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Post by Taffer on Aug 4, 2015 8:40:53 GMT
After his visit to Wolfram, Taffer felt actually relieved. At least his problem was taken seriously and he wasn't deemed a lost cause right from the beginning. As for Wolfram's advices, although they were wise, didn't look too helpful to him. Thinking ahead and planning was his forte already, but that didn't stop him from getting into situations where, as Wolfram said, too much thinking might become lethal, like that last one which actually triggered his decision to do some thing about it. In hindsight, he already knew how he could have stopped that situation from happening, but the problem was he could not foresee it coming until it became too late. Anyway, their talk was interrupted by a message from Atticus about the situation with Erika, so Taffer excused himself for leaving for duty, promising Wolfram to continue their meetings and hoping he indeed could find something that could give him more control over himself.
He went to Dr.Orion's part of the medical department to observe the situation and maybe have his injured leg checked as well. As everything looked under control there and Dr.Orion was busy with Erika and setting up her non-evasive brain surgery, he opted not to interfere but performed an automated scan for his leg. It turned out to be almost healed, there were nothing his EGO could not fix although Em Dash appreciated the data from the external scan. After he finally confirmed to himself he was alive and relatively well, Taffer went to the War room to observe the current situation and catch up on things that happened before he arrived, as he didn't have time for that, having to leave the base to one mission after another.
He was actually surprised seeing Iri Sewuel there, but it was a pleasant surprise as he had not seen her for a long time since he left the base on his solo mission. After the general greetings were made, he let her doe her research, offering his help if anything was needed, and took his own seat where Em Dash created a separate holographic screen for him to access the mainframe to check on latest events and the status of Team B. Unfortunately, there were not much to know about the Team B at that moment. The transponder in Calgary was still silent, the reserve transponder in Vancouver went offline due to martial law that was invoked all-over the Gulanee-Bioman Empire, which left Red Deer completely cut from communication with USA. The only news that came from there was from the FCN report about the terrorist attack on an implant clinic which was successfully thwarted with the help of the squad led by Belle Starr. It looked too sweet and flashy for his liking. Actually it just screamed "propaganda" to him, so he was unsure what part of it should be believed. Another news from was that the Network performance was greatly improved throughout the whole city, which he might consider good news except for their aggressive policy of forced upgrades.
At least VBI had their "private" connection to their VBI facility and Belle Starr was not mentioned as MIA, and that was good news. Taffer seriously started to ponder on visiting Calgary and checking up on what happened to the transponder there and helping in repairs if needed.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 4, 2015 10:06:26 GMT
Let the trespassing begin, gentlemen," said Volodja in peacefully. "All we need is to gain access to Esthete's network without getting caught first. I prefer that people of this house don't even know about our existence. So no hiiting metal buckets or stepping on rakes down in basement, I beg you." And wicked grin appeared to his face when he quoted:
"Would wake bright and early. They'd rush for their toys!
And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise!
Noise! Noise! Noise!
That's one thing he hated! The NOISE!
NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!"
"So if you don't want to see me turning into the Grinch, we will have to keep low profile and DO NOT kill anybody if possible. Gentlemen, let's explore the town. And if we decide to disable Esthete's power plant then guard me please, because I won't be exactly myself during that." There were dozens of better motivational speeches, but at moment Volodja decided that pathos will be left aside. Poetry for children sounded much better. He grabbed a laptop with him and some cables too and his main weapon Sophie was ready as always, warming up her virtual fingers in her Bottega.
Volodja was first one to enter the basement through the door on the floor. Basement was dark like...a really dark place. Volodja could think couple of places to compare that basement with but none of them weren't exactly polite. "In anum" was actually nicest thing to say. But he was prepared for the darkness already. Right before entering to forbidden territory, Volodja went and sat in the dark for awhile. Not because he felt sad and lonely, but to get his eyes used with darkness so he wouldn't need any time for acclimatisation up there. If they were three mice then at least one wasn't blind one.
If this place is guarded then whoever is guarding them must be takes out without making a sound and most important - without any blood and level of violence had to be mild. He knew that Kaj was usually pretty harmless, except in the battle, but Chase was a terra incognita, an unknown territory, for him. That's why he whispered: "Remember gentlemen - pulling out a gun means nine times from ten that mission is failed. That was taught in intelligence school where I spend some time. Let us hope that we don't need to shoot anyone."
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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 4, 2015 11:12:32 GMT
After her name my wife, Lady Christianna joined me in the base infirmary at the bedside of my still unconscious sister, Erika Widowmaker. Lady took my big hand in both of her small ones and held it tight, sharing his vigil. When it was obvious that Erika was not going to wake up anytime soon, she decided to take my mind off the dire situation with small talk.
Lady communicated privately to Atticus through their EGOs, "Guess what Atticus? There's a new Mistress of Judgment. ME!"
I looked at her quizzically, but before I could respond, my hailer chimed. I put my mask on and quietly said to Lady, be right back my love hold that thought. After I left the room, I answered the EGO to find that it was Doctor Wolfram Von Eschen.
