open to Investigators

[leftbehindagain]

So, um. Now that the chaos has calmed down some - is everyone all right, by the way? - we could use a little help.

Naoto and Ambrose-san and I found a fortress. What we know right now is it's some kind of prison, and there are active containment traps in the halls. There might be something - or even someone - in it.

We could use some help figuring this out. If anyone's any good at disabling traps, or if you know someone from Blue or Green Team who is and can talk them into helping, we're in B10. It sounds like the options are to get a lot of people from Blue Team to scan the building all at once or go in and poke around, so we need the help either way.

For obvious reasons, we'd rather keep Red Team out of this as long as possible. Depending on what we find they might stick their noses in anyway, but the longer we can put that off, the better.

Comments

[capital_asset]

If it's the structure I'm thinking of, it was most likely built to hold captured invaders - probably viruses.

[foreveralawn]

[wait, what, she knows that voice, what--]

RAIDOU?! Wh-Wh-Wh--is that you?!

[capital_asset]

[He'd really hoped to avoid something like this.]

...Yes.

[foreveralawn]

[Alas, the network does not care for who hears whose words.]

I d-didn't know that was possible...

[capital_asset]

[Alas.]

It... happens occasionally. When something goes wrong.

[And he would really, really like it if she did not ask him any more questions on the subject. He's not hopeful, but he would like it.]

[foreveralawn]

When something g-goes wrong... That's reassuring.

[capital_asset]

[Raidou can't tell if she's being facetious or not. Then again, he's not exactly at his best right now.]

Are you all right?

[leftbehindagain]

You know something about it?

[capital_asset]

[His instincts as a Crypto - former Crypto - are warring with his need to impart information. It's not something he's had to deal with on a Jaunt before, and it's jarring.]

I don't know offhand who built it, but viral attacks predate the cataclysm that resulted in... in the Cryptos entering stasis.

[leftbehindagain]

Huh. [He doesn't press that angle too hard, for now.]

So basically, we need to be careful we don't disable everything if we decide to go in, just... enough to walk around the halls safely.

[capital_asset]

Essentially.

[leftbehindagain]

Good to know. I'd say it shouldn't be too hard, but... well, we probably won't know until we get a closer look at the setup. In any case, we know better than to shut everything off to begin with. Thank you.

[capital_asset]

It's... no trouble.

[Except that it is.]

[leftbehindagain]

Well, you'd clearly rather not talk about it, so I don't know if I'd call that 'no trouble.' But I won't push unless it looks to be life-or-death.

[capital_asset]

[...He really would like to be able to think of something besides death for a while.]

If the individual who built the structure is still alive, then you may have to contend with them as well.

[leftbehindagain]

Good to know. I guess all we can do there is keep an eye out.

[amadine]

Sounds like you have some inside information.

[capital_asset]

[...maybe.]

Hello, Sabetha.

[amadine]

Hello, Raidou. I'd offer you a drink, but I'm not certain anything that passes for a tavern is still standing.

[There's a thin thread of something almost like concern wound through the telepathic reply. She's sure she'd spied him amongst the green-clad contingent in the ruins, and has been at this long enough to know what that must mean.]

[capital_asset]

Not unless it's hidden in the Partition, I'd imagine.

[He hears the... concern?... in her voice and is oddly warmed by it, although at the same time he doesn't really want to acknowledge it. Because if he does, then he would also feel constrained to acknowledge what had happened to him during the gigodaemon attack, and he doesn't think he can deal with that right now. If ever.]

[amadine]

Too bad. I'm not averse to thumbing my nose at the authorities, but it might be a little much just now.

[There's a pause, brief, as she shifts tracks.]

How much do you remember?

[capital_asset]

Probably.

[He wonders how much worse they've gotten since the attack.]

[...And then there's the mental equivalent of a sigh.]

Quite a lot, actually, but I'm having some difficulty speaking of it; there's a lot they haven't told the other groups.

[The irony of being in this position does not escape him. He assumes that's why the Trumps saw fit to make him a Crypto in the first place.]

Where would you like me to start?

[amadine]

Just how the Automata got started seems like the most pressing question, but that's not the reason I asked. Or at least, not the only reason.

Your former friends are closed up tighter than a Syresti virgin's arse. If you remember enough to get back in...having someone on the inside who knows he's one of ours might make the difference between pulling this off clean, and praying we only burn down half the Grid this time.

[capital_asset]

[Raidou is silent for a long moment.]

My current condition would present some difficulty, because it would be obvious to them that I'm not a Crypto anymore, and at least one of them considers Variables to be abominations and would probably not react well to my presence.

[There is another long pause.]

My counterpart's ID Disk is back at the ruins, but I don't know what would happen to me if I used it. It's possible that I might fully become him again.

[The next pause is much shorter.]

The Automata were loosed on the Grid by a rogue group of Users and their Programs.

[amadine]

A deliberate attack? Did they intend the outcome, or was that just a side effect?

[It makes a certain amount of sense, either way.

It's disturbing as hell either way, too.]

If you're willing to take the risk - if you leave your Disk with someone you trust, we'll be able to bring you around again, if the worst comes to pass.