your schematic with.  Does yours do this?" he indicates the large blue cone as he irradiates her, "Because as fun as the flash is, I feel like clearing that up is an obvious upgrade, it's not exactly stealth."

After showing her the results of the trio in the room, but before he can get to his whole album, he seems to perk up, "Ooh, make him stand up, like, tall," he points at Percy, "See if we get anything different." As he waits for the beast to be unleashed he looks at Viceroy over his shoulder, "So what's the deal with that suit?  This is like the third scan that hasn't worked right on you."

In reply to The Watcher (msg # 262):

The Factory

MegaPercy, when summoned, presents a bit of a modelling challenge but eventually Billy is able to get a full scan completed.


"My suit is highly personalized," Viceroy shrugs. "Like a second skin! Or a carapace. Most scanners do not know-know what to make-make of it, or how to see-see through it."

Everywhere

Everyone gets an email at roughly the same time from Director Kelce:


This message was last updated by the GM at 17:58, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

As Kayla and Xander put the finishing touches on the stealth module, his eyes wander around the hangar.

You know, if we're going to make this a stealth ship, we ought to do it properly. Let's add guided missiles and flares.

"Really?  That sounds really useful.  What's it made of?  We should make other stuff..." for a second his eyes lose focus before he comes back to himself, "Wait, what?! Bullshit!" he drops the datapad into Rebecca's hands and leaves it and the scanner in the Foundry as he storms out. "That bastard!" he shouts as he starts hunting for the Director, or her office, knowing the specific location of neither.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 266):

Billy wanders around the Near-Earth Hub and, with enough yelling and general unpleasantness, ultimately finds his way to Director Kelce's office.

"Come in," she says before he can even knock. Provided he does so, he finds the director seated at a nondescript desk in a modestly appointed office much, much less fancy than Charles's office on Ceres.

"I presume you're here to give me an update on your team's readiness?"

"The fuck is Faust doing that's so damn important?!" he responds, before brandishing a finger at the director, "If he is ducking me, I swear to god..."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 268):

The director motions for Billy to close the door, and waits for him to do so.

"Commander Faust is running late," Director Kelce says afterward. "We haven't heard from him since our second briefing, and we're having trouble tracing his location. Everything returns that his fleet is holding position about 2 days out, but that doesn't make any sense. It's probably just a minor problem with one of his ships or his communications equipment..."

She bites her lip, plainly aware that those are almost definitely NOT the problem.

"Regardless, that's my problem to solve. If we don't get you and your team launched soon, we'll lose our window to catch up with Husker's ship. In case you've forgotten, we're not sitting stationary here -- Near-Earth Hub has an orbit of its own, and it does not synchronize particularly well with Husker's expected course. If we wait a few more days for Commander Faust, it could compromise the mission."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:10, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

The door whooshes open and a chipper Xander strolls in. Hey Sam! We've got the shuttle all refitted and ready for, oh- he comes up short, clearly not expecting Billy to be in the office. That is to say, work has been completed, Director. We've installed the stealth plating, along with a guided missile bay and countersmeasures. We're ready to launch at your discretion.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:16, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

Billy lowers his brows and squints at the director appraisingly before being suddenly startled by Xander's arrival. "Oh yeah, no, real smooth," he nods to Xander's fumbling formality, before turning back to the Director, "You're a shitty liar, Faust is a shitty commander, and if this is the second misreported ship delay that causes a pain in my ass, it will cost you more than a shuttle.  Or the space station I'm already owed."

Billy, you're doing that thing again, Xander notes mildly. That thing where you make it extremely difficult to work with you. You're at about a 9. I think you ought to take it down to a 4 or 5, and save the doubtlessly creative volley of swearing that I'm sure you're thinking up right now for the person actually responsible for dicking us over.

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 271):

"That's good to hear, agent," she responds to Xander. "I'm eager to have Husker's mischief managed."

She smiles at Xander's quip, then follows it up with some choice words of her own.

"Piling onto that.." she turns to Billy.

"I don't understand what you expect me to do, or what anyone in my position could have done differently. Commander Faust is. not. here. I cannot simply conjure him from the ether for you to yell at again. He already apologized for the way the last mission went down, and we are already mobilizing to figure out how the lead-tipping system was compromised. The two people involved in that, you may recall, are ALSO among the missing."

She stands up from her seat behind the desk.

"We arm ourselves and our agents with the very best intelligence we can gather, but it's not perfect. The most important part of this job is being able to adapt to the rapidly changing situations we find ourselves in such that we can still complete the mission at hand with minimal loss."

She walks around the desk and prods Billy's chest lightly with an index finger.

"This is something YOU excel at," she says with a hint of a smile. "Everyone's loss is your gain. Everyone's gain is your gain. That is part of what makes you a good agent. Thinking on your feet in a way that meets your goals."

"But to stand there and accuse me of being a liar and Faust -- a career officer who you've just met -- of being bad at his job is simply unacceptable."

She raises an eyebrow, more curious than angry.

"What, exactly, are you attempting to threaten me with in the event that something you happen to dislike occurs over the course of this mission?"
This message was last edited by the player at 19:59, Thu 23 Mar 2017.

Billy turns to attempt a quip back at Xander before getting caught by the Director's onslaught.  He finally straightens, "You can tell me what you want but if the rod up Faust's ass is as durable as you make it out to be, then we both know it'd take more than minor technical issues to bend it away from punctually reaching its destination.  He was in charge of a honey pot that soured less than a month after he got there, and he made me a deal he was never good for.  I will have compensation commensurate to any suffering Faust is responsible for.  You didn't seem happy about your shuttle, I took that because I don't trust this organization.  If I start doing things because I don't like this organization, you will be even less happy.  That is not a threat, that is speaking from experience."

In reply to Billy Laser Fist (msg # 274):

The director seems to accept this response, despite not particularly liking it, and returns to her desk.

"I'm aware that Commander Faust is in a precarious situation, in all likelihood. I'll keep you looped into the details as I learn them."

She looks between Billy and Xander.

"Is there anything else you need from us before you'll be ready to launch?"

"No, nothing I'm gonna get," Billy says, shaking his head and turning to head out. "You two have fun," he calls over his shoulder.

Just needed final authorization on this list of provisions... he makes a point of saying as Billy leaves.

In reply to Xander (msg # 277):

Muse reads the director's communique and saddles up.

"Good."

In reply to Muse (msg # 278):

Nightmare pokes at the datapad to see what Billy has done before and what they found.  She also familiarizes herself with the interface and looks for ways to incorporate her design.

She works with Viceroy on a design of her own.  After a short time you hear the same squeal of glee that Billy gave when he ran around taking people's 'pictures'.

YOU GUYS!  YOU GUYS!

As you turn to look at her she leaps up into the air and the boots from her EVA suit kick in pushing her into flight like Iron Man.


WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!

She squeals as she zips around the room.  Percy struggles to keep pace behind her with the boosters on his Xander-designed EVA suit.

She lands showing off her new tech...

Integrated boosters to her suit.

HOW COOL IS THIS?!!

She giggles as she dances around the room occasionally punctuated by doing a surprisingly graceful booster pack assisted backflip.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:59, Fri 24 Mar 2017.

In reply to Nightmare (msg # 279):

Everyone is super impressed with Rebecca's newest toy.

Time passes quickly, and soon it is time to depart.


Equipment is quickly packed and stowed into the upgraded shuttle, with Kayla putting the engines through their warm-up routine in preparation of their voyage.

"All aboard?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:52, Fri 24 Mar 2017.