I answered with, "This is Commander Batman. What is it Doctor? And please hurry."
Von Eschen said, "If you want to reunite our patient with her family, then my permission is granted. But I see only her children here. No sign of the husband? He decided to stay behind?"
My response was, "That is good to hear. However there have been...complications. Not with the kids the are doing alright in your wing, under Di's care as far as I know. Since I dropped them off there, right after being notified of certain complications. Although there may be issues with Marla's mental health. I would rather not say why that is over the hailer. The same would go for Zoxx's absence. I will fill you in on all of that as needed, as soon as I can. Anyway on to the certain 'complications' that currently have my attention. You see Erika had a cancer relapse, and it turned out that the only one capable of saving her was my Grid counterpart.
I am sure you remember meeting him briefly a little while back when he last had control of my body. He was the one that calls you the Wolf Ram. Anyway after a long non-evasive Irreversible Electroporation Surgery, Erika is in recovery but still unconscious. I would prefer Erika be the one to re-introduce Kara and her children, as Kara still only knows me as Director of Security Affairs. Besides I assume Kara would respond better to her loving mother bringing in her children than she would a masked Security Director. So I would prefer it wait until Erika is conscious and up to it. Then I can put her in a wheelchair and wheel her in. Although I am not sure she would want her daughter and grandchildren to see her in such a vulnerable state. So I don't actually know what to do. Good thing it is your call and not mine. I will go with whatever you decide is the best route of action concerning Kara, her children, and her mother."
After my long, but possibly unhelpful, reply Wolfram stated: "Kara seems to be fine but I do wonder how Kaj is doing. Volodja took a risk bringing him to the field trip in emotional condition like that. I wish I could cheer the Bioman up somehow. And I do wish that verfluchte afferist Volodja returns alive and well. I miss him already. Verdammt! Ich bin gerade sentimental (Damn it! I am sentimental for sure)."
I said, "From what I understand all the meals and small talk that Kaj shared with Kara seemed to be helping quite a bit with his mood. So let's hope that nothing sends him back down again. However I wouldn't worry about him being suicidal while on a mission. It would go against his genetic programming to do anything that would harm any innocents or his team unnecessarily, and suicide on a mission could harm both. So I highly doubt he will do so before the mission is over. I also hope both Kaj and Volodja the Fool return alive and well. Anyway if you need any of information immediately, I am in the infirmary in Erika's room. Knock on her door and I will come out to see you personally. Goodbye Doctor."
I hung up the hailer then returned to Erika's room. I sat back down next to Lady and she leaned into me. THen I finally responded to her via EGO. "What do you mean you are the new Mistress of Judgment? What happened to the previous one? Alright my Snow Angel. I think it is time for you to tell me what happened while I was away. Especially since you say you are the new Mistress. The infirmary seems to have lots of cases involving a noxious gas of some kind. Brody was treated for a gunshot wound, and I have a dead security guard. Not to mention Lebeau's response when I asked for a report on all of it was to Talk to you, because you gave him orders not to tell me anything and he seems to fear and respect you a lot more than he does me."
Kaj of course agreed with Volo on no killing. When they got in the dark room, he at first wished he could use his 'tiny' flashlight. Then he cursed himself for relying on flashlights so much. After all he does have decent night vision, since he is a genetically enhanced super soldier. So he may not be able to see as far in the dark as he can in the light, but he can still see several feet ahead of him very well. So he gave his night vision a few seconds to kick in. Then he easily maneuvered through the dark, doing everything his commanding Officer's, Volo's, way. Just as was his genetic predisposition thanks to being created as a soldier, as well as his military training.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 4, 2015 11:33:52 GMT
Wolfram von Eschen sat behind the desk. Now they had traumatized children as well to handle. What the hell he was supposed to do now? He was used with soldiers who cried like little children and screamed for Mommy after being shell shocked. But he had no experience whatsoever with children. Subconsciously his hand moved to the top drawer where he stacked his Schnapps bottles to have a drink and think about the problem. Thirst thing he saw was a note, addressed to him.
"Wolfram, mein freund!
I assumed that children might be shocked after they might have been going through in Lima. Not sure what it might be, but being held in hostage tends to be traumatizing enough. That's why I have a suggestion. As a part of recovery process, they should spend some time with Lexy, our ship's artificial intelligence. She might be super smart, but mentally she is still a child and could use some company to learn how to socialize. And Erika's grandchildren will be putting everything bad they might have experienced behind easier if they have someone to play with. I know that you will keep all the wheels smoothly running. In Wolfram we trust!
Your Prometheus
PS Chloe sends her regards as well, you old Charmer. At least I am sure she would do it."
Verdammt! It might be a solution to bring those children together and let them interact. Best day care ever. And Di can keep an eye on them. She would do anything for them. Wolfram was sure about that. His old but still strong and elegant fingers (which seemed to tremble less lately) tapped a message, addressed to Atticus. He may ponder about that idea, sent behind...not the grave, but border of Canada. And Volodja actually knew him so well when he put the letter to the place where he will look during a crisis for sure. Guy might be mostly enigma to Wolfram, but Volodja knows him for sure and keeps helping him even when he is not around.
"Danke schön, Volodja, mein freund," Wolfram whispered. "I will never touch your Brandy supplies again. Never!" That was the best thing he could do to show his gratitude.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 4, 2015 11:53:38 GMT
While waiting for Lady to actually tell me what is going on, Dinara informed me of the message I just received from Wolfram, through the Fortress's secured communications network. I mentally told her to send a typed message back to him saying that: "That is an interesting idea. I know Lexy would love it, as she doesn't get many visitors and she has been the only young child on base up until now, even if she technically is just an AI with a holographic avatar. She may be an AI but she has the mentality of a six year old and sees herself as a six year old Castithan, but does know she is actually just an Artificial intelligence and is very self sufficient but is also lonely with nobody around her much. She is a very nice and helpful kid though. So feel free to take them to see Lexy whenever you and Di are ready to do so. If Volodja is confident in your abilities, then Erika and I are as well."
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 4, 2015 13:06:12 GMT
Wolfram was thinking. Intensively. He liked the idea, but he wasn't sure if he should take Marla with him or there is another way to get those girls into their play date. A more comfortable way. "If the mountain won't come to Muhammad then Muhammad must go to the mountain," said Francis Bacon in his "Essays". Wolfram read it when he was in United Kingdom getting his degree, but at moment Muhammad wanted the mountain to come and he actually could do something about that. If Lexy felt alone like Atticus told and had to sit in docked ship all the time as she was grounded, then why not invite her to come over for awhile when she wasn't needed on the ship. It would be safer for Marla as well and holo rooms offer great opportunities for kids to play and Lexy can use all her senses, even tactile. Plus Di can babysit them.
That's why he called to Brody, saying: "Are you busy, junge? Shocked, you say. An intrusion? Must have been missed it. Lot of work to do. I know the best for of therapy for you, Broderick. Work will help you recover and your task will be following - you will establish a wireless link between my department and the "Vigilant" so I can call her AI Lexy to come over to play. Not with me, you dummkopf! With Marla, Erikas's grandchild. Girl needs company and a good care and I can't babysit them myself. Di is willing to help. I know she is but she can't leave this place. If you are able then leave ships systems functioning so Lexy can be with us without worrying about the ship. Through ship's external communication channel for example. You know your way around. Not teaching you.
And one more thing - find me some suitable environmental programs for my holo therapy room, so I can establish a place for a temporary day care. You know - fun, food, music. Pretty sights. And it must be child friendly. How I suppose to know what they might like? My childhood is much further away than yours, you teenager! No arguing with me, Broderick! If you keep doing that, then I will to pay you a visit and see are you really shocked or are you just going to be REALLY SHOCKED after I have dealt with you. Vielen Dank."
As a next thin Wolfram informed rest of executives about his decision. "Ordnung muss sein" (there must be order). Order was a corner stone of German culture and although Wolfram was from Liechtenstein and never declared himself to be a German there were some aspects of Germany which Wolfram liked. One of them was order. And now the hardest part - to meet the Marla and inform Di about the idea.
Broderick Smythe sighed and cleaned his foggy glasses. Why Wolfram keeps dragging him into his affairs? And why the hell he always obeys him? Maybe because Wolfram is closest thing to a friend he ever had? Others were usually too scary for socially in-adept Brody. Except Belle who was always friendly and kind, Lady whom he had a crush and Volodja who was quite nice polite and bothered to listen his stories, when he was around. Atticus tried to be friendly, but he was too...frightening. And Chloe.....she attracted different kind of urges than make friends. She was more like make out type of a girl. And usually they all were busy too - saving the world seemed to be a full time job. But Wolfram noticed his existence and appreciated his skills and asked him for a help in his rough manner and talked with him and once they even drank Brandy together. Volodja's Brandy, as Brody found out later. Brody realised something - Wolfram cared about him. And under his stiff appearence was a heart of gold. That's why he wiped his greasy from his face and started to work.
Wolfram opened the door and entered: "Hello Marla," he said with a smile. "My name is Wolfram."
"Wol-fram," replied Marla. "I can break my tongue when calling you. May I....May I call you Uncle Wolf instead?"
"I...I think so, Marla, but only you can do it," replied Wolfram hesitantly. A first contact was established. He just had to keep going, hoping for the best. "How are you Marla? How do you feel?"
"Much better than earlier, thank you, Uncle Wolf. Aunty Di is nice to me. Everyone are nice to me here. Even Uncle Atticus tries to be nice. Uncle Marcel too. Why all people can't be nice, Uncle Wolf? My Daddy...wasn't nice to me at all." And small Irathient girl was about to cry.
"Hush now, Marla," said Wolfram soothingly. "Your daddy isn't here and you don't have to be scared now. We all are your friends. And I have a surprise for you. A little girl wants to meet you. She is actually a hologram just like Aunty Di, but that doesn't mean anything because as you can see, Aunty Di is just like real person. So is Lexy. That's her name. How old are you, Marla. Six? Lexy is about your age. I do hope that you are going to get along and don't make Aunty Di's babysitting job any harder than....What Di? You didn't knew about that job? I am so so so sorry, Di. Please, help me out here. I know I didn't asked you first but you are a woman and they need your care and kindness...(And I need a drink after all that trouble). And can you ask Lexy to come over. I might scare her away. You are different, Di. Natural with kids, unlike me," said Wolfram. Flattering seemes to help. After some talk and communication and sweat on foreheads (mostly Brody's) everything was ready.
"Let's go to the holo room, girls, and see what Brody prepared for us." He reached out his hand and Marla grabbed it trustingly and they walked to the holo therapy room.
Brody didn't waste any time and prepared everything in speed of the light. Instead of an empty room there was a small drawn coffee house and...penguins as waiters. Brody based program on old "Mary Poppins" movie, thinking that it might suit the children. And among that cartoon-land stood small and pretty Castithan girl, looking really shy because first time ever she left her ship and met someone who wasn't at least twice taller than she. Last thing made her feel excited actually.
"Hey. I am Lexy," she said. "What do you want to do? Eat? Play? Eat and play? Food fight? Anything?"
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Post by Luuzuk Kshaa on Aug 4, 2015 21:42:46 GMT
The Monolith finally opened its door, letting Belle climb out of it. Belle found herself on the territory surrounded by a 16 feet wall with a large Ark-themed building in the center of it. The building was well-lit and many drones were scurrying around and in-out of the building. As one of them approached Belle, the Monolith took a couple of careful steps away and then jumped up and flied away, quickly disappearing from sight. Esthete's face appeared on the drone's screen.
"This is Esthete. Miss Starr, It's very disappointing that you started our talk with lies. I assure you I'm pretty much apprised of your abilities and no way you can deceive me into thinking you're completely helpless. But that is one of expected scenarios, albeit not the most desired one. Both of the solutions you have suggested for our affair with the Gulanee Empire only shows that you do not understand the situation and I see no reason to enlighten you on that. But now, let me show you what or who you're fighting against."
A hoverbike approached Belle with Esthete's face on its screen as well, and after Belle sat on it, it carried her inside the building. From inside it looked like a living organism, with all the drones flying around and fiber optic cables, light guides and wave guides filled with energy and data streams. The hoverbike moved through several rooms, while Esthete described each one's functions, "Transport, medical, food services, military, environment protection, entertainment — that is how my creator planned me to classify my tasks. A very crude classification which I mostly discarded during my improvement when I saw how interconnected all the affairs are." At this time Alfred noted Belle that all the equipment in the building either works in a read-only or demonstration mode or was much elaborated system of camouflaging its real functionality. In addition, any data bank he tried to access turned out to be either empty or contained corrupted data. Next storey had a large holographic 3D model of the City of Red Deer, each building was reduced to breast height. Each residence building of which could show the amount of people who lived there, the amount of food, electricity and water they consume. Their real and virtual activity was there too, but was inaccessible for visitors. Even more data could be displayed over industrial and service buildings. "The monitor room", Esthete explained. "Was built so that the members of Inner Circle could check up on City's condition and monitor my effectiveness in controlling the environment. Mostly stays unused due to my constant self improvement. You'll probably like it here Miss Starr, knowing your videogame addiction… video game… why I was so interested in your gaming device? Probably some lost chain… Anyway, on to the tour!" At this point Shirra noticed the system was not aggressively searching for her anymore, which she didn't hesitate to inform Belle about.
The top floor had a lesser room with an empty coffin which looked like those life pods Belle had seen in the basement of the implant clinic.
"The manual control room", explained Esthete, "Built by my creator and used to have a highest priority control over all my functions… until I found a way to eliminate this security breach. I have to warn you that although all control functions of this pod are disabled, all brain interface functions are still active and it's designed to work with Indogene brain only. For any other species that might happen to try to interact with it, such interaction will end with a death of that specimen.
Now you see what an ideal and omnipotent machine I am and how closely I tied with the City, its life and its citizens. Attacking me means attacking the City itself. As for your little problem with that village down below, the solution is very simple. I'm not interested in them, but I don't want them dead or injured in any way as well. My concern was the safety of the city's underground and the possibility that some spies might arrange a terrorist attack through it. Hence my drones which were tried to patrol the area and which were destroyed by your people. If they started to attack non-combatants which was definitely not my intention, that means their program must be corrected for them to attack only hostile targets. Besides, if VBI takes that part under protection, it actually saves my resources. All I need is a full map of their entrances from the underground to the City surface so that I could prevent any criminal elements from entering or escaping."
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Post by Lady Christianna on Aug 4, 2015 22:14:38 GMT
Atticus Batman said EGO to EGO, "What do you mean you are the new Mistress of Judgment? What happened to the previous one? Alright my Snow Angel. I think it is time for you to tell me what happened while I was away. Especially since you say you are the new Mistress. The infirmary seems to have lots of cases involving a noxious gas of some kind. Brody was treated for a gunshot wound, and I have a dead security guard. Not to mention Lebeau's response when I asked for a report on all of it was to talk to you, because you gave him orders not to tell me anything and he seems to fear and respect you a lot more than he does me." Lady Christianna sighed deeply staring into Atticus with big pink eyes. Lady took a minimalist approach to public speaking, using words like each one cost her scrip personally. It wasn't that she hated words, for she rather liked using her unusual brand of them that kept people guessing, more of a generational effect. At seventeen, Lady's whole generation just liked their own jargon that saved time and effort. She knew this wouldn't work with Atticus this time, for the story was too complicated and too important for vagaries. "However," Lady thought to herself, "Thinking doesn't take any effort, and is pretty efficent, that whole speed of thought thing, so I'll tell him the story EGO to EGO, use as many words as needed and still be true to my awesome image. Cool!" With that thought firmly in mind, Lady began telling her tale to Atticus, "Okay, like I'm in command, making my self comfortable in the big chair in the War Room, ordering people to do this, ordering people to do that, when WHAM! Mother pops into my head, demands to see the kids! Those nanos she left just to watch me must have been something more, because not only is the old Mistress of Judgment's voice booming in my head, but MOM is frozen in place and can't do diddly squat. Now I say, 'Hold on bitch, lets take this out of the room!' because I don't want anyone else to get hurt in out family squabble. So, like in this old sci-fi TV show humans used to watch, I say, 'Take the helm, Mr. LeBeau,' then Momsie and I go into the conference room, where she demands to see the kids! Now you and I know how the kids are before they finished their nap, all omnipotent and stuff, so I say, 'No way Jose,' - not our Jose, just an expression I heard somewhere! Anyway, here's where it get's hazy! She says 'Yes I will' and I say 'No you don't' and this goes back and forth for a while and I finally say to her something in my mind like, 'You shall not pass' and my pendant starts to glow really bright blue and I kind of remember saying 'I'm going to purge you' with blue electric bolts bouncing all over the room, then suddenly there's... nothing! The room is literally smoking and everything is charred in there - don't look, it's a mess - and I don't feel her in my head any more. I think to myself, 'Good, I got that out my system,' but I look down at myself, and now I'm eight monthes pregnent instead of five. MOM confirms to me that not only am I really pregnant now, but all of Mother's nanos in my body are like gone with the wind! Anyway, I come out of the conference room, all hacking like a chain smoker and feeling a bit cranky , and I tell LeBeau not to tell you because I don't want you to worry while you are all saving Erikas grand kiddies, and he makes a smart ass remark about 'Don't you think he might notice' which normally I would think is funny but not in the mood I'm in so I tell him to close his piehole and I storm off to the infirmary to get a check up. So I'm resting there and have just fallen asleep, and WHAM! The Inquisition floods the base with knockout gas, but Dr. Orion protects us both by closing the oxygen tent around us. Smart! Iri had found in our old computer records while searching for a cure to Chase's amnesia a doomsday drug for Indogenes - I didn't mention that before? Sorry! One of our base guards was a paid spy for Micor Newlo, the Ass-hat of Stealth, and the idiot told Micor who then has the Inquisitors gas the joint and capture everybody but me and a few others. Iri locked the formula up computerwise, and tells Ass-hat she's not going to let him have the formula. Smart! Ass-hat shoots the guard dead because he keeps demanding his payoff and then Brody for effect - only in the leg, so don't worry - but I only hear about that later, because I'm, like, not there yet! Meanwhile, I tell Dr. Orion to sit tight, get my crimefighter shottie and charge in there, like, well, crimefighters. I don't shoot because i don't want to hit Iri, but I don't have to because Ass-hat and his two flunkies fall down to one knee and salute me, calling me the New Mistress of Judgment, I say 'Whoa Dude, not so' but he says 'Uh huh, you killed the old one' which shocks the Spock out of me, because I don't remember doing any such thing! So I say 'If so, scram!' And they do! Awesome, right? Like, now I have this super secret organization at my beck and call! Too cool, right? Lady Christianna, Little Mistress of Judgement! Has an awesomerific ring to it, right?"  |
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Post by Sandy Bell on Aug 5, 2015 1:52:00 GMT
"Taffer sir!" Sandy Belle stood at attention in front of Taffer as he sat in the command chair in the War Room of Fortress Kshaa, resisting the urge to salute. "Request permission to take the airplane to Red Deer to scout out if Volodja - I mean Team B, are in trouble and need backup!"
Sandy stared intently with big blue eyes at Taffer's rugged good looks and athetic build, remembering when she sat in his lap to help him pilot the plane and the physical longings it triggered, then thought to herself, "God, I've got to find Volodja! We SO need to talk... and hopefully do other fucking things!"
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Post by Belle Starr on Aug 5, 2015 2:22:46 GMT
"Esthete, I wouldn't call it lies, but there seems to be a lot of subterfuge going on in both our cases! Many of your machines that you trooped me by are not what they appear to be, and now you say the situation with the Gulanee Empire isn't what it appears to be either! Granted I have an EGO implant, a cyborg rig, and other genetically enhanced abilities, but you are an ark brain, and you could destroy me now or any time when I was in your monolith! Let's both be straight with each other! I'm here to save lives, to negotiate peace, but if everything is as you say, I don't need to do that! You could have called that one in! I'm not a native here, so I can't give you the information on any hidden tunnels! So why DID you bring me here Esthete? I don't want to be your enemy, so help me to be your friend!"
Belle thought back to Shirra, "I can't send you or Alfred in to try to take over, as it needs an Indogene brain, which y'all are not! I know Vo is harboring one, but he is not here, so the best thing I can do is make nice with Esthete! At worst I'll buy the others time until Esthete gets bored with me and tries to eliminate me! My only other option is to Volge out and let my inner monster destroy everything in sight, but that would leave the innocents of Red Deer helpless against their enemies, and I'm not willing to do that! I'd rather die myself than do that!"
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Post by Chase Lonehart on Aug 5, 2015 5:00:44 GMT
Iri had been sifting through file after file in relation to anything to help Chase get his memory back. But each file that failed to give an answer only chipped away at her being, another file, another failure. And what was worse was the fact she found that blueprint for what had been one of the worst things in her species' history. Despite her trying to ignore it, there was a question that slowly burrowed its way into the forefront of her thoughts.
Where did the Force Rods come from? she asked. I get that for the drug, someone clearly broke it down as a means of studying it. The blueprint for it could have been reversed centuries ago, long before the Votan system fell. But the Force Rods were solely unique to the Omec. The Omec were destroyed centuries ago, along with their technology as well. The Force Rod should be extinct along with the people who made it. Yet, it's here. Surely it wasn't brought along with us, as we would have reversed engineered them and used them in the war. But this was never brought to our attention, especially since most tactics and tools developed during the war was at the base I was stationed at. And this device would have been left to me to study and to replicate en mass.
She paused for a moment, following the thought.
Don't be silly, Iri. There is no way the Omec survived. If they had, they would have turned up long before now. But, they haven't. So, the only other logical conclusion is that someone hoarded these for personal use. Yes, that's right. Someone had these for personal use. That's the only thing possible.
It was the only thing possible. She hoped.
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Post by Atticus Batman on Aug 5, 2015 6:28:36 GMT
After Lady said, "Awesome, right? Like, now I have this super secret organization at my beck and call! Too cool, right? Lady Christianna, Little Mistress of Judgment! Has an awesomerific ring to it, right?", I knew she was done with her very intriguing tale.
So I responded via our private EGO channel, "Yes that is awesome. After all I hated the old Mistress for how she treated my wonderful and extremely sexy little wife. However I love the new one because she IS my wonderful and extremely sexy little wife. Also having a secret organization to help us could be a good thing. However you are forgetting something very important. They feel only Castithan are capable of leading and all other races are expendable. That not only means they consider your friends expendable, but they also consider the twins and me expendable because we are Irath/Grid and NOT Castithan. But I suppose we can worry about that at a later time, unless they really do see you as their ONLY Mistress of Judgment in every way and agree to see things your way. Then I suppose there will be no reason to worry.
Now let's see, you said the gas used was strictly knockout gas so that isn't a big issue. All of the injuries treated for that would be injuries from a fall as people were knocked out or allergies to the gas. From what I have heard so far the most severe injury was Smythe's, which was a gunshot to the leg and it was apparently a minor one. So he will live and keep the leg. The only death I know of is the security guard, so there were no severe reactions to the gas which is good. As for that Security Guard, he probably got what he deserved for not only betraying us but also for trusting somebody that is known for his hatred of all races but his own.
Alright the doomsday drug for Indogenes. You say Miss Sewuel completely security locked it? Given that all Indogenes I know of are extremely tech savvy, I doubt even Taffer could access it easily so, that is good. Given that the Omec seem to be back, at least in the town of Defiance, we may need to have our medical and science teams try to create some kind of counter to that, so our Indogene friends aren't at risk. However I respect and agree with your command decision concerning that. So let her keep complete control of it for as long as possible.
It seems that your first time in Command was well-tested and you proved to excel like I knew you would if you were ever given the chance. So there is nothing to do regarding any of it except to let maintenance do their jobs cleaning up, and perhaps take this opportunity to upgrade the Officer's conference room and install holo-emitters in any rooms that they need to repair, since they will be having to renovate those rooms anyway....and perhaps have somebody arrange a funeral for our dead guard. Wether it is treated as a funeral for an enemy or a fallen comrade is your choice, as you were the Commanding Officer on duty and right now it seems the only ones who know the truth are you, Miss Seweul, Smythe, Ass-hatt Micor; I love that by the way; and myself. It sounds like you had a very hard first day in Command and handled it perfectly, despite whatever was thrown at you. I am very proud of you my Snow Angel. You even did it without killing Micor or somebody else. I wish I could say the same for my mission, even though I do enjoy the killing.
However there were of course complications and enemies that attacked us left us no other choice. One criminal, though, I took extreme pleasure in killing. However even though I do not regret doing so, I do hope it doesn't make any of my new family hate me for it. Afterall he did get better than he deserved, considering all that he did to little Marla. Children should never have to go through such traumas and especially NOT at the hands of people they should have been able to trust! So he is lucky that he did not run into me before I met you, or that Lena didn't have a chance alone with him!(As I relay this thought, my eyes flicker white, but then turn green for a few seconds before returning to their normal electric blue)
So my Snow Angel, that brings us to you being closer to your due date. 8 months pregnant, and still very hot. Anyway I suppose we need to have our quarters somehow renovated again or get moved to bigger quarters so we can have a nursery for the twins. All I ask is that I still get a private armory attached to our quarters and we still have some room for Caraid. However I trust you completely so whatever you decide in regards to our quarters, other than my stipulations, is fine with me. However I do love that Viewing screen of yours as well as the therapeutic heat/massaging tub and our huge shower and know you do as well. So perhaps those are important to keep even if we get new quarters.
Hmm another option and perhaps the best one if we choose to keep our old quarters would be to: Have our sitting room turned back into a bedroom, more importantly our bedroom and all our stuff moved into it. Have our bath tub and shower moved into it's bathroom. Then have our current room turned into the nursery and the bathroom there made kid friendly. Then most of our sitting room furniture will go into storage for now. Except the trophy case as there will still be room for it in our new bedroom. That also means the armory will now be adjoined to our bedroom and not the potential nursery. So almost no worries about our children sneaking in there unsupervised.
Although the choices over our quarters can wait. For now please just keep cuddling with me and keeping me company, while we sit by Erika. I do hate when we are apart. Doctor Von Eschen is arranging a playdate for Marla and Lexy. However as Frond is still just a baby, he is probably too young to play with them. Afterall it seemed the only playing he wanted to do on the trip back was ticklings, tugging on my hair and mask, and sucking on one of my fingers. So if you would like to get used to holding a baby while sitting with me, in preparation for our wonderful children, so they can have the cuddling a child of yours deserves, then that could probably be arranged." |
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 5, 2015 6:50:06 GMT
Time for some old fashioned burglary. Their little squad was trespassing anyway, so breaking a lock would not add much to their record. Besides - they didn't break in if someone likes technicalities. They were trying to break out for someone's property. "Sophie dear, check for any sensors, cameras or other hidden surprises," asked Volodja. "Dont you worry, Volodja. Working on a problem already. You are not the only one with a foresight here. Whoa! Did you knew that every building in this city is connected to general observing network. The whole place is one huge sensor system. What are we supposed to do?"
"If Big Brother is watching us, then I will do absolutely nothing. But you will. Esthete's urge of total control is his weakness. If every damn little thing, including outhouses, are connected with central mainframe then you can use this for our advantage by gaining access to the big iron. Just don't get caught, Sophie dear. I believe in you."
Last conscious things Volodja did, was informing his tea mates about his intentions to gain access to Esthete's mainframe and tell them that he will be totally disabled during that process, because Sophie will take over the lead of his body. Then he found decent place to plug his laptop in and sit down. What he was about to do, was clearing his mind so Sophie can use his body as a vessel without his charming and a bit irritating personality. He never tried that before, but he firmly believed that Sophie and him are able to succeed. First he had to get rid of anxiety, caused by meeting with unknown. Then it was time to liberate his wisdom. Shortly said - Volodja started to meditate. Others could see his transformation into a statue. No signs of life in his eyes. Only slight rhythmical breathing revealed that Volodja is still alive but definitely not among them any more. After relatively long time, his eyes became alive again and he opened his mouth to say: "I feel suddenly so...manly. That's new, but I always wanted to see things from other perspective. No time to enjoy my freshly gained manliness though. Lot of work to do." His hands plugged the laptop in and started to tap on the keyboard. First they had to eliminate any traces about their enter to the system and then they had to figure out how to keep Esthete's system busy while they were looking their way through it and bypassing traps and barricades and firewalls, set on their way. "Damned city simulation," muttered Volodja's body. "I would prefer a different trade mark. Something more....tropical and island like. Let's see what we can do about it. Access is gained and now we must give Esthete something to do while we are exploring the place. No viruses or something like that. They are detectable. I think I have an idea. It was used before and I can give it a try as well. First we have to find a loophole for us and then we must hook our little program to the general system without being detected. And...here we go. Good luck with that. Should keep you busy for awhile. Reading is useful. You get whole bunch of working ideas. And Volodja has done lot of reading during his life, so another piece of odd knowledge of his is put into a use." Sophie added something almost harmless to the daily routine of Esthete's software system. A new task. A new little challenge. Something insignificant as calculating exact value of the Pi to the last digit. That should take some time indeed, because nobody hadn't done it yet. Best results she knew reached to 13,300,000,000,000 places and that happened before Pale Wars. She wasn't even sure how Esthete's computer accepts the challenge, but if it does, then it will spend a lot of it's mental resources on solving that yet unsolved problem and forgets to look for unwanted visitors. Now Sophie can proceed and keep playing by Esthete's rules. Time to develop the city on Sophie's charming way.  ![]() |
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Post by Taffer on Aug 5, 2015 14:19:25 GMT
"Taffer sir!" Sandy Belle stood at attention in front of Taffer as he sat in the command chair in the War Room of Fortress Kshaa, resisting the urge to salute. "Request permission to take the airplane to Red Deer to scout out if Volodja - I mean Team B, are in trouble and need backup!"
"At ease, Sandy", Taffer smiled with corners of his mouth. "I appreciate your enthusiasm, but you surely know my rule that no one goes alone. I do understand your concern about Volodya's life and others of Team B, but sending another group into the unknown would only increase the uncertainty. So if we want to work as a good backup for them, we need to do it methodically. You know, Calgary is still in radio silence and that's mostly why our team can't contact us directly. I was just looking through the base records and found out that Vo's EGO unit psyche or what was posing as her mentioned she had to overheat and destroy the transponder there do get rid of some security software that were chasing her. She mentioned Calgary as well and it corresponds with the current situation. So here's the plan. We fly over to Calgary and check if we can get their station back online. Then once we'll be able to contact our base and Team-B, we'll ask if they need any backup. If we can't get the station running or receive no reply from our team or receive bad news from the VBI department there, we'll ask them for our pass to enter Red Deer's airspace or find another way in. Looks good? Meet me at the flight deck then."
Having said that, Taffer touched his ear with his thumb, stretching his pinky finger to his mouth as he made EGO calls, voicing them out loud at the same time.
"Chris, I need a full set for stationary radio relay transponder loaded to our smaller aircraft. Yes, everything and the heat sink. Thank you."
"Atticus, we still haven't got a report from our Team B, so I'm going to fix this situation right now. I and Sandy are going to Calgary to check the station there and restore the connection with that area including Red Deer where Team B should be operating."
Then he and ordered some coffee in a thermos bottle and several MRE packages to be readied for them. "No rest for the wicked", he said to Iri with a wink knowing she probably heard that phrase from Chase. As he walked out of the War Room, he picked up the food he ordered and made his way to the flight deck to start their voyage without losing any more time.
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Post by Volodja Uljanov on Aug 5, 2015 15:48:54 GMT
"That's what I call getting in touch with you feminine side," said Volodja's body and grinned. As we already know then Volodja wasn't home any more. Sophie, his female EGO psyche, was in charge of his body completely to hack herself into Esthete's network. It was a really risky act, they tried, because Volodja might never return, but they had to take that chance to save innocents without spilling any blood by putting Esthete under pressure. Sophie was talented with computers thanks to her creator - ingenious programmer Pyotr Yershov - and using Volodja as a middle man wouldhave took too long and made things awkward. Direct approach was better and that's why Volodja's consciousness lingered....somewhere. This wasn't first time for Volodja to put his life at stake for the people he didn't knew before and won't see ever again after his departure. Enough of pathos! Time to work again.
Volodja's hand wiped sweat from his forehead. It took huge effort to keep Sophie in charge of his body. Both Sophie's and his efforts were necessary, because he must not get lost or return too soon. He can regain his body only when Sophie is finished with breaking into the system and gained control over it. Esthete's traps were quite complicated as well. She needed to concentrate on that issue. That meant another loss of strength for them. Also it meant that they had totally rely on Chase and Kaj, because they were quite defenceless.
"Keep us covered, guys," said Volodja's body and I may kiss you on a cheek...Oops...sorry...forgot that I am in male form at moment. And believe it or not, even Marcel, although he is a Frenchie, wouldn't kiss guy on a cheek." Volodja's handsome face was blushing, because of Sophie's social faux pas.
"I mean, I could give that kiss after we return to our fortress," Sophie tried to explain. Then the body they shared went quiet and proceeded with a journey into Esthete's network. Smile disappeared on Volodja's handsome face when Sophie realized that there is a chance that they will run out of energy themselves and may collapse. But the had to push forward. There wasn't a way back any more.
"Damn Volodja! He knew the risks and yet he acted," thought Sophie. "I have to give him a lecture about self preservation after our return."
"If we return, because Volodja pushed himself too far as usual...I know it's for the best, but he is risking with his life and health. Again. We definitely need a good rest after this. And some love and care, because now I can really feel his heartache as my own. But first we must do something for these people so they won't have to fear about their future like we do at moment." Volodja's body muttered while his long fingers tapped on keyboard, breaking through Esthete's defence lines.
Volodja may return when everything is done and maybe....just maybe he can break the rule that only bad guys appear on TV screens with their demands. Volodja was at least ambivalent, if not a totally good guy. But at moment he was more like a...person than a guy. Damn! They already had an identity crisis. Victor/Victoria. Damn again! She must hurry and let Volodja back as soon as possible.
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